Trip Report Our 2nd Anniversary DREAMy Boardwalk Adventure (Sept. 2015) COMPLETED

myhappyplace · Sep 29, 2015

We want back to the room, showered and cleaned ourselves up, and headed over to the Beach/ Yacht Club side of the lagoon. We hadn't been inside either yet, and we had some time, so we explored a little of the Yacht Club first.

View of the Boardwalk from the other side

On to the Beach Club

Cute beachy details in here

Took us a bit to figure out how to get to Beaches & Cream...we went around Cape May, then couldn't quite figure out what to do, until we realized we had to go outside by the pool.

Passing Cape May-I have a thing for colorful beach umbrellas (spoilers for Castaway Cay)

We were a bit early (seems to be a theme with us), so we checked in, got our buzzer, and sat near the pool.

We were SO impressed with the lifeguards at Stormalong Bay pool!! Never standing still, constant surveillance and checking. There was one in particular that I wish we were close enough to see his name...we almost asked because we would have emailed Disney about the fine job he was doing. He was like a machine.

After a few minutes, we were in!

Seriously so cute in here. Very small, but the themeing is right up my alley...love the oldies/ malt shop vibe.

myhappyplace · Sep 29, 2015

Our server Brian was great! So polite. He turned on the Kitchen Sink alarm and announced that it was our anniversary when he brought out our banana split we were splitting. Very nice of him!

This was our server Brian serving a Kitchen Sink to the table next to us.

DH decided that he would like to go to Epcot just for Illuminations...3 parks in 1 day? Sure, let's do it! We left right from Beaches & Cream, entered through the international gateway, and found the first open decent spot we came to, the bridge between Great Britain and France. Turned out to be a good spot.

Kinda hazy, but I like it

I hadn't seen it in a couple of trips, so it was good to see again, I love the music! DH really enjoyed it, too, having never seen it. Alright, so that wraps up the day, tomorrow is BoG breakfast and Magic Kingdom! Thanks for reading!

fractal · Sep 30, 2015

myhappyplace said:
Tuesday, September 15

DH and I were up early with our alarm, and ready to head to DHS for rope drop. We had a learning curve with the early morning humidity/ foggy lens thing, so forgive some slightly foggy morning pictures.

Off we go!

I would guess the walk was only about 10 minutes, no trouble at all, and a very pleasant walk at that. In no time we could see in the distance-

DH'S idea-

Frozen topiaries

DH'S vision-

Waiting at the entrance gates, we were second in our lane, behind a nice family who gave us photography pointers (I expressed interest in getting a wide angle lens, wish I could remember what he suggested...oops)

We've moved up to the intersection of Sunset & Hollywood

Since we were visiting DAK later in the day, and had gotten our FP for there, we were off to....

The "fog" is your shots may also have been caused by taking the camera out of air conditioned temperature into warmer air. A trick I learned to avoid this is to warm up your lens a bit with a hair dryer before going outside.

Love the Mickey in the "O" shot! Very nice use of depth of field and love all the small details shots. Also love those elephant shots!

Mrhappyplace · Sep 30, 2015

prfctlyximprct said:
Obsessed with your trip report! The details you captured are amazing! I am loving this.. thank you so much for sharing!!!

Glad your reading along, your Wilderness Lodge/Cruise trip report was the first trip report I read and I really admire how you can express your emotions so well in your reports.

fractal said:
The "fog" is your shots may also have been caused by taking the camera out of air conditioned temperature into warmer air. A trick I learned to avoid this is to warm up your lens a bit with a hair dryer before going outside.

Love the Mickey in the "O" shot! Very nice use of depth of field and love all the small details shots. Also love those elephant shots!

Thanks for the tip, we will have to try to remember that one. I'm slowly making my way through your latest trip report and loving your photography!

I took a couple of variations of the Mickey in the "O" shot changing the focus slightly and seeing what our camera could do. I'm really pleased that someone who takes such nice shots enjoyed my camera work.

Other notes,

I had hoped I'd be able to meet (and fistbump) Baymax but it wasn't to be. Kinda wish we had more time to spend in Hollywood Studios but we did the main things we planned on.

The ribs at Flametree were without a doubt the best value for the price we had this trip. From the smells emanating from Harambe market I was tempted to pick something up there too but I knew we had Beaches & Cream coming up shortly.

The Lion King show is awesome, last year we saw the Broadway musical version of it and I would see the one at Animal Kingdom over it any day of the week. Right before the show started a child started crying besides us, the older gentleman seated in front of the family quickly pulled out some lollipops and offered them to the children behind him which they gladly accepted and were quiet throughout the show. The man smiled throughout the entire show and I could tell he had seen it many times before but I was very impressed in how he handled the crying child situation and how he was prepared and wasn't going to let a thing like that ruin his enjoyment of the show.

