3 WDW Trips in 6 months: August, October and December Reports *Completed*

[meeko_33785]

While Buzz and I were in the lobby, waiting for the rain to let up a little, we took the chance to check out the gift shop.

Fulton’s General Store has to be one of my favorite resort gift shops. Not only is it one of the larger ones that I’ve seen, but it still has some of the great animated displays that have sadly disappeared from other resorts in recent years like the Caribbean and French Quarter. Here, Huey, Dewey and Louie play around.

Looks like Chip is up to some trouble…

much to Donald’s dismay…

and much to Dale’s amusement.

Meanwhile, Mickey’s nephews are fanning the fire in the stove…

Goofy investigates the stove too, but gets a little too close. The displays really are fantastic- a great bit of Disney detail that you seem to see less and less of these days.


Not too much later, Mom and Dad came over to the lobby. We had priority seating for Bongo’s Cuban Café that evening and were hoping that we could take the boat to Downtown Disney, but because of lightning in the area, the boats were not running yet. While we were waiting to see if the boats would reopen, we decided to go head to the front desk and go ahead and get 4-Day Play vouchers exchanged for tickets. It apparently takes a little longer to do at the resorts than at the parks, but doing it now would save us time tomorrow by allowing us to head right into the park when we get there.

After we got all the tickets exchanged, the boats still were not running. We ended up cutting our losses and took the bus to Downtown Disney, hoping the weather would be nice enough where we might be at least able to take the boat back to Riverside at the end of the day. The weather actually looked like it was beginning to improve until about half-way through the bus ride when it started pouring again. Once we arrived at the Marketplace, we made a dash to the closest shop.

This was Mom and Dad’s first time at Downtown Disney in 3 years, so the “Design-A-Tee” and “Create-You-Own-Ear-Hat” shops were new to them. Mom was glad to see they hadn’t gotten rid of the scrapbooking supplies there, but there wasn’t anything that particularly interested her.

The Art of Disney was next. By now, the rain was starting to let up again, so after looking around a bit we headed across the way to the Christmas stop.

A mural in the Christmas store. All seven dwarfs were represented, but I could only fit five in the shot.

A remnant from the old pet store left in Pooh Corner.

A beehive-shaped lighting fixture.

Christopher Robin’s window looking out onto the 100 Acre Woods.

On to Pin Traders to see if there were any interesting pins out. By now the weather was beginning to let up and we decided to head to the West Side and save the rest of the shops in the Marketplace for later and start making our way to West Side and Bongo’s.

A glimpse of World of Disney as we pass. We will be back.


Along the way, we pass the new T-Rex restaurant. Mom and Dad ask what it’s like. I think they lost all interest when I said it’s pretty much Rainforest Café with dinosaurs. Any remaining interest was likely dashed when they heard the prices. Based on the reviews that I've heard, the prices don't seem to make it worth it. Don’t expect this restaurant to end up on the ADR list for our December trip.


Next chapter: West Side and dinner at Bongo’s.

 

[Lady Lallie]

Those displays are really great! I can't wait to see them. I am determined to make my way over to Riverside in January just so I can poke around a bit.

Too bad you weren't able to take the boat to DTD, I love Disney boats!

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Hi Meeko!

great start! I love the photos of POR!!!! It's got me really excited now and I still have over a year to go!!! Shame about the rain not letting up, hope it gets better!

Di x

 

[meeko_33785]

Those displays are really great! I can't wait to see them. I am determined to make my way over to Riverside in January just so I can poke around a bit.

Too bad you weren't able to take the boat to DTD, I love Disney boats!

Hi LL. A visit to Riverside sounds like a great idea. There's so many great reasons to check it out, even if you're not staying there.

Yes, not getting to take the boat to Downtown Disney was one of the very few disappointments of the trip. I really like the boats too, and the ones that go from Downtown to Port Orleans are my favorites.

