Trip Report Teaching our niece about #DDTRW!

To all that come to this happy trip report, welcome!

I will explain what #DDTRW is a bit later when it becomes a relevant part of the report. but first, a Quick back story: We, (my wife and I) have been to WDW dozens of times since we have been together. We have visited on joint trips with my family, her family and even both sides of the family at the same time. We have most often visited with just each other. But this trip was something we have been trying to do for several years now and it finally worked out! We have wanted to bring one of our nieces or nephews on a trip with just us. We love having them spend the night or an entire day with us when we are at home but we have never experienced WDW with them sans parents.

My sister and brother were always a bit nervous about sending one of their kids with us when they were younger and I cant blame them since we do not have kids and have not been through all the scenarios that could arise with a young one in tow. But now they are all over the age of 10. We originally asked my sister since her kids have AP's but she kept stalling on getting back to us, (she is still a bit overbearing with her kids). A week or so later I was speaking with my brother and he informed that they may be skipping their annual Disney trip due to his work and also having some major house projects done. We asked if we could take his daughter "C", who will be referred to as "C-Minor" in this TR since my wife is also C. He agreed without hesitation!

My parents had a trip planned and were bringing all the grand kids with them and I figured since she would be visiting again with us shortly after, that the best thing to do would be to get her Annual Pass rather than have my brother spend money on two separate park tickets. C and I decided we would pay for her AP since my brother had a lot to pay for with his house projects. Plus, this would allow us to bring her on future trips if all went with this trip! C-Minor was absolutely over the moon when she learned she would be returning to WDW just a few weeks after her recent trip. And soon after, the trip was upon us!!!

We headed out of Atlanta just before 6 am and were hoping to avoid traffic. As usual, I was up at 4 am and ready to leave at 5, but it somehow took C an extra hour to get ready

C-Minor just woke up, hopped in the car and promptly fell back asleep for the first few hours of the trip.

We did not encounter any Atlanta traffic and made excellent time on the road. We stopped in Gainseville (Fla.) to grab a quick bite at Maple Street Biscuit Company. C and her mom fell in love with this place on their last trip when they tried it. It was seriously good and highly recommend it. We ordered our food to go and hooped back into the car (with lots of napkins so we didnt make a mess).

We got back on the road and made a quick stop for my "go-go juice" at the Publix in Apopka.

Soon after we were under the arches!

A few minutes after that we were home!

Welcome to Jambo House at AKL!!

Up next, checking in to our room and heading to our first park!

Thanks for following along and sorry for the text heavy intro. Lots more pics to come!! Have a great day!

 

[riverside]

Tough call on the hidden Mickey. Not sure what to say.

I agree with you--I think the Fuel Rods are great!! I swap mine out all the time & let family/friends borrow it when they are going also!!

 

[krause]

We were told in the Caring for Giants tour that there are no hidden Mickeys in all of Pandora because Joe Rohde wanted it to feel like a separate “world”. So it’s probably not a permanent hidden Mickey, just a rebellious CM

 

[wdisney9000]

We were told in the Caring for Giants tour that there are no hidden Mickeys in all of Pandora because Joe Rohde wanted it to feel like a separate “world”. So it’s probably not a permanent hidden Mickey, just a rebellious CM

Well, either the CM on the Caring for Giants tour is also a bus driver, or someone disobeyed Rhodes orders because there is a Hidden Mickey in NRJ,

It's on the Shamans cloak

 

[fractal]

Day 2 contd...


One thing I forgot about FoP. In the FP queue when you pass the large window that looks into the lab area of the standby queue, we noticed three red buckets placed in the shape of a potential Hidden Mickey that were inside the lab area. We debated the legitimacy of this actually being a Hidden Mickey. The girls said tit was, but I did not agree. Here is the picture I got which is blurry since I took it thru a window
View attachment 298033

My argument was that a CM possibly placed them there in that position in an attempt to make a Hidden Mickey, but IMO, the head part of the Mickey should be larger than the ears. The girls said it doesnt matter. I agreed to label it an "abstract" Hidden Mickey but they felt compelled to convince me otherwise. We debated it as we waited in line. What do you guys and gals think?