We were impressed by the lifeguards at the Stormalong Bay pool, the one in particular who never stopped surveying his area of the pool really struck me as almost robotic in his dedication to his duty especially considering that nobody was in that area of the pool but he did not allow that to stop him from scanning constantly.

This was the first day I remembered to wear my podometer and at the end of the night it said we walked 19.2 miles. I actually thought we had done a little more then that but while we did do 3 parks in one day (walking to two of them no less) we really only stepped into World Showcase and quickly found a open spot to watch Illuminations which was a Must Do for me on this trip.

Mom@disney · Sep 30, 2015

As I said before, I adore Animal Kingdom. There is something so peaceful and serene about it, I don't know...I guess it's maybe my love for animals. I always cry during the Lion King show. My kids say I'm a sap who cries at the drop of a hat. It's absolutely beautiful and breathtaking, the performers are amazing and just make you want to dance and sing right along with them.
Great spot for Illuminations!

myhappyplace · Sep 30, 2015

fractal said:
The "fog" is your shots may also have been caused by taking the camera out of air conditioned temperature into warmer air. A trick I learned to avoid this is to warm up your lens a bit with a hair dryer before going outside.

Love the Mickey in the "O" shot! Very nice use of depth of field and love all the small details shots. Also love those elephant shots!

Oh that's a great tip! We battled that all week, and even on the cruise! So much so, the first morning on the cruise I really thought it was ruined...I knew not to change lenses outside at that point of the day, but it seemed like there was fog inside the lens, not outside. I was in tears! But we just left it in the room for a short time while we went somewhere, and when we came back it was fine.

DH had quite the eye for some of the photos. ..that was all him. It was fun to teach him about how to get the effect he was going for. We are going to get him a camera before our next trip so that we don't have to share.

Mom@disney said:
As I said before, I adore Animal Kingdom. There is something so peaceful and serene about it, I don't know...I guess it's maybe my love for animals. I always cry during the Lion King show. My kids say I'm a sap who cries at the drop of a hat. It's absolutely beautiful and breathtaking, the performers are amazing and just make you want to dance and sing right along with them.
Great spot for Illuminations!

I find myself tearing up quite often at Disney too, sometimes it is the actual show that dies it, sometimes it is thinking about people who are no longer with us who used to love a particular show, etc.

It was, we were so pleased because I honestly couldn't remember if it would be a good view, but I knew we were too close to show time to find anything different/better.

Thanks for reading along!

Beastly74 · Sep 30, 2015

I love all of your photos - you capture so much detail. The safari pictures are fantastic

. Thanks for sharing!

myhappyplace · Sep 30, 2015

Beastly74 said:
I love all of your photos - you capture so much detail. The safari pictures are fantastic . Thanks for sharing!

Thank you so much!! Detail is kind of my goal, I guess you could say...since I've been 11 or 12 times, I like trying to take shots that aren't always seen and done, or that I don't already have in my albums from previous trips. Plus, there are always new details to capture at WDW! Thanks for reading along!

Next installment coming up!

myhappyplace · Sep 30, 2015

Wednesday, September 16th

We were up and at 'em early this morning, we had a Be Our Guest breakfast to get to! The day prior, I had called down to the front desk to inquire when a Magic Kingdom bus would be departing Boardwalk, and the woman said an hour prior to opening. Being that our ADR was at 8:25, we assumed that we would need to take a taxi or drive ourselves, because those times wouldn't have worked. However, just as we were walking out the door, we saw that MK bus was already there. There was already a couple on the bus, who seemed to be trying to get somewhere early as well. We thought the bus would leave right after us, but then another couple came running down the pathway, and we could hear the first couple muttering "c'mon, c'mon..." so we were sure then that they had an early ADR or tour. So we asked....turns out they were taking the Trains of the Magic Kingdom tour that morning. Thankfulky, the bus did leave then. We were SO early, that we were sure they wouldn't let us in yet, but they did! So we had quite some time (we think it was about an hour before our ADR that they let us in-totally did not expect that!!) To explore and take empty park photos, wheeee!! Couldn't have worked out more perfectly.

And, just so you all know, "my happy place" is that spot where the tracks form a point. I could just stand there and take in the views all day.

Yep, you guessed it...

I was just a picture snappin' grinnin' fool!

My first time seeing all of the hub additions...I had been following thathe thread like mad before the trip

A group of cast members was walking by this location, and one of them-her name was Jen, who was Earning her Ears, kindly offered to take a picture of the two of us

Overall, I loved the new hub!

myhappyplace · Sep 30, 2015

Then we walked up the path by Liberty Square, headed to Fantasy land

A beautiful sight, the empty carousel

DH had no luck pulling the sword from the stone...

