"Can I Get A Hangover Steak, Please?" An Adults-Only, Irma-Rific TR! - NEW PTR Link 4/11

[iheartbelle87]

Great updates! I had no idea the Avocado margarita is creamy ish? Weird, but Im glad you liked it!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

My mom was fancying some caramel popcorn, so we headed right into Karamel Kuche. You may remember last year, where Mom and I demolished an entire bag of this stuff in 15 minutes flat…

I have yet to get anything from in here! This needs to be on my must do list next trip!

At this point, it was nearing 1:15, and we had a Soarin’ FP scheduled from 12:25-1:25. We ended up changing it to 1:20-2:20 since we knew that there was no way we’d make it back in time!

Awsome that you were able to move it like that. Some days that would not have been possible.

But, now that we go to Disney more often, I fell like we can slow down a bit more and enjoy all of the countries!

Every time we go to Epcot we try more and more to soak in the countries. And I still feel like we kind of rush through it. They are really great.

What was the verdict?


YUM!

I really want to try this, but I am kind of afraid to. I too love avocado but something about it in a drink kind of turns me off. I don't know...

Mom liked it too!

Love the Pic!

I’m just chalking this up to an off day, I will still eat at Sunshine Season again! They have lots of healthy options and the convenience can’t be beat. Tom was lamenting passing up San Angel Inn… maybe in June we can stop by for some chips and queso

We stopped at Sunshine Seasons for the girls for dinner once. Really great healthy options for sure! Andy and I had Fish and Chips from England so we didn't eat anything there. But it all looked good!

 

[annie170]

South Carolina is beautiful. My husband travels a lot for his job and South Carolina is one of his favorite destinations. So much so that he has mentioned that he would love to retire there. This past winter in the Chicago area has done us in, although not as bad as the east coast.

I've never really thought of Soarin' as a problem for someone who has height isssues. Did Tom try it at all? You really aren't that far off the ground.

I love exploring World Showcase. It's my favorite thing to do. On our last trip, I carved out some alone time to do just that, as most of my family does not share the love.

That's too bad your meals at Sunshine Seasons were less than satisfying. I've never eaten there because there are so many awesome quick service options in World Showcase.

 

[missangelalexis]

SOunds like a lovely time in Hilton Head!

Your tour around World Showcase sounds so fun! You did all the important things- caramel treats in Germany, slushy in America, and margaritas in Mexico!

 

[SuperNEMOfan]

The world showcase has definitely grown on me too, especially since I appreciate it more being over 21

Avocado margarita...hmmm. I dont think id like it but Im going to recommend it to my sister in law for our October trip

Hilton Head is lovely, my mom is actually down there right now with some family and im super jealous!!

Looking forward to another update! whenever that might be

 

[AaronInWI]

Coming Soon- Day 4: Part 3- “Summer Breeze Makes Me Feel Fine!”

Just have to say, I love all of the music lyrics! The only problem, I can't stop singing to myself "Summer breeze, makes me feel fine; blowing through the jasmine in my miiiind..." over and over. Not a good thing this close to bedtime!

 

[Terra Nova guy]

I would like to eat at Sunshine Seasons, but I never have! My family are a bit on the picky side and they could never find something they wanted to eat. Maybe I can bribe them with that brownie...

 

[westcoastfldisneygirl]

OMG i love the avocado margarita! It is so darn good. And my H doesn't like it, so good all for me!

your HHI photos are adorable too! and it sounds like a productive trip. what wedding colors did she pick?

 

[Mollydolly334]

Your pics are so cute! And, that avocado margarita looks delicious. It's definitely on my radar for October...

Thank you!! The avocado margarita was refreshing and very unique- I'm so glad I tried it!!

Great updates! I had no idea the Avocado margarita is creamy ish? Weird, but Im glad you liked it!

Thanks!! And yes, it was creamy but I didn't really mind because I love smoothies! It definitely is different from a normal margarita though- maybe that's why I liked it (I usually hate margaritas, haha!)

I have yet to get anything from in here! This needs to be on my must do list next trip!


Awsome that you were able to move it like that. Some days that would not have been possible.


Every time we go to Epcot we try more and more to soak in the countries. And I still feel like we kind of rush through it. They are really great.


I really want to try this, but I am kind of afraid to. I too love avocado but something about it in a drink kind of turns me off. I don't know...



Love the Pic!


We stopped at Sunshine Seasons for the girls for dinner once. Really great healthy options for sure! Andy and I had Fish and Chips from England so we didn't eat anything there. But it all looked good!

Oh my gosh, definitely get something from Karamel Kuche- it's one of our must-dos!

