My Very First Trip Report- January '15 Honeymoon (Completed)

[Opicana]

More Animal Kingdom!

So Divine is actually in this picture...above the center guys head. You can see one of her limbs pointing to the right- it's fuzzy since she was moving. Her costume is quite impressive!







On the way to Dinosaur, I saw this food place and I literally laughed out loud. I'm a biology nerd, what can I say!



I do have a ride photo from our time on Dinosaur, but I didn't grab it this time. Most of my photos from AK are of plants and animals.

Next are when things started to go a bit downhill… We went on Kali River with a fastpass for 10:15. It was AWESOME and very fun. However, we got very, very, very wet. Like jeans are sopping and uncomfortable wet. Now, I am usually okay with getting wet- what is a little water? I've never worn a poncho on any rapid ride. I don't mind getting wet on splash. I forgo umbrellas altogether for this reason. However, we were drenched....jeans were completely soaked through.

Also, it hadn’t warmed up yet….and was cloudy….so we ended up walking a lot of the trails while waiting to dry. This caused us to miss our Everest fastpass and threw off the scheduling for the rest of the day. Now, I think if Kali didn't get me Everest would have. I have since watched a ride video for Everest and did some research, I don't think my motion sickness can handle that ride. It probably also would've made the rest of the day uncomfortable.



We stopped to get a Mickey pretzel and then did some more walking. I changed our Everest fastpass for the safaris.



Things got better as lunch approached and we started feeling warmer and dryer. We ate at the Yak & Yeti counter service area, and then went on the safari...and here is when the day improved!



We saw so much on the safari, I'm sad I only got to do it once!

Lesson learned: Get Ponchos. I may pass on Kali next time, or only do it if it's warm and sunny. But still between Epcot rain and the rapids, I'm starting to understand the poncho thing...

Next up: More safari photos!

 

[Opicana]

Following along on your trip report! I really like reading TR from just adults because I have 4 kids and...well...you get the point. One day hubby and I will enjoy Disney by ourselves. One day...

After reading so far I have a few comments:

1. I agree with your feeling on the Christmas Decor! We went early December 2012 and I did like the Christmas themes, but I also would like to just experience Disney by itself, no extras. Seeing it in January would be so annoying!

2. I love the view from the Riverboat! The park looks so empty...but you got some nice pics!

3. Could you please tell me what it was you ordered at the restaurant at the Poly? I'm sorry... but it all looks raw! Was it good? I've never had raw fish before.

4. How did you like your view from your room at the AKL? For some reason I thought maybe that'd have more exotic animals there. Like giraffes or Zebras....things like that.

Excited to read the next chapter.. and congrats on your wedding!

Thanks for following along!

1. Yeah. It was really upsetting after being away for 10 years, and I was so excited to experience Disney magic again, and then Christmas...on January 10th? BLAH.
2. Yes, crowd levels were pretty great our entire trip! I don't think we did the Riverboat much when I was a kid and I passed on it when I went as a teen. Loved it. I'll do it everytime now. Maybe more than once since there is NO line when the park crowds are low.
3. So, the top dish in the photo is mine, and that was potstickers, they were good- not fabulous, but they are one of my favorite foods, so standard potstickers work for me. The next dish is the Charcuterie and Cheese that we shared...these are cured meats, cheeses, olives, bread and a fruit compote. Some of those things were good, some were just okay. The last dish is the Sushi combo plate. Jimmy likes sushi but has limited experience with it (I don't eat fish) so he usually goes for a sampler. I'm pretty sure he thought it was good.
4. We loved it. We saw different animals depending on the time of day. All were exotic/African animals. However, there are three different savannas which all have slightly different animals. We were at the smaller savanna, but it was quiet and something fun to watch was ALWAYS there. Sometimes a keeper would be there putting out food too. You can shout down questions to the keepers too. i didn't but some other folks did. I don't know if the "savanna view" rooms that you pay extra for are worth it because you see a LOT when you are walking down the hallways (there are windows everywhere) and you can easily go out to the main areas where there was always plenty of space. I did adore our room view though. It was SO peaceful...no pool, no parking lot, no people, just amazing African animals! I'd stay there again in a heartbeat if it wasn't so pricey.

 

[Opicana]

More Animal Kingdom!

Here's the second half of our day at Animal Kingdom:









We had such great giraffe views! I probably could have snapped way more pictures, but I was very mindful to be experiencing it as well. So I normal just snapped a couple of photos, and then put my camera down and just enjoyed.





