Trip Report "The Best Disney Trip EVER"

Hello, hello everyone!! A warm welcome to everyone reading--I'm so glad you're here!!

WHEN: Tuesday, November 5th - Tuesday, November 12th

WHERE: I think you know us well enough by now!!

WHO: I'm sure you know most of us(don't worry--I'm not going to confuse you all like I did in June;)). In case you don't though, there's me, my nephew J, & my sister E. Besides us usual 3 Musketeers, E's husband/J's dad/my BIL joined us for the fun!! To keep confusion to a minimum for this TR I will refer to him as JSR.
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You could also call us "The Red Family". When E asked J what color MB he wanted he said that he wanted red & that we should all get that color so we could be "The Red Family". I know you can't see E's but trust me, her's was red also.

Looking forward to reliving "The Best Disney Trip EVER" with you all!!

Tuesday, November 5th

The plan was to leave E & JSR's at 7:00. I went to work for 5:30 to get a few last minute things done--also so that I could say to my boss that I was only off for 7 days, not 8. He teases me that "vacations are 7 days not 8". After doing some work & him teasing me a bit I was off on my merry way!! I got to their house only to find out that JSR was still packing!!:jawdrop: E was not thrilled in the least. He must have been close to being done though b/c we were only delayed a few minutes.

Then came the next delay. It was Election Day and E & JSR wanted to due their civic duty. I sat in the car with J & we talked Disney while we waited.
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And, in typical Pittsburgh fashion, it was raining.
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Rush hour traffic + heavy rain = a slow commute to the airport. I don't know what it is with this town but it seems like no one can drive in the rain around here. Trust me, we get more than our fair share of it so you think people would be used to it.
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As we were waiting to check our luggage in the woman behind us noticed our luggage tags & said that she was going to Disney also and was staying at Caribbean Beach. She asked if this was our first time going which prompted JSR to throw in a few digs about us & the frequency of our trips. I think he's just jealous ;)
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The Southwest agent was slower than molasses but after 10 minutes or so it was our turn.
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JSR made fun of me all week b/c of this. I had two suitcases. The small one weighed 20 lbs & this one was 36.5. He kept saying, "How did you manage to bring 56 lbs. of clothes?" As it turned out, due to his last minute packing there were quite a few things that he forgot so I told him at least I didn't have that problem. He also told me not to tell E about what he had forgot b/c he didn't want to hear her say "I told you so".
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E went to park the car while the J's & I proceeded to security. But wait, I couldn't go just yet. For whatever reason the Southwest agent left one of the suitcases behind. After unsuccessfully trying to get his attention for about 5 minutes I finally interrupted him & asked him to please put it on the belt. I was getting nervous that it would somehow get forgotten. He looked at me with a surprised look on his face & said he didn't notice it there. Really??
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On the "monorail" we go!!
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riverside

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH

Time for lunch!!
Here we go again......
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A few more decorations on our way to our destination.
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I was getting extremely frustrated at this point.
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Finally!!
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Really Disney?? Besides the fact that more often than not I end up having trouble with mobile order now they're creeping on me again. Didn't the Disney gods pick up that I was trying to order from somewhere else in the park?
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At least the lines weren't long if I had to order the old fashioned way...
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But I didn't. Yay--it worked!!
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A bit of advice--skip the shrimp flatbread. Not good at all. My BIL(who eats everything-except hot dogs) tried some and agreed it just was not good.
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Although my lunch was far from the best thing that I had(it probably was the worst meal of the trip) I do think Pizzafari is a fun restaurant. I really enjoy all the colors.
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riverside

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH

On our way out we glanced around the shops.
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AK had a lot of fun Christmas merchandise. I really liked that tree.
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I thought this wreath was cute.
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But not the price!!
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The tree was $29.99.
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Out we headed. We usually don't spend a ton of time at AK to begin with but this might have been a record(except my last trip when I went in just to get my sister a Starbucks mug & left). I think we were there a little over 3 hours.
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One last wreath.
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We were headed to the DVC tour that E & JSR had scheduled a few days prior.
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riverside

