The Fabulous Four take Flight - Trip Report

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Wednesday 23rd September

We were up, ready and out by 9am I was impressed! We were heading to EPCOT today; we had the standard front of park picture

This was my favourite of the bunch! As we walked up Spaceship Earth had no wait which for a morning was surprising so we hopped on, this was one of the few my auntie and uncle did experience and really enjoyed last year so it was a must!



Look at them tights!
We walked further up and there was another photopass photographer beside a palm tree, he had nobody waiting so we decided to get some more done he was so funny and did so many shots he was really good I hope to see him again one day! We walked around and had a ride on the seas with nemo and friends, we had a FP for it but really didn't need it, we used it anyway but there was no wait anyway, we love this ride so cute! We came off and had a look around, we went to see a dolphin presentation which was so good they really are such intelligent animals and I didn't know they did anything like this in the pavillion so it was a nice surprise! We headed over to the land after there was a huge line for Soarin' FP so we jumped on living with the land now we knew my auntie and uncle would just love this ride because they love gardening and growing things and it didn't seem to disappoint they seemed like they loved it! we came off and headed back to Soarin' even though there was a large queue it didn't seem to take too long to get through, we asked for front row because my auntie and uncle loved this from last year also and I had a feeling this would be the last year we would see this version (which has now been confirmed the new film will be in by next year!) we all loved it but we were ready for food now so we went to Sunshine Seasons, auntie and uncle had never eaten here before but it's one of mine and mams favourites! We went with our usual of pork chop and mash and auntie and uncle for the Mongolian beef which looked delicious I wish I had tried it now! For desserts we had chocolate mousse cake, key lime tart, strawberry shortcake and warm Peanut butter melt which we all agreed were beautiful, the peanut butter melt was quite heavy but still beautiful!




We were stuffed so we decided to go watch circle of life " an environmental fable, I have to be honest it usually manages to lull me into a little nap for a few seconds especially after food but I do enjoy the film anyway however one thing that really annoyed me was these 2 people in the row in front of us just sat on their phones the whole way through the film " now I know people might find it boring but if you have no intention of watching it then find a bench and play with your phone! Rant over! We came out of the land and headed towards Figment which we always enjoy and my auntie and uncle seemed to aswell! We headed off into world showcase and some of the menus were out for the food and wine starting so I took a few pictures, we went to Canada and had a look around its so beautiful up the back and empty! We caught the end of the lumberjack show I couldn't say I loved it but it wasn't as awful as I originally thought it would be! We wandered up to UK to have a look and noticed that the Paul McKenna band were due to come on, we weren't sure where they performed so we went round the back beside where British Revolution play thinking it might be round there, they werent! We kept walking around and discovered it was actually near the main path through they were really good but there wasn't a lot to get the crowd going but I would watch them again they were good!

We walked around France and Morocco and we decided to get boat back to Future World and headed out of the park for a break. Once back at the hotel me and auntie went for a swim and we headed back out to Magic Kingdom around 6.30 we waited quite a while for a bus and didn't get to Magic Kingdom until 7.20 I really wanted a good space for the Main Street Electrical parade and we struck lucky and found a spot behind a bin right at the bottom of Main Street! A few people tried to sit in front of the bin but they were moved we had a fabulous view!






Once the parade passed we decided not to go too far up Main Street and get into the crowds we stopped at the bottom in the circle bit to watch Wishes it was fab and we could see really well and it wasn't too crowded but one things that really spoilt it for me is that all the lights were on so it spoilt the image for me I knew we were coming back later in the trip so I wasn't too worried about it I just wish I had known as we would have ventured a bit further up Main Street so it was darker.


One plus to this spot was we were some of the first people out of the park and we struck lucky with the buses and were one of the first people on a bus so we got seats! Because we were a party of 4 on the back seat of the bus we used to separate and have 2 at either side so the middle seat was easy enough for someone to sit in and myself and my uncle got this little boy in between us, once the lights went off you could tell he was falling asleep and his head was bobbing from side to side and we knew he would fall on either me or my uncle and he ended up falling onto my uncle it was so cute and he was oblivious to what had happened and everybody looking at him.

We went to riverside mill, filled our cups up and got food me and mam has make your own pasta and auntie and uncle split a fish and chips and we all went back to rooms and bed!

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clapping more more.

That food looks amazing. the Beef and desserts yum!!

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danijrod wrote:
clapping more more.

That food looks amazing. the Beef and desserts yum!!

I cant speak for how the beef tasted but it looked and smelled delicious and it got rave reviews from my auntie and uncle!!!

good things come to those who wait!

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I need to stop at Sunshine seasons the desserts look amazing! Oh and the food looked good too.

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Thursday 24th September

We were up and left the room about 9am and headed to Hollywood Studios, we got there around 9.30 and headed straight for Toy Story Mania, one thing that really struck us was the view as you came into the park no more hat yay!! We used our FP for Toy Story Mania as the line was around 70mins stand by! We all really enjoyed it but forgot to tell auntie and uncle to pull the tog they spent a lot of time working out what to press.....oops!

