~~ Sew the crowds in WDW were frightful, but the weather was so delightful ~~Nov 2015 COMPLETE! ~~

[Wood Nymph]

In the end, I don't feel like I got my $$s worth, and I don't have any desire to do F&W again. I know many people enjoy it, but the lines and crowds just weren't enjoyable, and I never found any food that I really loved.

We went to F&W in October and the crowds were terrible, much worse than the same period in 2014. We found a few items that were really good, but we're not interested in going back to F&W again. The October weather is gorgeous but the crowds aren't.

MK is always so horrible! The crowds in WDW are so bad all of the time now - with all of the resort expansion and building - they really NEED a 4th and 5th park to disburse some of these crowds. It's getting to the point that Disney isn't very enjoyable because there is just too many people - and that has nothing to do with the ride wait times, it's just the crowds in general.

One of the problems is the MK is the only park open late and the only park with plenty of rides. The other three parks don't have enough things to do to keep the crowds there all day long.

It wasn't until later, when I was perusing FB, I discovered that we were standing near Mo during this time... Sigh - we could have met up again.

I'm surprised that you didn't plan more time together.

 

[disvisitorkim]

Following along! LOVING your TR! Last trip, I hated stopping for PP, but when we got home, I was regretting not stopping more lol! So I definitely understand your love for them! Looks like you had so much fun, and your outfits are adorable! Can't wait for more!

 

[Llobal]

Im shocked by ariana being there. On saturday the 14th my family was standing in the line for PPO breakfast and i tell my husband "that looks like a lady from the DIS but i dont think its her. She wouldve said something on this PTR im reading". So i put it off to my imagination. And now im finding out it was her and i couldve met 4 DIS peeps if i was a better scheduler. Maybe next time.

And i wholly agree about food and wine festival. We only stayed in world showcase maybe 2 hours before we hightailed it out of there. Didnt try anything!! We were completely miserable but wound up going back to Japan to do the pick a pearl since it wasnone thing i had really wanted to do. My husband and i habe vowed we wont return to epcot during f&w anytime soon.

 

[DMGeurts]

Sounds like a great day. I know I put the recipe for Norwegian School bread on the DIS but I can't remember if it was in my own trip report or if it was in someone else's trip report.

Mmmmm... So did you try the Epcot version? Just wondering if it's pretty true to the actual?

↑
Love those starbucks mug ornaments, ADORABLE! And great idea about getting extra cups for drawing on, my stepson would LOVE that! I'm stealing so many ideas from your trip report
I know - I really love them!!! I love the cups, but V would kill me if I brought home another mug for her to try to make room for in my cupboards. LOL So, I opted for the safer option. Hehehe... It wasn't easy getting the extra cups home - I had to stuff them with socks... thankfully - she doesn't actually drink out of them when she is finished drawing on them. :

Great Idea! But yeah probably not good to drink out of them after lol!!!!!

Hahaha... Well, they were CLEAN socks - but still. LOL Better than clean underwear - IMO. Have to use what you have available to you. LOL

Super bummed I'll never see the Osbourne lights in person ever again

They are pretty special!

I know - it's sad. I cannot decide if I like the changes they are doing to DHS? I am kind of looking forward to the TS area - but not really looking forward to Star Wars... I do like Star Wars - but I just don't think of it as Disney.

Oh, those lights look beautiful! I bet they were breath taking in real life! I have always wanted to go and see them, but unfortunately, I never did. I can't believe they are going away either.

The pictures look delicious of the School Bread - what is it? Is it just a roll with something sprinkled on top?

They were very beautiful in real life - pictures of the lights (and the castle) just don't do either of them any justice. It is sad that they are going away - it would be nice if they could bring them back in some other park or something?

Oh no... They do look so unassuming, don't they? In all reality - they are much more than what they appear to be... The roll is actually stuffed with custard - and it's so yummy!!!! I was thinking it would be this dry roll with just that little bit on top - but it's not.

Great report! So excited to see the Osborne Lights when we go in December, but really sad it will be the last time!! Thanks for all the pictures!

We went to F&W in October and the crowds were terrible, much worse than the same period in 2014. We found a few items that were really good, but we're not interested in going back to F&W again. The October weather is gorgeous but the crowds aren't.