I adored the safari. I plan on going multiple times on my next trip, during different days/times of the day.



Next we headed over to Rafiki's Planet Watch. We saw Chip n' Dale dancing and playing with the kids. Very cute! They did a little parade where the marched around, when they came by us Dale saw us and drew a heart with his hands and pointed at us....I think he was congratulating us on our marriage- he must have seen the pin!


I really liked this whole area. I wished we had more time to read/look at everything. I got to pet a snake! Rafiki's line was very long, but he gave us a nice wave.



We finished the day with Finding Nemo. I LOVED IT. The performers are so impressive- dance, sing, operate puppets...amazing. I loved the jellies and the songs. I purchased the soundtrack...which I've practically memorized now.

And then it was time to leave. The park was closing. We didn't see Flights of Wonder or FOLK. And I hadn't finished exploring everything. Next trip: TWO DAYS at AK.

AK isn't my favorite park, but I love it more than DHS.

For the first few days on this trip my throat was feeling a bit scratchy, and I had some light coughing going on. But towards the end of the day at AK, my nose began to get stuffy...and the coughing became severe. No, I can't be sick. I NEVER get sick. What are the odds the first time I'm sick in the last four years will happen over my Disney vacation?

Oh right, I'm surrounded my bacteria-ridden children!

Sigh.

Up Next: Boma & I discover the power of Robitussin.

 

[Opicana]

Boma, Robitussin and MK

So we had dinner at Boma. The food was very good, but given that we usually share a meal, all buffets seem overpriced. This was our most expensive meal of the trip including dinners at Le Cellier and Coral Reef.

Don't ask me to remember what these things were, I have NO idea, LOL.




After dinner, we did some laundry and checked out the free night-vision goggles activity. We saw some sleeping cattle and some grazing donkeys.

At this point, it was obvious that I was sick so after we went back to the room Jimmy went to the gift shop to find some cough medicine.

He came back with Robitussin, a pack of hidden Mickey pins, and this...



The CM checking him out asked if the cough syrup was for a child. He said, "No, it's for my wife." And she handed him two stickers- one for him and one for me. Pixie Dust! I added it to my autograph book.

The syrup really handled my cough well. We could tell immediately when it wore off and it was time for more. I've never had to take it, so it was great learning that in the future, that particular concoction works well on me. My nose also became very stuffed and runny. BUT thanks to Disney magic (and probably the cough syrup)...I didn't feel like crap, wasn't terribly tired, and it did NOT ruin my vacation at all! It did lead to one more new thing, which I'll hopefully remember to mention in an upcoming Epcot post.

I have some other notes jotted down from today:
- At this point in the trip I've had 3 of the line wait time tracking card things. Do they have an official name?
- Our Memory Maker wasn't working- We had been trying to fix it (through various guest services) all week. Our photos weren't showing up. This was over the halfway point, so my family back home was getting annoyed at the lack of pictures of the two of us, LOL.
- I finally organized my pins and had an idea of what I wanted to keep vs. trade.



The next morning we were at MK for RD since we didn't get unexpectedly dropped at the TTC this time! Yay!



We watched the welcome show and then headed off to the Jungle Cruise since it's a mutual favorite and tends to form lines even on low crowd days.



I have a thing for relaxing boat rides (Living with the Land, Pirates and Mexico all rank very high on my list as well), and I like puns and self-deprecating humor.



Another line card thing for the Little Mermaid. Up to 4!



I couldn't get any decent shots of the mermaid ride with my phone.



King Triton on this ride has the most excessive eyebrows I have ever seen. They are magnificent.



Chilling out on the People Mover (or whatever its really called).

Next Up: Pin Trades & Pixie Dust

 

[Rozz]

Joining in! Gotta go back and finish reading your trip report.

 

[SarahDisney]

You got some great Safari pictures! I've never gotten a chance to see it more than once in a day, but just from doing it on multiple trips ... it's a different experience every time, and you'll definitely see a nice variety of animals if you go multiple times in one day!
I think one of the great things about Disney is that every time you go, you learn more about your personal touring style. Before this trip you probably wouldn't have thought of 2 days for Animal Kingdom ... but now you know for next year that you'll need that extra time!

I love the sticker pixie dust! A lot of CMs tend to focus on the kids (understandably), and I love when they try to make pixie dust for the adults too!

