I had a lovely weekend - lots of scrapping and lots of relaxing. And far too much Sporcle.
If you haven't discovered the quiz site Sporcle I advise you to stay away. Nigel and I can lose hours doing quizzes together. Seriously. It eats time in the same way as washing machines eat single socks and cupboards eat Tupperware lids!
Anyway I digress. I had a lovely scrappy weekend and a fair few of the pages I made were Disney pages. No real surprise there. However, I am enjoying these as I know we will not be going back to Disney for a fair few years. We were a little disenchanted last trip and I do not like the way they are upcharging for everything. It has lost much of its special magic over the years. we have been avid Disney visitors for more than 25 years and we believe the heyday, for us, was in the late '90s and early 2000's when the parks were quieter, the magic was everywhere and there was not the emphasis on fine dining and upscale shops and restaurants and alcohol in the parks. I cried when we left in November as I knew we wouldn't be going back for a long time. We have loved our Disney trips but both feel it is time for a break. We need to feel the hunger for Disney again and going every year we have lost that. I am sure it will return int he fullness of time but as they are building more and more hotels on property and the parks are not expanding at the same rate I fear what the crowds will be like in another few years time.
Anyway, I digress. Disney pages
This first one took an age to sort out the cut file, cut it, find the new mat I had used was too sticky, throw it away, cut it again. However, I did like the finished page and it records the fact that we get castle shots every day we visit the park.
This one uses a very very special piece of paper. You know, one of those papers you keep and keep and keep because... well because you can't bear to use it. Heck - new year resolution - use the stuff!!!
Today I am thankful for
a lovely scrappy weekend
many many many happy Disney trips over 25 years
Sporcle - it is fun even if it is a time waster.
Now I did promise I would do my trip report of Disney this year. I did the road trip part of the holiday but not the Disney - so here goes. And please note - this first day is long - the rest will be far far shorter!
Sunday 28th October
The One With Our First Disney Day
Today was our first full Disney day – we had been looking forward to this – a lot. It had been fabulous being on the road for two weeks, but coming to Disney was like arriving home and Port Orleans Riverside now feels like home. I had been disappointed when we received our room allocation as it wasn’t where I had asked to be. We never use the buses but always drive to the theme parks and so being near the car park is key to us. However, I realized the room was still close to the parking lot but was actually an upgrade as it was so close to the gardens and to the pool. Literally just a few steps to each. We had opted out of housekeeping as there are only the two of us and to be honest we don’t make a mess, make our beds every day and are very clean and tidy. We felt sure it would work OK and indeed it did. We shop a lot so had plenty of bags for trash which we cleared out each day as we went out, taking hem to the bin in the pool area and putting our recycling in the appropriate places. Whenever I asked for anything (towels and body lotion usually) the things came within ten or fifteen minutes which we were amazed by. We were also surprised that at the end of the first week we had a complete refresh with new bedding, towels etc. And they may have done the security checks whilst we were out, but we are not out all day people as a rule and there was only one day in the entire trip when someone asked to check the room.
Anyway, I digress. We were up bright and early (we are always ready far earlier than we need to be because of my illness … the illness of always having to be early and being married to a man who is always late so I have to be an even earlier illness. We headed off to the TTC as our first destination was the Magic Kingdom. The TTC was very very quiet and that is just as well as one of us visited twice. I always insist the sunglasses go into the room with us so they are always with us either in the camera bag or round our necks each day when we leave. I lost the battle the night before and they were left in the car. Result. We got to the monorail and realized, due to the blinding light which had just broken (I said we were early) we didn’t have sunglasses so Nigel went back to the car to get them. Just what you need – extra walking, but in fairness, it HAD been his fault.
Glasses fetched we headed off to the Magic Kingdom. The entry line was very light and we were soon right in front of the beautiful Halloween displays. We have never been to WDW during Halloween. We have been to Disneyland California, but not in Florida. It was lovely and we knew we would get to see both Halloween and Christmas decorations this trip.
We thought that the Magic Kingdom would be quiet today as there was a cast party and so the park was closing at 4. We hadn’t known that when we made reservations, but we figured it would be like last year when it closed early for a party. That time every single ride was a walk on all day and we even had a pirate boat to ourselves. Not so quiet this year. It was our first day in the parks and this was the trip we felt that the parks were the busiest we had ever seen them.
We mooched around Main Street, had a couple of pictures taken and enjoyed the Halloween décor as we were, of course, too early for our reservation at Crystal Palace. But we did get to see the welcome show (now moved to the Castle Stage). That is a first for us in years and years.
This is the first time that we have ever had the table service dining plan and it was a bit of a risk for us as we really don’t like fancy food and are very fussy, simple eaters. We also don’t eat fish or seafood and I am pretty much vegetarian most of the time. Consequently, the fancier restaurants didn’t appeal to us and we had used most of our credits for character meals (which we never usually do) and breakfasts because breakfast buffets are far more our choice than dinner. It proved to be a good decision.
Just a bit of reflection on the dining plan and ADRs though. It is quite bizarre to sit at home 6 months ahead of your trip and decide where you are going to want to eat each day. I get that the restaurants are popular and I get that you need to book but we did find it fairly restrictive and limiting. Although you also have to book fast passes we often don’t use ours if something else comes up (we have that luxury as we have been many many times) but our reservation had to be kept and tied us to set parks at set times. I know that is just us, but I am not sure we would ever do it again. Though I am glad we did it once.