One of the problems is the MK is the only park open late and the only park with plenty of rides. The other three parks don't have enough things to do to keep the crowds there all day long.

I'm surprised that you didn't plan more time together.

I dunno... Don't get me wrong - I am so glad we tried it, just so we could form our own opinion. But the end result is that I am a tightwad and I think I could have had a meal I would have enjoyed more if we would have just "had a meal", vs. walking around and waiting in all of the lines. So, that being said - if I were to ever go during that time again - I would maybe do a couple of stands, but get my actual meal from one of the countries.

I agree - that is a huge problem... It makes it pretty tough to travel there, and by the end of the trip - even though that's where I wanted to be, I just didn't want to go there because of the travel issues. Sigh. I think WDW would do well with TWO MK parks. LOL

Yes - it was pretty difficult, but if you think about it... Traveling with a party of 10... Everyone arriving on different days... by the time one family's FP selections opened up, the things that were available to the first family, were no longer available to the second family, and third family arriving. So, trying to coordinate time that way was very difficult. So, when our days actually did over lap... We had one family with FPs for one attraction - but the wait time for that attraction on standby was too long for the other families to actually ride the attraction within a decent amount of time. It was just really difficult. Or one family was hungry while another family had FPs... I have ALWAYS gone to Disney with the assumption that we all pay A LOT of $$ to be there, we should all be able to get as much done as we can. And we all kind of agreed on this. Trust me - we did meet up a few more times before Suzi and I had to leave, we just didn't get to spend as much time together as we had hoped we would/would have liked. Does that make sense? Maybe one day - we will all get to go at the same time, and things will be much easier to plan - or Disney will institute some sort of "fix" for this, because it has to be an issue with more people than just us.

Following along! LOVING your TR! Last trip, I hated stopping for PP, but when we got home, I was regretting not stopping more lol! So I definitely understand your love for them! Looks like you had so much fun, and your outfits are adorable! Can't wait for more!

Thank you!!! Yes- it's very important to stop for PP at every opportunity... You never know which treasured moment they will capture!

Thank you - I love planning my outfits! I wish I had more new ones for my upcoming trip, but I don't - so I mostly will be wearing the same stuff for January... It will be fun though.

Im shocked by ariana being there. On saturday the 14th my family was standing in the line for PPO breakfast and i tell my husband "that looks like a lady from the DIS but i dont think its her. She wouldve said something on this PTR im reading". So i put it off to my imagination. And now im finding out it was her and i couldve met 4 DIS peeps if i was a better scheduler. Maybe next time.

And i wholly agree about food and wine festival. We only stayed in world showcase maybe 2 hours before we hightailed it out of there. Didnt try anything!! We were completely miserable but wound up going back to Japan to do the pick a pearl since it wasnone thing i had really wanted to do. My husband and i habe vowed we wont return to epcot during f&w anytime soon.

Bummer! We decided early on to keep Ariana a secret. I try to do this myself, and I try not to tell people my exact dates on a public forum... I've had it happen to me, where certain people made me feel uncomfortable... So, in an effort to stay safe and keep my girls and I safe, I try not to give out my exact dates or which parks on which days - unless it's in a one on one situation, where I know the person I am giving the info to.

Yah - I think if I ever went during F&W again, I would maybe have one or two items, but I would eat my main meal in one of the countries and definitely stop for an order or two of school bread. I think I could - theoretically - stop in France for a Napoleon... Then by the time I got to Norway, I would be hungry for School Bread? I may have to try this in January? LOL Just don't know where I would eat a good counter service meal in between (or that I would necessarily want/need one)?

*******************************************************************************************

OK all... More updates coming your way this morning... Our last full park day.

D~

 

[DMGeurts]

Monday, November 16, 2015 - Day 6 Part 1

I was awake at 5am...

I am sure you all know the drill by now... Coffee/FB/Dis... On the balcony... Mmmm....

We decided to have breakfast at Mara. This time, I went all out... Ordering a full order of Mickey waffles and sausage on the side.

We went back to our room to change shoes, then on a bus to MK @ 7:30.

As I was walking up to bag check... I saw someone/something very familiar to me... It was Monica carrying her Gingerbread House UPB!

We found out later - Mo saw us walking into the park and was yelling to us, but we never heard her. We felt so badly about this.

