A Not-So-Scary, Food & Wine, Fantastically Fall Week at WDW! *An Oct. 2015 TR***UPDATED 6/16**

[dmlovullo]

OMG I love your first day! It reminded me of ours this year! We also got an empty bus when going to a park! And seeing everything again...feels like the first time!

So very true! Love all the sights and sounds and smells...you know your "Home" when everything comes together!

Your t-shirts are really cute!

Thank you! We got them on our "Disneymoon"!

LOVE the ride pics. You two know how to have fun! I am going to check out getting an FP+ for7DMT at night. I think the ride pictures comes out much better!

We like riding it much better at night as well. Some times we will get in line at the end of an EMH night and just wait so we can ride at night. Much more fun it seems!

Think you left at a good time. I would be soooo tired after travelling and going to the parks all the way to EMH. I don't think I could have done it all the way to 3am either. Well, maybe my sister could. LOL

We put in a good effort...but boy we were tired! I needed a caffeine drip to keep me going!

Laugh Floor can be under appreciated, glad you guys had a good laugh!

Completely agree! We love it because we love corny jokes!

Enjoyed your picture on Space- looks like you're having a ton of fun!

We try to do fun poses on rides, but that night we must have been tired because we pulled the same one out a few times! haha!

I totally just played the big band Mickey Mouse song from the bus in my head and it made me all warm and fuzzy

Such a great feeling when you are approaching MK! (Especially for the first time on a trip!)

I'm so glad Dan was chosen at the Laugh Floor!!! That must have been hilarious.

It was so funny! I wanted to take a picture of the screen but was just too into watching how it played out!

I also love how you're doing the exact same thing in your Space Mountain photo and 7DMT photo

HAHA! I know! I must have been tired, for my creative thinking was a little off that night!

I just stumbled upon your TR and got caught up... We were there in mid-late October last year! I absolutely loved all of the Halloween activities and especially the parade/fireworks!

Love Halloween at Disney! It is now our second favorite time to go! But we may have a change after Flower and Garden...but we will see!!

 

[dmlovullo]

All of this is so true. Perfectly said. And I love the PP picture - you two are adorable! And I love the shirts!

Thank you! We got them on our "Disneymoon"!

This parade is just too amazing! And yes I love the dragon float as well! And you got the perfect shot too - fire breakthing and everything

Soooo great! Thank you! I was hoping to catch it at the right moment!

How awesome your hubby got picked!!!

It was super funny! I call him my Sulley now!

One of my new favorite rides!!! I have never ridden it at night though...definitely on my Must do list for the future!

We prefer it at night actually...it seems much more fun! We actually are kind of sneaky in the fact that we wait right before close on an EMH night and jump in line with 10 minutes remaining! Probably the ones that the CM's shake their heads at...but when more people hop in behind we don't feel as bad. LOL!

 

[DisneyKates]

I hope your replies mean that we might get an update to your TR soon! I'd love to see more pictures and hear more about your awesome trip.

 

[dmlovullo]

I hope your replies mean that we might get an update to your TR soon! I'd love to see more pictures and hear more about your awesome trip.

Definitely!!! I am hoping to get an update in tonight!! I would ideally like to get it finished before our next trip (We leave April 26th!)

 

[FantasiaMagic]

Definitely!!! I am hoping to get an update in tonight!! I would ideally like to get it finished before our next trip (We leave April 26th!)

Yay! Looking forward to the update! Also - congrats on the new trip!

 

[dmlovullo]

Yay! Looking forward to the update! Also - congrats on the new trip!

Was trying to update here at work but unfortunately Google Photos will not allow me to access my pictures...thanks to lovely work computer blocks I am thinking! Thank you! We cannot wait to go! I am getting really antsy! LOL

 

[dmlovullo]

"There Doesn't Seem to be Any Track!"
Day 2 - Part 1

This morning, we woke up quite tired...but there is no time to sleep in Disney! We were up bright and early at 6:30AM with plans to head to Animal Kingdom right at opening, which was 9AM. We had a brunch ADR at 10:40AM this day, so we decided to grab something small from Landscape of Flavors. After our breakfast sandwiches, we took our coffee to go and got in line for the AK bus! We arrived right around 8:50AM and were surprised to be let in through the tapstyles. Everyone was congregated around the tree of life. I had loved the new sculptures that they had placed out in front of the Tree of Life. We deemed it a very good PP spot...but we never made it back to get our photo unfortunately. ​

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A few moment before they allowed everyone to enter the park, a bunch of Macaws came out of nowhere! They have this little show to the left of the tree where they talk about the Macaws and then they fly off right over everyones heads! Super cool! I only wish I had the camera rolling for this experience, but we were taken by surprise. If they still have it, I will be sure to keep a camera to the sky!

