Our Sept. 2011 WDW Family Vacation... a little different this year

Hi everyone. This is my first Trip Report since I have been on WDWMAGIC. I have been visiting WDW since I was very small and now have been bringing my daughter since she was 2 1/2. This will mark our 4th Family vacation and she is now 5 1/2. We have many wonderful memories from all of our trips as a family ... and this one was no exception. The only thing that was different this year was we went in a little and our high paced vacation left us feeling a little less magical. It was the first year as it approached we did not get increasingly excited ... while arriving at the airport there was no anticipation... and so on. Looking back in retrospect I think this vacation would have been a better fit for this upcoming late January or February. It was almost as if we needed to be in a quiet place at this particular time with no schedule what so ever.. and being at WDW with a 5 1/2 year old this was not the case . But enough of all of that... I now am home and feeling refreshed and have great memories and pictures and I CAN NOT WAIT!!! to go back and do it again!!!!! So here it goes, our Sept. 2011 WDW Family vacation.

My daughter started Kindergarten on Sept. 6th and 3 days before we left had gotten a horrible head cold.. but luckily by the morning we left she was feeling much better and she did not allow this to affect her, what a trooper! We arrived in Orlando around noon, proceeded to retrieve our luggage, pick up our rental car and we were on our way to Publix on International Drive to get snacks, yummy drinks, bottled water ...this has become our tradition each year and for some reason we all seem to really look forward to this part of the vacation. We arrived at the Caribbean Beach Resort,( this is where we always stay) we love it so... so much space and just beautiful landscaping. We had a great second floor room in the Jamaica section in building 45... nice view and right near the foot bridge for a beautiful walk to Port Royal This is the first year I did not want to just drop my stuff and RUN!! to the Magic Kingdom, I actually wanted to take a nap, ( but I explained why this may have been above) I sent my husband and daughter to the pool while I organized things and took a breather. They returned and we made our way to the Magic Kingdom.

WOW!!! it was crowded! I found this to be the case for the entire trip, 12th - 20th. It didn't matter if it was day or night or what day of the week or what time of day. I think the secret is out! No more empty park in Sept. I have noticed this trend, each year the crowds are a little heavier... it may be time to pick another month to visit. Regardless, we seemed to work it out so we were not waiting on line too long. My daughter being a whole year older had new favorite rides and was viewing the ones she already knew in a new light. Splash Mountain was her top fav. this year with POTC a close second.

We went on Splash Mountain at least five times during our stay.. could have been more, I lost count! This is the first year I encountered Splash Mountain breaking down..... at least 3 of the 5 or more times we rode there were shut down issues as well as some characters not working. One of my favorite parts of the ride was not working the whole week. The jumping water that jumps over your head before you reach the big drop. The canons as well seemed to be shut off. We actually got escorted off one ride just before making the ascend up the BIG hill for the BIG drop!

We also rode BTM quite a few times and loved everyone!! It seemed to go faster when it was dark out.. but I know it really wasn't. One night we rode as wishes was going off and it was beautiful to see the fireworks over head as we rode!

 

[forevermickey]

IMG]http://forums.wdwmagic.com/picture.php?albumid=1542&pictureid=20281[/IMG]

We have never visited Tom Sawyers Island ... this was very quiet and had great views of the Haunted Mansion! We had a Mickey Bar (1 of many many during our trip) while waiting for the raft.

We had a good time our first night, we had dinner at the Columbia Harbor House. We ate upstairs which was empty and quiet.

We left at park closing, I believe 9pm, went back to the resort for a good night sleep to wake up early the next morning for 8am breakfast reservations at the Crystal Palace.

 

[forevermickey]

Now we have also made it a tradition to eat breakfast at the Crystal Palace each year. We always get the first available seating before the park opens. We were there at 8am, which is the same time each year. OH MY GOSH!! it was sooo packed. It usually gets packed by the time we are leaving around 9am. This year we actually had to wait 1/2 hour before getting in! We must of arrived the same time as everyone else.. our timing was off by 15min. Oh well. The waitress was very nice and Rebekah was thrilled to see Pooh and the gang. The food didn't seem as yummy as in the past, but that just could have been me.. not sure if this will still stay a tradition for us every year.

We had a great day in the MK, still was more crowded than we would have liked but again we seemed to do what we wanted without waiting too long. We visited Mickey, Minnie and the Princesses in there new location. It was nice. I don't think it was a down grade from their ToonTown location. I loved! Mickey's new room. His wardrobe was awesome looking and the cute little bunny in the top hat chewing on his carrot on top of the wardrobe was adorable, just couldn't stop looking up at him!