As we were walking up Main Street... The Dapper Dans were singing, and they sung a song to us. We stood there for a while, enjoying their beautiful voices, and then they posed for pictures after.

We met up with Ariana out side of BLSRS, and we all rode together... Suzi with Bradey, Me with Monica and Ariana by herself (Ariana is pretty competitive on this ride and chose to go alone for this reason. LOL)

All morning - I had been trying to meet up with my friend Nicole (Princessruns), she was somewhere in Tomorrowland with us - but we were having issues meeting up, because of the delay in cell service for me/her in the parks.

Nicole and I have known each other online for about 6 years... We are both Disboutiquers together. I've met Nicole twice... Once on my trip to Charlotte, NC in 2012 and once on our August 2013 Disney trip. Nicole is a very good friend and a super important person in my life... She has been instrumental in my journey to better health... We have been in a small closed/private FB group together for 4 years now, and she cheers me on day after day. Nicole is also an avid runner - so she has been my "go to" person as I am learning to run - and really just my biggest cheerleader. i would not be where I am now without her constant and daily support. So, meeting up with her was a necessity - I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Anways... after a bit of running around - I was finally able to meet up with her, her DH and DD... Just hugging this friend was a powerful thing... It brought tears to my eyes... Feeling her muscles wrap me in a powerful hug and mine the same for her - represented days, weeks, months, years of hard work and dedication... Knowing that day after day - we are working hard to better ourselves... It was just a powerful thing for both of us. The last time we saw eachother - we were both about 50 lbs heavier, and not as muscle-y dense. So, sorry to go off on a little side street on my TR... but this one little photo does not give justice to the friendship that has formed between us over the years. Nicole is awesome - and along with Chiara - they both inspire me to continue on and keep going, no matter what.

My meet up with Nicole was much shorter than I had hoped for - but we both had vacations to get on with, and we were happy to have met for the few minutes we were able to.

Meanwhile... Suzi and Bradey were on the Speedway with Ariana...

I got back to them just in time to snap this picture of Suzi already out of the car and Bradey almost out (Monica had stayed behind to take pictures of them, but I don't have those).

We decided to take the back path through/behind Tomorrowland/Fantasyland,to ride Dumbo... Suzi rode with Bradey, I rode with Ariana and Monica stayed behind to take pictures...

(No photo of Suzi and Bradey riding Dumbo - their elephant was on the opposite side of us).

After - I talked Monica into riding Splash with me. For some reason - I do not have a picture of Monica and I riding Splash together? But I do have one ride photo that I took and a selfie... So, proof that we did actually ride together does exist.

Meanwhile - Suzi and Bradey rode BTMRR together...

We had been texting Mo all morning, trying to plan a place to meet up... Finally we were able to coordinate it. Yay!!! All of us together again!

Shortly after, Bernadette texted us that she was on her way, and Monica had to leave to make her flight... So, we said our good-byes to Monica, and we waited for Bernadette to meet us, while we visited with Mo and family.

Sadly - Mo and family had FPs for Splash - and by this time, the standby wait was up to 45 minutes... So, rather than wait for them to ride, or to try and ride it with them myself - we decided to part ways again. So, we said our goodbyes to Mo and family, and headed out to enjoy other parts of the park.

On our way through Frontierland, we spotted Chip and Dale with a short wait... I just love these guys in this spot - I missed them last year, so I really wanted pictures with them this year. Suzi and Bradey decided to continue on to ride Goofy's Barnstormer, while Bernadette, Ariana and I wanted for C&D... The wait was worth it - we ended up with some GREAT PP photos!

After this meet - it really makes me want to do a Chip & Dale theme for January.

Bradey waiting in line for Goofy's Barnstormer...

We met up with Suzi and Bradey again right after this, and decided to ride the Tea Cups... Ariana and I suffer from motion sickness, so we sat this one out and tried to take a few photos of the brave ones.

Meanwhile... Monica had texted me from the Gingerbread House... Not only did she get a photo of her in front of the Gingerbread House with her bag, but she also met up with another friend of mine (Jamie) and sent me an I Spy photo of them together for my album. How cool!

Immediately after, Suzi, Bradey and I had lunch reservations for BoG... I think Ariana was hoping for lunch at CHH - so we parted ways. Bernadette didn't have any lunch plans, so we tried to sneak her in to BoG with us - and it worked! Woohoo! So, the 4 of us had a great lunch together at BoG...

