Trip Report The Princesses Take On Disney!

We have returned from another magical, pixie dust filled trip to WDW! We accomplished A LOT considering the time of year we visited, including some new things!

If you didn't get a chance to read my PTR and would like to, you can find it here:
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/the-princesses-return.908683/

And now, without further ado...

Day 1: Travel Day, 6/7/16

Being that we don't live together, we finished packing at our respective houses and then met at my parents' (which is right in the middle) to put things in our big, shared suitcase. We struggle every year to be under the weight requirement lol. Our airline has a 40 pound limit or else you have to pay an additional fee, so we take carry ons (as big as permitted) and stuff them full as well. Anyway, we got everything packed and weighed our suitcase to see where we stood... 48 pounds. Not even close. So we started unloading and putting things in our carry ons, deciding that some things could be left behind, etc. Finally we got it down to 39 pounds and were ready to go!

This was one of the things that had to stay behind. Everybody kept asking me who I would miss more: my boyfriend, Dylan, or Tink. The jury is still out on that one.

Ready to roll!

We had a 7:00pm flight out of Latrobe, PA so got on the road at 3:00pm. It takes just under 2 hours to get there from home and the airport only has one gate, making security a breeze. We stopped near the airport and grabbed dinner at Denny's.

We arrived at the airport at 6pm and had checked our bag, gone through security, and used the restroom all by 6:15pm. Gotta love it! Our flight actually took off at 6:54, so just a few minutes ahead of schedule which was nice.

Peace out PA!

I sat next to this lady on the plane that I will absolutely never forget. I don't even know how to begin to describe her! She was probably in her 60's or 70's and was an absolute diva - LOVE IT. She talked to us the entire flight and we pretty much learned her life story lol. She has a house here in PA and another in FL. She was flying down for the week to attend her granddaughter's preschool graduation. Like I said, we literally talked about everything, but once she found out we were heading to Disney she shared that she worked as a CM for her first job in 1971. She alternated between playing Dopey and working concessions (sometimes in the same day). She went to college and worked as a nurse for 30 years. It's hard to describe here, but she was HILARIOUS and we quoted her throughout our trip lol. Just to give you an idea.. At one point the lady in front of us turned around and said, "Could you talk quieter?" We were honestly not talking loudly, and certainly not as loudly as the man behind us. But she looks at us and goes, "I know enough to not cause trouble on a plane, but I've done my service to this country and I don't have to listen to her!" And then after getting off the plane, she saw the lady bending over getting something out of her bag and she goes, "I oughta go over there and kick her right in the ***." She was something else. Sorry, that was more wordy than I anticipated!

Anyway, we landed at 8:46, also ahead of schedule! The flight was a little bumpy due to the storm, but nothing major! We headed right for my favorite thing at MCO...

I GET SO EXCITED ABOUT MAGICAL EXPRESS.

We boarded immediately and pulled out right away at 9:20pm.

Magical Express selfie! The excitement is evident!

We stopped at Coronado Springs first, and then our stop, All Star Sports! We arrived at 10pm.

Last year our pin numbers weren't setup properly and we had major issues at the end of the week sorting it all out. So the first thing we did this year upon arrival was head straight to the front desk to make sure they got setup the right way. We talked with Rachel who was an absolutely magical first CM to interact with. I made the comment that she should be working as a princess because she just had the energy and silliness for it. The CM's really do make all the difference!

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

You two are too cute!

You ate at some awesome places and had what looks like great food. That French onion soup looks incredible as did your food at Whispering Canyon. Wow!

Love that you logged your miles and steps. You go into it knowing that it's a lot, but when you actually document it you realize how much it is!!!

I get your feelings on getting engaged or married at WDW. I didn't get either, which I was fine with because I was drunk with bliss, but we did Disneymoon for 12 days which was absolutely magical and incredible. Fingers crossed for you!

Love your report so far.

 

[TheMouseFan]

So jealous you went to the Wilderness Lodge. Every trip I say I'm going to make it over there, and I still haven't! I think that would make a fantastic yard ornament. I would certainly put one in my yard!! The food at WCC looked amazing! Definitely on my must try list!

 

[sheriffwoody]

THIS is what I remember. It's absolutely breathtaking. And the smell! I remember it from years ago.. It's so unique.

I still kick myself for not visiting Jambo while we were there staying in Kidani Village. I don't know why we didn't walk over there one day! It looks so gorgeous from pictures.