And then we checked in at...

myhappyplace · Sep 30, 2015

While we were standing in line to check in, there was a bridal photo shoot happening...

We would be seeing you later!

And you too!

Even though we had placed our orders online, we confirmed them, and then we sat ourselves in the West Wing. The one other time we ate dinner there, we sat in the ballroom, so this time, DH was glad we got to try another room.

DH had the Eggs Florentine, and I had the Croquet Madame. Soooooo good! We were a bit leery about paying so much for breakfast, but figured the time spent in a basically empty MK figured into the price for us. But this food was really good, so were pleased that we decided to give this a try, and would do it again!

Our goal was to eat, and then hit up Peter Pan right as the park was opening, because we didn't have a FP for this, I loooove this ride, and I hadn't seen the new queue yet. We left BoG at around 9:05, and walked directly there, and hoped in line, which was a short wait. I think it was a 10 minute wait maybe?

I feel so important when I get one of these

The queue was adorable!! The line moved even a little faster than I would have liked.

DH liked it more than he feared he would. It's one of my very faves.

After Peter Pan, we headed to Haunted Mansion, with a stop at the best bathrooms in the World....love them!

I made DH do a selfie with me-the song "I See the Light" from Tangled was our wedding song.

Then he wanted one of me kissing him

A man and his family were sitting nearby and asked if he wanted him to take one of us, so we said "sure". It took several minutes for him to figure my camera out, then we got this. It was such a nice gesture, I didn't have the heart to point out how blurry it was...

Yeah I'm a bit obsessed with this movie and area...we did ask if Flynn Ryder was still meeting, but the Cast Member said she didn't think so.

myhappyplace · Sep 30, 2015

Yes, not even the bathroom stalls were safe!!

And, some apples for Maximus, and alright, alright I'm done!!

Then, we continued on to HM. The crowds really hadn't made their way back yet, so there was no wait. We explored the queue a bit.

DH getting up close & personal. He better be careful, they do have room for one more!

After HM, we went to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and again, very little wait. DH was the lucky guy this time

Even though we had a FP for Splash later in the day, since it had very little wait, we decided to hop in line then, and we were then able to change that FP to Space Mountain.

It was almost time for our first FP, 7DMT. We wandered that way, though apparently stopped in Liberty Square first-

Back to Fantasy land where we saw these guys

This would be our first time on 7DMT, it was still being built when we were there last.

It was short, but I thought that swinging motion was so unique, I think I kept saying how cool it felt to me. Very enjoyable!

Then we went to see what the wait for The Little Mermaid was, and it was very low, like 10 or 15 maybe, but that really was the walk in...we got right on.

Such amazing detailing!

Sigh. Favorite movie and scene. Followed closely by the lake/lantern scene in Tangled. Bet you never would have guessd, right?

As you can see, we were getting right on many attractions with very little, if any wait! Next up (tomorrow night), more MK and rain!

Cetta · Oct 1, 2015

I love your trip report! You have totally convinced me to get ADRs at Beaches and Cream for our next trip, we love burgers and ice cream! I am also now looking forward to going to the bathroom at MK in the Tangled restrooms! haha We haven't been to the World since Sept 2012 so your photos of the new stuff is really helping me plan and get a feel on what is new. thanks!

Mom@disney · Oct 1, 2015

That is awesome that you got in to MK so early. Those pictures you captured are amazing! The "kiss the girl" scene from the little Mermaid is my most favourite scene of all time from my most favourite movie! I painted a picture of that scene for my hubby for Valentines Day.

myhappyplace · Oct 1, 2015

Cetta said:
I love your trip report! You have totally convinced me to get ADRs at Beaches and Cream for our next trip, we love burgers and ice cream! I am also now looking forward to going to the bathroom at MK in the Tangled restrooms! haha We haven't been to the World since Sept 2012 so your photos of the new stuff is really helping me plan and get a feel on what is new. thanks!

You totally should! I would definitely eat there again! And yes, those bathrooms are amazing....gotta love us Disney fans...thanks for reading!

myhappyplace · Oct 1, 2015

Mom@disney said:
That is awesome that you got in to MK so early. Those pictures you captured are amazing! The "kiss the girl" scene from the little Mermaid is my most favourite scene of all time from my most favourite movie! I painted a picture of that scene for my hubby for Valentines Day.

I know, I was prepared to be told we had to wait until 8:00 so we were overjoyed! Aw, that sounds like a lovely gift!!

myhappyplace · Oct 1, 2015

Wednesday, September 16th, continued...

After The Little Mermaid, we headed next to Tomorrowland-we had the idea that since it worked to walk on Splash earlier, and then change the FP to something else, that we might be able to do it again with Space Mountain. Alas, not to be...I can't remember if it was down or had a longer wait that what we wanted to do standby. Regardless, we took a trip on the TTA...a first for DH. The moving sidewalk was not operational, and let me tell ya, that was a hard trek up!!! But we made it, and boarded for a scenic trip around Tomorrowland.