As we headed out of AK, I made a quick stop at Island Mercantile for a fresh Fuel Rod.

View attachment 298032

I saw a few people in a thread here mention that the stopped using fuel rods because they "never" work. I have been using them for about a year now and even my mom and dad take mine when they visit and use it for exchanges. We have not experienced any problems with any fuel rods and I would guess that between my parents, C and myself that we have made well over 50 fuel rod exchanges or "swaps" as the machine call them. The only issue we have had was our last trip in April when a fuel rod only charged my phone about 10% in two hours. We swapped it out and same thing happened with the new one. I switched the cable I was using to charge it and bam! Full Power! I mentioned that in the thread to naysayers but they said they tried that and still had problems. Anyway, we are glad Disney installed these machines and they have made it easier for us to take lots of pictures and videos without or phones dying.

Soon we were back at AKL and at the pool. The girls prepared some lunch for us all and we had a little poolside picnic.

View attachment 298037

View attachment 298038

Minor made a comment about ho she loved the deluxe resort pools because the lounge chairs are not made of plastic like the ones at All Star. I have no idea what the chairs at All Star are actually made of, but we had a god laugh at her observation.

We had a nice relaxing swim after lunch and practiced our under water hand stands some more. There was a CM hosting a trivia game poolside that we played along with. We didnt actually sign in, but just answered the question amongst ourselves. But we did not like that the CM was not giving out the answers after each question but instead just moving on to the next question and the answers would be given after all questions were asked. He was also taking a lot of time in between each question to ask if he should raise or lower the difficulty and if a new player started he would repeat each question and give them time to answer. By the time he was on the fifth question, at least 25 minutes had passed. We stayed about another 40 minutes and as were hanging out there were several families that were leaving the pool an wanted to know how well they had did but his "rules" required waiting for all the questions to be asked. However, he was giving out little trinkets to each of the kids who had to leave.

The girls found a nice spot in the pool by the zero entry area and just relaxed for awhile and I grabbed Stiltsville at the bar and enjoyed some World Cup action.

View attachment 298039

As usual in WDW, two parents with their kids took up 4 chairs at the bar and ordered soda. They stayed there a good bit of time which irks me because there were several adults that walked up looking to have a drink and watch the game but could not since there was no seating. Adults should know that most bartenders work for tips and to take up prime seating and order soda does not exactly allow for a decent tip. I will admit that its possible hey could have tipped well, but I doubt it because on of the ladies asked for lids when they left and the bartender explained they do not use any lids at the resort for the safety of the animals. The woman told him that they needed lids because they were getting in the car with their drinks. She said it in a snarky tone as if the animals safety was secondary to her possibly getting soda spilled in it. The bartender simply repeated exactly what he said the first time. The woman was not pleased and that is why I doubt she left a decent tip or even a tip at all. I wanted to ask her if they were staying at the resort and she if were to answer "yes", I would ask why should book a resort to enjoy the beautiful animals but not care about the safety, or if she answered "no" I would simply tell her that if she wanted to pool hop she should know more about the resort she planned to take advantage of....for free!!!

I bit my tongue and they left sans lids. Beat it lady and teach your kids how to hold a cup in the car.

Up next, HS and and ADR first for Minor!

agree with you on the red buckets - however, I think I do see a hidden Mickey in C's side of grapes.

 

[LadyBelle]

I am firmly in the camp of Team Fuel Rod. I use the one I have at home all the time and will swap it out next time I go.

 

[wdisney9000]

Day 2 cntd...


We left the pool and showered up to head to HS. I took a beer for the walk down to the bus stop and it was one of the beers I bought to try out. It was 3 Daughters Brewing Company and he Beer was Bimini Twist IPA.

