Blood, Sweat, and no Tears! (maybe) Disney World July 2014

[rteetz]

Welcome to my first ever Disney Trip Report! My name is Ryan and I hope this trip report is as fun as our trip was. First lets introduce my family.

Trip Facts:
Port Orleans Riverside
Family of 5
Garden View room
Disney Regular Dining Plan
6-Day Park hoppers

We are from good ole Wisconsin (Milwaukee) home of the Brewers, Packers, Badgers, Bucks, Harley Davidson, The Fonz, and Cheese!

I am Ryan of course and I am the oldest kid in the family (16).
(picture is from our last trip in 2012)
I play football in high school and my dream is to become a Disney Imagineer. My first Trip was when I was 8 months old. This is my 6th trip and number seven is coming in January when I run the 10k race on marathon weekend.

My Dad, Henry

He is a Sanitation Engineer as he likes to call it (Garbage Man) for our city, he also plows the roads in the winter. My Dad is also a very good bowler, he won the national singles title in 2012 in Baton Rouge, LA with a 800 series.

My Mom, Lynn

She is a former teacher and now a stay at home mom. She does daycare for people that work with my dad and friends of ours. My Mom is where my disney addiction started. Her first trip was in 1972 when she 4 years old. She went pretty much every year for spring break after that. They rove from Wisconsin and Camped in Ft. Wilderness.

Now my two sisters,

Jordan 12, Plays basketball and a lot of it she is on an AAU team and always has tournaments. Her first trip was in 2006.

Lastly but definitely not least is Sydnee 8, she is the crazy kid but we all love her. This is her second trip first was in 2012.

Well thats it for introductions. This is our first time staying at Riverside, we did stay at French Quarter but thats when I was about two years old so I don't remember much. This is also our first time using the Dining Plan. With all of that out of the lets get started with report!

 

[rteetz]

Table Of Contents

Introductions: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52003862&postcount=1

Day 1 Epcot and Via Napoli
1. Hey Hey its arrival day! http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52011312&postcount=3

2. Mom my birthday was in May. http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52018999&postcount=15
Part 2. http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52026400&postcount=19

3. Mom we need a good spot for Illuminations! http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52050558&postcount=28

Day 2 MK and Ohana'

1. Ohana' and Rope Drop at MK http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52063382&postcount=32
Part two. http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52063534&postcount=33

2. We finally get to ride the Mine Train! http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52071461&postcount=34

3. Its a Festival of Fantasy! http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52078403&postcount=35
Part 2. http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52078873&postcount=36

4. Dole Whips, Slushies, and Olaf treats. http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52098203&postcount=42
Part 2. http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52098326&postcount=43

Animal Kingdom and DTD on Day 3

1. Breakfast with the Yeti http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52118353&postcount=47

2. Kilimanjaro Safaris and A festival of the lion king http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52125659&postcount=49

3. The World of Walls http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52132740&postcount=52

4. The World of Walls Pt. 2 http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52148251&postcount=56

Day 4 and DHS

1. Frozen Summer Fun! http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52162695&postcount=61

2. Drive ins, Dark sides, and Donald http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52211491&postcount=65

3. We get to ride Rockin Rollercoaster on its 15th Bday! http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52236561&postcount=68

Day 5 and more MK

1. Tigger wants a Selfie! http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52257019&postcount=72

2. The Blood Part... http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52282110&postcount=77

Day 6 the Final Day

1. One last magical morning in MK http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52355898&postcount=80

2. We gotta use up those snack credits! http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52581781&postcount=83

Final Thoughts...

1. Final Thoughts and My Next Adventure! http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=52581939&postcount=85

 

[rteetz]

7/26 Arrival Day

We woke up around 3:30 AM for our 6 AM Flight out of Milwaukee direct to Orlando. My Grandpa got to our house before most of us were up, he was taking us to the airport. We got to the airport at about 4:10, checked in luggage and headed to the terminal. We sat by our gate and waited until boarding time.


We were a little sleepy...


You could really tell who was all going to Disney because a bunch of people had their magic bands on already.



We left the cool cloudiness for a hot sunny Florida!

2 hours and 10 minutes later we were in paradise. Off the plan and straight to The Magical Express.



Within about 20 minutes we boarded a bus and were headed to Port Orleans Riverside!



We did online check-in, went to the front desk and found out our room was ready!



