Totally Last Minute Spring Fling! No DDP, Tons Of Pics! COMPLETE!

[jerseytinkerbell]

Hi there everyone! Jerseytinkerbell back again for the third time in 9 months! I've gone Disney crazy this year! I am headed back in 2 days for another food adventure with my hubby/Disney PIC. Here we are at Jiko on our honeymoon a few years ago.

I literally just booked our trip this morning, so let me fill you in on the details. Hubby and I will be leaving Thursday night 5/10 for 7 magical nights at WDW. We will be having a split stay this trip. 2 nights at POFQ and 5 nights at SSR on DVC points. No meal plan this trip. First time going without it in 6 years, but I'm looking forward to doing it this way. I'm starting to feel a little restricted by the dining plan, so we're going to skip it this trip and snack a little more and share some meals and switch up our food strategy a little bit. We'll see how it goes and I will fill you all in!

As for why we booked our trip at the last minute, let me explain. Hubby has been in school finishing up his degree for the last year and a half and just graduated yesterday. Woo Hoo! Before he starts his new job search we figured if we definitely wanted to get in a vacation this year we had this one week to do it. We can't risk being away once he starts going on interviews this summer and I am in a wedding Memorial Day weekend, so it was now or never (and by never I mean, for at least 6 months ). We decided to throw caution to the wind and take a totally impromptu trip to our favorite place in the world! Oh, I almost forgot. Hubby is turning the big 3-0, so this is a birthday celebration too!

Okay, now the important info. The Food! I have already made a few reservations to some of our favorite restaurants. It's a little hard to get in some places this close to our trip, but I still got some good stuff.

Kona Cafe (breakfast twice and dinner)
Liberty Tree Tavern (lunch)
Rose & Crown (lunch)
Turf Club (lunch and dinner)

I also made a reservation to a place we have never tried before, Yachtsman Steakhouse! This meal is a special graduation/birthday celebration for hubby.

We will also be checking out the food court at POFQ, which I am super excited about since I have never stayed here before. Once we are at SSR we will be making a ton of trips over to WPE since that is our new favorite place, so prepare yourself for lots of WPE pics! We also plan on trying a lot of counter service and snack places we have never gone to before in World Showcase. Tangierine Cafe and Boulangerie Patisserie here we come!

I am also trying to talk hubby into making a slight detour at the beginning of our drive down for a special treat to enjoy on our drive. Even though it's not a WDW treat it's too amazing not to share with all my fellow foodies!

Super excited to share all my food pics with you fabulous folks once I return! See you all again in about 2 weeks!

TTFN! Ta Ta For Now!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

I will post links to all my individual reports here once they are complete!

Thursday 5/10 (Travel Day)
Mullica Hill Amish Market (Dinner)

Friday 5/11 (Check in at POFQ/Epcot)
Rose & Crown (Lunch)

Fife & Drum (Snack)

Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory (Dinner)

Saturday 5/12 (Animal Kingdom)

Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory (Breakfast)

Flame Tree Barbecue (Lunch)

Royal Anandapur Tea Company (Drink)

Boatwright's (Dinner)

MacGuffins Bar (Drink)

Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory (Snack)

Sunday 5/13 (Check in at SSR/Magic Kingdom)

Sleepy Hollow Refreshments (Breakfast)

Liberty Tree Tavern (Lunch)

Margarita Bar (Drinks)

ESPN Club (Dinner)

Monday 5/14 (Hollywood Studios)

Starring Rolls & Fairfax Fare (Breakfast)

Wolfgang Puck Express (Lunch/Dinner)

Ghirardelli (Dessert)

Tuesday 5/15 (Magic Kingdom)

Kona Cafe (Breakfast)

Kona Cafe (Lunch)

Wolfgang Puck Express (Dinner)

Wednesday 5/16 (Animal Kingdom)

Wolfgang Puck Express (Breakfast)

Animal Kingdom Margarita Stand (Drinks)

Yachtsman Steakhouse (Dinner)

Boardwalk Bakery (Dessert)

Thursday 5/17 (Epcot)

Sunshine Seasons (Breakfast)

San Angel Inn (Lunch)

Boulangerie Patisserie (Snacks)

Wolfgang Puck Express (Dinner)

Friday 5/18 (Check Out/Travel Day)

Kona Cafe (Breakfast)

 

[MickeyNicki]

So glad you are heading back! We stayed at the POFQ last May and it was awesome and we had great luck at walk ups to TS places. Cannot wait to read all about it!

