So here it is! Click below to read on…
Tuesday
Tuesday both Chase & I left work early and went and picked up our rental car. We were surprised when we got a really cute “Cinderella blue” Fiat 500! I was really relieved it was something so small; being a VW Beetle driver means anything much bigger than that and I feel like I’m driving a tank! LOL.
We loaded up and hit the road – drove straight through to Columbus, GA where we stayed at a Hyatt Place for about 5 and a half hours…. haha. Due to the time change we got in around 1 (felt like midnight to us) and then got up and left around 6:30.
Wednesday
We got to Orlando around 1 in the afternoon. This year we stayed at Pop Century! We were placed in the 50s building but our room wasn’t ready yet. So I changed clothes in the car and we headed on over to Magic Kingdom.
I tell you, after staying at Bay Lake Towers last year, I am forever SPOILED by that. Being able to just walk over to the Magic Kingdom was…. well, it was magical. This year having to go through the rigamarole of parking, riding a tram, walking to the monorail, riding the monorail and then finally getting to the Magic Kingdom was a little frustrating.
Once at MK we headed to Casey’s Corner for a quick lunch, then ran to the Mine Train for our first fastpass!
I really liked the Mine Train. It was short, so I don’t think it’s worth standing in line for an hour+, but it’s a fun little coaster and the “dark ride” parts are fun – my favourite part is Snow and Dopey dancing at the end.
This year I had a goal of riding rides I’ve NEVER ridden, or haven’t ridden in probably 20 years – I didn’t get around to a lot of that, though. We did do Peter Pan’s Flight (which I’d never ridden in Orlando! Only Anaheim!), the Tiki Room, and Splash Mountain… but that was about it. My plans to do Hall of Presidents and the American Adventure and Journey into Imagination all fell through.
That’s one of the problems I have with MyMagic+ and the ADRs and everything. If it’s not in the schedule it’s really hard to fit it in. Contrary to what my husband tells you, I really DON’T like having everything planned out to the last second, but now that’s what you have to do, if you want to do it at all. It’s a little frustrating. In the moments where we do have “free time” we tend to gravitate towards the things we know we love, like PeopleMover for the 3rd time or Haunted Mansion, rather than trying something new.
Anyway, we got a cupcake and met Goofy and Donald since the line was short:
Then we had a fastpass for Pirates, but Pirates went down. We had a choice of other rides to use it on, but we opted to just wander around instead. We watched part of the parade from afar, got a Dole Whip, and shopped.
That evening we had a fastpass for Splash Mountain! I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever rode Splash Mountain. It wasn’t there my first two childhood trips, and I can’t remember if we rode it on the third or not – I have “memories” of it, but that may be from watching videos of it. Since then it’s been down for refurb every single time we’ve been, and this year it was open, so I was determined to ride it.
Chase was not so keen on the idea, and since I didn’t know all that much ab out it, we didn’t know how wet we’d get. We put on our ponchos and walked through the extremely long queue and right onto our own personal log flume. (It was late at night, it was a bit chilly, nobody else wanted to ride, LOL.)
We both ended up loving it, we were glad we wore the ponchos though! We both said we’d ride it again gladly, but we never got around to it.
After that it was time to head back to the TTC and move the car over to the Polynesian for dinner at O’hana. We got there a bit early and shopped, then hung out in the lounge and each got a Lapu Lapu. We missed the fireworks, but by the time we were seated (right by a window!) we could see the Electrical Water Pageant, so that was pretty cool!
We liked O’hana – we liked the starters (the wings, lettuce wraps and dumplings) and the desserts the best. The main course of steak, pork and shrimp was good, but we found the steak and pork to be overdone. We rolled out of there completely stuffed, but decided to attempt Downtown Disney for a bit before we headed back to the hotel. Chase wanted the Stitch magicband, and the ladies at the Emporium said Downtown Disney might be the best place to find it. Plus – that was the only place they had TsumTsums!
So we braved the construction and headed that way. I ended up getting a Lady pillow pet which came in mighty handy on the ride home Monday – it was much more comfortable than the travel neck pillow for sleeping, LOL. They did not have the Stitch magicband, but I got the Ariel one and Chase got Toy Story, and I got some TsumTsums, and we headed back to the hotel. Thankfully our room was on the bottom floor on the corner so it wasn’t too much of a hike – and we could see the Little Mermaid building we stayed in last year from outside our door!
It was a looooooooong day. We dumped our stuff and went right to sleep.
Thursday
Thursday we had to get up early AGAIN because it was Universal day! AHHH!