It was not good at all, IMO. I did finish it though. @lostpro9het had mentioned in my live report about not being too impressed with most of the Fla breweries and he was definitely correct about this one. For $11 for a 6 pack I would expect a beer to not have such a battery acid type of flavor, lol.

We got to the bus stop with about 45 minutes to spare until our ADR. And of course this was one of those times when a bus for every park pull up except the one you need to get to. And of course at lest 3 Disney Springs buses pulled up before a HS bus did. It took almost 30 minutes for a HS bus. By the time we got to the park we had just minutes until our reservation time. I took the back pack and C and Minor went straight in to make sure we wouldnt miss our time. I know they give you a window of time but it was very frustrating waiting for the bus tat long. After bag check I met up with he girls and they had a pager in hand. Soon, we were in a galaxy far far away and we were excited to try the new Star Wars restaurant for the first time!!! Ok, I joke, we just traveled back in time to the 1950's at Sci Fi, but we were still excited!

It was Minors first time eating there and as we walked in she was in awe of the theme. It was one many moments we got to enjoy with her on our trip and seeing her face light up as she glanced around the restaurant was just pure magic. As soon as we settled in she had to get on Snapchat and post some videos for her friends to see.

I ordered Hopagedeon Imperial IPA which I have ad several times and is always enjoyable, and very heavy on the abv!

Milkshake for Minor that she LOVED!

Minor and I ordered cheeseburgers and they were par for the course at Sci Fi which is pretty good , IMO. C normally gets some vegetarian option that they had removed from the menu and she tried whatever the new option was (some type of veggie burger I think and she did not like it all. Our server offered to get anything else she wanted as a replacement but C declined. She ate a majority of our onion rings and was full enough from that. Our server was from Georgia like us and we had a great time chatting with her and she told us from fun CM stories from her years at Disney. She even had moved back home after her CP was done and she said she missed Disney so ad that she moved back down and got a place with some friends to be able to keep working there. She was great and definitely one of those CM's that has the magic touch!

And what better to do after eating cheeseburgers and onion rings than get a roller coaster? It was time for some RnR! We stopped for some photos on the way.

Congratulations on those backstage passes and getting some business calls taken care of at the same time!

After RnR we hopped on a FriendShip and cruised over to Epcot.

Next up, family drama episode 2. Cage match between my Sister and I! Who would prevail? Stay tuned!

 

[Zipadeelady]

That phone always makes me smile.

 

[Rista1313]

Do the guards ever ask you about the phone when checking your bag?

 

[wdisney9000]

That phone always makes me smile.

I am glad that I can put our resort room phone to good use. Of course, C must thoroughly de-contaminate it,lol

Do the guards ever ask you about the phone when checking your bag?

I usually get an odd look as they pull the phone out of the bag. I just remain silent in effort to create further mystery. I have had a few guards over the years who are playful about it. One of the best was one the guard pulled the phone and a little bit of the cord out so it looked like it was connected to something in the bag and then handed it to another guard and said, "there is a phone call for you". The guard he handed it too had the funniest look on his face.

 

[Zipadeelady]

I am glad that I can put our resort room phone to good use. Of course, C must thoroughly de-contaminate it,lol

I usually get an odd look as they pull the phone out of the bag. I just remain silent in effort to create further mystery. I have had a few guards over the years who are playful about it. One of the best was one the guard pulled the phone and a little bit of the cord out so it looked like it was connected to something in the bag and then handed it to another guard and said, "there is a phone call for you". The guard he handed it too had the funniest look on his face.

It's a resort room phone!!? Even better!! I thought you brought it from home.

 

[MinnieM123]

It's a resort room phone!!? Even better!! I thought you brought it from home.

I also thought that @wdisney9000 brought the phone from home. You know, he's really quite resourceful in utilizing what is already there in his hotel room!

 

[amjt660]

We all snacked on the pretzel and finished our rinks on the way over to TSL, which is coming up next!

You finished one of these??
Are you a Zamboni driver on the side?

Late but following as always

Max

 

[wdisney9000]

Day 2 contd...

