Trip Report To Walt Disney World...and beyond! *COMPLETED!*

We’re back from a wonderful 10 days of pure Disney life! What could be better than an anniversary-turned-engagement celebration at the Happiest Place on Earth? There’s so much to be encompassed in this trip report – so let’s get started!

Pre-Trip Report here: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/2-peas-in-a-disney-pod.884811/

The cast: Me and the fiancé "J". Both 24 years old. Both Disney crazed. This was our 5th trip in a row together!

Travel dates: September 4th - September 13th - All Star Sports.

We woke up at 3:30 AM to get to the airport in time for our 6 AM flight! When going to Disney World, this is not a problem. After a safe and uneventful flight with a flight attendant who kept proclaiming he 'loved us' and 'meant it', we arrived at MCO a little before 9. I was so giddy - practiced my powerwalking skills through MCO. It was GO TIME!

What's better than being in Disney World? Seeing this sign - then being in Disney World!

We arrived at All Star Sports and it finally started hitting me: we were here! The noise and smells (the good kind) from the food court flooded our ears. We were assisted by a very kind CM during check in, and may have been a little too quick at snatching this little beauty from her hands in all my excitement...

We weren't surprised to find out that our room wasn't ready yet...it wasn't even 11 AM yet. We were surprised, however, to see that our room would be in Surf's Up (preferred building). Since we only use our resort room for a few hours of sleep, we always go with standard to save a few bucks. But hey, I guess this could classify as a 'room upgrade'. Thanks Disney!

From check in, we headed to the bus stop for Animal Kingdom. I absolutely love getting almost a full day of park fun in on the first day! In little to no time, we were here.

We took our time strolling through the beautiful Oasis. As this was our first time experiencing MyMagic and MagicBands, we tried our best to reserve judgment on the system until we dealt with it firsthand. I must say, it felt nice knowing we had three FPs already reserved and that missing rope drop on the first day wouldn't be so rough.

But we really didn't need to worry. Animal Kingdom was pretty deserted. Expedition Everest advertised a 5 minute wait at 11:30 AM, and the whole process probably took just about that.

*That feeling you get as the car rolls up and you're about to step onto the ride for the first time.*

There are no words to describe how spiraling backwards and upwards on a roller coaster feels. Well maybe 'AWESOME' could, but I feel it doesn't do Everest enough justice.

With the first ride of Disney World Extravaganza 2014 under our belts, our tummies began to rumble. It was time to find some sustenance and do what we do best - EAT! Our dinner reservations later that night was a biggie, so we tried to eat light. And we ended up eating something we could very well eat at home. But we love the cousins of Panda Express, so Yak & Yeti Local Foods it was!

Mmm...Orange Chicken. Sometimes you just need that in your life. Lunch entertainment was provided by a few very brave and bold ducks.

 

[belledream]

Day 9! We had big plans for our last full day - the schedule would be filled with a bunch of old fun and a plethora of new adventure. We started off by going to Animal Kingdom for morning Extra Magic Hours.

It was well worth it. A quiet and beautiful place on this fine morning.

The sprinklers were still working their magic.

Animal Kingdom...there's a different kind of beauty and charm here.

Since they were doing construction of the Tree of Life, this was one of the few shots I got of it all trip.

Told ya it was empty!

We truly enjoyed our solitary stroll around Animal Kingdom, from Discovery Island, to Africa, and now to Asia.

Because we walked on to Expedition Everest! Every time we go up, I find myself craning my neck left and right trying to see WDW far and wide. This time, I brought my camera out for the ride so I could capture the views and be able to look back on it.

EPCOT, Swan & Dolphin, Tower of Terror.

To the right now...

And the rest was history.

 

[belledream]

Our breakfast choice for the day...

Jalapeno Cheese Stuffed Pretzel. Yummy cheesy goodness with a kick! We sat down in Africa and snacked on this as the park was just beginning to wake up. The drummers were out, it was the start of a promising party!

We journeyed into the Harambe Wildlife Reserve for an extended version of the tour.

Someone's still sleepy...

Our safari was extended due to those silly giraffes, always blocking the roads and causing traffic jams. This one, in particular, was being very stubborn and eventually our guide had to call for some backup. The truck came out of nowhere, I swear.

Morning bath? I feel ya. Those are the little luxuries of life.

