Universal/Disney Food, fun and Fort Wilderness cabin! (ADDED PHOTOS!)

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Will be adding pictures over the next several days.

OH AND THANKS Lou for the measurements for the fence around the cabin, my Halloween decorations worked out great!

Wednesday Oct 17. Flew in from Harrisburg, Hubby Gene, Son Jeff (age 13) and son Michael (age 32) and myself, no flight delays, picked up car at Dollar no problems there either. Went to Royal Pacific, upset they did not have a room in the tower we wanted (hard to believe) but took another room. Not happy with RP at all. Went to dinner at Giordana's very good! We got a huge appetizer plate and a pizza. Pizza was stuffed with cheese inside. So gooey and ymmy. Went to City Walk afterwards and decided to do a round of miniature golfing at that new place. We did the haunted side which is neatly themed. Gene had a problem with hitting the ball into anything that had a tunnel. I think they have it set up where a hole in one is very easy, because so many of us got a hole in one several time. Probably to move people along faster. Too expensive, but was fun to do once.

Thursday Oct 18. Don't like the way they have things set up for tickets at Universal. You got a hotel key, a ticket for the park, and a ticket for fastpass. Last time we were here it was one ticket for all. Really a pain. We did not even realize this until the morning we got to the gate. But we were there early enough to be there for the opening so the day morning we went on lots of rides/attractions. Rip Ride it, Mummy (3 times) Twister, Diaster, Simpsons. Ate lunch near Simpson, blah theme park food. After lunch we went on MIB twice, ET, Shrek 3-D, Dispicable Me. Did make good use the FastPass for all the rides after lunch.

DH and I

Cute new Spongebob store

This guy told me MIB don't exist, I have my suspions!

Happy they kept this shark

One thing I hate are holding tanks for preshows, Twister and Despicable Me had two preshows, totally too much for my liking. Despicable Me was about 30 minute wait so glad we had the FP. Good thing about the queue line at Universal. FastPass lines are definetely a shorter walk. Park closed early because of the Halloween party, but we did everything we wanted and headed for Bubba Gumps for dinner. We were seated right away and our waiter was a really cool guy. Ask us trivia about Forrest Gump (one of my favorite movies) , the meal was good, but some of it was cold. We had to send some things back. But my husband really enjoyed the seafood mix he got. I wish I would have ordered it too. Younger son ordered a steak and loved it. I got coconut shrimp, it was OK, I had better.

DH's Bubba Gump dinner!

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Friday Oct 19. Ate breakfast at the hotel. Jeffrey got the buffet which was a waste for him since all he ate was donuts sausage and some toast. Michael was miserable his knew was acting up (more on that later) and didn't order anything, Gene got a bagel and I ordered macadamia muffin, got three little muffins for 5.25 and they were not even good. The buffet looked decent though, our meal was close to 30.00 for what? Had early admission for Harry Potter at Islands of Adventure. Wait was minimal, got stuck for a few minutes near the end, boys went on Dueling Dragons (?) twice walked on, had a butter beer, we LOVED it, son went on that other roller coaster, then headed for Jurassic Park, which we walked twice on thanks to the FastPass.Michael should have had his knee checked before we even left since it was bothering him for the week prior vacation,his knee was really bothering him and he was grouchy. Boys went on Dudley Do Right (FP) Bluto's Barge ride wasn't opened until 12, so we headed for Spiderman which was down but as we were walking away it re-opened, so we hopped on that twice (with FP),Jeffrey and Gene went on Dr Doom. Next went on Hulk Coaster and ate pizza at a nearby restuarant which was surprisingly not too bad. Jeffrey went back on Hulk 2x since that is his favorite, and by then Bluto was opened so we went on that. Even with the FP we waited about 15 minutes only because there was a whole group of disabled kids they had to load in front of us, could not complain about that. Just glad they could experience it! We did get stuck near the end because of the unloading of all the kids. Headed over to Dr Suess and rode Cat in the Hat and One Fish Two Fish. No one wanted to the carousuel or that ride that goes above it. Michael and Gene went back to the room, and I took Jeffrey back on Harry Potte, went through the single rider and breezed through it twice. I think the wait was 40-60 minutes at that point. We back to the hotel and had to take Michael to an Emergency care place. He had inflammation in the knee, so they gave him some pain medicine and some anti inflammatory medicine, and the next hour we sat at Wal-mart waiting for the prescription to be filled. We went back to the room and the two boys stayed in the room while Gene and I went over to Margaritaville for a burger for dinner. The wait was about half hour but the burger was delicous and we brought back food for the boys. Jeffrey and Gene went swimming, I fell asleep from exhaustion.

