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[Lozzie]

So, this is really really late! But i've just got a spare evening and thought i would share some photos from the best holiday i have ever been on!! It was myself and my fiance Luke, we went for our 5th anniversary. He proposed to me there 5 years ago so decided it would be magical to go back again! We stayed in the Port Orleans Riverside and it was stunning! It will probably take a few days for my to get this report finished to please bear with me!! =D



We were greeted to a towel Mickey head in our room! I was so happy!



The anniversary badges we were presented with when we checked in. We were told to wear them at all times to make our holiday special.



Outside of our building. So pretty!

After we had chilled in the room, and by chilled i mean CHILLED! With the aircon turned upto 11, it was sooo hot! We decided to catch the boat down the river to Downtown Disney.



Waiting for the boat, trying to not look tired lol.



On the boat. Beautiful shot of the French Quarter of the hotel as it became darker.



Apologies, my camera fails at night time. But a shot of Downtown Disney. I got some better ones in the daytime. We had a small wander around, looked in some shops and had a lovely meal. We were so tired from the longggg flight we decided to have an early night and get up bright and early for our first day in....

THE MAGIC KINGDOM YAYYY!!





It was Halloweentime so they had all the gorgeous decs up.

The train pulled up and a show started! Dancers came off the train and serenaded us.

Then the characters came off the train! I didnt cry i swear i didnt...okay thats a lie...a few tears were shed.. A FEW!





After the small show they opened the gates and let all the nutters into the park!! Thats a sight, no matter which castle is it, be Florida or Paris it always managed to take your breath away.

Right, so the park was HEAVING! Mainly because there was the religious event on that evening, so we figured we would leave and go to the Hollywood Studios and do MK another day after the event was over.

at DHS, it was empty, so we headed to the tram tour cos that usually gets busy pretty quickly and there was hardly any queue at all! I didnt take many photos of this, because i wanted to see it myself rather than through the lens of a camera. But this was really special to me





I work as a seamstress. And in my spare time i make costumes, for myself for conventions. Nerdy stuff, we all dress up as characters and have lots of fun. Im really into it, make elaborate costumes from scratch. My previous favourite Disney costume i have made is Maleficent..eeeee! So its my DREAM to work here. True story, i had an interview with the head of costuming at Disneyland California, and she told me if i could sort out a sponsor she would hire me on the spot, with my skills and experience. Which is so annoying cos its sooo hard to get a sponsor to work in the USA!! GRRRRR!!! Anyway..rant over!!

We really wanted to go on the Toy Story mania ride, but the line was seriously like..3 hours long!! So we got a fastpass and headed back later. It was soooo worth it! AMAZING RIDE!!


I love this photo of Luke..he's sooo tired  bless him, but he's trying to keep smiling!

I didnt get many more photos of the day, cos i was just all OH MY GOD IM IN DISNEYWORLD!! flailing all about the place like a 5 year old on 5 pints of mountain dew. But i promise there are manyyyy more photos to come! So keep an eye out. I shall update soon!

[CafeFantasia]

What date in September 2010 did you go out there, and how many nights did you stay for?

People always say early September is the best time of the year to go to Walt Disney World, because the parks are really quiet and the queues are short. Was that your experience?

[dagobert]

Thanks for your trip report. I can't wait for the rest.

It seems you had a great time there.

[norhel]

Great report and pics so far :-)
Perhaps we was there at the same time? I arrived at September 20.

[davewasbaloo]

Great trip report, waiting to read more. we honeymooned at Port Orleans Riverside in the Mansions section (Parterre Place) and it was honestly much better value than most of the deluxes we stayed at. Glad you liked it.

As for the seamstress role, have you thought about applying to DLP?

Alan - September is quiet for a reason - worst weather, humid and it is hurricane season. No way I would choose to go then if I could help it.

[Lozzie]

Thanks guys!

The weather was fine for us. We had a bit of rain, but it was welcome to be honest and cos its so hot you dry off instantly. We didnt have any hurricanes or anything bad. The thunderstorms at night are stunning to watch too <3

I have thought about applying for a seamstress at DLP..but i cant speak fluent french! But im working on it! its my new years resolution this year to learn it more. I was great at it at school but i forgot most of it XD

[CafeFantasia]

@davewasbaloo

Is WDW hotter and more humid in September than it is in July? I always thought it was cooler by September.

So, in your opinion, what's the best time of the year to go to WDW?

[Lozzie]

Right back onto the important stuff...

