BEST. DAY. EVER. May '17 w/Chunkymonkey and Chubbyhubby NEW 8/28 x2 THE END!!

[chunkymonkey]

thanks for the shoe info-- just ordered a pair

I hope you love yours as much as I do mine. I can walk all day in them. I typically wear special insoles in my sneakers for my arches but I don't have to with these shoes.

 

[annie170]

This is the first review I've read about the Bon Voyage Breakfast, so thank you!

The menu sounds better than CRT's breakfast and I would have had a hard time deciding what to order. I was glad to see the Tangled Eggs photo as I was wondering what "Sunday Gravy" is. The mystery continues...

Happy 4th of July to you, too!

August heat in Florida is no joke. I hope it won't be too brutal for all the little ones on your trip. Not to be nosy, but with all your sisters and their families going, did your parents consider coming along, too?

Your friend's remark reminds me of what my husband says to me after almost every Disney trip, "I didn't have a relaxing vacation!" He thinks I'm over the top with the planning, too.

 

[chunkymonkey]

This is the first review I've read about the Bon Voyage Breakfast, so thank you!

The menu sounds better than CRT's breakfast and I would have had a hard time deciding what to order. I was glad to see the Tangled Eggs photo as I was wondering what "Sunday Gravy" is. The mystery continues...

The food was better than I expected, in fact I had heard the opposite. But it was good and we had fun so that is what counts.
I believe Sunday Gravy is like a tomato meat sauce that has been cooking for hours. However we didn't really get much of that on the eggs.

Happy 4th of July to you, too!

Thanks!

August heat in Florida is no joke. I hope it won't be too brutal for all the little ones on your trip. Not to be nosy, but with all your sisters and their families going, did your parents consider coming along, too?

Ha! My parents are smart and they are doing their own "vacation". My dad likes peace and quiet so he's going to stay home while my mom might travel with her sister. They watch the kids when my sisters are at work so I don't' think there is any way to convince them to come to Disney in the summer. It definitely won't be a vacation from them.

Your friend's remark reminds me of what my husband says to me after almost every Disney trip, "I didn't have a relaxing vacation!" He thinks I'm over the top with the planning, too.

Haha some people just don't understand what goes into the planning. But I tell everyone, the more you plan, the better your vacation will turn out in the end!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Some people just don't understand the importance of a fine-tuned spreadsheet on a Disney trip!
​

Right?? I'm planning a friends trip to WDW for the first time and they're all a little freaked out by my spreadsheets and "obsessiveness" (ahem, it's called being prepared).

 

[Neverland_Girl]

I really want to try the Bon Voyage breakfast! I've heard the character interaction is really good and I'm intrigued by calzones for breakfast.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Hi Su-Lynn

I am so glad to be reading your report because you have reviewed so many things we are trying in August, so thank you!

Homecomin and Bon Voyage both sound wonderful, I was thinking of getting the steak breakfast like you, so I will ask for scrambled eggs instead, thanks for the tip.

When I saw your picture of Flynn, I was thinking he would make a decent Star Lord, before I even read your comments lol!

 

[Raeven]

I get so excited when we don't have to go far for breakfast! We rolled out of bed, got ready, and strolled right to our breakfast a little before our scheduled time of 9:30. I even got to sleep in a little, yay!

I'm thinking of scheduling more breakfasts closer to the Boardwalk because that sound so tempting.

Flynn Rider was very charming and very nice although not the best smolder I've seen.

Josh is the best smolder I've ever seen

The cheese egg torte though, was just wrong on so many levels. I don't even know how to describe it, it's not an omelette, but a custard that is savory.

It just looks wrong! The shape of it is so odd.

We were discussing ways to combat the heat and i whipped out my new portable and wearable fan and we had fun trying it out.

I had one of those last trip. I didn't wear it as much as I should've though.

 

[Tracy161]

First off, Happy 4th of July to you, too!!!

but none of the characters looked at our map. Maybe we are just too interesting

Obviously!

After breakfast, we went upstairs to change.
We were on a mission!
for a very special meet n greet...

