3,298 miles, 10 breweries, and 1 Mega Meet - a July '16 Trip Report *New 6/5/17 - Link to new TR!*

[TheMaxRebo]

Interesting observations regarding Bonnet Creek. Would you stay there again?

I think we waited a good hour to meet Joy and Sadness this past January. You're right, it was worth it. Definitely one of my favorite character meets.

I love the new Soarin' Around the World. We were lucky enough to ride it twice and requested the top row center for the best viewing. Soarin' has always been my favorite ride in all of WDW and I was pleased with the change.

You guys must really like Living with the Land!

It looks good, but I have yet to eat a meal at Sunshine Seasons. The number of fantastic quick service options in WS prevent this. One of these days I will try that strawberry shortcake.

I think we would stay at Bonnet Creek again, but just not a priority for me like I thought it might be based on how much people sseem to love it. It was a very good resort - but I think for us we were there to stay there while on a Disney vacation while a lot of the other people there were there to be on vacation there ... so just mixed priorities and thus gave it it's own vibe despite being so close to the parks

Agreed! Definitely a great meet!

Glad you got on twice, and definitely agree that being in first row of the middle section is important. A lot of the complaints about the bending of the images, etc. I have read seem to tie to people who were on the side vs the middle

We do love Living with the Land! Not sure why, be we just enjoy it and the kids seem to like it, and there is some educational element, and the greenhouse area is always changing, etc.

It does feel like there are too many choices for food at EPCOT and not enough in the other parks ... but Sunshine Seasons has good variety so good for a group/kids to find something they will like

Last mornings are tough! But all things considered, you still got to the park at a good time.

I love that pic of the Starbucks lined up with the kids juices.

Joy & Sadness seem to be pretty consistent with providing great meets! The pics are adorable!

Glad you enjoyed Soarin!

Haha sounds like Emma sure got her fill of Living with the Land clocking in at 4 rides! I can definitely tell its a family fave

Looking back I think we did ok getting out - but at the time I was hoping for earlier. Oh well

Thanks! Judi and I really needed some Starbucks that morning!

good point in that everyone seems to have good things to say about the Joy and Sadness meet

Emma did still enjoy the ride though she definitely slept through at least one of the rides

 

[toomuchtv]

The Joy & Sadness m&g looks great! I would love to do it, but we probably won't make it this year, as I can't imagine my 19 month old would do well with such a long wait, and we have a PPO Akershus breakfast in hopes of getting out of there and getting on Frozen Ever After since I decided to do a Soarin' FP+ as our tier 1. Speaking of the long waits, any tips to keep my little guy occupied in line?

 

[cinderwannabe]

Hi! Just read through you're entire report and I am loving it so far! I had to reach out and say hi neighbor! I live over in Stormville, right across the county line in Dutchess!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

The Joy & Sadness m&g looks great! I would love to do it, but we probably won't make it this year, as I can't imagine my 19 month old would do well with such a long wait, and we have a PPO Akershus breakfast in hopes of getting out of there and getting on Frozen Ever After since I decided to do a Soarin' FP+ as our tier 1. Speaking of the long waits, any tips to keep my little guy occupied in line?

The Joy and Sadness meet definitely seems to have a pretty consistently long line - we were hoping to hit it right at rope drop but obviously didn't. Good luck with the PPO Breakfast and then getting on Frozen Ever After - remember to ask for your bill as soon as you sit down to get that taken care of and try to head out 10-15 minutes before the park opens and you should be fine!

19 months is definitely tough. Snacks help and then just having little things for them to play with - but a couple of different ones to switch it up and we find attention spans are not super high. I will admit we had a couple of games on our fonts (Toddler Lock comes to mind) that we would use in a pinch as well

Hi! Just read through you're entire report and I am loving it so far! I had to reach out and say hi neighbor! I live over in Stormville, right across the county line in Dutchess!!

thanks so much for reading the entire report! And nice to see someone form our neck of the woods. We are definitely up by you at times - we always get a farm share from Fishkill farms so up there almost ever weekend in the summer to pick that up. We've also gone to Le Chambord a couple of time - did Easter brunch there one year which I think is right near you

 

[SarahDisney]

I love your Joy and Sadness pictures ... Joy did a great job setting you up for good pictures!