The next day we headed to MK as it was a lot quieter than the previous day! I decided i wanted to meet the princesses today. Okay i better explain this now, but as im quite the artist *blows own horn toot toot!* i spent most of the year, running upto the holiday, making a really nice artbook. I researched into the characters i was likely to meet at WDW and i drew a picture of each of them. And when i met the character, i asked them to sign the book for me. Im a total Disney but its unreal. I have a degree in animation, just cos i wanted to study the art of Disney awesomeness. Fact: One of our guest tutors on the course was a lead animator for Jessica Rabbit. How much did i worship this tutor?? A LOT!! Anyway. I havent had chance to scan the book in yet, but im gonna try and do it soon so i can get the pics up for everyone to see. The characters LOVED it, and i found i got loads of time with them cos they wanted to look through the book at the other drawings.



Check out my IM A TOURIST outfit!



On our way to the princesses we decided to check out minnie and mickeys house, cos they were empty. I pretty much spazzed when i saw this...



I need to own a sewing machine like this!!!!!

We had a quick wizz around the houses, and decided to go back and take photos another time, then went onto the princesses.



Aurora was the first person to look through the book.



Cinders wanted a good look so she asked me to sit down with her. She was so sweet, asking me questions about how i drew them and what i used to colour them, etc.



Then she found her page and signed it



Belle was THE CUTEST! I was with her for like 10 mins and she was just so amazed by the drawings. She kept telling me stories about Peter Pan and how she flew to neverland with him. Then she told me how Stitch broke into Beasts castle and wrecked everything. I was thinking...thats nice dear, time to take your meds. haha no..she was so into it..it was adorable!!





She then found Beasts page and she fawned over it. Sadly i didnt get a photo of what she did after this. She took the book and held it to her chest and hugged it hard. It was adorable.



After this we wandered around, on some rides, etc etc. Then we headed to Animal Kingdom for the afternoon. I didnt really get any pics of this, cos i knew we would be going back another day.

The next day we headed to MK again, using the EMH so we could get in before the crowds.



I met Donald



A cast member told Luke to get on in the photo. He's not really into meeting the characters like i am..He acts his age



And Clarabelle! ZOMG!! Sadly Horace wasnt around at that time.

After this we RAN round to POTC...just cos..its the best ride ever! And on the way around look who we came across!





Back around to the castle <3


The next day we checked out...



lights...camera...ACTION!





Just cos...why not?





Way cooler than Indie!



Sadly most of the Star Wars area was closed due to Star Tours being closed. Which is a shame cos Luke is a huuuuuuuuuuuuge Star Wars fan. But mevermind, next time!





After we had gotten fed up of walking around we decided to head back to the hotel, had a relax in the hotel pool for the afternoon then took a trip to the French Quarter for BEIGNETS!!! Anyone who has seen The Princess and the Frog will know its all about the beignets and i needed to try some. Luke bet me to order them asking for "man catchin' beignets" but i chickened out haha.



Around the French Quarter pool



This scares me slightly



DONT EAT MEEEEE!!

Okay thats all at the moment!! I shall update very soon!!

[davewasbaloo]

@davewasbaloo

Is WDW hotter and more humid in September than it is in July? I always thought it was cooler by September.

So, in your opinion, what's the best time of the year to go to WDW?

Hmmm, not hotter, but more humid, and that is the killer. It depends on your tastes. I do not do well in humidity, and I only cope with temps higher than 25C if it is a dry heat.

For me, I feel Florida is great in November and December (though it can be freezing at night), plus the parks are all decked out for Christmas.

For those that like it warmer, then I would say March/April or October is worth while.

[davewasbaloo]

Lol, sounds like fun. And although we couldn't see the book, just the little bits looked cool. It would be lovely to see.

I also adore the story about your lecturer (MMMMMmmmmm Jessica Rabbit!)

[Lozzie]

Thanks Dave!! Glad you're enjoying it!

Okay lets carry on.

Today it was time to go to Animal Kingdom for a proper full day!



Outside of our building at the hotel







Beautiful tree of life!



I didnt take my book with me today, so i couldnt get my lilo and stitch drawings signed this time.



Stunning view from the bridge



I love this area! Its so cute!





Yayyy goooofy!!!! loooove him!!



We were making our way upto the Dinosaur ride. Thats one of my favourite rides ever!! Its so amazing and sooo scary! Love it!





We're in love



Well anticipated mickey cookie ice cream..a very quick melting ice cream at that.



Could be brothers right? haha!



After coming off the Kali river rapids..we got SOAKED!!!!



Then onto some more character stalking!







Love this shot of Expedition Everest...we went on that ride CONSTANTLY! Absolutely amazing ride.

That evening we had our anniversary evening meal booked. The Cinderella character meal at the Grand Floridian hotel. So we got on our glad rags and went back to the MK to hop on the boat over to the hotel.





Haha! Lame! I dont usually wear those sunglasses but they were really good for protecting my eyes from the sun..i usually hate those kind of huuuuge "victoria beckham" type things.





Getting closer!



We had a bit of time to spare before our reservation so we decided to have a wander around the hotel. It was stunning!