My husband has a fondness for Belle so I thought it fitting for him to take his picture with her

 

[forevermickey]

We had a lunch reservation at Liberty Tavern, which I love. I seemed to forget about a lot of our dining reservations on this trip. We ended up cancelling because we were just not in the mood to sit and eat a big meal and also didn't want to miss out on time in the park. We had to leave early this day, we needed to go back to the resort for a cool down swim and change into our costumes for MNSSHP that evening. So we left the park about 5pm and did just that. We arrived back at the MK about 7:30pm in our costumes, well my daughter and I at least. We were told the monorails would be running until midnight from a young girl at the ticket booth. This was not the case and I will elaborate on this in a moment. OH MY GOSH again!! It was packed!!! It was a Tuesday night and I thought this would be the better night to come (rather than a Friday). I was surprised not to see more people dressed up, why go to a Halloween party and not dress up??LOL. Anyway I did LOVE the parade, we did the later one. The headless horseman was awesome as well as the entire parade. Besides the parade I really don't know what the big hoopla is all about. Please don't stone me for this, lol. Just really don't understand why anyone would pay an extra $55.00 or so to go to this event. But I make the best of everything and I took away great memories. My daughter and husband were just exhausted with no steam left by the end of the night. It was now about 11pm and the parade was over and we began to make our way out. We followed the end of the parade up Main Street and seemed to make it out before the rest of the massive crowd. We started to make our way toward the monorail only to find out it was not running at this hour??? Now I read prior to arriving at WDW that the monorail hours were shortened but the girl in the ticket booth told me the running hours for this evening... except she was wrong We high tailed it for the resort launch, we had parked in the Polynesian Resort lot because we got a little dinner snack there on the way to the party. We made it in line before the MASSIVE crowd. Now if we were not quick on our feet we would of been waiting for over an hour in line for transportation out of the park. This would not of made me very happy. I will not go on about this anymore, lol.

So again back to the resort to pass out and get up early the next morning for breakfast reservations at our new favorite breakfast O'Hana, golf for my husband and the BB Boutique for Rebekah.
It is now Wednesday morning and we had a wonderful 7:30am breakfast at O'hana.

 

[forevermickey]

My husband left for golf and Rebekah and I took the monorail to the MK for the BB Boutique in Cinderella Castle. We were so excited to actually make it for the park opening ceremony. I have never seen this in all my years coming here. Rebekah and have watched it on YouTube and were so happy to see it in person!

This will be her third time at the boutique, we usually go to the DTD location which I love but we wanted to try something new. We had some fun while waiting for our appointment.

Now onto the boutique, we had to wait about 1/2 . I am sure there is not as much room in the castle as in the DTD location but I thought DTD boutique was a little nicer. Everyone was very nice and sweet and our Fairy Godmother in training was wonderful!

Next we had a reservation for lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table but we had some time so we went to see Rapunzel. Poor Rebekah was so hot, tired and hungry and we had to wait at least 1/2 hour in line. But she pulled it together and it was worth it!

Now onto LUNCH!!:slurp: I very much enjoyed my lunch, it was a baked or they said fried chicken(I think it was baked) with trimmings.. which escape me at the moment.. but it sure was good!

 

[forevermickey]

After lunch Rebekah and I went on a couple more attractions including Tiki Birds... it was nice to see the mean, nasty bird gone:lol: Rebekah very much enjoyed the Country Bear Jamboree as I did as well We met my husband back at the Polynesian. We went back to the resort for a swim and off to Whispering Canyon Cafe for dinner. I love the Wilderness Lodge and hope to stay there on our next visit. After a yummy dinner, I always get the Canyon Skillet(I think that is what it is called) we walked the gorgeous grounds, it was night time and it was breath taking! Off to bed for a 7:30am breakfast resi. at Cape Mae Cafe then off to the Animal Kingdom.
Cape Mae has always been my favorite breakfast, but this year seemed to not be. They took away the big vat of oatmeal with all the trimmings. But we ate and filled our bellies and enjoyed the company of Minnie, Donald, and Goofy in their swim suit attire, So CUTE!!

I have a new love for Animal Kingdom that grows larger with each passing visit. I fully enjoyed myself with all this park had to offer.

It was crowded but not like the MK. We went on KS first and got to see beautiful sites!

 

[forevermickey]

I LOVE It's a Bugs life! So funny and cute, though Rebekah is a little freaked by it and keeps her eyes closed, glasses off, and sits on my husbands lap, lol. Rebekah visited every Kidcot station and got a stamp for each one and got to take the pledge at the end.. I loved it!

 

[forevermickey]

We had lunch at Pizzafari. We were supposed to eat at Flam Tree BBQ which I have never, but the other two did not like the menu. I love Pizzafari's murals!

This year Rebekah was tall enough to go on EE! She loved it and went twice! We had a great time at Animal Kingdom!

 

[forevermickey]

The Gorillas were awesome. One seemed to want to pose for the cameras. He just sat there then would change his position always seeming to make sure he was sitting just so to get his picture taken. It was hard to pull away, they were memorizing.

