Trip Report Magical Moments with Blue Skies and Sunshine...Guaranteed!

mousefreak · Nov 14, 2013

Megala said:
Loving this adventure...thanks for the posts, looking forward to more. BTW, that zeppole dessert thing looks outrageous

Thanks for joining. The desserts were amazing!

mickey2008.1 said:
Sounds like a great time was had. Looking forward to more pics and food reviews.That's awesome to have a Walt go to Walt Disney World.

Thanks for posting. I have plenty more to come. Our Uncle Walt loves Disney!

mousefreak · Nov 14, 2013

After lunch at Via Napoli, it was time for a High Seas Norwegian Adventure, the longest wait we had all week. What were we thinking waiting 25 minutes for Maelstrom??? It’s fun and all, but 25 minutes?

It's still a fun ride!

Only a 10 minute wait for SSE…Yes! Hey @plaz10, this ones for you!

It was getting to be later in the afternoon and our room was ready, so we headed back to Pop and took Grace for a swim. We walked to Art of Animation for dinner at Landscape of Flavors and a tour. WOW!!! What an amazing job Disney has done with this resort and all the details. I would love to see AOA in daylight, but not this trip. The lighting throughout the property is outstanding.

fractal · Nov 21, 2013

Looking for an update...

mousefreak · Nov 22, 2013

Work has kept me really busy this week. I've done nothing but come home and crash on the couch, not wanting to use my brain to write more. I hope to have something tomorrow. Thanks for check in.

mousefreak · Dec 12, 2013

Hey folks. It's been quite a while since I've spent any time on WDWMagic. I started my trip report, then work became very busy, I was sick for over a week and 2 deaths in the family have just put me out of the mood. I'm going to wait until after the holidays to resume the trip report.

A big THANKS to those that sent notes asking about the TR. I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and look forward to sharing the wonderful memories we created at Disney.

plaz10 · Dec 12, 2013

(First off - I'm sorry to hear about the unfortunate events in your life - here's hoping things get better quickly)

On happier notes - Thanks for the SSE shout out! I thought the same thing about the EPCOT monorail going around SSE...it's the best part! Definitely the best monorail loop!

I'm totally with Grace on pizza - I could definitely eat pizza for breakfast lunch and dinner! I'm not crazy about the basic Disney pizza you find at every quick service place but I LOVE Via Napoli and Wolfgang Puck Express at DtD. AND...now I'm hungry for pizza!

I love the pictures from Art of Animation - as of right now we don't have any kids so the Suites don't really appeal to us but I love the Little Mermaid rooms - especially giant Ursula! I'm ready for AoA to start getting more discounts.

Can't wait to read more - looks like you guys had a blast so far!

mousefreak · Jan 9, 2014

After a near 2 month hiatus, I’m back to finish our trip report. I hated the fact that I just left the TR hanging, but oh well. I love the holidays, but when you work in a management position in retail, you’re glad to see the holidays go away!

Day 2 October 26

We spent all day at MK. The weather today was perfect, again! Not a cloud in the sky, about 80 degrees and barely broke a sweat. There’s just something about that blue sky above MK that add to the magic.

We were welcomed by the Mayor this morning!

There's nothing more exciting than going under the train station and turning the corner on Main Street and seeing the castle. It's breathe taking every time.

We headed right over to use Fastpasses for The Little Mermaid. The pictures didn't turn out great, but we absolutely loved the ride! It's a great addition to MK!

After TLM, we wanted to get a quick bite of breakfast at Gaston's Tavern. I wanted to try the cinnamon rolls that were so popular (and a favorite of mine at the Main Street Bakery) to see if they were the same. I was pretty disappointed. How could Disney screw up something that was so awesome? The roll I had was dry and very little icing. Not pleased!

I love the whole Beauty and the Beast themed area. Well done!!

mousefreak · Jan 9, 2014

More from the Beauty and the Beast area...

mousefreak · Jan 9, 2014

After a little bite to eat at Gaston's Tavern, it was off to Dumbo...

