dining, whining, and dreaming of silver linings: a 2020 TR Updated 9/1/20 POST PANDEMIC trip

[pepperandchips]

Hi everyone and welcome! I am Melinda, your narrator. Fun fact: I was cast as the narrator in my first grade Christmas pageant at school and have been narrating my own life ever since. I'm also easily distracted and tend to go on tangents. Bet you're excited about this report, huh?

I tend to hang out over in the dining report forums, and hopefully some of my pals from over there will find their way over to this shiny new report. I also have a bad habit of ghosting from a report or failing to finish it. Keep me honest, people!

Above is a picture of me with my main squeeze, Space Jesus, there in the background. I fervently hope that SJ survives the upcoming Spaceship Earth reimagining. I love this mural an amount that likely exceeds "normal" levels. I also love the Country Bears, Animal Kingdom, Sonny Eclipse, friendship boats, Minnie Mouse, Disney Lodges, Shellie May, Soarin Over California, hamburgers (ok, Disney food of all varieties), and chilling with a beer anywhere on property. Burudika used to top that list. Alas.

(This is also me, chilling with a beer.)

I am married to "R" (his name isn't a secret but I don't like it typed out in case his students were to google our names together and find my reports) and live in metro Atlanta. I have an often grueling professional day job and live for my vacations - mostly Disney-related, these days. Maybe one day I'll grow out of it. I'm not counting on it.

(Me as a kid, in the fashionable hat with the lipsmackers lanyard. Baby glamazon, I know)

I just finished up the last post of my Aulani and Maui Christmas 2018 report over in the Aulani threads, so I figured I would reward myself with a new place to share and connect. So here we are!

This is where most people post about the details of their trips. I have a few "under my belt" for 2020, and have an awful lot to look forward to. Even if I end up writing mostly to myself, I like posting reports so I can re-live all the fun. That’s where this report comes in. For future context: it was announced tonight that both Disneyland and Walt Disney World are closed for at least the balance of March. I personally view this as “closed until further notice”. So I don’t have much of a vacation to look forward to right now and - while I totally understand the closure - am feeling really sad. I thought it would be helpful to remember and share some happy memories and thus the beginning of this TR.


(Above photo not from this trip, it’s my last photo with Burudika. My best happy place activity forever!!!)

I'll save the next post for a real table of contents but here's a little sample of the trips I've already taken and what's on the books (though may be cancelled based on today’s announcements):

January 17-26, 2020: WDW with extended family for my nephew's first trip
February 26-28, 2020: WDW with extended family from the other side for my nieces' first trip
April 3-11, 2020: Disneyland for R's Spring Break
May 28-June 1, 2020: First DCL Cruise for our 2nd Anniversary with a pre-night at AKL
July 2-6, 2020: Summer weekend getaway (currently split between Coronado and Poly Villa Studio)
November 5-9, 2020: Wine and Dine Half Weekend

As you can see, it's quite the year. Of course, there's a real possibility for a lot of drama as well, so hopefully all our trips pan out and I can tell you about all of them. But if I can’t, at least I can remember the fun I’ve already had and hopefully share the excitement of future plans along with all of you, my Dis friends!

 

[pepperandchips]

Post navigation:

Trip #1 - January 17-26, 2020
Background, travel day, and day one
Animal Kingdom and Flying Fish with Friends

Changing Gears - July 1-6 Trip
Real life update and Polynesian Villas
Dinner at DS
Pool time and Resort Swap!
Thoughts about Riviera (Riviera Resort Review)

 

[ariane37]

It's like a little magic bar told me to find you here ❤ And don't think I'm not loving those July dates squeezed in the my friend!

 

[suse66]

Joining in for all the adventures! I had to cancel my March Break plans for NYC so will be hanging out on the Dis and dreaming about future plans. I was happy to see your July dates too.....I am there June 30 to July 8th with my oldest son for his 20th bday. It would be great to have a chance to say hi!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

I'm here!!!! Where else would I be when my dear friend has started a TR...

it was announced tonight that both Disneyland and Walt Disney World are closed for at least the balance of March. I personally view this as “closed until further notice”. So I don’t have much of a vacation to look forward to right now and - while I totally understand the closure - am feeling really sad. I thought it would be helpful to remember and share some happy memories and thus the beginning of this TR.

This makes me sad too...

 

[dwonderz]

Joining in - totally hear you on feeling sad about upcoming trips - can't wait to hear about this one though!

