Our Second Trip of Firsts

[JAMIESMITH]

Let’s get the introductions out of the way!

Hi everyone! My name is Jamie. I am a twenty-seven year old wife, mom to a beautiful little girl, and full time office manager at a lawn and garden dealer. My family and I are all packed up and ready to head to Disney World for the second time! If everything goes according to plan, we will have our feet firmly planted on Disney soil in time for lunch on Sunday.

My favorite Disney movies are Beauty & the Beast and The Little Mermaid. My favorite ride at Disney World is Expedition Everest. Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom are my favorite parks.

Here are a couple of photos of my little family from our first trip to Disney World in 2012:

My husband’s name is also Jamie. I will try my very best not to confuse you! He is ten years older than I am. He is a mechanic at a Kubota tractor dealership. He had a great time on our first trip to Disney, but if it had been up to him we would have gone somewhere different this time (like Universal Orlando or the Great Smokey Mountain National Park). His favorite Disney movies are Cars and Up. His favorite park is Hollywood Studios and his favorite rides are Star Tours and Rockin’ Roller Coaster.

Our daughter is Madilyn (we sometimes call her Maddy). She is six years old and is in kindergarten. I sent a note to her teacher earlier this month and received a super nice note back from her that basically told us to have a great time and not to worry about what Madilyn will miss at school while we are on vacation. Maddy came home from school on Tuesday and went to the doctor yesterday. It’s the flu. Her pediatrician is optimistic that she will be much better by this weekend.

Maddy is really caught up in the Frozen craze right now. She also loves Cinderella and Beauty & the Beast. Her favorite rides at Disney World are Soarin’ and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Her favorite Park is Magic Kingdom.

Our first trip was in September of 2012. The low crowds allowed us to get a lot accomplished, but Disney World is so big and has so many things to see and do that we couldn’t fit everything into one trip! I’m hoping that we will be able to fit in some of the things we missed the first time around (that’s where the title for this trip report comes in). I am hoping that all the on-going construction will not negatively impact this trip.

One thing that will definitely be different about this trip is that my cousin Marie won’t be joining us. We really enjoyed having her along on our first trip, but things didn’t work out so that she could go with us this time around.

We will be home all too soon so that I can get this trip report rolling. See you on the other side!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Saved for chapter links...if I can figure out how to do it with the new system

 

[JAMIESMITH]

We left our home in Decatur, Mississippi around 10:30 am on Saturday January 24th. We stopped in Tuscaloosa, AL to look around an outdoorsman store we had never visited called Woods and Water, mostly as an excuse to stretch our legs. We stopped again at Bass Pro in Leeds, AL because my husband wanted to

We backtracked to Hoover, AL and ate at an Applebees. Our waitress was really sweet, but I remember why we hardly ever go to Applebees anymore, the food was not that great. Our hotel for the night was a Laquinta Inn and it was about five miles from Applebees. We got there around 6:30 pm. When we checked in the lobby looked nice and the girl working the front desk was really nice.

Our room was located just off the rear hallway entrance on the first floor. The location was really convenient as we wanted to carry all our luggage in for the night. The room was clean, but there was no hot water. We decided to wait a few hours and try again. I did manage a hot bath around 11:00, but everyone else was asleep. Also around this time a dog in the neighboring room started barking which woke my husband up.

I called the front desk and the girl who checked us in called that room and then when there was no answer came and knocked on the door. She told them that the dog would have to be kept quiet. Not long after these same neighbors turned their television up as loud as it would go. When I complained again, the lady at the front desk was unable to get anyone to come to the other room door. I thought that the hotel could enter a room at any time for any reason We were left with a blaring television in the next room for the remainder of our night.

In her defense, the hotel clerk did offer to move us to another room, but as my daughter was asleep and we had to be at the airport in just four hours, I declined her offer. It certainly made for a miserable Disney Eve night!

