Grown ups only! 10 year anniversary trip with lots of drinks, food and selfies-COMPLETE 2/22/16

[nco91590]

Hello everyone! This is my first detailed trip report (with pics!) so please be gentle We just came back on Monday, Feb 8 after a glorious kid-free week in the happiest place on earth. We ate, we drank, we fished, we walked on rides, we hung out in the hot tub. I can't wait to share with you guys all the fun stuff we did last week!

I'm not good at all the fonts, gifs, etc, so this TR will be pretty basic.....basically awesome that is! Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

I'm Natalie, a 35-year-old mother of 2 gorgeous children (3 and 5) and wife of my adorable husband of 10 years, Scott. Long story short, due to a major screw up on our last family trip in 2014, Disney gave us free park hoppers. My parents are DVC at Beach Club so when we were thinking about how to celebrate our 10 year anniversary, WDW immediately came to mind. We had our Honeymoon here as well, so Disney holds a very special place in our hearts. Having little kids in daycare is pricey, so I couldn't justify an expensive Carribean vacation, but this trip ended up being super cheap and super fun.

This is us on the Magical Express! Because it was just the two of us, this thread will be selfie-heavy. Turn back now if you wish. My husband was a good sport for the most part, but he hates selfies in general, so this was out of his comfort zone. He did it because he loves me



We stayed at Beach Club Villas in a deluxe studio from February 1 - February 8. We were hoping to have brand new rooms when we booked last spring, but alas, they pushed back construction to start pretty much when we first arrived. Despite the fact that they were working on the rooms in the hallway next to ours, we weren't at all bothered by the noise or construction. Kinda bummed about not getting a new room, but the villa was nice and clean and comfortable. We don't typically complain about free rooms in Disney anyhow!

Here's a brief rundown of restaurants I'll be talking about:

Captain's Grill - dinner
Be our Guest - lunch
La Cava de Tequila - dranks
The Wave - dinner
Captain's Grill - breakfast
Les Halles - lunch
Rosie's All American Cafe - dinner
Wolfgang Puck Express - lunch
Boathouse - dranks
Raglan Road - dinner
Biergarten - dinner
Crews Cup - dranks & truffle fries
Rose & Crown - dinner
Les Halles - breakfast
Afternoon Tea at the Grand Floridian
Narcoossee's - dinner

Some I took pics of the food, some I did not (mostly because I got distracted by drinks--I'm looking at you Rose & Crown.)


Phew...ok. Coming up next: Day 1 and dinner at Captains Grill

 

[Vernie822]

Hi Natalie! I hope you guys had an awesome trip. Can't wait to read more!

 

[nco91590]

Day 1: Arrival Day!

Our flight arrived MCO at around 2:30pm on Monday, so we decided to skip the parks and just chill at the hotel and walk around the Boardwalk before dinner. By 4:00pm we were checked in to our room, shed our cold weather clothes and went straight over to the Boardwalk for a cocktail. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. I would say Mon - Wed we had sunny skies and temps of 80-84 degrees. Low humidity...just amazing. I was kind of looking around in wonder that we were here! We poked around the shops on the Boardwalk and found ourselves at the Margarita Stand outside of Boardwalk Bakery.





Scott ordered Captain's Seaside Sensation, which is essentially a pineapple dole whip with rum. I got a frozen patron margarita with salt. Both were delicious and strong. We were off to a good start

We had an early reservation at Captain's Grill at the Yacht Club, so after about an hour of sitting with literally nothing to do, we mosied on over to dinner. The difference between going with kids is astounding. We weren't quite used to just taking care of ourselves. I over budgeted for time the entire trip because it literally takes us 30 minutes to get out the door with kids. Being early was a theme for this trip!

Ahhh...what a glorious sight!



We checked in about 30 minutes early for Captain's Grill. They were nice enough to seat us right away. We had a nice quiet table tucked into the back corner. I ordered a glass of Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc and Scott ordered a Mai Tai. Both drinks were delicious and hit the spot. Disney Mai Tai's are seriously one of my most favorite beverages on the planet.