Once we were off we headed down to Tower of Terror and we already knew my auntie wasn't going on this as she doesn't like enclosed spaces and she doesn't like lifts so this was a big no no, before we came away my uncle had said yes 100% he would go on this but as we were walking down he didn't look sure so I said if he didn't want to go on I would go on twice with mam (she loves it and really wanted to ride twice seen as we had 4 FP for it) but he said no he would ride it but wanted to go first so me and auntie walked around by Rock N Roller Coaster then we walked up to meet them as they came out turns out my uncle LOVED it! I went on with mam again, now usually when I ride I like to be in the back corners so I have 2 places to hang onto or at the very least be beside the metal on the sides for me to hug but as we were walking around this CM asked for party of 2 and just grabbed us out of the line! And it was in the middle so I started getting panicked! I did survive and actually managed to put a hand up which was a new for me and I actually really enjoyed it more than I ever have!

While me and mam were on Tower of Terror auntie and uncle went looking for seats for Beauty and the Beast, we found them sitting right on the back in the sun but due to there being more stairs mam couldn't get up so we found seats further down where she could manage.We all enjoyed the show, it was lunch time now so we headed off to ABC Commissary they have changed the menu since the last time so we had 2 salmons and 2 steaks, 2 seasonal cupcakes and 2 parfaits I also had a wildberry lemonade " all of this was delicious big hit with us!



We had FP for Frozen Sing A Long so we headed there next we managed to get fairly central seats near the front and the show was fabulous as usual! This was our first time seeing it in the new theatre and we enjoyed it much more than in the other one, the royal historians were fab we had seen both before and were as good as ever!

We went over to Great Movie Ride after this again auntie and uncle had never been on this before they enjoyed it however me and mam thinks it could do with a renovation of parts as it's a bit outdated, I used to love the film at the end and still do but I don't like the new one as much as the old, I preferred the music but change is always good and enjoyed the new additions!

We went for a general walk around we caught a bit of mulch, sweat and shears which were fab as usual so sad they are no longer there! We decided there wasn't much else we wanted to do today so we headed back to the resort.

When we decided to head back out to EPCOT we decided to go to Hollywood Studios and get boat to International gateway, while we were waiting at bus stop it started to rain but nothing major, but the time we got on the bus it poured but it was short lived and by the time we got off the bus it was just a drizzle, we headed to the boat dock and there was one coming in! We managed to get seats and it poured while on the boat but we were inside we didn't care! Once we got there we were ready for food and wine festival it was only the soft opening but I was very excited! We headed left from
International Gateway towards Ireland booth so mam could get fisherman's pie, trying to find where to join the queue was a challenge and eventually we asked a CM and they said it was shut hmmm okay this seemed to be a theme as we walked down they were all closing! It was only just after 8......obviously they close the booths and shops early on soft opening well we know for next time! So we decided to just head out of the park and get food back at the resort me and mam had guess what? Make your own pasta! Auntie and uncle split a Cajun chicken sandwich which later they said was nice but not much flavour and bed we had an early morning the next day!

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Wow I totally had missed that the Frozen Singalong had moved so thanks for saying something! I would have headed back over by Muppets when we are there in a couple of weeks eek Is it in the old American Idol Experience building now?

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Allie wrote:
Wow I totally had missed that the Frozen Singalong had moved so thanks for saying something! I would have headed back over by Muppets when we are there in a couple of weeks eek Is it in the old American Idol Experience building now?

yes it is! its much better seating wise by my gosh people are pushy!!!! haha also if you have a FP try and get there for beginning of slot it got really busy both times we did it!

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We do have a FP so thanks for the tip! awesome

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Great trip report so far. Too funny that you got a picture of Mr Hubs and Scrappy on It's a Small World.

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Allie wrote:
We do have a FP so thanks for the tip! awesome

no worries I know Penny will just love it!!! cant wait to hear all about your trip!

JoAnn C wrote:
Great trip report so far. Too funny that you got a picture of Mr Hubs and Scrappy on It's a Small World.

I know I couldn't quite believe it!

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Friday 25th September

We were up at 6.30am this morning (shocked face) this is an unknown time to us unless something special is happening which it was! We had 8.30 reservations at Be Our Guest we were very excited about this even though there had been mixed reviews I really just wanted to be in the park early and experience Be our Guest breakfast at least once as we were getting ready it suddenly dawned on us we didn't know what time the buses started running! So I decided to run up to the bus stop and the lady told me that the buses had already started running phew! At least I know for next time! Once I got back from bus stop we headed back up there to actually catch a bus and this really posh bus came like the ones that come for run Disney events all plush seats and everything certainly softened the blow of being up so early! Once we arrived we found where we checked in and by passed all the people waiting for regular opening I felt a little smug because we have never done this before! Once we got under the Train Station the whole thing was just amazing! Just a few shots we took going up an empty Main Street!

We went a strange way we were diverted around by Crystal Palace then up behind the new Jungle Cruise restaurant they are building, up the side of sleepy hollow and the castle and around the carousel, it was amazing to see the park so quiet and loved this breakfast already! Because we had pre ordered we were straight in and looking for a seat within minutes, we had booked 2 separate reservations mainly because we knew we would like the pastries but didn't know about the mains so we thought if we had more pastries at least we would get a decent breakfast, it wasn't long before the food arrived we got 2 of the meals as after the lady left we realised they were cold so when the second 2 came and they were cold also we told the server as strange as it sounds even though the stuff was cold we liked it we just wanted to mention to them that we were expecting it to be hot and it wasn't the server left and we thought nothing of it then a gentleman came over to ask about our complaint and we explained it wasn't a complaint it was more an observation that we expected the food to be hot and it wasn't and he didn't hesitate to refund the meals! They did also offer to make fresh ones but we had already eaten half and it was nice overall we really enjoyed the meals we had and intended to go back as I had made 2 reservations. We ate 3 open faced bacon sandwiches and eggs Florentine and 2 plates of pastries yum! We did need to get a box to take some of the pastries with us!




