US/WDW Sep/Oct 2016...All Finished

Malia78

Flotsam and Jetsam
Joined
Apr 30, 2012
Hello everyone. My name is Karilynn and I’m here to take a stab at my third trip report (Aulani-check, Alaska DCL-check). This trip entailed three theme park properties and 4 Disney resort hotels, a good opportunity to play with our DVC points for the first time in Orlando. It also involved a swap of the folks traveling with me.

This trip was initially planned in two segments. The first leg would be my friend, S, her 13 year old daughter, R, and myself—we’ve been on an every other year girls trip schedule having done two Disney cruises together, one in 2012 and one in 2014.This time, we were tackling Universal Studios. Then my parents would come out for leg two which was all Walt Disney World, with an emphasis on Food & Wine (or in my case FOOD). A mini third segment was added at the front of the trip due to some new events and some late miscommunication.

Since it was a part of my personal experience during the WDW leg, I will also mention that I was celebrating on this trip—yes I did pick up a celebrating button. This time of year, particularly October, is significant for me in that most of my life-altering health events had their origins during these fall months—no less than three cancer dx. However, this year I was focusing on the 8th anniversary of my kidney transplant, Oct 1, 2008. I’ve put my new kidney through a lot but it is a trooper and still working wonderfully for me. My button stated as much and I wore it on my sleeve.

So getting down to details…originally we were set to check in for our US stay on Sept 27th. Last spring DVC announced some of their 25th Anniversary celebration events including the after-hours Safari Spectacular at Animal Kingdom on Sept. 27th. Well of course, considering I was planning to be in Florida that day and this would be the perfect opportunity for my friends to visit the park without having a ticket, I reserved our spots as soon as reservations opened. This meant I had to shuffle our US stay a little to the right. I had already bought my Alaska flight—got to love that non-stop from Seattle to Orlando. It gets me into Orlando about 4:30 PM. Beginning of August, I was thinking that it would be too exhausting to fly all day and then zip right over to AK for a late night and then turn around the next morning to go to US. So I decided we should arrive the 26th to give us some recovery time—plenty to do outside the parks for that extra time.

I shared all this with S via the ever reliable Facebook Messenger—yes, I admit most folks would actually have some face to face planning or speak on the phone, but that’s just the way it works best with S. She agreed since she hadn’t bought plane tickets yet. Since Alaska Airlines is awesome, I had no trouble modifying my flight and decided I would try the red-eye flight Sunday night, putting me in Orlando around 0930 and maximizing that ever so valuable vacation time. S said her flights would put them in at 1130—not a problem for me, I would wait and we would ride the Magical Express together. Settled right? Since I was doing all the planning, we just went about our business leading up to departure weekend. I scored a couple of dining reservations including Hoop-De-Doo on Monday night—we messaged back and forth confirming these different things.


Day T-1 Saturday

I get a message from S--she has realized reading back through all our messages that we’ve had a misunderstanding. I misinterpreted her message regarding arrival times—they weren’t getting to Orlando until 1130 PM, not AM like I had thought. Ooops…well, time for a little scrambling. I had their magic bands which they would need for Magical Express. We live in different directions from the airport—they are in Seattle while I live about 45 miles south. We agreed to meet at the airport before my flight to touch base and hand off the bands. I now had Monday to myself as well so I did a little dining reservation juggling too.

Day 0 Sunday

My flight was leaving at 1000 PM so my parents drove me to the airport and I met up with S and R around 7 PM for the magic band handoff. R was very excited to be missing school for a few days and I had a little time to adjust to 13 year old energy. We chatted for about an hour and then I headed off to security. Huge fan of TSA pre-check though the airport was very quiet—arrived at my gate 90 minutes early.

Day 1 Monday 26 Sep

I would like to say that I slept like a log on the plane, but alas not so much—I did the not quite so satisfying “head nod and jerk” routine. I had my preferred window seat but the drawback of the these Seattle to Orlando flights is that they are always full and at the last minute, the middle seat was taken by a very tall athletically built dude—I was forced to relinquish the left arm rest.

