It was literally TOO HOT TO TROT! - Updated x 2 Thursday 10/16

[ElenaJane]

Howdy!!!

I love being able to come to this little corner of the internet and share my love of the Disney Parks! My closest friends and family of course know about how much I love these trips and how often I go, but I keep it pretty quiet with everyone else. Everyone else besides you of course! And even my closest friends honestly probably don’t give a hoot about what I had for breakfast these last few days. You, on the other hand, might actually want to see the pictures of the Mickey Waffles I ate!! And I, in return, love reading your reports!
This trip was formulated many many months ago. Even before we went on our May trip (May '14 Trip Report), I had already booked the package for the September trip! I like to have one trip’s plans started before the current trip ends! Helps ease the Disney blues! I love all things Halloween and wanted to visit my favorite place at my favorite time of the year with my favorite person. I was totally surprised about how much we enjoyed the MNSSHP last year (Oct '14 Trip Report) and wanted to do it again ASAP.

So why on September 11th? Because it is our Wedding Anniversary!! Of course September 11th is an important and tragic day in US History.

But, well, also happens to be when we got married (not the same year fortunately!).

Trip ‘tails!

September 11th - 15th

Cast of Characters:

Me! (Elena)

Will

Our family consists of us and our cat-Child, Shenanigans.

We both juggle very full work weeks and are lucky if we get to spend even an hour together on weeknights! So having a few days in a row together is extra magical! You could say I am the bigger WDW fan of the relationship...ok...a lot bigger of a fan, but what can I say, Will is an awesome husband, and human being for that matter. Later this fall though, I agreed to go to an F1 race, so there’s some compromise for you!!

Will got a new phone before the trip that takes a lot better pictures than mine. He was the main picture taker for this trip! Which of course means he is hardly in any, but that is what he wants. He also prefers his eyes to be covered up, so I have to respect his wishes, as odd as this makes him look!

So what do I have in store for you? Well, how about another shot at Club Level baby!?! We stayed at WL, as part of the “Old Faithful Club” AKA their club level.

And what would you say to TWO Halloween parties?! And for something totally new to us, Trail Riding at FW (hence the TR title)!!

So Giddy up my compadres, and tag along as this little gal hits the dusty road to WDW for our September Anniversary Special!

 

[ElenaJane]

September 11th:

True Love is...(added 9/20)
Wilderness Lodge Check-in (added 9/21)
Stepping into the Magic Kingdom! (added 9/21)
Blast off! (added 9/22)
Eeyore, Will and my Anniversary Dinner (added 9/22)

September 12th:

Just the right amount of Ketchup (added 9/24)
My Home Resort (added 9/24)
MNSSHP Take 1 Part 1
MNSSHP Take 1 Part 2

September 13th:

Animal Instincts(added 10/1)
A Cheetah!!(added 10/1)
Birds of Play(added 10/5)
Wow'd by the other Lodge(added 10/5)

September 14th:

Giddy up and Go morning (added 10/6)
Next to the place that used to be the old Kennel... (added 10/6)
MNSSHP Take 2 Part 1 (added 10/11)
MNSSHP Take 2 Part 2 (added 10/16)
DWD after WDW (Fin)


..

 

[ElenaJane]

True love is getting up at 3:00am for your wife. Yep, our flight took off at 7am, with or without us, and since I wanted it to be with us, we needed to leave our house by 3:30am. I added some extra time to make the 90 minute drive to the airport, as the last thing I wanted to do on this magical day would be panicking if there were traffic or some unforeseen force trying to keep us from the happiest place on Earth.

Wohoo!

I took some benadryl at 7pm and fell asleep by 8pm the night before, so I actually did get 7 hours of sleep. But, 3am still somehow feels like 3am no matter how much sleep you get!

There is not much to see on the way to Richmond, which makes it seem like this never ending road! I let Will sleep and I drove. I did not need any coffee at this point as I had the Disney excitement keeping me bouncing in my seat!

Are we there yet?! Are we there yet?! There was no one else to ask this to but myself!

Finally, we saw the signs for the airport and got a great parking spot. As soon as we pulled in we saw the shuttle van, so we grabbed our stuff and hopped on the Amuse-Bouche of a Magical Expresses to the airport.

Still quite dark outside!

We breezed through security at this early hour and found our JetBlue gate.
JetBlue seems to run just like clockwork and we boarded right on time. Before too long we were up in the air, on the way to WDW! Will slept some more while I read and enjoyed the free snacks!

I found it kind of ironic that I was chowing down on chocolate chip cookies while reading Health magazine.