We had no FP for Magic Kingdom today as we had them for tonight so it was kind of go with the flow we headed in the direction of tommorowland as we didn't make it that far the other day, me and uncle went on Space Mountain and I loved it as always and uncle seemed to really enjoy it we went on the TTA which was fab everyone really enjoyed it! as we were heading pout we decided to jump on the Walt Disney World Railroad which we enjoyed it was great to see the park at a more relaxed pace!

Once we came off we decided to head back to the resort for a few hours and head back out to EPCOT.

When we headed back out we were waiting to go to EPCOT but the Hollywood Studios bus came first so we hopped on that and got the boat to International Gateway auntie and uncle LOVED the boat so we were happy to go this way we headed down to Ireland and Canada seen as we missed them the night before we split up into 2 as me and uncle wanted Canada but the girls wanted fisherman's pie! Both were gorgeous!!!

We turned around and headed to France for Boeuf Bourginon and as we were in the line it started to rain and not just a little rain it POURED!!!! So we got the food and found a little shelter in France

The food was gorgeous if it hadn't been raining I would have gone back for more!!! Auntie and uncle had ponchos me and mam however did not..... Personally I don't care about getting wet mam did! We all decided to brave the rain as we had FP for David Cook in America we stood in the rain and waited, we watched thunder and lightning which was fun! And eventually the rain slowed down woohoo! And they started letting us in!!! We managed to get the second row which I was VERY excited about! I love David Cook soooo much and when we knew he was going to be there when we were I just HAD to go! The show was amazing took millions of photos and videos but I'll just post a couple so you can see what my future husband looks like! Haha





By the time the show finished the rain had stopped so we continued walking round, we were going to stop for the fireworks but it was really busy so we decided to see them another night we got some Lamb chops at Australia and some chardonnay I didn't write notes on this but I know everybody loved the lamb and I think everyone but me loved the wine.

We also stopped at Farm Fresh mam lad the loaded mac n cheese and I had yard bird which was as gorgeous as last year, mam had key lime wine and I think auntie and uncle had another chardonnay but I don't know whether they liked it or not!


We headed back to the bus, filled up our mugs and headed to bed!

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Saturday 26th September

We left around 10am and headed to Animal Kingdom, we dropped people off at Blizzard Beach but the ride still only took about 30mins which was really good, once we got through we headed straight up to Kilimanjaro Safaris the stand-by line was about 70mins but we had FP so we waited about 7! Was so quick! We had a fab safari and a great driver however as we were driving round by the lions there was an animal called a Bontebok which is like a little antelope and the driver said "I don't know what he is doing here in all the years I have been running this safari I have never once had to stop to let this animal past and especially not with the lions!" it came right beside the jeep! We also saw a baby Rhino on the way round which was the cutest! Here are a few of my safari pictures



this was not zoomed in it really was this close!!!



We came out and headed to Pangani Exploration Trail and we saw the Gorillas which was fab and even a baby Gorilla which was so cute!!!!

Once we were finished in there we walked back down for a FP for Festival of the Lion King and as suspected auntie and uncle LOVED it! We came out and went in search of food and landed at Flame Tree BBQ now I had always heard good things about this place but we had never been we had 3 ribs and chicken combos and a pulled pork sandwich, we also had 2 key lime mousse but we didn't like the look of the other dessert so me and auntie swapped our desserts for onion rings as I heard so many good things about them OMG they were right, food was amazing!!!! We would go there again for sure!



clearly I was more interested in our onion rings than their desserts!!!
We decided to brave Kali River Rapids it's been a long time since we have been on it but auntie wanted to ride so it was a priority! They had ponchos but me and mam braved the wet (we did have a change of shorts though!) we did get wet but not too bad " mam got soaked so she changed! We decided to head towards the exit but went into its tough to be a bug on the way out! We decided once we were out that we would go to Animal Kingdom Lodge for a look seen as we were so close as we got on the bus it's started to pour! Whilst on the bus I was giving people advice on which restaurants were where as people didn't know which bus stop to get off! We went and filled up our drinks in the food court and had 5 mins rest, the rain started to ease up a lot so we decided to head out and have a look at the animals they were very animated and got some great pictures!


We headed out to the bus stop and caught a bus to Magic Kingdom we were in no hurry to get back to the resort and auntie and uncle were really loving the transport options so we got off the bus at Magic Kingdom, got the ferryboat to Transportation and Ticket centre, Monorail to EPCOT then bus from EPCOT back to resort we had a lot of fun! By the time we got back to the resort it was about 7.30 so we decided to just relax round the resort we had dinner in the food court we had.....you guessed it make your own pasta! And auntie and uncle got a create your own salad between them which they said was gorgeous!



Coming up tomorrow......Amy drives again! eek eek yay

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Sunday 27th September

We had arranged pick up by Alamo for 8.45 and they arrived pretty much on time and picked up the car no problem it was a white Chevrolet Equinox which was gorgeous just the style of car I wanted!

