1200 pics, 1100 miles, 15 deluxe dining meals, 1 great time at POR *Completed 9/5*

[Amy&Dan]

Loving your trip report! Happy Anniversary, what a wonderful way to celebrate.

Sorry you missed KatMark, I got the pleasure of meeting her and Mark a few years ago and they are a lot of fun! Hopefully you're paths will cross again.

Your food pictures are amazing as are your POR photos. My favorite resort.

 

[thefriendlyfloridian]

Very excited to see more, I love reading these reviews because there's something magical about people visiting the World that don't get to see it as often. I have unfortunately lost that magic for myself Love the review though!

 

[themommy]

I am so glad that ya'll had a great anniversary....Happy 19th! Please make sure you let your DW and DD know that I love their dresses. They look smashing!

I have never eaten at the Cali Grill. The view from up there is amazing! Now the food....glad you enjoyed the sushi but, oh my the scallops!! They look sooo good. As my DD said, I love scallops. I would be all over them like white on rice!

All of your pics turned out great. Ya'll look like you are truly deep down enjoying yourselves. The pics of your DW are great!

All of the times I have been to Disney I have missed the welcoming show. I am going to fix that in December and I am so excited! That was definitely a lot of people going in. It reminds me of cattle being herded!

 

[alan_renfroe]

Loving your trip report! Happy Anniversary, what a wonderful way to celebrate.

Sorry you missed KatMark, I got the pleasure of meeting her and Mark a few years ago and they are a lot of fun! Hopefully you're paths will cross again.

Your food pictures are amazing as are your POR photos. My favorite resort.

Thanks very much! Yes that was a fantastic way to celebrate our anniversary! I wish we could have met up with Kathy and MaryAZ also...but I'm certain we will get the chance in the future. Our next trip will most likely be DW and myself only...so we will try to meet more DISers. We got to meet a lot of people at our big DIS meet in 2009!

Thanks for the compliments on the pictures! No fancy cameras or lenses or anything. Just an iPhone. I'm continually impressed at how good the pictures turn out on that device. I've stopped using my digital camera completely.

Even though it was our first stay there, I'm absolutely in love with POR! It's my fave now!

Very excited to see more, I love reading these reviews because there's something magical about people visiting the World that don't get to see it as often. I have unfortunately lost that magic for myself Love the review though!

So glad you are enjoying the trip report! Lots more pictures on the way!

I am so glad that ya'll had a great anniversary....Happy 19th! Please make sure you let your DW and DD know that I love their dresses. They look smashing!

I have never eaten at the Cali Grill. The view from up there is amazing! Now the food....glad you enjoyed the sushi but, oh my the scallops!! They look sooo good. As my DD said, I love scallops. I would be all over them like white on rice!

All of your pics turned out great. Ya'll look like you are truly deep down enjoying yourselves. The pics of your DW are great!

All of the times I have been to Disney I have missed the welcoming show. I am going to fix that in December and I am so excited! That was definitely a lot of people going in. It reminds me of cattle being herded!

Thanks! I will most certainly let DW and DD know that you complimented their dresses. I thought they looked great also!

The scallops....ohhhh soooo good! Those pictures turned out really good of the food for that meal. I was hoping they would, because everything was so picture-worthy.

Yep, we were definitely having a good time! DW letting me take those pictures was a lot of fun! I'm sure we probably embarrassed the teens, but hey that's how we roll!

Oh my gosh I'm so excited for you to see the Magic Kingdom opening show! It is so joy-filled it may bring a tear to your eyes. It is truly magical. It makes you feel like you're the luckiest person in the world just to have the opportunity to start your day at the happiest place on earth!

 

[alan_renfroe]

It was just a minute or two before 9:00am on Wednesday and apparently EVERYONE had the same idea as us: hit Seven Dwarfs Mine Train immediately after rope drop. Understandably. The ride had only officially been open for a few days and everyone was excited to ride. I took photos as we marched with the crowd to Fantasyland.











We were amazed at how long the line was already! Fortunately it seemed to be moving swiftly.











We had ridden this ride for the first time ever three nights ago via FastPass. This time there was going to be a wait. The good thing about going through the standby line is that we got to enjoy the awesomely creative que!















Finally it was our turn!





Coming up next: a fun morning at Magic Kingdom!

 

[mickeystoontown]

What a fantastic anniversary dinner! Like some of the others have said, I'm not a sushi lover but that sushi actually looks pretty darn good.