If you’ve read any of my other posts about this trip you’ll probably know I haven’t been to Universal since the early 90s. We haven’t been able to squeeze it in during other trips just because it’s such an expense on top of an already expensive trip. But this year we made it work by cutting corners elsewhere.
I got up and got into my quasi-Harry Potter uniform. I didn’t want to wear my actual costume – I used my cousin’s oversized Gryffindor sweater so I could layer underneath it a bit more comfortably, a knit skirt instead of my heavy, tight wool skirt, and since it was rainy and cold I had to add leggings and wore boots instead of the tennis shoes I’d planned.
I still insisted on my Gryffindor socks Chase got me for Christmas – though they looked kinda silly with the boots. Oh well.
We got there before opening and milled around until we could get in – then straight back to Diagon Alley and Gringotts!
After that I lost Chase for about 20 minutes, so I spent that time poking my head in shops and picking out things I wanted LOL. I’ve been after this Hogwarts phone case for over a year and found it pretty quickly so as soon as I found Chase (who had our Universal gift card), I finally got my phone case!
Then it started POURING so we ducked into the ice cream store. Chase got Chocolate w/Earl Grey, and I got butterbeer. It was good but it was cold out so I couldn’t manage to eat it all!
We did some more shopping before heading to an early lunch at Leaky Cauldron. I had the Guinness stew and OMG was it good. It was so perfect for a cold rainy day.
Also had butterbeer – I liked it better as ice cream. It was just very sweet and rich – I imagine it’d be much better on a hot day.
After that we felt like we’d seen enough of Diagon Alley and boarded the Hogwarts Express for Hogsmeade. The train ride was pretty cool.
We poked our heads around a bit but I found Hogsmeade to be a little underwhelming after Diagon Alley. Not to say it isn’t cool – I just wish we’d done them in reverse order! We rode Forbidden Journey, which was fun. We hardly had any wait, too.
I do like Universal’s free (for 45 minutes) lockers for storing your stuff before a ride. The basic idea is great. Just wish the locker areas weren’t complete madhouses.
After that we kinda poked our head around the Marvel section of the park, looked to see if there was anything else we wanted to do – not really (Chase is not big into thrill rides, so there wasn’t much in the way of rides that interested him). So we headed back to the hotel.
Besides my phone case the only other thing I got was Luna Lovegood’s wand! I’d been wanting it for a while. Costume to follow….?
After a little nap and a change of clothes, we headed back to Magic Kingdom for our dinner that night. Chase finally got his wish of taking the ferry instead of the monorail:
Walls and Cranes, walls and cranes
I’m really glad that, since we drove, I was able to bring more clothes and LAYER! The past two trips when it’s turned out cold, I just had an extra jacket or sweater and it wasn’t enough. This year I had flannel shirts to wear under stuff, gloves, multiple sweaters, scarves… so even though it got chilly a couple of times, I stayed pretty comfortable!
We had a little snack at Gaston’s since our dinner wasn’t until late. The place was practically empty.
Then we met Tigger & Pooh.
The best part was as we went to leave, they both hugged me and I was squished in the middle! LOL.
We rode the teacups – Chase had never been on it. I think my last time was 1985. (I spun too much in 1985. It put me off of the teacups for a long time.)
We stumbled into the Incredibles’ Dance Party:
Finally it was time for our late dinner at Plaza!
It was SO YUMMY. You can’t go wrong with a really good burger, perfect crispy fries and a milkshake, can you? We’ll be back.
FRIDAY!
Friday was our Hollywood Studios day! I think this is the only time, EVER, we have been at a park from open to close. Even if it’s just a “one park” day, we usually go take a nap in the middle somewhere, but not this day. We got to Hollywood Studios before opening and left after close, no nap included.
I wore my Leia “We Can Do It” shirt so I had to at least do one bun!
We headed straight for Toy Story Midway Mania, since we didn’t have a fastpass for it, then stopped at Starring Rolls for a little breakfast before getting in line for Baymax & Hiro.
There was already an “unofficial” line by the time we got there, and once they let us into the actual queue, it was totally full and out the door. Lots of kids wearing Big Hero 6 gear, so I hope Disney has something else planned for these characters once the meet and greet goes away.
I’m so glad I got to meet them! Got to give Baymax a hug and chat with Hiro about my Leia shirt. (He said Fred would like it).
We stumbled upon Chip and Dale’s meeting spot where another unofficial line had started, and knowing they were coming back out in the next 10 minutes, decided to wait, since it was warm and sunny there. When they came out, the family in front of us sloooowly got up to get in line, and were promptly skipped by about 3 groups who zoned in as soon as they saw Chip & Dale arrive. Come on folks, you gotta be on the ball better than that.