So we headed off to find our room and get ready for an adventure in Epcot.

Here is our view from our first floor room.



My sister was loving that she got her own little bed with the alligator from Princess and the Frog.



Up next: Mom my Birthday was in May!

 

[fototaker5857]

Following allowing

 

[BellaBaby]

Great start!

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

Hey there neighbour! I'm from the Milwaukee area too!

Subbing in!

 

[AmyKat]

Following! Love your pictures!

 

[ashleymrush]

Following along! My little brother has been dreaming of being a Disney Imagineer his whole life too. He's 13 now so a little younger than you.

I teach high school and can't tell you how awesome it would be to have a teen in my class that loves Disney as much as I do!

Can't wait to read more.

 

[SusieBea]

I'm in, too! Love Milwaukee - great zoo. Also love Door County. Riverside is great - best food court on property!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Joining!

I wanted to be an imagineer when I was young but then switched to a safer career path but part of me now wishes I hadn't - so hope you stick with your dream!

Glad your room was ready and that does look like a fun bed your sister got

 

[INPartyof5]

Following along. We are a family of 5 staying at Riverside this January!

 

[Angies1274]

Joining in! Great start!

 

[rteetz]

Following allowing

Welcome!

Great start!

Thanks, and welcome!

Hey there neighbour! I'm from the Milwaukee area too!

Subbing in!

Yay Milwaukee! Welcome!

Following! Love your pictures!

Thank you everything was taken on my iPhone.

Following along! My little brother has been dreaming of being a Disney Imagineer his whole life too. He's 13 now so a little younger than you.

I teach high school and can't tell you how awesome it would be to have a teen in my class that loves Disney as much as I do!

Can't wait to read more.

I really want to go in the field of engineering, and it would be awesome if I can become a Disney Imagineer. Thanks for following along.

I'm in, too! Love Milwaukee - great zoo. Also love Door County. Riverside is great - best food court on property!

Yes we love the zoo, we also loved the riverside!

Joining!

I wanted to be an imagineer when I was young but then switched to a safer career path but part of me now wishes I hadn't - so hope you stick with your dream!

Glad your room was ready and that does look like a fun bed your sister got

Yes she loved that she got her own themed bed.

Following along. We are a family of 5 staying at Riverside this January!

Cool, we just booked for january at POR too! I am running in the 10k race on marathon weekend.

Joining in! Great start!

Thanks, Welcome!

 

[pepperandchips]

I'm here! I had no idea you were 16! The news thread is awesome. Can't wait to hear more about your trip details.

 

[rteetz]

Once we were settled in, we headed out for Epcot! We had a ADR for Via Napoli at 4:30. We headed to the North depot at POR which is the closest to our building which was number 39, in the Alligator Bayou. We got to Epcot just before noon.
I love SSE, it is my favorite park icon.

We headed to Club Cool first since we had never done it and wanted to try it.
We tried a cup of every flavor beverage. The only thing was I don't think any of us drank an entire cup of any of them. None of the sodas appealed to us, especially the famous Beverly.

Next since it was close we headed off to the Imagination Pavilion. Who doesn't need a little imagination to put a spark in their day! It was about a 5-10 minute wait as usual.
That song is still stuck in my head, but its okay I still like the attraction.

Off to the next pavilion, The Land. We headed in to see what the wait time was at Soarin' I believe it was at 80 minutes so we said no thank you. Instead we headed to the Living with the land ride. My Dad isn't all that fond of it, he dozes off occasionally.
Some of the plants here are insane. I know they use them in restaurants throughout the resort but, I would like to know what dishes need things like this.

We ended our journey in the land and headed to the Seas with Nemo and Friends.
To be continued...

 

[ashleymrush]

We missed Club Cool on our most recent trip. It's always so much fun, especially when you are with someone who doesn't know how bad the Beverly is! My kids won't even drink regular American soda so I knew going in there was going to be a waste.

I wouldn't stand in line for 80 minutes for Soarin' either! Maybe I will do it once they update it with the new video but that's the only thing that would ever cause me to wait that long for a ride. 30 minutes is my cut off point. When we were just there in mid-June, we didn't wait more than 20 minutes for a single ride!

Looking forward to what's coming next.

 

[melduckie]

Joining in to follow your adventure! Sounds like a great 1st day thus far!

 

[rteetz]

I'm here! I had no idea you were 16! The news thread is awesome. Can't wait to hear more about your trip details.

