"Does she not know this is the happiest place on earth!?" March 2015 Girls Trip! UPDATE 4/11!

[Vernie822]

Hello, and everyone to my second DIS trip report!


My first trip report came in September 2014 when my fiance Justin and I took our first trip to Disney World together. It was my 7th trip (8th if you count a one day trip from the beach in college, all we did was go to DTD). It was Justin’s first trip to WDW. He had been to Disneyland in the late 90’s and was excited to experience WDW for the first time.

Needless to say, we had an amazing time, including our engagement, and cannot wait to go back this year. We decided that November 2015 would be a great time to get back and see the Osborne Lights, Food and Wine, and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. We’re also hoping to catch the last MNSSHP. But enough about that trip, a PTR will come later.


Also, I thought I would note – we finally chose a wedding venue and a date! We’ll be getting married at the church I went to growing up. My parents, as well as two of my cousins, were married there as well. Our reception will be in downtown Pittsburgh at a hotel. We fell in love with the venue, it has floor to ceiling windows in the ballroom, and the wedding coordinator is great.

We have been saving a lot and cut back on things like eating out and spending money on things we don’t really need. Our wedding date will be September 3rd, 2016.

We chose Labor Day weekend since it will be easy for a lot of our out of town guests to make it, as they hopefully will have Monday off of work and that can ease their travel plans. We are so excited!


Now to the main event..


This trip report is all about our 2015 Flower and Garden GIRLS TRIP!


I have just returned from our trip, and Post-Disney Depression has already set in. It's real, people. At least I have our trip in November to look forward to.

Our trip was from March 5th (7th for my cousin and I) to March 11th. Our flight landed at midnight this morning (3/12) and we got home at 2:30 AM.. talk about a long day. I can't wait to get started, and thank you for joining in! We had a blast and got to see and do so much.

I was so excited to get on this trip. I've been working a lot, coaching cheer, and studying, so I was in need of some WDW.

Not to mention.. it was zero degrees where I live. Or lower. For a solid month. It was ridiculous and I wanted some sunshine ASAP.

I sent this picture to my BFF last week. She lives in North Carolina.

 

[Vernie822]

Reserved for chapter links.

Introductions/Game Plan
ADRs & Touring

Pre-Arrival: Thursday/Friday, March 5-6th.
Arrival Day #1

Day 1: Saturday, March 7th
Arrival Day #2
Epcot Part 1
Epcot Part 2 - Flower and Garden/World Showcase Eats
Epcot Part 3 - Flower and Garden/World Showcase Eats 2

Day 2: Sunday, March 8th
Breakfast @ Tusker House and a Morning Safari
AK Afternoon
Magic Kingdom Evening & Be Our Guest Dinner

Day 3: Monday, March 9th
A Magical MK Monday w/ Pics of the New Hub
A Magical MK Monday Part 2
A Magical MK Monday Part 3
A Magical MK Monday Part 4 - Ohana

Day 4: Tuesday, March 10th
Hollywood Studios Part 1
Hollywood Studios Part 2 - Lunch @ 50's Prime Time & Cinderella!
Hollywood Studios Part 3
Downtown Disney & Dinner at Raglan Road

Day 5: Wednesday, March 11th
Departure & Epcot
Lunch at Via Napoli
Dessert at Les Artisans des Glaces

 

[Vernie822]

Now for some introductions and trip details…


CAST OF CHARACTERS

The trip consisted of myself, my mom, her sister (my aunt), and my cousin (her daughter). We have lots of fun together and are a crazy bunch!

My mom, me, my cousin, and my aunt.

I’m Ashley. I’m 24 and I live in northwestern Pennsylvania. Originally I’m from Pittsburgh, but I moved two hours north of my family after graduating college in 2012. I work for an insurance company as an actuary. We develop rates for our products, set reserves, and all other kinds of fun math stuff. I am currently in the process of becoming a credentialed actuary. The exam process is long but worth it. I’m currently studying for exam #4 of 8.


I’m the oldest of 5 kids. I know this isn’t too relevant, but you’ll hear mention of my siblings and one will even make an appearance in this TR.


My first trip to WDW was in 1993. My brother was just 4 months old and I was just under 3. My parents loved to vacation in Daytona Beach growing up, so we spent a week at the beach and a day at Disney.