Awesome job finding the hidden Mickeys on Living with the Land. I feel like that should be an official Disney contest ... at the end of the ride, tell them how many you found (and where), and whoever finds the most in a day gets lifetime passes to WDW. Or a pin. That seems more likely.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I love your Joy and Sadness pictures ... Joy did a great job setting you up for good pictures!

Awesome job finding the hidden Mickeys on Living with the Land. I feel like that should be an official Disney contest ... at the end of the ride, tell them how many you found (and where), and whoever finds the most in a day gets lifetime passes to WDW. Or a pin. That seems more likely.

Thanks - and yes, Joy did do a great job!

haha, that would be pretty cool ... yeah, probably more likely a pin or certificate or something, but yeah, lifetime passes to WDW would be cool!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 85: At Disney - Day 8: EPCOT​

Getting our La Cava on​

After finding out about our future, we decided to head into World Showcase as there was one place we always visit and we hadn't made it there yet - La Cava del Tequila! So off to Mexico we went ....

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We love La Cava and thing the margaritas are some of the best around. I often go with the avocado or jalepeno margaritas but as this was the end of the trip (or at least the WDW portion) I decided to splurge a bit and got the Dragones Top Shelf Margarita (Tequila Casa Dragones blanco with Grand Marnier orange liquor, organic Agave nectar, and freshly squeezed lime juice served with black ant salt on the rim) - so glad I did as it was probably the best margarita I have ever had - at least, one without any other flavors.

Judi went for the Hisbiscus Margarita (Tequila, hibiscus juice, fresh lemon juice, agave nectar, elderflower liquor and pomegranate liquor served on the rocks with a hibiscus salt rim). She really liked this (she tends to be a fan of drinks with elderflower liquor), though I think a tad sweet for her

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We were also able to order a virgin frozen strawberry margarita for the kids what we split amongst them. And some guacamole since my kids can never have enough of that

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For our second round Judi decided to get one of the Dragones Top Shelf Margaritas (yeah, it was that good) while I decided to just get a shot of tequila. I honestly forget exactly which one it was, but I know it was a reposado one as that is my preferred style

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The family next to us offered to take a family picture ... I think Olivia was getting to be "done" with pictures

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After that we did one last trip on the Gran Fiesta Tour (though this is the only picture I took to prove that)

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We then headed out off to our last stop for the trip - an early dinner at a new place to us ... first though, another stop at the model train set, where I noticed they had a bit of a beer garden set up, and then a view of Spaceship Earth

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Up next - our last bit of Disney and we start the travel home

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 86: At Disney - Day 8: EPCOT
So, how's the pizza?​

So where was this new place to us we were going to eat at? Well, here is a clue:

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Still not sure? Well, this gives it away:

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Yup, we were finally going to try Via Napoli. We generally avoid Italian food while at Disney - not that it is bad, just that living in the NYC metro area we have a lot of really good Italian food around us so want to take advantage of other styles of food. By I've just read so many good things about Via Napoli - including from people that live in/near New York that I figured it was worth a try and they had an ADR opening around the time we were looking for so figured why not.

Definitely love the details and styling of the place - including the light fixture like this chandelier:

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We were seated towards the back, past the ovens. I started with the special beer they promote on the menu (the La Rossa) and Judi started with a sangria. I thought the beer was really good (though not cheap - $12) and Judi enjoyed her drink (again, not the best sangria she has ever had, but very solid and would recommend)

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We started with the Fritto Misto - which we enjoyed - and then we shared a Carciofi pizza (white pizza with artichokes) and a pepperoni pizza

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Overall we enjoyed the pizza - definitely very good for Disney. Though, we do have several places near us that serve similar style pizza and I must say this was one meal that when the bill came I was like "whoa, that was a bit much" - so I definitely get why people like this place and I could see us returning, I don't think it is the "must do" for us that it is for others.

Peter wanted some pictures on the way out

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We didn't get dessert at Via Napoli as Judi had another thought in mind ...