I thought I had set the GPS to take us back but in actual fact it wasn't set at all so I actually found my way back on my own which I felt extremely proud of seen as this is only my second time driving in the states! We got back to resort and picked up auntie and uncle and headed to Vineland outlets mainly today for the character outlet auntie was looking for a knitted Minnie, she got the Mickey last year but nowhere seems to have the Minnie and the character outlet was no different, we did get a few other bits but while we were there we decided to go to subway which we all enjoyed they were the perfect sandwiches! We left and headed to Walmart now I was a proper tourist in here it's been a lot of years since I've been to a Walmart and I'm sure it was bigger than before so I was taking pictures everywhere I think I embarrassed them! We got lots of stuff for just while we were there and to bring home with us!



We headed back to the resort and unpacked the bags and before long it was time to head back out for our ADR at Beaches and Cream we decided not to take the car with us as we were heading to Hollywood Studios after and thought it would be easier to get out via bus than car and we seemed to wait ages for a bus, luckily the Hollywood Studios one came and we hopped on it, headed straight over the boat and managed to get on one but we were running late, once we docked at Beach Club I ran up the pier and along to Beaches and Cream we were about 10mins late and I explained we had been held up by the buses etc. they were absolutely fine and said as soon as the rest of the party arrived we could be seated, luckily they weren't far behind me and we got seated straight away, I love the atmosphere in here and was so excited as we all love ice cream! Me and mam split a Milky Way sundae and auntie and uncle got a 2 scoop strawberry sundae each everything was just amazing, while we sat there was 3 kitchen sinks brought out!!!


We had a look around Beach Club and walked over the bridge to The Boardwalk, as I'm sure you can see from the pictures that HUGE black cloud working its way over as we were looking around


it started to rain we headed towards the boat which was in and as we got on boat it started to pour! by the time we got to Hollywood Studios it was even heavier! We waited under shelter in the hopes it would slow down....it didn't so we just made a break for it! We got soaked!!! But we were happy!


by the time we hung around the shelters a bit more it stopped raining so we headed down towards fantasmic! The line was HUGE however once they started letting people in we got fabulous seats everybody loved it!!! We headed out once it was finished and got on a bus fairly quickly and headed back to the resort!

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Thats so good of them at BOG to refund them. I love that photo of the giraffe all up in your face.

Them ice creams though!

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danijrod wrote:
Thats so good of them at BOG to refund them. I love that photo of the giraffe all up in your face.

Them ice creams though!

yeah and we didn't ask or anything we just mentioned to them we were expecting it to be hot!

yeah looking at it now I think "that's so cool" but when I was actually there it was more "OMG this giraffe is going to eat you! shield yourself with a phone!!!!" thankfully I lived to tell the tale!

yeah I could eat both those ice creams right now!

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amy1989 wrote:

yeah looking at it now I think "that's so cool" but when I was actually there it was more "OMG this giraffe is going to eat you! shield yourself with a phone!!!!" thankfully I lived to tell the tale!

laugh laugh laugh laugh

That BOG breakfast looks delicious! And how smart to do it in two reservations to get extra pastries!

The safari looks AWESOME! We never see them very close. I read a tip once to go first thing in the morning because that's when they're the most active so that's what we've done the last couple of trips. I disagree with this however because they have been sleeping and still really far off in the distance both times we've tried this. So we're going with an early afternoon one next time and hoping it will be more like your experience crossfingers

We're doing Flame Tree for the first time this trip and I'm definitely following in your footsteps and trading out dessert for onion rings! I always forget that you can do that now awesome

Really love reading your trip reports! You always have such a good attitude and it's contagious! You're making me so excited for 3 weeks from today yay

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Allie wrote:
amy1989 wrote:

yeah looking at it now I think "that's so cool" but when I was actually there it was more "OMG this giraffe is going to eat you! shield yourself with a phone!!!!" thankfully I lived to tell the tale!

laugh laugh laugh laugh

That BOG breakfast looks delicious! And how smart to do it in two reservations to get extra pastries!

The safari looks AWESOME! We never see them very close. I read a tip once to go first thing in the morning because that's when they're the most active so that's what we've done the last couple of trips. I disagree with this however because they have been sleeping and still really far off in the distance both times we've tried this. So we're going with an early afternoon one next time and hoping it will be more like your experience crossfingers

We're doing Flame Tree for the first time this trip and I'm definitely following in your footsteps and trading out dessert for onion rings! I always forget that you can do that now awesome

Really love reading your trip reports! You always have such a good attitude and it's contagious! You're making me so excited for 3 weeks from today yay

it really was!!! I mean it was freezing cold I wont lie and usually I'm such a fussy person when it comes to food but I really hand on heart enjoyed it! we did go back and again it was cold but it wasn't bad I really cant explain it! honest those pastries were Yum-my!!!! however when we went back for our second one id just booked us all under one reservation, we did only get one plate but we were fine with it so even without the extra plate there is enough to go around!

we are not morning people we just aren't (well me and mam aren't!) and I'm sure both safaris we did were about 10am-11amish and we have always had good safaris I really hope you get a good one Allie

I'm sure mam and uncle said the dessert was nice but me and auntie felt like we hit the jackpot with those onion rings they were huge and just perfect!!!

oh thank you so much Allie I'm pleased someone does like them I know I love writing them! Danijrod always tells me she loves it but she is my best friend she has to! I've had such a crap few days at work and writing and posting these have kept me going! muchlove

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I am loving your report and all the pictures, too! We were not really morning people on our last trip - the parks are soooo much fun after dark! Can't wait to hear more!

