Magical World of Walt

Sorry I have been away so long!  I have to say I did miss blogging!  In the time I was gone I have helped 2 people plan their Disney trips and I have 2 more lined up not counting my own.  I am going to try my best to remember some of the details of my November trip.  I can’t remember the exact order of everything we did but I am just going to recount everything I can in no certain order.  I apologize ahead of time for the length.  Here we goooooooo!

This trip was just my me and my mom which was awesome!  It was great to get to spend some quality time with just her!  Last fall I went on a hunting trip with just my dad so I was glad my mom joined me this time.  This was the fewest amount of people I have ever been with too which makes deciding what to do easier.  Plus my mom was a real team player and would do whatever I wanted to do.

This was my first time staying at All Star Music.  After staying at All Star Movies and Music I feel like our room in Movies was a little nicer than Music.  Other than that I don’t prefer one over the other.  My next stay in an All Star Resort will be Sports because I feel like it has a slight advantage over the others.  It is the first stop when dropping off guests at night.  Our room at Music was in the furthest building which seemed like miles after spending around 16 hours in the park.  Yes, because it was a short trip we had to take advantage of the extra magic hours even if that meant wondering around in Magic Kingdom at 3am!

We did manage to nab free dining on this trip so we ate like cabbages and kings!  You may recall that I have an annual pass and that annual pass holders cannot get free dining so in order to have Disney pick up both of our food bills I had to buy a 2-day pass to get free dining during our entire stay.  Since I did not use the pass at all it does not expire and is currently sitting in my drawer at home.  Sometime down the road I when I do not have an annual pass and am planning a trip I will have a 2-day base ticket that I can just add days to.

Let’s talk about food!  Of course we ate a ridiculous amount of food and still didn’t even use all of our credits.  I won’t go into detail about every place we ate especially because I have already written about some and will do more extensive posts on others but I will highlight some.  First off, I help Disney World reduce its number of cupcakes by about 3 or 4 which is always a good thing.  I have yet to have a cupcake that disappointed me.

We were needing food one night during extra magic hours in Magic Kingdom and after regular park hours the food selection is a limited so we settled with Pinocchio’s Village Haus.  It turned out to be a great experience!  For one, we were just in time for Wishes so we ate outside and caught a  unique view of the show!  I was not impressed with the selection overall but I was pleasantly surprised by the Caprese Flatbread!  It wasn’t as big of a portion as most counter service credits will get you but I would make a point to go back there and use a credit or pay out of pocket for it again.  I would also like to try the BBQ chicken flatbread as well.  I tried a vegetable flatbread at Electric Umbrella in Epcot but did not like it as much.  I think it was good quality.  I just wasn’t a huge fan of the sauce that was on it.  Both faltbreads are a great option for the vegetarian guest.

Last but not least at all in my book was Tangerine Cafe at the Morocco pavilion in Epcot.  This is my new favorite counter service restaurant!  One of the best bang for your buck I have experience so far when it comes to quality and quantity.  I ordered the Mediterranean Tabouleh Wraps which comes with hummus, a couscous salad, and a lentil salad and finished it off with baklava for dessert!  Win, win, win……WIN!!!

We did get to do 2 attractions that recently went through refurbs.  One was the Country Bear Jamboree.  Everything did look renewed and great and most guests wouldn’t notice the few changes made to the show.  The other refubed attraction was Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room.  They brought back the original show which I appreciated for nostalgia reasons but overall I realized how dated and unappealing the attraction could appear.  This topic will probably require its own post so I will move on.

Mom and I made it a point to see some of the street shows in World Showcase.  I highly recommend planning time to see some of these.  Walt Disney World refers to what many might call “rides” as attractions.  I think this is important because everything else that isn’t a “ride” is also called an attraction.  Walt Disney World is all about the attractions and I think the “attractions” are all around from “rides” to street shows, to restaurants.  All that to say, treat the streetmosphere acts as attractions and put them on your schedule just like you would Space Mountain.