 

[saintstickets]

Hello fellow Mississippian! After a 3 month long hiatus from the DISboards I return to find you have started a new TR! Yea!! Looking forward to it!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

joining in - sounds like not the most peaceful start to your trip! I am sure it will improve though ... actually, good way to set the bar low

I have a daughter about the same age as yours (she will be 6 next month and is in Kindergarten as well) and safe to say she was bitten by the Frozen bug (she was one of approximately 1,256 Elsa's we saw out at Halloween. Hope you got a FP+ to meet Anna and Elsa - my kids about exploded with excitement when they saw the real Anna and Elsa

My daughter also like roller coasters a lot and she was tall enough for some of the big ones our last trip. She loves Big Thunder, thought Expedition Everest was too shaky, liked (didn't love) Space Mounting, and really, really liked The Mine Train - so think your daughter might like that too!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Hello fellow Mississippian! After a 3 month long hiatus from the DISboards I return to find you have started a new TR! Yea!! Looking forward to it!!

Hey! I hope the return from your hiatus means you are planning another trip! We are actually still here until tomorrow

joining in - sounds like not the most peaceful start to your trip! I am sure it will improve though ... actually, good way to set the bar low

I have a daughter about the same age as yours (she will be 6 next month and is in Kindergarten as well) and safe to say she was bitten by the Frozen bug (she was one of approximately 1,256 Elsa's we saw out at Halloween. Hope you got a FP+ to meet Anna and Elsa - my kids about exploded with excitement when they saw the real Anna and Elsa

My daughter also like roller coasters a lot and she was tall enough for some of the big ones our last trip. She loves Big Thunder, thought Expedition Everest was too shaky, liked (didn't love) Space Mounting, and really, really liked The Mine Train - so think your daughter might like that too!

We actually did not manage to get a FP for A&E, despite trying every day from the 60+7 day mark To say I am not a fan of FP+ would be a huge understatement! We did see them in the FoF Parade and at the Frozen Sing-Along. I won't spoil it, but some of the rides she loved/hated shocked me!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Arrival

After our night of very little sleep, we got up at 3:30 am to drive to the Birmingham (Alabama, not the U.K.) Airport. I mentioned that this would be a trip of firsts for my family. This was the first time that any of us had ever flown in a plane (I have been up in helicopters a few times). Last year, I got the Southwest Rewards Visa with the free 50,000 miles offer. I think our flights cost us about 34,000 of those miles. We parked in the long term lot and caught the shuttle to the terminal. We got our boarding passes and checked our two big bags. Getting through security with our smaller bags was a breeze. We waited a little while for the plane to start boarding at 6:10 am. Thanks to Early Bird Check In, we were among the first few people to board the plane.

Our flight was very smooth and it seemed like we had just taken off when the plane started to descend for landing. I had heard that the Orlando airport was very confusing to get around, but thankfully we didn’t get lost! We took the “fake-o-rail” to the other side of the airport. After we all found a bathroom to use, we were able to walk right onto a Magic Express Bus to Boardwalk Villas! We were the first stop, but the bus was also going to the Beach and Yacht Club Resorts.

Renting DVC points was another first for us. Our previous stay was at The Polynesian Resort. We used David’s (www.dvcrequest.com) to secure a standard view studio almost exactly eleven months before our trip.

Unfortunately our room was not ready when we arrived at the resort. We were all pretty exhausted and could have used a nap before heading out, but it just didn’t happen.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Our Unintended Trip to Downtown Disney

Since our room wasn’t ready, we decided to head straight to Magic Kingdom. I snapped a few photos of Maddy while Jamie was smoking his first cigarette since getting on the plane in Alabama.

We walked to the bus stop and watched two buses to Animal Kingdom stop as well as two buses to Downtown Disney. Over forty minutes had passed since we arrived at the bus stop and we were getting pretty hungry (we hadn’t eaten breakfast) so we hopped on the third bus to Downtown Disney. This was another first for us. We ran out of time on our first trip and never made it to Downtown Disney.

We got off the bus at the Marketplace and headed for Earl of Sandwich. I got the Original 1762, Jamie got the Earl’s Club, Madilyn got a Grilled Cheese, and we all got chocolate chip cookies and bottled cokes. I really loved my sandwich. I could totally eat another one right now! My husband and daughter’s sandwiches quickly disappeared and I didn’t hear any complaints from them. The cookies were really good as well. I’m sorry I didn’t get any pictures of our food!

