Trip Report The Sweet 16th(with a few surprises thrown in)!!

Hello friends!! Welcome one & all to my 2nd trip report!! To those who followed along on my first one(https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/whats-going-on-with-my-clothes.945539/) it's great to have you along again & to anyone new joining in thanks for coming on board. I'm excited to have you all here!!

WHO: my niece H(the birthday girl) & myself

WHEN: Tuesday, August 21st - Saturday, August 25th

WHERE: For anyone that read my first TR I'm sure you can guess where but for those of you that don't know me..... my home away from home, POR

Looking forward to sharing the birthday celebration with you!!

 

[riverside]

TUESDAY, AUGUST 21ST(CONT.)

H enjoyed the cheese plate. She really liked the two on the left but I don't remember what they were.
Notice the phone in hand again....

I tried to snap a picture first but our server hurriedly took the fork & spread the sauce on the piece to the right. He said that was the best way to eat it. Let me tell you(& I love spicy foods) this was so unbelievably spicy. The sauce mixture definitely had some serious kick to it. When I eat foods that are too spicy it tends to kill my appetite so I only ate a few pieces of it. I should have stuck with the Tuna Three Way....

H got a cold brew coffee. She had me try it. It was amazing!! I don't even know how to explain it but it tasted so fresh.

My martini. I ended up switching to wine. That olive flavor was way too strong.
Do you think the phone may be glued to her hands....

The fireworks were delayed b/c of the weather. Our server didn't want to put our dinner order in until they started so we could eat as soon as the fireworks were over. That was very kind of him but H & I were getting really tired. We've only been up since 3:00!!

When it was time for the fireworks he told us to go to the observation deck on the right b/c it would be less crowded than the one on the left. He was right. While out there I started feeling uneasy about how high up we were. I couldn't stand near the railings. I stayed in the center as much as I could.
My lousy fireworks photos:

At the end of the show they say something along the lines of "reach out & find your happily ever after". There was a very intoxicated gentleman who looked at H & I and said, "Man, I just want to reach out & grab my entree." It was so funny. We looked at each other & were cracking up. We were still laughing back at the table. I'm still laughing while I'm typing this. I can picture the look on his face & him slurring his words a bit. It really was funny.

 

[riverside]

TUESDAY, AUGUST 21ST(WRAPPING THIS DAY UP)

My filet. It was good but I think I was expecting much more. The steak I had at Yachtsman's a few months ago was much better.

H really enjoyed her chicken.

For dessert H went with the Warm Valrhona Chocolate Cake and I got the S'mores Bomboloni.

The S'mores.

H's dessert.

They brought her a cupcake for her birthday.

I had ordered this a few days before we left. I explained that H didn't like cake & asked if there was anything else they did. Yes, I know she ordered cake for dessert but she doesn't like "birthday type cake". I was quite surprised when I got the bill. It was only $15.00. The slipper was white chocolate & filled with whipped cream. I can't remember what the chocolate thing was. All I know is there was a lot of desserts going back with us!!

Speaking of going back we really needed to leave. I was beyond the point of total exhaustion. We were finally done with dinner at 10:45. I called for a Minnie Van & he didn't get there until 11:00. The CM said the traffic was really bad & it would take us awhile to get to POR. We finally got there at 11:45. H passed out in the car. I hope I was making sense when I was talking to him b/c I was so tired I don't think I knew what my name was at that point.

He was kind enough to take us as close to our room as he could. I was so appreciative. I don't know that I've ever felt so tired in my whole life.

 

[Swissmiss]

I'm still chuckling over your comments about what the drunk guy said after the fireworks

 

[riverside]

I'm still chuckling over your comments about what the drunk guy said after the fireworks

I'm still laughing myself!!

 

[riverside]

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22ND

I set out a little after 7 for my morning walk around Port Orleans. It was a little later than I would have liked but I guess I was that tired. Actually the only reason I got up was b/c R called me on his way to work. I didn't want to wake H by talking on the phone so I got dressed & called him back when I was outside.

Refurbishing the bayou rooms.

What a beautiful morning!!

This is the building we were staying in.

I paid a visit to FQ.

E texted me & told me J had a bit of a cold & could I check to see if they sold some kind of vitamin C or Airborne. I told her I was at FQ & would head to Fulton's. They open at 8 & I should get there right about then.

Airborne it was!!

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

Ah!! I’m so behind.

I love that it’s you and your niece. I can’t wait to take Tuvalette and Tuvaleen on an aunt/niece trip!!

Love H’s reaction to your journal and TR notes.

I’m pretty sure I went, “Ah! It’s J!” when I saw the pic. So excited he and E make an appearance! We’ve had plenty of family “surprises” over the years. Of course, that was back in the day before MDE. Or cell phones. And Grandtuvalu waiting hours for us to return to the resort.