I remember June 4th and the Magic Kingdom crowds well. We had to arrive early for the Keys to the Kingdom tour and the crowds waiting for the opening show was really large. Glad to see that you got to ride the mine train again and I really enjoyed the pictures of the queue. We rode it twice during our trip but with FP both times so we didn't get to see the cute things in the queue.

 

[alan_renfroe]

What a fantastic anniversary dinner! Like some of the others have said, I'm not a sushi lover but that sushi actually looks pretty darn good.

I remember June 4th and the Magic Kingdom crowds well. We had to arrive early for the Keys to the Kingdom tour and the crowds waiting for the opening show was really large. Glad to see that you got to ride the mine train again and I really enjoyed the pictures of the queue. We rode it twice during our trip but with FP both times so we didn't get to see the cute things in the queue.

Hi Lisa! Sushi is one of those things that can be either really good or really bad. This was the BEST!

Oh cool! You were there on the same day as us! Wasn't that crowd really large? Did you have a great time on the Keys to the Kingdom tour? I would love to do that!

I had hoped to ride 7DMT within the first 15 minutes of the park opening. It took about 30 minutes for us to go through the que line...even being at rope drop. That started our day off a little behind where I wanted to be....but it was worth it. That was our first 7DMT ride in the daytime. I think we all enjoyed the nighttime ride better. Some very cool views of the park on that ride!

 

[alan_renfroe]

After being 30 minutes early for rope drop on Wednesday, June 4, we still had a 30 minute wait for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. But it was great once we got on!



I apologize for the blurry pictures...being in motion I was unable to get great pics inside the mine train, but it is stunning! These are the best animatronics at Disney World...they really bring the dwarfs to life!















After the ride, we were a little behind where I thought we would be, but we headed over to Frontierland. Splash Mountain only had a 10 minute standby, so we jumped on!



(for some reason, I didn't get a ride photo from this ride.)

Anyway, we got off Splash and headed to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It had not opened yet....that was weird. People were standing around, but BTMRR was not open...



...so we went back to Splash Mountain and rode again! Still a 10 minute standby line! Apparently everyone was in Fantasyland!



This time we got the ride photo!

DS and I being all cool....DW and DD, not so much!



We got off and checked to see if BTMRR was open. No dice. Still not open. So we hopped on the train and headed over to the Fantasyland/Toontown area. I've taken the train from Main St to Frontierland before, and I've taken the train from Toontown to Main St before, but I think this was the first time I've taken this route. I really enjoyed the ride!







This part of the park was practically empty!





Since it was a relatively short wait, we decided to ride the Mad Tea Cups:







Coming up next: More fun at Magic Kingdom, I have my very FIRST Dole Whip, and lunch at Be Our Guest!

 

[rteetz]

Rope drop is the best! I love your Splash photo as well, I don't know I've ever seen splash at a 10 minute wait we usually get a FP for it. We also thought the mine train had some amazing animatronics. Cant wait to here more Alan!

 

[DaisyDuck001]

In the picture of BTMR taken from the Disneyland Railroad, it looks like people were riding BTMR. Did they start it up around the time you got on the Disney World Railroad?

I know that thing about paying the rent is an old joke, but I don't get it.

It's great that you got to ride 7DMT by night and then by day!

 

[annie170]

That was quite the crowd for rope drop! Two rides on Splash Mountain first thing sounds like a great start to the day. I love the train. It's such a Disney classic.

My next trip will be in the Fall of 2015 and I really hope the wait times will be lower by then for the Mine Train. I can't wait to see it for myself.

 

[themommy]

Rope drop definitely sounds like the way to go. So many things to do with so little wait. Gotta love that!

Your DD was not going to try to text and ride the teacups at the same time was she? That would be some real talent there!

 

[ddstratton]

Even with a wait for 7DMT and BTMRR not yet open, sounds like a lovely morning. We love Splash, so two rides in that could only be a plus in our books.

 

[alan_renfroe]

Rope drop is the best! I love your Splash photo as well, I don't know I've ever seen splash at a 10 minute wait we usually get a FP for it. We also thought the mine train had some amazing animatronics. Cant wait to here more Alan!

It sure is! And the one good thing about the 7DMT rush was that everyone seemed to be in Fantasyland for the first hour or so that morning...so once we got to Frontierland we felt like we had it to ourselves! Weren't those animatronics fantastic? Best I've ever seen.