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 87: At Disney - Day 8: EPCOT​

Last bit of Disney​

.... so we headed for a return drip to Karamell Kuche and definitely enjoyed our treats (you can see Emma eyeing what Judi has)

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But then it was time to head out ... though we hit one obstacle along the way as the draw bridge was up (it was like Disney didn't want us to leave )

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We did stop in Mexico as Olivia had settled on what she wanted for her souvenir - which was one of the "real" tiaras they have there (she agreed on one that wasn't too expensive - and definitely used it quite a bit afterward). Peter had been eyeing something from earlier in the day as the price wasn't too bad, so we let him get the Spaceship Earth for his monorail set (and he gets tons of use out of it) (Emma had gotten the Anna and Elsa place sets earlier)

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One last stop in the rest rooms (and I took a picture of this as a reminder that they were playing the original soundtrack to Soarin' and I sort of loved it)

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One last family picture (it had started to rain about the time we got into Future World) ....

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... and then we were in the car to start the ride home. Here was the millage we were at for the trip so far:

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Our plan was to make it a few hours north and stop for the night when we were ready/when we could find a good place to stop at. We actually made it further than expected, getting into Georgia. We stopped at a Steak N Shake in Valdosta, Georgia and then a Hilton brand hotel in the area for the night.

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And thus came an end to our time at Walt Disney World. It wasn't even a trip we were necessarily planning to do before they announced the DISunplugged 10th anniversary. It was definitely a memorable time - so many first for us and also got to meet a bunch of people that I had only engaged with online.

But - now we had the long drive home... which starts next update in Athens, GA!

TTFN

 

[cindianne320]

I've enjoyed reading about the Disney portion of your trip. Like you, we liked Via Napoli, but it's definitely not an every trip kind of place for us. In fact, we haven't been there since 2013!

Looking forward to hearing about your trip home!

 

[rteetz]

The Mexico pavilion is always a great stop whether its for drinks, food, or a ride on the rio del tiempo

Via Napoli is one of my favorites!

Great final picture in front of SSE, and mini SSE

 

[mousehappync]

We love to spend our last day in Epcot, and you did all our favorite things! And GOOD spot of that last Hidden Mickey! We have never actually gone into La Cava, although I order an avocado margarita every time we eat at one of the Mexico Pavillion Restaurants. And we really love Via Napoli, although we have found it gets expensive really quickly when we add booze there. It's a great value if you split one of the giant pizzas, though! Eager to hear about your drive home, as you are heading (if I remember correctly) up through our neck of the woods, where there is such good eating and drinking!

 

[annie170]

I agree with you regarding Via Napoli. Good pizza, but not a must do every trip.

That's funny that Disney "didn't want you to leave!"

I love Steak and Shake. After paying Disney prices, Steak and Shake had to be a welcome relief!

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like some yummy drinks at La Cava!

That's definitely my hesitation in ever trying Via Napoli..not sure if I could justify the cost when I get plenty of good Italian food/pizza here at home! But I'm glad you enjoyed it!

I really need to get some treats at Karamel Kuche on my next trip!

Peter looks so happy with his souvenir..and I love how it makes an appearance in the final PP photo!

Sad that the WDW portion of this trip has come to an end, but it sounds like it was a great time for all!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I've enjoyed reading about the Disney portion of your trip. Like you, we liked Via Napoli, but it's definitely not an every trip kind of place for us. In fact, we haven't been there since 2013!

Looking forward to hearing about your trip home!

Thank you! Via Napoli seems to be one of those places that some people love and then some people really dislike, but we were a bit like you. We definitely liked it well enough and the pizza was definitely good - just not something so amazing (especially compared to what we can get near home) that it is worth the Disney "upcharge" - certainly not to do very often.

Definitely had fun on the way home!

The Mexico pavilion is always a great stop whether its for drinks, food, or a ride on the rio del tiempo

Via Napoli is one of my favorites!

Great final picture in front of SSE, and mini SSE

It's hard for me to pick my favorite pavilion but I do love how the Mexico one is all enclosed and feels like a very separate and immersive space - plus La Cava is one of our favorites and some of the best drinks on property

Thanks! Peter loved his mini-SSE and definitely made an appearance below our Christmas tree as we have a monorail going around the base rather than a regular train (he also got some Disney California Adventure accessories from Santa as well)

We love to spend our last day in Epcot, and you did all our favorite things! And GOOD spot of that last Hidden Mickey! We have never actually gone into La Cava, although I order an avocado margarita every time we eat at one of the Mexico Pavillion Restaurants. And we really love Via Napoli, although we have found it gets expensive really quickly when we add booze there. It's a great value if you split one of the giant pizzas, though! Eager to hear about your drive home, as you are heading (if I remember correctly) up through our neck of the woods, where there is such good eating and drinking!