Hi Meeko!

great start! I love the photos of POR!!!! It's got me really excited now and I still have over a year to go!!! Shame about the rain not letting up, hope it gets better!

Di x

Hey Di. Glad you like the pics. And don't worry about the rain too much. Trust me, it will get much better (well, eventually).

 

[meeko_33785]

On our way to West Side, we took a quick look around Pleasure Island.

Fulton’s Crab House, formally the Empress Lilly. Before the trip, Buzz told me an interesting bit of trivia. Originally, the resort that eventually became Port Orleans French Quarter was planned for the area right around this riverboat. Apparently, it would have had shops and such on the bottom floor of each building and hotel rooms above them. In time, it was decided to put Pleasure Island next to the Marketplace instead and Port Orleans was moved up the river. I think it might have been interesting, but I’m pretty fond of how Port Orleans is now. If it was right next to Marketplace, I doubt the original concept would have been as secluded and peaceful as the current one is.

Celebrate Tonight!

Approaching the West Side, we got our first look at the Characters in Flight balloon. It wasn’t in use due to the weather, but at least we could get a good look at it.

Near the balloon, we happened upon a street musician named Dominic Gaudious. He was fairly interesting- a guitarist/ didgeridoo player. I didn’t really know that there was any street entertainment in West Side, so this was a pleasant surprise. Got to see him do a couple of songs before it started raining again.

Playing the didgeridoo.

The rain wasn’t too hard, but enough to make us want to head for some cover. We noticed that there seemed to be significantly less shops to duck into than last time Buzz and I were here in February. Not only had the Virgin Megastore went out (which we knew about), but Starabilias, the shop that had all the autographs and Hollywood memorabilia, was gone too. Since Dad has always been interested in magic tricks, he made his way over to the magic shop and ended up getting a new rope trick as a souvenir. Buzz and Mom headed for the magnet store for a little bit.

The rain may have cancelled Dominic the didgeridoo player’s performance, but the steel drum player stayed under an awning and kept playing.

In the search for photo opportunities, I headed into the Candy Cauldron shop to try to get a picture of the Witch display.

“Have a bite?” If I were a kid, I'd probably think twice about buying a candy apple at this store.

By this point, the rain was getting lighter again, and it was beginning to look like the weather might finally be improving. We headed off to Bongos Cuban Cafe a little before our priority seating time, and were seated right away. Out table was in the main dining room, which was a new experience for us. The only other time we’ve been here we had a booth inside the pineapple. That was cool, but I think I like the main dining room better. The mosaics were very impressive (wish I could have gotten a picture of them, but the room as dark and it was hard to get photos inside). There wasn’t any entertainment onstage that night, but they servers did break out the bongo drums a number of times to sing “Happy Birthday” to various guests. Seems like Bongos is a hot spot for birthdays!


There were so many good things on the menu! I ended up getting the Sweet and Sour Chicken, which doesn’t sound like the most Cuban thing on the menu I could have gotten, but it was delicious. Plus, it came with two things I knew I wanted here- sweet plantains and fried rice. Yum! Can’t quite remember what everyone else got, but everyone really enjoyed their meals.


With dinner finished, we began to make our way back over to the Marketplace and (hopefully) be able to catch the boat back to Riverside. On the way, we noticed the weather had improved enough so that the Characters in Flight balloon could go back up. Mom isn’t big on heights and after seeing how high it actually goes, was very glad we didn’t end up going up in it. I agreed. Dad said he was a little disappointed we didn’t get to try it though. I didn’t get a good shot of it flying tonight; you’ll have to wait until later in the report to see it flying.

We cut back through Pleasure Island on the way. It looked like there was a little bit more going on than before- a dance contest in the street near where the Comedy Warehouse use to be and some live music at the new Paradiso 37- but not nearly as much action as back when the clubs were still around. It did seem to have more of a “family-friendly” vibe than it use to though, so at least that’s nice. Soon, we were back at the Marketplace ready to check out some shops.



