First Visit - Halloween 2013 - VelcroPooh's Trip Report

Thanks. He's a very good man and I'm very lucky.

I really want to go Cinderellas Royal Table. I don't think we'd use the dining plan but pay for it out of pocket.

I was glad we did it. It was really nice to see the inside, the food was great and it was just a fun experience to know I was sitting in the castle eating. I really felt like a Princess. For me, it was one of those "need to do it once" things but I doubt I would repeat it because of the expense.

Day 6 - Continued - MNSSHP!

We went back to the resort and changed. Hopped back on the bus and was back in MK for the MNSSP sporting our bands and trick-or-treat bags by 5:00. Now, this is what I didn't plan for. We had a game plan all laid out so we would be able to do the important things. I wanted to see both of the parades, plus Hallowishes. I wanted to trick or treat and try to catch some characters. I also wanted to ride the Haunted Mansion to get the cool shots plus get the magic shots on our photopass. That was pretty much it and I figured we would have plenty of time for all of that. What I didn't account for....we spent half of our night stopping and talking to little ones and posing for pictures! Ha ha. I knew our costumes turned out cute, but every child that passed us thought we were the real characters and would come running up to us. They all had to see ToTo and talk to us. I'm not complaining. It was really fun and they were so cute, but it did mess up my plans!

I only wanted two souvenirs for the evening. I wanted the Mickey popcorn bucket and the special event pin. So we stopped immediately in the Emporium only to find out that they had ran out of the pins two weeks prior! They were very apologetic and nice about it but I did get my Mickey bucket! So we hit up some photopass places and then headed for the Haunted Mansion. We made it there, but seriously, it took us almost two hours because of being stopped. On the way back to try and catch the first parade, we ran into Bullseye and Jessie at a dance party and the CM's literally drug us in there because no one was going in. My hubs loves Toy Story and was more than happy to oblige. We then ran into Tarzan and Jane, got pictures with them and by the time we got to Main Street, caught the last maybe 3 minutes of the parade. Ok, no problem, we'll get the next one. We were starving so we ran into Cosmic Rays and got burgers real quick and then went to look for somewhere to watch the fireworks. The front of the castle was packed for the show, but we squeezed in and caught the show. It was crowded so we moved towards the side for Hallowishes, big mistake. We could see, but we missed all the perimeter bursts for the trees. It was still beautiful.

We went back up towards Fantasyland, ran into the mice and then down into Liberty Square to claim a spot for the next parade. We had a wonderful spot and I absolutely loved the parade! Bad news? I had changed the settings on my camera to try and capture fireworks and forgot to set it back! All but two of my pics are blurs Oh well...live and learn.

After that, we just wondered around. As everyone was leaving the park, I was standing in front of the statue taking pictures and a very nice Security Officer asked if we wanted him to take a picture of us in front of the Walt and Mickey statue. It was very sweet sitting there, with hardly anyone around and taking it in. We slowly made our way out, taking our time to take in all of Main Street, practically empty. It was a beautiful solemn moment for us and one I will remember for a long time. It was a great evening, even with the blips.

Oh my goodness, your costumes are SO CUTE! And that sounds so nice, hanging back while everyone is leaving, savoring every last bit.

Great report Velcropooh.

Your final picture is lovely ~ It is very rare that you get a picture at Disney with no one else around.

And I love your costumes

As long as you went with the flow which sounds like you did! As long as you had a great time as well! We all get a little sidetracked with our plans.

Thank you! I guess because everyone was so tired after MNSSHP, they made a beeline for the exit. By 15 after 12, there were very few people left. This was a picture I took as we strolled towards the entrance. You can see how empty it was. So peaceful.

Oh we did! I like to make plans but I'm not thrown off when I need to change or thinks get out of whack. It was actually very sweet with all the kiddos running up and hugging us. I guess they were used to doing Character meets and thought we were part of it because they hadn't seen a Dorothy and Scarecrow.

Oh and Tarzan grabbed ToTo out of my basket and got on the floor and starting playing with him and barking at him! It was hilarious!

Day 7 " Animal Kingdom
I'm still having issues with Photobucket not wanting to rotate anything, so I'm just going to summarize our day and then add all the pics.

We were still up early despite our late evening and heading towards the bus stop by 8:30. This was the only time we had trouble with bus service. The CM was having a fit on her radio because there had been no AK buses for over 20 minutes. Finally, after about 30 minutes, 3 in a row showed up! So it was around 9:30 by the time we got to AK. I loved the beauty of the park and we had no FP+ until afternoon, so we spent the morning wandering around. We did run into DeVine and I think my hubby has a crush on her now. We spent a good 20 minutes just watching her.