No worries, we still rush through the countries too! It's impossible to see everything

The avocado margarita is great!! You can't even really taste the avocado- it more just makes the drink creamy and rich.

South Carolina is beautiful. My husband travels a lot for his job and South Carolina is one of his favorite destinations. So much so that he has mentioned that he would love to retire there. This past winter in the Chicago area has done us in, although not as bad as the east coast.

I've never really thought of Soarin' as a problem for someone who has height isssues. Did Tom try it at all? You really aren't that far off the ground.

I love exploring World Showcase. It's my favorite thing to do. On our last trip, I carved out some alone time to do just that, as most of my family does not share the love.

That's too bad your meals at Sunshine Seasons were less than satisfying. I've never eaten there because there are so many awesome quick service options in World Showcase.

YES, this Midwest winter has been brutal!! I was so surprised by how much I loved SC! We travel a lot and some cities just don't stick out, but HHI definitely did as one of my favorites!!

Tom tried Soarin' the first day and was terrified He doesn't like even the illusion of being high up- he says it makes him dizzy and his feet tingle!

We like Sunshine Seasons but I also want to try some more WS QS, like the ones in Tokyo and Norway.

SOunds like a lovely time in Hilton Head!

Your tour around World Showcase sounds so fun! You did all the important things- caramel treats in Germany, slushy in America, and margaritas in Mexico!

We had an amazing time!! And definitely- by the end we were craving some actual hot food

The world showcase has definitely grown on me too, especially since I appreciate it more being over 21

Avocado margarita...hmmm. I dont think id like it but Im going to recommend it to my sister in law for our October trip

Hilton Head is lovely, my mom is actually down there right now with some family and im super jealous!!

Looking forward to another update! whenever that might be

Oh yes, drinking around the world is amazing! Although if you have too much to drink it could severely backfire...

I hope your mom had an amazing time in HHI!! And a new update is coming later tonight

Just have to say, I love all of the music lyrics! The only problem, I can't stop singing to myself "Summer breeze, makes me feel fine; blowing through the jasmine in my miiiind..." over and over. Not a good thing this close to bedtime!

Well thank you!! I love Seals and Croft! They're so peaceful

I would like to eat at Sunshine Seasons, but I never have! My family are a bit on the picky side and they could never find something they wanted to eat. Maybe I can bribe them with that brownie...

Haha, who doesn't like brownies, amiright??

OMG i love the avocado margarita! It is so darn good. And my H doesn't like it, so good all for me!

your HHI photos are adorable too! and it sounds like a productive trip. what wedding colors did she pick?

It was great! Although it wasn't something I'd necessarily get every trip, it was fun to try

Thank you!! It was very productive- Haley is going with blush pink for the bridesmaid dresses and the men will wear black tuxes. I'm guessing the flowers will be blush pink and white with some dark red and green accents

 

[Neverland_Girl]

As for our stay at the Polynesian resort, I get more and more excited every day! The vibe of this resort just screams “vacation” and seems a bit more couple-y than some of the other resorts on property Although I visit often, I actually haven’t stayed here since 2002 (I was 8 years old ). So much has changed since then!

After finally staying at the Poly it definitely has a romantic vibe. I can't wait to take my BF there.

Well… my brownie was good! But I have to say that the rest of our meals were sub-par Tom especially was not too keen on his meal, he’s a seafood connoisseur and wasn’t impressed. My noodles and chicken were okay, nothing special but I did have to add a lot of soy sauce Mom really loved her salad- she got this last year and loved it then as well!

I'm sorry your meal at Sunshine Seasons was a bust. I've heard a lot of good things about it but I've yet to try it.

 

[Mollydolly334]

Day 4: Part 3- “Summer Breeze Makes Me Feel Fine!”



Hi Disfriends! Where I last left off, we were just finishing our mediocre lunch at Sunshine Seasons However, we just chalked this up to an off-day; usually Sunshine Seasons is our go-to spot in Future World! We soaked in the beauty of the Land pavilion and just hung out for a bit


We also texted Haley and Ryan to see what they were up to over at Universal Studios! Naturally, I had to send her this…








They replied that Universal Studios was also practically deserted and that all of the rides were walk-ons! They were heading out in the next half-hour, so we figured that we should probably start walking out of Epcot soon.


I asked Haley if she had any pictures from the day, but she didn’t! But, she kindly sent me some pictures from their December 2016 trip to include in my TR











And to answer your question… she did not buy the donut. Sigh. Are we even related?


After checking in with my dad, we moseyed on out of the Land and to the park exit. Our destination was Disney Springs!