After our tour, we strolled right into the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, aka home of the always-entertaining gorillas! My favorite!

See the baby?

This adolescent was going crazy. He was running around in circles, doing somersaults, and grabbed a little plastic seesaw and threw it a few feet away. It was beyond entertaining.

I can only assume this is his father.

Needless to say, we spent a good amount of time on the trail observing the gorillas. When we got our fill, we decided to head to the good ol' Conservation Station.

All aboard! We are on our way.

 

[belledream]

It's been a few years since we've made it to the Conservation Station. I completely forgot about the views on the Wildlife Express!

It was very interesting to see, and I'm almost surprised Disney lets you see where they keep the animals. Keepin' it real, yet 'real' is still so cool in Disney World!

We enjoyed our quiet time in the dark listening to Song of the Rainforest. I squirm and squealed my way through it. It feels/sounds so real!

We met Rafiki, and we moseyed our way through a bunch of different displays including a pellet food station, an operation room, and a few Hidden Mickey petri dishes.

But here comes everyone's favorite part...animal-petting-free-for-all!

This guy was just chewing away at this bar the entire time. Didn't stop for nothing.

We had a fun time here. It's probably one of the most forgotten lands in all of the World. It was good to make an appearance again. Plus, that train ride is so relaxing. We definitely enjoyed all the displays on the way home, en route to some lunch!

 

[Mom@disney]

I love Animal Kingdom! Great photos on EE. I couldn't build up the courage to open my eyes on the way up lol.

 

[belledream]

We had planned to go Flame Tree, but neither of us were feeling like ribs or BBQ at the moment. For some weird reason, we ended up at Yak & Yeti Local Foods Café again...

J got Honey Chicken and I got a 'special' which was something like curry chicken. Both were pretty satisfying and lots of people passing by seemed very interested and inspired by our food.

Our lunch view. Don't think I ever noticed this boat before!

After lunch, we made our way to Dinoland to ride the best ride ever. We used those paper FPs we got on our first day when we were evacuated from the ride. I screamed in terror and delight, and I most certainly did not use the handlebars because the choppiness is what makes it fun!

We exited the ride later to find that it was pouring. We hunkered down and began running through the rain again. We wanted to catch Festival of the Lion King for a second time!

We took refuge in Island Mercantile for a bit so we could explore the colorfulness of the shop.

When I think of Animal Kingdom, these shops are always very vivid and prominent in my mind.

My brother and I bought these shirts when we first went to Animal Kingdom in 1998. Besides the extra background images, I love how this hasn't changed.

We went back out into the rain and sloshed our way to Festival of the Lion King. Tumble Monkeys, Be Prepared, and Can You Feel The Love Tonight, just as fun, entertaining, and beautiful as always.

Love these shops!

I have always told J many of my childhood Disney memories, and one of them involved the novelty and joy of eating a dirt cup. As we started walking towards the exit, we just happened to pass a kiosk and a certain two words jumped out to us. DIRT CUP!!!

It was maybe only about 2 PM or so, but we had completed Animal Kingdom through and through, and were ready for a new adventure.

The rain really helped make the scene complete - the Oasis just oozed beauty and lushness until we reached the gates.

Goodbye Animal Kingdom. Onto something new!

 

[belledream]

What is this 'something new' that I speak of?

Last year, we discovered the amazing fun of Disney miniature golf. We took a break from a Hollywood Studios day and thoroughly enjoyed an afternoon of leisure and competition at Fantasia Gardens. This year, we had our hearts set on Winter Summerland. Winter side, of course.

Each hole has an adorable poem dedicated to it.

Who doesn't want to golf on snow?! The beginning holes were very cute. When you would get it in the hole, the fishing pole would yank.

Or when you passed the ball underneath the campfire, it would ignite.

I think this right here is the reason why Disney mini golf is a million times more entertaining than regular mini golf. Slap a castle or a Mickey Ear on any theme and it instantly becomes something worth my time.

This was my favorite hole. The ball would travel down erratically on the bunny slopes. So fun!

The one hole I actually achieved a hole-in-one, I got squirted by this snowman. What are the chances?!

It was nice that no one was around. We didn't have to wait for anyone, and could take our time as well. Also, I became very aware of the Christmas music that was playing. In September? It felt absolutely right!

The things Disney thinks of...once you hit the ball into this post, it would spiral upward and shoot out at the top, right near the hole.