I love getting the line wait time cards ... I don't think they have an official name, but they should!

 

[Opicana]

Magic Kingdom Day 2



I don't look very amused, LOL.



After Tomorrowland, we headed back over to Adventureland since we had FP for Pirates.



We confused a Photopass CM by asking them to take a photo of us in front of this building. See...we have a running joke/slight obsession with the "Zanzibarbarians" from Muppet Treasure Island. So, anytime I see anything with the word "Zanzibar" it becomes a thing. LOL.



I had my first Dole Whip ever. I like pineapple but the pineapple on pineapple was a bit too much for me. I think I'd rather get vanilla in the float, or just the ice cream.



A bit of Tiki room while we wait.

We got back out to discover a broken Pirates.

But a Pirate-themed CM asked if I wanted to trade pins! She offered me a "mystery" pin, so of course I said yes because I love surprises.



The pin was Rowlf from the Muppets. The pin turned out to be a fake, but I didn't notice that until much later since I hadn't had experience with fakes. I'm still glad for the trade though...I'm super shy, so the CM approaching me first made me way more comfortable, and I also learned all about fake pins from the experience!



We experience some honeymoon magic at Liberty Tree Tavern- they left a paper celebration Mickey on our table. Cute!

I got an appetizer salad, and Jimmy got some clam chowder....


Next time: The rest of our meal at Liberty Tree! LOL. And Gaston's Tavern.

 

[Opicana]

I think one of the great things about Disney is that every time you go, you learn more about your personal touring style. Before this trip you probably wouldn't have thought of 2 days for Animal Kingdom ... but now you know for next year that you'll need that extra time!

Exactly! There are a LOT of things I am changing for this next trip: 2 days at AK, 3 days at MK, DTD will only happen if we have enough time after AK (we were bored at DTD...we are NOT shoppers), we are staying at a value, all our ADRs are going to be for lunchtime, I am not investing in Park Hopper, some rides I am leaving out altogether, other experiences that I wasn't sure about last time I am throwing in (such as Enchanted Tales)...this trip will have a completely different feel. Hopefully it'll be just as fun!

Joining in! Gotta go back and finish reading your trip report.

Thanks for joining! Love your name and avatar!

 

[jakeybake]

A Very Thick Sandwich

View attachment 102990
Here is our second meal at WDW and is where we began to realize we'd be able to share every meal. Jimmy and I enjoy sharing meals. He's a pretty light eater, we have similar tastes, and we like being able to get snacks/desserts/apps/etc... We actually spent significantly less on food than I had budgeted for because the portion sizes were so big! This definitely helped with my decision to plan another trip as well, it was more affordable than I had thought.
This turkey sandwich, cookie, banana and chips came from Starring Rolls and it was delicious! My only issue was the severe lack of seating. The park wasn't particularly crowded that day, but we still had to walk a ways and plunk down on a park bench.
View attachment 102991
I decided Duffy needed some more photos.
View attachment 102992
The proportion of shows at DHS made scheduling challenging...lots of rushing to make it to the next show, and lots of waiting downtime. I wasn't particularly a fan of the Beauty & the Beast show or The Little Mermaid. They were good, of course, but they are basically just shortened versions of movies I know by heart. They aren't as unique as Finding Nemo- The Musical, for instance. On our next trip, I am planning to skip these two, in order to go on some rides twice (such as Toy Story, Star Tours and the Great Movie Ride).
View attachment 102999
This photopass photo actually happened pretty early in the day, I believe. It was just in a different folder of photos, so I decided to toss it in now.
View attachment 102993
It has been a long time since I'd seen Indiana Jones, so I totally fell for the audience plant for a little while, lol.
View attachment 102994
I think my family always skipped Lights!Motors!Action! in the past, so it was interesting to get to see it for the first time. I could do without the hosts and premise of the show, but the drivers are really fun to watch.
View attachment 102995

We had an early ADR at Hollywood & Vine for the VIP Fastpass package. We were sort of tired at this point, had an awkward amount of time before our ADR, and the Patriots were playing a playoff game that Jimmy was trying to watch on his phone. So, we took a little break near the lake for some downtime.
View attachment 102996
View attachment 102997 View attachment 102998
Once again, this picture is out-of-order. This may have been taking on our way in, I can't remember.