We went again as a family 3 times in 1999, 2001, and 2002. I went on a high school trip in 2009 and we volunteered at the Make a Wish Give Kids the World village. It was an amazing experience.


My favorite thing about Disney is the atmosphere. I’m a ride weenie (I get motion sickness quite easily) so I really enjoy taking it all in and seeing the theming. This trip, my goal was to be "present". I didn’t want to use my phone for much more than changing FP’s, checking wait times, and taking pictures. I did my best to stay off of social media and texting while in the parks so as to really enjoy myself and the people I was with. I’m glad I did that!


My favorite Disney ride is Splash Mountain (with Big Thunder and Soarin’ right up there as well). My favorite character is Minnie, but I also love Ariel and Belle. My favorite Disney movie is the Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. The Little Mermaid is up there, too!

Next up is my mom.

My mom is the brains behind the trip. She is the reason I love Disney so much. She is where I get my energy and crazy touring ideas. I remember as a kid being there as early as we could and staying as late as we could. Our trips growing up were a blast but I was excited to spend some one-on-one time with my mom in WDW. She doesn’t like to take breaks and has no problem going out on her own if we all wanted to stay back and rest.

My mom has been to WDW 6 times. Once in the 80's, the 4 times we went when I was a kid, and again in 2011 with my family (I wasn't on that trip since I was away at college). Her favorite ride is Soarin’ and she loves Woody and Buzz. She likes to get there at park opening and will stay until it’s closed.



My mom’s sister (my aunt) also came on the trip. We’ll call her Aunt D. She is older than my mom by 5 years. They live within 5 minutes of my parents, so her 2 kids and my siblings and I all grew up together. She isn’t a huge rider but really enjoyed the atmosphere and just being together with us. She really likes It’s a Small World and Chip & Dale. Oh, and Olaf! Any time we saw him, she got really excited. This was her first trip to WDW since about 1994 when she and my uncle took my cousins.

My cousin, K:

My cousin (my aunt’s daughter) also came with us. We'll call her K. Her brother and I are two months apart. K recently was married in May 2014 and I was a bridesmaid in her wedding. She’ll be a bridesmaid in our wedding, too! K has been to WDW once with her family in 1994, then once again in HS in 2006. So it was her first time back in a while. She loves to ride, so she was able to get on Rock’n Rollercoaster a few times in the single rider line by herself. Her favorite movies are Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. Her favorite character is Tinkerbell. She is a foodie and loves to try new things.






HOW IT ALL GOT STARTED

My brother (brother #2 of 3) is in the high school band. They go to WDW every 3 or 4 years and compete in the band competition, then stay a few extra days in the parks. My brother, Spencer, had gone his freshman year, and my mom wasn't able to go down that year. So she really wanted to get there this year, since they wouldn't be going back his senior year.

The school approved the trip sometime in August 2014, but hadn't yet announced dates. I told my mom I was definitely interested in going.

Brother #1 and my sister are in college. My sister had plans to go to my uncle's in Nashville on spring break with her friends, and brother #1's spring break didn't start until the week after.

My dad isn't the biggest Disney fan, and he also doesn't love the heat or crowds, so he elected to stay home.

Brother #3, who is 14, wasn't really interested either, although he really does like Disney. Probably the thought of touring with my mom and I wasn't all that appealing.. ha! What 14 year old would pass up a trip to Disney with his crazy mom and sister!?

So we thought of the perfect idea, we would ask K and D to come along.

They immediately said yes, and we got to planning.

I was getting antsy come September. I was about to depart for my trip with Justin, and we knew the band trip would be in March, but we didn't know when.

Didn't they know 180 days was approaching!? Didn't anyone understand how significant 180 days is!?

Ok, maybe not. I was also hoping to book a bounceback if it worked for us and our dates.

On the last day of our trip, I got word from my mom that the band had chosen dates. So I hurried and booked a bounce back room only offer with my Annual Pass. I had upgraded to an AP on my last trip since I knew I'd be back. At the time I don't think the AP discount existed, but I did have an offer in an email since I had been playing around with dates.

We booked a standard Little Mermaid room at AOA from March 5th to March 10th!

Not long after getting home from my trip in September, my mom and I discussed our options and thought a moderate might be better. We liked the idea of having queen beds.

Not long after that, an AP room only discount came out, and my mom made the executive decision to switch us to..... Port Orleans French Quarter!