I had ordered the Roast Beef sandwich and the Gray Stuff cupcake... This was delicious!!! Very refreshing after a week of park food... If I recall correctly - I left half of the bun behind? Sadly - I'd asked for the horseradish on the side, but I didn't get any at all... So I asked the server for some... When he went to put some in a cup for me - the whole entire bottle exploded all over the counter and there was horseradish sauce everywhere... I helped him clean it up as best as I could. Then I went to eat my food before it got too cold. I remember that Suzi and Bradey had to wait an extremely LONG time for their food here, which wasn't cool.

I grabbed a picture of Suzi and Bradey at Beast's Castle.

Once we were done eating, we parted ways with Bernadette and exited the park via Main Street - the park was starting to get crowded.

We took a bus back to AKL at 1pm.

I spent my break packing my luggage - no nap for D~ today.

We also went down to the front desk to straighten out our ME for the following morning... The had Suzi on a 9am ME bus and me on a 10:30 ME bus - but our flights were only 30 minutes apart. In the end, they were able to compromise and put us both on the same ME bus right in the middle of our times at 10am. Which was a relief - since the bombings in Paris happened a few days before, we were concerned that security might be a mess, and we wanted a bit of cushion time.

Link to Day 6 Part 2

D~​

 

[Wood Nymph]

It looks like you had a really nice morning. You really had a lot of Dis meets on this trip. That must have been a lot of fun.

I love the girl's picture. Peanut and Monica are wearing coordinating outfits. I'm glad that you finally met up, even if it was for a short time.

I notice you didn't have any rain on this trip. In fact, the weather looks like it was really nice.

 

[KathyM2]

Wow,....so many great updates!!! I love how many Dismeets you had...even if they were short! And how amazing that you saw all kinds of people with your adorable bags!!

I agree about F&W...I was so excited to try it and while I did try some things that were good...it was super expensive in the end, and kind of tedious with the crowds to navigate and find the things you really wanted to try...sigh...

 

[ljcrochet]

I can't believe you are wrapping up this trip report already.

I love the outfit you wear to MK.

I was trying to remember how long the osbone lights were on the streets of america. I like it better when it was on the houses they took down to make the stunt show.

 

[jandlinz]

The lights looks amazing! I am so bummed I'll never see them. That was one of the reasons we planned on going in November and now we'll never have a chance. Your photo pass pictures are great. It looks well worth it. So sorry you didn't get to spend as much time with Mo and her family as you had hoped. It is nice that you were able to meet up with so many friends though. I can't believe you'll be wrapping up your trip already. It sure went by fast.

 

[DreamingofCastles]

I keep looking in the background of your park photos to see if I am there! My DH and I were in the Magic Kingdom that day and ALSO ate lunch at BOG!!

 

[Clio]

the Osbourne lights look amazing. It's a shame that they won't be there anymore. I don't like some of the changes Disney's making. I agree about the prices of the samples at the F&W Festival. The last time we went I just got the Belgium waffle. I think it's great that you've gotten to meet so many Dissers on this trip.
Liz

 

[kittylady1972]

All caught up and so glad you had such a great time. Sorry about all the bus woes. We have always either taken our own car or rented one in Disney because we just find it's easier to drive to the parks than deal with the bus. We only use the bus option when part of our group decides to leave the park or go elsewhere and the rest of us stay behind and catch the bus back. It works great.

Your next trip you'll be at SOG though right? We did use the bus service there once or twice and found it was nice and not crazy packed. Hopefully you'll have the same experience.

Sad to see the trip come to an end but it sounds like it was really nice. Definitely missing Disney but should be planning our next trip in just 3 weeks or so. Definitely gonna miss seeing the Osborne lights though.

 

[Terkina]

Looks like a great morning.
I didn't try the Scoolbread at Epoc because it has too much yellow cream on it and I'm not that fond of the yellow cream. In Norway the bread is more flat and doesn't have that much yellow cream but it has a lot of icing and coconut sprinkle

 

[FantasiaMagic]

Ok! Finally all caught up!

Tusker House sounded like a fun time! This is my favorite picture Too cute!!

Aww! I love Chip and Dale with their Christmas accessories on!