We caught the train over to Rafiki land (my name for it now) and enjoyed the trail walks. We came back and did some window shopping in Mombasa Marketplace, where the entertainers nabbed my hubby to dance. It was so funny. That man doesn't have an embarrassment button. By then, we were hungry so I thought we would try our luck with a walk-up at Yak & Yeti so we headed that way. SCORE! We were seated within 5 minutes. Oh my! You guys were so right! We both had the Kobe burgers and by far, my favorite meal all week.

We headed towards the Safari for our first FP and according to the CM, we got a great tour as we saw every animal. The only worrisome moment was when we got stopped, by all things, an Ostrich in the Cheetah area. Our guide immediately got on her radio, told us to keep our eyes on the Cheetah and radioed it in. They were all, "Ok, so you are held up by an Ostrich where?" She said, "The Cheetah area", immediately they went, "Umm...on our way!" Luckily, Ollie the Ostrich decided to move in about 5 minutes finally. I loved the safari and wanted to take a Rhino home with me.

After that, we had FPs at Everest. I was so looking forward to this one as roller coasters are my favorite. Hubs hates heights and was nervous but as soon as we came to a stop he was yelling, "Again! Again!" So we jumped back in the standby line and in less than 10 mintues was riding again. Then it was Dinosaur and yes, bumpity bump bump bump, but I liked it and giggled through the whole thing.

The rest of the afternoon, we just walked around, found Pooh (Made my day!) and watch "It's Tough to be a Bug". I loved walking round the park and although I would go back one day to catch more shows, I really felt that it was a one day park as most of you advised. I enjoyed it, but I didn't have any desire to return later in the week. I will say that I would have returned just to ride Everest over and over.

Animal overload!

Your pictures are all fantastic BUT -
I the ones of Devine are incredible! I have never seen such great shots-
well done!

and kudos to husband for being a great sport and playing along!~

Thank you. I have about 20 of her because we stood there for so long. I'm not kidding, hubby was totally in a trance watching her move. He would just turn around and look at me, mouth all open and go, "Wow!" I was cracking up and I think she was getting a kick out of it because she kept smiling at me.

Was the kangaroo on Kilimanjaro Safaris? I can't remember ever seeing one in AK before...and I think that would stick out to me because I think kangaroos are almost as cool as tigers & monkeys & giraffes! Now we have to keep AK on our schedule for December just so we can have a kangaroo scavenger hunt!

No, it was on one of the trails pretty much near the entrance.. I think the Discovery Trail or something like that?

I love them too and was shocked when I saw it there.

OH! Thank you so much for sharing your report! Awesome trip, I love your surprises! Congrats to your college grad!

Great pictures of Devine Velcropooh!

Thank you!

Day 7 - Continued - Epcot

So since the park closed early, we decided to park hop over to Epcot. Now DH has been to WDW several times before and this is his favorite park. He had never been during F&W though, so he was excited to get there. We were originally planning on spending all the next day there and tonight would be a rest night...so much for that!

So we grabbed a bus and was there in just a few. I was totally in awe of spaceship earth as soon as I saw it. What an amazing piece of architecture. This was what was so funny though. After snagging some photopass shots, I was dragging DH towards it going, "I want to ride it first!" He's going, "Honey...ha ha ha....honey...." Me, "What? Come on!" Him: (laughing hysterically) "Baby...baby...it's not a ride sweetheart....baha ha haha". So I stop and look at him, "Uh huh!" Him: "No sweetie." Me being indignant: "Yeeeesssssss....itttttt....issssss!" So I start dragging him again and he's just following along, dying laughing....until we get close enough to see the standby sign of 5 minutes. He stops dead in his tracks and goes, "You are kidding me. There's a ride inside? After all these years I have visited....there's a freaking ride inside????"

Now I get to laugh hysterically and give him my best "Told you so" look.

So we ride it and spend some time playing in the game room afterwards, having a racing competiton on the car game. Then we head out and start exploring. We stopped to try the different coke products (gag) and then headed right around the world. We were in no hurry knowing we were coming back the next day. Now this is where I was in love. I love buildings and gardens. I love unique architecture, so I was in my element looking around. It was starting to get dark and lights were coming on. I was just strolling and gawking. DH grabbed a beer and we started hearing loud music. The summer music concerts were still going on and it ended up being Smashmouth! So we sat down and finished watching them. I love Smashmouth.