Scott ordered a cup of seafood chowder which he said was delicious and I skipped the app because I was saving room for these babies:

Crab Cakes with little tomato and bean salad. They were out of this world amazing. The crab tasted fresh and had virtually zero breading. You could really taste the sweetness of the crab meat. The meal was served with house made potato chips. They were a touch on the salty side but I barely ate them anyway.

Scott ordered the short ribs and corn risotto and this was also absolutely delish. The meat was tender and fell apart. I make a really good risotto, so I'm picky about it when I order it on a menu. This risotto was perfectly cooked, not gummy and full of sweet corn flavor.



Scott skipped dessert (also a theme for this trip) and I got the Gianduja Chocolate Cake which was only OK. I didn't love the rice krispie base and hardly got any hazelnut flavor. Another weird thing that happened was that I ordered coffee, which came straight away, but was ICE cold. When I alerted our waitress she apologized and said she would bring me a fresh cup. A few minutes later, I got another cup of freezing cold coffee. We were done anyway, and didn't want to make a thing of it. But we thought it was pretty funny. Our waitress was attentive and sweet tho. But maybe the coffee urns need replacing? We've always had really good service and really good food at Captain's Grille. This was no exception.

 

[nco91590]

After a great meal at Captain's Grille, we came back to our room to find our luggage already waiting for us! So we changed into our bathing suits and hit the hot tub. This was one thing that we really missed being able to do together. The last couple times we've gone with kids and by the time you get them to bed, you're exhausted and are too scared of waking them up for even one of you to leave the room to sit and soak. So we DEFINITELY took advantage of kid-free nights in the villa hot tubs.

Side note: I also wore a pedometer, and thought it would be fun to share my ending miles for the day. I always get a kick out of how far you walk on an average day in WDW. End of Day 1: 4.3 miles

Day 2: Magic Kingdom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I always have our first full day at MK. Although World Showcase is my favorite park, nothing says "I'm in Disney" like walking through Main Street U.S.A. Temperatures were in the mid-60's at 8am and very comfortable. The only problem was, that it was SUPER foggy. So that quintessential moment of seeing the castle was not as exciting seeing as though it was barely visible. Crowds were low and we were through security (and metal detectors) in about 10 minutes.





So happy

We took a left and hit up Haunted Mansion first. Walked right on. I had to slow down to take a couple pics of the my favorite line in all of WDW



From HM, we went over to BTMRR and Splash Mtn, where I ended up getting soaked and had to buy a $4 hair tie with a giant minnie bow on it. Not really my style. After Splash, we went over to Pirates of the Caribbean, got myself a tasty treat (the joy on my face!) all before 12pm. The lines were non-existant for anything. It was awesome. The last couple times we've been have been crowds of 7-10 so this was pretty remarkable. Couple that with no diaper changes or temper tantrums and we were cruising through that park! After the dole ship we managed to walk on Small World and dumbo before our reservation at Be our Guest.





Lunch was at Be our Guest at around 1:30pm and it was really delightful. BOG just opened last time we were there in 2014, and I was not interested in dealing with the hype and crowds. I figured I would wait until the hysteria died down a bit before going. I have to say, that for a counter service it's really one of the best options in WDW. We had great service and a really lovely lunch. We pre-ordered a Croque Monsieur and a roast beef sandwich. We were given a yellow rose at the check in, grabbed a couple sodas, toured the different dining rooms before choosing a seat. I think we would've really liked the West Wing but it was full and had a few dirty tables so we opted for the quieter music box room. Our food came right out and was still hot. I was worried about the roast beef being gristly (YUCKO) but it was really tasty. For dessert I ordered us the strawberry and lemon cupcake. I had bites of each and I must say I preferred the strawberry.







Up Next: Day 2 part 2 - Margaritas in World Showcase and Dinner at the Wave

 

[nco91590]

Hi Natalie! I hope you guys had an awesome trip. Can't wait to read more!

Hi there! Thanks for reading I remember taking copious notes from your TR. It's fun to read about adult only trips to WDW!

 

[LinderInWonderland]

Following along! I am interested in your takes as some of the restaurants on your list are going to be first-time visits for me in May.

 

[automaticsoap]

Yum - following along! Early February is one of my favorite times to visit.