 

[pepperandchips]

The first trip... January 17-26, 2020



The background: R’s mom decided in 2019 that it was high time to take our nephew to Walt Disney World. My MIL and her husband (R’s step father) had joined us for part of a Thanksgiving trip in 2018, so they were moderate Disney fans by this point and absolutely doting on the first grandchild on this side of the family. Nephew got a Mickey Mouse suitcase for his third birthday with a promise to go to Florida (go Flor-eee-duh!) to meet Mickey and we all concurred that a trip to WDW in January would be substituted in lieu of gifts for Christmas.

Of course being the absolute nut that I am, I was consulted about the best weekend to go and selected the weekend after president’s day hoping for low crowds. Well R’s mom went ahead and booked a vacation rental home starting with Thursday night and despite it being a bit of an ordeal, R was able to ask for the days off and get a sub. But then I start thinking about how I already have Monday off.... and can’t I work from the hotel room on Tuesday and Wednesday?

And our trip grew legs at that point and ran off without me.

I was able to secure a DVC rental for a great price and we got a one bedroom unit at Saratoga Springs. Well, at that point, “we” was “me”, but before long R could no longer resist the temptation of joining me and was able to get permission to take the extra 2 days off.

I was very anxious about the trip because it was the first adult trip for R’s brother and sister in law (that I know of) and it was my first trip with a big family group like this and it would be the first trip where we’d stayed that far offsite in several years (we ended up deciding a few years ago that holiday villas are just not our thing). So I fretted and planned, fretted and planned, ultimately for good reason as the trip was a smash hit, but more on that later.

For now, we can start at the beginning with yours truly getting on the road WAY later than I’d wanted, facing unexpected late night traffic due to roadwork, and arriving at the resort around 2:00 am. (!!!!) We actually prefer to drive overnight, usually leaving Atlanta anywhere between 1-4:00 am depending on the trip and what we have scheduled for our first day. We wanted to wake up at WDW on Saturday morning for the beginning of this trip, so that's why we left after work on Friday (not our usual). Lesson learned!

Though we were dead on our feet, I was still super excited to start our longest Disney vacation in a good while, and we lugged all our bags up and got settled into our room in the Grandstand (#9830, fourth floor). Now, if it had not been 2:00 am I likely would have gone to the front desk and asked about other room availability as this location was not my version of ideal. We weren’t horribly far from the lobby and the Disney Springs boat dock, but it would have been nice to be in one of the Grandstand buildings closer to that. As it was, we were pretty far flung from the action at the resort, but we had a quiet unit and a view over one of the golf course holes.

Around 2:45 am, I sunk into our comfy king bed and floated off to dreamland, lulled to sleep by the excited intonations of my old pal Stacey.

Saturday January 18:

For obvious reasons we slept in the next day. When we finally roused ourselves and had some cups of tea and a generally lazy morning, we headed out to find lunch. Being so close to Disney Springs, we decided that we’d grab a boat over to look for sustenance. Cinderella’s (motor) coach was idling in the parking lot near our building where I snapped this picture just after 12:15.

By 12:33, we were pulling up to the dock at the landing at Disney Springs - not too shabby! We actually had fairly good transportation luck on this trip.

We decided to start our trip the way we’ve started many trips in the last couple years - with what I think is WDW’s best hamburger. Of course we were headed to the Boathouse! We grabbed a high top table out on the waterside dock (the seating all around the bar there is first come, first served) and soaked up some beautiful Florida sunshine. We decided to start vacation on the right foot and each ordered a beer.

I went for the sailfish sunrise city IPA while R ordered the Persimmon Hollow Beach Hippie IPA. He’d ordered that one before but forgot until he saw the can again. I preferred mine - it was hoppy without being bitter, while R's had a lingering aftertaste that was a bit less smooth than I'd like. The Boathouse is near perfect but the chief complaint I have (and maybe my only bone to pick) is that they don’t have draft beer. Seems so odd. Anyway we enjoyed each other’s company and watching the amphicars launch and return. We perused the menu and settled on two items to split:

Mahi tacos ($22) per the menu, these are served with Green Papaya-Jicama Slaw, Guajillo Sauce, and Spicy Avocado Salsa Verde. These were quite good with the pickled onion lending a nice sour note and the "spicy avocado salsa" turning out to be a chunky guacamole. The flavors worked well together, though these were pretty much what we expected for fish tacos.

Magic amazing delicious burger ($18, with fries upgraded to truffle fries for an extra $2.50). Fine, fine, it's not listed as a magic amazing delicious burger! The menu says this is the Classic Cheeseburger - BOATHOUSE Custom Grind, Beefsteak Tomato, Onion, Lettuce, and Pickle served with Fresh-cut Fries. I know I eat a lot of burgers at WDW. For that, I am sorrynotsorry, and this one is my favorite. As ever, it was burger perfection.

