The Greatest Hits: A Trip Like This Needs a Soundtrack!-A July 2012 TR Upd. 5/5!

[tinawv]

I am loving your trip report and can't wait to read more. You and your husband are such a cute couple.

 

[Pluto0809]

I also heard the rumor that the Oreo Bon Bons are gone. They are the main reason I wanted to go to Cape May Cafe during our trip next month. They look so good! So I'm really hoping the rumor is not true!

 

[flyergrad09]

Oh arcades... when DBF and I stayed at ASMu back in May, the arcade was the big selling point on the resort for my DBF! I don't get it, but whatever makes them happy, right?

The inside of Cape May looks so pretty! It reminds me of a First Watch (I don't know if you have those where you live, but if you don't, take my word for it. )

If you ask me, dessert (especially Oreo bon bons!) > cheese cubes. You made a good choice!

 

[Wanna be Ariel]

Cape May is a MUST for my DH. We really both love it. Glad you both did too!

 

[cindianne320]

YUM- Cape May is definitely on my wish list! Can't wait to hear about your night at MK! (Oh and I LOLed at your Niagara Falls story!)

 

[emma212010]

YUM! Those desserts looked phenomenal!!!

I love that magnet story! It's the little things that become traditions!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Sorry I have been so far behind--we took our trip, we're back, and we're just now starting to get back int he swing of things.

I am all caught up now! And I have to say that reading about Cape May in your most recent post may not have been the best thing at ten at night; I'm starving, and a whole package of Oreos is starting to sound somehow reasonable about now. I'm with you--I LOVE crab legs and use butter with wild abandon. The mussels, clams, horseradish, not so much, but I think I could eat my family of five's weight in crab legs. And I might just try.

CERM ERRRRNNNN!!

 

[monica23535]

Great update Joni!

Yum, I love Cape May Cafe . In fact we're eating there tonight!

 

[DisneyGator13]

You and John are really having quite the productive day! Two delicious snacks AND what looks to be a fantastic meal at Cape May Cafe!

I love how thrilled you sound when talking about John's arcade obsession! So funny, but I guess it's nice of you to let him have his time.

I've never eaten at Cape May before and after those pictures I feel like it will become a must-do! Sadly, ADRs on my upcoming trip were limited due to free dining and our enormous party (11!), but I'll certainly keep it in mind for a future trip.

 

[therussells08]

Hiiii!!! I'm so behind on so many TR's, but I'm trying to get caught up! Ugh, don't you hate waiting for husband to nap when you want to just get out and explore Disney??? So annoying! I swear, next time I'm waiting around for Brandon to wake up, I'm just going to go to a park without him, he always cuts into my valuable Disney time!

Haha, Brandon loves arcades too, and I always have to drag him out! Go to an arcade at home, again, wasting precious Disney time!

AHHHH Cape May Cafe!!! I'm SO glad you liked it, I know I always talk about how great it is, so I was nervous reading your review, thinking maybe you wouldn't love it, but how could you not? It's amazing!!! I can't wait to go there again! Did you hear the Oreo Bonbons are gone? Yep, I repeat...the Oreo Bonbons are GONE! I've read that you can still get them at the BC Marketplace, but seriously, ***????

ps-I started a PTR for my November trip if you ever want to come over...

Hi! Don't feel bad, I'm way behind on TRs too....and your PTR! I am going to go over there and catch up after this! Haha seriously, what is it with men and napping at Disney?! It's just not acceptable!

I think that John will be 100 years old, in a wheelchair, and hooked up to an oxygen tank, and he'll still be into arcades. He is such a big kid!

YES! We both loved it so much! Thank you for the recommendation! I can't believe they got rid of the Oreo Bon Bons though! How could that possibly be a good idea?!

Must. have. Oreo. BON BONS! Yay for Cape May....sooooooo good!

John is so cute in the arcade...boys will be boys!

You're right, Cape May is so delicious! And those Oreo Bon Bons...well. There's nothing like them!

Haha yep, he's a big kid through and through! You gotta love him!

Oh, boys and their arcades and cheese cubes! When will they ever learn?

Your updates always crack me up...even tangents including your life stories, so keep em' comin!!