Boy oh boy! Those Clouds look kind of unpleasant today! ​

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We made our way towards Kilimanjaro Safari's when the rope was dropped. After standing in a line for awhile, they began letting people in the ride queue. Soon we were in our vehicle and and off on our trek through the Harambe Wildlife preserve. I tried to take photos on our safari, but a lot end up coming out blurry due to the rough terrain.

Ahh...some sunlight finally shining through!

When our safari came to and end and we disembarked, we headed to Asia to climb a mountain that has quite the story. Our FP for Everest was not until later, but we decided to check the wait to see if we could get on. The wait was around 20 min. and we did not have anything to do until our ADR, so we jumped in line! It is always kind of fun to go through the queue at Expedition Everest. A lot of detail and great theming.

We were "scared", but the kids in front of us did not know what to think!​

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We were able to escape the Yeti! It was a close call though. After our crazy train ride, it was about time to make our way to Africa for our brunch reservation at Tusker House.

(Continued in Day 2 - Part 2)​

 

[Raeven]

I just caught up but reading your trip report is making me so excited for our next trip. We're staying at AoA for Mnsshp too! We did Mnsshp last year, but we've never done food and wine and this year we're going back in Dec for Mvmcp too.

I'm so glad to hear Christmastime was very magical there. I also got a cold while we were on vacation too

Love your safari pictures and your outfits are so cute!

 

[dmlovullo]

SAFARI DONALD!!!
Day 2 - Part 2

We had made our way to Africa and checked in at Tusker House. We only waited about 10 minutes until we got the text that our table was ready. I was really excited because I had not done a character meal since the first couple times I had gone in 2001 and 2002. Safari Donald and friends were ready for us in the dining room and we were sat in the main path of the dining room. It was a good thing we got the text when we did, it started sprinkling outside, and when we sat down we saw that it turned into a down pour. ​

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The inside of the restaurant is very neat! Great theming and amazing detail. Where the buffets were set up looked like an open air market on a street in Africa. I did not enjoy how close together the tables were. We felt like the characters had a bit of trouble navigating to everyone and that we were sitting on top of the very nice couple sat next to us. ​

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I had heard many good things about Tusker House, but was kind of disappointed. It may have been an off day, or perhaps because it was so close to lunch times that the food was not coming out very fast and causing back ups. They serve a standard fare a long with some specialty items with an African flare. After we got our first plate of food and began eating, the character began to come around.

We were not able to get photos together a lot, but the nice couple next to us volunteered to help us get a picture together. That was very nice of them! When Daisy came to our table, I was taking a picture of Dan and her and she said my Donald phone case! She loved it and gave a flirty little look at it! It was super cute! I think that we would try out Tusker House again to give it another try. But after this visit. It rates as OK for us!​

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After a few plates and we had seen all the characters we donned our ponchos and headed out into the rain. We were heading to first FP of the day at Kali River Rapids! We were not about to let a little rain keep us from getting a little more wet. There was no sun so i knew that it would be interesting. But oh well..."TO THE RAFT!" You know how you go down the major hill, and whoever is going down backwards gets super soaked...yup! That was us! Of course! I knew the moment the raft turned around. My behind was soaked and my shorts would just not dry! I even tried to dry them off in the ladies room under the hand dryer to no avail! At least we are good sports! But I did learn that on AK days I should bring a pair of gym shorts to put on before or after Kali. ​

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Our second fast pass was for Everest! We decided to say hi to the Yeti again!