 

[jrogue]

I think you have convinced me to try and convince my family to go to whispering canyon one day...it looks so yummy! You're lucky to have gotten the speak like a whale pins! Jess and I were IN the parks but we thought it was only at animal kingdom so we never got one

 

[blreinsel]

Your puppy has very discerning taste--of course, the pup would pick Minnie to love!!

She takes after her mama.

So many comments, trying to remember them all...

Agree that the Mara is hard to find. I always thought it was odd you can't get to it from inside the lodge. The ordering process is good and the food delicious, as you mentioned. As for zebra domes...I want to like them, so I keep trying them (when at Boma) but they are just not for me.

I bought my Dad the Mickey golf towel a couple years ago.

Sitting either in Boardwalk's lobby or outside on the porch are great, relaxing, people-watching spots! And you missed trying the fabulous Ample Hills Creamery (which will be featured in my TR!)

Ahhhhh, my Poly....happy you discovered why it is so loved . Next time you go to the Tambu Lounge, try the Island Sunset (Em would kill for one, LOL!) I am not a big fan of the Lapu Lapu either.

If you look at your WL building pic (which you took on the path from the boat dock), we've stayed in the first floor room on the left that is surrounded by stone. Each morning we would watch the deer right outside our patio. If you need a bucket-list resort for the holidays, WL is IT!!!!

Sorry you got seated in the back corner of WCC (although last time Woody and I wished we'd been seated there away from the crazy! ) Since you enjoyed the food so much, you'll just have to go back!! (Although with Heather...you may not want to bring your BF and have him overwhelmed on his first Disney trip!)

Don't we all have a love/hate relationship with World of Disney???!!!

Enjoyed reading about your resort day. You guys did accomplish a lot without a car!!

Ample Hills Creamery.. That just SOUNDS yummy. I'll put it on my "next trip" list, along with an Island Sunset.

I love seeing holiday WL pictures!!!! It is absolutely breathtaking.

I would really like to take my family when we go with my niece and nephew in a few years, but I'd also like to do Hoop Dee Doo when we go. And my dad and brother are both SO CHEAP, making big meals difficult to get them on board with. If we could all get away during free dining though...

You two are too cute!

You ate at some awesome places and had what looks like great food. That French onion soup looks incredible as did your food at Whispering Canyon. Wow!

Love that you logged your miles and steps. You go into it knowing that it's a lot, but when you actually document it you realize how much it is!!!

I get your feelings on getting engaged or married at WDW. I didn't get either, which I was fine with because I was drunk with bliss, but we did Disneymoon for 12 days which was absolutely magical and incredible. Fingers crossed for you!

Love your report so far.

Thank you! Whispering Canyon food and the soup are both things that I would die to have right now! It was awesome seeing how much we actually walked over the course of the week. It's insane to see it on the pedometer, even though like you said, you go into it already knowing you're going to walk a crazy amount.

I'll of course be ecstatic no matter where he proposes, like you. But it happening at Disney would just be icing on the cake. I've already started working on him about a Disney cruise for our honeymoon (and I'll obviously tack on a few park days). I think I have him on board because I told him there are golf courses at some of the stops.

So jealous you went to the Wilderness Lodge. Every trip I say I'm going to make it over there, and I still haven't! I think that would make a fantastic yard ornament. I would certainly put one in my yard!! The food at WCC looked amazing! Definitely on my must try list!

You must go! I'm sure you'd get some fantastic pictures.. You're great at capturing all the little details.

I still kick myself for not visiting Jambo while we were there staying in Kidani Village. I don't know why we didn't walk over there one day! It looks so gorgeous from pictures.

It's beautiful! That just gives a reason to go back.

I think you have convinced me to try and convince my family to go to whispering canyon one day...it looks so yummy! You're lucky to have gotten the speak like a whale pins! Jess and I were IN the parks but we thought it was only at animal kingdom so we never got one

Yes, do it! I'm sure it's even better if you're included in all the craziness! It's disappointing that you didn't get buttons.

 

[blreinsel]

Day 6: Epcot, 6/12/16

We woke up early with plans to make rope drop at Epcot, which we came pretty close to doing. However, once we arrived at the park security took FOREVER. At the time that I wrote that in my notes, we had no idea why. Once everybody back home started waking up and turning on the news, checking social media, etc. the "are you okay?" texts started rolling in. It was such a surreal feeling to be just minutes from where such a tragedy took place only hours before. I spent the entire day wondering which CMs were effected.. Which were fighting back tears to ensure my day was magical. My heart ached for them, having to go into work and pretend that nothing was wrong. I am thankful that security took as long as it did. The rides and the characters can wait.

