Back to Our Happy Place w/ a Surprise? A July Live Trip Report

[meghanmione]

I am not sure if this is supposed to go in the Pre-Trip report since we leave in less than 3 days & I plan to update during the trip but if this is in the wrong place feel free to move this

Introduction

Hey everyone! My name is Meghan, I'm from Jacksonville, FL and I am an avid Disney fan. I grew up looking forward to yearly vacations to DW with my family and have since continued my love by converting my boyfriend to the dark side. Ah yes—crowds, heat & screaming kids. The perfect vacation spot to spend our money year after year.

Here's a few things to know about us:

Meghan—that's me! 24 years old
I work as the shop manager of a local small-business furniture store that specializes in rustic wood furniture & eclectic decor. I love scary movies, drawing/painting, all animals (except you, palmetto bugs), and going to the beach.



James—my boyfriend & best friend 24 years old
He works as a support technician for a local company that specializes in POS systems. He loves to bake bread, play tabletop card games, and analyze moves/shows.



Here's us from a past trip



We'll be leaving our two cats—Toodles (tabby) and Kyle (tuxedo)—in the care of my sister while we're gone along with our two reptiles. We always miss them SO much.



Now that we've met, let's move onto....

The Plan

When - July 28th - 31st
Where - Port Orleans: French Quarter...but wait!

Here's the thing—

I grew up going to WL with my family as our favorite resort. When James and I started going together, one of our first trips was the WL and we had the BEST time at the resort. He fell in love with it and every resort we've stayed since he still misses it. We love it so much that we always make a point to visit the lobby even if we aren't staying there.

Back when the WL Magic Band came out, I ordered one for him as a surprise. Well, I may have switched our stay at POFQ to WL and I may just plan to give him the magic band when we get down to Orlando as the way to tell him (okay, but the evil face emoji is way more intense on pc than on the iphone lol)

So needless to say, WE'RE STAYING AT WL !!! James just doesn't know it yet and it's been so hard keeping it from him! My anxious brain is nervous he's somehow found out


Our dining & park plans are as follows:

We have 3 ADRs:

• Dinner at Tony's
• Breakfast at Whispering Canyon Cafe
• Dinner at Sci-Fi Dine In Theater

We plan to hit three parks & Disney Springs:

• Magic Kingdom
• Hollywood Studios
• EPCOT

We haven't been to Animal Kingdom...in a while. We actually planned on our next trip (being this one) to go but the heat is keeping us away. Probably. Most likely. I'm very much a go with the flow, make decisions as we see fit, kinda gal. I like a basic plan in place with some structure but if it's 102 degrees out & we just want to eat ice cream and go the pool, we will do just that. If we want to say goodbye to EPCOT for the day and take a bus over to Animal Kingdom, more power to us.

Which brings us to what I anticipate our days to look like:

1. Park early in the morning
2. Midday break for lunch & swim in afternoon
3. Hit the parks again at night

Of course this is subject to change but even though I am a true born Floridian, the heat still gets to me so this is usually what our summer trips look like.

We will also be utilizing Genie+ and ILLs as they made a big difference on our previous trips and we have them down pretty well now.

Must Dos

We are incredibly fortunate to live so close and have APs so we aren't super worried about not checking all our boxes each trip, but these are the things I would like to accomplish this time around:

• Try the new Guardians ride
• Find a new wallet
• Eat at Casey's Corner (James' favorite)
• Try new foods at EPCOT
• Visit the Contemporary
• Ride the monorail
• Visit Belle Vue Lounge at the BWI
• Turn off work and soak all the magic in we can

I plan to post during and after the trip as time allows without feeling too sucked into my phone. I love reading everyone else's reports and posts and want to be helpful to you all!

Pre-Trip To-Dos

• Finish work assignments
• Clean apartment
• Buy new tennis shoes
• Clean out car
• Get nails done
• Run to the bank
• Pack

If you wish to join along I'd love to have you on this little surprise adventure! I'll try and get any info/answer any questions you may have. See you all soon!

 

[nascargirl]

I will jump in and follow along.

 

[footballmouse]

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Following along! We love Wilderness Lodge!

 

[meghanmione]

I will jump in and follow along.

Following along! We love Wilderness Lodge!

Welcome along!! I admit the secret just keeps getting harder and harder to keep the closer we get but we only have one more full day before we leave! James has had a stressful past few days at work which will make the reveal that much sweeter. I asked him today if he thought we should tack another day onto the trip oh how a girl can dream.

 

[meghanmione]

Day One: Part One - Packing for Takeoff!

Today's the day!!! Last minute trips really do creep up on you but I'm so glad that I get to reveal the surprise to James later today. I woke up like a kid on Christmas this morning and couldn't sleep in any longer so I got out of bed & headed straight out the door to run some last minute errands. New tennis shoes in hand (anyone else wear theirs down until to the very end until the holes become a little too unprofessional? ) & an apartment to myself, I'm in the stages of packing while I wait for James to finish up work. I want to be as prepared as possible so we can hit the road as soon as he finishes up. We're a relatively quick drive away—about 2.5-3 hours depending on traffic & including our traditional stop at Buc-ees along the way.

