Our Fall 2014 Trip Report - Coming to You Barely Live from Orlando - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Our Fall 2014 Trip Report - Coming to You Barely Live from Orlando
Hi folks. We are currently on our week long adventure in Walt Disney World, and I'll be updating as we go. This report will only be "Barely Live," because I'll be running a day or two behind actual live events. We've scheduled afternoon down time for each day, so I should be able to keep up with reporting. Barely Live may also describe how we are dealing with heat, rain, humidity and initial crowd levels
For the back story and planning details, you can check out the PTR - 9/26-10/03 MNSSHP, Food & Wine, and More." If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend skipping the PTR, since it looks like things are not going to be sticking to the plan
We (DH=Lou + Me=Sharon) left our house in South Florida at 1pm Friday. Rain was forecast for the afternoon, but who knows what will really happen. It was clear, but cloudy when we hit the turnpike:
We knew we'd hit rain ... and we did, as this next photo shows. For periods, you could barely see a car length or two ahead:
I'd been checking in on the Touring Plans Line App, and knew it was raining off and on in the Magic Kindgom, and most of the outside rides were down. As we crossed into the bubble at 3:30pm, it was cloudy, but there was some blue sky showing:
We checked into Bay Lake Tower and our room was ready - good thing, since it was almost 4pm We booked a Lake View Room - this is the view we had:
Apologies for the weird green color in the photo - I'll have to do some editing once we return home. We did have Lake View to the right as we looked out the balcony. I'll post more on the room later. For now, let's skip to the evening's plans. Lou was tired from the drive up in the rain, so he elected to rest. I did a loop around the Resort Monorail track. You can't see a lot of the Poly Construction from the Monorail:
Good views of the Grand Floridian. We are looking forward to staying there in February:
It started raining again as I was riding the Monorail, so I was no hurry to get over to the Magic Kingdom. We had tickets for MNSSHP tonight. Friday - September 26th - the first night to sell out after Halloween itself. Yay for us I was beginning to think the Party might be a write off, but we'll wait and see ...
Lou was awake when I returned to the room, and we headed up at 6pm to check out the Top of the World Lounge at BLT. This was our first visit to the Lounge. Neither of us were hungry, so we just had a snack and a glass of wine:
The House Made Chips with Gorgonzola Cheese were tasty. We relaxed for an hour or so, and I took some photos. There were a few other people in the Lounge, but it certainly wasn't crowded. They have a few more substantial items on the menu, but still a very limited menu. We found the group with screaming kids somewhat annoying (and we like kids!). I guess TOTWL is not considered a bar because it serves food, but it's not very exciting for kids if there are no fireworks.
We left the lounge and I made the first of several tactical errors. Stay tuned tomorrow, and find out if we make it to MNSSHP.
That sky on the drive is very dramatic! I'm glad your room was ready, but I really hate that they call that a lake view. I had a similar view on my last BLT stay. I could see a small piece of the lake looking to the right, but that is not a lake view! I agree, the lounge isn't fun at all for kids and I can see they could get bored and rowdy. The snack looks very good, though!
You are just too efficient. I have started reading your TR. WOW, one day in and already posting in a TR. I have just barely gotten the pix into the computer. Looking forward to following along.
I was in MK Friday afternoon when the rain moved in. I had just gotten in line for 7 Dwarves Mine train with my fastpass when they shut it down. It was not raining at the time. We were invited to stay and wait it out, but I was tired and had seen the skies. I opted to leave that ride. My next fp was for the afternoon parade and that didn't look promising so I headed back to the room for the rest of the day. That's been my game plan this trip with the rain. I've got MNSSHP tonight (Sunday) with rain predicted. Fingers crossed it won't be too bad.
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That sky on the drive is very dramatic! I'm glad your room was ready, but I really hate that they call that a lake view. I had a similar view on my last BLT stay. I could see a small piece of the lake looking to the right, but that is not a lake view! I agree, the lounge isn't fun at all for kids and I can see they could get bored and rowdy. The snack looks very good, though!