 

[Krissalee]

Looks like you have a great trip planned! Have fun! Looking forward to enjoying your reviews.

 

[vettegirl]

I love last minute trips. I did one to Disneyland last year on less than 2 weeks. Looking forward to hearing your reviews.

 

[iloveeeyore]

You're leaving tomorrow!! Lucky duck! Wow, that is REALLY last minute. We booked a trip 3 months prior last year and we thought THAT was last-minute .

I loved reading your previous DRs and I'm really looking forward to this one, too!

Safe travels, and have an awesome trip!

 

[chocolateMinnie]

have an amazing trip - particularly looking forward to your Yachtsman review as we are planning our first trip there in October.

 

[jedijill]

Sounds like a great trip. I love Yachtsman...their onion rolls are to die for. Congrats to your hubby on his graduation.

Jill in CO

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

So glad you are heading back! We stayed at the POFQ last May and it was awesome and we had great luck at walk ups to TS places. Cannot wait to read all about it!

I was actually thinking of your review from last year as I was booking my ADRs because I remembered reading that you had some good luck with walk ups. I think we might try our luck at a few other TS places throughout the trip. Really looking forward to staying at POFQ! I have to go down that lizard looking slide in the pool at least one!

Looks like you have a great trip planned! Have fun! Looking forward to enjoying your reviews.

Thanks! Looking forward to sharing lots of pics with everyone when we get back!

I love last minute trips. I did one to Disneyland last year on less than 2 weeks. Looking forward to hearing your reviews.

I actually tried to get hubby to do a Disney Cruise or Disneyland for this last minute trip, but he wasn't having it. I loved Disneyland when I went about 7 years ago and I really want to see all the new stuff, but he's not interested. I still have to work on convincing him. Thanks for joining in!

You're leaving tomorrow!! Lucky duck! Wow, that is REALLY last minute. We booked a trip 3 months prior last year and we thought THAT was last-minute .

I loved reading your previous DRs and I'm really looking forward to this one, too!

Safe travels, and have an awesome trip!

Thanks so much! It's weird not to obsessively plan for months and months before a trip. I think the excitement of it hasn't even hit me yet. I think it will once I'm out of work today and we get on the road.

have an amazing trip - particularly looking forward to your Yachtsman review as we are planning our first trip there in October.

Thank you! I am really looking forward to Yachtsman too! I'll be sure to take lots of pics!

Sounds like a great trip. I love Yachtsman...their onion rolls are to die for. Congrats to your hubby on his graduation.

Jill in CO

Oh, I can't wait to try those rolls! They look amazing! And thanks, he worked really hard, so he definitely deserves this trip.

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Wow, I can't believe that I'm actually leaving today! It's very surreal this time. I get out of work in a few hours and then I just have a few more things to do and then we will be on the road to Florida! Oh, and I did convince hubby to get those special travel snacks I told you about and I really look forward to sharing those pics with all of you. It's gonna be good!

Looking forward to sharing my trip with all of you when I get back!

Walt Disney World, here we come!!!!!

 

[wilma-bride]

Looking forward to seeing your review of Kona dinner (we are heading back there for dinner in August) and LTT lunch (I read that the Tavern Fried Cheese had changed - if you could verify that would be great).

Can't wait to read your reviews, have a great trip

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Looking forward to seeing your review of Kona dinner (we are heading back there for dinner in August) and LTT lunch (I read that the Tavern Fried Cheese had changed - if you could verify that would be great).