I'll give you a clue: He uses antlers in all of his decorating!

Oooooh!

I showed some of my other friends (not going to Disney) my spreadsheet, and one of them asked, "This is supposed to be a vacation, right?"

Some people just don't understand the importance of a fine-tuned spreadsheet on a Disney trip!

You're so right! And honestly, creating and tweaking the spreadsheet is so much fun and gets me so excited for my trips!!! A huge part of the Disney obsession for me is looking forward to and obsessing about my trips prior to taking them. We all get that here though, of course

 

[MeghanEmily]

I get so excited when we don't have to go far for breakfast! We rolled out of bed, got ready, and strolled right to our breakfast a little before our scheduled time of 9:30. I even got to sleep in a little, yay!

This is a great idea! So nice to roll out of bed and walk right to breakfast. That's how we felt about our Boma breakfasts when we stayed at AKL.

Funny to say I had listed Dole Whip and Fantasmic! as my favorite snack and show respectively, but we didn't get Dole Whip or see Fantasmic! on this trip. We just didn't have time!

Haha wow! Those quick busy trips always mean you need to miss something.

I love how it's served in a mini cast iron frying pan, a la Rapunzel.

This is such a cute touch!

The theme of these desserts are really clever. The sun cookie was a crisp puff pastry cookie, and there was a pastry resembling a clamshell/oyster complete with a pearl. Loved the theme of these, and they tasted pretty good, better than what you'd get at Be Our Guest.

The pastry theming looks awesome! Glad they were mostly tasty.

The characters meet each table separately and not as a couple, although now and then they would do a little dance and interact.

This is a little disappointing since they have them there in couples. But still nice to meet some of the gentlemen.

After breakfast, we went upstairs to change.
We were on a mission!
for a very special meet n greet...

I'll give you a clue: He uses antlers in all of his decorating!

Yay! I think I just might be able to guess where you're going.

I showed some of my other friends (not going to Disney) my spreadsheet, and one of them asked, "This is supposed to be a vacation, right?"
Some people just don't understand the importance of a fine-tuned spreadsheet on a Disney trip!

Haha! People don't appreciate the art that is a well-organized spreadsheet!

 

[Raeven]

This would be an awesome trip with all us ladies!

I forgot to quote this earlier, but yes! I really think in an upcoming year (well whichever year/month we're all free) we should try to do something like that.

 

[Elandon]

Thank you! They are from Allbirds. They are the most comfortable shoe ever. I did stick some of those Hickies lace-less ties on them but I have since reverted back to the laces. They are excellent park shoes.

https://www.allbirds.com/

These look super comfortable but I'm worried they will be warm--like too warm for August touring. I usually end up wearing teva flip flops in August because everything else feels like I have heaters on my feet. What is your experience?

 

[amalone1013]

I've been reading along, but a bad commenter

BTW you can see my park bag which is the Princess Race Weekend Dooney and Burke I picked up in February. I love the bag but it is not big enough for me, so I won't be using it as a park bag any longer.

My park bag is smaller than that I think, and I'm trying not to graduate to a bigger one... but it's like tetris trying to fit everything in! Everything definitely has it's place haha!

Understandably these people had an attachment to Wishes, but I think after watching HEA a few times, and after a few years, it may grow on people and become special in it's own way. You know in about 15 years when HEA has lived out it's time people will say the same thing about it. Hahaha.

They will. People don't like change We were slightly underwhelmed by Wishes in January, because we saw the Disneyland 60th show (and I also saw the DLP show, which was my first castle show, and it was so cool), and... we actually skipped Wishes the second night We were heading to Epcot for EMH, and we watched the projection show (Celebrate the Magic?) and then headed out to avoid crowds. If we had known then it would be ending in a few months, we would have watched again...

I love Disney popcorn! Do they put crack in it or something?? #addicted

I just realized that we have not had Disney popcorn on any of our trips. I can't figure out how this has happened, because Zack loves popcorn. Seriously, he wouldn't share with me at a Cirque du Soleil show last week.

OMG. PANDORA IS INCREDIBLY AMAZING!!