We had so much fun with our own little Christmastime in Disney. J won, 47-51, but we both did better than the 56 that was printed on our scorecard. Moving on up.

With another thing crossed off our bucket list, the day was still young. We had a great dinner coming up, but the day was still young. We caught the first MK resort bus that came around to because we were about to go spend the rest of the afternoon resort hopping! ♪ These are a few of my favorite things ♪

 

[SharonD]

Great day so far! AK and mini-golf, and you're not done. Enjoying your photos and your report.

 

[dancingtodisney]

Yes they do! We didn't do it but here's a general overview of all the little things you can do at AKL and you'll get a pamphlet-type thing at check-in with more specific times and locations I'm sure.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/animal-kingdom-lodge/recreation/

And that's exactly how we were with Sports. We were out of the room before 8 AM, and back around 11 PM or midnight. Wake up, quick 2 minute walk to the bus, parks all day, come back, shower, sleep, repeat. It was a good price for all of our needs and still had that Disney magic! The food court looks much better than it used to, though we didn't actually eat anything there so I can't speak on the food.

Thanks for the info! Eeeeeek only 3 sleeps now!

Sports sounds ideal, I'm excited to check it out. I just caught up on your TR too and now I REALLY want to try minigolf!

 

[belledream]

Great day so far! AK and mini-golf, and you're not done. Enjoying your photos and your report.

Thank you! More excitement to come today!

Thanks for the info! Eeeeeek only 3 sleeps now!

Sports sounds ideal, I'm excited to check it out. I just caught up on your TR too and now I REALLY want to try minigolf!

Ahh so close!! Have a wonderful time! Minigolf is great for a park break. You can boat from HS/EPCOT to Fantasia Gardens and it's a quick walk from Swan & Dolphin, or bus to Blizzard Beach for Winter Summerland. I think I found FG to be a little tougher skill-wise, but WS is fun for the theme. Enjoy whatever you choose!

 

[Mom@disney]

What a fantastic day so far! I never realized that the mini golf would be so great...another first for another trip.

 

[belledream]

Here we are! We arrived at Contemporary, the only Magic Kingdom resort I've ever stayed at way back when my brother wasn't even a year old. Even though we visit Contemporary pretty much every trip, it still brings back some nostalgia. J also names it his Magic Kingdom resort he most would like to stay at one day.

This needs to go in our basement.

I felt so cool whilst in this shop. I don't know why...

You're never too old to get excited at the sound of the monorail swooshing in and out of the building!

We spent some time sitting on the deck and gazing out at MK. The monorail would come by every so often, the background music was quite relaxing, and the strong breeze just made caressed my body til I went limp.

Not a bad zoom for my little point-and-shoot!

After some time, we moved on to take a peek at Bay Lake Tower. I know one of the highlights of staying here is getting that theme park view, but this lake ain't bad either. In fact, it's quite gorgeous!

The lobby looked very nice, but almost indistinct from any old hotel lobby. That is, until you stand under the light fixture and see a Hidden Mickey.

After that, it was back to Contemporary to hop on that loveable monorail. We're off to Polynesian!

 

[belledream]

We knew Poly was under construction, but we weren't prepared for just how 'under construction' it was. I still managed to capture (what I felt was) the beauty of this resort.

It was very quiet. Not a soul in sight. We strolled along the paths, admiring the greenery. While we love all things tropical, Polynesian doesn't seem like our type of resort. I can't place my finger on why.

Maybe because over there...that's my type of resort!

Bah! Construction! Originally, we had planned to watch fireworks from the beach as we did and thoroughly enjoyed last year, but it wasn't looking too promising. No need to panic! We had a plan.

Birds of Paradise are the coolest flowers ever.

So many Hidden Mickey's I can't wrap my head around it.

We came back inside to explore BouTiki where we found this interesting little twist on the traditional postcard.

This is the new lobby. I'm sure it will look great when it comes to fruition, but like many, I was disappointed to see the beautiful waterfall in the Polynesian lobby get blown to dust. It was so luscious and calming.

Hey look! It's our happy little family. Seeing Goofy & Pluto around the World makes me so happy. We bring them on vacation so they can have fun too!

If you haven't guessed already, we were dining at 'Ohana tonight! A first for the both of us.

I seriously don't know why it took us so long to discover that as two meat-loving adults who can eat their body weight, we should probably make a reservation for this place. Well, here goes nothing!

