My Trip Report 9/25-10/4 with Photos!

monkeysammich · Oct 8, 2009

I feel bad for the person in the Mike costume.. that looks uncomfortable. And very very small.

One Lil Spark · Oct 8, 2009

Great TR! Can't wait to check back in for the rest of it.

By the way, the dummy you got a picture of in ToT always creeps me out more than the entire ride. :lookaroun :lol:

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 8, 2009

A few more parade pics

We then went back to the animation building so we could meet Dug again and this time, get a picture.

So cute!

Then we went to the Little Mermaid show which of course, my husband was thrilled to do. Somewhere around then we also checked Toy Story again but the wait was still 60 minutes.

We then went to use the ToT fastpass my husband had got earlier. When we went in there was literally no one waiting in the lobby. So the CM told us to keep our fast passes and use them later. Sweet!

We had a dinner reservation at Mama Melrose at 6:10. After dinner we still had to use our Toy Story fast passes, and we wanted to ride ToT once in the dark, and we wanted to go to Fantasmic. We weren't sure if we would have enough time to do all this, so we went to check in at Mama Melrose a little early. I think we got there at 5:30 or so.

We were seated almost immediately. Our server was Barbara. After she took our order, we asked her if there was a Halloween Party that night. She checked her schedule and said there was. We were hoping that since a lot of people would be at the party, that maybe Fantasmic wouldn't be that crowded. She said the reason they added a Fantasmic was because the MK was closed to all other guests and people were looking for things to do at night. She thought it might still be crowded.

For dinner, Nick ordered steak which came with five tiny roasted potatoes and no vegetables. It was basically a piece of steak on a plate. He said it was ok. I had looked online at the menu before we left and saw they had eggplant. It was not on the menu that night though so I got sausage with onions and peppers and ziti. It was good but heavy and filling.

As we were eating, Barbara brought us out 2 passes to Fantasmic- the ones they use when you book the dinner package. Apparently another party hadn't showed up today so she gave them to us. We thought that was really nice of her to do.

We ordered our desserts to go so we could eat them while waiting for the show. It said on the ticket that we had to arrive by 7:30. We didn't know if after 7:30 they would turn us away or just open the reserved spot to the rest of the crowd so we thought we should be there by then just to be safe.

We left the restaurant and ran over to Toy Story. Once again, the fastpass line wasn't all that fast and I think we waited about 15 minutes. Nick kicked my butt again but I still had better accuracy.

We then ran over to Tower of Terror. We again got in the fastpass line and again, it was pretty empty inside so the same CM told us to keep them again. There was only about 45 minutes left until closing. We knew we were going straight to Fantasmic and that we wouldn't use them. We also knew it would be pointless to give them away since the ride would most likely stay uncrowded the rest of the night. So we ended up just keeping them as souvenirs.

Riding at night was so cool. When the doors opened the whole park was all lit up and it was awesome to see it from up high.

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 8, 2009

We then ran over to Fantasmic and got there at exactly 7:29. We walked a country mile through the backstage area and came out in our section. Basically, the entire left side had been roped off. We were about a third of the way back and we sat as close to the center as possible.

The show was great and our seats were great. We both agreed that some of the parts where they put the images on the water were a little too long. We were so glad we got to see it though. I love when all the characters come out on the boat at the end. Especially a black and white Steamboat Willy. I wish he did meet and greets!

Lots of pics...

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 8, 2009

The park was closed by the time we left but took our time leaving.. We did a little more shopping and took some more pictures.

As we left I said a goodbye to DHS.

The plan for the next day was spend the whole day at MK. When we got back that night, I checked the hours on tv again to see if those had changed too. The original hours were 9-9 and sure enough, they were now posted as 9-11! Sweet! The reason we wanted to go to MK on our last day was to see Spectro and Wishes. We thought that would be a nice end to our trip. Now that the hours we extended, we could do that, and ride a few rides before we left!

So that was the plan for our last day. I'll try to finish up in a bit.

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 8, 2009

So since they were open until 11, and since we had already done everything we really wanted to at least once, we took our times getting there the next morning.

Day 9- 10/3 MK

So we slept in a little, got ready slowly, and watched the animals from our balcony (such as this guy)

I then left the room to go down and get us a snack for breakfast. Outside of our door was our Magical Express envelope. Sad. So as I was eating a few minutes later, I checked to see what our pickup time was the next day (8am, yikes!) As I was reading through it I suddenly realized that I needed to go check in for our flight! I looked at the clock and it was 10:59, our flight was at 11:05. I went down to the lobby as quick as I could and luckily, there was no line.

