Hi liners I am lucky enough to be in the world for 2 weeks and my first week has just ended so I thought I’d start my trip report!
Day 1
A 4am start for DH and I today as we are finally of to WDW after a year of planning! We leave the house 5 minutes ahead of schedule but then stop within 10 minutes to get dissel and coffee! After that we’re off and made it to Gatwick in record time 2hours and 39 minutes according to the sat nav! Dropped the car off with meet and great and off to find the BA check in. We had checked in online so only needed to do a bag drop so after 10 minutes we were done and at fast track security, another 5 minutes and we’re in departures! Stopped for breakfast so I didn’t have a hangry DH, he had the American in honour of the trip! A browse through duty free and then off to the lounge. The BA lounge is closed so we were sharing the No 1 lounge, had a couple of drinks and booked a holiday to Bali for next September then off to the gate! It was chaos here as they were checking your passports before you could enter the gate, by the time we got through half the plane had boarded. But hey ho we got on board, found our seats and had a glass of champagne. This was the first time we had flown BA and I though the food and service were really good, had lunch after take off then I reclined my seat to a bed and slept for 6 hours! I woke up in time for afternoon tea then it was time to land. As we exited the plane I took on board liner wisdom and walked with purpose to immigration, we were in the first ten people to be off the plane but the Virgin plane landed before us so we literally crawled through immigration, it took over an hour. Our cases were there unsurprisingly when we got through!!! Then more queuing to clear through for the monorail to the DME terminal, then another queue at DME, by the time we boarded the bus it had been 1.5 hours. DH and I were both thirsty and a little grumpy by this time and it is the longest line we have encountered so far this holiday! First drop off was CSR then yeah AKL Jambo Lodge!!! DH went to the desk whilst I collected our cases, I arrived in the lobby and looked up at the tree and knew I was home!! TP room request worked great and we got our exact room 4212 (Savannah view but no Savannah price). We dropped our bags off and went and bought refillable mugs and I had 4 drinks, DH had 3 then we went to unpack! We were pretty tired but went for a drink in Victoria Falls lounge, yummy habernero margarita then dinner from Mara, great and huge Cobb salad. Then it was time for bed at it was 9am we had been up 24 hours and were planning on RD the next day at MK.
Day 2
After a good nights sleep we were up at 630 and in Mara by 7! In the past we have tended to have fruit for breakfast but by mid morning we are peckish again, so decided to have a proper breakfast. I had the Bobitite platter and DH had the bounty platter, both were good and filling and after water and coffee we were at the bus stop by 8. Literally a bus pulled up as we walked to the bus stop so we were off to MK!! I went through bag check and DH was free to walk straight through, he was then randomly selected for an extra security check which is now the joke of the holiday as it is a recurring theme!!! We waited for the welcome show and then we were in 10 minutes early which was great for us but not so great for those who had paid for the extra magic in Fantsayland. This was our first time following a TP due to the CL level. It worked great, but I was worried as it has us doing JC first then PoTC and BTMRR when we normally start in Tomorrowland. By lunchtime we were bang on track but the queue at CHH was out the door and after looking again at the menu DH didn’t really like the look of it so we tried Pecos Bill as I had read great liner love for it. Glad we did as both DH and I had the spicy beef salad and it was delicious and really filling. We carried on following our TP but then sadly people over was down. It was 230 and we had planned to leave after FOF which I had never seen but DH’s feet were killing him and so we decided to call it a day and head back to AKL. After a rest and a beer st the pool bar we headed to Disney Springs early evening, wow it has changed beyond recognition since we were last here in 2014, I was so disorientated in the dark and it is huge! We found our way around and decided to try D Luxe for Dinner as I had read good things about it and DH loves a burger! After a bit of a queue we ordered and found a seat outside and then our food was brought to us. The burgers are huge and after two bites I ate mine without the bun. DH loved his cheeseburger and said it was one of the best! We had then headed back to the hotel as we were really tired. A great first day, over 20k steps and DH had seriously sore feet. He was very seriously ill two years ago and unfortunately he had a severe drug reaction during his treatment which resulted in him losing his skin held to toe. Luckily his skin has healed but he still struggles at times with his feet as a result.