Here is Harry Potter not too crowded

And Butterbeer yummy!

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Saturday Oct 20. Today was Michaels birthday and our first day at Disney. We got up really early and headed for Fort Wilderness. Check in was a breeze however the loop I requested had no cabins ready, we could have waited, supposedly only one cabin was available at that time, we took it because we had an hour to AK opened and we wanted to unload our suitcases and eat something. We had brought along breakfast bars, pop tarts, cereal, juice boxes, and the cabin had coffee so we were good to go. Headed over to AK and got there just in time for the opening. Michael said his leg was better thank goodness. Dumb me had applied suntan lotion and must have rubbed some lotion in my eyes. They were tearing and burning.We entered the park at opening and went straight back to ride Expedition Everest twice, Second time was posted 15 mintues wait, more like 10. Went on kali River Rapids which we walked on. Didn't get too wet but I was having major eye problems by . Going on EE and with my eyes, I don't know what happened but I was dizzy my eyes were going crossed along with the tearing, it was crazy weird. Next was Dinosaur but I sat outside of Nemo while the boys went on Dinosaur. They came back and I was still having problems. We went to see the Nemo show and by the time we came out my eyes were fine. We met up with my sister and her hubby, but then we were ready for lunch and they had already eaten. We went to Flame Tree and had the ribs and chicken, was good. I should mention we were on the dining plan. Dessert was OK. Got FP for Kilamajara Safaris and went to see Flights of Wonder which is an excellent show for anyone who never saw really you should see it. Saw Miss Divine for the first time. Met back up my sister and headed to KS, but not too many animals out. The new Zebra area wasn't ready yet, I think it opened a few days after we were there. Did Tough to be a Bug and Festival of the Lion King, ,My sister had picked up 2 Dinosaur FP so Michael and her headed over there. Jeffrey had wanted to see Mickey and he was only about a 10 minute wait, so we did that. Dinner at Yak and Yeti was delicous. We all got the Steak and shrimp, we all ordered different desserts and I got a taste of all them. All of them were good. My sister always rant about the Mango Pie, but I think that was my least favorite. After dinner we headed over to Dinoland to do Tricertops Spin and that Primevil Whirl - Jeffrey rode 2x. No lines over in Dinoland. Followed the Touring Plan only half hearted. Meeting up with my sister kind of set us back, and the Nemo show times were different than what we expected. We had wanted to walk the trails but our sleep depreviation was starting to get us exhausted so we headed back to the cabin to get settled in and pick up our golf cart from Kennys. I decorated the cabin and golf cart for Halloween. I had bought some paper lanterns that were battery operated, but duh, I bought the wrong size batteries! Our cabin was fabulous, 2759 (Heron way?) but I was disappointed in the back yard, it was all marshy. Our cabin last time had a nice wooded back yard. Another thing our maid stopped leaving towel animals after the second day. Guess because we didn't tip her until the last day.

Steak and shrimp from Yak and Yeti

Nice picture of Jeff

Mango Pie from Yak and Yeti

Jeff, Doug and Russel

Our marshy back yard at FW

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Sunday Oct 21 we had a short day at Epcot doing the attractions in Future World. Love Soarin, gets better every time. Ate lunch at Sunshine Seasons, which is fantastic, love the bakery, (notice the theme with me and sweets, I love them!) I got a Cappachino cupcake and had it for breakfast the next day, so yummy Nemo and the Seas is a big disappointment to me. I think the ride is boring and the aquarium part boring.I like Turtle Talk, Jeffrey thinks he is too big for it, so we skipped that. Nice to see Captain E-O again and still wish they would bring back the original Imagainations Ride. Love Spaceship Earth, The boys did Sum of all thrills and Mission Space orange which made Jeffrey sick in the stomach.That started a few days of stomach problems with him. Just made it over in time to get our free Visa picture, which I forgot to pick up. Luckily when we went back later in the week they guy was able to find it because of PhotoPass. Dinner we ate at Garden Grill. Don't care for family style meals but this was nice. Food was decent, the fish was good, as was the beef and macaroni and cheese. It was our only character meal and the characters made it around twice, Chip or was it Dale, stopped by 3 times and they really spend time to interact. It was the best character meal I ever had besides the one in Disneyland at Goofy's Kitchen. Epcot was more crowded than I anticipated so we only got on Soarin once. That was OK we were coming back in a few days. That night back at FW we took the golf cart drove around the loops and looked at all the Halloween decorations. Then we went to the beach to watch the fireworks and Electrical Parade. Loved it! Would do that again. One of the freebies from Disney!