(photo from AllEars)


Previously, we had each stayed at Coronado Springs, I had stayed at All Star Sports, and she had stayed at Riverside. While she really liked CSR, she wanted something new as well, and thought we would like the look and feel of POFQ. So she switched it up and we would be staying at POFQ!

At the time, K and I decided we couldn't miss too much work. So we'd fly down early on Saturday 3/7, while the other two would fly down on Thursday 3/5 after work. We'd all fly back on 3/10 late in the evening - our flight was at 10:05 PM.

I immediately started snagging ADR's and looking at crowd calendars. I knew it would be busy, but our dates were based off of the band's schedule.

I went back and forth over our plans from September through February. Finally, the band put out their plans of which park to be in on each day. They would perform on Friday, 3/6, at Hollywood Studios. Awards would be at Hollywood Studios in the evening on 3/7.

The school worked with a travel agent to decide what parks they'd be in each day. We decided to do our own thing, but mom would make a point to get to DHS to see the performances.

So far, so good! I started to feel pretty anxious about only having 4 real park days. Friday, my mom and aunt would be spending time at DHS watching the performances, so I didn't really count that as park touring. K and I would arrive at 8:30 on Saturday morning, so we really only had Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday (2/3 of Tuesday since we'd be flying home that night), and it just didn't seem like enough. I didn't want to feel rushed, so I asked about adding one more day.

It would only cost us $55 more per person for the room, plus an upgrade for the tickets which was only $10 per person.

Everyone decided it would be worth it to have one extra day. YES!

 

[Vernie822]

ADR’s
Like I said before, our trip was booked after the 180 day mark. Which was fine, but of course I knew I wouldn’t get a dinner reservation at Be Our Guest. My mom had really wanted to eat there, so I did my best to see what I could find.


I decided to book one sit down per day, and if we decided we wanted to add more or less, we could do that. I also wanted to experience Flower and Garden, without being too full for an ADR. So we decided not to book an ADR on that day, and experience the festival and World Showcase.


We knew we’d want to try Ohana, since Justin and I loved it on our last trip.


Mom wanted a character breakfast. I put all of our options on the table, and we narrowed it down to a few: Chef Mickey’s, Akershus, Crystal Palace, and Tusker House.

I let them know that Chef Mickey’s was at a resort, so that would possibly add some more travel time on to our day. Plus, I had heard the food was not the greatest, so we decided it was skippable.

Being that we only had one full day planned at MK, we decided against Crystal Palace because we didn’t want to eat up too much time there.

Akershus seemed pretty expensive, and the girls decided they would rather meet the Fab 5 – Tusker House it is! I was excited to try this one as I have heard great reviews. Plus, we could do Tusker House and get right on the safari afterwards.


Our ADR lineup ended up as follows:
Ohana
Tusker House
50’s Prime Time
Sanaa


Well, a few weeks before our trip, someone on the Dis March 2015 Facebook group had to cancel a few of her reservations. I was able to coordinate and grab a Be Our Guest reservation for dinner! This required some switching up of plans and Fastpasses, but it worked out pretty well.


We dropped Sanaa in favor of Be Our Guest.




THE GAME PLAN
Mom had entrusted me to do all of the park touring plans, since she hadn’t been to WDW with the new FP+ system. So I mapped out our park days, got on at 60 days, and ended up getting us a 7DMT and Anna and Elsa Fastpass. We were so excited!


The band came out with their itinerary within a few weeks of the trip, and unfortunately, it clashed with our ADR’s just a bit.


Since band awards were at the same time as our Ohana ADR, I had to try and switch that. The best I could do for Ohana was a 9:35 PM reservation, which we decided would be a good fit for the end of our Magic Kingdom day.


A last minute add on was Raglan Road. My mom’s other sister ate here on her trip in November and really liked it. My cousin is Irish on her dad’s side, so I knew she would love it. Plus, since we had an extra day, that would fit right in.

 

[Vernie822]

ARRIVAL DAY #1 - THURSDAY MARCH 5TH

My mom and I were texting back and forth on Thursday, her departure day. It had snowed a good 8 inches in Pittsburgh. My brother, Spencer, was supposed to take off on his flight with the band around 6:30 AM. Their flight was cancelled and they were put on a 3:30 PM flight. Unfortunately, they missed a whole day of park time since they didn’t get to their resort until around 8 PM. The other kids’ flights hadn’t got cancelled and they were able to get in at least a half day at Epcot.