Festival of the Lion King! I just love this show! I missed doing it last year - and I didn't want to miss it again.

I love that show too - it's fantastic!

Since we were here, I decided I should grab my DHS Starbucks "you are here" ornament... 2 in one day!

What a nice souvenir for the trip! I love how they have one for each park.

This worked out well for us - and as expected, WS was incredibly crowded.

Gosh. I had been reading about this all of November. Since my grandparents live in FL and are Disney APs, they would go to F&W a lot, they said it was crazier then ever this year...

To our surprise - we didn't have to wait long... We were seated at a table near the ovens... The food here is EXCELLENT! We all agreed - the cheese pizza is the best, we ordered 3 different pizzas... Cheese, Pepperoni and an artichoke... The cheese was by far - the best. We also had the pistachio gillato for dessert - YUM! Excellent meal!

Yummy, this is on my must do list!

After, we did stand-by for Nemo since the ride was walk-on, and believe it or not, I have NEVER done this ride before! It was really cute! I adored the queue for this ride - sooo well done!

I love this whole ride! Adorable and fun for everyone!

After our fun there - I had to stop in Starbucks for the 3rd "you are here' mug of the day... If you've been keeping track so far... I've been in 3 parks on this day and I have a Starbucks "you are here" mug from each one of them.

As we were walking out of the park... We decided - why not? Let's do all 4 parks in one day!!!

Amazing! This is on my Disney bucket list to do one day!

So, straight into Starbucks I went... Waited in an insanely long line for my one little MK ornament..

Gosh I bet the line was long...

I did manage to take a picture of the stuffed bus though... Believe me - this is NOT the last time this happened on this trip. I believe it's imperative that AKL has separate buses for Jambo and Kidani - at least at park open/close.

That's insane.

And Bradey took a great picture of the 3 of us... It was here that we realized that we were all wearing red... I sure hope that Mo is wearing red...

What a great picture of the three of you!

From there - we were headed to Test Track... We had a very short window on our FP times, where we could ride this ride together... So we patiently waited for this window. Passing time with pictures, of course... Bradey and Suzi have never ridden TT before - so this was their first time!

One of my favorites! Glad everyone enjoyed the ride.

Don't get me wrong - I am glad I was able to enjoy the experience... But all in all - I think I spent way too much $$ on it, and I could have had a full meal for half the price, and actually feel satisfied... Vs. snacking around the world and never really feeling like I ate much of anything. In the end, I don't feel like I got my $$s worth, and I don't have any desire to do F&W again. I know many people enjoy it, but the lines and crowds just weren't enjoyable, and I never found any food that I really loved.

You guys were able to try so many things at F&W. But I agree - waiting in those lines would not be too fun after a while. That bread sounds delicious though!

So, the next time I go to WS... I will be stopping in Norway - and getting School Bread - and maybe an extra for the road. At $4.19 for this HUGE thing, compared to the $5-$7 price tag on the F&W offerings at 1/4 of the size... Really not a good value in my opinion.

Sounds like a good plan.

We started heading back toward the Osbourne Lights... And ooooh what a magnificent sight!!! I've never seen anything like this! I cannot believe that this is going away... It's incredible! My pictures do not even begin to do it justice.

That is great you were able to see them. I never have and now I probably never will, but they always looked amazing.

We waited in line for this photopass picture forever! But it was worth it - we'll never get one like it again!

Perfect!

Nicole is awesome - and along with Chiara - they both inspire me to continue on and keep going, no matter what.

That is great you were able to meet up with her - how special she must be to you.

This picture is absolutely adorable!

After this meet - it really makes me want to do a Chip & Dale theme for January.

That would be so cute!!!!

Immediately after, Suzi, Bradey and I had lunch reservations for BoG... I think Ariana was hoping for lunch at CHH - so we parted ways. Bernadette didn't have any lunch plans, so we tried to sneak her in to BoG with us - and it worked! Woohoo! So, the 4 of us had a great lunch together at BoG...

Nice! Glad she was able to come with you guys!

Great updates!!!

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

I'm finally caught up! I love the picture with all of you and your beautiful park bags! You do such gorgeous work. It sounds and looks like a great trip!!!

 

[tatar63]

Wow! I have so much to reply on, it is a good thing I took notes .

The black & white striped shirt: you are way to critical of yourself, I think it looks great!