Another early start this time to make EMH at AK. Had breakfast at Mara (same again!) and walked straight onto an AK bus. We were in the park for 740 and let in at 755. We always seem to pick the turnstile where someone has an issue so we were a few minutes behind our TP and from there things got worse :(. We did a bugs life got into the standby line for EE and after 15 minutes were walked out as it went down. By now EMH was done and everyone else was in the park. We did get a free anytime FP for AK (which I’ve just remembered and must find out of my bag). We walked with purpose to Dinosaur which had a 10 minute standby. The interior has had the most work done by the refurb with a lot more info in the standby line to help the time pass. The CL was due to be a 3 but ended up a 6, so we battled our way over to KS did it once in standby followed by the nearby trail (I forgot the name). Then back to KS to use the Fastpass. By now I could tell DH was hot & limping with his feet so we went to Harambe Market (by the RoL fastpass entrance). He got a table and I got us a couple of beers then we read our kindles and people watched for 30mins. Next over to Y&Y for lunch, we shared Dim Sum then I had the seafood curry & DH had the Lo Mein. Overall very good but we should have skipped the starter as we were stuffed! After lunch a browse through the shops & I told DH about Nomad Lounge. We headed there & it was an oasis of calm from the chaos! Chatted to a great CM who was moving on as it is too quiet. I’'m sure once Avatorland opens it won’t be! We then headed out of the park & got the bus to HS. Had an explore of the shops and then headed into F! Love the show but bring your snacks in from elsewhere in the park. 4 beers, 2 hotdogs and 2 packets of crisps was nearly $100!! We took a lesuirely exit as we knew it would be a scrum to get the bus. Headed to the bus stop and it was still busy. A family in 2 ECV’s arrived after some people had been queuing for nearly 45 minutes and all 9 got on the bus. There was a lot of unhappy people and I can understand why as I think they should have waited for the next bus. Anyway we had to wait for another bus but made it home to AKL. Overall a mixed bag of a day our TP didn’t work today but we enjoyed Nomad Lounge. More days to follow…
Today was HS and yet again we managed to be up early for breakfast at Mara. Literally walked onto the bus as it arrived at AKL and we were off! DH was randomly selected again for extra security and I somehow picked a v slow moving bag check queue and then again another family with problems at the taps tiles. They refused to stand aside whilst their issue was dealt with so we waited (along with lots of others) while their tickets were sorted. If we had been hoping to do JTA I would have been upset as others were literally sprinting through tap stiles to get to sign up :). We followed TP and did ar ar, I am suspecting the Aerosmith theme must be going as none of their music outside like usual and then they opened the doors to the ride before the video had even finished. Had butterflies in my tummy and my photo pass pic is not pretty!!! Then onto TSMM where yet again I lost to DH :(. Then muppets, GTMR and a browse through a new shop (to us at least) at the back of muppets where I bought one of my nephews a Santa Mickey glass and cup ( to put out on xmas eve) and a couple of baubles. Now onto Star Tours which is a DH fav and we had had two new scenes from the latest movie. DH was limping but we toured a few shops and then decided to call it a day. Got a bus back to resort and had a sleep by the pool after a salad at Mara. After we woke up we decided to sit on our balcony and do some animal watching. (I’ll work out tomorrow how to post pictures). View was great and saw some giraffes whilst enjoying a vodka and Diet Coke :). Then it was time to get ready for dinner, I asked liner advice about Uber as I knew DH was struggling with his feet and a walk over from MK wouldn’t help. We had never used Uber before as in our village we have a local company . DH downloaded the app saw the price was $10, which was under half price our last Mears AKL to CR price and agreed to try it. Taxi arrived within 5 minutes and was far cleaner and more comfortable than any previous Mears journeys! We had an explore of the gift shop at CR then headed up to our dinner at CG. We had literally just sat the bar to order a drink when our table was ready! We were sat near the back of the restaurant so no castle view this time but we could see EP fireworks. We shared the Charcuterie board then the spicy Kasan Roll and the dragon atoll. Yet again we were greedy and there was no need for the starter. . We finished dinner 20 minutes before fireworks and with hindsight should have ordered another drink there but decided to do it at the bar. A mistake!!! Others were trying to do the same so we made it with seconds to spare onto the observation deck to see Wishes. We chose the deck that was busy so didn’t have the best view so I was a bit disappointed. Full up we übered back to AKL for a final night cap and our first late night
Hello to you too! We’re doing ok, I’ve just been so busy with work I got out of the habit of visiting the daily thread. But I think about you all! I need to start posting here again.
Yeah today was the day we get a lie in . So after a lovely lie in we got up, I grabbed us a coffee from Mara and we headed over to Disney Springs. Now I was in the day light I was able to navigate round more easily but still couldn’t get over how much it had changed!
We were 15 minutes early, but risked seeing if our table was ready at Homecoming, DH was desperate to try the chicken and doughnuts! The resturant had a very fresh, clean vibe and we sat out on the screened porch. We shared the Jasper Board and then DH had his much anticipated chicken and doughnuts and I had the pork. The portions were really huge and we could easily have shared a main. Puddings looked amazing but we were just too full.