We found Cinderella’s coach so I had to get a picture with it…
Then it was time for my Rock n Roller coaster fastpass… haven’t ridden this is probably 15 years. I might have done better to go through the single rider line, but since I had the FP that’s what I did. Ended up sitting next to a Brazilian dude who was completely uninterested in the ride ?? In the ride photo he looks like he’s asleep, which I’d think was just for laughs but he didn’t hold on during the ride, didn’t make any noise, and just jumped out and ran off afterwards. It was strange.
Then my Tower of Terror fastpass… again I was on my own. The kid next to me kept staring at me the entire ride. Like first drop, she whips her head around and is staring at me. Awkward, wtf. Then at the end of the ride she turned to me and started saying, “Mommy did you see–” and I guess it was at THAT point she realized I wasn’t her mom sitting next to her, and turned to talk to her dad on her other side instead (mom was the row in front, btw.)
At some point we stopped for a cupcake break. I really liked the Butterfinger cupcake:
Oh! And we finally got embroidered hats. I still have one somewhere from my very first trip (in my parents attic somewhere I guess…) so I opted for the Oswald hat. Chase got the classic hat. So we picked those up, here’s Chase in his:
Time for lunch! We had a late (2:30) lunch at Mama Melrose’s, since we did the Fantasmic dining package. I really enjoyed it!! Our waitress was great, the food was great, it was a nice leisurely lunch.
We split the calamari and the caesar salad. Both we really good.
I got the steak with macaroni and cheese – the steak was good, but the macaroni and cheese? AWESOME. OMG. Together? YUM.
Trio of desserts. The middle was my fav.
After that we rode Star Tours, wandered around a bit, saw the Indiana Jones stunt show (Chase had never seen it!), and then Chase ran out to the car to drop off bags and stuff before Fantasmic. We got to the stadium an hour early to get seats. This was the coldest night there was for me, sitting there on those metal bleachers shivering! And then the mist from the actual show hitting you in the face!
But it was great. Chase got really good video, I’m excited to see it. Here’s a few pics off my iphone:
And THEN, despite the long day, we headed to EPCOT for a late dinner! We both love Epcot so I don’t know how we managed to wait til trip day 3 to get over there.
We got there just before the fireworks, so the majority of the crowd was huddled around the lake to watch. World Showcase was practically empty. I got some Nudel Gratin in Germany, which I’d been looking forward to, but after that mac and cheese at Mama Melrose’s earlier it just didn’t wow me.
We headed over to Tutto Gusto and got a nice cozy couch. Chase had some pasta, which I ate a few bites of as well, we had drinks, and everything was really nice!
Unfortunately I started developing a migraine around then so I was very glad to get back to the car, back to the hotel, and back to bed!
I did have to stop and let Chase take a picture of my shadow, because with my Oswald hat and long sweater, I looked like Louise Belcher:
SATURDAY!
Saturday we had to get up really early and get over to the Magic Kingdom, because it was tour day! We were doing the Marceline to Magic Kingdom tour and got to sneak into the park a few minutes early to pick up our badges and meet up with our tour guide. Thankfully I’d written down on confirmation code for the tour in both my book AND had it on my phone, because they’d COMPLETELY gotten Chase’s last name wrong and could never find us that way – confirmation code worked fine though 🙂 And our name badges were there and spelled right! Yay.
A nearly empty Main Street:
I did not take any pictures during the tour. I will say it was REALLY great and absolutely worth the cost of it. I’d love to do another tour next trip now that I’ve tried one!
We walked down Main Street as our guide told us about Walt’s youth and it’s influences on Main Street, then through Liberty Square, the Haunted Mansion queue, and we got to ride Haunted Mansion while our tour guide pointed out things over our headsets. I won’t spoil the coolest part of the tour though!
After that we headed over and rode Winnie the Pooh, then to Tomorrowland for Carousel of Progress, where we got our own theater, so our guide could keep telling us about all the details. Fantastic all around!
On our way out I met the Mayor:
Then we headed back to the hotel, changed clothes (it had finally warmed up!) and off to EPCOT!
We got there and immediately hopped on Spaceship Earth, our first fastpass of the day.
We leisurely walked around to UK for our lunch at Rose and Crown. We always eat here every trip! We both ended up with fish and chips as usual.
We spotted Rapunzel:
We walked around World Showcase but we were pretty exhausted, probably since we had a full, long day Friday, then up early again that morning, so we decided to skip our other two fastpasses and go take a nap. I did stop and get a pic with Duffy on the way out:
Back that evening for dinner – had to put on some warmer clothes too!
Stopped and met Aurora in France:
Then time for a late dinner at Teppan Edo! I ate here back in 2000, but Chase hadn’t, so that was fun. The food was good, our chef was adorable.