We got in line to meet Joy and Sadness at 9:35am. The line didn't look very long, but it took us 45 minutes to get through. It wouldn't have been terrible if it weren't for the people in front of us. Two moms, maybe mid 20's with kids half their age. Kids who could not behave, and were not made to. Some of their antics included hanging on/shaking the chains, doing cartwheels and handstands, and pinching each other mercilessly. All while the "mothers" were on their phones. At one point, the one lady told her kid to stop because "you're making those ladies mad." Um excuse me, but do not use me to try and get your kid under control. When they got to the front of the line, they asked the CM when alcohol started being served and if there was anywhere they could drop their kids off for the day. People disgust me.

ANYWAY.. Let's talk about something happier.

And something a little sad.. but she makes me happy.

She was excited (as excited as Sadness can be) that I gave her a blue marker to sign with and gave an "almost smile." She also liked my blue shirt and wanted to give me a warm hug like Olaf. Her mannerisms were spot on and so adorable! I loved this meet and greet. She gave me a million hugs!

I'm including two very similar pictures because of the change in pose from Sadness.. And look at her little shoes! SO CUTE.

The CM commented on the fact that Heather and I's shirts matched Joy and Sadness's coloring pretty closely.. We didn't even plan it.

After we took our pictures, Joy bounced over to Sadness and told her to "turn that frown upside down!" They were really sweet interacting with one another, and the meet and greet area was awesome!

We had a FP+ scheduled for Mission: SPACE but we were too late and Mickey turned blue. We hopped in the 25 minute standby line for orange and switched that FP+ to Spaceship Earth for later on. There was an announcement that the line would take longer than expected, but it didn't say why. I assume somebody got sick. But we actually only ended up waiting 20 minutes, which was shorter than what was posted! We had a fun mission to Mars, but for some reason I didn't take any pictures in this area. Probably because we were running so behind and I didn't have time to slow down for a picture!

We had another FP+ that we were going to be late for if we didn't hustle.. We hurried back across the park and though we were past our window, we were still within the buffer zone and Mickey turned green!

 

[blreinsel]

Our FP+ was for the Character Spot! Mickey was quite the charmer. We agreed to not tell Minnie about his flirting, but I pointed out that he should probably be careful because she can see him from where she stands! He motioned that she's too busy talking to pay attention to what he's doing.

Next up was Goofy! I always enjoy meeting Goofy, but this one was my favorite! Just as we got in position to take the picture, I noticed that I could see his "belly." I said, "Goofy! Your pants are falling down!" This was his reaction.

He pulled them back up and acted like he was embarrassed, turning his back to us and keeping his eyes covered. We were cracking up! I apologized for embarrassing him and he hugged me to let me know all was forgiven.

And last but not least, my favorite gal.

She, of course, loved our bows and pointed out that they matched hers.

At that point, we were starting to get pretty hungry so deiced to make our way to the World Showcase for lunch.

 

[blreinsel]

Before we made it to WS, we stopped by Club Cool for some drinks! Heather had never been in here before, and you know what that means.

We started with the Kuat and worked our way down.. Best for last, right? I just let her go.. Didn't say a word about it and tried to not be obvious about videoing her. This is perfect lol.


We continued on our way to WS and stopped for some pictures with a photographer named Cordy. He spent some time talking to us, particularly about Florida weather in comparison to PA weather. He was really nice!

We spotted a pretty short line for Belle, who would be returning any minute so of course hopped in line to meet my favorite princess!

We were actually pretty disappointed with this meet and greet. She was really awkward and her voice was weird.. It wasn't even close to sounding like Belle. And then she made us do this terrible pose that I hate.

We continued on our way to one of my favorite QS dining locations in WS: Katsura Grill!

We were fortunately able to grab a table inside to enjoy our meal! We both got the Chicken Teriyaki and the Azuki Strawberry Ice Cream for dessert. My chicken was a little dry, but it was still really good! Especially that ice cream.

 

[TheMouseFan]

I was jealous about Wilderness Lodge, but now I'm really jealous because you got to meet Joy and Sadness!! Every time we checked, the wait was 1+ hour, and I refused to wait that long!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Wow, your Epcot day was just all around WAY better than ours! I wanted to eat at Katsura Grill too, but we never had the chance!

