No Rain In Our Forecast--Wishes Farewell Tour--April 2017 Trip Report COMPLETED

Whit64130

Mouseketeer
Joined
May 30, 2015
Intro...
Hi :wave:
I am Whitney lover of all things Disney. I will be your guide for this report!

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This is my second ever TR so I am excited to have y'all along! Little basic info from me...I am a 20 something/married to a non-Disney loving husband/nurse. I usually travel with any of my family who is up for a Disney trip. This trip was my 3rd trip with my cousin Chelsy!
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We do Disney really well together! We upgraded to AP's last fall and originally had scheduled the trip for late Jan. It was cancelled due to my nephew coming home from deployment that week only. Sooooooooo We decided on a late April trip to try out Flower and Garden!

Anyways let get this party started…

Due to work schedules we decided to leave Friday (4/21) evening when I got up from sleeping after my shift. I had already said my goodbyes to Nick that morning when he left to go to work for his 24 hour shift. My bags were semi packed. (little background info on me…I hate finishing up packing last minute.) I woke up about 3:30 pm and threw more stuff than I needed in my bag and headed out to my mom’s house where I was meeting Chelsy. Mom was nice enough to cook us both supper before we headed out. Finally we were on the road at 7pm.
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We had an uneventful drive. Finally around 6:17 Disney time we were headed through the gates.

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I wasn’t necessarily sleepy, just my body was ready to get out and move! We were both pretty pumped about staying at both AOA and Pop for the first time. Our first night was at AOA due to lack of extra rooms at POP with our discount. So we headed in to the desk to let them know we were there. I knew our room wouldn’t be ready but we had wanted to check out the resort and have breakfast. They made sure everything was set up and our check in stuff was completed. We decided to head to the food court…Bummer.. they didn’t start selling hot breakfast until 7.

We walked around the gift shop and I purchased a cute shirt you will see later on in the trip.

Finally at 7am on the dot we were in line for breakfast. I ended up getting the French toast with bacon and fresh fruit!
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It was very good and hit the spot.
After breakfast we had a spout of energy, so we walked around the resort to see everything. I really LOVE AOA but have no real need to stay there again until I have a family needing a suite since they don't offer discounted standard rooms.

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This ended up being our building. It was the further-est from the main building, but no worries we had a car and only one night here!
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I had to include my Disney Villain Jamberrys! They were Ursula!
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Finally we finished up with our tour and decided we would go layout by the pool. Too bad it didn’t open for another hour. So we found a few massage chairs in the arcade to relax in. Seriously best $5 I spent at Disney. party:
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It was able to work all of the kinks from driving out. We eventually went and got our swimsuits on just as the pool was opening. We went to the Big Blue Pool. The water was kind of chilly so we found a couple of chairs to hopefully semi nap in.
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Too bad there was too much excitement of being in Disney and no napping to be had.

After about an hour or so it was getting pretty hot out. I decided to go sit on the edge. I told Chelsy as soon as I sit in the pool and get my bathing suit wet our room would be ready. Literally 10 mins later I got the text….

Anywho we gathered up our belongings and drove down to the Little Mermaid section of the resort. We the last room on the third floor. It was very convenient to walk down the stairs to the car. I went ahead and showered so I would be prepared for our first night at Disney!
And here is the tour of our Little Mermaid Room for those who have never seen/stayed in them before!

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We had several new experiences this trip and I can't wait to share them all with everybody!

Next up….

Checking off our Hollywood Studios list one by one!
 
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I'm here!! (And I appear to be first - yay!) Sounds like fun! Wish we'd had a chance to see Wishes one last time. Looking forward to hearing about your adventures from this trip!

I really LOVE AOA but have no real need to stay there again until I have a family needing a suite since they don't offer discounted standard rooms.

I feel the same way! I haven't stayed there, but unless it was the only place available I'm in no rush to stay in the standard rooms without a discount.

I had to include my Disney Villain Jamberrys! They were Ursula!

So cute!

And here is the tour of our Little Mermaid Room for those who have never seen/stayed in them before!

The theming in these rooms is really cool. I love the chairs!
 
Off to a great start! :) I love walking around at Art of Animation, but have never actually stayed there myself. Since our son was born, we always stay at Pop, so AoA is only a short stroll away!

Looking forward to reading all about your new adventures!
 


Great start, we have stayed once at AoA in the LM section. It was cute but a really long walk to the lobby and transportation. Looking forward to more!
 


Following along! Jealous of your stay at AoA, even if it was only for one night! We have stayed a Pop the last several trips and loved it. Can't wait to read all about your trip!
 
I'm here!! (And I appear to be first - yay!) Sounds like fun! Wish we'd had a chance to see Wishes one last time. Looking forward to hearing about your adventures from this trip!
Glad you are here! :flower1:
The theming in these rooms is really cool. I love the chairs!
I really don't get why more Disney resorts are this over the top Disney? Especially the values. every single detail was on point at the resort!