I'm so excited! Your pictures are amazing! I'm excited for AK in general too, but Pandora is looking blown-away-realism-step-into-the-movie atmosphere! The food and drinks intrigue me, but I'm so weird. The cheeseburger pods sound the most doable to me, I guess if we eat here I could always go with the kids meal to tide me over lol.

It was so hot in line that we started pouring water on our heads, I rubbed ice all over my arms, and DH even made a crown of ice cubes which were held up by his sunglasses. I labeled him Queen Elsa. Haha.

I love it! Also, that is a great idea. Guys are so lucky because they don't understand how finicky hair can be Like, unless I want to look like this: No moisture must come near my hair... for some reason, water rides tend to work out okay, but mister fans are a no go.

He also told her to leave her elbows off the table.

I think they will be telling me this a lot...

I definitely like getting the sampler just to get a variety of things on a plate

This is great because I want to try everything!

We were on the ride with some newbies in the same top row as us. They were so funny, they were commenting throughout the ride as if was the best ride they have ever been on!

We sat next to people who hadn't been on the new version. It's so fun to hear them!

We got some visitors! They were decked out in their vacation finest.

These outfits crack me up

Baymax didn't have a line so we saw him right after.

I need to watch this movie. I'm slacking!

Here's a little fashion parade:

They're all so cute! I love these cute Disney tops like this! Zack got me a Lady and the Tramp one with lace along the top, similar to the Lion King one, for Christmas.

At the Co-Op I also always go to Wunderground Gallery.

I want to buy so many of the postcard size prints. When we get our place, I'm determined to have a gallery wall - I don't care if it's Pinterest cliche I want to mix in little prints with photos of us/family. And maybe a few of my 'artsy' shots

On the left you have DH's drink, the Apple Pie A La Mode: Ole Smokey Apple Pie Moonshine, vanilla vodka, apple juice, cinnamon, house-made simple syrup and a dash of lemon. On the right you have mine, the Moonshine Mash: Watermelon-infused moonshine, fresh watermelon, lime juice and simple syrup.

I really liked my drink a lot, it was really refreshing. Steve's was a little weird for me, but maybe it's because the favorite part of apple pie for me is the crust and not so much the apple part. I don't even like cinnamon that much either. He really liked it though.

This is how I like my apple pie. At least, I'm imagining something like the apple pie alcohol we made with my parent's friends once. Like you, my favorite part of real apple pie is the crust - though for me, that's how it is for any fruit pie. I am a chocolate pie girl all the way.

Fried Chicken n Doughnuts

What a wonderful idea

The meet n greet was funny but this Star Lord was a bit too scrawny and thin for the role. He had the right attitude but needed some girth. I don't even think the costume fit him that well. It's funny though that Steve saw him working out at the Boardwalk gym the next day. You know, gotta get ripped, and he has a looooong way to go. Hahaha.

It's so funny to see all the Star Lords... Chris Pratt has big shoes to fill, I guess

It was packed at Al Forno. This seems to be one of the most popular breakfasts around. Even I can't find another ADR for our upcoming trips.

So I'm probably out for our trip. Many, I forgot about this breakfast! I read when it was starting/ADRs opened and wanted to see reviews... and promptly forgot about it until your review!

At each table there is a questionnaire that looks like a map that you can fill out. I thought that this was because characters found it helpful to look at it and get to know who they were talking to better, but none of the characters looked at our map. Maybe we are just too interesting (...not!) .

Map completion in progress:

But the maps are so cute! I guess they're just to entertain you

I would just like one of these to display in my kitchen/on the table all of the time, please.

Prince Eric was very nice and he and DH acted like buddies. It was cute.

It's so weird to see him up close. I can't think if I've seen him as a character before.

Looking at the menu, I'd probably be like, can I have a second frying pan of pastries instead of fruit salad or a parfait? I don't do yogurt... or much fruit...

 

[KathyM2]

It was packed at Al Forno. This seems to be one of the most popular breakfasts around.

It for sure is very popular. I couldn't get an ADR for it either. I liked that it isn't a buffet but there are characters...oh well. Next time.