Managed to sneak in a trip the nail salon after work last night and got some gel polish to hopefully last me through the trip



These are the ears I will be taking this trip. They are SO comfy. I always order several new ones from MinnieCastle on Etsy. Seriously, as someone who gets headaches from just wearing a single bobby pin on their head, these ears are a dream. They're also such a good price and come quick so I definitely recommend their shop!



Lastly, I am so excited to be taking this purse with me for the first time on a trip! I drooled over it for months & months before I finally caved and I love it! I think it's still available along with some other cute designs on the Kate Spade outlet site.



If you're just now hopping on, welcome aboard! I have to get back to packing but I'm so excited for this long weekend trip ahead. I'll update soon

 

[lauralynn0612]

Have a great trip!

 

[meghanmione]

Have a great trip!

Thank you!!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Have a great trip!!! I love the bag!

Can’t wait to hear about the trip once you are back.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Following! Love those ears (thanks for telling us where they are from too!)



I can't wait to hear about James reaction!

 

[The Foolish Mortal]

Have fun! Hope the cats stay out of mischief while you are gone

 

[meghanmione]

Day One: Part Two - We’ve Arrived!

James got out of work a little later than we were hoping but we quickly finished packing, did our cat count & hit the road!

We were both pretty hungry when we left & we’ve made it tradition to stop at Buc-ees on the way down each trip (which is conveniently about our halfway mark) so we stopped and grabbed some food!

Definitely recommend the brisket sandwiches for all you meat-eaters out there




After one (or two ) wrong turns we made it to Disney World!!

The Surprise

I had written a note for James and stuck it in my glove box and hid the magic band in our park backpack. I planned to pull into POFQ (where he thought we were staying) and park and let him read the note.

Weeeeeell, I forgot their was a guard posted at the gate at POFQ’s entrance and since we didn’t have a reservation I quickly thought to ask the guard if I could visit their gift shop. He looked truly confused lol but asked for my ID and then let us go! James wondered why I didn’t just tell him we had a reservation but I tried to play it off and he thought not much of it.

I parked, gave James the note which told him to look inside the bag for the WL magic band and he was shocked! He asked what it meant when he saw the band and I told him that’s where we were staying

Needless to say, he was so surprised and excited. I told him how hard it was to keep it secret but his reaction was all worth it. I’m glad I was able to give him a little extra pixie dust this trip after how stressful work has been.




The guest parking lot was CROWDED so we chose to do valet and went inside to check in. There was a small line but we were seen pretty quick. Once we got our room number (I’ll share after we are home) we went to settle in.

The room is beautiful! The new updates are really nice and give it a modern-rustic feel. The details are super fun like Chip n’ Dale and I love the curtains lol.




The room is very clean & spacious. Our names were welcoming us on the television when we walked in. We want to take the shower home with us haha!

We initially planned to go to Disney Springs tonight but chose to just take in the resort and rest up for the trip ahead.

We ate dinner at Roaring Forks. I got the chicken and waffles and James got the western chicken tenders. It was pretty busy for being after 9 PM and it was a decent wait for our food but we didn’t mind. The staff was working hard. I don’t like to get worked up over such small things. The food wasn’t anything impressive but it did taste good and filled us up.




Afterwards we went to the gift shop and found several things we liked! We will go back for a few and I’ll take photos of what they have, esp the WL themed items.

The pool was still busy well after 10 PM tonight but we decided to turn in and swim later. We are super excited for our trip to truly begin and I’ll post about our adventures tomorrow

 

[Hubie]

Joining in! Those brisket sandwiches from Buckee's look really good. Live in Wisconsin so we've never been.

 

[Wood Nymph]

I love the surprise you had for James. You really did it well.

We had a similar room view once.

We'll be at WL in August. I think we like some of the same resorts.

 

[meghanmione]

Joining in! Those brisket sandwiches from Buckee's look really good. Live in Wisconsin so we've never been.

Welcome! It’s so fun! A giant gift shop attached to a gas station.

I love the surprise you had for James. You really did it well.

We had a similar room view once.

We'll be at WL in August. I think we like some of the same resorts.

Looks like it! WL & BC are our two favorites.

 

[AliceNDinah]

Awwww, I got chills when you pulled into the POFQ parking lot and revealed the surprise What a fun report - can't wait to read more! Tell us how the crowd levels are: my son and I are there August 14th, whoooop!

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Happy to hear the surprise went off brilliantly!

 

[quoo]

Your ears and nails are so cute! Thanks for sharing where the ears are from!