We started walking around again, and this is where my foot finally gave out. I have tore my Achilles tendon twice and had it surgically repaired and it's past it's expiration date again. When we got back up, my foot was killing me all of a sudden. So we decided just to walk back the way we had came and find a seat for the fireworks. We ended up on the bridge by France and literally just sat there for the next hour until it was time for Illuminations. DH just went and grabbed us a couple of hotdogs, chips and drinks from somewhere and we sat there and ate them.

Illuminations? Oh my goodness. My favorite thing! I loved it and really found it the most beautiful and peaceful thing I had seen. The view wasn't bad, but we had a better one the next night. So I only attached a picture to give you the idea of the view from the bridge. After that, I hobbled slowly back to the entrance and we caught the bus back to the resort. I was thinking, "This is not good. It's only our second day!"

Oh my gosh, he didn't know there was a ride inside Spaceship Earth!? That's precious. It sounds like you guys had a fantastic start at Epcot!

Day 8 - Epcot

So I wake up and my foot feels much better. Still hurting but not pain-pain like the night before. I have been through this so much that at this point, I knew if I had torn it again, the damage was done and it's just going to get worse during the week. So up and at them, and off to Epcot we go around 9:00.

We had FP+ for this day for Soarin, Test Track and Maelstrom for later in the afternoon. Plus and ADR at Akershus for Princess Dining for dinner. So the morning, we knew we wanted to walk around and see more of the park. Lunch plans were to snack around the world. Because the F&W and world showcase doesn't open until 11:00, it was very empty, which made it very nice to walk around and take pictures. I was a little hungry, so we grabbed a coffee and donut at a stand. Oh my. I had a red velvet donut and it was so fresh and soft.

At 11:00, we noticed that Alice in Wonderland was due, so we waited about 5 minutes and saw her. This ended up being my favorite character meet and greet. Which is funny, because I'm not a huge fan. She has this part nailed though and chatted at 90mph and was so daft. Then, right after, Mary Poppins showed up! Ahhhh....Mary Poppins. We stopped and watched the street performers in front of the Rose and Crown...they were hilarious. We were getting near our FP time, so we headed towards the Soarin side of the park. We had time and the standby time was only 10 minutes for Figment...so had to. Then we spent a little time playing with the figment games and designing our figments. Soarin was the bomb! I really felt like I was flying!

We hit up Living with the Land, which I enjoyed seeing the area of food production, and then came out and ran into Chip & Dale! Yay! We were getting hungry so we stopped back in Canada. I had the Le Cellier Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon and the Cheddar Cheese Soup. DH tried the Seared Rainbow Trout. I love the filet and DH's trout was good. The soup was way to strong for me and after a couple of bites, handed it over to DH. He loved it. It was at this time, I spotted my first Dole Whip! It was the orange one, but had to have it. I loved it! It tasted like a creamsicle.

Time for Test Track so away we went. DH loves cars and the faster the better, so he was excited for this one. We had a FP but we still had to wait for about 20 minutes. First time that had happened. It was fun designing your car, but I could see where that would get boring after a couple of times and took up a lot of time to get people on the ride. Our car looked cool and won! Came out and we had to spend forever looking at the cars and playing with the car pictures but DH was in car heaven.

Time for dinner and we had an ADR at Akershus for the Princess Storybook Dining. They have Belle in her full yellow dress when you enter and take your photo package picture. I will tell you, I didn't think she looked like Belle at all. There was something about her face and hair that was just off enough to not look right. The one we caught later in her blue dress was better. The food was wonderful and the Princesses were really cute again. It was fun watching the Princesses take all the kids around the restaurant in a Princess and Prince parade. The little ones were so cute waving at everyone. You start off with an appetizer buffet called "Taste of Norway". It had Seafood, Imported Cheeses, cured and sliced Meats, and a vast selection of Salads and Fruits. Just putting a small bite of each thing will fill your plate to the brim! It was all good. For entrees, I had the Traditional Kjottkake Norwegian Meatballs served with Mashed Potatoes, Seasonal Vegetables, and Lingonberry Sauce. DH had the Pan-seared Salmon with Potato and Celery Hash, Salmon Bacon, and Maple Gastrique. You share a dessert plate of apple cake, a chocolate mouse with dark chocolate coating and a type of pudding with strawberry sauce. It was all good.

We hit up Maelstrom next with our FP and walked right on. I thought this ride was fun and it took my stomach when it went backwards! Back to hitting up the shops and just kind of taking it all in while waiting for Illuminations again. We both wanted to explore the shops in the different worlds. The plan had been to eat more around the world all day, but I just couldn't eat any more. DH did try several of the beers throughout the day.

We nabbed a spot near Japan to watch the fireworks again. It was just as pretty as the day before and then headed out.

Picture Part 2

Picture Part 3

I forgot these two and the one cracks me up every time I look at it!