Cooked medium, as requested.

After AP discount this meal came to $58.85.

Beautiful view of DS from this location!

We’d planned to meet up with friends later (can you guess who?) but first we wanted to change shoes and maybe grab jackets, so we headed back to our room for a few minutes to put our feet up (literally, in my case).

Is it gross to post a picture of your feet? I am sorry, if so.

Up next: some bad bus luck and then we rendez vous for a wild time!

 

[pepperandchips]

It's like a little magic bar told me to find you here ❤ And don't think I'm not loving those July dates squeezed in the my friend!

You found me RIGHT AWAY!!! And I am so glad you did

Hoping the parks get back to normal very soon. If not, we may extend that July trip - we’ll just have to wait, I guess. Which I am not good at!!!

Joining in for all the adventures! I had to cancel my March Break plans for NYC so will be hanging out on the Dis and dreaming about future plans. I was happy to see your July dates too.....I am there June 30 to July 8th with my oldest son for his 20th bday. It would be great to have a chance to say hi!

Oh that would be so wonderful!!! Yes, a lot of our plans are up in the air right now due to the obvious, but I would love to finally get to meet you in person!

I’m sorry your March trip got cancelled - anything local and fun to do that could be accomplished while also keeping 6 feet from others?

I'm here!!!! Where else would I be when my dear friend has started a TR...

Yay!!! You found me so quickly! I better shake a leg on posts then

Joining in - totally hear you on feeling sad about upcoming trips - can't wait to hear about this one though!

Hi Dutch!!! So glad to have you! I’ve been lurking on your report so I guess I better say hi with a post over there, huh?

 

[pepperandchips]

Saturday, January 18, 2020 Continued:

After our brief rest, we headed out to join our friends at Animal Kingdom. Not going to lie, part of my whole plan to make this a weeklong trip was in part to see our disfriends who were in town at the same time. I’d checked with @ariane37 and tried to match plans up with them and @Jenny Sanders and Joe. But of course, we were also happy just to be in Orlando in the beautiful weather and we were totally willing to go with the flow.

I don’t think Saratoga Springs gets enough credit for how beautiful and serene it is. We walked to the main bus stop (as became our habit) and *just* missed an Animal Kingdom bus. We should’ve run for it! Instead we waited probably a bit over 30 minutes for the next one and were SO EXCITED to see it arrive!!

Shortly after we arrived we met up with our friends and all used a fastpass on Kilimanjaro Safaris. I spent the whole time running my mouth to Ariane, so please accept these photos from a different safari in lieu of authentic photos from our ride:

Per my trip notes, we had a great safari and we saw the cheetahs up and prowling, all three lions snoozing, almost got charged by a rhino, and got to see the hyenas running around! Successful safari if you ask me!

We all had overlapping fp for Everest afterward, but the crowds were pretty oppressive that day (it was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day weekend) and I think several of us were feeling peckish. So Joe went off to redeem a couple Everest fastpasses and the rest of us headed over to Nomad Lounge!

Now you’ve probably read about this on other trip reports, so I will keep it brief - we had quite a Dismeet with about 15 disers and spouses and children at our largest. We were definitely getting some side eye from other tables. Sorry!!

I had one snack and one snack only in mind for our visit:

Apparently I was so excited that I couldn’t wait as you definitely get more than three churros with your order. They are $9 and served with vanilla crema and chili strawberry sauce that has just the tiniest kick of an after burn. These are so incredibly tasty that I don’t even know how to describe them - they’re just in a league of churros that can’t be compared to the regular churros from outdoor vending carts. They’re somehow both creamy inside and crispy outside - just perfect.

R and I each had a couple of cocktails, but I didn’t take pictures as we just ordered bourbon and soda (our usual) probably to skip the extra sugar since we were having the churros as a snack. Ariane and Jenny kindly invited us to join them for dinner, but as the Joe-mobile wasn’t a 12 passenger van, we split up after this and decided to meet back up at the Boardwalk. I’m not sure how but R and I beat the SperandUber to the Boardwalk, so we popped into the Bellevue lounge for a quick aperitif - another bourbon. The bartender, Megan, was so sweet and we had great service and chatted with some other guests. I regret that I did not take any photos but I was not planning on a TR at that time.

Shortly after, Jenny, Ariane, their hubbies, and Molly arrived and we all watched the magician/comedian on the Boardwalk for a few minutes before we headed in to check in for our reservation at the Flying Fish!