I'd love to hear how Tony's is. We have an ADR there that I'm waffling over keeping.

 

[meghanmione]

Day Two: Part One - Magic Kingdom Morning!

Hi to all those jumping aboard & happy Friday!

This morning my alarm went off at 6:45 AM and I woke up forgetting where we were lol! We slept goooood after our long day yesterday and I quickly hopped onto MDE to purchase Genie+. I got a 10:30 LL for SM & purchased an ILL for 12:00 for 7DMT.

We slept in some more and then got ready for our first full day here. We had breakfast at WCC downstairs and it was super nice! The CMs were all very much playing their parts. Lots of ketchup going to and fro.

I got the Heritage Meal & leave it to James to get a pulled pork sandwich at 9 AM




The food was very delicious, I loved the biscuits. I could’ve ordered as much as I wanted but the first round was more than enough.

I wanted to mention the waiting area no longer had lincoln logs out for kids to play with.




There was no water flowing under the bridge in the lobby and there was a sign saying to pardon their pixie dust.

After a quick refresh at the room we were out the door and on our way to MK before 10 AM. We took the ferry and the wait was about 15 minutes but the heat made it feel longer.

For those asking about crowds, when we first docked there looked to be hoards of people coming from the busses & monorails so I was a bit nervous but we didn’t have to wait at all to scan our bands and enter. From there and throughout the rest of the morning it didn’t feel overly crowded at all. Wait times were pretty low and there were still early times for a lot of LLs to choose from. I’ll report back on how it is tonight!

I will warn all of those who aren’t native Floridians or aren’t from warm weather climates—it’s HOT! We managed to beat the heat fairly well, however!

Some tips we stick to:
- Walk through gift shops when you can. It makes a massive difference going down Main Street USA and there’s plenty of places to cut through in Tomorrow Land as well.
- WATER! Seriously, always have a bottle of it on hand. You may not think you’re thirsty but you are.
- Parks in the morning, swim in the afternoon, back to the parks at night.
- Loose, light colored clothing. For all you thick-thigh ladies out there like me, wearing biker shorts a size too big is so comfy and cool.

We road our LL for SM, grabbed one for Pirates and then swung over to 7DMT. All of our waits were under 10 minutes!

Here’s some pics I took this morning.





We left today by 12:15 as it was really starting to heat up and we were itching to break for the pool. The parade was going through as we left so we snuck through the Main Street shops again.

One of the things I wanted to find this trip was a new wallet and I fell in love with this Lady and the Tramp one as soon as I saw it. On our way back I decided to splurge and I’m super excited about it. Thank God for AP discounts lol.



We took the bus back, stopped by the gift shop for pool goggles and went for a swim! It wasn’t too crowded but it was hard finding a chair. We snagged one and spent about an hour enjoying the water. It was on the warmer side but still felt good. James even went down the slide haha.

Our plan is to grab a snack now and head back to MK for Tony’s and to enjoy the night and hopefully cooler temps.

I’ll update soon

 

[meghanmione]

Day Two: Part Two - Tony’s & Sweets

A little late of an update but here we go!
We ended up grabbing some snacks from Roaring Forks before killing some time in the lobby. Then we were off again to MK for the night and arrived to our reservation for Tony’s by 5 PM.



We were fairly early to our reservation but ended up being seated almost immediately.



Our server was wonderful and the service was very quick. We started with the garlic bread which was AMAZING. It came with this parmesan fondue and the garlic butter it was drenched in was so delicious. Seriously could feel my cholesterol getting worse with each bite but it was totally worth it



James got the fettuccine alfredo with chicken and I got the shrimp scampi. We both enjoyed our meals. Mine came with an arugula salad, crispy potatoes, and ciabatta (which I didn’t eat because of the garlic bread).




We enjoyed our meal quite a bit and will be back. It was our second time eating there and the menu was a little different this time around. I think the price and the location is a big draw for us. While BoG was a fun experience to eat at previously in MK along with CP, Tony’s seems like the best value for our money personally. If you’re on the fence about this restaurant I will say there looks to be something on the menu for everyone (pasta, chicken, seafood, steak) and the atmosphere is very relaxed.

After we dinner we rode BTM, HM, PM, and Buzz. With Genie+ we waited less than 10 minutes for each attraction.

They updated the audio for PM to mention the new Tron ride. It looks like it’s coming along fast.



After riding all that we wanted we decided to grab some sweets to take back to the room from the Main Street confectionary. We got some peanut butter fudge and a little brownie pie. It’s no wonder why but that place always smells amazing. I want to bottle it up and make it a candle.



On our way out we managed to watch some of Enchantment before trying to beat the crowds to the busses.



We had a wonderful day at MK and felt pretty accomplished by the time we left. As the sun went down the heat became way more bearable and we’ve decided evening park visits are the thing for us in the summertime. Crowd levels were super manageable, also!

I’ll post about day three (today!) soon.