Grace is not a fan of Dumbo. She held to me as if her life depended on it.

It was then off to Big Top Souvenirs to look at all the goodies. I love all the detail that was put into this shop. Wow!!!

It was then time to head over to the Haunted Mansion, but first, a pit stop at one of the beat places to pee in all of Disney World. Props to @fractal and @plaz10 for pointing this out in their trip reports. I really wanted to take a few picts inside, but thought I would be escorted from the park.

fractal · Jan 9, 2014

Dennis,

Glad to see you are back on track! I have a good friend that works retail and he has the same complaints.

mousefreak · Jan 9, 2014

More from the Tangled themed bathroom area...

Maximus left his snack!

Every time we walk past Rapunzel's tower on this trip we had to sing..."Rapunzel...let down your hair!"

Off to the Haunted Mansion!

mousefreak · Jan 9, 2014

fractal said:
Dennis,

Glad to see you are back on track! I have a good friend that works retail and he has the same complaints.

Thanks! It's nice to finally have the time to work on it.

mousefreak · Jan 11, 2014

The most exciting thing on the trip happened the day before when we were at Epcot. LeAnn checks her email around noon and we received an invitation to try a FastPass+ for lunch at Be Our Guest!!!!!! I can't tell you how excited we were! We tried every day before this trip to get an ADR for dinner to Be Our Guest and there was just nothing available.

Be Our Guest did not disappoint. The detail that went into this area and inside is just amazing. We felt as if we were part of the movie. We made time after dinner to explore all the rooms and just take it all in. I even made a point to check out the bathrooms. Very nice!!

I couldn't believe the standby line outside of people just waiting for a table. I saw the same people waiting when we were finished with our meal. The food was excellent and the building is amazing, but I would never waste precious park time waiting hours for a quick service meal.

I had the Roast Beef and LeAnn the Ham. So freaking good! The Strawberry Cupcake is OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!

The lady in the picture looks scared.

Grace was like..."Can't we go to Small World"

fractal · Jan 12, 2014

BOG looks great!

mousefreak · Jan 23, 2014

The end of Day 2...Oct. 26.

After an awesome lunch at BOG, it was on to Splash Mtn, sans Grace. She is no fan after we forced her to ride it the last couple of trips.Sorry, no picts of the next attractions. I think we were in a food coma and didn't bother to take pictures. After Splash with very little wait, it was Pirates (no fog screen...what's up with that?), Dole Whips for everyone, then on to Main Street to watch Celebrate a Dream Come True. We got a great spot in the shade outside of the Emporium. Grace asks for NOTHING when looking in all the gift shops. We're lucky, I know. But she always asks for a balloon, and nothing gives her as much joy as a mylar balloon...from the Magic Kingdom!

We want one of these for our front door...

After the parade, it was time for a Mickey pretzel and a ride on TTA.

We left the Magic Kingdom to head back to Pop to clean up and get ready for dinner at The Wave. This was our first time to eat at The Wave. Not impressed! The food wasn't bad, it was just not worth the money (even though we had free dining). The feel and décor of the restaurant was cold and unimpressive. I know it's in a contemporary setting, but it's just not for us. There's just to many other places at Disney to eat, so we won't be headed back here anytime soon.

Up Next...
After dinner, LeAnn and I got some time to ourselves!!!!

mousefreak · Jan 23, 2014

Walt and Sally were ready to call it a day, so they offered to take Grace with them and head back to Pop. LeAnn and I still had some life in us and wanted to head back to MK. MK was open until 1am. I don't think we'll make it to 1am, but we'll try.

We hopped on the Monorail and hurried our way inside just in time to see the end of Wishes from the balcony of the train station. This is a great spot for Wishes!!