Can’t wait for more. And less than a month until your next trip?? You’ll be writing TRs as fast as @Tuvalu

 

[Tiggertoo56]

I will for sure!! I should have known better. Once I have my mind set on something I should stick with it. It seems like when I don't I'm always disappointed.

Darn, I should have asked.

Yes it was!! J is good for livening things up for sure!!

Thanks so much!! No apology necessary!! When will you be at FQ? I'll be staying at POR again.

We'll be at POFQ from 25th Oct for 3 weeks! First time for that long, normally a 2 week trip, but when we booked this visit we thought we'd have some additional time and as we have to travel from the UK it's worth it. What dates are you there?

 

[riverside]

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22ND(CONT.)

I set out to drop off the Airborne to E. She was in a refurbished bayou room which she wasn't too thrilled with at first(what is it with my family's hate for the bayou section?)but was happy to see that she was a stone's throw from the North Depot.

I took some pics of the room. I thought it was pretty nice.

She said the tv was so big & bright that she had to shut it off at night or it would keep her up.

Hi J!!

I left to head back & get showered. On the way I noticed these trailers filled with furniture.

H & I met them at the North Depot. While we were waiting for the bus E was complaining about MDE. I had to agree with her that it was nothing short of awful(for the whole trip). My FP's & reservations didn't come up the majority of the time. The "bus times" feature did not work at all. At this point E & I were friends on MDE again. She told me that she actually had to call that morning to get her FP's for the day b/c they weren't showing up & she couldn't remember what time they were. The CM gave her the info & told her that there was a 4:00 reservation that day for BOG. She told me that she didn't see that in my plans before she "defriended" me. H's eyes lit up when she heard about a BOG reservation. It was supposed to be a SURPRISE for everyone involved. When planning the trip I told H to pick which restaurants she wanted to eat at & BOG was one of them. Unfortunately, BOG was supposed to be closed that week for a refurbishment so I told H that it was out. Closer to the trip I happened to be looking for a reservation for this day since we didn't have one. I also put in for a party of 4 since I had a suspicion that E & J were coming. BOG came up so I grabbed it. I didn't tell H b/c I thought I would surprise her the day of. E was excited b/c it had been awhile since she ate there.

While we were on the bus E asked me if the shorts I was wearing were one of the malfunctioning pairs that I had on the last trip. I'm still getting picked on for them....
I told her that is not possible b/c both pairs are in a landfill somewhere.

E & J had a FP to meet Mickey & they were cutting it close so we took her bag & the stroller so they could go through the line for guests without bags.

I just love the fall decorations!!

 

[riverside]

Ah!! I’m so behind.

I love that it’s you and your niece. I can’t wait to take Tuvalette and Tuvaleen on an aunt/niece trip!!

Love H’s reaction to your journal and TR notes.

I’m pretty sure I went, “Ah! It’s J!” when I saw the pic. So excited he and E make an appearance! We’ve had plenty of family “surprises” over the years. Of course, that was back in the day before MDE. Or cell phones. And Grandtuvalu waiting hours for us to return to the resort.

Can’t wait for more. And less than a month until your next trip?? You’ll be writing TRs as fast as @Tuvalu

It was so much fun!! I've taken her a few times before & we've always had a good time.

Maybe when I'm done with this TR I'll have her read it. She'll understand then.

I was happy that they were there also!! I'll let J know you were excited to see him in this but if the 16 year old didn't get the concept of the TR I guess the 3 year old surely won't either!! We've done many surprises over the years also--MDE really has put a damper on that though.

Unfortunately it is the last one I have planned for this year but you never know. E & I have planned them as close as 3 weeks out! I think @Tuvalu has me beat!!

 

[riverside]

We'll be at POFQ from 25th Oct for 3 weeks! First time for that long, normally a 2 week trip, but when we booked this visit we thought we'd have some additional time and as we have to travel from the UK it's worth it. What dates are you there?

3 weeks!! That would be a dream come true!! I couldn't even begin to imagine how nice that would be!!
I'm sorry--It just hit me that it's already September. I'm going this month. I was thinking it was still August & that I'm going next month meaning September.

 

[riverside]

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22ND(CONT.)

H went into the Emporium while I stayed outside & watched this.

Meanwhile, J was having fun meeting the main man himself!!

 

[riverside]

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22ND(CONT.)
We met back up and headed to The Jungle Cruise. While in line I tried to make a deal with J. Remember, he all of a sudden got over his fear of HM(& he thinks he's big stuff for it BTW) but he still has it for POC. J also loves cars & has a ton of them but always wants more. I knew E would want to ride Pirates so I tried to talk him into it. This is how it went:

Me: J, can I make a deal with you?
J: What's that?
Me: If you rides Pirates without crying I will buy you a car when we get off of it.(I normally don't believe in doing this with kids but I felt bad for my sister).
J: (pauses for a moment-I can tell he's thinking)How about this? I have a deal for you. I'll go on Haunted Mansion then you can buy me a car!!
Me: (in disbelief that he's saying this)I'm the one making the deal here, not you. You've already proven that you will go on HM. I'm trying to get you to go on Pirates. No deal.

