20th Anniversary Trips - A PTR for a first ever Disney Cruise and a trip to California!

[missjackiemcg]

I'm so nervous about booking the LL's for my Mom and I in May on our one MK day before our cruise!! Her literal only request is to get on Tiana's Bayou Adventure. Tiana is her favorite princess. I'm hoping by May it will be a little easier to get one or hopefully get a VQ for it day of. Only having ONE park day is SO stressful, LOL. I just want to maximize the fun and see and do it all! I know I'll have to get more realistic for sure.

 

[disneyAndi14]

I'm so nervous about booking the LL's for my Mom and I in May on our one MK day before our cruise!! Her literal only request is to get on Tiana's Bayou Adventure. Tiana is her favorite princess. I'm hoping by May it will be a little easier to get one or hopefully get a VQ for it day of. Only having ONE park day is SO stressful, LOL. I just want to maximize the fun and see and do it all! I know I'll have to get more realistic for sure.

You should be able to get Tiana’s since you are staying on property. I had no problem getting for MK days.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I'm so nervous about booking the LL's for my Mom and I in May on our one MK day before our cruise!! Her literal only request is to get on Tiana's Bayou Adventure. Tiana is her favorite princess. I'm hoping by May it will be a little easier to get one or hopefully get a VQ for it day of. Only having ONE park day is SO stressful, LOL. I just want to maximize the fun and see and do it all! I know I'll have to get more realistic for sure.

I think you should be ok as long as you plan to be at Magic Kingdom all day. I could have gotten Slinky Dog it was just later than we still wanted to be at Hollywood Studios. But I get it! It's stressful!!

Thankfully, we plan to skip Tianna's and wait to ride with the girls for the first time.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Happy Sunday Everyone!!

We leave in 3 days!!! I can not wait! Today is packing day! I started to pack up some items. I also have s few meals I am going to prep for my sister and the girls while we are gone. Busy day today!

Let's talk about Festival of the Arts!! I went through and checked out all of the menu items and made a list. I "think" our plan is going to be to come in via International Gateway, eat in France then go down towards the front of the park. As we have a bunch we want to try towards the front..

Starting in France, I HAVE to try the Crème de Brie en Petit Pain: Warm creamy brie in a house-made bread bowl
Screenshot 2025-01-28 at 4.24.09 PM
I mean it's warm cheese! It looks so good!

I might get a drink in France or I mihgt wait till our next stop...

I want to try this, but we might skip it at the moment, as I fear it will fill us up too fast.
Caprese Poutine with Tuscan-spiced French fries, confit tomatoes, slivered garlic, mozzarella pearls, basil pesto, shaved pecorino, and balsamic glaze
Screenshot 2025-01-28 at 4.49.25 PM
It sounds weird to me but everyone seems to really like it. So I am curious...

The reason I want to skip the poutine for now, is this booth!
The Craftsman’s Courtyard

Beef Wellington-inspired Croissant Supreme with creamed spinach croissant pinwheel, mushroom-gorgonzola ragout, mustard-grilled flank steak, red wine sauce, and pickled mustard seeds
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This looks amazing!! And it has been getting good reviews.

I also want to try the Roasted Bone Marrow with onion marmalade, pickled mushrooms, and petite lettuce.
Screenshot 2025-01-28 at 4.44.53 PM
Mostly because I have never had bone marrow and I want to try it.

And then I def want to get this drink.
Coffee Old Fashioned Cocktail: Joffrey’s Coffee Cold Brew, simple syrup, orange bitters, and Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Screenshot 2025-01-28 at 4.45.00 PM
I had something like this at BOMA awhile back and the combo of the coffee and bourbon kind of made a chocolate taste to it and I want to see if this is similar.

After that we will probably head into COMMUNICORE PLAZA to check out the costumes and stuff they have in there and then try Opening Bites

Soft Shell Crab Slider: Green papaya slaw and mango ketchup on toasted brioche​

Screenshot 2025-01-28 at 4.52.45 PM ​

This is another one that I just really want to try a soft shell crab. I have always wanted to try one but never wanted to commit a whole meal to it. So this is my chance!!!