I'll show some pics later where you can see we had a Lake View - but definitely not the classic one. I guess most people are excited to see the Magic Kingdom, but ...
I was happy to finally get to the TotWL - definitely worth checking out, especially when staying at BLT.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rhinohunter
You are just too efficient. I have started reading your TR. WOW, one day in and already posting in a TR. I have just barely gotten the pix into the computer. Looking forward to following along.
I tend to blaze through both my photos and the TR - do it while it's fresh in my mind. Plus, I purposely have afternoon breaks, so it's easy to do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Wow, that sky looks ominous! The next instalment's not sounding good either...
The sky was ominous, and the next installment is coming right up
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pris
I was in MK Friday afternoon when the rain moved in. I had just gotten in line for 7 Dwarves Mine train with my fastpass when they shut it down. It was not raining at the time. We were invited to stay and wait it out, but I was tired and had seen the skies. I opted to leave that ride. My next fp was for the afternoon parade and that didn't look promising so I headed back to the room for the rest of the day. That's been my game plan this trip with the rain. I've got MNSSHP tonight (Sunday) with rain predicted. Fingers crossed it won't be too bad.
Oh darn, I'm sorry you missed the 7DMT - hope you catch it later in your trip. Same for the Parade.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
Glad you've made it! I hope you're able to work around the rain this week!
Thanks for checking in! We will do our best, whatever happens to come our way this week.
Oh my, how do I tell this story? I could tell y'all how bad it was. I could also say, in spite of our hiccups, it worked out. In fact, it's a combination of the two, so I'll just tell it like it was.
I made a mistake. We left the Lounge at 7:30pm or so. I don't know why, but I decided to take the Monorail to the MK. This ended up taking almost 45 minutes. I knew we'd be better off walking, but I was concerned about rain. I also thought the crowds would already be in the park ... I was a little bit wrong
The first train was too crowded, so we waited for a second (Lou's shirt says, "Hog's Breath - Better than no Breath at All," and he got it in Key West ):
I need to back track here and explain why Lou was going to the Magic Kingdom, since we had decided he was going to skip the Party. We had to be at the Gates at 7:15am the next day to go on the Steam Trains Tour, and we needed to activate our Florida Annual Passes. This was my second mistake - turned out he could have done it the next day, since we had plenty of time. This was mistake number two on my part, if you're keeping track
The line looked long to get our tickets, but it moved quickly:
It was 8:15pm by the time I entered the Park. Lou offered to come with me, but I said I was fine alone. He was a bit concerned, not really knowing if I had the stamina to be out and about for a couple of hours.
I was able to catch the Boo To You Parade coming down Main Street, so I hope you are prepared for an onslaught of Parade photos:
Did you like all those photos? Guess what - I only took one photo of the first parade. Main Street was an absolute Mad House, so I just decided to stand a few rows back from the curb and enjoy the parade. It wasn't raining, but it was wet enough that the Headless Horseman did not ride.
I had a ticket to the VIP Premium Viewing Area for the Villain's Soiree Participants. I made it up there and checked in after the first parade. There were a lot of people there, but still plenty of open space. The free cold water was all gone, the PhotoPass Photographer with the Magic Shots was no where to be seen. But, at least I found a great spot for the Villain's Stage Show, and Hallowishes (more on that later).
You can see I've got lots of open space in front of me for setting up the tripod. In fact, I even scored a seat on a bench !!! How often does that happen for a sold out event? Oh, did I mention Friday's Party was SOLD OUT !!!! The only one besides Halloween - apparently a lot of people from Tuesday's rainy party were able to move tickets to Friday. Oh - here's a photo of my "space."
Absolute prime real estate for the Villain's Show on the Castle Stage, especially with my zoom lens. All set, ready to roll, and ... "We are sorry to announce the show has been cancelled due to technical difficulties." Apparently the stage was still too wet.
Fortunately, the Castle Projection Show went on as scheduled, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This was a great spot to see everything - loved it.