 

[nco91590]

Day 2 part 2:

By the time we were done with lunch at BOG, the crowds started to pick up a bit. By 2:30, we were done with MK and decided it was margarita time! We took the monorail over to Epcot and figured we would walk around WS for a bit and go back to the hotel to freshen up before our dinner reservation that night.

We walked by Space Ship Earth and it had something like a 5 minute wait, so we decided to go on it. This ride always seems to have a crazy long line and I remember it being pretty outdated and not really worth the wait. But let me tell you...these pics at the end of the ride are worth the wait lol



We were dying laughing. What in the world is this supposed to be anyway? Why are my eyes black? What is happening here? Scott looks like he's giving us Blue Steel. I took a bunch of these because they were so funny.

Our next stop was the Mexico pavilion for a margarita from La Cava. I fell in love with these margaritas in 2014 and the love affair continues. Pepe was our bartender and he was really knowledgeable about the drinks on the menu. Scott got the blood orange and I decided on the cucumber margarita. And for free, Pepe hooked us up with 2 shots of jalapeno margarita. My feelings were mixed on that one. It was tasty and had a really subtle heat from the jalapenos but I could never imagine drinking a whole one. I guess if you like spicy bloody mary's or spicy food in general, you would enjoy this one. But one shot was enough for us.

Our drinks were in short, amazing. The blood orange had a sweet but not clawing taste and it was STRONG. My cucumber margarita was perfection. I needed a break from the sweet and sour mixed drinks and this was refreshing and almost like a mojito with the cool cucumber and mint garnish. They were pricey at almost $14 each, but with the high alcohol and unique flavors, I would say it's a better value than the frozen ones outside.





We knew we were headed to Epcot the next day so we decided to head back to the hotel to relax and get ready for dinner at the Wave at the Contemporary. I made later reservations this night, so after we relaxed at the hotel and showered, we decided to head back to MK for Spectromagic and a stroll around Future World. Spectromagic (yes...I know that's not the name of it anymore) is really one of my most favorite things about MK. I love the lights, I love that it's kinda 70's ish, I love the weird techy music. It's awesome and just good clean fun.









I picked the Wave based on all the great reviews on the various websites. They are certainly worthy of all the praise. I agree with some people that the ambiance is lacking as it really just looks like your standard hotel restaurant. Certainly not something you would expect from Disney. There is literally zero theming and you would probably walk right by it due to it's 1st floor location and unassuming decor. The entry way is really the most interesting part of the restaurant. I digress....on to the food.

We were seated right away and had an adorable waiter (blanking on his name!). We each ordered a Mai Tai and for an appetizer, we selected the "bacon and eggs" Maple-lacquered Pork Belly with Lake Meadow Naturals Perfect Egg and Tillamook Smoked Cheddar Grits. O.M.G. This was hands down one of the best things we ate all week. The pork belly had almost a pastrami seasoning. It was sticky and sweet on the outside, the egg was poached to perfection and the grits were smooth and cooked perfectly.



We were blown away, seriously. Both of us ordered the salt crusted beef tenderloin which was perfectly cooked. The mashed potatoes were flavorful if not a wee bit on the salty side. The green beans were crunchy and fresh tasting.



For dessert, I ordered the trio of chocolate desserts. It consisted of a mini german chocolate cake, a brownie with gelato and a chocolate creme brulee. Again, this was all just ok. The brownie with gelato was my favorite of the 3. Scott skipped dessert so our waiter gave us a glass bottle of evian for the road. He must've known we were going to feel a bit...dehydrated in the morning





Overall, the service and food were outstanding at The Wave. I would go back in a heartbeat. If you go....seriously, get the bacon and eggs.

You would think us crazy kids would be exhausted after such a long day...but we had one more stop! Trader Sam's Grog Grotto!

 

[nco91590]

Following along! I am interested in your takes as some of the restaurants on your list are going to be first-time visits for me in May.

Hey there! Thanks for following along! You'll be happy to know that all of our sit down restaurant meals were fabulous! I guess that's a pretty big spoiler alert! LOL

 

[nco91590]

Yum - following along! Early February is one of my favorite times to visit.