 

[blreinsel]

I was jealous about Wilderness Lodge, but now I'm really jealous because you got to meet Joy and Sadness!! Every time we checked, the wait was 1+ hour, and I refused to wait that long!

Wow, your Epcot day was just all around WAY better than ours! I wanted to eat at Katsura Grill too, but we never had the chance!

I figured Joy and Sadness's line would get out of control as the day went on, so made sure to get there right away! There are so many awesome places to eat in WS and I always tell myself I'm going to try something new, but then I start thinking about Katsura and am like.. Nope maybe next year.

 

[myhappyplace]

Regarding Alex & Ani...I'm not going to get to Disney Springs on my upcoming trip...do you know if they are sold in the gift shops in the parks?

Still loving your report, especially your meet & greets!

 

[blreinsel]

After lunch, we just spent some time walking around WS taking pictures and soaking it all in!

There was a really great band playing on the stage next to where this picture was taken! We stood and listened to them for a few minutes.

Akershus is on my list of restaurants to try, mostly because it's Belle's meal.

There was a family in line behind us for this photographer whose son is majoring in German in college. He conversed with one of the CMs in German for a few minutes.. It was really interesting! Though I have to wonder.. What does one do with a degree in German?

We finally made it to probably my favorite spot in the World Showcase. If you have never tried this place.. YOU HAVE TO! We'd been saving our snack credits for this.

Obviously we had the chocolate and caramel covered strawberries, but we also had a s'more. We shared our treats, and we're not sure how we ended up with two strawberries in the one container, but we certainly weren't complaining. SO YUMMY. I could seriously go for a trip to that place right about now!

 

[blreinsel]

Regarding Alex & Ani...I'm not going to get to Disney Springs on my upcoming trip...do you know if they are sold in the gift shops in the parks?

Still loving your report, especially your meet & greets!

Thank you! Yes, they sell Alex and Ani in the parks. I'm not sure that they're in EVERY gift shop, so you just have to look around until you find the one that has them. They have the Pandora beads too!

 

[gwhb75]

Great report so far

We love 50's too. Our kids have been "punished" many times by the servers for various rule infractions (they've been made to stand in the corner for elbows on the table, had their milkshakes taken away for having their phones out, force fed green beans, etc). Always a huge hit.

Agree about the marble doors at RNR. They bother me too.

Glad you enjoyed Animal Kingdom Lodge. It's one of our favourite resorts. You should try going in the evening some time and see the animals through night-vision goggles.

 

[networkpro]

There was a family in line behind us for this photographer whose son is majoring in German in college. He conversed with one of the CMs in German for a few minutes.. It was really interesting! Though I have to wonder.. What does one do with a degree in German?
View attachment 149397

Wonderful pictures ! What does one do with a degree in German ? Work with German companies!

 

[blreinsel]

Great report so far

We love 50's too. Our kids have been "punished" many times by the servers for various rule infractions (they've been made to stand in the corner for elbows on the table, had their milkshakes taken away for having their phones out, force fed green beans, etc). Always a huge hit.

Agree about the marble doors at RNR. They bother me too.

Glad you enjoyed Animal Kingdom Lodge. It's one of our favourite resorts. You should try going in the evening some time and see the animals through night-vision goggles.

Thank you! I'm always tempted to "act up" on purpose just to see what they'll do to me. Maybe someday I'll get brave enough.

AKL in the evening is awesome! I remember using the night vision goggles when I stayed there as a kid but kind of forgot about it until you mentioned it. Definitely need to get back there as an adult!

There was a family in line behind us for this photographer whose son is majoring in German in college. He conversed with one of the CMs in German for a few minutes.. It was really interesting! Though I have to wonder.. What does one do with a degree in German?
View attachment 149397

Wonderful pictures ! What does one do with a degree in German ? Work with German companies!

Thank you! But wouldn't you have to also have a degree in international business or something??

 

[samantha788]

Your Goofy pictures!!! laughing so hard, such a great story!
Loving your report and all of your pictures

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Loving it so far! We loved AKL when we stayed there, but The Mara was so small! When we stayed a CBR, I was like "holy cow!" I realized how small it was at AKL.

 

[jrogue]

Obviously we had the chocolate and caramel covered strawberries, but we also had a s'more. We shared our treats, and we're not sure how we ended up with two strawberries in the one container, but we certainly weren't complaining. SO YUMMY

Oh my gosh I am drooling looking at that picture. I can almost taste it!! lol definitely awesomely used snack credits. SO, SO YUMMY