Next chapter: World of Disney, Tren-D and more.

 

[Lady Lallie]

Another great update.

I want to take a whirl on the Characters in Flight balloon. I think I'd probably get freaked out though with the height.

I'm glad you enjoyed your meal at Bongos. I never think to eat at any of the DTD establishments.

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Hi Meeko!

Great update and photos again! Your meal at Bongos sounds good, I've never eaten at DTD before (well tell a lie, I had a meal at House of Blues back in '99 which was just OK). I do fancy Raglan Road but no one else in my family does!

Hmmm, guitar and didgeridoo, not a combination you hear every day! Will need to keep and eye out for him next year!

Di x

 

[meeko_33785]

Another great update.

I want to take a whirl on the Characters in Flight balloon. I think I'd probably get freaked out though with the height.

I'm glad you enjoyed your meal at Bongos. I never think to eat at any of the DTD establishments.

Yeah, the height is what gets me a little nervous about the balloon. I won't say I'll never do it since there have been other things at Disney that I never thought that I'd do and ended up doing eventually (Rockin Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror, Splash Mountain, etc.), but it might be a while until I work up the nerve.

Downtown Disney has some great restaurants- Bongo's, Raglan Road, House of Blues, Wolfgang Puck, Earl of Sandwhich. Plus since the Port Orleans resort only has one full-service restaurant that's only open for dinner, having a bunch more down the river is a huge plus for the resort.

Hi Meeko!

Great update and photos again! Your meal at Bongos sounds good, I've never eaten at DTD before (well tell a lie, I had a meal at House of Blues back in '99 which was just OK). I do fancy Raglan Road but no one else in my family does!

Hmmm, guitar and didgeridoo, not a combination you hear every day! Will need to keep and eye out for him next year!

Di x

Ooo we loved Raglan Road. It was a great meal and fun too. I'd recommend it. And for the kids, Rainfoest Cafe is fun. We weren't really impressed by the food, but it's interesting to see once. Food-wise though, I think Raglan and Bongos would be my favorites.

 

[jenjolt]

What a great report so far!!! I greatly enjoyed spending my rainy afternoon catching up!!!

I love all the older pictures you posted of Disney!! What fun to see some Disney past and then compare it to Disney now!!!

How exciting that you get to go 3 times in such a short span of time!! I can't wait to hear all about your trips!!

Loved the pictures of the general store at POR...what cute little statues they have there!!!!! How fun!!!!

Cant' wait to hear more!!!

 

[meeko_33785]

What a great report so far!!! I greatly enjoyed spending my rainy afternoon catching up!!!

I love all the older pictures you posted of Disney!! What fun to see some Disney past and then compare it to Disney now!!!

How exciting that you get to go 3 times in such a short span of time!! I can't wait to hear all about your trips!!

Loved the pictures of the general store at POR...what cute little statues they have there!!!!! How fun!!!!

Cant' wait to hear more!!!

Thanks Jen and welcome! I love doing the "flashback" reports. I'm always amazed how much has changed. And yes, the statues at the General Store are so much fun. They really help make it one of my favorite resort shops.

 

[meeko_33785]

With our first day drawing quickly to an end, we had a few more shops to check out at the Marketplace before seeing if we could take the take a boat ride down the Sassagoula River back to Riverside or if we must take the bus again.

Our first stop was going to be World of Disney, but along the way we got distracted by some of the windows at the Lego store that portray various cities around the world. I don’t think I’ve ever paid much attention to these before, but they’re very detailed and interesting. Of course, Paris was one of my favorites.

New York was fun too.

Next, we make our way into the World of Disney. This shop has so many great displays and photo opportunities. I almost never buy anything here, but it’s one of my favorites just because I love to explore and take pictures of it. Pinocchio takes center stage at the Carnival Room.

Genie apparently likes taking pictures in the store too.