We arrived at Epcot via a FriendShip and entered through International Gateway. We made a left turn at the fork where England Pavilion and the bridge to France is. As I was getting ready to call my sister, we ran into her husband and had a few of the boys with him. It was our first time actually seeing them. It was appx 8:30 pm and they were in a rush to get to Japan pavilion before it closed and we were in a rush to get a FP at TT and hang out for EMH. We said a quick hello and agreed to meet back over in Future World.

We arrived at TT and headed in to the design center. TT is one of Minors favorite rides and as much as I enjoy designing the most ridiculous car, Minor plays to win and would not allow it.

As we waited in the queue just shy of the loading area, they announced the ride was halted due to lightning. We decided we would wait 10-15 minutes and would leave if it wasnt back up by then. About ten minutes later my sister sent me a text. It was not the happiest of text's, lol and she basically wrote the she was just gonna write us off for the trip since it was obvious we did not want to hang out with them. I had no idea what could have happened in the 25 minutes or so since we had ran into her husband that got her so upset. I did not want to argue over a text so I called her and she started digging into me as soon as she picked up. I let her rattle her saber for a minute or two and when she was finished I gave her the option of "writing us off" for the rest of the trip or she could calm down and we would meet them. She said they were at he Land, so we hopped out of line and headed that way. On our way out, a CM scanned our bands for free FP's. He said they would be good for any ride at Epcot for up to 24 hours. We thanked him and made our way to The Land.

My sister is much more confrontational over the phone than in person so once we arrived it was all hugs and happiness and she acted as if she hadnt just read me the riot act over a 25 minute time delay to meet them. Fine by me. Her husband and the boys were riding Soarin' so I grabbed two Jai Alai IPA's for him and I so we could have a beer. Once they arrived they boys wanted to ride again and so did Minor. We wanted to enjoy our beers and my sister did not want to ride so the only adult to take them was C. Mind you, it is 5 boys between the ages of 11-14. This would be a challenge for her.

We gave her a big Sivako (rise to the challenge!) and sent them off!

About 15 minutes later they returned and the kids were intact as was C. My nephew, P, who site one standing on Minors left side is very much like me. He and I ALWAYS have fun and play pranks on our family and get into mischief together. This trip would be no different and I look forward to sharing or hilarious adventures.

We left The Land and went over to Figment. The boys were all singing some song they made up as we entered and doing the Fortnite (video game) victory dances as we loaded up.

The Fortnite game is insanely popular and there was a female CM who recognized what they were doing and the boys told her to join in! She said she could not because she could get in trouble. But she sneaked in a quick dance move though as we boarded. It is right at the end of the video.



Her and the other CM were very friendly. And as the ride started and we pulled away, she finally decided to bust a move and the boys went wild! It was awesome. I caught the tail end of it on video. You can see her all the way in the back in the last few seconds

 

[bee]

 

[wdisney9000]

Day 2 contd.....

I had to abruptly end the last segment when I realized it was time to get to work. These dogs aren't gonna train themselves! But let's get back to it and wrap up day 2.

We had fun with the CM's at Figment. There was hardly anybody there when we entered and I think we gave them some much needed entertainment and energy to get through the rest of the night. Those interactions with the CM's can be some of the best memories for a trip.

Next up.was SE. I rode with my nephew P. He decided we would choose Japanese for our language and we would try and recognize anything that was said and match it up with whatever section of the ride we were at. It was definitely a challenge but also very interesting.

It was getting close to closing time after SSE and we all.mad our way to the appropriate bust stops. What's funny is that we were at AKL (the resort that people claim is "in the middle of nowhere") and they were at Wilderness Lodge and our busses arrived very close together. We were back at AKL well before they were back at WL.

We arrived at the resort and hit the sack. I was nervous about trying to sleep and did not want a repeat of the night before with the nocturnal stomach issues. Stay tuned for the next update of my bowel movements! Yay, what you've all been waiting for! But seriously, next up morning at MK.

 

[Plowboy]

Day 2 contd...