That evening we met friends at Captain Jacks for dinner. My first time there. It was ok, I had a special that was a bucket of seafood which was hard to find in the bucket, lol. But the waitress was great, the atmosphere was relaxing. Epcot was the next day and my husband was starting to break down with exhaustion. I should have scheduled a day of rest but... onward we go! We grabbed breakfast at the resorts grab and go and headed to Epcot. I love Epcot and ended up coming back 2 more times during my visit.

Again the crowds were heavier than we were use to. Rebekah and Nick LOVE Test Track, so that was a must. My favorite pavilion is The Land and I think it is Rebekah's too! We went on Soarin, LOVE IT!!! and Living with the Land. I could ride this boat ride over and over, I just love it, I actually did... about 3 maybe 4 times.

 

[forevermickey]

After enjoying future world we headed to World Showcase around 11:30am. We did have a Le Cellier lunch reservation.. can you believe I cancelled it???? Man I was just not myself this trip. Instead I had counter service fish and chips!!! I have eaten at Rose and Crown before and loved it!! The "to go" fish and chips did not compare in taste to the sit down, oh well. I did FINALLY get to see Off Kilter!! while enjoying a tasty Bass Ale from Rose and Crown outdoor Pub. They are awesome. I was hoping to catch the guy with the bag pipes but a gentleman with a violin was in his place.. they are so good.

We left Epcot pretty early and headed back to the resort for a little down time. That evening we went to DTD, this was NOT a good idea! I failed to realize it was Friday night. You lose track of days while on vacation! OH HELP ME! You couldn't move! We were suppose to eat at Earl of Sandwich which is a fav. of ours but the line was out the door. I brought my husband over to see the inside of T-Rex, which I think it pretty awesome looking. Then we left DTD to try to find something to eat somewhere. We ended up eating something not so desirable at the resort food court. We went to bed.

 

[forevermickey]

Saturday morning was breakfast at Whispering Canyon and this was our Chill Out Day. We had a nice filling breakfast. Our waitress!! Oh my gosh did she play her roll well!

After breakfast we went outside to the marina to rent boats!! We have never done this before. It was wonderful!!! We fully enjoyed this relaxing experience and plan to do it again. To see the resorts and MK from afar while the sun was shining on our face and the wind blowing past us was just what we needed.

 

[forevermickey]

Yes that is Duffy you see in the pictures! It was love at first site for Rebekah and Duffy goes everywhere with us at home too. I had my husband drop Rebekah and I off at Epcot so I could enjoy a little more. He needed some more down time so he went back to the hotel and watched TV!:shrug:
Rebekah got to meet Duffy, that was cool!

My husband met us a few hours later and we watched illuminations. I have not seen it since it has changed from way long ago. We ALL loved it. We walked back to the Beach Club. This is where he parked. We were starving so we went into their counter service location and got delicious sandwiches! This food was a big upgrade from our resort! We went back to the resort and fell into a deep sleep. The next morning was a Chef Mickey breakfast reservation. We were losing steam and were late... we were going to wait but my GOSH!!! it was crowded and we wanted to get to back into the MK one last time before the end of our trip. We ate at the Contempo Cafe next to Chef Mickey's and on our way we went. Again, did I mention how crowded it was??? But we went on our fav.s and anything else we did not get to see yet.

 

[93boomer]

My husband left for golf and Rebekah and I took the monorail to the MK for the BB Boutique in Cinderella Castle. We were so excited to actually make it for the park opening ceremony. I have never seen this in all my years coming here. Rebekah and have watched it on YouTube and were so happy to see it in person!

This will be her third time at the boutique, we usually go to the DTD location which I love but we wanted to try something new. We had some fun while waiting for our appointment.

Now onto the boutique, we had to wait about 1/2 . I am sure there is not as much room in the castle as in the DTD location but I thought DTD boutique was a little nicer. Everyone was very nice and sweet and our Fairy Godmother in training was wonderful!

Next we had a reservation for lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table but we had some time so we went to see Rapunzel. Poor Rebekah was so hot, tired and hungry and we had to wait at least 1/2 hour in line. But she pulled it together and it was worth it!

Now onto LUNCH!!:slurp: I very much enjoyed my lunch, it was a baked or they said fried chicken(I think it was baked) with trimmings.. which escape me at the moment.. but it sure was good!

Now that picture with Rapunzel is sooo cute! Love your pix! Keep them coming!

 

[forevermickey]

We had the best weather... but the sky's did open up this one afternoon and boy did it come down for about an hour. I was on Space Mountain (for about the 10th time!)while this happened. Nick and Rebekah waited for me under the TTA while it poured. Rebekah was happy because she got to use her Minnie poncho!

The rain did stop, we had lunch as Cosmic Ray's... gotta LOVE that toppings bar! We caught the parade; all Disney Parades just put a smile on your face no matter what the case!