In the picture of BTMR taken from the Disneyland Railroad, it looks like people were riding BTMR. Did they start it up around the time you got on the Disneyland Railroad?

I know that thing about paying the rent is an old joke, but I don't get it.

It's great that you got to ride 7DMT by night and then by day!

Of course! Wouldn't you know it! We walked away from BTMRR and by the time we got on the train it was up and running. Oh well, we will get back over to this part of the park later.

Yeah I was glad we got to experience 7DMT at night and during the day. It seemed a bit more thrilling at night, but had some great views both night and day.

That was quite the crowd for rope drop! Two rides on Splash Mountain first thing sounds like a great start to the day. I love the train. It's such a Disney classic.

My next trip will be in the Fall of 2015 and I really hope the wait times will be lower by then for the Mine Train. I can't wait to see it for myself.

I know! I've never seen that many people there for rope drop. It's like everyone decided to get up early that day. I think part of it had to do with the excitement surrounding the new ride. At any rate, it allowed us to get in two Splash Mt rides before 10am!

I think eventually the wait times will go down a bit for 7DMT, but I think it will remain a popular attraction. In my opinion, it is just such a wonderful addition to Fantasyland! The New Fantasyland is really awesome!

Rope drop definitely sounds like the way to go. So many things to do with so little wait. Gotta love that!

Your DD was not going to try to text and ride the teacups at the same time was she? That would be some real talent there!

Oh absolutely! If you have a good plan, you can ride most all of the big rides in the first couple of hours. We usually do that, then when it gets really crowded and hot in the afternoons, we leave the park.

Hahahahaha! No, I think she was just reading a txt from someone! That would take some MAJOR talent to text while riding the tea cups!

Even with a wait for 7DMT and BTMRR not yet open, sounds like a lovely morning. We love Splash, so two rides in that could only be a plus in our books.

It really was a lovely morning! We really didn't have a plan on this day beyond being at rope drop and riding 7DMT first thing. We just had a nice leisurely time! And yes, it was very cool to get to ride Splash twice within a 20 minute period!

 

[alan_renfroe]

It was about 10:30am on Wednesday, June 4th and we were having a great morning! We got up early and had skipped breakfast so we were all in the mood to have a snack after we got off the Mad Tea Cups. Believe it or not, I had NEVER had a Dole Whip and I've been dying to try one! So we hopped over to Adventureland and used four of our snack credits!







I must say...unlike the school bread in Norway at Epcot...the Dole Whip lived up to the hype! What a great treat on a hot summer day! I had the orange float with the pineapple juice. It was great!



Since we didn't get to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad earlier, we went back over and the standby line was 20 minutes, so we rode!





It was about 11:20 and we had a FastPass for lunch at Be Our Guest at 11:55am. We decided to start walking towards Fantasyland, but we were just strolling along and taking our time. One of the things DW and I vowed to do on this trip was to buy a nice Christmas ornament, so we stopped in Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe in Liberty Square. We finally found one we liked and bought it!



DD and I were hoping we would have time to catch Mickey's Philharmagic before lunch, but it was getting close to time for our FastPass at Be Our Guest...











This was our first time here. What an awesome experience!















Coming up next: Lunch review at Be Our Guest

 

[ashleymrush]

I almost bought that same ornament! We ultimately decided in dumbo though. I get a new ornament every year, sometimes two.

I know feel like I need to try my hand at texting while riding the teacups. Haha! I think I could do it. I'll get my mom to take a picture of me doing it since we will be together next time I go. That'll be a scene, me texting while she plays photographer all while spinning! Challenge accepted!!

 

[apainterxx44]

Great trip report, I just got caught up. You have a beautiful family and looks like you had a great time!!!

 

[MEK]

So, yeah, I got behind but just read your most recent update. Yay to Mine Train. I just missed it by a week in May and really can't wait to ride it.

I love those pictures of BTMMR. They almost look like an aerial view. Not sure how you did that but nice work!

So two back to back rides on Splash with minimal wait? Awesome!

And yay for getting your first taste of Dole whip!

 

[DaisyDuck001]

I love those pictures of BTMMR. They almost look like an aerial view. Not sure how you did that but nice work!

He said he took those pictures while on the Disney World Railroad.

 

[ddstratton]

The good morning just keeps going on! Yay for a Dole Whip an BTMRR!!!