I gave the woman all our info and she went to the website. She printed something out and said 'here you go'. It was a piece of paper that said 'this is not a boarding pass'. I looked at my watch and it was just 11:05 so I'm guessing it was too early when she tried to check us in. She went back to try again and kept getting the same 'this is not a boarding pass' page. Meanwhile, I could just picture all those precious 'A' seats being scooped up by others. I then very nicely told her that maybe she should just X the page out and start all over again. She did and thankfully, it worked this time. We got A55 and A56. Not bad I guess.

I then went up and got Nick and we were off!

We got to the MK at about noon time. As soon as we walked in we saw two giant lines snaking through the town square. I went up to a CM to ask what characters everyone was waiting for. I'm sure my husband was wishing for someone we already met but low and behold, one line was for Daisy and one was for Pinocchio and Jiminy! Pinocchio was on my list as one of the characters I was hoping to meet so I jumped in line.

Nick stayed in the hot, sunny, 90 degree line with me for about a minute and a half. Then he went to seek AC comforts in a near by store.

There was a CM at the end of the line who told everyone many times that Pinocchio and Jiminy would be out for 15 minute sessions with a 5 minute break in between. Where was this lady the night of the halloween party?

I waited 15 minutes, the 5 minute break, and then maybe another 5 minutes. I saw this guy trot by

And then it was finally my turn!

As much as I really wanted to get in Daisy's line, our ADR at Liberty Tree was fast approaching. We took a detour through Frontierland to grab a Splash fastpass, and then headed off to lunch.

We checked in at 12:50 for a 1pm ADR. This was actually the first time our whole trip that we checked in that late. Every other restaurant we checked in 15 to 30 minutes prior and were always seated within 5 or 10 minutes. This time, we waited and waited for our pager to go off. We even went back to the hostess stand to make sure it was working.

It finally went off at 1:20, 30 minutes after checking in. I really didn't mind but Nick was getting cranky. Especially when we watched the lobby clear out before our eyes. At one point a family of 5 checked in and before they could even sit down their pager went off. Oh well.

We were brought to our table and for the first time in the history of Disney Dining, we were not rushed at all during our meal. We were actually given time to digest our food. Maybe that's why the turnover was slow.

I can't remember our waitresses name but she was excellent. We both ordered the turkey dinner and my oh my, was it delicious. It was Thanksgiving on a plate. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Our waitress came back after a few bites to check on us and I asked if they had cranberry sauce. She said 'we sure do' and brought me over a good size helping. She came back a few minutes later and asked if we needed more gravy. We did so she brought us our own gravy boat. We ate slowly and just enjoyed our last day in Disney.

So dessert, Nick ordered the apple tart and i ordered the ooey gooey toffee cake with vanilla ice cream. When she brought them over, there was chocolate sauce on the ice cream and cake and it did not mention that in the description (I don't like chocolate). I was trying to eat around it but the cake was filled with it also. It also didn't taste very toffee-y. It tasted like a big chocolate chip cookie. Nick could see I was struggling so he volunteered to switch with me. And boy was I glad he did- the apple tart was delicious!

A few pictures

We finally left about 2 hours later and made our way over to Splash to use our fastpasses. Even though we just left the AC, by the time we got there, we were ready to get splashed. Splash Mountain became our best friend.

On the way out, we grabbed a Thunder Mountain fastpass and left Frontierland to go towards Liberty Square. We were right about at Pecos Bills when we heard an announcement. In honor of the Snow White blu ray/dvd release, they would be having a special parade! We pulled over in basically the same spot we watched Boo To You from.

First came this sign along with some cheesy dancers

Then came Snow White and her prince in a horse drawn carriage

more pictures coming

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 8, 2009

Hey, that prince is two timing Cinderella!

The parade finished with the dwarfs doing a cute little dance

We then went on Haunted Mansion again. The line was super long and parts of the queue were roped off. So the line actually ended out near Liberty Square. It seemed to be moving quickly though so we got in line. We were outside for about 15 minutes, then went in to the stretching room. When we exited near where you get in the doombuggies, they stopped moving for the longest time. There were a bunch of CMs around so I'm not sure what the problem was.

We then walked over to the teardop for about the 3rd or 4th time of the trip to see if any characters were out. But once again, no luck.

Nick was in desperate need of a frozen beverage so we hit up Scuttles Landing. He had a frozen coke and I had a frozen red one (cherry maybe?)

We then walked back to Fronteirland to use our BTMR fastpasses. When we got there we were told the ride was closed due to technical problems and to try again later. So we walked over to adventureland and rode Pirates again. Not much of a wait there, maybe 15 minutes.

Then, since we were in the area and I hadn't done it since I was a kid, we went in the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. It was cool, I really liked it.

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 8, 2009

We then went over to Tomorrowland to go on the TTA. Believe it or not, I had never been on before! Apparently, there was new commentary but I didn't read about til we got home. It was all new to me anyway!