Sunshine Seasons

Garden Grill

Jeff loves this part of Spaceship Earth!

The whole gang

Monday Oct 22. Hollywood Studios was crowded, but waits weren't too bad. Did Toy Story Mania twice first time no wait, second time must have been 20-30 minutes, boy that line fills up fast.Tower of Terror we got a FP went over to Rock n Roller Coaster which was a 20 minutes wait so we went in the single rider lines, both boys did manage to sit together. We still had time for ToT FP to become available. ToT was only a 15 minutes wait so we decided to wait in line and by the time we were done, the FP was ready. Saw Beauty and the Beast show for the first time too! Loved it. The girl who played Belle was adorable, and I am pretty sure it was the same girl at the Hoop de doo a few days later Jeffrey did not want to see Beauty and the Best so husband took him back on ToT. Lunch we had the Fantasmic Package at Mama Melrose. Totally loved it, my best meal the whole trip (well maybe tied with Le Cellier) We got the steak, very well done. The appetizers were all delicious. Older son and hubby got a salad, and I ordered the Anti Pasto for two since my teenager did not like any of the appetizers that I split it with the other boys. After all the good and bad reviews I read about this place, I am so glad I went there, it is one of my favs. For dessert they brought out 2 trays with 4 small desserts and it was plenty for the 4 of us. The only thing I did not care for was the cheesecake. We thought we had enough time to do The Great Movie Ride twice (My husband wanted to see the cowboy and the gangster scene, and because we had to wait for the next cycle we missed Indy, thereby messing up our plan.) We managed to do everything except the Stunt car show, only because we missing Indy by 10 minutes. Michael was mad but considering how much we crammed in the day, we did good. Jeffrey loves the Muppets and he managed to get another Tshirt at the Muppet store. He also found the key under the mat at Muppet 3-D, which I did not know this, but is now secured to the floor. Gene was picked for the Indy show. Jeffrey was sooo embarassed his father was on stage. lol Do you know they give you absolutely nothing for participating except a cup of water. Geez you think they would print a certificate or give you a fastpass or something! Jeff loved One Man's Dream and the movie about Walt, which totally surprised me. Another thing on my list of things I never did,was to do Magic of Disney Animation. We drew Piglet, not one my favorites, but everyone enjoyed it and we got a free souvenir. . Had lunch at Fairfaxe fair, Ribs and chicken, they were pretty good. Stopped at Starring Rolls to get a Butterfinger Cupcake for breakfast, it was sooo good! They did a nice job packaging it up for me.

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Tuesday Oct 23. Did the 8:30 Kingdom of the Keys tour with Michael. Our tour started at 9 but we were in the park before the herd! We sat on the side and waited for the rush go by before the tour started. The tour guide Wes I think his name was, was fantastic, very knowledgeable and knew so much. We got to see them practicing the Christmas parade with just head and feet no costumes which was funny. Would recommend everyone do this tour once. Lunch at Harbor House was a bit of a let down. Our food was cold because it was sitting there waiting for us. I should have complained but I didn't and we did not get dessert, but do I really need it? no! The tour lasted longer than I thought. I thought for some reason we would be done by 12 but it was almost 2 by the time we were done. Gene took Jeffrey to the MK and they went on some rides, and ate at Pecos Bills. Jeffrey was complaining about his stomach (I think it was all the food he was eating!) So back to the cabin for a short break before heading out for the Halloween Party. We got back to MK by five because we had Liberty Tree reservations. Was disappointed in the meal, kind of blah and dessert was not my thing. Won't go there again. Did a few rides, went Trick or Treating, some lines for candy were long but it went fast. Got a ton of candy. Hallowishes was great and the Boo to You parade was adorable. We were sitting outside Diamond Horsehoe and Woody popped out and my son jumped up and got a picture with him. We are impatient when it comes to waiting in lines for characters. This year lines for characters were terrible. It seems other years we never waited. After the parade we wanted to do Splash Mountain but it was down, boo hoo. Went on Big Thunder Mountain and on our way out I forced everyone to go PoC. Everyone was tired but I made them do it! No lines come on guys. So we get seated in our boats, and sat there for 10 minutes, watching the control booth we see one guy, then two, then three, then four. I thought for sure they were going to kick us off, but they started the ride and about half way through we got stuck. Sat there for about 15 minutes listening to the same pirate. ARRGGGH. Finally a cast member comes out and tells us they are going to evacuate us. So we must have been the last boat of the night, because no one was behind us. They jump in the water and start pushing us back to where we can get out. So it was about 12:15 I think when they finally got us out, we had to walk around the building. I thought for sure we would get a FP reading how other people did when they were evacuated but alas nothing. Oh we also saw the new Little Mermaid ride, so adorable! LOVE IT

Here were the T-shirts I made for MNSSHP

Madame Renata entertaining Jeffrey!