AHH THOSE BON BONS are so good. I've had them before, but not at Cape May, though I'm pretty sure they were the same thing. They look exactly the same! I could go for one (or 50) of those right now. That's why the Wishes Dessert Party is so genius: all the desserts at a buffet without that pesky "meal" part to fill you up!

HAHA but really. I pay thousands of dollars for a vacation, when all I needed to do to make him happy was buy a bag of cheese cubes and take him to an arcade. *sigh*

Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoy them!

Seriously, those bon bons are AMAZING. You're right about the dessert party! I just wish they featured more popular desserts from the various Disney restaurants. That would be really cool!

OMG YOUR DISNEY TRIP IS LIKE.....HERE! LIA!!!!!!!!!

Great dining review!! I swear Disney sprinkles pixie dust on their potatoes, because I have yet to meet a Disney potato I haven't liked!

Thanks! Seriously, Disney potatoes are amazing. Those red bliss potatoes were the best I've ever had!

Hahaha, you're so funny saying you're going to work out.

I hate it when my stomach eats my spine. That's not a pleasant feeling.

CERM ERNNNNN!!! I love it!

From what I've seen, Cape May seems to be crowded all the time. It's definitely a popular place.

I can identify with John, I have to admit that crab legs just irritate the heck out of my, so I also pretend like I don't like them to avoid eating them.

OMG, the cheese cubes on every plate. Hilarious.

It has been sooooo long since I've had an Oreo Bon Bon. Gaahhhh, I want one!

Haha yeah we all know that's not going to happen, especially not on vacation!

It's definitely not pleasant! Maybe I was being a tad overdramatic but....you know. I was hungry.

That makes sense why it's crowded. It's SO GOOD.

They get on my nerves too, but I'm too much of a pig to avoid eating them. I just sit there and make a total fool of myself in the process.

I KNOW. I was expecting his dessert plate to have friggin' cheese cubes on it.

I want one too. Or, you know....100.

I love how intense John looks trying to get that keychain.

Sounds like y'all had an excellent dinner at Cape May! I would love to try dinner there. I love seafood!

Haha he doesn't mess around with video games!

We did! It was so good! If you love seafood then I highly recommend it!

Those crab legs and the pork loin look so good! I've been wanting to try Cape May Cafe for a while. This only gives me more incentive to make an ADR for the next time we are in Disney. Thanks for sharing the photos! I love your trip reports!

I highly recommend Cape May! I think you would love it! I'm glad my review was helpful. Thank you so much for reading along!

I love your trip report so much just because it's at Beach Club and I just love seeing photos of that resort. It brings me to my happy place. Seriously.

And OMG, I started laughing SO hard over here at the "CERM EEERRRRN!"

Have you seen this internet "meme" yet?! Your story IMMEDIATELY made me think of it!

BAHAHAHA, there are way more, too!

ANYWAY... CAPE MAY BUFFET! We may or may not have eaten there 3 times during our last trip, twice for dinner and once for breakfast... Hahaha, we were a little obsessed. But it's so good!

However, I've heard some terrible rumors that the Oreo Bon Bons are no longer served there! I'm hoping it's not true; we're eating there our first night of our trip!

Your food looks amazing though; I was in LOVE with those potatoes, too! That and those rolls were amazing, and obviously the Oreo Bon Bons. YUM.

Oh, and random but.. Tour Groups just need to go away. I feel the Tour Group pain every January when we go. If they didn't exist, Januarys would be so much quieter in Disney World, haha.

I'm so glad my TR can help transport you to your happy place. Beach Club is such a gorgeous resort. I LOVE IT.

HAHAHAHA YESSSS! I love those memes! That girl's face is priceless! ERMAHGERD DERSNER WERLD.

I totally don't blame you for repeat visits to Cape May. It's so delicious!

I can't believe they got rid of the Oreo bon bons. That doesn't make any sense!

Almost everything on my plates was delicious! I loved it all, especially those potatoes and bon bons!

UGH TOUR GROUPS. We seriously need to get a group of DISers together and go to Brazil and wander around singing and getting in everyone's way. JUST SAYIN'.

 

[therussells08]

TWIN! You're updating two days in a row?! Am I dreaming????