 

[forevermickey]

We had one more day left and I needed to get back to Epcot by myself this time. I wanted to enjoy World Showcase one more time before our departure. My husband dropped me off while he and Rebekah went swimming. I got to watch Reflections of China, love this film. I was able to stroll and take it in. Great time I had all by myself!

The Drummers in Japan were awesome. I was disappointed not to be able to get to the gardens in Japan because of the refurbishing of the restaurant. China has become a fav. pavilion of mine the last two years. I don't no why, I just love walking around and taking in all the beautiful architecture of the buildings.

 

[forevermickey]

It was so nice to freely walk around a beloved place and not have to talk to anyone, like a 5 year old, lol. It was the first time I was able to do this in so so so long.

It was time for me to leave and meet back up with my little family. I grabbed a base ale ( I am really a wine drinking gal, but a good dark beer is nice once in a while) at Rose and Crown and took off for the international gateway to walk to the Breach Club to meet them in the parking lot. Now I thought I would leisurely walk back to the resort while enjoying my base ale.. but little did I know I was not allowed to cross through the turnstiles with this beverage. So I walked to the side for about 5 min. making sure I was out of view while continuing to sip, I then placed the large cup into my bag ever so carefully and proceeded through the turnstiles to my destination. I was waiting for someone to stop and frisk me (lol) but I got away clean and clear! What a bad ______ I am (not!).
The next morning we were headed to Hollywood Studios. We made this a quick trip, we were progressively losing more and more steam. Our main objective here was the Tower of Terror. Rebekah was now also tall enough for this attraction and she couldn't wait!! She loved it and we rode twice! I hit RR, we watched Playhouse Disney because Jake and the Neverland Pirates were new this year. We checked out One Man's Dream and we were out of there. I would LOVE to visit Hollywood Studios some time when the crowds are lighter( again BIG Crowds, hard to move) The buildings are so pretty and detailed. But it is hard to take in this atmosphere because the park is small and can not handle as many people.

 

[forevermickey]

Well my friends the end is near... we had dinner at Raglan Road that evening and it was not too crowded this night. We enjoyed our meal. While meandering around they had a great band playing in the West Side area and then when leaving through Pleasure Island we spotted this.. not sure what you call these entertainers, but it was neat! Rebekah walked over and the statue reached her hand down to hold Rebekah's!

We all went to bed and I woke up and proceeded to get "sick" in the bathroom. I don't know if I had gotten sick from the food or caught a stomach bug:hurl:. The next morning my stomach was still not right but I was not going to miss out on our traditional goodbye Disney breakfast at the Kona Cafe! We arrived at 8:30am, enjoyed some good eats, strolled through the beautiful Polynesian Resort and left for the airport Well farewell my home away from home. Until we meet again. Of course we had a good time because we were at Disney. I would love to enjoy and adult trip with my husband one day.. it will be hard to leave my WDW enthusiast daughter behind, but it must be done some day, lol. Well that's it, thanks for reading!

 

[93boomer]

Well my friends the end is near... we had dinner at Raglan Road that evening and it was not too crowded this night. We enjoyed our meal. While meandering around they had a great band playing in the West Side area and then when leaving through Pleasure Island we spotted this.. not sure what you call these entertainers, but it was neat! Rebekah walked over and the statue reached her hand down to hold Rebekah's!

We all went to bed and I woke up and proceeded to get "sick" in the bathroom. I don't know if I had gotten sick from the food or caught a stomach bug:hurl:. The next morning my stomach was still not right but I was not going to miss out on our traditional goodbye Disney breakfast at the Kona Cafe! We arrived at 8:30am, enjoyed some good eats, strolled through the beautiful Polynesian Resort and left for the airport Well farewell my home away from home. Until we meet again. Of course we had a good time because we were at Disney. I would love to enjoy and adult trip with my husband one day.. it will be hard to leave my WDW enthusiast daughter behind, but it must be done some day, lol. Well that's it, thanks for reading!

Now that is strange! I ate at Raglan Road our last trip and got sick too that night! Wonder if we ate the same thing?? Enjoyed all your pictures!! Great PT report! Hope you get back real soon! Thanks for sharing!

 

[forevermickey]

93 Boomer! Really?? I had It ain't bleeden chower.. did you eat something with seafood? I swear my stomach wasn't right for at least a week to a week and 1/2 later. So I thought it was a stomach bug. BTW.. my late 16 year old pup's name was Boomer.. great name!

 

[jhoff3405]

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/picture.php?albumid=1542&pictureid=20354[/IMG]

QUOTE]

You have a beautiful family.

LOVE the pic of the backside of Duffy & your daughter! I never knew Duffy had a mickey head on his rear!

Thanks for sharing your report, I am impressed how you posted it all so quickly!