Gotta love poncho ride photos! ​

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We decided next, we were going to do something that we had not done before, Flights of Wonder. It was such a great show! It had its funny moments as well with Guano Joe! We will definitely want to see that again. As we were going into the theater, Baloo and King Louie were heading back to their Meet-n-Greet spot! Shoot! We will get to meeting them eventually! ​

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(Sorry for lack of photos. It was a rainy day )​

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Next we went to use our third FP at Festival of the Lion King! It was a great show as usual...such a great performance! Love watching the tumble monkeys and Dan loves the guy that does the fire dancing. Gives me all the feels at the end when they sing "Can You Feel the Love Tonight". I honestly cry every single time. ​

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Heading to a land we had not yet made it to during this visit, we decided to go back in time to when Dinosaurs roamed the earth. We were looking for a certain Dino to bring back with us!

Not our Dino!! ​

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I like this ride, mainly because I really like Dinosaurs! ​

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Oh...and WE MADE IT!!!!! ​

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Next we headed to our last attraction of the day...another tear jerker...yes Disney...I get it! You love to make me emotional with all the beautiful stories and music you put out.

We went to watch Marlin find Nemo with the help of his new pal Dory. The puppetry still amazes me. Great show as always! ​

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It was around 3:30/4:00 and we decided to leave AK for the day. We said "See Ya Real Soon" to the Tree of Life and headed towards the bus stops. On the way to the AoA bust stop, a man was on his phone talking to someone and said that he was at the "Wild Africa Park" and was about to head back to the "Wild Animal Park Lodge"! Huh! We had no idea there was a name change to Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge! ​

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Back to AoA we went...

(CONTINUED IN NEXT POST)​

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[dmlovullo]

I just caught up but reading your trip report is making me so excited for our next trip. We're staying at AoA for Mnsshp too! We did Mnsshp last year, but we've never done food and wine and this year we're going back in Dec for Mvmcp too.

AoA was such a fun resort! MNSSHP is our second favorite event now, behind MVMCP of course! They are so worth it to us! We had so much fun!

I'm so glad to hear Christmastime was very magical there. I also got a cold while we were on vacation too

Christmastime is by far our favorite time to visit WDW now. It gets you so in the mood for Christmas!

Love your safari pictures and your outfits are so cute!

Thank you so much!

 

[FantasiaMagic]

I love this picture, too cute! Sorry TH wasn't as great as you expected, but meeting all of the characters in their safari gear looks like a lot of fun!

Also, I'm loving the shirt! Hot Topic right?!

On the way to the AoA bust stop, a man was on his phone talking to someone and said that he was at the "Wild Africa Park" and was about to head back to the "Wild Animal Park Lodge"! Huh! We had no idea there was a name change to Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge! ​

This is fantastic. I love listening to clueless people in Disney!

Sound like a great day at AK! Good for you for not letting the rain ruin your day!

Looking forward to reading more!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Hi, Dawn! I love your report already as you're only one day in and I don't have pages and pages to read!

What an excellent first day! I was quite impressed with FoF when I saw it in June - it was the first afternoon parade I was willing to sit down for! Your Space Mountain ride photo is fantastic and I love your nighttime shot outside Haunted Mansion. I understand your disappointment about not making through the EMH, but travel days are BRUTAL.

I just love Tusker House! How nice that someone got a photo of the two of you together! You sure packed a lot into your Animal Kingdom day - all the major rides, all three shows... very impressive! I really liked Flights of Wonder when we saw it on our last trip. I'm glad you enjoyed it, as well!

I love people that create new names for things... Wild Africa Park?! He must've bypassed Asia and Dinoland!

 

[dmlovullo]

Hello everyone! I am hoping to get an update in soon! We are back from our April/May 2016 trip and I had decided to do something different with this trip. We had vlogged our adventure, so I will not be writing a full trip report. If anyone enjoys to watch Disney vlogs on YouTube, our Channel is called Ears To Disney! We have our Trailer up now and will be releasing a new video every Thursday! We are also on Twitter: @EarsToDisney and Instagram: ears2disney sharing our love of Disney everyday! Hope you all have a magical day!

 

[dmlovullo]

Day 2 Part 3
What Foolishness Would You Like to See?

When we last left off, we were looking forward to heading back to AoA to take a little break. We relaxed for a moment then got changed before we headed out to HS for the evening. Between the air and the rain we were completely wiped out! I almost fell asleep on the bus ride back to AoA and it is not even that far way.

After we were a bit refreshed, we headed back out to the bus stops to head to HS. And what was this...another bus all to ourselves???