The total cost of this meal was $33.99. We got the dining plan for free on our first trip and opted to purchase it for this trip. I don’t think we came out ahead this time, but I am going to run the numbers as I do this trip report. (Cost of dining plan $843.06 - $33.99 at Earl of Sandwich = $809.07)

Since Downtown Disney wasn’t meant to be part of our first day and we were planning to spend the entire day there on Friday, we headed back to the bus stop after our meal. We caught a bus destined for Wilderness Lodge and The Grand Floridian. When we pulled up at Wilderness Lodge, I gave my daughter the choice of either walking through that resort and riding the boat to Magic Kingdom or getting out at The Grand Floridian and taking the monorail to Magic Kingdom. She opted to wait and get off at The Grand Floridian.

Marie and I visited Wilderness Lodge on our first trip while my husband and daughter were napping in our room at The Polynesian. This was Jamie’s first glimpse of the resort and he made the comment that he wouldn’t mind staying there someday.

We got off the bus at The Grand Floridian, walked through the lobby, took the elevator upstairs, and took our first monorail ride of the trip. We would really miss being at a monorail resort this time around.

When we got to Magic Kingdom, the noon parade was in full swing so we ducked in to meet Tinkerbell. The posted wait time was twenty minutes, but we actually waited about five minutes.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

glad your first plane ride was a success!

I do love the look of the Boardwalk Lobby

Bummer about no MK bus coming, but you got a nice lunch out of it. Great pics with Tinkerbell!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

glad your first plane ride was a success!

I do love the look of the Boardwalk Lobby

Bummer about no MK bus coming, but you got a nice lunch out of it. Great pics with Tinkerbell!

We couldn't have asked for a better flight!

I think Earl of Sandwich was probably better than any MK QS would have been. I'm a control freak, but I tried really hard to roll with the punches this trip.

 

[jchurch0409]

Adorable photo with Tink! I can't wait to read about your experience with the dining plan and if it was worth it!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Adorable photo with Tink! I can't wait to read about your experience with the dining plan and if it was worth it!

Thank you!

 

[JAMIESMITH]

A Few New-To-Us Attractions

After meeting Tinkerbell we headed for a new-to-us attraction.

Do you know what it is?

Jungle Cruise, of course! We climbed aboard Wamba Wanda (the boat names are so cute!) after about a thirty minute wait.

Our skipper was really funny! We thoroughly enjoyed our boat ride!

After our cruise through the jungle we headed for something else we had never seen before: The Enchanted Tiki Room. EasyWDW had our first day listed as a crowd level of four, which was the highest of our trip and we also were not in the most recommended park so I was looking for something that we could do without standing in line forever. While we were waiting for the doors to the Tiki Room to open, Madilyn made friends with a really sweet little girl who was celebrating her forth birthday. They ended up sitting beside each other and chatting throughout the show. It was worth seeing once, but I don’t think I will ever feel the need to repeat this experience.

With the Tiki Tiki Tiki song firmly implanted into our minds, we searched out a smoking area (I swear there are less of those in the parks now than there were two years ago!) and then started looking for a spot to watch the Festival of Fantasy Parade. This would be our first time to see it. We ended up sitting on the sidewalk across from The Country Bear Jamboree. We had a clear view of the parade, but the sun was in our eyes.

Belle and her Beast.

This is the closest we got to Anna & Elsa all week.

Pirates! Argh!

Prince Phillip’s sword fight with these guys was one of the highlights of the parade!

I tried, but I could not get a decent photo of Maleficent.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Our First Experiences With Fast Pass +

We had a Fast Pass + for BTMRR from 3:05-4:05 so we headed there right after the parade was over. We all love this ride!

After our runaway train ride, we decided to board another train, a slightly more subdued steam train. We really enjoyed the ride around the park on our first trip and wanted to be sure to experience it again this time around. If you’ve never done this, it’s well worth the time. There are some really cool displays set up near the tracks between the Frontierland and Fantasyland Stations. Before we got on the train we saw Woody and Jesse meeting guests below the Frontierland Train Station, but we didn’t stop to meet them. I figured we would get another chance later in the week, but we never did.