HAHAHAH SPIDEY SENSES. Spiderman is the best, am I right? And no, I did not see the new movie because I'm still upset that anyone thought that was necessary. Even though Andrew Garfield is hotter but STILL. Oh, but even Tobey's version of Spiderman has been replaced by Thor... for obvious reasons.

What is happening here? I'm really sorry.

Hahhaa... magnets. Right? Magnets. CERM ERNNNN.

Not that this is a surprise because of our twin status, but I DO THE SAME THING. (Buying the resort specific pins, that is. BOARDWALK PIN GET AT ME!!!)

By the way, the Beach Club merchandise is all so precious! I wish the Contemporary had that much selection!

It's so funny that you mention the refurb schedule, because originally on my trip I'd really wanted to eat at Cape May for breakfast! HOWEVER... the day it opened was, you guessed it, the day AFTER we left! How coincidental! I'm really glad yall got to go though!

On your second plate you forgot to mention more butter. It's important, I thought you knew? Can I just say those rolls look too good to be true?! Why do they look so good though? I hate to say it, but I can't do seafood! It looks like John went and got his plates at the beach but stopped being creative with the types of seashells he picked up.

I literally think I'd go to this place and eat rolls and Oreo bon bons. And who would stop me? WHO?

You are NOT dreaming. This is real life.

Okay I have to be honest, I've never been into the whole Spiderman thing. Neither Tobey nor Andrew really do it for me....Thor, on the other hand.....well....

CERM ERNNNN. We've got to get back to this report. CERM ERN.

YAY! More twin-ditions. See what I did there? I combined "twin" with "traditions." Did it work? No? Okay.

Actually, I think I did the BC merch more justice than it deserved, because it really wasn't that impressive. Their gift shop was SO SMALL. The Yacht Club had a way better gift shop!

Ughhh I'm sorry you missed out on Cape May! And I'm sorry I spent an entire update ranting about how amazing it is. It's really not that good. Actually, it's disgusting. You didn't miss anything.

(I'm lying.....)

How could I forget the butter?! I'm a fool. Probably because it was such a staple of each of my plates that I eventually stopped noticing. Kind of like John's cheese cubes.

You eat those rolls and bon bons, girl. DO IT.

I am loving your trip report and can't wait to read more. You and your husband are such a cute couple.

Thank you so much! I'm so glad you are enjoying my report! Awww thank you! You're so sweet!

I also heard the rumor that the Oreo Bon Bons are gone. They are the main reason I wanted to go to Cape May Cafe during our trip next month. They look so good! So I'm really hoping the rumor is not true!

Noooooo! This is terrible news!! I have no idea why Disney would do something so stupid!!

Oh arcades... when DBF and I stayed at ASMu back in May, the arcade was the big selling point on the resort for my DBF! I don't get it, but whatever makes them happy, right?

The inside of Cape May looks so pretty! It reminds me of a First Watch (I don't know if you have those where you live, but if you don't, take my word for it. )

If you ask me, dessert (especially Oreo bon bons!) > cheese cubes. You made a good choice!

Haha boys and their games!

We don't have those, but I will take your word for it! It really was a beautiful restaurant! I wonder if it looks really different since the refurb.

THANK YOU. I don't know what he was thinking!

Cape May is a MUST for my DH. We really both love it. Glad you both did too!

It is so good! I'm glad you enjoy it too! I can't wait to go again someday!

YUM- Cape May is definitely on my wish list! Can't wait to hear about your night at MK! (Oh and I LOLed at your Niagara Falls story!)

I hope you get to go there soon! It is so amazing! Haha I'm glad you enjoyed that story! CERM ERNNNN, let's do another update!

 

[therussells08]

YUM! Those desserts looked phenomenal!!!

I love that magnet story! It's the little things that become traditions!

They were SO GOOD!

Haha I'm glad you liked it! Yeah, my dad and I are two weird peas in a pod!

Sorry I have been so far behind--we took our trip, we're back, and we're just now starting to get back int he swing of things.