The Crystal Palace was one place I was really excited to be going to. We had never been inside before and it was the Winnie the Pooh and Friends breakfast. I have used Pooh as a basis for so many school assemblies over my 29 years as Head. Pooh and his friends have been firm favourites of mine for years and years and so I was excited about meeting them!
The restaurant was utterly beautiful. They sat us a few minutes early (did I mention we were early) and they have it nailed regarding the organization. They fill section by section which makes it easier for the characters to know where they have been and where they are going. It worked like clockwork. We had a wonderful waitress called Midi who was Japanese. The food was delicious and we certainly had more than enough to eat. Nigel loved the proper cooked breakfast, the bacon, the sausage, the eggs, the potatoes and I loved the fruit, the cereal, the yoghurt oh and the puffed French toast which was to die for. Mmmm – quite a bit of that might have been partaken of.
The character interactions were cute. It always seemed a little odd being two adults with no kids, but heck – we are kids at heart. We enjoyed meeting all of them and snapping away and I even took an autograph book I made and they all signed it.
At the end of the meal the area we were in had emptied completely and we could really appreciate the beauty. Midi brought over a signed card and cupcake complete with candle for Nigel (he had his birthday pin on all trip) and she even signed his card herself in Japanese. We had missed Eeyore on his rounds and so a cast member arranged o have him brought over to us by the large entrance display, which was lovely.
First character meal – ten out of ten.
The castle show was just about to start and there were hardly any people in the hub. We meandered over and were right in front of the stage. Fabulous view and I love the castle show. I especially like the section with Anna, Elsa and Olaf, but we both thoroughly enjoyed it.
I have kept photos to a minimum - there were gazzilions of them
We went for a wander around Storybook Circus just because it is an area we have never really explored much, and then we did Little Mermaid as there was a very little wait before catching our fast pass at the Haunted Mansion, always good fun. We were surprised that there was no Halloween overlay in Florida as Disneyland have their Haunted Mansion all decked out for Halloween.
We managed to catch a showing of Hall of Presidents before the parade. We both agreed we really really liked the updated script and images and that it worked very well. I was also fascinated as now that I know the names of the presidents all in order I could test myself by knowing who was up next each time. It is a show we always love.
There is nothing quite like a Disney parade. I love them. Once I have seen it each trip I always say we don’t need to see it again. We always do. We had a great spot near the very start and got some fab photos.
Again - minimal photos as I have posted so mane previously
Splash Mountain was our next fast pass. This always used to be my favourite ride at WDW, though it has now been overtaken by Flight of Passage, Everest and Tower of Terror, but I do not like that they have adjusted it and we ended up in the front and got absolutely soaked. Not splashed. Not damp. Soaked. I could wring water out of my top. I wasn’t thrilled, to be honest and in fact, we did not go back to ride it again even though we had fast passes for it.
We stood in the sun for a while drying off, fetched a frap from the Main Street Bakery and then went to meet Mickey in Town Square. Not great to be quite so bedraggled for a photo opportunity but heck. It was just after 4 when we said a farewell to the Magic Kingdom and set off for the Poly.
I had enjoyed my noodles at Captain Cooks last year and we were re-visiting. They say you should never go back and whilst it was OK, it wasn’t the delicious meal I remembered. I think the thing was that last year we went towards the end of the holiday and I had fast fooded out and so it was nice to have something different and ‘healthier’.
We had suffered a bit of a disaster on Splash Mountain in addition to getting wet. My beloved Panasonic Lumix had obviously gotten knocked (we assume on the ride but it might not have been there) and the display was cracked. You could still use it but couldn’t see what you were taking. A bit of a disadvantage even forme. Thank goodness the camera card was fine and anyway all of the photos are backed up every night. However, as it was early we sat and googled and found a Best Buys so go and visit. I would ideally have liked the same camera again but they didn’t make it any longer. The model had been replaced by an all singing all dancing 4K video model which was of no interest to me. I rarely take video and if I do I use my phone. But we headed out to Kissimmee to see. As it happened they didn’t have the one I fancied and possibly just as well as it would have been an impulse buy. We agreed I would wait until I came home, research it properly and buy in the UK where it would be easier for guarantee etc. As it happened I ended up buying it from John Lewis (always use John Lewis as you get the two year warranty as well) for far less and even with £30 cashback. To be honest I didn’t really need the camera in Disney as I do have the odd million photos already and we did have two phones and Nigel’s camera. I was, however, relieved that it hadn’t broken on the road trip.
As we came back near Celebration we decided to go visit Jeater Bend to see what it was like for Halloween. We discovered Jeater Bend, by accident, last year. It was amazing again. Though some of the decorations were Halloween and Christmas, we were blown away. Again the street was all synchronized to music and we were there to see it as dusk fell and for the 7 pm switch on. Once again an amazing treat.
Do Google or You Tibe Jeater Bend Halloween - it's amazing
Having had a far longer day than we imagined and knowing we had an early start tomorrow, we grabbed a quick Ice Cream Cookie sandwich at Riverside Mill before returning to our lovely Royal Room. Oh and expect other days to be FAR shorter. I did most of my rambling about general stuff in this episode.