Knowing that the masses would be headed out of the park, we rushed down the stairs and made our way through the Confectionary and all the other shops just to avoid Main Street. Wait times were next to nothing. It was a beautiful, but chilly night. We headed over to ride Little Mermaid, Small World, Jungle Cruise (skipper Erin was awesome, one of the best we've ever had on JC), watched a small portion of the Electrical Parade and a ride on Big Thunder. BTMR is best at night!!!!

We enjoyed those few hours just the two of us.

Day 3 will take us to Animal Kingdom, then to Epcot for the evening.

mousefreak · Jan 24, 2014

Day 3 - Oct. 27 Animal Kingdom and Epcot

Another great day was in store as we were up early and arrived at AK before opening.

I love the Tree of Life. I think its even more impressive after watching videos of how they constructed this thing. There's so much detail, it's amazing!

We headed right to Expedition Everest to ride 3 times within 30 minutes! That's not too bad! I think riding in the back of the train is the best.

Grace...No thanks, daddy! You go right ahead and I'll wait for you.

We had a mid-morning Fastpass+ for Festival of the Lion King...which is ALWAYS a must do for us. I don't know what it is about this show, but I always find myself holding back tears. I think its a combination of the music, dancing, crowd participation and the meaning of the show...The Circle of Life. For the first time ever, Grace was selected by one of the cast members. He asked if he could take her and we said absolutely!

In case I forgot to mention, Grace's night time vision is very poor. We use a wheelchair at Disney since a majority of attractions are in dark areas. If she were to walk onto these attractions, she would stop dead in her tracks and would not move. She just can't see. She does not have a wheelchair at home, so its a treat for her to pushed around everywhere while at Disney. Let me say this, I always wait in the regular line while waiting for the bus. I don't like the feeling of getting special treatment of loading first. Once in a while, the bus driver will demand that we pass everyone and load first, even after we say that she can transfer just fine and the wheelchair can fold easily and be kept close to me. I will say that I'm grateful that Disney does provide this attention to those who need the assistance.

Sorry, but no more pictures from AK after FOTLK, but we went to see It's Tough to be a Bug and got some lunch at Yak and Yeti. YUM!!! That was our first time to get the counter service and it was really good! We found a nice place to eat, decided to use our Fastpass+ for the Kilimanjaro Safari. The ride on the safari was a little rough as they squeezed all 5 of us in a row. The crowds were getting heavy, so we decided to head back to Pop and get a afternoon swim in before heading to Epcot for the evening.

Oh...forgot that we saw DiVine for the first time which was really fun to watch.

mousefreak · Feb 10, 2014

October 27, continued...

After spending a great morning at AK, we headed back to Pop to get a swim in before heading to Epcot for a dinner ADR at Rose and Crown, which was a first for us.

Grace is a fish! She could spend all day at the pool and be happy.

LeAnn went to Petals Pool Bar to get a drinky poo...a Moscato Colada!!! YUM

We did a quick clean up and got ready for Epcot. I remember when we stepped out of our room, Sally said I should take a coat because it was going to get really cool. I was too stubborn and decided not to grab a jacket or sweatshirt. Boy, she was right. I was freezing by the time Illuminations started.

I love the gardens and plants around Epcot! We sat and looked at this and people watched as we waited for our table at Rose and Crown.

We were REALLY hoping for a table along the water. We didn't request it, but got it!

Walt and Sally enjoyed Rose and Crown! The service was slow, but the food was excellent. We'll definitely go back. Sorry, no pictures of our meals.

mousefreak · Feb 13, 2014

Day 4 - October 28
Today we slept in a bit. It was a "park free" day...just a day of Downtown Disney, swimming and dinner ADR at Ohana. Our last several trips to WDW were always on the go and never really took a day to just relax. It was nice to take this day and recharge ourselves. Best decision we made in our planning of this trip!

We had some breakfast at the Pop food court before heading to DTD. I do remember a bunch of screaming kids and wanting to hurry up and get outta there before we went insane. We love going to DTD early in the day before the crowds hit.

Let's find something for the tree...