I think mom and I had the most fun in Hollywood Studios which makes sense as this park has a special place in my heart for some reason.  One day we were able to ride Toy Story Mania 3 times which is a difficult task to do while still getting other things done.  We did the mad dash to the back at rope drop and got fastpasses and then rode it.  Later that day we were headed to Tower of Terror and a bell hop (cast member) carrying a suitcase walked by us right outside of the gates and apparently said hello to mom.  I think she responded but he didn’t hear her because he whipped back around and started following us and said it was rude not to say hello.  She then told him she did and he apologized and asked us if we liked Toy Story Mania.  Of course we said yes and that we had ridden it twice already.  He then came in closer and lowered his voice while reaching into his long burgundy coat and pulled out 2 fastpasses that could be used on any attraction that day and he told us to go ride it again.  These are the kind of the surprises that makes Disney Parks so magical and unlike any other theme park you will visit!

Mom really enjoyed Tower of Terror and Rockin’ Roller Coaster so we did those quite a few times as well.  We used the single rider line for Rockin’ Roller Coaster which is the way to go with smaller parties unless you want to purchase the photo at the end.  The other highlight of Hollywood Studios was the Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights.  This display will blow your mind and give you chills.  The snowfall might help contribute to the chills a little but it is definitely worth planning a trip around!  I recommend stopping by Writer’s Stop on the corner to pick up a coffee and a carrot cake cookie before checking out the light show.  Coffee and carrot cake cookies always make everything better right?

We did attend Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.  We missed the first parade and were eating at Pecos Bills when the second came through so unfortunately I don’t have any photos of the parade.  I guess that just means I will have to go to another party sometime.  The party was a pretty cool experience.  The free cookies and hot cocoa was awesome, especially the hot cocoa after getting soaked on Splash Mountain!  Seeing it snow on Main Street was a cool experience as well.  Cinderella’s Castle was covered with Christmas lights and was absolutely beautiful and picturesque.  You cannot take a bad photo of it.  Try!  I dare  you!  It even looks cool if you take a blurry picture, which I was trying to do at one point.

One of the other magical moments for me was getting to check out part of the Fantasyland expansion before it officially opened.  We made several trips by the entrance that was blocked by shrubs and guarded constantly by Cast Members to see if they were going to offer a sneak peak.  I heard rumors that sometimes they open it during the Christmas parties so we made sure to wonder back there during the festivities and sure enough the shrubs were gone and the path was clear!  I had to keep myself from running as I felt like a child a Christmas day!

We stopped in Gaston’s Tavern because I just had to try Lefou’s Brew.  I can understand how some would not like it because of the seemingly odd combination of flavors but I absolutely loved it and it is a must do for me now!  I loved the feel of Gaston’s Tavern and the area surrounding it!  I particularly am a fan of Disney dedicating such a large area to what I think is one of the greatest animated Disney films.

We also did Enchanted Tales with Belle which is more geared towards families with small children but I recommend that everyone experience it whether you have children or not.  If it will make you feel better maybe you can adopt some while waiting in the queue.  I suggest trying it out not only because it shows you another facet of Disney Park entertainment but also because it has some of the best special effects and animatronics in all of Walt Disney World.  It may not only be the best but probably the closest you can get to any animatronic in Walt Disney World.

We also rode Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid.  It was your classic Disney dark ride using omnimover vehicles.  The attraction was good but I mainly was impressed with the way the Imagineers set the scene for the attraction as you approach it and throughout the queue.  Also by adding Eric’s castle Magic Kingdom now has as many castles as it does mountains.  The queue also has an element of interactivity which is great for an attraction like this that will most likely be more popular for the little ones.

Well, I could keep going but this is way too long as it is!  Hope you enjoyed reading about our mother-son trip!  Check out my Facebook page Mouse Host for more photos of this and other trips!  Thanks for reading!