Next off will probably be

The Deconstructed Dish​

Screenshot 2025-01-28 at 4.51.18 PM
Deconstructed Strawberry Mint Julep: Frozen mint and simple syrup blend with strawberry purée
I might just get this drink? It looks fun and I believe you can get a bourbon.

I would like to try both of these but I am thinking I don't have room in my stomach for them sadly...
Screenshot 2025-01-28 at 4.50.33 PM

I think our next big booth to stop at is the Fictional Victuals
I def want to try the Squid Ink Pasta with lump crab, truffle cream, and shaved truffle
Screenshot 2025-01-28 at 4.46.18 PM
I have never had squid ink pasta and this has gotten good review. I am afraid this will fill us up a bit.

I am tempted to try the octopus but again in an effort to keep pace, I will probably skip the octopus.

I am also intersted in El Artista Hambriento (The Hungry Artist)
Screenshot 2025-01-28 at 4.39.14 PM
Carne Asada: Ancho-marinated beef sirloin with pasilla chile sauce, grilled queso fresco, nopales salad, and chicharron dust
This looks delish and I def want to try. The Croqueta but again not sure I will have the stomach space for this..
Screenshot 2025-01-28 at 4.39.19 PM
After this we can let things settle and just enjoy some of the art and stuff. As the next booth won't be till America.

The Artist’s Table​

Screenshot 2025-01-28 at 4.40.47 PM
Chicken “Pot Pie” with smoked cheddar mornay sauce, roasted vegetables, pickled mushrooms, wasabi peas, and sherry-chicken jus served open-faced on flaky pie crust
It's funny I would have totally skipped this, but it's gotten good reviews.
Screenshot 2025-01-28 at 4.40.53 PM
Hummingbird Cake: Banana and pecan cake dipped in cream cheese icing with caramel sauce and warm pineapple compote
I am tempted to try this as well. I love hummingbrid cake. My sister is vegan and she makes a MEAN hummingbird cake. Seriously, it is delish!

After that Japan has the last item that is a must try (hopefully)
Wagyu Bun: Steamed bun filled with American wagyu beef served with Japanese karashi mustard sauce and violet shiso sauce
Screenshot 2025-01-28 at 4.35.54 PM
And I would love to do the sushi donut...
Screenshot 2025-01-28 at 4.36.01 PM
But again no idea if I can fit that food in at this point. The whole booth my get get passed by depending on how we feel.

We would then need to loop back around and head towards the monorail. If by some miracle we are still hungry, I wouldn't mind trying the poutine and this from pop eats:
Screenshot 2025-01-28 at 4.44.01 PM
Tomato Soup with pimento cheese, bacon, and fried green tomato grilled cheese

At this point we should have gotten our fill in all things food and ready to move on to Magic Kingdom for more rides!

What do you think? Did I make good selections?

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Just three days to go - hooray! Good luck with your packing!

Mmmm, your list looks delicious! Of your choices, I’d be most excited about the grilled cheese combo from Pop Eats (it seems to be very popular every year), the squid pasta, and the baked Brie (mmmm, cheese!). The poutine also looks super fun - I love those flavors! The trouble with the food booths is there are so many great options and not enough stomach space!

 

[ambula603]

I am so excited for you! My mouth is watering just looking at all the delicious food!

 

[SEAGULL59]

I am so excited for you! Have a great trip!! Can't wait to hear about it.

 

[missjackiemcg]

Oh, yum, you picked so many delicious things to try!!! I would love to get there someday for F.Arts!! I really want to try the rainbow flight of beers/ciders, too!

I'm so excited for you heading out on your first cruise!!! Have the best time ever. I can't wait to hear all about it when you get back. I'll be checking my Mom and I in for our activities on Thursday night. My first time as a Gold castaway member!!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Thanks Everyone!!! It is sooo close!! I can't wait.