We arrived at Epcot via a FriendShip and entered through International Gateway. We made a left turn at the fork where England Pavilion and the bridge to France is. As I was getting ready to call my sister, we ran into her husband and had a few of the boys with him. It was our first time actually seeing them. It was appx 8:30 pm and they were in a rush to get to Japan pavilion before it closed and we were in a rush to get a FP at TT and hang out for EMH. We said a quick hello and agreed to meet back over in Future World.

We arrived at TT and headed in to the design center. TT is one of Minors favorite rides and as much as I enjoy designing the most ridiculous car, Minor plays to win and would not allow it.

View attachment 298703

As we waited in the queue just shy of the loading area, they announced the ride was halted due to lightning. We decided we would wait 10-15 minutes and would leave if it wasnt back up by then. About ten minutes later my sister sent me a text. It was not the happiest of text's, lol and she basically wrote the she was just gonna write us off for the trip since it was obvious we did not want to hang out with them. I had no idea what could have happened in the 25 minutes or so since we had ran into her husband that got her so upset. I did not want to argue over a text so I called her and she started digging into me as soon as she picked up. I let her rattle her saber for a minute or two and when she was finished I gave her the option of "writing us off" for the rest of the trip or she could calm down and we would meet them. She said they were at he Land, so we hopped out of line and headed that way. On our way out, a CM scanned our bands for free FP's. He said they would be good for any ride at Epcot for up to 24 hours. We thanked him and made our way to The Land.

My sister is much more confrontational over the phone than in person so once we arrived it was all hugs and happiness and she acted as if she hadnt just read me the riot act over a 25 minute time delay to meet them. Fine by me. Her husband and the boys were riding Soarin' so I grabbed two Jai Alai IPA's for him and I so we could have a beer. Once they arrived they boys wanted to ride again and so did Minor. We wanted to enjoy our beers and my sister did not want to ride so the only adult to take them was C. Mind you, it is 5 boys between the ages of 11-14. This would be a challenge for her. View attachment 298870

We gave her a big Sivako (rise to the challenge!) and sent them off!

About 15 minutes later they returned and the kids were intact as was C. My nephew, P, who site one standing on Minors left side is very much like me. He and I ALWAYS have fun and play pranks on our family and get into mischief together. This trip would be no different and I look forward to sharing or hilarious adventures.

We left The Land and went over to Figment. The boys were all singing some song they made up as we entered and doing the Fortnite (video game) victory dances as we loaded up.

View attachment 298874

The Fortnite game is insanely popular and there was a female CM who recognized what they were doing and the boys told her to join in! She said she could not because she could get in trouble. But she sneaked in a quick dance move though as we boarded. It is right at the end of the video.



Her and the other CM were very friendly. And as the ride started and we pulled away, she finally decided to bust a move and the boys went wild! It was awesome. I caught the tail end of it on video. You can see her all the way in the back in the last few seconds

Your sister sounds a lot like my sister. Maybe we're long lost relatives.

 

[wdisney9000]

Day 3


My stomach was somewhat better overnight but still acting up. It truly was strange that once I was awake and the sun was up it all stopped. I was off the apple cider vinegar with the exception of a few sips here and there and was now overloading on electrolytes. I made a quick run downstairs to get a vitamin water and a banana from the Mara and enjoyed them on the patio while the girls were getting up. I stopped for a quick photo on the bridge.

I could smell the fresh brewed coffee in the Mara and then C was preparing some as well. I seriously was having withdrawals but I stuck with my water and fruit.

Soon we hopped on a bus and headed to MK! We were joking how it as day 3 of our trip and we had not been to MK. C Minor said a Disney trip does not officially begin until you see the castle, so we joked about it being "day one" of the trip, lol. After the never ending bus ride (jk, it was like 12 minutes), we looked at our kingdom, we were finally there, to sit on our thrown as the Prince of Bel-.....oh wait, wrong fantasy.. It was Cindy's place!