Getting stuck and having to be evacuated from Pirates of the Carribean

Cinderellas Castle and fireworks!

Wednesday, October 24 Today was our no park day, went to Pepper for lunch, good buffet, would go there again, Nice dessert bar and bakery. Went to the pool at Fort Wilderness and the Hot Tub was nice to sit in and relax all my aching muscles, They were playing Bingo but my teenager thinks he is too big for some things, so we skipped that. They also were giving out tattoos and he told me he would have gotten one if they were real tatoos.lol For Dinner DH and I went to Hoop de doo, Ffood was excellent this time. Last time not so good. At night my sister and BIL came over and we all went to Campfire and watched a little bit of the movie and made smores, then took my sister around on the golf cart looking at the Halloween decorations some more. For not doing much the day flew by.

At the pool

Meadows trading post

Our cabin

Some decorations around FW

Electrical parade

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Thursday Oct 25 Went over to Captain Cookes to get some Tonga toast for breakfast. Did not disappoint!

Tonga Toast Yummy!

We took the boat to the Contempery to get to the Polynesian

This is at the Contemperary

Arrived at Epcot and started the day at Le Cellier, pretzel bread, steak, rissotta, and chocolate pecan pie, I was in heaven. Watched all the movies in World Showcase, Weather was cloudy and it rained a little but we were watching American Adventure while the worse of the rain was coming down. Oh did pick up a Chocolate covered salted carmel, mmmmmmm delcious! did the two rides and ate dinner at La Cantina, very nice. We were going to stay there until Illuminations, but every one was tired, we had aquired Fast Passes for Soarin and we voted Soarin instead of Illuminations. Only good thing we beat the crowd out of Epcot.

Some pics around the World Showcase.

I always make my son pose for this picture!

Dinner at La Catina.

Friday Oct 26 our last day before flying home. Staying at FW with a golf cart is great, I love taking the boat from the marina over to MK. The park was EMPTY in the morning. Followed Touring Plans and boy did it work great, The park opened at 8 and I was surprised how few people were there. After lunch it did pick up quiet a bit and by 4 people were coming in for MNSSHP We managed to do the following all with NO waits.

Space Mountain, Astro Orbitor, Tomorrowland Speedway (2X) , Winnie the Pooh , Peter Pan (up to this point we walked right on), , Mickeys Philarmagic, Dumbo, Saw the Great Goofini and Donaldo (no lines! ), got a Mickey Bar (have to have one of these every time), DH got popcorn. Pick up FP for Splash Mountain (that ended up being down the rest of the day) rode Big Thunder Mt. and Country Bears all before noon. We ate lunch at Pecos Bills, my DH loves it there for some reason, me I would have preferred Cosmic Rays, but we were in Frontierland so we just ate there. After lunch it seemed to get very crowded but followed our Touring Plan and did everything except for Tom Sawyer Island. Did the following Hall of Presidents, Haunted Mansion had about a 10 minute wait, Laugh Floor, Carousel of Progress, Buzz Lightyear, Stitch wasn't on our plan but we had some time waiting for Buzz FP, so Michael and Jeff went on that while Gene and I shopped, I bought myself a gift, a Mickey Halloween lantern. (which came in handy later!) both of them did not like Stitch. Stopped at the bakery to use up some snack credits - we had only used 9 out of 28.They did put the fudge and carmels in nice plastic containers for us, and it made it home safely. Took a ride around the park on the RR. We barely made our Cape May dinner reservations because the boats weren't running because of high winds from Hurricane Sandy.Had to take a bus to Wilderness Lodge and the over to Fort Wilderness, but our timing was good with the buses. We thought they would take us to the front of Fort Wilderness but the bus went in the back way and took us to near the Marina and we managed to make it to dinner on time. I love crab legs and clams, so most of meal was that, although I did try to sample some other things, nothing stuck in my head as being great. Dessert was really good compared to last time I was there. Came back to the cabin and took one more ride in the golf cart before going back to pack. Stopped at Meadows to use up a couple of snack credits got cookies and Mickey rice krispie treats for my granddaughters, and DH wanted a FW t-shirt .