After TTA, we got in line for Buzz. It wasn't incredibly long, I would say 15 or 20. We were behind a woman and her daughter who was maybe 5. She started asking us where the rides for her daughter were. I told her that she would probably like Buzz, but told her how to get to Fantasyland. She explained that she hadn't been to WDW in I think 20 years, and they had just come straight from the airport and had done zero planning. Oh boy, DH and I thouht, but we tried giving her some pointers, like coming back to MK at park open, etc. I also gave her our map (we don't really use them, but I keep them from each trip). She was very grateful, but I wondered how they made out the rest of their vacation.

We stopped a couple of times in Buzz, so you'd think we would have higher scores, but no. Still a fun time.

We decided that since we still had quite a bit of time before our Space Mountain FP, that we would go for a round trip on the Railroad. So we walked the path between Tomorrowland and Storybook Circus, aka, Nicotine Alley (our name for it) to the train station. We just missed one pulling out, so waited for the next one.

And then off we went around the Magic Kingdom

After a full round trip, we walked the same path back to Tomorrowland

DH accidentally made the lap bar too tight on his stomach and so during the ride was quite uncomfortable. We planned on lunch after this, but then we weren't sure if he could eat after that, but he did manage.

So we walked through Fantasyland toward our lunchtime choice: Columbia Harbor House.

Dave was interested in the lobster roll, and I got the fish platter. Turns out, one bite in, DH knew the lobster roll was not for him due to the peppers. I tried a bite, and told him I could finish it, and he could have the fish. I am not big on seafood other than fish itself, but it was fine because it was mayo-salad like. We were able to find a table, the upstairs was about 3/4 full, but we were easily able to find a table. It was nice and calm up there, too, as opposed to downstairs.

Then, we cut through Liberty Square toward Main Street. Our final FP of the day was for the afternoon parade. We had a goal before that though (and we were cutting it close). Here's the spot-

And here's the prize-

Two things about this pit stop:
1. There was a couple who didnt speak English very well in there a few ahead of us, who ordered 2 of the Mickey Kitchen Sinks. The CM at the register thought they were specifying which 2 ice cream flavors they wanted, but they were saying they in fact wanted two of them. There was still a miscommunication happening (the CM was from New Zealand-with a to die for accent!). Anyway, he asked one of his coworkers behind the ice cream counter to come speak to them in their language, which she did, and reiterated that they did indeed want 2. Several of us looked at each other with an expression of "I don't think they are aware of the size of them", but to each his own. So, lo and behold, when they come out, the woman had the widest eyes ever, and turned around and mouthed to the rest of us "it's so big!", and we sort of said "yeah, we wondered if you knew what you were doing..."

2. We made a BIG mistake by getting our ice cream before we went and found our FP parade spot (which had a little snafu, because apparently the FP I made are under my maiden name, and would not show up on my magic band this time, so we had to explain to the CM, and he did let us in). Anyway, by the time we sat down, it was already so melted. We didn't think to grab any spoons, so we did the best we could but it was a mess! Lesson learned!

myhappyplace · Oct 1, 2015

We were ready for the parade-a first for both of us!

Here it comes!!! Picture overload too!

Loved Ulf!!

myhappyplace · Oct 1, 2015

Rapunzel noticed a little girl who was dressed up like her-

And my main man

Pouting Tinker Bell

DH's girl-

myhappyplace · Oct 1, 2015

Finishing up the parade-

The main mice!

That's a bubble in front of Pluto

Such a cute parade!!

After it, we headed back to Liberty Square for something in all my trips, I had never done. Hall of Presidents. And I'm a history fan too, shame, shame. I just never had anyone with me who wanted to do it. This is one attraction that DH has some vague recollections of from when he was younger. I really enjoyed it. When it was over, I had a space cadet moment, where though I know you're supposed to exit to your right from the theater, for some unknown reason I tried to go left, and DH joked "your other right" and the man in front of us cracked up so hard, you'd think he never heard that joke before!

One of the official presidential seals

Then, no trip to MK is complete without

We split one. Yum. O.

Then, the rain. The rain came down pretty good. We decided to head in out, after a restroom stop at Casey's. I took this so I would remember that that's when it rained

We went by bus back to the Boardwalk after what I'd call a great day at MK. We most likely napped for a bit. Or maybe that came after dinner. For dinner, we ordered a pizza from the pizza window at the rsort, and got a couple of desserts from the bakery.

And that's it for the day! Tomorrow is Epcot Day! Thanks for reading along!

Trip Report Our 2nd Anniversary DREAMy Boardwalk Adventure (Sept. 2015) COMPLETED

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