We got off the train at the Fantasyland Station and headed for our next FP+ location and another new ride for us: The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

Maddy waiting in line (I borrowed Marie’s Kavu bag for Maddy to carry this trip. I have a tan one just like it. They are wonderful park bags!).

We were seated in the front part of the train and were honestly a little disappointed. It felt like every time we were about to pick up speed, the train would slow way down. I don’t know if this is normal or if it was just because we were in the front. The animatronics were really cool as were all the sparkly walls inside the mine. We didn’t visit before the original Snow White ride closed, but I heard someone in line say that the dancing dwarfs and Snow White at the end of the new ride were reused from the original. If it’s true, I like that they did that.

This is the point at which we all ran out of steam. It was now 4:15 and our dinner reservation was still an hour away, but we decided to head towards Tony’s Town Square to see if they could seat us early. We were advised that it would be about a thirty minute wait, but they did give us a buzzer and let us sit in the waiting area. Jamie and I found a seat and Madilyn sat down on the floor in front of the t.v. with a bunch of other kids.

 

[saintstickets]

Nice update! It looks like there are numerous "firsts" this trip and that is great. Looking forward to more.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Jungle Cruise is my all time favorite ride at WDW - though I found our last trip I was saying the punch line along with/before the skipper in a lot of case (yeah, I was that guy). Do find that the enjoyment of the ride depends on how into the puns and playing along the guests on the boat are

Bummer that you never did get to meet Woody and Jessie - always hate when you see something and think "Oh, we'll get to that later" and never do - seems like that can happen a lot at Disney

Sorry you weren't more impressed by Mine Train. I thought it was quite fun but missing a little something (and a little lenght) to be a truly great ride ... and generally not worth what the stand by line wait can be. It is definitely true that they reused Snow White and the Dwarfs and some of the other figures inside the cottage from the original ride which I love (not the witch on the outside at the door, she is new). Love your pictures from the ride (they only added the ride photos after our trip so we didn't get those).

Understandable you were tired - you had gotten a lot done and were up pretty early that day

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Nice update! It looks like there are numerous "firsts" this trip and that is great. Looking forward to more.

Thanks for reading along

Jungle Cruise is my all time favorite ride at WDW - though I found our last trip I was saying the punch line along with/before the skipper in a lot of case (yeah, I was that guy). Do find that the enjoyment of the ride depends on how into the puns and playing along the guests on the boat are

Bummer that you never did get to meet Woody and Jessie - always hate when you see something and think "Oh, we'll get to that later" and never do - seems like that can happen a lot at Disney

Sorry you weren't more impressed by Mine Train. I thought it was quite fun but missing a little something (and a little lenght) to be a truly great ride ... and generally not worth what the stand by line wait can be. It is definitely true that they reused Snow White and the Dwarfs and some of the other figures inside the cottage from the original ride which I love (not the witch on the outside at the door, she is new). Love your pictures from the ride (they only added the ride photos after our trip so we didn't get those).

Understandable you were tired - you had gotten a lot done and were up pretty early that day

We had one of "those guys" on the boat with us and the skipper picked on him mercilessly!

I'm glad to hear that the Snow White pieces were recycled! The ride would be much better if it lasted longer.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Dinner at Tony’s and Our First Look at Our Hotel Room

I made a reservation at Tony’s despite reading a lot of bad reviews (with a few good ones mixed in). I even passed up an available dinner reservation for dinner at Be Our Guest to try this place (crazy, right?). On our first trip sweet tea was readily available at all of the quick service and table service restaurants we visited. When we asked for sweet tea at any restaurant on this trip, we were either told no or that we could get unsweet tea and sweeten it ourselves which is what we opted to do at Tony’s. Anyone else from the south knows that no sweet tea is a problem! Our waitress was Monica and she was really nice, but seemed a little rushed like she had too many tables to tend to.