Since this was the red-eye, it did have a stop in North Carolina where I had to switch planes. It was still dark when we landed at the airport and apparently we were just minutes ahead of a big thunder/lightning/rain storm. Had we been any later, the captain said they would have diverted us—Yikes! Dodged that bullet. However, because of the lightning and crazy side rain, the plane could not be parked because it was not safe for the Charlotte grounds crew to be outside. So we taxied as close to the gate as we could and waited…and waited…and waited. At least I had a window to amuse me. Finally after 90 minutes, it was deemed safe to park. The good thing is that the weather affected every plane including my connecting flight which was clear across the terminal. After all that excitement, I was glad when we touched down at MCO at 1000.

Did a quick change in the bathroom to put on some more appropriate Florida weather clothing and checked in for Magical Express. Got on the bus pretty quickly but still didn’t pull out until around 1100. I was pretty pleased to get the text that our room was ready though. For this first night I made a cash room only reservation at All Star Movies—they had been a room discount promotion when I booked. We were in Toy Story Building 10 on the first floor, close to the lobby and bus stops. Took another hour to get to the resort and I was shuffling my planned afternoon activities around in my head.
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Headed straight towards our building through the door to Andy’s Room—greeted by some really big toys. I like the giant structures but think I could only tolerate the movie/character related ones. Giant guitars or tennis racquets just don’t have the same appeal. Art of Animation is my favorite in that style.
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Not much time to waste as I had an ADR to catch and I was heading to Epcot later than I planned.
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Only time for this shot at the entrance.
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My original plan was to grab a couple kiosk items for lunch and just have dessert at my ADR but with having to walk from the All Star Movies bus stop to the Beach Club with my lungs in the heat, that wasn’t going to happen. I did manage to take care of food and wine logistics though—got my passport, gift card and Remy map.

Bypassing the food booths, I got to Beaches and Cream 20 minutes early. Liked that this duck was having his own private swim time.
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Continues next post.

 
There was a seat available at the end of the counter by the kitchen. Watching them put those desserts together was entertainment all its own. Here’s some shots from my viewpoint in the corner.
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My meal was delicious and even though I requested the wussy version of the No Way Jose, I still felt like I barely scratched the surface.
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Unfortunately I had to witness some drama with my server. The family of three next to me stiffed her. The father and son left and the mom stayed to settle the check. Well there was a dropped drink and our server was cleaning it up. Another waitress was supposed to be covering the payment-for whatever reason, she didn’t and the woman left with paying. So in addition to the freeloaders, the two servers were visibly upset and another server had to ssshhh them, saying “we’re on stage.” In the arguing I heard the bill was around $100.

At this time the weather outside was getting temperamental too. A tremendous thunderstorm forced me to take refuge in the Beach Club—time to alter plans again. When I couldn’t wait anymore, I took off back to the front of Epcot--by now the rains were tapering and finally stopped when I reached the entrance.
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hmmm...used to be able to post more pics per post

 
So post 3 of this day...
Even in my rush, I couldn’t resist a picture with Daisy who was standing there all by herself.
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Very relieved when I finally made it back on the resort bus—did a lot more walking than I intended that afternoon.
Turn around at the resort was quick—picked up my celebrating button and resort mug. Score that it would be valid for almost my whole trip.

Arrived at Hollywood Studios in time for the Star Wars Roll Call show. Not much to it but I had fun taking picturesreally like the Stormtrooper in action.
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Hopefully last post for Day 1 coming up
 

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Olaf had a short wait so I met him before my Star Tours FP+--wrote in my notes that the first two characters were very subdued. No worries—that certainly wouldn’t be the case the rest of the trip.
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Next was my Toy Story Mania FP+. I really like this game but I’m horrible at it.
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Finally time for my last minute reservation at Minnie’s Halloween Dine at Hollywood & Vine. The food was meh but the characters were fun and had fantastic costumes. You could tell though that character management was struggling as I waited 30 min after paying the check to see the last three characters.
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Finally back to room to re-sort as we were switching resorts tomorrow. I heard the rest of the crew arrive after 1:00 AM.
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Enjoyed reading thank you for the heads up on the thread. Oh my re your health issues you poor poor lamb I am so sorry to learn this but pleased you made it through. Go girl! Us fighters got to keep fighting.

Lovely with your friend, her DD and your parents.

Sorry your flight was delayed by that nasty old storm. Movies is a nice cheap resort for a short time stay I agree.