We sat in the lounge area and there was a pianist in the middle of the room playing the most beautiful renditions of Disney songs. He played "Part of your world" and i cried it was so gorgeous...that and cos im sad.

We went to the restaurant and before we got seated we had our pic with Cinderella. Sadly i dont have a pic of that on my PC cos we were both in it and didnt think to ask for a staff member to take a pic on our camera but we bought the souvenir photo that they took cos its a lovely photo and a great memory of our anniversary.



Strawberry soup and weird blue drink! om nom!! It was an all you can eat buffet and the food was lush!











Meeting the sisters was a hightlight for me. I had gone prepared and drawn both of them and they absolutely loved it. Anastacia loved hers so much she took the book and screamed REALLLYYYYY loud and decided to take it round to all the tables to show all the other diners.



preening time!



Everyone who had a celebration badge on got a cupcake each! i saw cupcake they were more the size of giant muffins!

The rest of the evening was interesting. We decided to head back to MK to watch the late night firework display. But before it started we got caught in the BIGGEST AND SCARIEST thunderstorm i have ever witnessed. People were actually running and screaming down main street as if godzilla were coming for them that the whole of the street and the main entrances became gridlocked and security had to be called in to get everyone in order. We were stood inside a shop watching all these stupid people over reacting. I mean the rain was immense and the thunder was almost deafening, but still. The thing that made me laugh was over the speakers they were playing a message saying "tonights fireworks have been cancelled" you think?? haha.

The next day was Epcot! yayyyy!!

We saw this on our way in and Luke just wet himself. He is THE biggest Tron fan and i had told him about the Tronorail before we went on the holiday and he was so excited to see it







If i had a pound for everytime i heard someone say "is that a giant golf ball?" or "look at the golf ball!" i'd be so rich i'd make simon cowell look like a hobo.





Love this ride, its amazing.



Had to be done! Oh and how many people have come off that, seen that and gone on the ride again to pull a completely stupid face? we did!



Time to go meet the boss!



and the dog



and the wife





and the best friends!!

I love hugging Goofy...cos he's tall. Im 6ft tall, so its awkward hugging the shorter characters without the fear of breaking them lol.





I took this photo and i was really proud of it! im not usually so good at arty photos!





That shirt is just amazing



We then headed around to the World Showcase and did some character hunting!!! YAYYY!!









SMEE OMG!! *favourite Disney film is Peter Pan* but you'll learn about that later on in the trip report!



The England section..wait..why doesnt my house look like that?!?!



Alice signing her drawing



After our day at Epcot was over we headed back to the hotel for...




YEAHHHH!!!!!!

More coming shortly!!!

[davewasbaloo]

Yay - Epcot and DAK, the only two reasons to go to Florida IMHO! Lol. The issue with the thunder storms is there are many deaths from lightening strikes in Florida, and September is the most common time of the year. It is also why umbrellas are not a common site in Florida despite the daily rain (much prefer the climate of Disneyland in California).

[norhel]

Again, great report and pics! :-)

[Lozzie]

Next day!! Im losing track of the days now..nevermind!

Time to go back to MK!



Started the day with characters. Daisy signed my book and i got a pic with her



Snow White is my faaave Princess and she's at the front of the book. To be honest her drawing is my fave so i was glad to have her sign it.







Are we here??

After going on Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear, we decided to head around to Adventureland. I asked a cast member where i could find Ariel, seeing as her special meet and greet area had been closed off due to Fantasyland expansion. I had to wait about 10 mins as they had gone inside for a break, but it was worth the wait cos both her and Eric were lovely. They spent AGES with me, looking through my book.





After this we went on a bit more and saw that Aladdin and Jasmine were out, so i got in the line. This experience was one of the favourite parts of my holiday. The cast member who was at the start of the queue was chatting to us and we got talking about anniversaries cos she noticed our badges and i said how Luke had proposed to me at WDW 5 years ago and she was so happy for us. Then it was our turn to meet them and they insisted that Luke was in the photo too



Then i had a pic taken with Jasmine while Aladdin signed his drawing



And after the photo he still had the book, and it was still on his drawing



He told me he loved his drawing so much, he asked the nice cast member lady if she could go backstage and get her camera so he could take a pic of the drawing to put "in the palace". I was so pleased!! So the lady went away to get her camera, came back and was getting a photo of the drawing for him.



Jasmine signed her drawing

When the cast member lady had taken the photo for Aladdin, she mentioned to him about our anniversary and proposal, etc etc and he wanted us all to reinact the proposal and this is how it looked



Then we said our goodbyes and went around to Fantasyland to see who else we could spot...



YAYYYY!! They both signed my book beautifully and we had a chat about London. Then as i left i heard Wendy say to Peter "she's a great artist! Oh Peter!! I wonder if she drew our movie???" haha..d'awwwwww!!