So this Morning, Morgan was in a TERRIBLE mood. She has been pretty miserable in the morning. Typical teen stuff but Morgan isn't usually this way. ANYWAY, she was complaining about going to school, she was tired, blah blah blah. And then she says "And YOU get to go on Vacation" .... oops sorry kid!

I am off to go clean my house so that it isn't a disaster when my sister get here! And run a few errands. Not sure if I will get back over here till we are back.

 

[missjackiemcg]

Poor Morgan. Angsty teenagers are no fun, especially in the morning! Lucky for me, I leave for work before Jimmy even gets up to go to school, so I miss out on it most of the time, LOL.

HAVE THE BEST TIME!!!!!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Hi Everyone!!!

We are back. And man are we back!!! We got snow today... So we went from beautiful weather to snow... blek... It's not too too much but just enough to really rub it in that we are back.

First, I know I was to meet up with a few of you and I just want to apologize. I got caught up in the day and totally flaked out! Gwen "convinced" me to "vlog" this trip. I wouldn't say I vlogged so much as videoed ALOT more than normal. But in doing so, trying to video, take picks, keep track of LLs and well, you know just enjoy myself... Connecting with some folks got lost.

That said.... we had a great time... I am still debating if I want to do a trip report or not.... I feel like I should if nothing else to share Gwen's videos that she claims she is going to put together.

But I will say I enjoyed the cruise but I don't think I am a "cruise person" Andy... he def enjoyed it more than me. I loved Castaway Cay! Bahamas is about what I thought it would be.... Def underwhelming. I see why people say a 3 night cruise isn't long enough. We crammed alot in and I kept thinking that I thought cruises were to be relaxing! Ha. When I told Andy there was a cruise that you can do Castaway Cay and Lighthouse Point and he was ready to sign up for that.

I do have to shift gears and start figuring out things for our next trips! We are telling the girls tomorrow about going to Disney after seeing SCAD. They will be super happy, as they were a little sad about not going this year. I wish it was a longer trip but I am happy we are going!!!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Welcome back, Ariella!

I’m glad you enjoyed your vacation (Happy Anniversary!), but it’s too bad you didn’t have as much relaxation time as you hoped. I’m glad you enjoyed Castaway Cay and hope you loved your Disney day as well. I understand the hesitation to do a trip report (they’re a lot of work!) but even some highlights and/or your video would be fun. We’ll take anything you’re willing to share!

I’d love hear about the girls’ reactions to your surprise trip! We’re telling M tomorrow about our upcoming trip (she knows we’re going on vacation but doesn’t know where we’re going or that her Auntie Anika is coming along) - surprise reactions are fun!

 

[SEAGULL59]

Welcome back!! Happy to hear you had a nice time for your anniversary.

 

[missjackiemcg]

Welcome home!! Three nights is definitely not enough, but it's a good one to dip your toes into cruising. We've done mostly 4 nights. We did a 7 night for our 15th anniversary, and it was very relaxing, but almost too long for us! I feel like 5 or 6 days would be perfect, so maybe a couple 3 nights back to back will be in our future someday.

I hope you'll do a TR, or even just add some updates in here about your experience. Did you guys book a placeholder for a future cruise?

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I’m glad you enjoyed your vacation (Happy Anniversary!), but it’s too bad you didn’t have as much relaxation time as you hoped

Thanks!!! I mean we had a good time, we just didn't sit around much.

I understand the hesitation to do a trip report (they’re a lot of work!) but even some highlights and/or your video would be fun. We’ll take anything you’re willing to share!

I keep trying to catch on other peoples reports and it's so hard! But I think I will try. I started typing up some notes while I still remember things.

I’d love hear about the girls’ reactions to your surprise trip! We’re telling M tomorrow about our upcoming trip (she knows we’re going on vacation but doesn’t know where we’re going or that her Auntie Anika is coming along) - surprise reactions are fun!

I will post something! I am hoping they are really suprised / hapy.

That will be fun!!! I would love to suprise the girls with a surprise guest one day!