My mom and D’s flight was pushed back about a half an hour, so they were checking into POFQ around 9:30 PM.


They needed a copy of my AP, and my driver’s license, so that they could get the AP room discount, even if I wasn’t coming down for a few more days.


My mom texted me that they had landed and checked in, but the room was way farther away from the bus station and main building than they would have liked. The room was a standard queen, so I did not expect it to be close, considering we had done online check-in with no special requests.


The front desk quickly and easily changed the room to one that was much closer.. How nice! My aunt would need something closer to the bus, so this worked out really well.


We could pretty much see the bus stop from our window on the second floor.


We were moved to building 4, room 4217. It was just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the food court, which was great for filling up our water or grabbing coffee.



Their first day, March 6th, a Friday, was pretty uneventful. They had me book them some FP’s at Magic Kingdom that morning, so they went there to ride and then got on a bus to DHS to watch the band perform. My brother is in symphonic, concert, and jazz bands, plus the marching band, so he had 4 performances that day!


They said it was a long but eventful day. They had capris and t-shirts on, but had to buy sweatshirts because they were freezing. After the performances at DHS, they went back to MK to catch a few rides. They left when the fireworks were going off and watched them from the exit as they waited for a bus.

 

[deedee2177]

Hi Ashley!! Joining in from the November FB group!

 

[ariane37]

Hi again! Joined your DR last night from the March FB group and then realized we're both in the November FB group, too

 

[Vernie822]

Hi Ashley!! Joining in from the November FB group!

Hey there! Welcome - thanks for joining

Hi again! Joined your DR last night from the March FB group and then realized we're both in the November FB group, too

Haha! Thanks for joining.. I'm excited to get to planning a F&W trip for November now!

 

[Vernie822]

ARRIVAL DAY #2 - FRIDAY/SATURDAY MARCH 6/7

On Friday, I left work around 3:30.

Coincidentally, it was employee appreciation day and everyone was allowed to leave shortly after lunch. I wanted to get a few things finished before I left, so it was nearly 4 PM by the time I got out of there. Mostly everyone else was already gone.

Leading up to my vacation, I like to print out my trusty packing list and wash all of my outfits two weeks in advance. This trip was no different.

I really hate feeling rushed and disorganized, so I was glad I did this early. I would be out of town the weekend before my trip, so I knew I wouldn’t have much time to pack that weekend. I laid out all of my outfits and everything two weeks in advance, so the day before the trip, I just had to gather some essentials like my straightener, hair dryer, and makeup that I used on a daily basis.


I changed and packed up my last minute items and I was ready to hit the road.

I had a few errands to run first. I had to stop and pick up a prescription at the grocery store. I also grabbed some road trip chocolate, of course.


I had a coupon for a $5 spray tan. Living on the frigid shores of Lake Erie, I get zero Vitamin D all winter. My skin is basically translucent. I thought it would be a good idea to get a spray tan so I didn’t blind the guests with my paleness.

Plus, who can pass up a $5 spray tan? Not me.

I opted not to get the bronzer and went with the clear spray. This meant I would turn dark within 6-8 hours, but not right away. Perfect, so when I woke up, I’d be tan!

Next up was the liquor store, because I had the bright idea of packing small bottles of wine into my suitcase. Being that I don’t fly too often, I knew you could take liquids up to a certain amount on the plane. I thought that was what small bottles of wine were for. My coworker informed me that it’s not for flying, but for sneaking in your purse to the movies.

Apparently I was wrong, and the FAA says it’s illegal to bring and consume your own alcohol on a plane.

OK, so it would have to go into my checked bag. I picked up a set of red and a set of white.

Glad I figured that out before we ended up like the girls on Bridesmaids.

I finally left by 6 PM. I got to Pittsburgh around 8. My sister was arriving home for spring break from college, so I spent some time with her, my youngest brother, and my Dad.

My dad does not cook whatsoever. If it goes in the oven or in the toaster, he’ll eat it. He’s famous for feeding us ‘nacho noodles’ once – pasta topped with nacho cheese sauce.

That night, Dad had cooked up some BFD (breakfast for dinner) consisting of blueberry pancakes and crumb cake. I passed on the sugar coma, haha.

I got to bed around 10 PM, and had an alarm set for 2:45, as my uncle would be picking me up at 3:45.