I ordered chicken parmigiana with alfredo sauce instead of marinara. Jamie and Madilyn both got spaghetti with meat balls. Our meals were perfectly fine, but nothing really special. I ordered the pistachio crème brulee for dessert (this was the real reason I wanted to eat here) which was fabulous. My husband got the chocolate cake which was also very good. My daughter did not eat any dessert because she fell asleep as soon as she finished her spaghetti.

($809.07 Dining Plan Balance) - $72.25 (Meal at Tony’s) = $736.82

On a side note, I really like the new Magic Bands. They were easier to keep up with than the old Key to the World cards were and we never had a problem with them at all.

The two things I had planned on seeing on our first day, if we didn’t do anything else, were the Main Street Electrical Parade and Wishes. We had seen Wishes from the Polynesian beach on our first trip, but not from inside the park. The MSEP would be entirely new to us and was our third FP+ for the day. At this point, I knew we needed to give up on those plans and go back to our hotel to see if our room was ready. We would have another opportunity to see Wishes this trip, but the MSEP will have to remain on my Disney bucket list.

I snapped this on the way out of the park for the day.

We waited ten minutes or so for a bus back to the Boardwalk. The bus was shared with the Swan and Dolphin, but we were the first stop. I checked with concierge because we never received a notification that our room was ready, but since it was so late, I figured it would be ready (and it was).

The layout of the Boardwalk Resort is actually kind of neat. The main entrance and the lobby are actually on the second floor. It’s a split level design and the boardwalk itself is on the first floor. Our room was on the third floor so we found the elevators, but actually only had to go up one floor from the lobby. Our room number was 3073 and it was very close to the elevators. Long hallways seem to be a frequent complaint about this resort, but we were fortunate in our room location.

I wasn’t really expecting to see a towel Mickey since we were staying on points, but we did get one J

In photos these rooms give off an old lady vibe, but in person the color scheme actually works pretty well. This was pretty much the only time during our stay that the couch wasn’t folded out into a bed .

You can see our luggage waiting on us in the entry way. Our bed was super comfortable. I wish I knew where to buy Disney pillows. They are wonderful!

This was our view for the week. It wasn't quite as private or quiet as I would have liked, but I guess that's the trade off for a short walk to the elevators.

We were planning on sleeping late the following day (Monday’s at Disney are particularly better than regular Mondays) so we all got baths/showers and settled down for some old school Disney cartoons before going to sleep.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Wait…I thought we were sleeping in!

The plan was for us to get caught up on some sleep, but by 7:30am we were all wide awake. While Jamie and Madilyn watched cartoons, I went to Boardwalk Bakery to get our refillable mugs and some sticky buns. I was hoping for cinnamon rolls, but there weren’t any. I carried these back to our room. We were glad to find paper plates and plastic forks in the cabinet above the coffee pot. Our sticky buns were kind of bland and not very sticky.

($736.82 Dining Plan Balance - $68.30 = $668.52) We love having the mugs at Disney, but I probably would have only bought two sticky buns for us to share had we not been on the dining plan.

Maddy in her Ariel nightgown from Santa and holding the Goofy she bought on the first trip.

A couple of daylight photos from our balcony. These are looking more toward the right while the ones from the night before were straight ahead.

Since we were all awake, we decided to head on over to Epcot a little earlier than originally planned. We caught a boat and arrived about fifteen minutes after the park opened. We stopped for a quick smoke break right after entering the park. This was our first time to use the back entrance to Epcot.

We headed straight for Soarin’ because I did not have a Fast Pass for it for this particular day and waited in line for about twenty minutes. This was the first time for us to be seated in the front row and it was really awesome! This is one of those rides that we all love.

Living with the Land had no wait and it was on my list of new things to try so we gave it a try. It was interesting, but not something I would feel compelled to again.

Enter Sandman (Any Metallica Fans? LOL!)

Spinach Mickey!

Melons…

See the roots just hanging? I think that’s pretty neat.

We headed back upstairs and decided to watch The Circle of Life which my husband dubbed “that tree hugging movie”. This is right up there on my list of the lamest things at Disney. I guess it was educational for Maddy.