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH

When we got to the parking area our DVC van was there waiting for us.
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Our driver was really nice & pointed out a mistake that was made on the van.
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Sheriff was backwards!!
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It was huge inside!!
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I was amazed at the size of the side mirrors. My SUV is a pretty big one so I'm used to driving a bigger vehicle but this was downright intimidating to me. I don't think I could do it.
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We arrived at Wilderness Lodge for our presentation/tour!
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What?? No Christmas tree?? I was thoroughly bummed. I've seen many pictures but never saw it in person & I thought this might be my chance. So, I was 0/2 for the day. No AK or Wilderness Lodge tree for me.
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riverside

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH

We had to wait a few minutes. J watched television. E was complaining that we had the popcorn bucket for no reason b/c JSR didn't fill it while we were at AK!! She did have a point.
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Soon we were headed outside for our tour.
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It was a very nice day!!
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For the life of me I can't remember if we were taken to Copper Creek or Boulder Ridge??🤔 @Doc Disney could you help me here?
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I must say I was quite impressed with the amount of space inside.
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I know I've mentioned in a previous TR but I'm just not into that rustic/woodsy type of look.
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Sorry, this pic is a bit blurry.
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riverside

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH

After our tour it was on to the presentation.
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We spent about 2 hours listening to the DVC spiel. J was really a trooper about it. He was very well behaved the whole time & didn't fuss. Afterwards I commented to E & JSR about how good he was. Not that he's not a good kid normally but imagine being 4 years old, in Walt Disney World, knowing you could be riding at a park & you've spent the afternoon listening to something that makes no sense to you.
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After it was over we headed out front to wait to be picked up. Pluto was greeting people in the lobby. Since we had a few minutes before our driver was due to get there we tried to get in line to see him. The CM told us that Pluto was leaving to start getting the Christmas decorations out so we would have to see him another time. Oh well!!
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What we saw outside was probably more entertaining than Pluto though. This ranger was drawing Chip 'N Dale & would get so bummed when a car drove over them or someone walked on them. He was really funny!!
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See ya Wilderness Lodge!!
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riverside

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH

And my struggle with the gas prices continues....
I just paid $2.74/gallon this morning:arghh:
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We had dinner reservations but not for a few hours so we figured we would walk around for awhile & check things out.
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I do think the decor is very pretty here.
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We headed outside for awhile. The weather was beautiful.
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Even though everything is so far away I really like this picture!
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riverside

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH

Since we still had about an hour before dinner we decided to get a beer at Big River Grille & Brewing which was a first for all of us.
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We got a table outside but I went inside to look around.
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We decided to order the Asiago Artichoke & Crab Dip and the Chips, Guacamole & Salsa.
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I'm really not a beer drinker so I didn't know what to get. Our waitress gave us a couple of samples. E & I both went with the Midland.
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Cheers!!
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The food was very good.
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Since we were outside J was able to run around which I'm sure was nice for him.
I went to take this picture & he jumped in it at the last second then said to me, "Did I ruin your picture?":cautious: He thought it was pretty funny & I could tell he was proud of himself!
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And the savings keep rolling in!!
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riverside

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH

After our appetizers I went to the bathroom to change my shirt for dinner. I had brought one with me b/c I knew a t-shirt would not be appropriate for Flying Fish. We still had a few minutes so we wandered around this DVC model.
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Not as plentiful with the toiletries here 🤣
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Hidden Mickey
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E & JSR talked with the CM that was working in there while J, Fago & I wandered around there for a few minutes.
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Yikes!! These pictures are really blurry!!
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slipperalwaysfits

Well-Known Member
I think the giraffes are my favorite part!!

The safaris are so fun! I do love how close we get to all the animals! Sorry about your Pizzafari experience. we've only eaten there once, for breakfast.

Sheriff was backwards!!