No! He didn't have a clue. One thing I learned about him on this trip was some more information on his "previous situation". That's what we both call our first marriages. Apparently, his first wife was what I would call a person who went places just for the social status? You know, to say she had been there, but didn't enjoy it. When he had been, it was literally just to go into the park for a little while so she could shop and then back to the resort. She wasn't a people person at all so although he's been many places, he really didn't see anything. If that makes sense.

Great pictures VelcroPooh and great TR!! Love the ride in Spaceship Earth - my DH always lets me do the picking of what our future will look like at the end.

I swear, I'll eventually get this TR finished!

Day 9 - Hollywood Studios

We were up bright and early and arrived right after the park opened. I'm still torn between HS and MK as my favorite park, but I absolutely loved HS! Of course I'm a movie buff and I love old Hollywood so this all appealed to me.

We started off on the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, then headed straight over to Pixar Studios. We had FP+ today for TSM, TOT and the Rock Coaster later but hubs loves Toy Story, so we got in line to actually wait 45 minutes for him to meet Buzz and Woody. This is the only Character greet that we waited more than 20 minutes for. We had a blast with Buzz and Woody. Buzz gave hubs a hard time the entire time. I also figured out from the pictures, this is the park I turned into a big 4 year old in! Ha ha. Then it was on to TSM, where I proudly whipped hubs! On to the back lot tour, where I could have spent hours going through the prop area. We survived the catastrophe and rewarded ourselves for being alive by a visit to Sully and Mike. We wandered around the area then and I was tickled to see the fountain from the movie "Splash" as I always loved that movie. As you can see from the pics, the Osborne lights were already going up. I found the umbrella and made it rain, and performed my rendition of "Singing in the Rain". Got our pics with the Cars Stars and then caught Muppet 3D.

We were starving and had no plans but we were passing by the Sci-Fi and decided to try our luck with a walk up. They were able to accommodate us within 15 minutes, but this is the one semi bad experience we had. The registration CM was friendly, but after that, the other CM's were not. The girl that sat us was not rude, but just not friendly and very abrupt. Our waiter was not friendly and after bringing our food ( I had the bacon cheeseburger, hubs had the one with a hotdog on it, for dessert he had a chocolate sundae and I had the Out-of-This-World Turtle Cheesecake with Heath Bar, Pecans, Chocolate Chips, Caramel Sauce, with Whipped Cream), we didn't see him again for almost 30 minutes. Both our drinks were empty and we kept trying to find him. He finally refilled them and brought our desserts and then disappeared again. We waited over 20 more minutes trying to get his attention to get our check and he acted as if we were bothering him. It was another 15 minutes before he brought our receipt back. We loved the food, the atmosphere and everything else, but the staff was horrible. I hope it was just an off day.

We shook it off and headed for Star Tours. Loved it! We were getting close to our FP for TOT, so we headed that way and browsed a few shops on the way. We had back to back FP for TOT and then RRC. I absolutely loved TOT and this is tied for my favorite ride (Everest). The standby for RRC was only 20 minutes so we hopped right back in line as this was hubs favorite. Then I talked him into going back and riding the TOT as the standby was only 10 minutes. We both sat for a little break, and I had a delicious frozen margarita while hubs had a beer (forgot pics). We played around the shops for a little longer and then it was time to head into Fantasmic. We actually only got there about 30 minutes early and still got great seats as the crowd levels were low. I HAD to have the "Glow with the Show" ears and we both enjoyed this one so much.

We then followed the crowd and made our way out, enjoying the lights that were all one now. Hubs mentioned we still had time to go back to DTD....ha ha....so that's where we ended up again. We ate at Earl of Sandwich again (just as good as the first time), went through some more stores where I had to stuff a Mr. Potato Head box for my Grandson, grabbed a hot chocolate from Ghirardellis (I'm officially hooked) and then caught the boat back to the resort.

We also knew this was the last day we had made plans, as we had now been in all four parks, so decided how we were going to do our last two days. Hubs loved Epcot and I loved HS, plus I wanted to go back to MK to see Wishes and the Electric parade since we had gone on Sunday it was to the MNSSHP. This is where I made my HUGE planning boo-boo. The next day was Halloween and we knew they were having another MNSSHP that evening, so we decided we would do half a day at HS and then over to Epcot for the other half. That would leave us all day Friday to spend in MK and see Wishes and the Electric parade that evening. Yeah, never dreamed they would have another MNSSHP the day AFTER Halloween!!! I had looked and knew there was one on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday why we were there. I didn't go past Halloween! So needless to say, I never got to see Wishes or the Electric parade. Oh well, there is always next time

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