I again adhered to my “Disney Diet Plan” before the trip. Months of clean eating, working out almost everyday. Will wanted a fancy phone and I challenged him if he could get in shape by the time of the trip, he could get it. Het met his weight goal also, so by the time we boarded that flight, we were ready to party like rock stars (if said rock stars like to go to Disney and eat a lot).

Ok, party more like Pooh stars.

On weekends, Will and I have been binge-watching Game of Thrones. We are a little late to get on the bandwagon! I figured the books could add some more details the show misses, so I was reading the first book on the plane also. After watching a few episodes of the show, I realized I have trained Will well when he says “this show would make a great theme park!!”.

I try not to look at the map until at least an hour into the flight.

But now I could see how close we were!

Touchdown!

I booked our seats to be in the bulk head. Yes, more room, but we would also be the first to depart! I am going to go ahead and put it out there again that CBS should hire me for the next Amazing Race.

Don’t worry though, no one got hurt.

I am not a fan of waking at 3:00am, but if it means I am walking around in Orlando before 9am, bring it on!

Faux-no-rail and first Palm tree spotted!

We were at DME by 9:15am. Magic Bands at the ready!

Dunkin Donuts iced coffee and the magical express? Yes please!

And the mystery of the DME begins. Riddle me this, how does the bus driver (or scheduler) decide which resort the bus stops at first(for the MK area resorts)? It seems random to me. When they make the announcement, I brace myself (come on WL first stop!!!). Unfortunately, we were 4th (GF first, Poly, Cont/BLT and then us!). I actually asked our driver when we were tipping him how the order is made, out of curiosity. He says he gets orders and all he knows is “Disney wants GF dropped off first!”. However, this has not always been the case, so the mystery continues!

Back to our ride to WDW!

Bad WDW sign pic

Better Magic Kingdom sign

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Behind the scenes Monorail workshop!

FINALLLLY, it was our turn to be dropped off! It was down to just one other couple and us.

Let’s check in and get this thing started!

 

[CaptainCook]

Following! Your photos are great, and the GIFs are a fun touch. This should be good!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Joining! and Happy (belated) Anniversary!

I'd say being in Orlando by 9am is a good trade-off and we are fans of JetBlue too.

Also agree that seeing the first palm tree really kicks off the vacation.

Hope you enjoyed the Halloween parties as much as last time.

 

[Benchley]

How lovely, I'm in at the start! Can't wait to read the rest.

 

[YawningDodo]

Following this. Glad to hear I'm not the only one who's planning to be on point with the diet for a few months ahead of the trip in order to justify a week of unhealthy splurging.

 

[BebopAngel88]

Joining! Thanks for posting on your last TR report. I'm so excited to start reading. Plus, Happy Anniversary!

 

[threedisprincesses]

Along for another trip report ride!
I do enjoy pictures of Mickey waffles!

 

[threedisprincesses]

Along for another trip report ride!
I am glad you know there are plenty of us out here who enjoy looking at pictures of Mickey waffles.

 

[IheartDDuck]

I'm here! Can't wait to hear all about it.

 

[CaitlinMarie13]

Can't wait to read more about your trip! I am a Mickey waffle photo fan

 

[SunnieRN]

Happy anniversary!! Sounds like a wonderful trip!!! Looking forward to reading about more of your adventures!!

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Subscribing.

 

[DopeyDonald]

Definitely will be reading, as we were at the lodge during the same time! (the 6th thru the 18th) My Dh and daughter also went trail riding - Maybe we'll be in the background of a pic or 2

 

[Fantasia79]

Yea!!! So happy to see another trip report!

 

[freckles04]

So glad to see another TR from you!

That map on JetBlue! So cool! I wish Southwest had something like that!

 

[ElenaJane]

Following! Your photos are great, and the GIFs are a fun touch. This should be good!

You saying my photos are great is quite a compliment! I have seen what you can do! The gifs are fun to add. It is amazing the number of Gifs out there on the web. Thanks for following along!

 

[ElenaJane]

Joining! and Happy (belated) Anniversary!

I'd say being in Orlando by 9am is a good trade-off and we are fans of JetBlue too.

Also agree that seeing the first palm tree really kicks off the vacation.

Hope you enjoyed the Halloween parties as much as last time.

Thanks! Glad to hear you like JetBlue too! I actually bought like two shares of Jet Blue stock (high rollers that we are) after our July trip. Hope to see them expand!

Oh my gosh I love the MNSSHP so much, that it makes normal days at the MK seems less magical! No free candy, no costumes, and long lines on regular MK days! I want to try the Christmas party some time to see how it compares.

Thanks for reading!

 

[ElenaJane]

How lovely, I'm in at the start! Can't wait to read the rest.

hey! Thanks for joining in! I tend to update pretty quickly (can't help myself) so thanks for tagging along on the adventure!