First, Mom wanted to get a few pictures of Tom and I by Spaceship Earth








“Pretend you’re holding up the big ball!”








Since it was only about 3:00, there were no buses running directly from Epcot to Disney Springs. We didn’t want to pay for an Uber, plus we thought that it would be a good opportunity to check out a Disney Springs-area resort! We waited by the bus depot and vowed that the first bus that showed up would be the one we would take. Well, about 5 minutes later, a bus for Port Orleans Riverside pulled up!


I was really excited to see it, since we had stayed here on my very first WDW trip back in 2000 (It was called Dixie Landings back then!) We stayed over in the mansions, and all I can really remember was that the hotel was HUGE and we did a lot of walking





Haley and I swimming at POR in 2000.


As we boarded the bus, I figured that I should check out MDE for any updates about the hurricane. I also checked any open dining reservations for September 12 (our departure day and the day that the parks were supposed to re-open). We were pretty bummed about having to cancel Be Our Guest and I figured that maybe I could get us a consolation lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern or the Plaza.


Well, low and behold, there were TONS of lunch ADRs available for Be Our Guest! I snatched one up for 11:45, and all was right in the world We were going to eat at Belle’s Castle this trip after all!





By this time, we were approaching POR! As we passed the Alligator Bayou section, Mom said, “I don’t remember this at all” But, once we passed the mansions, she remembered it more. Hey, it WAS 18 years ago!





We hopped off at the first bus stop we stopped by, then waited at the bus stop. And waited...and waited… and waited…






After about 20 minutes of waiting, my dad called me saying that he was already at Disney Springs and “Where the *bleep* were we?” My sentiments exactly! We were getting antsy, walking around the bus stop and playing some games as we waited.


FINALLY, 40 minutes later, a bus for Disney Springs pulled up! We must have bad Disney Springs bus mojo- on our 2016 trip, Mom and I waited 50 minutes for a bus coming from DS to the GF. Next time, we will definitely pay the small price of an Uber


So, even though we didn’t get to see much of POR, it was nice getting a little drive-by of it Luckily, in no time at all, we were pulling into Disney Springs! We met my dad right by the entrance- he was watching some street performers playing music! Haley and Ryan met up with us barely 5 minutes after we arrived!


It was about 4:30 by now, so we had 2.5 hours to shop until we dropped! If you recall from last night, you’ll remember that we were supposed to have an ADR at Homecoming Florida Kitchen tonight for 9:00. Since Disney Springs was closing at 9:00 to prep for the hurricane, Homecoming had let us change our reservation to 7:30! We were very grateful that they did this- we were so excited to eat at Homecoming as we had heard great reviews about it!





I love what they’ve done with this area of Disney Springs. It looks so fancy yet beach-like!


We decided to look in a few stores all together, like the Star Wars-themed shop and Cherry Tree Lane.





This dress was calling my name!! But at the price, I just didn’t find it practical enough to buy. Isn’t it adorable though? Cherry Tree Lane is the cutest little shop.


After looking around a bit, Tom had only one thing on the brain: souvenirs! Luckily, we were heading towards World of Disney- the perfect place for that!


Now, Tom had A LOT of souvenirs to buy. He has a really big family, and all but his oldest sister have never been to Disney World before. Tom is a generous guy and loves giving gifts (lucky for me ), so he had been making a list of present ideas in his head all week and had been waiting for this moment!


Since I didn’t take pictures of all the souvenirs, I will be relying a lot on Google images...


Tom’s Souvenirs:


A Minnie plush and Daisy Duck plush for his 1 year-old twin nieces.





An Elena of Avalor doll for his 6 year-old niece.





A Beauty and the Beast cup for his older sister, Stephanie.





An Ariel coffee mug for his older sister, Julia





Pixar bath toys for his 1 year-old nephew





Tom also got a Woody doll for himself (which you’ll see a lot in the upcoming posts… haha )


Shockingly, I didn’t buy anything for myself at World of Disney I think I just get so overwhelmed in there and don’t even know where to start! I really wanted a stuffed animal, but was bad at making decisions tonight so it wasn’t in the cards (would I get one later in the trip? )


We met my Mom at check-out so Tom could purchase his loot. She was buying a new Alex and Ani bracelet (she gets a new one every trip). This year, she chose a blue Cinderella bracelet.





She wears this and her Tinkerbell one every day, as well as a pineapple one from Hawaii and a dog paw one for our dog, Bella


After World of Disney, we checked out the Marketplace Co-Op and Tren-D. I drooled over the phone cases and Disney purses. But I only had two items on the brain for tonight- a Disney print from the Art of Disney, and a Disney ornament! Disney’s Days of Christmas was up first!