HS had EMH from 7:30 - 9:30 this night, so we decided to plan on getting there a little early to grab some dinner. I love the little QS place on Sunset Blvd. called "Rosie's All-American Cafe". They always seem to have fresh food and good service. I got my favorite chicken tenders and fries, and for desert a delicious and cute pumpkin cupcake! It was a carrot cake cupcake with an orange (taste and color) frosting. It was pretty good!

I also really like to decor on the cups for Halloween...and Christmas as well. Super cute!

We took our time with dinner waiting for the crowds not staying for EMH to depart and taking in the scenery of our first night at HS. I always love the parks at night. They take on a different feel that makes them feel even more magical!

After dinner, we felt like trying our luck at some backstage passes, so we headed to RnR. It was the beginning of EMH but the line was still quite long. We decided we were going to have a nice night and not mind waiting for rides, so we jumped in the line posted at 30 minutes. Soon we were in the recording studio and on our way to the Aerosmith show in a super stretch limo! "Hey! Check out Steven Tyler's hat!"

We must have been bored!

After speeding our way through downtown LA we tried to check into a hotel. We thought there were vacancies so we stepped on through...the Twilight Zone! We had a blast on ToT and I realized how pretty the view was when the door was open.

This was probably the most empty I have ever seen the ride! Everyone was in line for TSMM and RnR!

We decided to make our way to the other side of the park stopping at TGMR on the way.

I sort of feel like the ever since TCM sponsored the ride, they took away the element where the hosts could speak more and personalize the ride a bit. Now there is a voice over that narrates making it the same spiel. But as always, it was a nice ride through the movies.

Next we headed to Star Tours! And still, not the Rebel Spy! One of these days! ...and then I shall buy the shirt!

After visiting Naboo and Kashyyyk, we went to a favorite of ours, MV3D! I just love this show...and of course, the pre-show. "What foolishness would you like to see?" is frequently quoted in our house! You also gotta love Statler and Waldorf! Classic!

Our EMH time was winding down so we headed to TSMM. The wait was still quite long, but hey! We're on Vacation! So we jumped in line and waited it out. After we got off, EMH was over, so we took a slow walk out of HS.

The line for the bus to AoA was super long, as was the POP bus line, so we grabbed a bench and had a seat. We waiting until the line was actually in the chained queue and then we hopped in. We got back to AoA, made it back to the room, and crashed! It was a long first full day at the parks, but I wouldn't trade it for anything!

We quickly fell asleep to the sound of Mickey Mouse cartoons.


(NEXT UP...DAY 3...I FEEL LIKE IM UNDERWATER!!)

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[FantasiaMagic]

Sounds like a fun night in HS! It's great you were able to get some rides in during EMH. Looking forward to reading more!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Yay an update! I actually missed your AK update so I'm all caught up now! I love your pictures at Tusker house. So cute!
You guys have the best ride pictures. The one of you guys bored on RnRC...I dont' even know how you can hold those faces when the ride stars. I can't help but scream!
What a fun night at DHS! All the great rides and closing out with TSMM! We had to wait on line at TSMM during EMH too, there was no getting around that. I hope the third track that just opened will relieve some of the wait times.
Can't wait for more!

 

[DisneyJo]

Sounds as though your EMH were very successful

My DD and I are loving your YouTube videos

 

[jediprincess23]

Just now joining in, I'm not sure I realized you were writing a report of your own! Can't wait to read more ))

 

[dmlovullo]

You guys have the best ride pictures. The one of you guys bored on RnRC...I dont' even know how you can hold those faces when the ride stars. I can't help but scream!

Thank you! It is definitely challenging on RnR...that speed really produces some resistance!

I hope the third track that just opened will relieve some of the wait times.

I hope for this too. It just gets really crazy! And the ride is no longer new, but since there is not much at HS anymore it probably really will benefit now.

My DD and I are loving your YouTube videos

Thank you so much for following along and watching our Vlogs! So glad that you are enjoying them. We were very new to vlogging that trip so we were still getting all the weird feelings out about walking around and talking to the camera! LOL!

Just now joining in, I'm not sure I realized you were writing a report of your own! Can't wait to read more ))

Thank you for joining in the fun! Yes, I sadly have neglected for far too long due to a crazy schedule and vacation. I will keep plugging though!

 

[TheLittleKatie]

I need that Halloween cupcake right now. Carrot cake and orange sounds delish!

Also, i don't know how missed this update! come back soon for more please!