Now, some of you might remember, and I was ACUTELY aware, that our prior and only experience at Flying Fish after its refurb was a horrible New Year’s Eve dinner a few years ago. I had an inedible steak but quite enjoyed our appetizers. It had been long enough that we were willing to return, and (spoiler alert) I am so glad we did!

R and I had worked up (don’t count those cocktails) quite an appetite by this point and opted to share a couple of appetizers:

Prince Edward Island mussels with fresh basil and chardonnay broth ($16) - this was an absolutely massive portion, though you cant really tell from the photo. These were fresh and tasty and the broth had a nice light citrus type flavor. I still miss the old mussels preparation that had the world’s most heavenly pesto broth, but these were also good.

We also had the crispy oysters ($16) served with flying fish roe and lotus root. These were incredible! The oysters are so creamy and then perfectly crisp on the outside. Our entrees were amazing but I would gladly return and order a couple of these appetizers as my dinner! YUM

Against my instinct not to order steak again, I opted to jump full in on allowing a redemption, and ordered the angus filet Mignon. This dish is served with asparagus, sweet onion risotto, and truffle sauce ($59). Now this is an expensive dish, but it is so delightful - the cut of steak was buttery perfection. Nothing at all like what I was served a few years ago! The sides, though somewhat superfluous to the incredible steak, were also scrumptious. That onion risotto was savory, creamy, and all around very tasty. I am so glad we gave flying fish another shot because this was sooooo good!

R ordered the potato wrapped snapper - a classic dish that survived the refurb and is served with red wine cassis sauce and leek fondue. ($58). I tried a few bites of this and it was also very good - not as good as my filet, mind you - but absolutely fresh and prepared very well. The crunchy potato wrap offers a nice tooth to the otherwise soft fish preparation. R was glad with his choice as well.

The guys also were delighted to find a whistle pig rye on the spirits list and I believe all three of them enjoyed one. We’ve had this before on a cruise and I know R was very happy to have it again and it was a nice way to celebrate being together again!

The girls

For some reason (see above re cocktails) we all still had room for dessert and by popular request we all ducked into Ample Hills for some really incredible ice cream. I had a cone with dark chocolate and Nona D’s oatmeal lace (my favorites) but I didn’t get a decent photo - instead please enjoy this photo of Jenny and Joe digging in on their flight

And on that sweet note, I will end this installment!

Up next: fancy pants brunch at California Grill!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Around 2:45 am, I sunk into our comfy king bed and floated off to dreamland, lulled to sleep by the excited intonations of my old pal Stacey.

Disney beds are the best. I haven't slept in one I didn't like...

After our brief rest, we headed out to join our friends at Animal Kingdom. Not going to lie, part of my whole plan to make this a weeklong trip was in part to see our disfriends who were in town at the same time. I’d checked with @ariane37 and tried to match plans up with them and @Jenny Sanders and Joe.

Aww! This is so extremely sweet and Joe and I were so happy to get to spend more time with you and R.

I don’t think Saratoga Springs gets enough credit for how beautiful and serene it is.

I agree. We had a crap room, VERY far away from anything when we stayed there a few years ago but thought the resort itself was beautiful.

I think several of us were feeling peckish. So Joe went off to redeem a couple Everest fastpasses and the rest of us headed over to Nomad Lounge!

Yes, he did and yew we did.

Shortly after, Jenny, Ariane, their hubbies, and Molly arrived and we all watched the magician/comedian on the Boardwalk for a few minutes before we headed in to check in for our reservation at the Flying Fish!

I forgot all about this. he was very good!!!

and ordered the angus filet Mignon. This dish is served with asparagus, sweet onion risotto, and truffle sauce ($59). Now this is an expensive dish, but it is so delightful - the cut of steak was buttery perfection. Nothing at all like what I was served a few years ago! The sides, though somewhat superfluous to the incredible steak, were also scrumptious. That onion risotto was savory, creamy, and all around very tasty. I am so glad we gave flying fish another shot because this was sooooo good!

Joe LOVED this and thinks it's his fav filet in all of Disney.

The guys also were delighted to find a whistle pig rye on the spirits list and I believe all three of them enjoyed one

Joe tried to order this last week and no one seemed to have it...

For some reason (see above re cocktails) we all still had room for dessert and by popular request we all ducked into Ample Hills for some really incredible ice cream. I had a cone with dark chocolate and Nona D’s oatmeal lace (my favorites) but I didn’t get a decent photo - instead please enjoy this photo of Jenny and Joe digging in on their flight

OMG! I look like a fat hunchback. LMBO! This icecream was sooooo good!