A castle view

The EPCOT model

Space Mountain

Another castle view

The claaaaw. oooooh

We then went over to main st. to look in a few more stores. I also wanted to find the character mural I had read about but no one seemed to know what I was talking about. We never found it.

I took 2 more pictures at Tony's because I forgot to look for Lady and the Tramps paw prints when we were there the other day

We were then ready for dinner and we were both in the mood for burgers. So naturally we went to Cosmic Rays!

Nick wanted to sit inside in the AC but I wanted to sit outside to enjoy this view

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 8, 2009

We then walked in and around the castle taking various pictures

The wishing well

Cinderella's fountain

The mosaics

I had learned before we left that one stepsisters face was red with anger and one was green with envy. So of course, I needed this one

One picture looking up at the front of the castle

And one from the front looking down Main St.

It was about 7:15 at this point and when I was taking this picture, I noticed how packed Main St was. I guess it was time to find a spot for the parade!

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 8, 2009

So Nick and I walked up and down Main St and we literally could not find a spot to squeeze the two of us in. There were people who were saving space for families members who weren't there yet which is fine, but I wonder when they got there if they really did need all that space.

Nick wanted to go to Fronteirland to check if our lucky spot across from Pecos Bills was available. I told him that since we had missed Hallowishes that I really wanted a good spot for the fireworks this time. We circled around the hub and finally found a spot in front of some trash cans. How romantic right? There were people to the left and right of the cans, behind them, and even 2 little girls sitting on top of them. But no one was in front of them.

We figured we would just scoot them back a little so we could sit on the curb, but wouldn't you know it, they were bolted to the ground. We had about 3 inches of curb to sit on. And of course our 40 minute wait until the parade was pleasant. First, one of the little girls above us dropped her glow in the dark big plastic toy on my head. Then the other little girl sneezed and Nick and I actually got wet. MMM swine flu!

Oh and by the way, the parents didn't apologize to us when either of these things happened.

Finally, the parade started! Nick once again volunteered to take pictures and deal with my frustrating camera so I could just watch. He's so good to me.

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 8, 2009

After waiting another few minutes, it was time for Wishes!

This was the best shot I could get of Tink.

So pretty... Spectro and Wishes are two of my favorite Disney events so I'm so glad we got to end our trip this way.

After the fireworks I expected most people to head for the exits... wrong again!

Nick and I went to Frontierland and basically spent the last hour and a half or so going back and forth between Splash and Thunder. There were lines at first, but they weren't as bad the last half hour. On one of our Splash rides, the boats stopped and all the lights came on. We saw some CMs walking around. Don't know what that was all about.

Our last ride of the trip was on

After closing, we just slowly walked around, taking more pictures.

As we were leaving, I wanted to get a picture of the pumpkins that said See Ya Real Soon. But would you believe they weren't there? I even asked a CM, who also couldn't believe they were down because they were there for weeks. She said a light must have been out. Sad.

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 8, 2009

When we got back to AKL, they were dusting the ceiling in the lobby! I found it amusing

We went to bed, exhausted from our long, wonderful trip.

Day 10- 10/4 home :cry:

Our last Disney Sunrise

We got up early to pack our things. The DME picked us up at 8am- once again in a Cruise Line bus. This is us at the airport. I was doing a sad face. Nick just looks tired again

The rest of the day was uneventful.

And that was the end of our glorious, wonderus, 10 day trip. It truly was incredible. This will most likely be the last trip Nick and I take just the two of us for a while as we are hoping to start a family soon. I'm glad we got to spend 10 days together at the most magical place on Earth!

Just a few closing notes

Animal Kingdom Lodge was beautiful. It was like being in the middle of no where. It was peaceful and serene. Our room was perfect, our view was perfect. The staff was great, no complaints. Even the bus service was exceptional.
However, I'm not sure if we would stay there again. When we were at the hotel it didn't really feel like we were 'at Disney'. The layout was also large and confusing. Walking to and from our room took a while. If we ever get the chance to stay in a deluxe resort again (doubtful) we decided we would like to try one of the resorts where you can walk to a theme park.

The Dining Plan- we had never done the dining plan and I was glad we did. I don't think it necessarily saved us any money since if we weren't on the plan, we probably wouldn't have eaten at table service restaurants as often as we did. I really liked though that all our meals were paid for ahead of time. Then we didn't have to worry about what we ordered and how much it cost. It also allowed us to try many restaurants that we had never tried before! I would defintely use the dining plan again.

Going in Sept- we specifically picked Sept because I had read in many places that crowds were low. I would say they were about equal to what we experienced in January. In Jan however, the weather was much more mild. What I will say though is that it was incredible that we did not get rained on our entire 10 day stay!! The only day it rained was our first day at DHS and we missed it completely since were on a ride. I almost don't care about how hot it was since we got so lucky with the rain (or lack there of).