Bruce photos: One of my cutest photos from our family trip last year my 6 year old nephew (who loves sharks) laid down across the teeth with leg and arm hanging out to make it look like Bruce was biting him!
Food & Wine: My two favorite items, I think ? are available year round: the Cronut and Orange slushy from France (I may have had a couple of each) and I understand about finding your water, I was so excited to have a Diet Sunkist when returning home. Which reminds me of how much I miss the orange choice for a Dole Whip! and my last thought on this day is I was so sorry to waste you, Suzi and Bradey's time at Voices of Liberty! the CM I asked where to find it apparently thought they only performed at the outside theatre.... time at Disney is precious and it was very generous of you all to spend some of yours with a new Dis friend

I ran into Bernadette on my way out of MK so it was nice to see her once again

You are welcome to borrow my Chip & Dale bag, they both loved it the day I met them in Epcot!!!

My famous Gingerbread House UPB: have any of you heard of Lynn, the Teddy Bear lady at the GF? I always sit and talk to her when I pass thru and on my 2nd day she insisted I carry my Gingerbread House bag every day (I believe I packed 4 of my bags!) I was sitting outside the GF that day also when the Chef himself stopped and briefly chatted, he was impressed with it! A Disney photographer stopped me to take pictures of it and I had so many compliments and discussions about it my whole trip. Thanks D~ for this amazing conversation starter!!!

 

[kde175]

Hi there,

I love Photopass Joe. He is such a great guy. Last September, I was tripped in Muppets 3-D and messed up my knee pretty badly. I ended up in a wheelchair for the second half of our trip. On one of our DHS days, I spent an hour or so wheeling myself around the shops near the front gate. Joe noticed me struggling a bit with the ramps up onto the sidewalk and came over to help. We ended up talking for close to half an hour until DH and DD came back from riding at the back of the park. He then did a fantastic photo shoot with all of us. Such an awesome experience.

Thanks for sharing your trips with all of us. We won't be back until next December, so you're making that wait a little easier to deal with.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Day 4 Part 2



Now, I do have to say... Tusker House used to be my favorite meal... I love the characters here - I love Animal Kingdom... I really love everything about it. Buuuut... Then I ate at The Wave, and everything else pales in comparison. I also feared Suzi and Bradey wouldn't like it here either, because it (honestly) isn't that great of a place... The food is "meh"... The service is "meh"... The meal is rushed, because you don't want to miss characters, and then you have to wait forever for the last ones to come around. But - regardless - TH was my first love, so there will always be a soft spot for it... So, I enjoyed myself as best I could, and had fun with the characters.


Day 5 Part 2


Bradey and Suzi's...

As I was sitting here eating this, I was talking to Suzi about A) I couldn't believe I'd never had this before (It totally leaves my beloved Napoleon in the dust!). And B) I wish I wouldn't have wasted all that $$ on F&W when I could have eaten these all day and been happy...
​

I am so glad you talked about TH. I was actually considering adding it to our must try list for next year, because of how much you loved it. I may reconsider now. I am thinking maybe we should give Boma a try for our AK day. Last time we did Sanaa and LOVED it, but we really like to try new places rather than repeats.

School Bread...simply my fave Disney snack. I may have to choose now to use it as one of my very few "cheats" for my first Gluten Free trip to the World...

 

[Madilynsmommy]

That chip and dale picture is awesome!!! Love me some chip....dale is alright

 

[Pluto0809]

Yay all caught up here too! I had so many comments but forgot most of them by now of course. Just a few things.

I was seriously worried about you guys on your Via Napoli night. I did lunch around the Food and Wine booths that day and it was crazy crowded then. I knew you were in for a mess trying to get to the restaurant. So glad you made it in and out OK.

I think I may be done with Food and Wine myself. While I really enjoyed the dishes I tried, I ended up getting sick. I have a sensitive stomach and all those strange foods did not combine well for me. Makes me kind of sad.

It was so wonderful to spend a bit of time with you guys! I only have a few extra photos different from what you've posted so far from the trip with you guys so I will go ahead and post them here.

Flying high on Dumbo:







Playing in the Figment area:











Suzi and Bradey on BTMR:



Suzi, Bradey and Bernadette on the Teacups:







And that's it. Can't wait to read the rest of the TR.