The murals on the ceiling of the Bird Room is one of my favorite places to get photos. I love picking out the most obscure characters you wouldn’t even think to look for at Disney World. Here’s Jenny Wren, the Mae West-inspired character from a couple of the Silly Symphonies.

The Scissor Bird and Aracuan, both from The Three Caballeros.

Spike the Bee from the Donald Duck cartoons.

Elsewhere in the store, I found that the statue of Belle had returned to the Enchanted Dining Room. She had been missing the last few times I had been here.

The giant model Cinderella Castle in the center of the store. This will be the closest we would get to seeing the Castle this trip. Next trip we’ll see it for sure though.

In the Magic Room, fairies and other magical characters grace murals on the ceiling. Here’s Tinker Bell.

Merlin is here too.

Aladdin, Abu and Iago fly above the store on the magic carpet.

John Smith hovers on his flying chair. It just doesn’t seem as impressive as a magic carpet.


After finishing up at World of Disney, we attempt to regroup and head on. We had thought that after looking around World of Disney Dad had retreated to a bench outside. We looked and looked and couldn’t find him. Turns out he had wandered all the way back to the Pin shop! Very uncharacteristic of him. Usually he’s the first to retreat to a bench and get off his feet- not the first to walk half-way across the Marketplace without us! Finally regrouped, we head on to a new shop to us: Tren-D.

Tren-D is full of clothing and accessories that Disney considers chic and trendy (fashion isn’t my thing so I can’t agree or disagree with them). The merchandise didn’t interest me, but there were some interesting displays. The chandeliers seemed to be the biggest hit. Seems like everyone wanted to get a picture of them.

Even the ceilings were lined with artwork like this painting of the Cheshire Cat.

This statue actually has a story that goes with it. It’s part of a series of 75 Mickey statues that were made in honor of his 75th anniversary a few years back. Each one was painted in a design thought up by a different celebrity and then auctioned off with the proceeds going to a charity of said celebrity’s choice. We actually got to see all 75 when they were displaying them at Magic Kingdom and I can remember this one which was designed by Rosie O’Donnell and all of us agreeing how terrible it looked and wondering if anyone would buy it. Well, it looks like nobody did because Disney still has it. Hopefully they gave some money to her charity for good measure.


After Tren-D, we took a quick look through Once Upon A Toy. I tired taking some pictures but no interesting shots seemed to jump out at me this time. This was likely because I, as well as the rest of us, were pretty tired and just about ready for a good night sleep.

Before heading to the boat dock, we made one last stop at the pin store since there was a pin Buzz wanted to get. I took the opportunity to get a picture of the Mickey and Minnie statues in the store. Usually there’s always a ton of people in front of them or behind them during the day, but at this time of night I was actually able to get a shot with them alone.


We made our way to the boat dock and, just as we’d hoped, the boats to Port Orleans were running again! We only had to wait a few minutes for a boat to pull in and we were on our way! It was so relaxing watching the river at night, listening to the sounds of jazz being played, catching glimpses of Downtown Disney, the Treehouse Villas (now actually and looking nice) and the French Quarter before arriving at Riverside. By now it was too dark to get any pictures of the ride, but it was nice just to enjoy it. I’m so glad that we were able to take the boat ride after all. We all headed back to our rooms and got ready for heading to the Animal Kingdom the next morning.



Next chapter: Who will be the first characters of the trip?

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Hi Meeko!

Nice end to the day! The boat ride to DTD is lovely, it was just a bit chilly when we did it! I can't wait to see the Treetop Villas now they are finished!

Some great photos again, and I'll need to stop off at Tren-D, it looks pretty good!

Hope you had a good park day!

Di x

 

[meeko_33785]

Hi Meeko!

Nice end to the day! The boat ride to DTD is lovely, it was just a bit chilly when we did it! I can't wait to see the Treetop Villas now they are finished!

Some great photos again, and I'll need to stop off at Tren-D, it looks pretty good!

Hope you had a good park day!