Beaches and Cream yeah! I love to watch those creations too. Oh my re the people leaving without paying. Isn't that awful. How can people do such a thing.

Cute character photos and love the Star Wars show.

Great start.
 


Checking in.

This trip entailed three theme park properties and 4 Disney resort hotels

This sounds like quite an undertaking.

However, this year I was focusing on the 8th anniversary of my kidney transplant, Oct 1, 2008. I’ve put my new kidney through a lot but it is a trooper and still working wonderfully for me.

That definitely sounds like a milestone that deserves a celebration.

I was pretty pleased to get the text that our room was ready though.

That was a definite bonus.

We were in Toy Story Building 10 on the first floor, close to the lobby and bus stops.

This sounds like a great location.

I like the giant structures but think I could only tolerate the movie/character related ones. Giant guitars or tennis racquets just don’t have the same appeal.

I was Ok with the giant music instruments last year, but hated the theming at All Star Sports when we accidentally got off the bus too early.

My meal was delicious and even though I requested the wussy version of the No Way Jose, I still felt like I barely scratched the surface.
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That looks amazing.

Even in my rush, I couldn’t resist a picture with Daisy who was standing there all by herself.
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How lucky. I love the photo.

Olaf had a short wait so I met him before my Star Tours FP+

Great that Olaf only had a short wait. He is one of my favourite characters.

Finally time for my last minute reservation at Minnie’s Halloween Dine at Hollywood & Vine. The food was meh but the characters were fun and had fantastic costumes.

What a shame that the food was not a hit, but the characters look precious.

Corinna
 
Joining in. Looks like a fun first day! I never realized there was a Toy Story area at All Star Movies...always new stuff to learn.

Hollywood & Vine is on my list of "Worst food at Disneyworld" along with Chef Mickey's.

Love Beaches and Cream - but that would really bother me to see someone skip out without paying! That is so not cool. Yeah, everything ia expensive there, but you don't just skip out on your bills. I might've well chased after them myself. :sad2:

How do you post your pictures - I feed them in through photobucket, and I think I can get between 25-30 pictures in a single post. Maybe if you are direct downloading them the files are too big.
 
How do you post your pictures - I feed them in through photobucket, and I think I can get between 25-30 pictures in a single post. Maybe if you are direct downloading them the files are too big.

I'm copying them from my Walgreens account just like I did with the last two reports---didn't have issues before. I will have to play around with it some more...
 
Tuesday Sept 27
Slept pretty well considering the previous 24 hours of travel and lack of sleep. I was up at 6:45 and ready to go at 7:30—I have this unexplained well of energy that only shows up on vacation.:confused3 As expected, the rest of the crew was a little slower. We called bell services to come pick up our bags and we would see them magically appear later that day at AKL Jambo. The luggage transfer service between resorts is fabulous!

Quick stop on the red carpet on our way out—sufficed to say, a model I am not.
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101, 102, 105

We were heading to Disney Springs—I like the new bus depot but am really missing a straightforward way to get to the Marketplace. We started our Disney Springs circle by walking to the West Side boat dock and taking the boat over to the Marketplace.
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Roamed around at a relaxing pace, visiting something for everybody—pin store, marketplace co-op. Time for some food so we stopped at BB Wolf Sausage Co. and I had the October Fest special—this was delicious. The pretzel bread was warm and soft, the bratwurst well-seasoned and the spaetzel fried, cheesy goodness.
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S loved spotting the various storks and cranes—here was our regal lunchtime visitor.
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The only downer here was the tragic scene that played out before us on the lake—this is the story that Disney doesn’t want you to know about…..RIP Nemo.
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After a few moments of silence, we moved on to the World of Disney and upon exiting, decided to visit Amorette’s Patisserie for dessert. We split two pastries—key lime and opera cake. Not being a big chocolate fan, I focused on the key lime--minor power struggle over the cute little macaroon in the center (no one was injured, R and I split it).
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Along our way passed the Lego store and posed with our favorite sheriff and space ranger. There was a malfunction with my laser beam.
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S was looking for a new hat so we spent considerable time in Chapel Hats. I then grabbed a Creamsicle float at Via Gelato—it was good but not $10 good.
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Love the new water areas at Disney Springs—add some charm and tranquility.
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R was still hungry so we hopped into Blaze pizza so she could get a snack. The sun was high in the sky by now which was our cue to head back to our resort. A pattern I did notice is that we waited an awful long time for AKL buses. Overall I would have to say that my bus karma was not great this particular trip.