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Belinda wrote:
I am loving your report and all the pictures, too! We were not really morning people on our last trip - the parks are soooo much fun after dark! Can't wait to hear more!

Thanks Belinda! We always leave home with the intention of "this year we will get up and out early"
It never works if I'm out of the room by 9 I feel like it's the middle of the night!

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amy1989 wrote:
Allie wrote:
amy1989 wrote:

yeah looking at it now I think "that's so cool" but when I was actually there it was more "OMG this giraffe is going to eat you! shield yourself with a phone!!!!" thankfully I lived to tell the tale!

laugh laugh laugh laugh

That BOG breakfast looks delicious! And how smart to do it in two reservations to get extra pastries!

The safari looks AWESOME! We never see them very close. I read a tip once to go first thing in the morning because that's when they're the most active so that's what we've done the last couple of trips. I disagree with this however because they have been sleeping and still really far off in the distance both times we've tried this. So we're going with an early afternoon one next time and hoping it will be more like your experience crossfingers

We're doing Flame Tree for the first time this trip and I'm definitely following in your footsteps and trading out dessert for onion rings! I always forget that you can do that now awesome

Really love reading your trip reports! You always have such a good attitude and it's contagious! You're making me so excited for 3 weeks from today yay

it really was!!! I mean it was freezing cold I wont lie and usually I'm such a fussy person when it comes to food but I really hand on heart enjoyed it! we did go back and again it was cold but it wasn't bad I really cant explain it! honest those pastries were Yum-my!!!! however when we went back for our second one id just booked us all under one reservation, we did only get one plate but we were fine with it so even without the extra plate there is enough to go around!

we are not morning people we just aren't (well me and mam aren't!) and I'm sure both safaris we did were about 10am-11amish and we have always had good safaris I really hope you get a good one Allie

I'm sure mam and uncle said the dessert was nice but me and auntie felt like we hit the jackpot with those onion rings they were huge and just perfect!!!

oh thank you so much Allie I'm pleased someone does like them I know I love writing them! Danijrod always tells me she loves it but she is my best friend she has to! I've had such a crap few days at work and writing and posting these have kept me going! muchlove

Well, I love reading them too! Reading and writing them helps me thru some of the worst days! clapping

We hit the early safari last time and it was great, when me an the girls went the next week, not so much.... I guess it depends if the animals stayed up for fireworks the night before laugh wink

I am so looking forward to our Thanksgiving lunch at Beaches and Cream. I'm not a big ice cream an but I'm gonna get something.

I love that you love Wal-mart, some of the things that you all across the pond love makes me giggle. You have to pay me to go in Wal-Mart, I'm a Target girl all the way!

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JMed wrote:
amy1989 wrote:
Allie wrote:
amy1989 wrote:

yeah looking at it now I think "that's so cool" but when I was actually there it was more "OMG this giraffe is going to eat you! shield yourself with a phone!!!!" thankfully I lived to tell the tale!

laugh laugh laugh laugh

That BOG breakfast looks delicious! And how smart to do it in two reservations to get extra pastries!

The safari looks AWESOME! We never see them very close. I read a tip once to go first thing in the morning because that's when they're the most active so that's what we've done the last couple of trips. I disagree with this however because they have been sleeping and still really far off in the distance both times we've tried this. So we're going with an early afternoon one next time and hoping it will be more like your experience crossfingers

We're doing Flame Tree for the first time this trip and I'm definitely following in your footsteps and trading out dessert for onion rings! I always forget that you can do that now awesome

Really love reading your trip reports! You always have such a good attitude and it's contagious! You're making me so excited for 3 weeks from today yay

it really was!!! I mean it was freezing cold I wont lie and usually I'm such a fussy person when it comes to food but I really hand on heart enjoyed it! we did go back and again it was cold but it wasn't bad I really cant explain it! honest those pastries were Yum-my!!!! however when we went back for our second one id just booked us all under one reservation, we did only get one plate but we were fine with it so even without the extra plate there is enough to go around!

we are not morning people we just aren't (well me and mam aren't!) and I'm sure both safaris we did were about 10am-11amish and we have always had good safaris I really hope you get a good one Allie

I'm sure mam and uncle said the dessert was nice but me and auntie felt like we hit the jackpot with those onion rings they were huge and just perfect!!!

oh thank you so much Allie I'm pleased someone does like them I know I love writing them! Danijrod always tells me she loves it but she is my best friend she has to! I've had such a crap few days at work and writing and posting these have kept me going! muchlove

Well, I love reading them too! Reading and writing them helps me thru some of the worst days! clapping

We hit the early safari last time and it was great, when me an the girls went the next week, not so much.... I guess it depends if the animals stayed up for fireworks the night before laugh wink

I am so looking forward to our Thanksgiving lunch at Beaches and Cream. I'm not a big ice cream an but I'm gonna get something.

I love that you love Wal-mart, some of the things that you all across the pond love makes me giggle. You have to pay me to go in Wal-Mart, I'm a Target girl all the way!

yay I'm so pleased I love reading everybody's trip reports too!!!

Haha think you could be right about the animals I guess like people some days you want to strut your stuff for the fans other days it's just like "no not having it today" haha

I even love the place itself so just go with it and if necessary they do burgers!!