I'm not sure when we will be able to go back to Disney. I told my husband I want to go back in 2012 when the first phase of Fantasyland opens. But we will hopefully have a baby or two by then and thinks its crazy to bring a baby to Disney. So I will have to work on that one.

thanks again for reading!!!!

Jessie&Buzz · Oct 9, 2009

Awesome TR! I enjoyed reading it and looking at all of your pics. I'm glad you had a great time. I'm jealous that you were able to go for 10 days. I hope to do that some day. Thanks for sharing!

HopLow · Oct 9, 2009

Wonderful TR!!

harveyt0206 · Oct 10, 2009

Wow, what a great TR. Very detailed. Makes my TR look very anemic. :ROFLOL:

Loved your pics of your room. AKL looks so nice, especially with that lovely Savannah view.

Best of luck with the impending family.

sweetpee_1993 · Oct 10, 2009

Well I totally loved every moment of your TR! Thanks so much for sharing your adventure with us. I still look back at my report from last January and it's like reliving the fun all over again.

DisneyDreamer08 said:
We then went over to main st. to look in a few more stores. I also wanted to find the character mural I had read about but no one seemed to know what I was talking about. We never found it.

Some friends of ours were telling us about the mural, too. It's called like the Hall of Fame mural or something like that. Apparently it's where the photoshop is but back in a CM only area and hidden behind heavy curtains. They have pics of their family in front of it many, many years ago. When they were there the week after Easter this year they looked for it but couldn't find it. They asked a CM & he said it was long gone, long since painted over. They couldn't believe something so huge would've been destroyed so they asked another CM who had no clue what they were talking about. On their way out of the MK one of their last nights they were looking around again and a CM who was waving for stroller returns asked if he could help them find something. My friend explained what she was looking for and this CM said "Yes! I know where that is!" He walked off, came back with another CM (I think they said it was a manager), and they were escorted to where it is behind the curtain. The curtain was pulled back and they took another picture for posterity. Cool, huh? I'm going to get my friend to draw me a map of exactly where it is & take a copy of her pic with me when we go. I want to find it, too.

You soooo have me pumped for the AKL! I can't wait!

And good luck & many blessings with starting a family. I'll help ya out with the DH. Let your him read the following:

We waited until our boys were 6 & 7 years old to take them to WDW because we were determined not to do the stroller thing. Our only regret is that we waited. We wish we had taken them much, much sooner so we could see the magic through their sweet little baby/toddler eyes.

Thanks again for all the fun! :sohappy:

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 11, 2009

Thanks for reading everyone!! :wave:

Sweetpea- thanks for the info on the mural. We actually went into the photo store because I thought thats where it was. We looked around though and couldn't find it. We did find a room/hallway filled with old photos and memorabilia. But after a few minutes of snooping, we started to feel like we were snooping too much!

I think I will be able to convince my husband to go back sooner. The studio I teach at is planning to dance there again as part of Disneys Magic Music Days sometime in the spring/summer of 2011.

I'll just have to wait and see!!

Jerm · Oct 12, 2009

DisneyDreamer08 said:
Does anyone know what the little sign means??? It says, It's easy enough to be pleasant, when life hums along like a song...
The rest is covered and I can't read it.

to be continued shortly...

It's easy enough to be pleasant,
When life hums along like a song.
But the man worth while,
Is the man who can smile,
When everything goes dead wrong.

I can't find what it is from, but they have it in both the TZToT in DHS and DCA

DisneyDreamer08 said:
Day Four- 9/28 The Magic Kingdom

On day four we planned on spending the whole day at Magic Kingdom. The hours that day were 9-9. We once again arrived at about 8:30. The opening show was fun, as usual. Does anyone know why though they refer to the train as Casey Jr? I know that is the train at Disney Land, do they just use the same song?

Casey Jr Circus Train is from Dumbo, they use the song to go along with the overall feel of magic. The Disneyland train is themed to be just like the one from the movie.

DisneyDreamer08 said:
We then made our way over to Ellen's Energy Adventure. Neither of us have seen this before and when we walked in, the pre-show video was already playing. We were confused because we didn't know if the attraction was in progress and if we should come back later. We stayed though and I don't think we missed too much. The ride portion of the attraction was interesting although you can tell the dinosaur section was recycled from another ride.

The Dinos have actually been in the same place since that attraction first opened in 1982, they repainted them and tuned them up a little bit in 96 for the Ellen add, but not recycled.

DisneyDreamer08 · Oct 14, 2009

Hey Jerm! Thanks for answering some of my questions

I would love to know which Twilight Zone episode that song is from. If anyone knows, please let me know!

thanks! :wave:

xsupaxmanxsfnex · Oct 29, 2009

Wow great pictures! Enjoyed reading. That view from your room looked amazing and your picture out of your room at night with Everest and the giraffe was great!

My Trip Report 9/25-10/4 with Photos!

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