Next Up: Dinner and Fantasmic VIP seats[/QUOTE

Love the Pats gear! I've been a Patriots Season Ticket Holder since 1993 and a fan since birth! Have to appreciate the Pats love at WDW!!

GO PATS!!!

Jay

 

[SarahDisney]

That paper Mickey from Liberty Tree Tavern is awesome! Did you take it home with you? (Although I'm guessing it might not be in such good shape after a trip home...)

 

[Opicana]

@jakeybake My husband and I both grew up an hour south of Boston. He loves all sports, but football is his favorite. I'm a more casual fan. I'll go to the bar to watch a game and cheer for them, but when I was in Disney, I only cared about the score for his sake.

That paper Mickey from Liberty Tree Tavern is awesome! Did you take it home with you? (Although I'm guessing it might not be in such good shape after a trip home...)

Sadly, no. It was hard to even pick up...it was very delicate. It was ruined in my bag.

 

[Opicana]

Gaston's Tavern & the Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party

Here was our second course at LTT. They split it up for us, but it didn't look split! Huge portions!



It was pretty yummy- particularly because the weather was cooler. I imagine LTT's fare is much more appealing in the winter months like when we went.



After lunch we rode Haunted Mansion and Pirates, and I purchased a few small items at the Haunted Mansion shop (pins, post-its). And then we headed over to Gaston's Tavern for Lefou's Brew.



Obviously, I had to get a photo in the infamous chair.

I did see Gaston, but his line was pretty long (and noticeably full of adult women!). Also, I'm very intimated by meeting characters, so I decided to skip it.

We then went on Stitch, Laugh Factory (SO CUTE), and CoP before going to wait for the Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert party.

I was a bit annoyed by the organization of the dessert party. We were there at the time specified on our reservation (a bit earlier actually) along with a few other people. We waited forever. Finally we found a CM and asked, she told us to come back at a certain time (45 minutes? an hour? can't recall now). We left to find me a sweatshirt (it was cold!) and returned a few minutes before she said to only to find a MASSIVE line. Well, why couldn't I have started the line when I was first there?! Anyway, small annoyance.



The party itself was fine. The desserts were pretty standard, nothing special. We had a good view, and most of the people were reasonably polite (in terms of asking before they stood in front of your table). Had only 1 annoying family near us.



We got to see Tink pretty well because she lands near the Terrace. Overall, it was a good show and good time. Glad we did it because it was our honeymoon, but probably won't do it again in the near future. Since we go during low crowd times, finding a spot to watch the fireworks isn't impossible and we could just purchase our own dessert.

Our second to last day was in Epcot! I had planned Epcot to be the last day because it was my favorite park at the time. On our next trip, Magic Kingdom will be last. I still adore Epcot, but I loved it when I as a kid for that mix of education and entertainment. I feel like it's lost a bit of something and MK has nudge a bit over it since there's so much to do. It seems backwards that as a kid my fave park would be Epcot and as an adult MK. Hmm...



Ahh...low crowd days in the morning . First on our agenda was to tour innovations before the crowds picked up. We did the Piggy Bank game. Next we did our second ride through of Spaceship Earth, and then headed over to the land.



We used a fastpass for Soarin' and rode Living with the Land. Loved both. Watched the Circle of Life movie, did not love as much. Strange since I'm a conservation nerd (I'm a biologist; and I used to volunteer at a marine animal rehab center when I lived on the coast)...Fern Gully is one of my favorite movies...but Circle of Life is a bit heavy handed. And it doesn't seem like it actually meets the definition of "fable". It seemed like a missed opportunity.

Next Up: My first time seeing Captain EO, and some Pixie Dust!

 

[SarahDisney]

I did see Gaston, but his line was pretty long (and noticeably full of adult women!). Also, I'm very intimated by meeting characters, so I decided to skip it.

If you see Gaston, even if you don't want to wait in line to meet him, stand for a few minutes and watch some of the interactions - he's hysterical! I think I enjoyed waiting in line for him more than actually meeting him (mostly because I was so worried that I wouldn't be funny enough so I was just really awkward).

I love seeing Epcot empty in the morning - it's just so peaceful!

 

[Opicana]

Imagination & The Seas

Next we headed over to the Imagination Pavilion. I had never seen Captain EO, and I hadn't seen the updated version of Journey into Imagination.



I liked Captain EO. It was more adorable than I had anticipated. I'm glad I got to see it. I miss the old Figment.