 

[belledream]

This was our view and it was breathtaking.

This was our food and it was delicious. I didn't know how much to eat for fear that I would be too full by the time the meat arrived!

This is called "Mixed Greens Salad with Lilikoi Dressing" but really they were like lettuce wraps. It was so fresh, sweet, and savory at the same time.

Then they brought out the Pork Dumplings and Honey Chicken Wings. My weakness! I eat so much dumplings at home, and I had to force myself not to inhale all of these. The chicken was good too - the honey sauce was perfect. I hate really saucy wings that get in my nails and all over my face.

I only had a small bite of these stir-fry noodles - I didn't want to fill up on something like this! Not with what was to come. I definitely nommed on those vegetables though.

From this point on, they came and served us selections of Pork Loin, Sirloin Steak, and Grilled Shrimp by the skewer. In my haste to choose and eat, I only snapped a close up of the pork before we devoured our plates. But trust me, they were all delicious. The pork was saucy, the steak was tender, and the shrimp had nice spice to it.

We had a few extra helpings of this and that, and I was so overstimulated by the view and the brand-new appeal of 'Ohana that I almost forgot it was our last night in Disney. But we spent the time reflecting on our favorite moments, our new eating spots, traditions we would continue to uphold, and how grateful we were to have this experience.

Oh, and then dessert came. That's always a highlight. I heard a lot about you, ‘Ohana Bread Pudding.

You did not disappoint. I'm more of a banana/caramel fan than J, so I had a good amount of this to myself. The bread was so soft and the ice cream on top just seeped into its crevices. I may have even had a few spoonfuls of the caramel sauce at the bottom. Gross, I know.

The sun set during our time at 'Ohana. It was fun to see children laughing and their families watching them happily. The live music was both livened the atmosphere and soothed my soul. When we were finally ready to leave, we stopped by the open kitchen to observe.

It was the perfect way to round out our ADR lineup. We are about to truly become our own 'Ohana. It just fits!

And with that, we said goodbye to Polynesian and set off for the greatest of them all...the Grand Floridian!

 

[belledream]

The moment we stepped in, I knew this was the place for me. We've visited Grand Floridian on many occasions, but I think all the resort exploring we've done in the past week and a half, the Grand Floridian just blew everything else out of the water.

While I'm a Yacht & Beach Club girl 4ever, I'm also just a huge girly-girl, dreamer, princess, etc. You get it. The opulence and grandeur of the GF completely sent my mind into overdrive. The live music set the atmosphere and we spent some time leaning against the railing, feasting our eyes upwards toward the chandelier and downwards to the birdcages, elevators, and people.

I felt like a princess walking down these stairs. If only I brought one of my many gowns that I have no other occasion to wear them on now!

The Disney touches in the floor just brought a smile to my face.

This is what makes GF different than any Four Seasons or Gaylord Hotel.

I was absolutely stunned. The GF and I were made for each other.

But it is when we walked outside that completely stole my heart. The resort was illuminated like a fragile dollhouse. The gorgeous fountain was trickling away. Kids were running along the lawns playing, while adults sat out on blankets enjoying the perfect night air. I had a beautiful vision of us doing the same thing in a number of years. My heart smiled.

We strolled hand in hand on along the paths, gazing at all the different buildings, and made our way to the dock. I didn't want to leave, but it was almost fireworks time!

The boat is always more fun at night, mainly because of views like these. The cool air whipped us in the face as we sped away from GF towards MK.

 

[belledream]

It wasn't going to just be any ordinary fireworks viewing. It was a Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party night. You know what that means...Hallowishes! I was so excited to see it. We went to our first MNSSHP last year and had a great time, but I couldn't really remember the fireworks...probably due to overstimulation again. Well this was the perfect opportunity for a refresher.

Once we saw the Poly beach, we decided to go to our backup plan. Contemporary Resort! We opted to walk from MK to Contemporary inside of hiking up in the other direction and waiting for the monorail. We enjoyed being our silly selves as we walked.

I didn't really notice during the day just how big some of those windows are. What a great place to stay!

We went back to the observation deck of Contemporary and enjoyed a moment looking at Cinderella Castle illuminated at night. It was so nice and windy up here. Plus the music loop going on the background...I was so content with the world. When I think about happy times at WDW 2014, I will always think about this moment.