Welcome back!! Happy to hear you had a nice time for your anniversary.

Thanks.

for our 15th anniversary, and it was very relaxing, but almost too long for us! I feel like 5 or 6 days would be perfect, so maybe a couple 3 nights back to back will be in our future someday.

I agree! I looked, a 4 day one with a day at sea and both private islands night be the next cruise... But not for wahile.

I hope you'll do a TR, or even just add some updates in here about your experience. Did you guys book a placeholder for a future cruise?

No, we did not book a future cruise. It might be awhile till we can even think of doing one. With Morgan going to college the future is unclear on how much expendable income we will have...

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Happy Monday Everyone!

I spent this past raining weekend typing up notes from the trip. The Cruise portion is lacking photos but I am going to give it a go. I just have to finish setting up the photos!

In the mean time... We told the girls on Friday about the trip and they are SUPER excited. I guess they had been just talking about how spring break was going to be boring this year. They were def sad that they weren't going to Disney World this year. So they were super happy.

Untitled

We gave them gift bags with reuseable cup and some candy for Valentine's Day. Here is the video of them opening up the Tickets I made.

Here is a picture of the "tickets" we created for the girls. We threw them together that morning!
https://flic.kr/p/2qMjMid]Untitled[/url]

Yesterday, Gwen and I made a countdown chain out of magic bands. Andy didn't think we had enough magic bands to do it. But we DID!!!! In fact, we figured out we have 86 magic bands in this house!!! YIKES!!!
Untitled
We have 64 Days as of today... so the chain is a bit long. It is double hung to keep the chain for getting in the way.

This weekend was a lot of talk about the trip and we have decided to do 3 park days. The girls both agreed since it was so short of a trip, they thought we could do 3 days in a row. They want to maximize the time. Which I am all for!! I tried to suggest we just do one park day and no park hopper but Andy said he likes to park hop. So we are keeping it.

Which I think means we will start at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios all 3 days and hop over to EPCOT? I think we can get better use of the LL that way. I "think" we will skip Animal Kingdom this trip. BUT maybe since we have park hopper we will hop over? Who knows...

I am so excitied to do the parks with the girls. It was nice to have a trip by ourselves but it will be nice to be all together!

 

[Woth2982]

Here is a picture of the "tickets" we created for the girls. We threw them together that morning!

Those are so cute! What a fun way to surprise them with the trip!

Yesterday, Gwen and I made a countdown chain out of magic bands.

I love this! How clever and a great use of them! Especially the oldest ones that are probably defunct now! I just got my DS his first magic band. How is my baby going to be 3 on Saturday?!

 

[missjackiemcg]

we figured out we have 86 magic bands in this house!!! YIKES!!!

That's hilarious! They sure do add up though, and just think how many were FREE!!!! (I don't recommend thinking about the ones you had to pay for, LOL!)

Love the tickets you made for the girls. I've been trying to figure out how to possibly get down there to ride Rock'n Rollercoaster and Muppetvision 3D one last time, too, but I just don't see it working out. I'll live vicariously through you!

 

[MaddieB223]

Happy Monday Everyone!

I spent this past raining weekend typing up notes from the trip. The Cruise portion is lacking photos but I am going to give it a go. I just have to finish setting up the photos!

In the mean time... We told the girls on Friday about the trip and they are SUPER excited. I guess they had been just talking about how spring break was going to be boring this year. They were def sad that they weren't going to Disney World this year. So they were super happy.

Untitled

We gave them gift bags with reuseable cup and some candy for Valentine's Day. Here is the video of them opening up the Tickets I made.

Here is a picture of the "tickets" we created for the girls. We threw them together that morning!
https://flic.kr/p/2qMjMid]Untitled[/url]

Yesterday, Gwen and I made a countdown chain out of magic bands. Andy didn't think we had enough magic bands to do it. But we DID!!!! In fact, we figured out we have 86 magic bands in this house!!! YIKES!!!
Untitled
We have 64 Days as of today... so the chain is a bit long. It is double hung to keep the chain for getting in the way.