Di x

The boat ride was such a wonderful way to end the first night. The weather was just right and the night was so peaceful. The Villas do look nice again. Wish I was able to get some pictures of them, but it was too dark for me to get a good shot, so I just enjoyed watching them pass by and didn't bother with the camera.

Tren-D is really interesting. It has a different feel from a lot of the other shops in Marketplace- more adult, more funky. I'd say that it's worth a look.

 

[Lady Lallie]

Spike the Bee from the Donald Duck cartoons.

I LOVE Spike the Bee! I want to have all of the Donald Duck cartoons with Spike in them. I always loved those one the best growing up. I must go google!

The boat ride home from DTD sounds just so lovely and peaceful. I can't wait to be able to do that myself!

 

[jenjolt]

I just love the World of Disney store!!! Thanks for sharing all those pictures!!!! I'm really going to have to take some time and explore the pin store a bit more and I'm dying to visit Tren-D!!!! I bet you were tired at the end of that day!!

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[meeko_33785]

I LOVE Spike the Bee! I want to have all of the Donald Duck cartoons with Spike in them. I always loved those one the best growing up. I must go google!

The boat ride home from DTD sounds just so lovely and peaceful. I can't wait to be able to do that myself!

It's been so long since I've seem those cartoons. I might have to see if I can find any. I think my favorite was the one where he and Donald went into business together and become friends.

The boat ride really is wonderful. I really hope you get the chance to do it. I think you'll really like it.

I just love the World of Disney store!!! Thanks for sharing all those pictures!!!! I'm really going to have to take some time and explore the pin store a bit more and I'm dying to visit Tren-D!!!! I bet you were tired at the end of that day!!

Can't wait to hear more!

Glad you enjoyed the pictures. Yes, I will admit I was pretty tired by the end of the day- moreso than I thought that I'd be on a day we didn't walk around a theme park at all. But then again, between the trip there, checking in, walking around Downtown Disney all evening and one of the later nights of the trip, I guess it was understandable.

 

[Lady Lallie]

It's been so long since I've seem those cartoons. I might have to see if I can find any. I think my favorite was the one where he and Donald went into business together and become friends.

The boat ride really is wonderful. I really hope you get the chance to do it. I think you'll really like it.

My favorite one is the one....where Donald gets stranded on an island I think and they are breaking into coconuts to drink. I may be mixing my cartoons but I loved that one. I need to find it again.

 

[meeko_33785]

My favorite one is the one....where Donald gets stranded on an island I think and they are breaking into coconuts to drink. I may be mixing my cartoons but I loved that one. I need to find it again.

I remember that one. After a little searching, I think it was "Sea Salts" but had Donald and the Bootle Beetle not Donald and Spike. I ended up finding that one and the one I remembered (which is apparently called "Let's Stick Together"). After seeing them all these years later, it's funny but they both remind me of "Ben and Me", which I also loved.

 

[Lady Lallie]

I remember that one. After a little searching, I think it was "Sea Salts" but had Donald and the Bootle Beetle not Donald and Spike. I ended up finding that one and the one I remembered (which is apparently called "Let's Stick Together"). After seeing them all these years later, it's funny but they both remind me of "Ben and Me", which I also loved.

Ahhh...the beetle, I remember him too. Donald had a thing for bugs apparently. I love "Ben & Me" too. Such great cartoons. I can't wait to get home tonight and look on youtube.

Isn't there one with Spike at the Beach, too? I think it was Spike because I think he stings or tries to sting Donald.

 

[meeko_33785]

Ahhh...the beetle, I remember him too. Donald had a thing for bugs apparently. I love "Ben & Me" too. Such great cartoons. I can't wait to get home tonight and look on youtube.

Isn't there one with Spike at the Beach, too? I think it was Spike because I think he stings or tries to sting Donald.

I remember the beach one too. If I remember right, Spike punches a bunch of holes in Donald's intertube with his stinger and shoots him into shark infested waters or something. I'll have to look for that one too.