Buying a Disney World ornament is another one of our every-trip traditions We have so many- including a Cinderella and Prince Charming snow globe, a Dumbo ear hat, a Belle ear hat, a red Mickey head, and a sombrero from the Mexico pavilion.


We all had lots of opinions about the ornament- we knew that we wanted a customized one but everybody wanted something different! Ultimately, I swayed everyone to decide on something AKL-themed since it was our first trip with all 6 of us! We chose this leopard print Mickey head with the year.





It looked gorgeous on our tree this year!


After we got everything situated, we split up. Mom, Haley and I went to look in the Art of Disney while the boys grabbed cocktails at the Rainforest Cafe. I had a $50 Disney Gift card from St. Nick burning a hole in my pocket, and I knew I needed to spend it on another piece of Disney artwork!


I have a small group of Disney prints in my bedroom- one of Cinderella’s castle during Wishes and one of the Grand Floridian. My goal someday is to have a whole wall of them in my forever home


I was very picky on which print I wanted and basically turned the whole store upside down looking for the perfect one. I was so picky that eventually Mom and Haley left me to meet up with the boys, and I was all by myself! I thought that I had seen them all, when I finally came across this beauty





I literally gasped and plucked it right up- this was the one!! Remember how I was ogling the Hula Minnie statue at the Polynesian 2 nights prior? Well, I had finally found merchandise with her on it! I love this print so much! It has all of my favorite things- vintage-looking Disney characters, bright colors, and Polynesian theming Now I have artwork to represent my 2 favorite Disney resorts!!


Feeling very proud of myself, I sauntered over to the Rainforest Cafe with my new souvenir. I had to giggle when I saw the back of the group…





Nothing like boys with animal butts It was about 6:30 at this point, so we still had an hour before our ADR. I ordered a strawberry Mojito we chatted with the bartender.


He started asking us about our hurricane plan, if we had food, what we should do etc. All night, CMs had been telling us to “be safe,” “stay safe,” etc., which was surprising because Irma had not been mentioned AT ALL before tonight. It kind of felt like we were in the movie "The Purge"...





I found this professional, because they chose not to say anything until official reports came out. However, it made us a little nervous and made things more real that even Disney CMs were warning us about being prepared. After we finished our drinks, we rushed over to Goofy’s Candy Company for some provisions, just in case...


Coming Soon- Day 4: Part 4- “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It!”



​

 

[iheartbelle87]

Fabulous update! I love how thoughtful Tom is and all of the souvenirs he got for his family But BOO about the bus to POR! And I LOVE the artwork you found!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Well, low and behold, there were TONS of lunch ADRs available for Be Our Guest! I snatched one up for 11:45, and all was right in the world

YEAH!!!!! Alot of people probably cancelled there trips!

Shockingly, I didn’t buy anything for myself at World of Disney I think I just get so overwhelmed in there and don’t even know where to start!

I get overwhelmed in there too! I need to go in there by myself and just wonder around. I just haven't had that chance yet.

I literally gasped and plucked it right up- this was the one!!

Perfect! I love it!

 

[missangelalexis]

Cute pics as you left Epcot!

That's crazy that it took so long for a bus to come! But sounds like you did some successful shopping at DS! Love the print you bought!

 

[Stasieki]

Great updates! My Dad lives in Hilton Head and we are heading there to visit July 4th week!!!!! We started visiting as a family in the early 90's and he now retired there (well... semi retired - he just can't stop working).

 

[Lesley Wake]

Well, low and behold, there were TONS of lunch ADRs available for Be Our Guest! I snatched one up for 11:45, and all was right in the world We were going to eat at Belle’s Castle this trip after all!

It was great the availability of ADRs the day before and afterwards Irma! And of course I already knew you got to visit BOG!

 

[Neverland_Girl]

We met my Mom at check-out so Tom could purchase his loot. She was buying a new Alex and Ani bracelet (she gets a new one every trip). This year, she chose a blue Cinderella bracelet.

I have the same Cinderella one! I also bought two limited edition Peter Pan ones on Ebay because I have a problem.

I have a small group of Disney prints in my bedroom- one of Cinderella’s castle during Wishes and one of the Grand Floridian. My goal someday is to have a whole wall of them in my forever home

Same! My entire office is going to look like Disney threw up on it.

Now I also want these for my house

 

[Christi0909]

And to answer your question… she did not buy the donut.

No, my question is, is that Topanga on his shirt?

 

[westcoastfldisneygirl]

Great update! I stayed at POR when it was Dixie Landings as well!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Love the print you picked, very nice