Yes and that is why I have all this time because its summer and all I do is try to find all the Disney news and rumors I can. Thanks for following along.

We missed Club Cool on our most recent trip. It's always so much fun, especially when you are with someone who doesn't know how bad the Beverly is! My kids won't even drink regular American soda so I knew going in there was going to be a waste.

I wouldn't stand in line for 80 minutes for Soarin' either! Maybe I will do it once they update it with the new video but that's the only thing that would ever cause me to wait that long for a ride. 30 minutes is my cut off point. When we were just there in mid-June, we didn't wait more than 20 minutes for a single ride!

Looking forward to what's coming next.

Yes Club Cool was a fun experience, I am going with my grandparents and Aunt and Uncle in January and that will be a must on our list. Also as for Soarin we waited in 2012 for about an hour to get on Soarin because we didn't get a FP and because we had never been on it before, now I would never wait that long again unless something new happens. I don't think we waited for any rides longer than 25 minutes on this trip either.

Joining in to follow your adventure! Sounds like a great 1st day thus far!

Thanks for following along.

 

[rteetz]

Next we went to innoventions to get our free Disney Visa photo. We have never done this before and my mom has had a Disney Visa for a long time.



I hope to get the photo posted but for some reason the photo pass website isn't working right now.

Here is a photo of the new paint scheme in future world as well.



We then had a FP+ for SSE. The tiering with FP+ isn't the best because you have to take FPs for things like SSE, when normally it isn't a long wait. When we did use our FP though the wait was like 35 minutes for SSE and I don't think I would wait that long.







After that we headed over to Mission Space and did the green version because my mom isn't one for motion rides like that, and it was only a 5 minute wait.



We started to head toward World Showcase then. First we took a look at the construction over where the butterfly garden was for the Flower and Garden festival. What I have heard is that a water main broke in that area and this is an unexpected construction project that needs to be done.





More paint scheme photos.



Off to World Showcase it was! Canada was the first of our stops.
We stopped in the gift shop and the first thing I saw was the weird soaps you could buy. I should've bought one as a joke gift or something. Piggy poop, moose, spit, and ferret farts were some of the ones they had.





That was it for Canada



The UK was next and my sisters wanted some photos in the phone booth.







We walked in the gift shops at the UK too and didn't find anything we liked, but did see Alice was meeting, only thing was we didn't have enough time to get in line.
So we skipped France which I regret, as well as Morocco. Stopped in Japan for a minute to watch the drummers.



Also skipped the American Adventure because sit was time to head to Italy for our ADR at Via Napoli.



We reached our destination Italy!





I love the details in Italy. This is our first time eating at either restaurant in Italy.





So here is the reason for the title. We got to Via Napoli and checked in. They asked if we were celebrating anything and thats when my mom said Yes my son's 16th birthday. Well my birthday was May 8th, and I guess we never really went out to celebrate my birthday at a restaurant locally so my mom decided to do it here almost three months after. I had ordered the pepperoni pizza, my dad got the Picante pizza, my sisters each got spaghetti, and my mom got a pasta dish that I don't remember the name of.



Our food was all superb no complaints whatsoever. It was nearing the end and thats when I started to wonder if they weren't going to do anything special for my birthday, we had already ordered and received our desserts that were included in our dining plan. But then a bunch of waiters and waitresses circled our table and sang happy birthday to me in Italian at least thats war I think they were singing.
They also gave me this cookie like dessert with a candle.



Our meal was finished and everyone was happy and full.
Next we passed by Germany but stopped to look at the trains.




Up next: Mom we need a good sport for Illuminations!

 

[rteetz]

Hope to have an update ready for tomorrow. If not then I will have a few this weekend. I am getting all my photo pass photos together so i can put them in my report. I also wanted to say that I am booked to be staying back at the Port Orleans Riverside in January. I will be running the 10k race marathon weekend and it will be my Aunt, Uncle and Grandparents on this trip not any of my immediate family which is a first for me. My aunt and uncle got me this trip for my birthday after I signed up for the race and needed someone to go with me. My grandparents used to take their four kids every spring break and camp in fort wilderness with their pop up camper. This will be my aunt and uncles first time back since the the late 90s they have never been to AK. My grandparents haven't been since they went in the early 2000s, so I will have to be the one who organizes everything. Its should be fun especially to get out of wisconsin in january it can be bad.