We definitely have some "must dos" at EPCOT and we did hit a lot of them that day. It's a great park for just wandering too so that is one reason I think it is good for your last day.

I definitely recommend visiting La Cava - though the crowds can get a bit crazy at time.

I think with the drinks and the appetizer it just added up more than I was expecting/to the point the bill just didn't seem to justify the experience for us. Perhaps now going in if we just did the pizza and just had water, etc. we could do it at a price point we felt was more appropriate

Yes, I believe we do head up through your parts - up into Georgia via Athens, and then through western North Carolina to hit Asheville, through Virginia and back to PA and then NY. Definitely very scenic at times!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I agree with you regarding Via Napoli. Good pizza, but not a must do every trip.

That's funny that Disney "didn't want you to leave!"

I love Steak and Shake. After paying Disney prices, Steak and Shake had to be a welcome relief!

Yeah, the pizza was definitely good and I can understand why it is popular - just not worth it too us (at least once we added the drinks and stuff ... maybe we can try again and be more economical)

Yeah, Steak n Shake was definitely a bit more economical!

Sounds like some yummy drinks at La Cava!

That's definitely my hesitation in ever trying Via Napoli..not sure if I could justify the cost when I get plenty of good Italian food/pizza here at home! But I'm glad you enjoyed it!

I really need to get some treats at Karamel Kuche on my next trip!

Peter looks so happy with his souvenir..and I love how it makes an appearance in the final PP photo!

Sad that the WDW portion of this trip has come to an end, but it sounds like it was a great time for all!

We are big fans of La Cava as they make the drinks fresh and used good ingredients - definitely our favorite margaritas on property!

I think with the drinks and the appetizer, etc. the bill just got too high to justify the experience for us ... but the food was good so I get why it is popular. Just not as "special" to use coming from where we are

We hadn't really done Karamel Kuche before this trip and then went there twice so it can be addicting!

Peter was definitely quite pleased with himself - and got even more monorail set accessories from Santa this year (he got the bridge and trolley from California Adventure)

We definitely had a great time - perhaps tried to cram too much into the week between going for the 10th anniversary stuff but it also being our family vacation for the year. But I think that can happen on a lot of Disney trips that you try to fit in all you can

 

[PrncessA]

What a fun day to end your trip. We love La Cava as well and I think a Dragones Top Shelf Margarita is calling my name. I love that they have the white queso there for the chips, so yummy.

I agree Via Napoli is good, but not one that we have felt the need to repeat. I love that type of pizza though!

Peter looks so happy to get Spaceship Earth!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

What a fun day to end your trip. We love La Cava as well and I think a Dragones Top Shelf Margarita is calling my name. I love that they have the white queso there for the chips, so yummy.

I agree Via Napoli is good, but not one that we have felt the need to repeat. I love that type of pizza though!

Peter looks so happy to get Spaceship Earth!

For us the price points makes it hard to have the Dragones every day - but for our last day/for a treat it was totally worth it! (side/related note: I love that the slider in your countdown ticker is a martini glass )

Yup - we are on the same page with regard to Via Napoli (glad to read that we are not the only ones - seems I hear so much great stuff about it)

Yeah, Peter was a pretty happy guy!

 

[Dugette]

Whew, just caught up on a bunch. Going way back, but I really enjoyed reading about dinner at Be Our Guest. Despite having had multiple lunches and a breakfast there, we have never done the dinner - but will be doing it in October. Looks like fun!

I have to admit that, when I saw the Epcot monorail box, I was wondering how you got it in your luggage for the flight...until you reminded me of the drive ahead. Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your road trip!

 

[amazingact21]

I'm one of those people that love Via Napoli, but I would probably feel the same way as you if I had a restaurant close by that served the same food for a lot cheaper. That's probably why I never ate at too many seafood restaurants at Disney. I lived on the Gulf Coast and had that food every ten feet...

Your kids had some good souvenir choices!