My husband said he will NEVER go to Disney again in the summer. It's almost like everything is easier when it's not 105 degrees, ya know? Even when it was chilly toward the end of the week, the sun was still shining!

 

[Chelley00]

Following along. We are planning our first adults only trip and have some of the same restaurants planned.

 

[pumba]

fantastic kid free time...thanks for taking the time to take us on your vacation..

 

[nco91590]

Following along. We are planning our first adults only trip and have some of the same restaurants planned.

Good for you! I went through stages of feeling really guilty and was so scared that I would miss them so much that it would ruin my time there. But it was SO good for us to have time away. Of course I missed them and we facetimed every day but they were in great hands. Parents work hard! We deserve some time to ourselves every now and again

 

[nco91590]

Day 2 continued: Trader Sam's Grog Grotto

Even though we were stuffed from dinner at the Wave, I was determined to check out Trader Sam's Grog Grotto. It was around 9pm at this point so I figured there wouldn't be too long of a wait. Plus, I'll take any excuse to visit the Poly

I found the bar pretty easily....it's down by Captain Cooks and there's signage that will direct you down there. There's only one sign on a solid door for Trader Sam's, so keep your eyes peeled. First you walk into a small reception area. The woman we spoke with was adorable and said she had a small wait, gave us a pager and we went down to check out the boats. The patio bar looked neat too with a nice ambiance and a ukulele player. If you can't get in to TS without a horrendous wait, I would recommend grabbing a lapu on the patio. Looked really nice.

In about 10 minutes our buzzer went off. We walked inside and I have to say, people were not kidding when they said it was super tight in there. There's literally one long table and like, 4 banquettes and a short bar with about 8 seats. The atmosphere was cool though. Lots going on. The bartenders weren't super into it though. We had one guy who was pretty funny but the other employees there were kinda phoning it in, if you know what I mean.




(Sorry these are so dark! Took them on my iPhone)

Scott and I ordered a Uh-Oa! "Myers’s Original Dark Rum, Bacardi Superior Rum, Orange, Passion Fruit, Guava, Pineapple, and Grapefruit Juices, Falernum, Cinnamon, and fresh Lime Juice. Recommended for Two or more Guests. Served in a souvenir Tiki Bowl". The best part was that they set it on fire! I have a video, but I'm not sure if I can post it...and anyway, you should see it in person! There should be some sort of mystery about this place.



The drink was pretty tasty but VERY sweet. It's got like, 4 sugar cubes in it. And after the Mai Tai's earlier, my stomach was starting to ache a bit. We paid our ridiculously high drink tab for one drink (it was like, $40 I think?!?) and caught a bus from MK back to the hotel for the night.

Basically, we went to 2 parks and 3 hotels that day. We were pretty exhausted!

Miles walked: 11.1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[LinderInWonderland]

Oof! Your $40 drink rivals the $40 S'mores Baked Alaska at The Boathouse - but really your drink was $20 for two people as opposed to the 4 person serving of Baked Alaska (which we are totally getting on our next trip, BTW).

 

[nco91590]

Day 3: Epcot/World Showcase Day

Scott and I woke up bright an early for another full day, but this time at Epcot and World Showcase. The plan was to have a big breakfast and then just snack around WS for lunch. I had been drooling over the Captain's Grille breakfast menu so I made us an 8am reservation. I think we could've used a bit of a lay in, but we're morning people and have LOTS of practice of getting up early with 2 little ones.

We were sat right away for breakfast at the same table we were at 2 nights before. That was great for me because it was very quiet and private. We were given HOT coffee this time which was very much appreciated. We needed a bit of a boost after such a long day at MK. I ordered the Ricotta pancakes with lemon curd and blueberries. I subbed out fruit for the potatoes and added on sausage for like, $4.

Scott ordered the eggs benedict (sorry no pics) and said they were delicious. Unfortunately for me, I did NOT enjoy my pancakes at all. I don't know how to describe it, but the pancakes had a very odd texture which I am assuming is from the ricotta. They were chalky tasting if that makes any sense. They were very light but didn't have the texture of pancakes, it was kind of like eating air....I know I'm not doing a great job of describing these! I've had ricotta pancakes in the past and have enjoyed them. But these were a miss for me. I did my best to plow through a few bites. I did like the taste of the lemon curd and blueberries. The sausage was very good and the fruit was fresh.