I am all caught up now! And I have to say that reading about Cape May in your most recent post may not have been the best thing at ten at night; I'm starving, and a whole package of Oreos is starting to sound somehow reasonable about now. I'm with you--I LOVE crab legs and use butter with wild abandon. The mussels, clams, horseradish, not so much, but I think I could eat my family of five's weight in crab legs. And I might just try.

CERM ERRRRNNNN!!

No worries! How was your trip? I hope it was magical!

Hahaha I'm sorry! Reading food updates at night is probably not a good idea...I do it all the time, then overcompensate with my boring non-Disney food! I'm the exact same way! Mussels and clams aren't my thing, but ohhhh crab legs!

CERM ERRRRNNN!

Great update Joni!

Yum, I love Cape May Cafe . In fact we're eating there tonight!

Thank you so much!

AHHH I'm so jealous! I hope it was delicious! Did they really get rid of the Oreo bon bons?!

You and John are really having quite the productive day! Two delicious snacks AND what looks to be a fantastic meal at Cape May Cafe!

I love how thrilled you sound when talking about John's arcade obsession! So funny, but I guess it's nice of you to let him have his time.

I've never eaten at Cape May before and after those pictures I feel like it will become a must-do! Sadly, ADRs on my upcoming trip were limited due to free dining and our enormous party (11!), but I'll certainly keep it in mind for a future trip.

I know, I can't believe I'm still on the first full day! That meal was SO good!

Haha yeah arcades aren't exactly my thing! He loves them so much though, how can I say no?

I highly recommend Cape May when you can fit it into your trip sometime! It's delicious! What are your ADRs for your upcoming trip?

 

[therussells08]

"Welcome Medley"- The Main Street Singers​

July 8, 2012​

A kingdom filled with endless dreams for every girl and boy
Wondrous lands of make believe will fill your heart with joy
A castle leads the entranceway to seven lands and more
Step inside our storybook; imagine what’s in store!​

In my last update, John and I were just finishing our delicious dinner at Cape May Cafe! When we left the restaurant we looked out the window and realized everything was SOAKED! Apparently it had rained like crazy while we were eating dinner, but it was already over and the clouds were clearing up. Talk about perfect timing!

It’s a good thing the rain had stopped, because we weren’t done yet! Despite our already incredibly successful first day, we were off to Magic Kingdom for Extra Magic Hours!

Isn’t that a beautiful sight?

The parking attendants had pretty much given up for the the day, so we were able to park really close in the Aladdin lot.

Can I just stop for a second and acknowledge how much I love the heroes/villains parking lots at MK? The three year old in me comes out when I am pulling into the parking lot and eagerly awaiting seeing which character I will get. It’s the little things that make me love Disney.

John was feeling the MK parking lot love too!

Speaking of being three years old? I always get really excited about which monorail color I will get, too. Especially when I get.....

PEACH! My favorite! It was going to be a good night!

There’s nothing like being on the monorail for the first time on your trip!

When we got to MK I had to go through the bag check while John went in through the “guests without bags” entrance. The man in line behind me was watching the security guard checking the bags, and he said to his son, “there’s nothing like a good bag check, and THIS is definitely nothing like a good bag check.” I have to admit, he was right. The security guard was literally pulling the bags open with his pinkie finger, glancing inside for a millisecond, and moving on. Who would want to bring something dangerous into MK though, I mean really?

Anyway, I met back up with John when I made it through bag check, and finally got take a picture of this beautiful sight!

We went into the park (right side, of course! Fellow OCD MK patrons, can I get an amen?) and literally had not stepped two feet inside before a woman walked up to us and was like, “Excuse me, would you like these FastPasses to Splash Mountain? We are getting ready to leave and can’t use them!” and then we were like, “No thanks, we’re good.”

JUST KIDDING. If that’s ever what I say in response to free FPs just shoot me, please. We snatched those things up like they were gold and thanked her profusely. YAY PIXIE DUST!

Lord, what is up with my face in that picture? I look like I stepped too close to the deep frier, and then slipped and dunked my head in the oil.

HAHA gross. Sorry about that.

I was so absorbed with being in Magic Kingdom (FINALLY) and I was struggling to take it all in. We all know that magical wonderful perfect feeling when you step into MK for the first time of your trip. Nothing in the world can compare to it!