I woke up at 2 AM because I was way too excited to sleep. I wanted so badly to go back to sleep and get just another 45 minutes, but I just couldn’t!

My uncle and aunt live 5 minutes from my parents, so my cousin went to her parents’ house the night before and her dad dropped us off at the airport. He picked me up around 3:45 and we got to the airport around 4:45.

We had some morning mimosas in the car, and we were ready to go!

My uncle kept telling us we would be super early and would have a ton of time.. well, so we thought. We got inside the airport and it was wall to wall people. INSANITY!

We texted my uncle this picture and he couldn't believe it either.

It didn’t even cross our minds that everyone in the Pittsburgh area was on spring break that week. A lot of kids were going home or going away on trips. Thankfully we were flying Southwest which wasn’t too busy. We were up to the counter in 5 minutes and checked our bags.


The line to get through security, however, was insane. It would be at least 45 minutes, and our flight was boarding at 5:30. I don’t fly often, but my cousin does, so she told me we should check the alternate security checkpoint. We had to go outside to get there, but we were in and out in 15 minutes. It was so worth the walk across the street in 10 degree weather.


We had just enough time to go to the restroom and grab a coffee before it was time to board. The flight was uneventful. My cousin hates flying so she had a glass of wine on the plane. I chatted with the little boy and girl behind us. He was about 7, and she was 4. Their parents were taking care of their twin sisters who I’d guess were about a year old. One of the twins was content on her dad’s lap. The other one sat with her mom, and screamed the entire time. For two. Whole. Hours.

I’m not a parent but I know that mom was doing everything she could to calm her daughter down. I felt so bad. The parents were becoming upset because nothing they could do would soothe her. Plus, they weren’t old enough to tell their parents what was wrong. I didn’t let myself get annoyed or mad – I knew they were doing everything they could. I can’t imagine taking 4 small kids on a plane.

The older children were so well behaved and so excited for their vacation. It was fun chatting with them. The little boy told me he had been to Disney once before, when he was 2. But he let me know that he was "much older now" - ha! They were a really sweet family.



Before long, we were landing in MCO around 8:30. We made our way to the Magical Express counter and boarded our bus about 15 minutes later for… Port Orleans French Quarter!

 

[sharona]

Love a good girls trip, especially a mother/daughter one! Can't wait to hear more about it.

 

[DnA2010]

Fun ladies trip ahead! Looking forward to reading more!

 

[afwdwfan]

Hi! Don't have time to read through everything right now, but I'll be back later!

 

[KatMark]

Ashley, I wish I had known you started this, I would have been here sooner.

for getting away from the frigid winter a lot of his have had. And an all girls' trip...sometimes the best kind.

Loved your dining selections (except Ohana) and was hoping to hear your thoughts on Sanna as we've never eaten there...so sorry you cancelled it (but love BOG so that's okay).

WOW...that is one crowded airport. I'm glad your cousin suggested the other security spot.

Yay for an uneventful flight.

Can't wait to read more.

 

[Vernie822]

Love a good girls trip, especially a mother/daughter one! Can't wait to hear more about it.

Thanks for joining, I'm glad you're here!

Fun ladies trip ahead! Looking forward to reading more!

Thanks, we had such a blast!

Hi! Don't have time to read through everything right now, but I'll be back later!

Thanks for joining, Andy!

Ashley, I wish I had known you started this, I would have been here sooner.

for getting away from the frigid winter a lot of his have had. And an all girls' trip...sometimes the best kind.

Loved your dining selections (except Ohana) and was hoping to hear your thoughts on Sanna as we've never eaten there...so sorry you cancelled it (but love BOG so that's okay).

WOW...that is one crowded airport. I'm glad your cousin suggested the other security spot.

Yay for an uneventful flight.

Can't wait to read more.

Kathy, your'e here! Yay!! The all girls trip was awesome - I'm so glad we did it. I was nervous since sometimes vacationing with those you've never vacationed with can be tricky, but we made it work. 5 days was the perfect length.

I wish we would have tried Sanaa, I just wasn't sure if my mom and aunt wouldn't like it and we ended up with BOG instead, which ended up being a crowd pleaser. Next time I think we will, because I think Justin will like to see the animals.