We had a couple hours to enjoy AKL Jambo House before attending the evening DVC Safari Spectacular event at AK. Took the requisite savannah photos—seeing the animals right there is truly awesome.
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Up next..Safari Spectacular evening



 
Short post to wrap up the day...Safari Spectacular Time!
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Now I haven’t been able to get nice night photos from my camera so I don’t really have a lot beyond the photopass pics. I would definitely do this kind of event again but I now have the right expectations—it still felt very crowded, character lines were surprisingly long and the event time of 3 hours feels too short.

Event check-in at the resort was easy—we each got a bracelet. The event started at 9:30 but we could get in at 7. At the park entrance we each were given 2 free coupons for dinoland games and a Kilomanjaro Safari Fastpass. However since the safari was closing at 8:30, everyone was getting the exact same 8:00 Fast pass time. That just meant a huge surge at 8:00 so we went directly to Africa to ride the safari stand-by. This was a good idea except I wasn’t counting on animals blocking the road and causing delays. We still managed to get ahead of the crowd and were exiting the safari at 8:00.

Next we moved on to Asia to ride Kali River Rapids—weight distribution was in my favor so I did not get completely soaked. However S was not so lucky J Now it’s been a while since I’ve ridden this but I don’t remember the fire hose drenching at the end. It’s impossible to not get wet. Now I had wanted to see the Lion King characters so we hiked all the way back to the Lion King Theater—I should have known when I passed the crazy Launchpad McQuack line that Lion King would be similar. We decided not to spend all the event time in that line and rerouted ourselves back towards Discovery Island and some food. Flame Tree was pretty much the only option—we were able to watch the street dance party while waiting in line. I liked my blurry meal of onion rings and diet coke—the breading on the rings was really tasty and crisp.

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Expedition Everest was a one and done for me—the torque on those curves doesn’t play nicely with my head but it was perfect for S and R. While they were riding I hung around the store exit and lo and behold, the biggest raccoon I have ever seen darted from the foliage, looking for snacks no doubt. I failed to get a picture of anything but a big blur, but this guy was huge. S later told me that she overheard another guest worriedly reporting to CM that there was a raccoon the “size of a medium sized dog” roaming the parks. Ah, I love the woodland creatures.

Before closing out the evening in Dinoland, we went back towards Asia for some shots with Baloo and King Louie. I had promised R that we would catch the Dinoland dance party with Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps so we headed that direction. The Zootopia pair were just going on a break so we decided to meet the rare duo of Rescue Rangers Chip and Dale. The lines would be closing soon for characters and there was one more I really wanted to meet—I left S and R in Dinoland and hustled back to the tree of life where Carl was meeting with Dug and Russell. I was wearing my special Wilderness Explorers hair bow for the occasion. Never a bad day with Dug and Russell!

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The evening was coming to a close—on my way back to Dinoland I stopped by the treat station for a Mickey ice cream sandwich. R had a great time at the dance party and posted a zillion selfies on Instagram. We scrambled over to the carnival games to use up our coupons—no winners here though it seemed like everyone else was leaving the park with some version of a stuffed dinosaur.

Our last treat on the way out was the Tree of Life show—I could just sit by the tree for the last hour before park closing and watch the tree of life shows on repeat. Beautiful.

We closed out the party at midnight and shuffled back to our resort. Oh lucky travel companions—did I mention we were being picked up at 0800 for our transportation to Universal Studios…
 
I was up at 6:45 and ready to go at 7:30

That was an early start.

We called bell services to come pick up our bags and we would see them magically appear later that day at AKL Jambo.

I hope they actually did this. When they transferred our luggage from All Star Music to Kidani last year, they temporarily lost it.

I like the new bus depot but am really missing a straightforward way to get to the Marketplace.

I am starting to feel quite glad that we can walk to Disney Springs.

Time for some food so we stopped at BB Wolf Sausage Co. and I had the October Fest special—this was delicious. The pretzel bread was warm and soft, the bratwurst well-seasoned and the spaetzel fried, cheesy goodness.