I know you didn't need to see all those pics, but, Gosh Darnit, I need something to show for my very first MNSSHP.
After the Projection Show, we go fairly quickly into Hallowishes. I was not thrilled with the location. I've shot from here before, and it's just too close to the castle, so you miss many of the bursts. But, the last time I had people all around me, and big fat heads in my photos. This time, I had a seat on a bench, no one in the near front, and where the Heck else was I gonna go? I have to admit - I LOVED the location. Not so much for photography, but for being totally immersive with respect to the fireworks and the story - Awesome!!!
After Hallowishes, I went to the Haunted Mansion. I really wanted photos of the Mansion decked out for Halloween. OMG (once again!) - even though the ride showed a 15 minute wait, it was an absolute crush there - couldn't move to maneuver any where. I took a few half hearted snaps and headed back to the Hub for the second parade. I don't know how people on a scooter managed to get anywhere.
I did find a good spot at the Hub. Even though the Premium Area was not in force for the 2nd Parade, there was still room. Note - I decided NOT to go to the Villain's Soiree. It wouldn't be as much fun by myself, and I just DID NOT want to deal with the mass of humanity in the area. I had 30 minutes for the Parade to start - it started raining. Not heavy, but I didn't know what would happen. At this point, I bailed. There were spots down Main Street, by the train station curb, but I was beat, and beat down, by this time. I stopped outside, and called RhinoHunter to let him know I was a wuss. He was so nice. I sure hope we do meet up in the future - and with Judy and Lou, too.
I took the Resort Monorail back to BLT, and it was a quick ride. It wasn't a great night for the Party. I made a few mistakes. BUT, you're going to think I'm crazy, I would do it all again tomorrow (well, maybe next week ...). I so thoroughly enjoyed the Castle Projection Show and Hallowishes, it made the madness worthwhile. Seeing, and photographing, the Boo To You Parade will remain on my bucket list.
OMG Sharon, I have never seen such magnificent pictures of the castle show and Hallowishes. Disney should purchase them from you. So sorry things did not go as planned, but you certainly are a good sport about the situation. Looking forward to the rest of this report.
Not the most spectacular of starts for your trip, but I love that you'd do it all over again! I was all prepared for some awesome photos of the Boo to You parade, but I'm sure since it's on the bucket list, we'll get some in the future. I have made those not so great or helpful choices while at WDW, and hate that poor Luke usually has to deal with my mistakes. But then mistakes are just part of life.
WOW!! Thank you for braving the crowds and the rain to get those amazing photos! I hope you weren't too exhausted by it all. It's a good thing you didn't push yourself any further for the soiree or second parade. I love the castle projection show and Hallowishes, but I feel like I'm seeing them both better through your lens than in person.
Sharon, I LOVE those pictures! I don't think I could get such great shots if you froze time and gave me 5 minutes to set up for each shot! How in the world are you able to take such clear shots?!
Bummer that you weren't able to more thoroughly enjoy your first MNSSHP due to the weather...and that mass of humanity! I hope you're able to try another party if it's in your plans for next week! It really does seem a poor value when you can't enjoy most of what you paid for.
How was your stamina by the end of the night? I hope you were able to get some good rest!
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Last edited by Dlandmom2; 09-28-2014 at 09:46 PM..
Reason: Had to fix some bad grammar that was bugging me!
Beautiful pix of the castle projection show and the fireworks. Mine did not come out anything like that. I would like to learn how you set up to take your pix. Always so gorgeous even in the rain and crowds. Sorry I missed you on this trip. Perhaps on a later trip.
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We booked a Lake View Room - this is the view we had:
I was beginning to think the Party might be a write off, but we'll wait and see ...
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The next instalment's not sounding good either...
Susan
I was all prepared for some awesome photos of the Boo to You parade, but I'm sure since it's on the bucket list, we'll get some in the future. I have made those not so great or helpful choices while at WDW, and hate that poor Luke usually has to deal with my mistakes. But then mistakes are just part of life. 
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