We leisurely made our way out of Epcot, stopping to take pics in the nearly-empty park.
Then – off to the Magic Kingdom! It was an EMH night for Magic Kingdom so they were open til 2AM! I really wanted to go ride some stuff at night, so that’s what we did. We were like fish swimming against the current – everybody was LEAVING Magic Kingdom and we were the only ones going! Had a monorail car to ourselves!
Got to MK and the Electrical Parade was about to start – and the crowds were super light. So we grabbed a spot on the curb and watched.
Then we met Tinkerbell…
We rode the Peoplemover twice. The first time, the ride stopped, which was neat. The cast member who came on the loudspeaker announced the ride would be “starting again in… uh…” That was it. LOL. We asked to stay on at the exit, they told us “last time!” because it was closing for the night, so that was neat.
Then we rode Buzz Lightyear since there was no wait, and then around to Haunted Manson.
We didn’t quite make it til 2AM, but we got pretty close. I think we left around 1. Got back to our car and the mostly empty parking lot looked like something out of a Silent Hill game, with all of the empty wheelchairs strewn about. One was creeping on our car.
Oh, did I mention I got a Baymax? I got a Baymax.
SUNDAY!
Our last full day. We’d considered going over to Animal Kingdom for a bit but opted to sleep in a little and head over to Magic Kingdom again.
It was a pretty sunny and hot day!
We met Tiana…
And Lady Tremaine…
(Anastasia and Drizella were at music lessons)
Then we had another fastpass for Mine Train, so we rode that again – it was significantly slowed down from our previous ride, which was a little disappointing. Still fun! We rode Winnie the Pooh again, and the teacups, and afterwards I ran over to meet the White Rabbit, who was on the otherside of the teacups. We ended up being at the front of the line when he went on break, so it was a nice surprise when he came back a few minutes later, with Alice! So I got both 🙂
Then a cupcake break…. at Cheshire Cafe:
We were going to go eat lunch at Columbia Harbor House, but after glancing through the menus, we decided to go around the corner and try the mac and cheese cups at Friar Nook’s.
I had the pot roast mac and cheese, and Chase had the cheeseburger mac and cheese. The mac and cheese in this is ok. Chase only kinda liked the cheeseburger version. I liked my pot roast version a lot because the pot roast was really good.
Then we had fastpasses to meet Anna and Elsa. I threw my Olaf sweater on since I wanted to wear it while I met them. I should have taken my hat off but didn’t even think about it!
We got a dole whip and then wandered over to see if we could go ahead and get a spot for the parade – we had fastpasses for it and weren’t sure the viewing area was open yet. It was just about to open, so they put us first in “line” for it. We got a nice spot viewing right down main street. Sitting there with the sun beating on your back was the only time of the trip it got REALLY hot (and I managed to get sunburnt this day also – despite the tons of sunscreen and my hat!)
I didn’t take many pictures, just wanted to watch and enjoy. Chase videoed the whole thing, though! Sitting right on the curb, right at the bend, offered a great view of the costumes, so I really enjoyed it.
Then we headed back to the hotel to change, and then to Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner at Boma. We got there a little early, but since the place was empty (our reservations were for a pretty early dinner… and we were early on top of that LOL) we were able to go ahead and get seated. It was a good dinner, I like the Fruit Fool the best, and the hummus! My pictures of it are not very pretty though (buffet, so it was just me throwing stuff on a plate) so I’m not going to post any!
Hi, room from last year!
We headed back over to Magic Kingdom for a couple of hours.
Rode Jungle Cruise & did the Tiki Room.
I think that’s all we did that night, besides a little more shopping. We only got one crappy phone shot of us together in front of the castle the whole trip, which bugs me to no end because I like to have one from each year. Should have done it earlier in the trip.
Then we said goodbye and good night to the park!
We headed to the hotel and to the food court, where they were able to convert our leftover quick service credits into snack credits. We loaded up on snacks for the trip home the next day (though we ended up not eating a lot of it). Most of those credits were supposed to have been used at our hotel for breakfasts over the week, which we usually decided to skip in favour of sleeping a little longer. I need to plan better next time.
MONDAY
We were up before the sun, loaded the car and headed home. We went through Atlanta so I could visit Gail K Fabrics, but unfortunately did not see anything that was right for the two projects I had in mind. Boo 🙁
For some reason the trip home took longer than it should have, and we didn’t get home til about 9 that night. I played a LOT of TsumTsum.
Next trip!! I want to stay at Port Orleans French Quarter. I’d also like to aim a little later in February, or maybe early March next time.