Luke had been wanting to do this pose since we got here, so he did it.



Then onto meet Tiana and Naveen!!



Waiting in the queue..EXCITEMENT!



Looking through my book







Random, but i thought this guy was adorable! He looks so happy!

Waiting for the parade..this is another attempt at an arty shot



That evening we got ready to go back to MK for MNSSHP!! yayyyy!!



My "scary" witch Minnie outfit



Luke as "scary" Goofy!





generic 'MySpace' emo pose



About to go treat or treatin'



I just loved their uniforms











Setting up the Villians show



She was sat in front of the Haunted Mansion talking to everyone as the went into the ride, she was amazing.



Her dress is just stunning



ooooh spooooky!



I swore the ride felt scarier than usual. I dont know if it had been changed slightly for Halloween, but it felt slower, and louder or if it was just my imagination.

It was dark now, so we decided to go check out the villian show. It was sooo cute! I got real excited when i found out the characters came down for a meet n greet so i RAN FOR IT!



Oh my god!!!



DOUBLE OH MY GOD!! Im such a huge Hook fangirl its unreal  :lol:



After meeting the villians we decided to go on a sweety hunt and followed a trick or treat trail.









After we collected tonnes of sweeties, we watched the fireworks. Sadly didnt get many good photos of these, as my camera is rubbish at night!
After that we went to Adventureland where they had the jungle themed meet n greet





Then we headed off to see what was going on in Frontierland, and had a peek in Woodys party.



Luke had gotten really hot by now so took most of his stuff off



Heading back to Fantasyland another Villian show had just ended and there was a meet n greet going on so i got in line for the Queen from Snow White



We watched the parade, which was absolutely wonderful! I didnt get photos, again..sucky camera at night! And then we headed back to the hotel cos we were both well tired and it was almost time for closing anyway.



More to come!!!

[Lozzie]

The next day we decided to just chill out at the hotel for the morning, and then take the boat to Downtown Disney and have a good look around.

A few pics i got at DTD















That afternoon we decided to go back to Epcot, cos we wanted to catch the light show at night time. So thats where we headed!
Over to the World Showcase





Lukes mad on Vikings (he wants to be one) so he loved the Norway section





Yes he DID buy that hat..and an axe to go with it







We stopped for ice cream in Italy





So cute!!





Purdy belly dancing lady!!

The light show was amazing. Sadly i didnt get pics of it, lame camera is lame, but nevermind.

The next day we spent in MK again, but i didnt get many pics that day. But in the evening we had reservations for Chef Mickeys at the Contemporary Resort.





Mickey signing his drawing!





Minnie <3



More lovely cakes!!



Yayyyyy!!! can never have enough Goofy







But we rode on the teacups while we waited for Toontown to open



yayyyy!!

Unfortunately some of the photos came out a bit blurred, cos i didnt want to use a flash in there.









Tink and Rosetta having a scour through the book





She found hers!





Vidia came over for a nose at what Tink was shouting about







The rest of the day we chilled out at MK until it was time for our next appointment...

We headed back to the Contemporary Resort for..



PIRATES AND PALS!! YAYYYY!! I was obsessing over this the entire run upto the holiday, cos im sad like that.



We were each given a bandana to wear so that the guides knew who was in the group.





Our tour guides..Patch and errrr Patch...yes they were THAT imaginative.

We were told to get grouped up in a designated area, behind Patch and Patch was a seating area. There were tables with food and drink and around the room were life size statues of pirates and all kinda of treasures and sea shanties pumped through speakers. It was AMAZING! Then all of a sudden the two Patches began getting all panicked and told us to keep and eye out for someone lurking around, and Captain Hook and Smee came from out of nowhere!! We were told to queue up if we wanted to meet them so naturally i was straight in there.



Signing his drawing



And Smee





A good view of the room



Handsome chap!

We were all assigned boats. There were two boats going on the tour, one for Hook and one for Smee. We got the Hook boat so we were told to follow him out of the hotel and to the dock





Where he saw us off

The tour was lovely. It was a very interactive trip. We sang songs, played games, etc



Until we eventually made our way to the middle of the lake and positioned facing the castle to watch the firework display. It was amazing, perfect view and they pumped the music through the speakers in the boat so you got the sound too. It was an amazing experience.

Afterwards, we set sail back toward the contemporary dock area and Patch told us we had to close our eyes and wish really hard. What we were wishing for, we had no clue..but he told us to open our eyes and when we did Peter Pan was stood on the dock! Waiting to welcome us back!! As soon as we got off he got mauled by everyone, and i figured i had already met him so we decided to skip that and rush back to the MK cos it was open until midnight.

More to come!!! Holy moly i took loads of photos!!