We headed back outside The Land Pavilion for another smoke/play with the ducks break. We still had some time to kill before our lunch reservation at Coral Reef so we decided to hop in a clam shell and search for Nemo. Of course we had to wait thirty minutes to do this. I couldn’t believe how much more crowded the parks were this time around, especially since this was supposed to be a very slow week! When we did this ride two years ago, we saw dolphins in the last tank before the ride is over, but that tank was empty this time. Where are the dolphins?

We didn’t spend as much time in the aquarium as I would have liked because it was now time for lunch! Coral Reef was one of the best restaurants we tried in 2012 and we decided to go back this time in hopes of being seated a little closer to the tanks. Our reservation was at 11:30, right after the restaurant opened, but it was already pretty full by the time we were seated and we ended up even further from the tanks than before. I am such a dork that I recorded the episodes of Full House when they went to Disney and made my daughter and husband watch them with me. Of course we watched Danny Tanner and Vicki eat here.

Maddy is reading now so she enjoyed looking at the guide on the table and telling us what fish were swimming by. We saw lots of sharks, sting-rays, and different fish, but none of the giant turtles we saw before.

Jamie and I both ordered what my cousin Marie ordered on our first trip: steak with mashed potatoes and the chocolate wave. We ate every bite and it was very good. Madilyn ordered the grilled chicken breast which came with broccoli. She ate one or two bites of the chicken and all her broccoli and some of my mashed potatoes. She also ate an entire bowl of grapes for dessert. Strange kid. We all had cokes to drink and the waitress was nice enough to fill up our resort mugs before we left so we had a drink to carry out into the parks with us.

($668.52 Dining Plan Balance - $129.19 = $539.33)

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Spending Some Time In Future World

After lunch we had some time to kill before our FP+ times so we looked around Mousegears. Maddy bought a bead Mickey head bracelet and some more charms for the bracelet Marie gave her before our first trip. She sat her mug down on the table with all the charms on it and we had to go back for it, but luckily it was still there!

From there we went to Innoventions and the Disney Chase Character Spot. We got a great picture there with Mickey and Pluto last time so we wanted to be sure to go again this trip. The characters there are always a surprise and this time we were able to meet Minnie and Pluto. My silly husband kissed Minnie’s hand and she was all over him! Minnie also knocked Maddy’s ears off and Pluto was sweet enough to help her put them back on. I think we got some cute pictures this time, too!

I wanted to check out Sum of All Fears, but the wait was 35 minutes and our first FP+ window was open so we headed to Spaceship Earth instead. Maddy rode this with her daddy because she remembered riding it with him on our first trip. To her disgust, the screens in our cars (and a lot of the cars around us) never came on.

We stopped for a Photo Pass photographer, but the wind was blowing really hard and I’m not thrilled with how the picture turned out. I’m also not crazy about my outfit!

We rode Mission Space’s orange side via the stand by line and only waited about ten minutes. We had a FP+ for later in the day, but never used it. This was Madilyn’s first time on this ride and she thought it was so awesome! She actually screamed “this is awesome” several times during the ride!

After a short smoke/bathroom break, it was time for our Test Track FP+. This was a first for all of us because the ride was being refurbished during our first trip.

It was now after 3:00 and the crowds were pretty thick so we decided to head back to our hotel for a little down time. Instead of taking a boat, we walked. I snapped some photos along the way.

I really love this one! I wish I had used my camera instead of my cell phone, though.

We stopped in Boardwalk Bakery to refill our mugs and get a snack to carry back to our room. Madilyn got a blueberry muffin. She took about two bites of it so I don't think it was very good. Jamie got a cheesecake brownie. He ate about half of it and said that it wasn't very good. I got a chocolate elcair. I ate about half of it and it wasn't very good, either.

Dining Plan Balance $539.33 - $11.30 = $528.03

The Boardwalk is a beautiful resort and I liked the theming of it much more than I expected to. We booked because of price more than out of a real desire to stay there, and while it is not The Poly, we did enjoy our stay.