This weekend was a lot of talk about the trip and we have decided to do 3 park days. The girls both agreed since it was so short of a trip, they thought we could do 3 days in a row. They want to maximize the time. Which I am all for!! I tried to suggest we just do one park day and no park hopper but Andy said he likes to park hop. So we are keeping it.

Which I think means we will start at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios all 3 days and hop over to EPCOT? I think we can get better use of the LL that way. I "think" we will skip Animal Kingdom this trip. BUT maybe since we have park hopper we will hop over? Who knows...

I am so excitied to do the parks with the girls. It was nice to have a trip by ourselves but it will be nice to be all together!

Joining in here, hi! I’m Maddie. I’ll be staying at CBR in June for the first time, let me know how you like it in April! I’m so jealous you get to see MuppetVision before it closes, I love the Muppets!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Happy Friday Everyone!!!!

So, I almost had a heart attack yesterday! I sat down to book the hotel for Savannah part of our trip and then the car rental for us to get from Savannah to Florida. And when I was booking the car, it kept telling me there was none available. I had started with looking at rental places that were at the Car Care Center, so we could drop the car off there. Once I switched to a rental place that we could drop the car off at the airport. And that worked! Thank Goodness!!!!

So, we will have to pick up the car at the Savannah Airport after we are done with the tour and exploring the area. And then we will drop off at the Orlando Airport. Not the best but we were going to have to take an uber / lyft from Care Care Center or the Airport.

I did look up if there was a Buc-ee's we can stop at on the way. It looks like there is one in St. Augastine's that we can stop at. It's about 2 and half hours from Savannah and then it's just shy of 2 hours to the airport from there, so it will be a good pit stop to use the bathrooms. And you know check it out!

So, all things are booked for this next trip! We have our hotels, and transportation.

Tomorrow is the 60 day mark for checking into Disney! Which means I can book dinning tomorrow morning. So, I started to look at what our days would look like to see if we even wanted make any reservations. This is what I am initially thinking..

Thursday
Rope Drop: Magic Kingdom
Evening: EPCOT

• Tiana's
• Haunted Mansion
• Pirates

Dining: Flower and Garden Booths / Counter Service

We always like to start in Magic Kingdom if we can. It just feels right. I would also like to do EPCOT before the weekend crowds at least once. It will be Flower and Garden, so we can snack in EPCOT and of course EPCOT has some good counter service options, so no set dinning this day.

Friday
Rope Drop: Hollywood Studios
Evening: Magic Kingdom

• Rock n' Rollercoaster
• Tower of Terror
• Toy Story Mania

Dining: Beaches and Cream

After looking at what is considered Tier 1 rides for Hollywood Studios, I am toying with rope dropping HS twice? But I am kind of hoping we can do all the things we want in one day? Not sure about that.... Gwen requested Beaches and Cream. I can take it or leave it. But she just loves it and honestly it's a cheap meal... I was thinking Lunch time so we can go once we ware done with HS for the day. Then we can hop on the skyliner back to the room for a short rest and then head back out fo the evening.

Saturday
Rope Drop: Hollywood Studios
Evening: Magic Kingdom

• Slinky Dog Dash
• Toy Storia Mania
• Muppet 3D Vision?

Dining: Dining: Wailulu Bar & Grill

Since there are a few items we want to do in Tier One, I cam thinkign we might want to head to HS again this morning. But like I said, I am hoping we can do most the day before. I am debating if we would want to rope drop EPCOT to ride Guardians? I am thinking today, we could try the new restaurant at the new Poly tower. It isn't taking reservations right now. We would probably go early so we could head to MK after for rides.

I'm not sure this is what we will stay with.. I wouldn't mind getting over to Animal Kingdom since we are going with Park hoppers but it's hard to do with it closing so early! But I will probably try and garb a couple options for Beaches and Cream since it's probably the only reservation we actually need. That way we can be flexible.