We had an explore of DS then it rained, shock horror , so we grabbed a couple of waters and took shelter in WPE patio area and read our kindles. The rain only lasted 30 minutes and so we got a bus and headed over to CR for a monorail explore. We stopped at CR then went over to GF, we were going to have a drink at Mizner but is a grab and go location at the moment so went to Citricos bar instead. I wasn’t feeling great but powered on and we then got the monorail over to MK. I had been reading all day about 42 Wallaby Way trying to find a liner so she could win a bet with her DH and get $100. I replied to say we were just arriving and I managed to track her and her family down by Skippers Canteen. We took a few photos and then walked with purpose over to Space and made our FP with one minute to spare! I was starting to feel rougher but carried on and we did BTMRR, people lover, Buzz and a few other rides. I didn’t fancy the scrum that would be Main Street so based on liner recommendations headed over to Gascon’s. Got a couple of stools and really enjoyed the fireworks. By now I felt awful so we walked over to CR and got uber back to AKL.
I then spent all night being ill and laid for most of the night in the bathroom area by the sinks. I know it was food poisoning as I have had it sadly before and the symptoms were the same. Luckily for him DH managed to avoid it and slept soundly
Today we should have gone to Epcot with dinner at VN but I was still feeling awful and to be honest I think DH was glad to give his feet a rest. I slept on and off for most of the day and got up early evening to do some laundry. DH read his kindle on the balcony and animal watched, said he had no complaints about his day! Had an early night ready to re group for tomorrow
I was still feeling delicate today but so much better so we were off to Epcot! I cancelled our Chef de France booking as didn’t fancy a big lunch. We got up early and made RD but were by no means at the front of the pack, this was the only day I had an FEA FP and wanted to experience it at least once. We got on Soarin with a 17 minute wait and boy was I disappointed. With so much CGI the ride now lacks authenticity and given the time (and money) that Disney has I can’t believe the distortion. I’d be intrigued to see if it was this bad in other parks. We then did LWTL which I love and then we’re going to do test track but the wait time was 50 minutes. Since the refurb I’m also not such a huge fan of this ride so decided to explore Mouegear then head over to WS. We have only done Gran Fiesta once on our first trip so decided to give it a go. Not bad!! But I am starting to get really fed up of families pushing past us once we are in the line to join others further ahead, it is happening on literally every ride. I mentioned to Dzh no one goes back to join their group always forward! In general we are finding people rude with little manners this trip. Before as, everywhere they were pushy people but it is no common place at WDW and is taking the shine off, I do not want to be pushed or shoved, knocked with a pushchair or a back pack because you’re travelling in a group and don,t stay together until you join the line then want to push past me. Rant over!
We then headed over to FEA and whilst a cute ride there is no way I’d wait more than 10 minutes for this, but I can see with young children the appeal and why people are queuing for hours! We then headed over do Ellen’s for the final time before it becomes a Marvel attraction and was nice to sit in the AC! Then we headed back and toured WS, ate for the first time at Mexico QS and was very pleasantly surprised and would go back here again.
We were quite weary y 5 so decided to call it a day and headed back to AKL. Managed to snag a last minute reservation at Sanaa as I know DH wanted something spicy, we shared the bread service with all 9 dips which was great. Then walked back to Jambo House for a night cap then bed!
The pirk at homecoming. It was pulled pork and i suspect not heated throughly, it was warm but not hot but at the time I didn’t think about it. Much better thanks, been eating light & taking IBS tablets to help with the cramps
Glad you’re on the mend.
Something to always keep in mind when dining out…if something seems off, say something. The kitchen should be aware of issues like improper temps. Breeding grounds for bacteria! I have a tendency to be lax about such things but I’ll be more vigilant on our upcoming trip now.
then dinner from Mara, great and huge Cobb salad. Then it was time for bed at it was 9am we had been up 24 hours and were planning on RD the next day at MK.
. We finished dinner 20 minutes before fireworks and with hindsight should have ordered another drink there but decided to do it at the bar. A mistake!!! Others were trying to do the same so we made it with seconds to spare onto the observation deck to see Wishes. We chose the deck that was busy so didn’t have the best view so I was a bit disappointed. Full up we übered back to AKL for a final night cap and our first late night
, so we grabbed a couple of waters and took shelter in WPE patio area and read our kindles. The rain only lasted 30 minutes and so we got a bus and headed over to CR for a monorail explore. We stopped at CR then went over to GF, we were going to have a drink at Mizner but is a grab and go location at the moment so went to Citricos bar instead. I wasn’t feeling great but powered on and we then got the monorail over to MK. I had been reading all day about 42 Wallaby Way trying to find a liner so she could win a bet with her DH and get $100. I replied to say we were just arriving and I managed to track her and her family down by Skippers Canteen. We took a few photos and then walked with purpose over to Space and made our FP with one minute to spare! I was starting to feel rougher but carried on and we did BTMRR, people lover, Buzz and a few other rides. I didn’t fancy the scrum that would be Main Street so based on liner recommendations headed over to Gascon’s. Got a couple of stools and really enjoyed the fireworks. By now I felt awful so we walked over to CR and got uber back to AKL.