 

[suse66]

But then I start thinking about how I already have Monday off.... and can’t I work from the hotel room on Tuesday and Wednesday?

And our trip grew legs at that point and ran off without me.

I was able to secure a DVC rental for a great price and we got a one bedroom unit at Saratoga Springs. Well, at that point, “we” was “me”, but before long R could no longer resist the temptation of joining me and was able to get permission to take the extra 2 days off.

Extra Disney time is always good!

We decided to start our trip the way we’ve started many trips in the last couple years - with what I think is WDW’s best hamburger. Of course we were headed to the Boathouse! We grabbed a high top table out on the waterside dock (the seating all around the bar there is first come, first served) and soaked up some beautiful Florida sunshine. We decided to start vacation on the right foot and each ordered a beer.

Perfection! Jack (my almost 20 year old) and I are at SSR for 2 nights and have ressies at the Boathouse.

Magic amazing delicious burger ($18, with fries upgraded to truffle fries for an extra $2.50). Fine, fine, it's not listed as a magic amazing delicious burger! The menu says this is the Classic Cheeseburger - BOATHOUSE Custom Grind, Beefsteak Tomato, Onion, Lettuce, and Pickle served with Fresh-cut Fries. I know I eat a lot of burgers at WDW. For that, I am sorrynotsorry, and this one is my favorite. As ever, it was burger perfection.

I think this would be our exact meal.....I would do R's fish tacos and Jack would be all about that burger!

Oh that would be so wonderful!!! Yes, a lot of our plans are up in the air right now due to the obvious, but I would love to finally get to meet you in person!

It would be amazing to meet......hoping that things settle down by July.

I’m sorry your March trip got cancelled - anything local and fun to do that could be accomplished while also keeping 6 feet from others?

Everything is closed down here so will be hanging at home, reading, catching up on some projects etc. I teach kindergarten, we are off until April 6th with school closures. The Canadian government has banned all non essential travel outside of the country. Three days ago I would not have thought it would progress that quickly but better safe than sorry.

I don’t think Saratoga Springs gets enough credit for how beautiful and serene it is. We walked to the main bus stop (as became our habit) and *just* missed an Animal Kingdom bus. We should’ve run for it! Instead we waited probably a bit over 30 minutes for the next one and were SO EXCITED to see it arrive!!

It really looks lovely!

R and I each had a couple of cocktails, but I didn’t take pictures as we just ordered bourbon and soda (our usual) probably to skip the extra sugar since we were having the churros as a snack. Ariane and Jenny kindly invited us to join them for dinner, but as the Joe-mobile wasn’t a 12 passenger van, we split up after this and decided to meet back up at the Boardwalk. I’m not sure how but R and I beat the SperandUber to the Boardwalk, so we popped into the Bellevue lounge for a quick aperitif - another bourbon. The bartender, Megan, was so sweet and we had great service and chatted with some other guests. I regret that I did not take any photos but I was not planning on a TR at that time.

Nomad Lounge! Bellevue is another sweet little spot!

Prince Edward Island mussels with fresh basil and chardonnay broth ($16) - this was an absolutely massive portion, though you cant really tell from the photo. These were fresh and tasty and the broth had a nice light citrus type flavor. I still miss the old mussels preparation that had the world’s most heavenly pesto broth, but these were also good.

PEI mussels are the best (that's where I grew up so must be loyal to all PEI seafood....)

For some reason (see above re cocktails) we all still had room for dessert and by popular request we all ducked into Ample Hills for some really incredible ice cream. I had a cone with dark chocolate and Nona D’s oatmeal lace (my favorites) but I didn’t get a decent photo - instead please enjoy this photo of Jenny and Joe digging in on their flight

Best ice cream ever!

 

[hpygrll]

I don't normally comment on trip reports, but I always read them! We were just there for Princess Weekend and were supposed to go back in 2 weeks for my birthday, so I'm also a little sad - but we've rescheduled for October. Loving reading your report. We feel the same way about Saratoga Springs - we make fun of it, but when we've stayed there it's actually not that bad! haha. Can't wait to read the rest of your report!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Joining in my friend! Glad to see you back on the boards!
What a lovely first day and evening of the trip.

 

[MsVanderquack]

I’m joining in too! I’m pretty new to the boards and this is DH’s and my first year with APs. I love your photos and descriptions (especially of the food because I love scouting out things to try). We were there just after you in January and are missing our trip next week due to the closures, so this TR is much appreciated for some vicarious vacation fun!