Can't wait to read your reviews, have a great trip

Thanks! Kona is my absolute favorite restaurant in WDW! That promises to be a rave review barring any bad service, but I usually don't get bad service there.

Oh no! I hope they haven't changed the Tavern Fried Cheese! I definitely plan on ordering that, so I will definitely let you know what the situation is.

 

[iloveeeyore]

Oh I can't wait to see the surprise treat on the way down. It's only a matter of hours...

 

[vettegirl]

Yes you do need to convince him, DL is an amazing place and the onsite hotels there are wonderful!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Hello everyone! I am (unfortunatly) back from our fabulous vacation. It was one of our best trips yet! We had a ton of great food, got into a lot of TS restaurants with no reservations and drank a lot of margaritas! I am really excited to share my trip with you! Now, let's get started!

Travel Day! Okay, hubby and I really tend to romanticize the 15 hour drive to WDW for some reason. It seems like it was fun when you talk about it months later, but it's really not fun when you have to ACTUALLY make that drive. However, the ride was just a little bit better with our special travel day treats I hinted at. I planned on stopping for them on the drive, but hubby actually made the 30 minute drive for them before I got out of work, so we were able to pack up the car and get on the move as soon as I got out of work at 5 o'clock.

Are you ready to view the most awesome, fatty food ever created?!?! Have I overhyped this enough?!?! Get ready for... CHEESESTEAK STUFFED PRETZELS!!!!

The delicious, salty outside of the pretzel.

The cheesy inside of the pretzel.

SO GOOD!!! We get these from an Amish food market 30 minutes away from our house. They are the best! If you have a place near you that sells these, I highly recommend them! These bad boys are only $2 and change. An absolute bargin if I do say so myself. Disney could probably sell these in the park for $6.99 a piece! I can see the stuffed pretzel stand now...

I also had a Pepperoni and Cheese Stuffed Pretzel.

Yum!!! I ate mine pretty early into the drive since I never ate lunch that day, but hubby ate his later in the night. He also had a Bacon, Chicken, Ranch Stuffed Pretzel, but I was sleeping when he ate it so I didn't get a pic of the inside of his pretzel. The great thing about these (and one of the main reasons I wanted them for the drive) is that they keep really well without having to reheat them. I would much rather have these than have to make a stop at a fast food place on the way.

Fueled by delicious treats, we're on the move! Next stop... Disney World!

 

[homeatssr]

SO GOOD!!! We get these from an Amish food market 30 minutes away from our house. They are the best! If you have a place near you that sells these, I highly recommend them! These bad boys are only $2 and change. An absolute bargin if I do say so myself. Disney could probably sell these in the park for $6.99 a piece! I can see the stuffed pretzel stand now...

Fueled by delicious treats, we're on the move! Next stop... Disney World!

Do you mind telling me where in Jersey this Amish place is? I am dying to make a trip across the bridge one of these days, because these look amazing!!

I'm looking forward to seeing more from your trip. I would love to see how the no DDP worked out!

 

[CanadianPaco]

Can't wait to hear more!!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Do you mind telling me where in Jersey this Amish place is? I am dying to make a trip across the bridge one of these days, because these look amazing!!

I'm looking forward to seeing more from your trip. I would love to see how the no DDP worked out!

You absolutly must make the drive if you are close! It's in Mullica Hill NJ. It's right over the Commodore Barry Bridge. Once you cross that bridge it's about a 10 minute drive straight ahead. Totally worth the trip! They have a ton of goodies there. We go about once every two weeks and stock up on all kinds of treats. They make incredible donuts too!

I actually LOVED not having the dining plan this trip. I never felt too committed to any certain food plans or things I had to order. After 7 straight trips with the DP it was a nice break to go without it.

Can't wait to hear more!!

Thanks for joining in! More coming right up!