 

[Vernie822]

Day 1 - Arrival & Epcot

We were off the plane and headed towards the Magical Express counter. My cousin asked when we were going to grab our luggage - I told her that the bags would be taken care of for us, but that we likely wouldn't get them for a few hours after we arrived at the resort. She didn't know this, and hadn't packed a change of clothes or her makeup (she wasn't wearing any). I had given everyone details in an email, which she said she didn't read. I felt bad, but I had given everyone all of the details.

We were onto DME and to our resort by 9:45 (that's only an hour and 15 minutes after landing), making stops at Saratoga Springs and Old Key West first. Port Orleans Riverside was after our resort. I'd say 80% of the people on the bus were headed to the Port Orleans resorts.

Saratoga Springs was pretty, as was OKW. I'd like to stay at either of those someday, but SSR looked absolutely huge.

Our moms had a leisurely morning and were waiting at POFQ when we arrived. My aunt was a little irritated that K hadn't brought any of her stuff, but we made do with what our moms had and we were headed off to Epcot!

It was particularly chilly that morning. I had packed for pretty much anything. Capris, comfy capris, sweatshirts, jackets, tank tops, shorts, I was prepared. I guess I didn't think it would be that chilly, though. We had on capris or jeans with sweatshirts!

We hopped right on a bus (we had really awesome bus luck this week) and were at Epcot by 10:45.

Both K and I had a few things to take care of at Epcot guest relations before entering the park. She had to add a day to her ticket, and I had to make sure my AP would scan and not the 7 day hopper I've purchased for our November trip. After about 30 minutes, we were finished. It took a while, which I attribute to lots of locals coming for Flower and Garden, and plenty of people starting their trip on a Saturday.

We stopped for a few Photopass pics in front of the awesome topiaries at the front of the park.

Our first FP+ was for Spaceship Earth, at 11:25.

We got right on. Everyone enjoyed this ride.

Next up, we headed towards The Land. Our moms spotted two familiar faces and started freaking out.. CHIP & DALE!! They absolutely had to meet him.

K had seen an Epcot sweatshirt she liked, so we headed towards MouseGears to look for it. With no smalls in stock, we headed back to the Chip & Dale meet and greet. I figured we wouldn't get in line. I really feel bad going off and riding something or looking in a store and then hopping back in line. Our moms, and the people in line behind them (with a few young kids), insisted we get in line with them, which was really nice.

Finally it was our turn to meet the chipmunks!

We then headed off towards The Land. I noted on my Lines app that The Seas with Nemo and Friends only had a 10 minute wait, which basically meant a walk through the queue, so in we went..

So of course I was singing the "big blue world" song in my head for the rest of the day! I love that ride, it's so cute.

We had another FP+ for Soarin'. I think this started at 12:25. Soarin' is my mom's favorite ride. Neither my aunt or K had been on it, so we knew it was a must. I just love the orange scene and taking a big sniff of the orange scent.. ahh.

Everyone loved it, and my mom decided we should come back to Epcot on our last day (Wednesday) to ride Soarin'. At the moment, we just had an ADR at Raglan Road at 4 PM. So I logged on and grabbed some Fastpasses for Wednesday.

Next up, was a 10 minute ride on Living with the Land. I enjoy this ride. The posted wait was 10 minutes, but a bunch of people had got in line the same time as us, so our wait was more like 20 minutes.

Upon our exit, The Land really smelled like yummy Chinese food from Sunshine Seasons. K and I were getting sooo hungry.. We had only had mimosas and coffee that day, and we'd been up for almost 12 hours!

One last stop before we ate was the Character Spot. We had a FP+ for the Character Spot for I think 1:25. So we got in there pretty quickly and met Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy.

After that, it was time to EAT! We were headed towards the World Showcase for some Flower and Garden goodness.

 

[Vernie822]

Day 1 - Sunday March 7th - Epcot

We decided not to make any ADR’s for this day as we’d be strolling the World Showcase and eating literally everything in sight. My cousin is really daring in her food choices and is always willing to try more adventurous things. I do my best to try as well but I am somewhat picky. My mom and aunt also tried everything, although their taste buds aren’t as adventurous as my cousin’s.

We started on the Canada side of the World Showcase, with our first stop being Urban Eats. We didn’t want anything there at the moment, and intended to come back, but we never did.

I educated my family on the Dole Whip, and informed them that they were selling them WITH RUM at the Pineapple Promenade. We quickly decided that a pineapple soft serve with coconut rum was in order. This was $8.75.