They look purty though, don't they?



Again, great service, but I just didn't like these. Probably my least favorite meal of the trip. Boo. But I've had like, 6 meals at CG now and 5/6 aint bad!

After breakfast we filled up our mugs at the Marketplace and set off for the walk over to Epcot. Again, the parks were dead. We had FP's for Test Track, but honesly, we could have waited the 20 minutes to get on. After TT, we went to Journey of the Imagination, the Pixar Movie (so cute! wish it was longer), and then over to Nemo and to walk around the Living Seas. We went over to the Land, but the line for Living with the Land was like, 35 minutes at that point. I think that's what annoys me the most about FP's. That it forces you to make a ride choice. I have never in my life waited more than 10 minutes to get on Living with the Land. Most people didn't even know it was there! But now that Soarin' is out of commission, people decided to use their FP there. Just a little rant. Didn't ruin our day or anything

Because I essentially only ate 2 sausage links and some fruit for breakfast I was starting to get hungry. It was close to lunch, so we decided to head over to World Showcase my most favorite place in the world! First stop, France for lunch at Les Halles!



I ordered the ham sandwich, tarte au citron and a glass of chardonnay. Scott ordered the same sandwich, but the chocolate tarte and a Kronnenburg.

DESSERTS!





After a nice relaxing lunch, I decided to grab a Grey Goose Slush and head counter-clockwise to check out the countries.

 

[nco91590]

Day 3 (cont.)

By the time we got to Germany, we were ready for a nice cold beer. We both ordered the Schoenhofer Grapefruit beer. Scott was not expecting it to be so sweet. I had read reviews so I had an idea. It's kinda like a shandy if you're familiar with those. There's a heavy grapefruit flavor but with a beer finish. I enjoyed mine. I don't think Scott liked his as much. Clearly...I enjoyed mine LOL



We toured a few more countries, sat on a bench and chatted/people watched, shopped in Norway (lots of construction here folks. But it looks like it's gonna be pretty big back there) and China. Bummed because they're refacing the Chinese pavilion, which is one of my favorite things in WS


The fiesta margarita was calling our names so naturally.....


And then for a snack, I couldn't walk by Refreshment Port without my #1 top treat of all time:



THE CRONUT. Oh how I love thee. They are so warm and crunchy and sweet and flakey. All.good.things.

After my alone time with my cronut, we decided to hit the shops in the UK and head back to the resort for a swim and a nap. We didn't have any dinner reservations scheduled so the night was up in the air. At around 7:00pm, we decided to head to Hollywood Studios to watch a new Star Wars themed fireworks show. We took the boat over and were thinking about where we should eat.

Starring Rolls was no longer serving sandwiches, which is really the only CS place worth eating at over there in my opinion. Desperate and hungry, we decided to eat at Rosie's All American Cafe.

I had the grossest burger ever. I don't have any pictures, or additional points to make here. The burger was cold, the cheese was sweaty and the bun was stale. We couldn't believe how truly bad that was LOL. Scott actually brought it up yesterday. It will forever be etched in our memory.

We found a spot to watch the most awesome fireworks show I've ever seen Symphony in the Stars. Though it pains me to say....I liked it more than Illuminations. I'm only going to put one pic in here, because honestly, no pictures could really do it justice. I took a video on my phone of the finale. I mean, it was INCREDIBLE.




After the fireworks, we decided to call it a night and head to the hot tub with some wine we brough from home (FYI: a 3ltr box of wine weighs about 8lbs and fits nicely into luggage lol).

Miles Walked: 11.0

Day 4: Fishing Excursion and Disney Springs!

 

[nco91590]

Oof! Your $40 drink rivals the $40 S'mores Baked Alaska at The Boathouse - but really your drink was $20 for two people as opposed to the 4 person serving of Baked Alaska (which we are totally getting on our next trip, BTW).