And then the Electrical Water Pageant popped up! I had forgotten to expect that we'd see this. It was a nice little surprise.

And then it began! HALLOWISHES! I forgot how the soundtrack started out. It was frightfully entertaining.

Again, I was surprised to see fireworks being shot off from different areas. It was so fascinating. J and I kept looking at each other and saying nothing other than, "Woah."

And for the grand finale...

Absolutely surreal how big the fireworks appeared. So big, I couldn't even get it in the entire frame. I'm so glad it was Hallowishes that we saw, and not Wishes. If it was Wishes, I probably would've cried. This was the perfect way to end our last night at Disney. It was a celebration of us and all that we have ahead of us.

 

[kels650]

You seem like such a fun and happy person to travel to Disney with. I love how much you appreciate every tiny detail. It is so refreshing, and reminds me of exactly what makes me so happy to be in Disney! I am so glad you had a wonderful time, and I can only imagine the fun and traditions you will pass on to your future family! Beautiful!

 

[belledream]

You seem like such a fun and happy person to travel to Disney with. I love how much you appreciate every tiny detail. It is so refreshing, and reminds me of exactly what makes me so happy to be in Disney! I am so glad you had a wonderful time, and I can only imagine the fun and traditions you will pass on to your future family! Beautiful!

Wow, thank you so much for such kind words! Disney has always been my life and I'm so glad that I found someone to share it with and that people can see how much we enjoy our time there, and the memories that stay with us after. Thanks for reading! Grand finale coming up.

 

[belledream]

10 days had come, but they have not completely gone. We woke up, finished any last minute packing, tucked Goofy & Pluto safely in our suitcases, and rolled on out. It's always a painful feeling to hear the wheels on your suitcase rumble against the pavement, watching all the other people milling around the resort unencumbered by bags and the prospect of leaving. But I had to remind myself, we had spent 10 amazing days here. We made the most of every single day, and we had so, so much fun. And with those positive feelings planted in my mind, it was now time to focus on the seven hours we had left in Disney World, and we chose to spend them at the center of it all - our beloved Magic Kingdom.

We had great bus luck and got to MK with plenty of time to spare before the welcome show began. It was a great start to the day.

Once inside, we headed for Tomorrowland for to get out Space Mountain fix. How do I not get tired of this stuff? Oh, because it's AWESOME - that's why!

We exited to find that Indy Speedway looked kind of deserted. That's our type of wait for something like this! Fact: I hate driving. It's scary, tedious, and people are rude and idiots. Also, I have a horrible sense of direction (except at Disney of course ). Therefore, when the CM asked if we'd be driving together or separately, they were somewhat surprised we said 'together'. Hey, I'm on vacation! No way am I driving. As we puttered around, J joked that this is what we always do: me chilling in the passenger's seat while he escorts me. It was true - the top was rolled down, I was grinning from head to toe, enjoying the 5 mph winds in my hair.

Remember how on our first MK day I said that I'm pretty horrible at Buzz, but scored 999,999 during our trip? Well it's true! I did. We both did actually. J had looked up the high value targets online and made it his life's mission to max out on Buzz. He did after about a minute. I offered him to play mine, but he encouraged me to go for it as well, and guess what? I did it! Go me.

We headed all the way over to Adventureland, enjoying the morning sights and sounds. We passed by the Swiss Family Treehouse, an attraction we previously declined due to stairs...but today, we said, "why not?"

The view was quite nice at the top.

It felt like we had journeyed to an entirely different place, worlds apart from where we just were.

Continuing on, we took a daily swing by Pirates of the Caribbean. My favorite scene above! Love being in the middle of the cannon fight. Not in real life of course, but you get it.

Upon exiting, like the sillies that we are, we laughed at the moving platform. Oh Disney, you never cease to make me smile.

The transition from Adventureland to Frontierland is very smooth, and before we knew it, we found ourselves at Big Thunder Mountain.

What a clear, beautiful day for a wild ride in the wilderness. Festival of Fantasy finally, today, perhaps? Cross your fingers for us.

 

[Zipadeelady]

I love your story about the Speedway. It made me laugh out loud. Thanks for sharing your trip, I really enjoyed it!

 

[belledream]

I love your story about the Speedway. It made me laugh out loud. Thanks for sharing your trip, I really enjoyed it!

Thanks for following along this whole time!