New Storybook Land

The Great Goofini

Having a Mickey Bar

New Fantasyland Wall

Construction

Back of the waterfall on the Jungle Cruise

My boys in Liberty Square

Haunted Mansion, love the new Queue line

DH in Frontierland

Flight home Saturday with Frontier airlines was good. Arrived safe and sound just in time for Hurricane Sandy. When the electric went out my son loved carrying around the Mickey lantern!

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MY final thoughts

Top Three Resturants Mama Melrose Le Cellier Cape May Top Three Quick Service Pepper Market Flame Tree Sunshine Seasons Top Three Snacks Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bar Chocolate coated carmel with sea salt Butterfinger Cupcake Not so happy with… Liberty Tree Splash Mountain was down both times I tried to go it. On Friday almost the whole day and after Hallowishes on Tuesday. Best surprises Magic of Disney Electrical water Pageant My thoughts on MNSSHP Really enjoyed it. The parade was cute, fireworks really awesome, got tons of candy, Headless Horseman went by to quickly ;( Would I do it again, probably not, but glad I did it, everyone should do it once. My thoughts on Kingdom to the Keys Tour LOVED it, probably wouldn't do it again unless they change the tour, but like MNSSHP, must do it at least once!

Here was my wish list of things I never did in Disney ,I did five of the 6. The Jungle Cruise wasn't opened at night so that was the only thing I did not do.

Ride jungle cruise at night Electrical water parade Art of animation IN HS Chocolate-Covered Sea Salt Caramel at Karamell Kuche in Epcot Eat at Liberty Tree Kingdom to the Keys tour Now to come up with a new list for the next trip.Suggestions?

[stefa70 205]

Wow, what a whirlwind report!

Yes, we love pictures! Good, bad, blurry, we like them all.

Did I read that right? They jumped in the water at POC and pushed your boat?

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Wow, that was a lot you crammed in there!!! No wonder you needed the Hot Tub!!!

Yes, Pictures, Pictures!!! We LOVE Pictures!!!!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Great job on this report!

I am sure it took you a while to write it- so thanks!

You did a great job with the dining plan. You must have made reservations far out to have been able to eat in all those different places.

I'm glad that you enjoyed the Fort. I think it's great the the EWP was you best surprise.

TCD

[Judy in Texas 150]

Pictures please! You must have had this written up ahead of time. Smart move!

Did Jeff ride the Pteranodon Flyers at Universal? It looks like a great ride but adults aren't allowed to ride alone. They must have a child with them. Bummer. At 13 he may think it's a baby ride.

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Wow, what a whirlwind report!

Yes, we love pictures! Good, bad, blurry, we like them all.

Did I read that right? They jumped in the water at POC and pushed your boat?

Yes!!!! I even have a couple of pics!

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Pictures please! You must have had this written up ahead of time. Smart move!

Did Jeff ride the Pteranodon Flyers at Universal? It looks like a great ride but adults aren't allowed to ride alone. They must have a child with them. Bummer. At 13 he may think it's a baby ride.

No we never did that the line is always long, and the FP isn't covered by that. This year he thought it was babyish. Teenagers! Then when they are in their twenties they want to do all those "baby" rides again! LOL We had to force him on Winnie the Pooh, and Little Mermaid, but not Dumbo! Go figure, in his mind he definetely has it wrong! LOL

[beccaewert 10]

WOW sounds like you need a vacation from your vacation! Sounds like loads of fun!

Now I am wanting to try that butterfinger cupcake :)

[Big Kahuna aka John 71]

Nice report from a fellow Pennsylvanian.... I do like to fly out of HIA... Easy and inexpensive... Where did you find the chocolate caramels with sea salt... They sound incredibly and absolutely bad for you... so they must be wonderful...

[Southern Blessings 4]

Wow! That was a quick report! Hope you'll post some more pictures!

[PureTcrazy...rita 380]

Thanks for sharing! I'm tired just thinking about all that! I am not a big "rider" which takes some of the rush out of the parks for me! Sounds like y'all had a great time!

[photogal06...Sommer 10]

Great trip report! Mmmm...cupcakes for breakfast....you're my kind of person! Hope you got a chance to rest up after your whirlwind vacation!

[Gots2pitt.. Jeff 64]

Cool report. Thanks for sharing. It is always interesting to see things through other peoples eyes.

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I added a bunch of photos I hope you enjoy!

[stefa70 205]

Ahhh, pictures definitely make it better!!

The POC shots are great! I've been stuck in there many times but never had to be pushed out. Good job getting photos!!

Thanks for sharing your report.