Off to a great start! :) I love walking around at Art of Animation, but have never actually stayed there myself. Since our son was born, we always stay at Pop, so AoA is only a short stroll away!
Looking forward to reading all about your new adventures!
Thanks for reading along! I really liked both resorts and the location. We usually stay at All-Stars so it was nice being closer to DHS and Epcot.

I don't know how you all remained so calm on your first day. I am usually flying off the handle.
:cool1: I really don't know either. Usually I am a wreck trying to make sure everything is done. I think my biggest concern was making sure the house was semi clean with laundry done so I wouldn't come back to a huge disaster after leaving Nick home alone for a week:rotfl:Thanks for reading along!

Great start, we have stayed once at AoA in the LM section. It was cute but a really long walk to the lobby and transportation. Looking forward to more!
Yeah it was super far but with our room being so close to our car it wasn't too bad. Glad to have you reading along!

Look forward to reading more as our first time at AoA will be this December!
Thanks for reading! You will really like AOA. The lobby smells fantastic when you first go in! That is one of my favorite parts!:goodvibes

Looks like a fun trip! Excited to see some of your adventures.
Thanks for reading along! :thumbsup2

Following along! Jealous of your stay at AoA, even if it was only for one night! We have stayed a Pop the last several trips and loved it. Can't wait to read all about your trip!
We really liked both resorts! Can't wait to share the rest! Thanks for reading!

:rolleyes: I thought I already commented! Well, I'm here :wave: Love the picture of you jumping in front of the castle!
Long time no talk:rotfl2:
It ended up being one of my favorite pictures of the trip. princess:
 
Day 1 Part 2
Checking off Hollywood Studios


I left off at us crashing for a few hours in our room. Well it took me foreverrrrrr to go to sleep! I had reached the beyond exhausted phase/too excited. Finally I fell alseep at almost 12pm Disney time. We had out alarms set for 2:30. We got up and got ready. The forecast showed definite rain. So we packed a poncho. Rushed out of the door and headed to our first park of the trip. We drove to DHS and were in the gates by 3:30. We went straight to guest relations because I had filled out a survey from last trip and had been contacted by a Disney CM afterwards to hear more about our experience. Basically we had some pretty time consuming issues last trip that resulted in us spending more time at the front desk than we wanted. I wasn't rude or even gave bad responses with my survey because the cast members that helped us were awesome. I was just frustrated with the technology or lack there of. The guest relations lady was super nice and had offered us 2 extra FP+ per day of our next trip since we were AP holders and would be returning soon. We were in and out at guest relations in no time!
We took a few photopass pictures.
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We had one goal in mind! FOOD! Our breakfast was long gone. This was the first time we weren't on the dining plan of any kind. I really liked the freedom!
DHS isn't my favorite when it comes to QS options but we decided on Backlot express because we could use our AP discount. I went with the kids nuggets and fries. No picture necessary if you have ever been to Disney. It was only 6 dollars and served its purpose.
After we ate we seen Olaf had a 5 min wait so we jumped in line to see the snowman!
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We crossed the park to Toy Story Midway Mania and used out extra FP for it. The standby line wasn't bad at this point either.
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After we passed by The Great Movie ride and noticed a short wait! We were in and out in no time. We were nearing the end of our FP+ window for Star Tours so we headed in that direction.


While in line we discussed what to do next. I told Chelsy that I NEEDED to ride Rockin Rollercoaster ASAP. She agreed so off we went! We were able to use the extra FP for this ride.
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I felt like the trip was official after we rode this.
By this time our FP+ window for The Little Mermaid Show had opened. Yeah Yeah I realize we really didn't need one but didn't know what else to fastpass since I wasn't about to ride Tower of Terror.
We stopped for another photopass picture. I love being able to stop for pictures and never have to pull the camera out. I get my picture obsession from my mom. She has tons of pictures from every vacation, birthday, or just life in general. I still love pulling out all of the old vacation pictures from when I was little.
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I really enjoyed the show as usual! We walked about to see about meeting Buzz and Woody. The line said 20 mins but it looked a little long. We had a little while for our FP+ for Fantasmic so we decided to wait. The line was moving slower than we liked, but we made the unanimous decision to skip Fantasmic and ride RNRC a few more times!
Here is the Woody and Buzz picture to prove we were there.
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For giggles we decided to check out the wait time on TSMM as we walked out. It said 20 mins. So we were like why not?!?!:confused3
We literally walked right on. It took longer to get to the ride itself than the line. :banana:

We headed straight down Sunset to catch a ride on RNRC before park closing. We were stopped by some CM handing out free churros!
FREE CHURROS?!?!?! Why yes I would like one! I took this selfie to send to my brother in law to make him jealous back at home.:rotfl2:
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We rode single rider once and then again together!