And for the record, C Minor has about a dozen of those "Glow" Skyzone t shirts and "Justice" shorts. I teased her about it for wearing practically the same outfit each day but C told me not to as it was her favorite shirt and dont make her feel bad. Her luggage had a lot of other shirts but she chose a Skyzone shirt each day. I even offered to buy her some Disney shirts but she said she was fine with her Glow shirt. That was one thing that was really great about Minor. She hardly asked for anything even though we kept offering. We knew her favorite drink at WDW is the berry slushy at the Joffreys stand in Tomorrowland so we told her that morning that it was ok to ask for anything she wanted because we knew she wasnt trying to make us buy stuff. We told her that we wanted to spoil her so it was ok to ASK FOR STUFF!!! C took her in one of the gift shops and Minor decided on a new pair of Mickey Ears.

For our first ride we always go for a classic. It was a tough call between PoTC and HM, but POTC won since the girls wanted to stop by the sunglass shop. On our last trip, C got a pair of Raybans there and needed to get some gadget they didnt include in the case the glasses came with. We had great service there last trip and tis was no different. They got whatever the gadget was right away and then the girls tried on a few pair. They couldnt decide on anything so we headed to Pirates (and my wallet did not become more slim, lol).

Minor loved her new Mickey Ears.

The ride stopped right near the auction scene so we enjoyed a few minutes to make fun of how ridiculous it is. Even Minor (who is 11) thinks its silly.

After Pirates we were all hungry and had some time to burn before our going to HM. I could not resist Pecos Bills since we were so close. The girls went to the Golden Oak Outpost so C could get the buffalo cauliflower and Minor got some nuggets I think. I went with an old time favorite at Pecos and got the nachos and then loaded them up at the bar.

Sooooooo good!!! and I was surprised that the buffalo cauliflower was very good as well.

It came with a great dipping sauce as well.

After lunch e made our way to HM.

The CM at the turn style broke character hard core (not that she was very into character prior) and she basically started yelling at people to move all the way down, when she saw a gap near the front door. The only problem was that here was a woman in a wheel chair and people were giving her enough space to move forward but the CM was back by the magic band checkpoint ad could not see. The CM was yelling, "its not that hard, just move forward, stop standing there!!". We chalked it up to the heat was making her mad.

When we exited, I had remembered that @Tuvalu posted a pic with the graveyard where Mr Toad is and it was in dire need of landscaping. I snapped a pic and posted it to my live report that Toad was once again visible.

Up next....more MK

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

Buffalo cauliflower?! Added that to my snack list.

 

[MinnieM123]

That was one thing that was really great about Minor. She hardly asked for anything even though we kept offering. We knew her favorite drink at WDW is the berry slushy at the Joffreys stand in Tomorrowland so we told her that morning that it was ok to ask for anything she wanted because we knew she wasnt trying to make us buy stuff. We told her that we wanted to spoil her so it was ok to ASK FOR STUFF!!! C took her in one of the gift shops and Minor decided on a new pair of Mickey Ears.

C Minor sounds like such a polite and considerate kid. I think she made a good travel companion to you and your wife. You're both gracious hosts, and I think C Minor really appreciated your wonderful company, and that was enough for her. She probably didn't think it was appropriate to ask for anything else, like a present for herself in one of the shops. (Her parents raised her well.)

 

[wdisney9000]

Buffalo cauliflower?! Added that to my snack list.

Definitely worth trying and the dipping sauce was great!

C Minor sounds like such a polite and considerate kid. I think she made a good travel companion to you and your wife. You're both gracious hosts, and I think C Minor really appreciated your wonderful company, and that was enough for her. She probably didn't think it was appropriate to ask for anything else, like a present for herself in one of the shops. (Her parents raised her well.)

C and I are still talking about how much fun we had with her. It was a completely new experience to have a young one with us and Minor made it absolutely awesome. We have already started planning another trip with her. C and I also have 8 days at BWV in December and we are considering bringing her with us on that trip too. Details will emerge in this TR soon.