I swear when we were in wal-mart I think my family wanted to lose me! But it was so quiet and peaceful!!! I know I've seen on Facebook you are a target girl and I can appreciate that just tonight I had to nip to asda (which is part of the wal-Mart group over here) and I could quite nicely have sat on the floor and rocked back and forth!!!! It was CRAZY I have vowed I will not be going back there on a Friday night again!!!! So if your wal-marts are anything like that I'm with you all the way!!!!

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amy1989 wrote:
JMed wrote:
amy1989 wrote:
Allie wrote:
amy1989 wrote:

yeah looking at it now I think "that's so cool" but when I was actually there it was more "OMG this giraffe is going to eat you! shield yourself with a phone!!!!" thankfully I lived to tell the tale!

laugh laugh laugh laugh

That BOG breakfast looks delicious! And how smart to do it in two reservations to get extra pastries!

The safari looks AWESOME! We never see them very close. I read a tip once to go first thing in the morning because that's when they're the most active so that's what we've done the last couple of trips. I disagree with this however because they have been sleeping and still really far off in the distance both times we've tried this. So we're going with an early afternoon one next time and hoping it will be more like your experience crossfingers

We're doing Flame Tree for the first time this trip and I'm definitely following in your footsteps and trading out dessert for onion rings! I always forget that you can do that now awesome

Really love reading your trip reports! You always have such a good attitude and it's contagious! You're making me so excited for 3 weeks from today yay

it really was!!! I mean it was freezing cold I wont lie and usually I'm such a fussy person when it comes to food but I really hand on heart enjoyed it! we did go back and again it was cold but it wasn't bad I really cant explain it! honest those pastries were Yum-my!!!! however when we went back for our second one id just booked us all under one reservation, we did only get one plate but we were fine with it so even without the extra plate there is enough to go around!

we are not morning people we just aren't (well me and mam aren't!) and I'm sure both safaris we did were about 10am-11amish and we have always had good safaris I really hope you get a good one Allie

I'm sure mam and uncle said the dessert was nice but me and auntie felt like we hit the jackpot with those onion rings they were huge and just perfect!!!

oh thank you so much Allie I'm pleased someone does like them I know I love writing them! Danijrod always tells me she loves it but she is my best friend she has to! I've had such a crap few days at work and writing and posting these have kept me going! muchlove

Well, I love reading them too! Reading and writing them helps me thru some of the worst days! clapping

We hit the early safari last time and it was great, when me an the girls went the next week, not so much.... I guess it depends if the animals stayed up for fireworks the night before laugh wink

I am so looking forward to our Thanksgiving lunch at Beaches and Cream. I'm not a big ice cream an but I'm gonna get something.

I love that you love Wal-mart, some of the things that you all across the pond love makes me giggle. You have to pay me to go in Wal-Mart, I'm a Target girl all the way!

yay I'm so pleased I love reading everybody's trip reports too!!!

Haha think you could be right about the animals I guess like people some days you want to strut your stuff for the fans other days it's just like "no not having it today" haha

I even love the place itself so just go with it and if necessary they do burgers!!

I swear when we were in wal-mart I think my family wanted to lose me! But it was so quiet and peaceful!!! I know I've seen on Facebook you are a target girl and I can appreciate that just tonight I had to nip to asda (which is part of the wal-Mart group over here) and I could quite nicely have sat on the floor and rocked back and forth!!!! It was CRAZY I have vowed I will not be going back there on a Friday night again!!!! So if your wal-marts are anything like that I'm with you all the way!!!!

Ha ha ha ha ha yes, my Target adventures are about as well documented as Disney! laugh Headed there this morning for a little retail therapy.

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JMed wrote:
amy1989 wrote:
JMed wrote:
amy1989 wrote:
Allie wrote:
amy1989 wrote:

yeah looking at it now I think "that's so cool" but when I was actually there it was more "OMG this giraffe is going to eat you! shield yourself with a phone!!!!" thankfully I lived to tell the tale!

laugh laugh laugh laugh

That BOG breakfast looks delicious! And how smart to do it in two reservations to get extra pastries!

The safari looks AWESOME! We never see them very close. I read a tip once to go first thing in the morning because that's when they're the most active so that's what we've done the last couple of trips. I disagree with this however because they have been sleeping and still really far off in the distance both times we've tried this. So we're going with an early afternoon one next time and hoping it will be more like your experience crossfingers

We're doing Flame Tree for the first time this trip and I'm definitely following in your footsteps and trading out dessert for onion rings! I always forget that you can do that now awesome

Really love reading your trip reports! You always have such a good attitude and it's contagious! You're making me so excited for 3 weeks from today yay

it really was!!! I mean it was freezing cold I wont lie and usually I'm such a fussy person when it comes to food but I really hand on heart enjoyed it! we did go back and again it was cold but it wasn't bad I really cant explain it! honest those pastries were Yum-my!!!! however when we went back for our second one id just booked us all under one reservation, we did only get one plate but we were fine with it so even without the extra plate there is enough to go around!

we are not morning people we just aren't (well me and mam aren't!) and I'm sure both safaris we did were about 10am-11amish and we have always had good safaris I really hope you get a good one Allie

I'm sure mam and uncle said the dessert was nice but me and auntie felt like we hit the jackpot with those onion rings they were huge and just perfect!!!

oh thank you so much Allie I'm pleased someone does like them I know I love writing them! Danijrod always tells me she loves it but she is my best friend she has to! I've had such a crap few days at work and writing and posting these have kept me going! muchlove

Well, I love reading them too! Reading and writing them helps me thru some of the worst days! clapping

We hit the early safari last time and it was great, when me an the girls went the next week, not so much.... I guess it depends if the animals stayed up for fireworks the night before laugh wink

I am so looking forward to our Thanksgiving lunch at Beaches and Cream. I'm not a big ice cream an but I'm gonna get something.