 

[homeatssr]

You absolutly must make the drive if you are close! It's in Mullica Hill NJ. It's right over the Commodore Barry Bridge. Once you cross that bridge it's about a 10 minute drive straight ahead. Totally worth the trip! They have a ton of goodies there. We go about once every two weeks and stock up on all kinds of treats. They make incredible donuts too!

I actually LOVED not having the dining plan this trip. I never felt too committed to any certain food plans or things I had to order. After 7 straight trips with the DP it was a nice break to go without it.



]

I used to live in Woolwich Township, so I know exactly where Mullica Hill is. Still only about 20 minutes from me now! So excited!!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

After a traffic nightmare in Virginia and 15 LOOOOONG hours of driving we finally saw my favorite sight in the entire world.

This is how you know vacation has really started!

We arrived at POFQ at 9:30am and I was praying that they would have a room ready for us. Even though it was way before check-in time they had a room for us! In fact, they upgraded us to a river view! Total score! We found our room (which was fabulous) and got showered and unpacked. I had planned on us being too tired for a park this morning. The plan was to nap and then go into Epcot at night, but we actually felt pretty clearheaded since we each got in some good naps while the other one was driving. We decided to go ahead and go to Epcot for a few hours now and then come back in the afternoon and nap and go back again at night. Off we go to Epcot!

We got to Epcot around 11:30 and it was pretty crowded at this point. We decided to skip Future World and head straight back to World Showcase in search of food. We never ended up stopping anywhere for breakfast on the drive, so we were pretty hungry.

We walked right back to the UK and looked at the lunch menu for Rose & Crown. I had made a reservation there for our last full day in WDW, but we decided to see if they could take us right now. We were in luck! They were opening in 10 minutes and said they would be able to seat us right away once they were open. They handed us a pager, which would work anywhere in the UK and we went off to walk around the shops while we waited for our table to be ready.

A fun pic in one of the phone booths.

Outside of the restaurant.

Our pager went off after a few minutes and we were seated by Sara, who was also our server. She was fantastic! Loved, loved, loved her! We were seated outside, which was great because it was such a beautiful day!

A shot of the lunch menu.

Two people who are happy not to be in a car anymore.

I must say that I was super disappointed when I heard that they took the Potato and Leek Soup off the menu. That was my fav! I was hoping that maybe that might be the seasonal soup, but it wasn't. Today was Tomato Soup. Hubby was super happy to hear that because he had actually been bugging me for weeks at home to go somewhere with good tomato soup. Sara brought out the soup for him with an extra roll and and extra spoon so I could share with him. Very thoughtful of her!

Close up on the soup.

Very tasty! I'm usually not a big fan of tomato soup, but this was very thick and flavorful. Hubby was in heaven! It was exactly what he had been wanting! He kept encouraging me to have more of it because he didn't want to get too full. And because he's a good hubby!

I was torn on what to order for my entree. I really like the Cottage Pie, but I wanted to try something new. I decided on the Fish & Chips.

This was a smaller portion than I thought it would be, but it was plenty filling! The chips were fried perfectly and the batter on the cod was incredible! I hate to eat fried food with a side of fried food, but it really didn't sit to heavy in my stomach.

Hubby was torn between a few different things on the menu but decided on the Pub Burger.

When Sara brought it out I asked her what that fried object was on the plate. It looked like my fried fish. She informed us it was a fried pickle.

Oh. My. Gosh. I am still dreaming about this fried pickle. Hubby was kind enough to let me have a few bites and it was heavenly. It had the same batter as the cod on the outside. Dreamy.

Hubby devoured the burger, which he declared to be amazing. We were very full and nothing on the menu looked too tempting, so we skipped dessert. Our server Sara came over and talked with us for awhile and she was absolutely delightful! She talked to us about the program she was at WDW on and told us how she was leaving in 4 weeks and that she sobbed and sobbed when she booked her flight home. She had a lot of interesting stories to share with us and I really hated to leave, but all her other tables were probably looking for her at this point.

Three trips to Rose & Crown this past year and all three were fabulous! Looking forward to it again next trip!

Up next... searching for a WS snack!