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They had closed everything as we came out of the gift shop. We headed towards the park exit just as Fantasmic was letting out.:eek:
We finally made it back to AOA. We were pretty hungry by now and decided what better way to end the day with some more Disney food!
I had the slice of Pizza and it came with breadsticks. It was better than I expected, but I am a Pizza lover.
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Beleive it or not...It never rained that night even though it said it was headed our way!


Anyways...Next up...
I'm actually a mermaid...No really I stayed in the room last night.
 
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The guest relations lady was super nice and had offered us 2 extra FP+ per day of our next trip since we were AP holders and would be returning soon.

Awesome! It was really good of them to do something like this to try to make it right. I know things happen sometimes that are out of your control even at Disney, so good on Disney for offering FP+ and keeping up that good service!

After we ate we seen Olaf had a 5 min wait so we jumped in line to see the snowman!

Such a cute photo!

For giggles we decided to check out the wait time on TSMM as we walked out. It said 20 mins. So we were like why not?!?!:confused3
We literally walked right on. It took longer to get to the rideitself than the line. :banana:

That's like, unheard of!
 
Basically we had some pretty time consuming issues last trip that resulted in us spending more time at the front desk than we wanted.
Did I know this? I feel like maybe you told me???

The guest relations lady was super nice and had offered us 2 extra FP+ per day of our next trip since we were AP holders and would be returning soon.
Wow I definitely didn't know this, that's great!

Yeah Yeah I realize we really didn't need one but didn't know what else to fastpass since I wasn't about to ride Tower of Terror.
:rolleyes1

I still can't believe the wait for TSMM was 20 minutes. Even since the 3rd track was added we haven't hit such a short standby line! Cool about the free churros too, I guess his cart was still pretty full by closing time lol
 
Joining in!!!! :coffee: My girlfriend is on her way back from LM room at AoA and I can't wait to hear what she thought about it!!! I LOVE all your ears. I have some on the way!! Where did you get the flowered ones in your EPCOT picture? They are gorgeous.
 
Wow, DHS with some short wait times, that is awesome. You hardly see that anymore with so few attractions, we are just the opposite I love ToT and do not like RnRc! I rode once with my son when he was 11 and never again, that was many years ago lol!
 
Awesome! It was really good of them to do something like this to try to make it right. I know things happen sometimes that are out of your control even at Disney, so good on Disney for offering FP+ and keeping up that good service!
It was super nice of them! I mean at the time it was frustrating and time consuming but the CM on site did everything they could to help. So it wasn't like I was upset and needed to talk to a supervisor then. I just filled out a what could've been better about your stay on the survey they sent. I ended up writing a complimentary email to Disney on the CM I spoke with that took the time to go above and beyond with us. :)

Wow I definitely didn't know this, that's great!
I thought I had told you this...maybe not. :confused3

I still can't believe the wait for TSMM was 20 minutes. Even since the 3rd track was added we haven't hit such a short standby line! Cool about the free churros too, I guess his cart was still pretty full by closing time lol
I know and literally 8 mins from gate to ride!!! Guess skipping Fantasmic will always be an option lol.

Joining in!!!! :coffee: My girlfriend is on her way back from LM room at AoA and I can't wait to hear what she thought about it!!! I LOVE all your ears. I have some on the way!! Where did you get the flowered ones in your EPCOT picture? They are gorgeous.
Glad to have you reading along! I hope she loved it just as much as we did!!
Thanks! I ended up making a few pair on my own but I purchased the Flower ones from the Etsy shop OhYouCraftyVixen. She custom made them and shipped super fast!

Wow, DHS with some short wait times, that is awesome. You hardly see that anymore with so few attractions, we are just the opposite I love ToT and do not like RnRc! I rode once with my son when he was 11 and never again, that was many years ago lol!
I don't know if it was because most had already left for the day or we just got lucky! Ahh I had actually rode them both years ago and swore them both off. I wanted to try RNRC again after I conquered Everest for the first time in 2015. I've loved it every since!
 
I love how Disney Guest Relations really goes above and beyond even if the "issue" wasn't super extreme to begin with. Extra FPs are definitely a WIN!!

I love that you'll go on RnRC but not Tower of Terror!! :) Two of my favs! Maybe someday you'll decide to give it a try again. On our December trip, we had some really awesome rides--I love the randomness...however, that is what my Mom now HATES about it!

Disney pizza is delicious! That's coming from someone who lives in Chicago, and we KNOW pizza!!
 
I love that you'll go on RnRC but not Tower of Terror!! :) Two of my favs! Maybe someday you'll decide to give it a try again. On our December trip, we had some really awesome rides--I love the randomness...however, that is what my Mom now HATES about it!
Well it may be sooner rather than later....:rolleyes:

Disney pizza is delicious! That's coming from someone who lives in Chicago, and we KNOW pizza!!
I haven't met a Disney Pizza I don't like! I LOVE their flatbreads and Blaze Pizza!
 