I think everyone is mostly excited although some of them are pretty terrified of the heat, LOL.

I don't blame them...I am a bit terrified about the heat myself...sigh.

Some people just don't understand the importance of a fine-tuned spreadsheet on a Disney trip!

No I don't dare show anyone my spreadsheet in progress...people would be scared by that I think...not only that there is a spreadsheet but that I've been working on it for two months already lol

 

[chunkymonkey]

Right?? I'm planning a friends trip to WDW for the first time and they're all a little freaked out by my spreadsheets and "obsessiveness" (ahem, it's called being prepared).

No one can quite understand unless they have been there themselves. Then they understand and will be eternally grateful that someone in their party will take on that responsibility (at least that is what I am hoping for from my family).

I really want to try the Bon Voyage breakfast! I've heard the character interaction is really good and I'm intrigued by calzones for breakfast.

I was so curious about this too and it was fun. I would do it again! I'm sure the calzone is pretty good, I will leave it for another time although it's hard finding an ADR!

Hi Su-Lynn

I am so glad to be reading your report because you have reviewed so many things we are trying in August, so thank you!

Homecomin and Bon Voyage both sound wonderful, I was thinking of getting the steak breakfast like you, so I will ask for scrambled eggs instead, thanks for the tip.

When I saw your picture of Flynn, I was thinking he would make a decent Star Lord, before I even read your comments lol!

You're welcome!!
Yes definitely ask for the scrambled eggs at breakfast as that weird egg custard thing was pretty gross.
Haha yes the Star Lord we got the night before definitely was lacking in the actual Star Lord qualities. Flynn would have made a much better Star Lord.

I'm thinking of scheduling more breakfasts closer to the Boardwalk because that sound so tempting.

It is soooo convenient when you're there and don't want to wake up for some early ADR at another resort.

Josh is the best smolder I've ever seen

I knew you'd say that.

It just looks wrong! The shape of it is so odd.

It's really gross. I wish I knew I could get plain eggs instead.

I had one of those last trip. I didn't wear it as much as I should've though.

Haha I wonder if it's gonna be one of those things that I'll bring and never use, but when you're that hot I think any little bit helps.

First off, Happy 4th of July to you, too!!!

Thanks Tracy! I hope you had a great day!

Obviously!

We will try our best to keep you sufficiently entertained through dinner.

You're so right! And honestly, creating and tweaking the spreadsheet is so much fun and gets me so excited for my trips!!! A huge part of the Disney obsession for me is looking forward to and obsessing about my trips prior to taking them. We all get that here though, of course

Planning is a huge part of the excitement! I never feel prepared for a Disney trip unless I have something down on paper. Even if it's just Steve and myself and I don't do the huge spreadsheet, I do jot down a list of things each day just so I know what's in store for the week. I'm glad my DISboard friends understand, LOL

This is a great idea! So nice to roll out of bed and walk right to breakfast. That's how we felt about our Boma breakfasts when we stayed at AKL.

Exactly why we booked Boma for breakfast when we stayed at AKL!

Haha wow! Those quick busy trips always mean you need to miss something.

I know! I feel like I've all the time in the world prior to getting there and then before I know it, the vacation is over and I still have a list of things I didn't do, lol.

This is a little disappointing since they have them there in couples. But still nice to meet some of the gentlemen.

Yeah I wish they would meet as a couple as there's a lot more interaction but it was still fun meeting them separately so I'll get what I can take.

Haha! People don't appreciate the art that is a well-organized spreadsheet!

Exactly!!!

I forgot to quote this earlier, but yes! I really think in an upcoming year (well whichever year/month we're all free) we should try to do something like that.

This would be awesome!!

These look super comfortable but I'm worried they will be warm--like too warm for August touring. I usually end up wearing teva flip flops in August because everything else feels like I have heaters on my feet. What is your experience?