Pineapple Soft Serve with coconut rum, $8.75.

Everyone agreed that it was delicious! Two thumbs up. My only regret is that I didn’t have another one later in the trip.

We decided from then on that we’d sample a thing or two at each stop, but we’d split it so that we could try four times as much.

We spent some time wandering through Canada and the UK, exploring the shops, particularly the tea shop in the UK. Alice in Wonderland and Mary Poppins were out meeting. By the time we exited the shops, Alice's line was really long and Mary's line was closed since she'd be leaving.

Next stop was the UK, where we decided some fish and chips from the Yorkshire County Fish Shop would be perfect. My cousin also wanted to try the sponge cake with jam.

My mom had the fish and chips there before and said she remembered them being great.

Fish and Chips – Two strips of fish, served with chips, $8.99.
Victoria Sponge Cake – Filled with jam and buttercream, $4.19.

These were so wonderful. They were hot and the batter was very crispy. The chips were good, too. We received two big pieces of fish which gave us each half of one plus a few fries.

I could take or leave the sponge cake. It was nice to try, but I don’t think I would get it again since there are so many other great goodies to be had.



Our next stop was Fleur de Lys in the France pavilion. There were a few things here that we wanted to try.

First was the Gnocchis Parisienne a la Provencal, which were Parisian style dumplings. One word, OMG. This was the best thing we ate at the F&G booths. It was amazing!

Gnocchis Parisienne a la Provencal – Parisian style dumplings with vegetables, mushrooms, and goat cheese, $4.75.

We wanted to try the Kronenbourg Blanc, a fruity white beer with citrus notes, but they were having trouble with the keg (or something like that), so we ordered the Kir Imperial instead.

Kir Imperial – Sparkling wine, Chambourd Black Raspberry Liqueor, $7.95.

This was just okay. It was good, but we had way better drinks, and at $8 a glass I think it was a bit pricy.

My aunt wanted to try the macaron, so we also got one of those.

Macaron guimauve a la fraise – Large Strawberry Marshmallow Macaron, $4.50.

The next stop on our culinary adventure was a little farther back in the France pavilion to Les Halles Boulangerie and Patisserie. First, I stopped to take some pictures of the beautiful Beauty and the Beast topiaries.

We also peered into the windows of Chefs de France. It looked so lovely in there. We decided it was some place we'd like to try, but not this time. We had some ADR's already planned and Chefs seemed a little fancy for this time around.

And we were here!

I didn't think we'd get anything, as we'd just had our French fix, but everyone absolutely adored the place and wanted something, which was fine with me. Last trip I didn't get to try anything since I was too full.

I love the little gift shop in there as well. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite, and I love the new 'Be Our Guest' dishes and souvenirs. We came up with a wedding shower idea for my shower next year - Be Our Guest! Croissants, cheese, wine, pastries, chocolate - all of my favorite things.

It was pretty busy inside.

I loved this little macaron tree.

Everything here looked amazing. I used to work in a bakery, so I love seeing what different bakeries' pastries look like and all of the unique things they come up with.

We decided on three items: the duo au chocolat, half of a baguette, and a frangipane.

My cousin and aunt also each had a coffee, and my mom and I had ice water.

Duo au chocolat - White and dark chocolate mousse cake, $5.75
Half baguette, $1.85
Frangipane - Almond filling between puff pastry, $3.70

The verdict - these were outstanding! The duo au chocolat was mousse, so it was light and delicious. The frangipane was just so good. The baguette was probably my least favorite of the three, I love bread and I guess it was just a little too hard. Not a crusty hard, like a stale hard. It was still good, though.

Continued in the next post with more F&G yummies!

 

[ariane37]

We stayed at BWV last week and missed the Donald Duck/Chip n Dale topiary since we always came in through the IG Glad I saw your picture!
You should definitely try Sanaa in November, it's awesome

 

[Vernie822]

Day 1 - Saturday March 7th - Epcot

After the French pavilion was the Botanas Botanico booth, between France and Morocco.


We wanted to try the Seafood Ceviche.

Seafood Ceviche — Shrimp, Scallops, and Grouper with mango and avocado, $5.25.

This was just okay. I think it was a matter of personal taste. I am not a big fan of avocado mixed in with things, I think sometimes it gets brown and tastes funky. I also don’t like sweetness to accompany savory dishes, such as meat and vegetables, so I think others might love this dish, it just wasn’t something that my taste buds prefer.