John was eager to get to Tomorrowland to check for Space Mountain FPs, but I couldn’t resist admiring some shop windows on Main Street first!

I am obsessed with that Alice in Wonderland tea set. I spent a large part of this trip drooling over it, but I never got around to buying it. I am determined to buy it in March for my china cabinet!

As much as I love admiring souvenirs in the shop windows, I had something more important to obsess over!

That is pretty much the most mediocre “first castle shot of the trip” ever, but I still had to share it. It accurately captures the moment, which was me running like a spaz toward it and therefore taking an uncentered, blurry picture.

Just like every other first time at MK for John and me, I was dragging my feet so I could absorb the atmosphere, and John was dragging me so we could get to Space Mountain. We raced over, but unfortunately the FPs were already gone for the day. The wait was pretty long, so we decided to come back later that night. For the time being we agreed to cut through Fantasyland and go ride one of my absolute favorites: the Haunted Mansion!

Cutting through Fantasyland meant getting to creep on the expansion, so I had John utilize his 6’2” stature and stand on his tiptoes to get some decent shots of the progress!

AHHH I can’t believe that’s seriously about to open. I AM SO READY FOR MARCH!

Before we could go to the HM I had to check out the Storybook Circus and the new Dumbo!

It was pretty crowded around that area, so we decided not to actually ride Dumbo, but just to check out what it looked like!

It was so cool! Everything looked so shiny and new! It made me that much more excited for the entire expansion to open up!

On our way out of the expansion area we saw this hilarious group of girls. At first I couldn’t figure out what they were doing, but then I realized they were posing with the Little Mermaid display they have on the walls blocking the expansion. One girl was trying to get her picture taken kissing Prince Eric, so she was standing on another girl’s back to make herself tall enough. It was shameless and hilarious and amazing, so naturally I took their picture.

Those are my kind of Disney nerds. Crushing on cartoon characters, awww yeah! I’m right there with them. (Aladdin, Flynn Rider, and when I was little, Kit the bear from Tailspin. I wish I were joking.)

We made it to the HM, and the line was only about fifteen minutes long (which we all know really means five) so we hopped right in line!

I LOVE THE HAUNTED MANSION.

Just as I expected, the line moved super quickly and within two minutes we were at the split off for the quick queue or the scenic route. There was a CM standing right at the split, and two girls walked up to him and said, “What’s the difference between the two lines?” The CM was totally in character, and he responded in a very sarcastic and dry tone, “One has a cemetery and one doesn’t. Can you not see that?” Then one of the girl’s said something to the other about “I just want to go in the haunted house,” and he said to them, “Um..it’s a MANSION, not a house.” It was pretty funny, but also kind of awkward, because I’m not sure the girls knew that he was joking.

Anyway, John and I opted to skip the cemetery, so we were on the ride within five minutes! It was amazing, as always, and the perfect choice for a first ride at MK!

After the Haunted Mansion we decided to see if there were any FPs available for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Luckily, there was!

They had a return time of 9:10, so we had time to go use our Splash Mountain FPs that the wonderful lady at the entrance had given us!

Despite our soiled track record with Splash Mountain, we actually did NOT get stuck! Hallelujah! We barely got wet either, so overall it was a successful ride!

When we got off Splash Mountain it was already time to use our BTMRR FastPasses, so we headed right back over. As we were getting ready to walk up to the entrance, a lady walked up and asked us if we wanted two more FPs with a return time of 9:15! WHAT IS THIS MAGIC? Up until this point I had NEVER had a stranger give me FPs. I had given away plenty myself, but never been on the receiving end. And now, in the same night, we had received FPs for two of our favorite rides from total strangers! Now that’s pixie dust!

So, what did we do? We rode twice in a row! And, on our first ride, we got the front row!

When we went back on for our second ride, we were making our way through the twisty turning queue, and this random group of people popped up out of nowhere and cut in front of us. They acted like it was no thing, but then when it was time to hand over their FPs they didn’t have any, so the CM made them get out of line. I maintained a straight face through this whole thing, but inside I was cheering. HAHA line jumpers. Get out of here. They complained to the CM, and they were like, “this line is too confusing! We don’t know where to go!” Um...follow the LINE OF PEOPLE going to get on the ride? It’s really not that hard. The CM tried to help them, but the group turned around and went down another row that was still the WRONG WAY. Hahaha, those people. As far as I know they’re still wandering around the BTMRR queue, trying to figure out how to get on the ride.