I think you can get the drink without the souvineer mug. And truthfully, the mug is cool, but I was just looking at it the other day thinking what the heck I was going to use it for. Maybe a cereal bowl? I can't even think about how much we spent on drinks down there. It's like every single drink is over $10. Oh well. You only have your 10 year anniversary once (hopefully!) right?

 

[nco91590]

Day 4: Fishing Excursion/Disney Springs/WPE/Raglan Road

For our anniversary, I wanted to do a few things that normally we wouldn't be able to do with the kids around. Scott is an avid outdoorsman and loves to fish. My dad and all the sons-in-laws all did the Fishing Excursion in 2014, and LOVED it. He really wanted us to do it together so I agreed to the pretty high price tag and booked it for our non-park day. Typically, I just sit and sunbathe on the boat while Scott fishes. So I don't have ANY experience fishing. I thought it would be pretty cool to catch my first fish at Disney World!

The price tag is pretty high for an early morning fishing excursion. It was $245 with a DVC membership, and I think $270 without for 2 hours. We met our fishing guide at the yacht club dock at 6:45am. It was still dark out! They insist that no food can be brought aboard, so I was a little annoyed that I couldn't have a cup of coffee to watch the sunrise. Anyway, our guide was really nice and friendly (maybe a bit too chatty---but that could've been my lack of coffee!). He put all the bait on my hooks, showed me how to cast and how to reel the fish in. We took the boat to the dock of the Boardwalk and we started catching fish right away!





I caught 2 fish and Scott caught about 5 before we took the boat over to World Showcase. It was super fun to see all the countries from a completely different perspective.






I did not like touching the fish or sticking my thumb in it's mouth so there aren't a lot of pictures of me holding my fish. But I caught about 5 in total and Scott got like, 9! It ended up being one of the most fun things I've ever done in Disney and I highly recommend it as a SPECIAL treat if you like fishing. The price tag was high...but the experience was worth it! Especially if you go in on it with another couple.

 

[nco91590]

View attachment 151058 Day 4 (cont.) After fishing, we rinsed the fish off our hands (YUCK) and went over to Boardwalk Bakery for breakfast. We both got bacon, egg and cheese on a croissant (sorry no pics) and a coffee and ate outside on the patio. The weather was still pretty nice, but we knew rain was in the forecast. A cold front was on it's way and the temps were supposed to drop by the weekend.

We went back to the room and took an epic nap. It was about 1:30p by the time we were up and showered. By 3 we were over at Disney Springs for some shopping and our 7:15pm reservation at Raglan Road. Feeling hungry, we went to Wolfgang Puck Express.

I ordered the chicken salad sandwich, and Scott got the mac and cheese. Both were really delicious.



The chicken was white meat with grapes and I think almonds on multi-grain bread. I subbed out a salad for the chips which was good, but pretty heavy handed on the dressing. I think my favorite part was the cheesecake for dessert. It was light and fluffy and probably the best dessert I had this entire trip! WPE is definitely one of the best CS options in WDW.

After lunch we did some souvenir shopping for the kids. Stopped in Lego shop, Basin, etc. I really wanted to check out The Boathouse so we decided to catch a drink on their patio. That restaurant is truly gorgeous. I still can't help but balk at the prices, especially due to the casual atmosphere of the restaurant. There are table cloths, but it just feels really casual in there. And if I'm having a $60 steak I want it to feel a bit more upscale. Just my own preference. I'm sure the food is delicious

We sat ourselves at one of the tables in the outdoor bar area. I made sure to tell them we were only having a quick cocktail and to check the place out. They assured me that was fine. Now, here's where things got weird. Our waiter was pretty rude tho and started only talking to my husband. I don't want to spend too long giving examples of the interactions with this waiter, but either he was hot for my husband or super sexist. In any event, we ordered an Old Fashioned and I got a Moscow Mule which was NOT good. It tasted like rose's lime juice was just dumped over some vodka.





The waiter of course, presented the bill to Scott and even though I gave him the book, the waiter gave the final bill to him and only wished my husband a pleasant evening. It's like I wasn't even there. Little does that guy know that I'm the ex-waitress/bartender and the better tipper...except for this instance. 15% buddy and not a cent more.