 

[DLo]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more about your adventures. Great start. I haven’t been to FF yet but will add to the list of places to try

 

[ariane37]

spent the whole time running my mouth to Ariane, so please accept these photos from a different safari in lieu of authentic photos from our ride:

Yeah but.......We MISSED each other

e had quite a Dismeet with about 15 disers and spouses and children at our largest. We were definitely getting some side eye from other tables. Sorry!!

lol I totally get the side eye but couldn't care less!

SperandUber

The girls

LOVE the picture and the night

please enjoy this photo of Jenny and Joe digging in on their flight

ha ha I only took one picture of my ice cream because I think I was tired, tipsy, and eager to dig in!

 

[buzzrelly]

Hi everyone and welcome! I am Melinda,

Hi, Melinda!

Bet you're excited about this report, huh?

I am!

Above is a picture of me with my main squeeze, Space Jesus,

I will never think of him any other way, thanks to you!

I just finished up the last post of my Aulani and Maui Christmas 2018 report over in the Aulani threads,

I'll have to head over there to read since my daughter and I are thinking of a DL/Aulani trip next summer after her High School Graduation.

For future context: it was announced tonight that both Disneyland and Walt Disney World are closed for at least the balance of March.

Literally closed the day we were supposed to get there.

I thought it would be helpful to remember and share some happy memories and thus the beginning of this TR.

I agree. I'm doing everything I can to try to remain optimistic and reading trip reports is helping with that.

For now, we can start at the beginning with yours truly getting on the road WAY later than I’d wanted, facing unexpected late night traffic due to roadwork, and arriving at the resort around 2:00 am. (!!!!)

Yikes!

Cinderella’s (motor) coach was idling in the parking lot near our building where I snapped this picture just after 12:15.

I love that, are those new?

with what I think is WDW’s best hamburger. Of course we were headed to the Boathouse!

Wow, what?? I thought the best burger was GP. I'm going to have to try this one.

I eat a lot of burgers at WDW. For that, I am sorrynotsorry, and this one is my favorite. As ever, it was burger perfection.

Looks amazing

!

The girls

instead please enjoy this photo of Jenny and Joe digging in on their flight

Hah! Looks yummy though!

 

[evilstep]

Read a lot but don't post often. That being said, I was extremely excited to see you begin this, and can't wait to read about all your new adventures! I've read all your previous reports, and enjoyed them all. You give me great ideas, and since our next trip isn't until Dec, I'm sure you will give me more great things that we should try!

 

[pepperandchips]

Real life update and changing gears:

Checking back in. Wow, I really disappeared for a while there, huh? Let me level with you - I had no idea what was coming when I started this TR. Little did I know that the day I started this report would be my last full day in the office - I went home from work with a migraine on March 13 and have only been back to my office for a few hours to grab supplies and to teach this one webinar... rocking this awesome microphone/headphones combo:

The pandemic and the isolation hit me harder than I thought they would. I envisioned this little online space as a place to remain hopeful while the parks remained closed (haha, March me was adorable ), but then got incredibly busy with work and am only just now starting to breathe easier after the bustle of responding to the virus. I'm also breathing easier since we just returned from a trip to WDW which reignited the magic in me and brought me a lot of hope during what has been a very dark and difficult time.

And, while I fully hope and plan on returning to reporting on my trips from earlier this year, I thought it might be helpful to share a little about our recent trips back to Walt Disney World after the resorts reopened (July) and our first trip back to the parks (August). Don't worry, I'm not allowing myself to post this update until I have worked on these reports pretty significantly. I don't want to disappear on you again!

(this is how I've been getting through the pandemic - what have you been doing? We also made a sourdough starter, celebrated our anniversary at home, toasted friends from afar welcoming new babies, learned of babies to come, and made LOTS of quarantine cocktails)


The Disney Stuff:

I want to preface all of this by saying I am not encouraging anyone to pick up and go to WDW if that's outside your comfort zone. Theme park vacations (and vacations in general) aren't right for everyone at this time, and that's okay. I wasn't totally sure it was the right decision for us either, but reading others' reports of visiting the parks helped inform me, and so I am adding our story to the others here.

First, a little reintroduction, and that's in terms of our pandemic risk tolerance level just as a baseline for where our thoughts were on these trips. We have been more or less isolating at home since March. Other than grocery shopping, the only people we have been indoors with are family - first just my mom and then R's family (sort of by accident being inside with more people due to a storm while we were supposed to be grilling out). In early June, we felt comfortable driving 6 hours to the beach to a vacation rental home that didn't share any entry or amenities with any other units - we brought our own groceries from home and only ate at restaurants with fully outdoor seating. We minimized our rest stops and wore masks. We all felt healthy after returning and it was amazing for my mental health to have had that week at the beach to feel a little normal again during a time that is definitely anything but normal.