That sounds and looks absolutely amazing.


That Key Lime Pie looks absolutely amazing. Does it have a macaroon base as well?

I then grabbed a Creamsicle float at Via Gelato—it was good but not $10 good.

It looks delicious, but that is daylight robbery.

Overall I would have to say that my bus karma was not great this particular trip.

What a shame about the buses.

he event time of 3 hours feels too short.

That does not seem very long at all.

However since the safari was closing at 8:30, everyone was getting the exact same 8:00 Fast pass time.

That seems a strange way of doing this.

That just meant a huge surge at 8:00 so we went directly to Africa to ride the safari stand-by. This was a good idea except I wasn’t counting on animals blocking the road and causing delays. We still managed to get ahead of the crowd and were exiting the safari at 8:00.

I am glad that your plan worked out for you. What a shame about the long character lines, but it still looks like you got to meet quite a few characters.

Corinna
 
I hope they actually did this.
I've used bell services for bag transfers my last three trips and I've yet to have a problem--it has worked pretty seamless each time.

That sounds and looks absolutely amazing.
We were all really impressed with our food from this stand--it is right at the end of the marketplace bridge.

That Key Lime Pie looks absolutely amazing. Does it have a macaroon base as well?
Yes the green base is a macaroon

Have a great time on your trip!

--Karilynn
 
I've used bell services for bag transfers my last three trips and I've yet to have a problem--it has worked pretty seamless each time.

We had done this a number of times before from DVC to DVC and never had an issue, but they produced an epic fail transferring the luggage from value resort to DVC.

We were all really impressed with our food from this stand--it is right at the end of the marketplace bridge.

Thanks, I will have to check this out.

Have a great time on your trip!

Thanks.

Corinna
 
I'm here! It's been a busy busy weekend. I didn't even open my computer up for five days! I'll have to come back to read and comment, but at least I've marked my spot!
 
Great update. We also had issues with AWOL bags from value to DVC. They actually lost my scooter got 2 days I mean how!

That food looked great. That key lime pie amazing.

Love your photos!

We also had the longest bus times from AK. The joy of SSR..

That was so neat you went to that AM event! I think it is super they do these. 3 hours I bet that zoomed by!

The floating Nemo really made me laugh.

I do love AK resort it's one of my favourites your photos are great. We just forget the buses now and rent a car!

Looking forward to more.
 
apparently we were just minutes ahead of a big thunder/lightning/rain storm. Had we been any later, the captain said they would have diverted us—Yikes! Dodged that bullet.

PHEW! That was WAY too close!

The good thing is that the weather affected every plane including my connecting flight which was clear across the terminal. After all that excitement, I was glad when we touched down at MCO at 1000.

I was hoping that'd be the case. You really lucked out on this whole scene. I'll bet you were SO glad!

Art of Animation is my favorite in that style.

Only having seen AoA and POP, I can't compare, except to say, that AoA is very, VERY well done.


CUTE!


I think Minnie's was my favorite costume of the bunch. Super adorable.

There was a malfunction with my laser beam.

Oopsies! Next time, right?

A pattern I did notice is that we waited an awful long time for AKL buses.

Frankly, they sucked. Horrible bus service from that one.

Our last treat on the way out was the Tree of Life show—I could just sit by the tree for the last hour before park closing and watch the tree of life shows on repeat. Beautiful.

I was so sad to have missed the Tree of Life show this time. It's at the top of my list for next time.
 
We also had issues with AWOL bags from value to DVC.
Maybe we just got lucky--our bags went from AoA to AKL without a problem this time.

We just forget the buses now and rent a car!
My mom and I both don't like to drive in unfamiliar places if we don't have to so we suck it up at Disney--80% of the time Disney transportation works great; the other 20% is unpredictable.

That was WAY too close!
WAY WAY too close!

Horrible bus service from that one.
I don't know why the AKL buses were such a struggle--noticed it both in July and this trip. One of the reasons I favor Kidani over Jambo--at least it is the first stop.

I was so sad to have missed the Tree of Life show this time.
The last night I was at AK, I stayed and watched 3 iterations of the show cycle--can't decide if the Disney movies sequence or the fox sequence is my favorite. Definitely put it on top of your list!
 

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