They are exactly what you wouldn't expect...the wool is actually a natural temperature-regulating material and so my feet surprisingly felt so comfortable. They are also naturally odor- and moisture-resistant and I never felt sweaty or hot. They say you don't even have to wear socks, but I still do just because I like to. I wouldn't wear heavy cotton or synthetic socks though, and I'd invest in a few natural wool or bamboo socks as they are also temperature-regulating. I wear Smartwool and Stomper Joe no-show socks and I swear to you my feet felt perfectly fine even in the 90 degree heat. My feet were hotter in flip flops just because they would burn in the sun!

 

[chunkymonkey]

I've been reading along, but a bad commenter

Hi Alyssa! Happy to see you here again! Hope wedding planning is going well

My park bag is smaller than that I think, and I'm trying not to graduate to a bigger one... but it's like tetris trying to fit everything in! Everything definitely has it's place haha!

Haha whenever I try to play bag tetris and I have to dig deep to find something, everything crumbles and I can never get it back in it's place perfectly after the first time. LOL. Big bags for me, please!

They will. People don't like change We were slightly underwhelmed by Wishes in January, because we saw the Disneyland 60th show (and I also saw the DLP show, which was my first castle show, and it was so cool), and... we actually skipped Wishes the second night We were heading to Epcot for EMH, and we watched the projection show (Celebrate the Magic?) and then headed out to avoid crowds. If we had known then it would be ending in a few months, we would have watched again...

I really loved HEA and I have no problem with it replacing Wishes. Wishes was more about the soundtrack rather than the visuals so I can always just listen to it on my itunes if I feel a little nostalgic. Glad you at least got to catch Wishes before it ended!

I just realized that we have not had Disney popcorn on any of our trips. I can't figure out how this has happened, because Zack loves popcorn. Seriously, he wouldn't share with me at a Cirque du Soleil show last week.

MUST. GET. DISNEY. POPCORN. BUCKET.
That is my advice to you, hehehe.

I'm so excited! Your pictures are amazing! I'm excited for AK in general too, but Pandora is looking blown-away-realism-step-into-the-movie atmosphere! The food and drinks intrigue me, but I'm so weird. The cheeseburger pods sound the most doable to me, I guess if we eat here I could always go with the kids meal to tide me over lol.

Thank you, it was an amazing experience and I'm so excited to see it again.
The cheeseburger pods were not bad, just a bit dry, but I'd have them again if I weren't really hungry. I've heard the chicken bowl is good so maybe that's what I'll get next time.

I love it! Also, that is a great idea. Guys are so lucky because they don't understand how finicky hair can be Like, unless I want to look like this: No moisture must come near my hair... for some reason, water rides tend to work out okay, but mister fans are a no go.

OMG I know what you're talking about. My hair is so frizzy when it's not blown out so I blow it out, and then the mister fans hit and I look like a wreck again. I guess it's unavoidable in the humidity anyways. And I rarely, if ever, go on water rides. Hehe.

I need to watch this movie. I'm slacking!

It's soooo good!

They're all so cute! I love these cute Disney tops like this! Zack got me a Lady and the Tramp one with lace along the top, similar to the Lion King one, for Christmas.

That sounds really cute! I love lace!

I want to buy so many of the postcard size prints. When we get our place, I'm determined to have a gallery wall - I don't care if it's Pinterest cliche I want to mix in little prints with photos of us/family. And maybe a few of my 'artsy' shots

I love his prints. I have a few of them, and I love them all. I would love to put up a gallery wall but I have a fear of commitment to my walls. I can't seem to want to nail anything in them, hahaha.

This is how I like my apple pie. At least, I'm imagining something like the apple pie alcohol we made with my parent's friends once. Like you, my favorite part of real apple pie is the crust - though for me, that's how it is for any fruit pie. I am a chocolate pie girl all the way.

Oooh chocolate pie, that sounds divine. I'll eat any pie, really, as long as it has good crust.

So I'm probably out for our trip. Many, I forgot about this breakfast! I read when it was starting/ADRs opened and wanted to see reviews... and promptly forgot about it until your review!

Yeah I keep forgetting about this breakfast and it's kinda impossible to get an ADR if you're booking after the 180 mark.

But the maps are so cute! I guess they're just to entertain you

Haha it sure did entertain me.