After Imagination, we headed over to the WS for some ice cream in France and a pretzel in Germany. I think along the way I went to the First Aid area for the first time ever, to stock up on tissues as my illness had progressed to my nose.

After snacking, we went to the American Adventure, where we encountered some pixie dust...a CM pulled us aside into a private room and said we had a phone call. We got a phone call from Mickey congratulating us on our marriage. It was cute. Mickey was all about the cake. We also received:



Unfortunately, during the American Adventure, I had to fight to stay awake. I'm usually all about the education attractions, but it was dark and comfy and I was fighting off an infection!



After wondering around the WS a bit more, we headed over to The Seas.





I think I made Jimmy ride Nemo two more times. And then we explored the aquarium...





I fell in love with cuttlefish, I didn't know they were this cool looking...



Up Next: Dinner at the Coral Reef and more Pixie Dust!!!

 

[Opicana]

Coral Reef & More Pixie Dust



I don't like seafood, but I *love* aquariums, so we had an ADR that evening for the Coral Reef. Jimmy likes most seafood, and since we share I had planned on not eating much this meal.





Our table was on the bottom tier, in the middle...so one row of tables away from the glass- great view!

Jimmy had the creamy lobster soup while I filled up on bread, and then we shared the lobster cheese manicotti. Since the lobster was just placed ON the manicotti, I found it edible enough.

When we didn't get a dessert menu or asked about dessert when the table was cleared I began to grow suspicious and slightly optimistic....


Yep! Mickey and Minnie had sent us honeymoon dessert! DELICIOUS and magical!!!

But then the following morning...

Our final day!!! Oh the sadness!!!!



We took the opportunity to check out the savannah in the early morning.




We decided the night before (well, actually our friends decided via a poll) to go to Epcot for the morning of our final day.



Our first stop was to the Land to see if there were any tours available for the day. There were! So while we wait for our tour we ate breakfast, rode Living with the Land, and Nemo (for the 4th time).



A redwood.



Hydroponics.

Up Next: More of the Behind the Seeds tour

 

[SarahDisney]

Yay for all the awesome pixie dust - always nice when CMs do something special to help you celebrate!

I love that you had a poll among your friends for where to spend your last day. That's awesome!!
(Although last days are, by their very nature, extremely sad)

 

[Opicana]

More Behind the Seeds



They gave out cucumber slices. I didn't have any because I don't like cucumber, but Jimmy enjoyed it.



They had a lot of new and innovative methods for growing plants such as how the tomatoes are being grown above…they lower and wind the stems around the structure above so that they grow really, really long.



One of the tomato plants had grown from the end of this row to the opposite end (being weaved along that structure). So cool.



They showed us how they grow Mickey-shaped cucumbers.



We were able to smell one of these guys…a cassabanana….they smelled very tasty, and the way they described them sounded delicious. Sadly, this Brazilian fruit isn’t available in the US.



The nine-pound lemon.


The world's hottest pepper- the Carolina Reaper.



Tiny alligators in the aquaculture center.



Up Next: More Behind the Seeds

 

[Opicana]

The Last Post

Let's finish up the Behind the Seeds tour...



Hidden Mickey hose.



Tilapia tank.





We had a good time on the tour.

We then headed into the World Showcase and rode the boat ride in Mexico.



We had some lunch in China.

After lunch, we walked to the boardwalk to grab the bus to Downtown Disney.

Sadly, I didn't document our trip to DtD. We went there to meet my stepbrother and his family for dinner. While we had fun with my family, we may skip DtD in the future, or only go there at night after AK (since it closes early). We aren't in too shopping or nightlife, so we would have had more fun in the parks (especially on our LAST day...should have spent it in MK!).



One the way home you could really tell where we had been! LOL!

We had a GREAT time in WDW. I'm so glad we went, and we are now determined to go back in January. NO decade-long gaps for me in the future. I want to go as often as possible. I get so relaxed in the Disney bubble, it's amazing.

And that's it! Thanks for following along. I've started a pretrip report thread for my next trip, if you want to join me!

 

[SarahDisney]

Thanks for sharing your trip report! I'm glad you guys enjoyed and I hope you have an even better time next trip!

I'll hop over to the PTR when I get a chance ... I'm excited to read all about your planning!

 

[EpicPrincess]

This was great! I'm glad you had fun! Racing over to read your PTR next