I'm actually a mermaid...No really I stayed in the room last night.

Day 2 started off super early. I think i woke up at 3 am and couldn't go back to sleep. (I blame the night shifter in me and trying to get adjusted) I finally got up with my alarm, got ready and packed up our stuff from our one night at AOA. We drove around the parking lot to Pop Century to check in. The lobby was pretty cute and the set up with similar to AOA lobby.
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Our check-in process wasn't really as exciting as the day before. But never the less we were heading to MK for the day!! I left a bag with guest services because I didn't want to leave it in my car to get too hot.
Anyways...Here we are waiting on the MK bus!
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We took our time walking up Main Street and took a few pictures while it was fairly empty.
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We headed back down Main Street to buy some postcards. I sent mine to my nieces back home,:goodvibes
It was getting close to 8:45 by this point so we took our place with the crowd to rope drop Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. We were positioned just right so we could see the new welcome show! Ugh I am not a fan of the new show. I liked the other one better....but I LOVE being able to leisurely stroll up Main Street first thing of the morning!

After the show they walked us to Fantasyland and to the line. We were on the ride in about 10 mins. It remains one of my favorites. Its just not worth the super long line!
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After Mine Train we headed to the back of Fantasyland to visit Ariel. It only seemed fitting after staying in the Little Mermaid rooms! (plus I had wore my Ariel shirt too!)
She was very fun and made good conversation. She talked about my shirt and asked where my fin was. I told her I left it behind but I did sleep in a clam shell last night so basically it was the same thing! :rotfl2:
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She also had a dinglehopper laying around so she suggested we use it for our picture!
So after Ariel there was a photo pass photographer outside taking pictures in front of the Grotto. We were trying to act surprised for the magic shot....Well...I think they forgot the Magic..So I improvised with the editing:rotfl:

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After the meet and greet we walked over to the Under the Sea ride for a walk on.

We stopped on the bridge at BOG for a cute little Magic shot!
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It was now time for our FP+ for Peter Pan. As we scanned our bands and waited our turns I spotted a friend (that I hadn't seen in years) and her family exiting the ride. :goodvibes I knew she was going to be down there the same time we were just hadn't really talked to find out what parks and what days. Turns they were at AOA in LM rooms too! We were being hurried on to our ride by the CM so I told her I would message her later to get some details!
(Side note: I ended up knowing about 4 different people and their families from home at Disney this week. It is fun to run into people from home and experience some of the best things at Disney with them!)
Anyways...
When we left Peter Pan we headed towards Haunted Mansion.
We stopped the Photopass for a picture in front of the Tangled Tower! This i one of my favorite picture locations!
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We took a little detour through Memento Mori. Chelsy bought her sister Miranda a Haunted mansion sweatshirt she had had her eye on from the last trip. Miranda's birthday was that next Friday so it would be a perfect gift! I eyed a cute HM grey tank. I ended up buying it but not wearing it for the trip.

*Edit* After the Photobucket Fiasco i can't find the picture.....


Finally we made our way towards the Mansion. It was just as exciting as always. Every time I ride this I find something new I haven't noticed. :hmghost:

Our FP+ window was open for Big Thunder. We decided to walk that way. While we were walking my nieces face timed me from home. The couldn't believe we were already riding rollercoasters this early. I showed them around BTMRR and Splash area. They were so excited! We said our goodbyes and I promised to send them more pictures. We breezed through the line and were on in no time.
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At this point we were getting pretty hungry. We had already decided we would be having Peco's Bill for lunch! I had been dying for some of the nachos! It also was a plus because our AP discounts were good here! It did not disappoint. I ended up with the Adult Portion and filled it with some toppings from the bar. I could not finish it all!
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After we were stuffed we waddled our way to Splash for our last FP+
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Just as we were exiting Splash we got a text saying our room was ready! Thank goodness because we were getting sleepy after such a big lunch. Not to mention I had been up forever! We made our way back to the front. I got stopped by Stitch. he was handing ok MK maps Portuguese version...:rotfl2:..Thanks....
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Didn't stop for a picture because his line was super long. But we did catch a princess on our way out. Finley had told me to find Snow White and send a picture. As we were leaving I made a point to take the right side to exit since I knew her meet and greet was on that side. There was not a soul in line so we were in and out in 2 minutes.
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We hopped the bus and headed back to pick up our stuff from Bell Services (because I did not want to risk them waking me up from my nap just as I dozed off). We drove to our room in the back 40 of the parking lot in the 80's section. Literally as far away as you can get. Which was fine with us since we weren't on the DP and not using the buses much. We were second room from the parking lot which was great! I will leave off here and pick up with our night at MK next time!!

 
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