As I posted back in March, we'd had a couple of Disney trips on the books that were cancelled while the parks were closed. We moved our planned Spring Break Disneyland trip to July, and watched that disappear too - we moved it again to Thanksgiving but I am not optimistic about that. We had booked a weekend getaway (my annual pass was to have expired by then) for July 2-6, which was planned to be a resort-only split between Coronado and a Polynesian Villa Studio. The DVC stay was booked well before COVID, but my banking window passed in the early days of the pandemic when I thought that the curve would be flattened, the virus under control, and we'd have returned to normalcy. In hindsight, I absolutely should have cancelled the stay and banked my remaining points. Yet, I didn't know that at the time, and so in June around the time of resorts reopening, I was left questioning what the policy would be for my points set to expire and wondering whether we were comfortable returning to Disney.

The news of resorts being closed and Coronado housing the NBA came with a resort change for us - when I called about keeping our planned Gran Destino stay, the cast member told us we'd be moved to Riviera. I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I wasn't thrilled with that move. However, I knew we were unlikely to book Riviera otherwise so I saw the free upgrade as a chance to try something new at a much lower price point. With that, let's go ahead and jump into the July trip...

Resort Only Stay - July 1-5

I don't know what got into me, but by the time our stay rolled around I had gone from "I'm not really sure if I'm comfortable traveling" to "get me out of this house NOW", and taking a page from ArielSRL's playbook, I decided we should drive most of the way down the night before check-in day so that we could start out bright and early in WDW. We stopped for the night at a Residence Inn in Ocala that I'd scored on Priceline for a decent rate as an Express Deal. It was clean and comfortable - a place to lay our heads for the night. It did beat Disney in one regard though:

We miss having a pen and notepad in the Disney resort rooms. This was a pre-COVID change, so the removal isn't even about germs, but I found myself writing notes for housekeeping on receipts, which seems even less sanitary than a few sheets of note paper that could be recycled if not used.

Anyway, we stopped off for a breakfast treat in Ocala before hitting the road, where we acquired these delights from Tas-T-O Donuts:

They were very good! I don't know that I would specifically stop for them, but if in Ocala, treat yo'self.

If you noticed the COVID cleaning precautions sign in the background, that's because I got our room ready text at an unprecedented 7:44 AM!! We were assigned a third floor room in Moorea (where all the lake view studios are located at PVB) and upon entering the room, I threw back the curtains to reveal this HEAVENLY view!!!

Of course I had to grab that shot looking towards the Grand, my home!

Once our bellies were properly outfitted with donuts, we changed into our swimsuits and headed out to my favorite place on property - the Oasis pool.

Please excuse all of the random resort grounds photos, I was just SO excited to be back.

We had planned to reserve one of the Oasis Pool Patio shade structures, but held off doing so on arrival day as we wouldn't get full use out of it. We had no problem collecting information for the next day though!

The pool really was not busy and we found a couple of chairs with an umbrella and this lovely view!

As the afternoon passed, I decided it was time for a pool drink! I headed over to the main pool and the Barefoot Pool Bar to search out the perfect libation.

At the time it appeared they were testing different types of boats to serve as the resort launch.

I settled on a Lava Flow but I am not sure the bartender knew what she was doing. First, she tried to serve me a non-alcoholic lava flow, then she said that the machines weren't working correctly, and ultimately I ended up with this melty mess:

It may not have been all my heart desired, but it did save me money as I never went back for a second!

Eventually bad weather chased us back to the room, where it was time for a little rest to wait out the storm. I spied additional boat testing - and I believe this is what is being currently used, a former Discovery River Boat which has been recently used for the Pirates and Pals Fireworks Voyage.

And a first look at the newly pinker castle.

Finally, the rain cleared, and we decided to check on whether the Lava Pool had reopened. While it was never truly that busy during our two days at the Poly, the Lava Pool totally empty is its own kind of eerie. Sadly, while we were there, the waterslide never opened. It remains on my Disney bucket list.

We couldn't swim long as the restaurants were all closing up fairly early. Reluctantly, we headed back to our room and got ready to go off in search of dinner!

In the next installment: more from our one night at the Polynesian and a return to Disney Springs

 

[pepperandchips]

July 1, Continued:

The resorts hadn't been open long and occupancy seemed particularly low while we were staying at the Poly. So low that the wildlife appeared to have overtaken the resort.