I love that you love Wal-mart, some of the things that you all across the pond love makes me giggle. You have to pay me to go in Wal-Mart, I'm a Target girl all the way!

yay I'm so pleased I love reading everybody's trip reports too!!!

Haha think you could be right about the animals I guess like people some days you want to strut your stuff for the fans other days it's just like "no not having it today" haha

I even love the place itself so just go with it and if necessary they do burgers!!

I swear when we were in wal-mart I think my family wanted to lose me! But it was so quiet and peaceful!!! I know I've seen on Facebook you are a target girl and I can appreciate that just tonight I had to nip to asda (which is part of the wal-Mart group over here) and I could quite nicely have sat on the floor and rocked back and forth!!!! It was CRAZY I have vowed I will not be going back there on a Friday night again!!!! So if your wal-marts are anything like that I'm with you all the way!!!!

Ha ha ha ha ha yes, my Target adventures are about as well documented as Disney! laugh Headed there this morning for a little retail therapy.

haha hope you enjoyed yourself!

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Monday 28th September

We separated today as me and mam (well maybe more me) wanted to go to the outlets for retail therapy when we left auntie and uncle didn't have plans they thought they might go to a water park, me and mam basically shopped til we dropped, had a subway, called to Publix for more sweets to bring home and called at walmart to make a special pick up of some mint M&Ms (cough cough Danijrod) it's a good job she is my best friend so I didn't mind!

Auntie and uncle on the other hand had a little adventure they went to Blizzard Beach for a bit then headed to EPCOT and walked around world showcase, I think we both arrived back around the same time and we decided instead of rushing to take car back the next morning we would drop it off tonight and head to EPCOT so we all set off for car care centre dropped the car off no problems the man who served us was lovely making jokes with us about my uncle being surrounded by 3 women haha
Once we arrived at EPCOT we had food and wine in our sights! I headed to Farm Fresh for another yard bird (can't get enough of that!) whereas they all headed to New Zealand and got the venison which I think they said they liked!

Auntie also got some green lip mussels which she loved, I have in my notes somebody had a lamb chop I'm going to go with possibly me because I was hungry! I'm sure there was some wine in here somewhere but I don't have it written down!
China was the next stop where auntie had Beijing Duck, I had Black Pepper Shrimp and mam had pot stickers all of which were amazing we also had a happy peach drink which was beautiful!




I also called into Italy for the chicken dish (i cant remember what it was called and untill i was lookinmg through my pictures it wasn't even in the trip report!)

As we were walking past America Wilson Phillips were playing it was nearly the end of the set but we stood and watched them perform "Hold On" which was just amazing I sang at the top of my lungs I hope I get to see them some other time when we could sit and enjoy, I think auntie and uncle got some wine at Fife and Drum which they liked because they went for another round!

We found a spot with a table in Japan and me and mam decided we fancied the beer flight from Belgium "it's only a little further down" she said......well it was further than I thought! But they made it back in one piece and in time for the fireworks which was good!

Now with Illuminations its always been my least favourite and we have never made much of an effort to go and see it but last year on our last night we sat in the Italy pavilion under this cover with a seat and it was the perfect end to the trip, I thought it was nostalgic to last year but watching them this year seemed to have a different feel to past years and really enjoyed it as equal as wishes and Fantasmic! And that song at the end when it finishes makes me tear up!


We got back to the resort no problem but I was still hungry so I had food (pasta of course!) and we all went to bed!

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Yeahy love my shout out ha! Not going to lie the Mint m&ms didn't last long ha!

Smile

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Tuesday 29th September

We left the resort about 10am and headed for Magic Kingdom today it was quite a miserable day and raining on and off but a rainy day in Disney is better than a sunny day pretty much anywhere else! We were in and out of shops, saw the Citizens of Main Street and got a fab photo of them!

As we were coming out of the shops we saw the Rainy Day Cavalcade which I was sad it wasn't the Move it, Shake it, Dance it, Play it but it was something new I had never seen!




We walked up to Adventureland and went in Enchanted Tiki Room which is a cute show we really enjoyed it! However we came out and the rain was pouring!!! Luckily me and mam had ponchos today so we were a whole poncho crew! Of course we had to take a poncho group selfie!

We made a run for it over to Pirates of the Caribbean the wait time said 45mins but we were on and off within 30mins! We all enjoyed it a lot didn't see any difference from before the refurb but it was still fab! We headed up towards Be Our Guest for lunch we were all very excited for this as auntie and uncle were as obsessed with this place as we are! I think it stopped raining or wasn't heavy because I don't remember having my poncho on! We had 3 pork 1 roast beef sandwich, 2 cupcakes and 2 orange eclairs all of which got rave reviews from our table




Once we were filled up we headed out and went for a ride on It's a Small World! We decided we would head out of the park and have a look around the grand Floridian. This was going to be a completely new experience for my auntie and uncle as they never explored any hotels the last year. We decided to take the monorail to we could have a little look at the other hotels. We got off at the Grand Floridian and walked through the automatic doors and I think my auntie fell in love there and then! We stood taking some photos and we happen to notice on the ground floor not on...but 2 people asleep on the sofas!!! Like really sound asleep!!! We found this funny!