After the JC H & I went to POC and E & J went their separate ways.......

This is the only decent picture I got. The rest of them were really blurry.

Before we went to POC we stopped here. H couldn't wait to have the Fruit Waffle Sandwich again. I was trying it for the first time!!

It was great!! I don't know why I waited so long to try this!!

Now we were going to POC. This walkway is so small--it's a train wreck.

That's a healthy FP line...

This probably would be the explanation for that.

My photos all came out blurry on this also. That's ok though.....as long as I have this that's all that matters

 

[riverside]

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22ND(CONT.)

E was trying to get J to take a nap so H & I headed to our next FP.
My first castle pic I took that trip!!

I present to you the worst ride photo ever....

I seriously have no clue what that face is all about.

Trudging through the never-ending exit in the rain....

H & I visited some Happy Haunts.

We had a FP for BTMRR.
We were greeted with a very long FP line. I'm sure the earlier rain had something to do with it but at the end of the week we commented on how the FP lines were long all week.

We were ready for the wildest ride in the wilderness!!

 

[riverside]

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22ND(CONT.)

While we were in line to buy some water(I haven't mentioned it yet but was it ever hot!!) I noticed the Halloween version of the dryer lint was out & immediately thought of @Tuvalu.

Back in 1997 on our first trip to Disney World we were a party of 10. I remember getting a seat for the parade. A CM approached us & asked us if we would like to go to a special viewing area. She took us up some steps & out to one of those balconies on the 2nd floor. It was such a neat experience!! To this day every time I walk through Frontierland I look up there & think back to that day. I'll have to find my pictures & share them with you. I'm so grateful that we had that opportunity!!

I love seeing Philharmagic!! Plus a break from the heat was needed!!

I told H to stop so I could get her picture with the castle in the background.

One with the hair down & one with it up.

We reunited with E & J(although he had no clue) & made sure to get a group photo. I'm glad we at least took these b/c we never ended up getting another!!

 

[riverside]

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22ND(CONT.)


E, H & J went into the stores while I hung out to watch FoF.

Not a bad view considering I got in place about 3 minutes before it came through!!

I kept telling myself to take pics of different things instead of having tons of the same.

 

[riverside]

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22ND(CONT.)

More FoF pictures...

 

[riverside]

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22ND(CONT.)

As the parade ended I noticed the CM selling the balloons. Do you think you could get that one on the left-with Mickey missing an ear-for a discount?

J was still sleeping so H & I made our way to Peter Pan.

To H's dismay I told her a trip on IASW was in order. She really does not like this one.
This family of 4 was told to go in row 5 & H & I were to go in row 6. The guy was a complete jerk. The gates were opening as we all were approaching our rows. He cut us off & him & one of his kids jumped in our row. I said something smart & that's when they all looked forward as if they couldn't hear me. Maybe it was for the best--I probably wouldn't have wanted to sit in the same boat as them.

 

[Zipadeelady]

You are making me want to stay at POR again. We haven't stayed there for our last few trips. We always end up in the Bayou rooms, next time I'm asking for a Mansion room!! Your pics are beautiful.

 

[riverside]

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22ND(CONT.)
We met up with E & J. It was time for dinner!!

A few pictures while waiting....

It was starting to get dark again....

Nice!! I was happy to be getting out of the heat!!

Not so fast though. We still had to wait for a few more minutes but it was well worth it.....

There was a husband & his very young wife who both pulled in on their scooters. At one point the wife takes off on hers. He is very particular and turns his around so that the front end is facing out instead of towards the building. He backed it up three different times to get it as close as he could. Out of nowhere the Mrs. returns & she had to have had that scooter going it's max. Her husband wasn't fully sitting on the seat & his left foot was on the ground. Well, Speed Racer ended up running over/hitting her husbands leg/foot. He immediately started crying in pain. I'm sure it hurt but he was being a bit much. As the photo below shows she wasn't that concerned. He's crouched over in pain & she's busy on her phone. I know it may sound mean but we couldn't help but laugh at this whole situation.

We were seated in the main ballroom.

Dinner is the prix fixe menu. The waitress informed us that the recipe for the French Onion soup had changed. It used to be a vegetarian item but they now use a beef broth. She said the soup had more flavor to it now.

 

[riverside]

You are making me want to stay at POR again. We haven't stayed there for our last few trips. We always end up in the Bayou rooms, next time I'm asking for a Mansion room!! Your pics are beautiful.

I just love it there--I really have a hard time staying at another resort. There's a part of me that always hopes that they'll put me in the bayou just once!! Thanks!!