I would just like one of these to display in my kitchen/on the table all of the time, please.

It was so adorable, I'd serve everything out of a cast iron skillet if they weren't so heavy.

It's so weird to see him up close. I can't think if I've seen him as a character before.

Yeah it was actually our first time meeting him too.

Looking at the menu, I'd probably be like, can I have a second frying pan of pastries instead of fruit salad or a parfait? I don't do yogurt... or much fruit...

I'm sure they can pixie dust you with some more pastries.

It for sure is very popular. I couldn't get an ADR for it either. I liked that it isn't a buffet but there are characters...oh well. Next time.

There is always next time, and by next time there will probably be some other character meal that will be the new obsession, so hopefully it will free this up!

I don't blame them...I am a bit terrified about the heat myself...sigh.

Yes it's the one part of the trip we are not looking forward to!

No I don't dare show anyone my spreadsheet in progress...people would be scared by that I think...not only that there is a spreadsheet but that I've been working on it for two months already lol

I know, the fact that there is a spreadsheet is a little daunting but, hey I have just learned to own it and I'm sure everyone will appreciate it after the trip! (I hope)

 

[schmass]

That looks like such a fun breakfast. I struggle with booking breakfast reservations since I hate to miss a rope drop and it's so easy to eat breakfast in our room, but that looks like a good one! Maybe one day when my kids are a little older and not up at the crack of dawn we will spend our mornings a bit differently.

Your review of Ohana has me totally convinced to try it out for dinner, though! We have never done it and hope to book it for our March trip.

 

[SonyaShay]

all caught up and joining in

 

[franandaj]

It's so nice when your breakfast location is in your hotel! We plan to stay at the Beach Club for F&G 2019 (I know that's far away), but hopefully it will still be there and similar and we can get a reservation then! The choices looked great.

I was really curious about the Sunday Gravy, but then your comment above got me to realize that in Lisa Scottoline's books there is an Italian character whose mother always has "gravy" on the stove. And that's exactly what it is.

Good to know that you can substitute regular eggs, but what I liked about the menu was there were a number of choices without eggs. I don't like the way other people cook them for me, so I usually skip them eating out.

Your meet and greet photos are so cute and the dinglehopper was a great idea! Flynn was definitely a good match for his character!

 

[bcwife76]

Wow, that was quite the fancy breakfast! I love when you see characters like that that you don't normally see in meet and greets around the parks. It's always fun to see Mickey in all his different outfits of course but when you do a character breakfast I think it makes it more special when it's characters that you don't normally see out and about.

 

[Dugette]

It was packed at Al Forno. This seems to be one of the most popular breakfasts around. Even I can't find another ADR for our upcoming trips.

Wow, glad I snagged one for the last morning of our trip! Have you tried the Touring Plans Reservation Finder for it?

Our server brought us coffees and juices and took our order. Our breakfast started with a platter of pastries. I love how it's served in a mini cast iron frying pan, a la Rapunzel. The theme of these desserts are really clever. The sun cookie was a crisp puff pastry cookie, and there was a pastry resembling a clamshell/oyster complete with a pearl. Loved the theme of these, and they tasted pretty good, better than what you'd get at Be Our Guest.

This is so adorable!

The characters meet each table separately and not as a couple, although now and then they would do a little dance and interact.

Good to know - I didn't realize that.

I kept looking at this, trying to figure out what he had on his head, before realizing it was the shelf on the wall.

They were some fun interactions! I thought sometimes face characters during character meals may be kinda awkward but there wasn't anything awkward about these meet n greets. There were plenty of adults-only tables in addition to lots of families there.

After the characters came around, our entrees came out. This was actually nice as we got to enjoy meeting them without a ton of food stuck in our mouths.

Both good to know - sounds great!

I showed some of my other friends (not going to Disney) my spreadsheet, and one of them asked, "This is supposed to be a vacation, right?"
Some people just don't understand the importance of a fine-tuned spreadsheet on a Disney trip!

Some people just don't understand that the planning is what makes it a vacation vs. a torture chamber of standing in long lines in August heat all day long.