We walked around towards the grand stairs and as we approached them we saw this figure sitting at the top, at first we didn't know if it was a statue but then it moved slightly so we thought maybe it was a cast member or even an animatronic because the movement was very slight, curiosity got the better of us and we found this article that had been posted on another forum from the lady's sister

The lady who is always at the Grand Floridian Hotel is my sister, Lynn, who lives near there and is definitely Not homeless.
Her late Husband, Bruce, used to be there often, too, but would often go off and do other things while Lynn listened to the music.
She takes her bags of teddy bears with her everywhere and has for many many years.
Lynn has a terrific sense of humour, but she does hear the beat to a different drummer, as the old saying goes.
Bruce suddenly passed away from a brain aneurysm October of 2007, which was a shock to all of us. He had a fantastic sense of humour as well, and the two of them couldn't have been more perfectly matched.
Lynn will be 67 in March, so she isn't as old as some thought. I am 65, and at times, websites like this one are somewhat of a struggle for me to figure out how to use, so I hope you will be patient with me.
Even as a child Lynn was rather overly imaginative. I remember when one night she got me to drag her into our closet so she could pretend she was a doll and 'catch' all of the toys come 'alive' when the rest of us were asleep. She was probably around 7 or 8 at the time. She was disappointed the next morning that none had come to life, but she reasoned it all out that the toys must have realized that she was really a human and not a real toy.
So, Lynn is not homeless, but she is OCD. One day she will no doubt tire of going to the GF and go off into something else.
She and Bruce used to love to hand out teddy bears to children, but only after asking the children's parent's permission first. They have been going to Disney since it opened, and have spent a small fortune there, taking 4 kids there very often, spending almost more time in the place where people camp than at their own home, renting golf carts. So, if anyone thinks either of them were or are freeloaders, they are very wrong.
The person who wrote #43 on the original site about my sister needs to learn compassion for those less fortunate than she is. With the way the world is today, she could be homeless right now. I hope that is NOT the case, but if it is, I can't help but wonder if she would even give a thought to what she wrote about homeless people when many thought Lynn might be, and she really didn't like the idea of Lynn being in the hotel if she was homeless. I seem to remember that she didn't even want Lynn there if she wasn't a guest at the hotel. My goodness, don't you think there are literally thousands of people that go into these hotels to eat in the restaurants, or listen to the music, etc. It is a public place.
Lynn has a LOT of friends at the hotel, as well as a few like the above person, who resent her being there daily.
Who is she hurting? No one.
At any rate, I hope this satisfies everyone's curiosity. Thanks to all of you who were kind in your remarks about her.

Lynn's Sister,
Tracy Joan
Nashville, TN
After reading this we were very moved by Lynn's story however I'm surprised in past years we haven't seen her, has anyone else ever seen her?

We left the Grand Floridian and headed to the Transportation and Ticket Centre to head to EPCOT. Once we arrived we headed straight for our FP for Test Track we got through the line great but once we were loaded up and heading to the seatbelt check we stopped, we were stopped for a quite a while and cars in front got evacuated however they never evacuated us and we got to ride yay! It was very interesting because we had been inside for so long we had no idea what the weather was like outside......we soon found out because as we came out the doors onto the track it was raining! Not what we were expecting but it seemed to make a good memory maker picture haha!

Once we came off we headed to the festival centre on our way we saw the Jammitors doing a food and wine special it was a lot of fun we enjoyed it!



On arrival at the Festival Centre I honestly think we could have left my auntie there and she would have been happy! We looked around the Ghirardelli exhibit which was amazing! The sky was looking quite dark so we headed back to the resort to have a freshen up.






We decided instead of staying at the resort we would get the boat to Downtown Disney (I think this may have been the day it changed to Disney Springs) we walked around and just generally had a look around, decided to have dinner at Cooke's of Dublin, it's difficult to see how you get in with all the construction around it which is sad but it did mean it was quiet which we were happy about we all had Fish and chips which were beautiful auntie and uncle ice cream which looked delicious, me and mam has some kind of crumble thing I didn't like it and wished I'd got ice cream!


We were all pretty full so we made our way back looking in a few shops and got boat back up this was quickly becoming our favourite way to travel " by boat!

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danijrod wrote:
Yeahy love my shout out ha! Not going to lie the Mint m&ms didn't last long ha!

Smile

I know I was there whilst you were inhaling them!!!!!! never seen anything disappear so quick! eek

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amy1989 wrote:
danijrod wrote:
Yeahy love my shout out ha! Not going to lie the Mint m&ms didn't last long ha!

Smile

I know I was there whilst you were inhaling them!!!!!! never seen anything disappear so quick! eek

I wasn't that bad! ha!

I love that story about the woman at the Grand Floridian.

amy1989's picture
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Posts: 1404

danijrod wrote:
amy1989 wrote:
danijrod wrote:
Yeahy love my shout out ha! Not going to lie the Mint m&ms didn't last long ha!

Smile

I know I was there whilst you were inhaling them!!!!!! never seen anything disappear so quick! eek

I wasn't that bad! ha!

I love that story about the woman at the Grand Floridian.

I beg to differ!!!

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Great story about the GF woman! And I love the Test Track picture laugh