What a fun detail to discover! I love when CM's point out little things like that! It makes it more fun for us. Great job on zooming in superclose so us readers could see the details!

Not that he's not a good kid normally but imagine being 4 years old, in Walt Disney World, knowing you could be riding at a park & you've spent the afternoon listening to something that makes no sense to you.

YES!!! I can't imagine being 4 years old and knowing you're at WDW and sitting in a room for nearly two hours! Thank goodness he had FAGO! I was in a bunch of those rooms as a kid but I always had a book or two with me.

"Did I ruin your picture?":cautious: He thought it was pretty funny & I could tell he was proud of himself!

Awww, kinda funny and now you have another adorable pic of J!
 

riverside

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH

It was dark when we went back outside. It was now time for dinner so we headed to Flying Fish.
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We were seated right away.
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I thought the bar looked very nice.
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I thought the silverware was pretty neat!!
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We realized we made a mistake by ordering 2 appetizers at Big River Grille. We really should have only ordered one.
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riverside

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
The safaris are so fun! I do love how close we get to all the animals! Sorry about your Pizzafari experience. we've only eaten there once, for breakfast.
I've never tried breakfast there. Everyone else liked what they had. I just think might was lousy, unfortunately.

When he pointed that out I took the first picture then figured I should get a close up!!

I did feel bad for him. The next day E & JSR met with the guy again & I offered to stay back with J at the park!! Yes--thank goodness for Fago!!

That is a cute picture of him!!
 

riverside

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH

Our server brought out the bread quickly.
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See my man there with the camera?? He must do some serious trip reporting b/c he didn't put that camera down at all 🤣 It would take him forever to take a picture & then he would switch his camera lens around. He would also rearrange the plates on the table. It was very strange but funny.
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I had the Hokkaido Scallops. They were really good!!
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E had the Oak-grilled Salmon.
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JSR had the Sea Bass.
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We all enjoyed our meals & I would definitely go back but this seriously was the highlight of our dinner!!:hilarious:
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I took this picture to remind me of what J did. We were laughing so hard about camera man that I was begging E & JSR to stop b/c it was causing me so much pain. I told them I was having a hard time breathing & J shot me this look like I had 10 heads which made us laugh even that much harder. This was one of those times where a CM(our waiter) asked me if I was ok. I assured him that I was but I don't think he believed me. I explained that I thought I had bruised ribs & it really hurts when I laugh not to mention it takes my breath away. He seemed ok after I told him that.
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You probably think we are so rude but maybe it was just one of those things that you had to be there for. Trust me it was hysterical!!
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$29.90 in savings!!
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I wish we would have been seated in the main room. We were in a side room(probably b/c they got a vibe that we don't know how to act!!) but I would have liked to sit here under these lights. Then again, we wouldn't have had the entertainment that we did!!
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riverside

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH

As we left Flying Fish we came across this magician who was just getting ready to start his show. He was a hoot!!
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He asked J to participate by holding this envelope for him.
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It was a cute show!! When J's part was over he took his favorite seat again!!
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We decided to take a boat to HS then get a bus back to Riverside.
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I was trying to get a decent shot of the Boardwalk to send to a good friend of mine who really enjoys staying there. I didn't get any superb ones but at least she knew I was thinking of her!!
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riverside

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Faygo is from Michigan.... and my favorite is Rock and Rye!
Don't I know it. We buy it by the truckload direct from them. I'm used to sending that check to Detroit, Michigan!!

I'm really not a pop drinker so I don't believe I've ever tried any of the flavors. Is Rock and Rye similar to Pepsi/Coke?
 

riverside

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH

In no time at all we were at HS!! It looked so nice all lit up!!
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The skyliner was in action!
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We got to the bus stop & there was a Riverside bus waiting!!
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J & I sat together at the back of the bus.
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E & I stopped to see Bob's show but it had already started so there were only a few seats in the back of The River Roost. I couldn't help but notice the hair on these women. How long would it take to wash that??
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Cabernet for me.
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After his first show we called it a night!!
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