After our second ride on BTMRR it was almost time for The Magic, The Memories, and You and Wishes! I was so excited to see MMY because I had heard about the castle turning into a sandcastle and I had pretty much been obsessing over that for months, so we started making our way to Main Street. On the way we caught a little bit of my second favorite Disney parade of all time, the wonderful MAIN STREET ELECTRICAL PARADE. You all know how I am over this parade. I know, it’s weird. It’s unhealthy. I’ve realized that I love that parade more than I should, so I’ve been making an effort on recent trips to not obsess over it as much. For this reason, I tried to casually walk by without freaking out. I did, however, stop to take a picture of creepy-grown-man Pete for my dear DISfriend Marissa, who is quite disturbed by him.

Up Next: The Magic, The Memories, Aaaaand....YOU! Stay tuned!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Whoa, that's definitely some pixie dust! All those times you gave away FPs were paying off!

Glad you didn't get stuck on splash again, though I guess it made it difficult to come up with a TR title this go-round...

Line karma. She'll get ya every time.

 

[monica23535]

AHHH I'm so jealous! I hope it was delicious! Did they really get rid of the Oreo bon bons?!

Omg it was awesome!

I can still taste those crab legs and the peanut butter squares now!

Yes, no Oreo bon bons there but you can get them from the BC Marketplace

 

[emma212010]

Yay for pixie dust!!!!

Your evening sounds wonderful!

I am SO SO SO SO excited about the new Fantasyland! I can't wait to see it completely open!

MMY is amazing! I can't wait to see what they will do next!

 

[flyergrad09]

You have some seriously good FastPass karma! Two FPs for different rides given to you in one evening? That's awesome!

I love it when line jumpers get caught. Seriously, how hard is it to follow the rules?

 

[Nermel9]

Can I just stop for a second and acknowledge how much I love the heroes/villains parking lots at MK? The three year old in me comes out when I am pulling into the parking lot and eagerly awaiting seeing which character I will get. It’s the little things that make me love Disney.

OMG I do the same thing!!! Brandon always gives me this weird look when we drive in and I comment on which character we get!

Oh yeah, absolutely have to enter MK on the right! Going in on the left just feels weird!

Yay for the FP's! Love when that happens!

I've wanted that Alice tea set since I first started seeing it, I LOVE it! Someday I'm going to buy it and ship it back home, since there's no way I could lug that on a plane with me!

OMG I cannot wait for the New Fantasyland...just the thought that there is a TINY chance that I might get to see it on my trip in 18 DAYS (but who's counting ) is too much for me to handle. I feel like if I walk into MK and they tell me "hey, New Fantasyland is open, go right in" (ok, I don't know who would be telling me that, but just assume they have people doing that!) I might cry. I'm sure I will cry. Just thinking about seeing it in person is enough to make me want to cry!

Yay, more FP's! Like you said, I've given them away, but I've never received them, so that must be pretty amazing! People in Disney are SO nice! Well, most of them!

 

[beachphotog]

Wow, you really got sprinkled with the FP Pixie Dust!

I really love the HM CM's, they may be favorite because they totally stay in character and play them so well. It's not just another queue, it's an experience.

I love that Alice in Wonderland tea set, I bought either that one or one similar to it for a friend of mine who LOVES all things tea related: it's perfect!

I laughed out loud when I read you went to the right... I totally thought I was the only one who did that. I mean, who really wants to go to the left? Disney protocol dictates that you go to the right!

As a fellow shortie, I understand the need to utilize the tall-ness of the people around you- good call on getting John to snap some pics over the wall! (Side note: have you seen all the advance pictures for New Fantasyland??? I've been trying to avoid them so I can be surprised and excited when I go next... which they are doing random "dress rehearsals" all the time now! I so may get to see it when I am there next month!)

 

[amandaw]

Woo Hoo! for all the FP pixie dust!!!

Sounds like y'all had a really nice night in the MK!