We eventually tore ourselves away from the rabbit watching to hunt out different prey... DINNER!

As a reminder, our trip was hot on the heels of the Disney Springs home chefs preparing their own meal outside Cooke's of Dublin...

Fortunately things weren't so dire for us, though we did think it apropos to pay homage to the wiener grillers with a little selfie action.

We also stopped to check out the future location of Gideon's Bakeshop. I cannot WAIT to get my grubby little hands on these massive cookies!

Yes, massive!

Our destination was actually not construction walls or camp grills, it was Homecoming, with its newly expanded Shine Bar and outdoor seating. Now is probably an appropriate place to mention that we aren't really comfortable dining indoors yet. We certainly weren't ready in July, so our meals were to be enjoyed at carefully selected locations that would allow for us to engage in Disney feasting in all our gluttonous glee without worrying about how close our neighbors were.

We put our name on the list (YES, as a walkup!) for an outdoor table and browsed around Disney Springs for a bit. By the way, the bar on the patio at Raglan was not serving and remains not serving, you can go around the corner to the Hole in the Wall bar for takeout drinks. Drinkless but undeterred, we got our table ready text, so we made our way back to Homecoming and were seated on the screen porch area and firmly instructed not to move the chairs. Sir, yes sir!

Not one to disobey orders when dinner is to be had, we settled in happily to this view

First up, drinks. I had the Florida Crush, described as Tito's Handmade Vodka muddledwith orange and strawberries,a splash of fresh squeezed Florida orange juice and agave syrup.

R went with the Florida Avenue IPA. Wait, why are there two beers in that photo, you ask?

Well, my drink was absolutely horrible. The wonderful server we had explained that someone was training on bar and that mine was not first to be sent back. I don't even know what was wrong with this drink, but it was turn your face inside out sour and I just didn't want to roll the dice on getting it fixed. There was also nary a hint of strawberry to be found. I instead opted for the same beer R ordered.

For appetizers, I was thrilled to see my favorite item on the menu:

BEE HAVEN BAY FRIED GREEN TOMATOES: Shaved ham, remoulade sauce and dressed local greens. This dish is my favorite for several reasons, the first of which being that it is fried heaven. Second, I love the slightly tangy and tart green tomato flavor paired with the rich and salty country ham. Third, peppery arugula and remoulade sauce add a welcome depth of flavors and a little creamy unctuousness to gild the lily. We polished them off without incident.

We also opted to try the new to us okra fries:

Hand-cut okra, lightly battered and crispy fried, served with icebox dressing. Pretty much what you'd expect from fried okra made by a kitchen known for fried stuff - very tasty, crisp, and as light as a fried vegetable can be.

What's best to follow up fried appetizers?

If you said a fried chicken dinner, you were right!

Please bear in mind that we had not had restaurant food on a regular basis for some number of months.This chicken, buttermilk-brined for 24 hours then perfectlyfried, served with creamy mashed potatoes,a cheddar drop biscuit and love... man it is just so good. At this moment my little heart grew several sizes and Homecoming did indeed succeed in making me feel at home. (I love the mashed potatoes and gravy. LOVE. We also love their biscuits, so we ordered an extra, but they were bad that night).

On our way back to the car, I took this sad picture of the area where I normally find Don Black playing his saxophone. If you don't know who Don is, he often played with Burudika (RIP) and he plays with the Blues Brothers at USF in addition to playing at Disney Springs here:

It was really sad not to see the live entertainment at DS.

Back at our room, however, I was instantly cheered by this sight

OMG. Swoon! My heart was like popping-level full, just staring out at the castle and Space Mountain, with the strains of Polynesian background music drifting from afar. The night could not get better. Except it did.

Surprise! We had popped in to Amorette's to get my favorite treat, the Amorette's mini cake. It is described as "Eleven layers of Red Velvet Cake, Chocolate Cake, Cherry Mousse, Chocolate Mousse, Raspberry Pate De Fruit Jelly, and Italian Buttercream". It's $16 for the mini cake, but you see that knife there? Yeah, she's standing ready to slice this bad boy into quarters. Again, the tartness of one of these layers (I think the Raspberry pate de fruit) just sets off the chocolate so well and sends my tastebuds singing! R doesn't love this as much as I do, but I'm not sure anyone does. We put on Mickey cartoons and nodded off, happy to be "home"

Next up: more pool time and a resort swapperoo! Will we have a dinner fail? Will I ever respond to all of your lovely comments from March???