There was plenty of shrimp and scallops though, which were good.

Overall, for $5.25 it was a very small portion. It was fine, but there were plenty of other things I liked better at the festival booths.

We took a walk through Morocco. It's a pretty pavilion, and I like looking at the architecture.

The Taste of Marrakesh booth was up next. We had contemplated Spice Road Table for one of our ADR’s so I knew we would like this booth.

My cousin wanted to try the falafel pocket. My mom and I love baklava, so that was also a necessity. And who can pass up a good sangria!? White Sangria is my favorite, so we added that to the list. I had tried the baklava and red sangria at the Food and Wine festival on our last trip, and both were pretty good.

Falafel Pocket – with Cucumber Tomato Salad and Tahini Sauce, $5.00
Pistachio Baklava, $3.00
White Sangria, $5.00

The baklava was delicious! I only subtly picked up on the pistachios. The Sangria was also great, I’m a Sangria kinda girl so I was pleased with our choice.

The falafel pocket was lacking. It was just a regular wheat pita, with two falafel balls, and some cucumber tomato slaw. The falafel was really dry and the cucumber tomato slaw was kinda flavorless. The Tahini Sauce was no where to be found, unless maybe it was mixed in with the slaw, so the few bites I had were very dry.

It was my first falafel experience. The falafel itself was tasty although it was dry. I think this dish could have been great with a little more moisture, possibly provided by some Tahini Sauce.. overall it was just okay, I’m glad we tried it, but it wasn’t my favorite thing we ate that day.


We made our way to the American Adventure pavilion, for a booth I was extremely excited for. I had talked it up to my family and they were also excited about the Smokehouse Booth.

We spotted a cute Woody topiary and hopped in line for some BBQ.

We ordered one each of the pulled pig slider, beef brisket burnt ends hash, and Floridian Hefeweizen.

My cousin and I love a light beer, so this was perfect. I had been drooling over the burnt ends hash since I had first seen photos of it that week.

Pulled Pig Slider – with coleslaw, $6.00
Beef Brisket Burnt Ends Hash – with White Cheddar Fondue and Pickled Jalapenos, $5.25
Floridian Hefeweizen – Funky Buddha Brewery, Oakland Park, FL - $3.75.

Wow – these were all AMAZING! The hash was probably the best thing we had at the festival, in my opinion. Everyone else said it was second to the Parisian dumplings from Fleur de Lys. It had potatoes, pieces of brisket, and was coated with this delicious white cheddar fondue. The pickled jalapenos added a nice kick.

They also really loved the pulled pig slider. I am not usually a pork fan, but wow this was great too. The bun it was on was just so soft and complemented the pork and coleslaw really well.

The Hefeweizen was also a good choice to go along with the pork.

I wish we would have gone back for seconds of this!



Up next was Italy, we thought about having a glass of wine, but we also really liked sampling the more exotic drinks so we passed on some wine and just settled on one small item from the Primavera Kitchen.

I absolutely love prosciutto and mozzarella, as does my cousin, so we knew we had to try..

Fior di Latte, Prosciutto e Pane di Casa – Pinwheel of Mozzarella, Prosciutto, Olio Toscano, Ciabatta Bread, $5.75

This was way different than we expected. I’m not sure why, but I guess I thought a pinwheel would be kind of like a doughy roll with mozzarella and prosciutto swirled inside it. I’m not sure why that was what I had in my head.

I was pleasantly surprised by it, and I thought it was delicious! The drizzle of oil really made the dish.

My cousin said it was okay, but her husband comes from a big Italian family so she’s used to eating things like this all the time.

I don’t get stuff like this often, so I really enjoyed it. The bread on the side was fine, but I could take it or leave it.

We took some time to admire the adorable Lady & the Tramp topiary near Italy.

We then went inside the pavilion to explore. Since K's hubby is Italian, we wanted to look in the shop and see if we could find something for him. We didn't end up with anything unfortunately!

One of my favorite parts of this pavilion is how deep it goes. I feel like near the statuse, and back towards Via Napoli and Tutto Italia, you can really get immersed in the scenery.

After seeing Via Napoli and Tutto Italia inside the Italy pavilion, my aunt and cousin were asking about the restaurants, so we walked up and looked at the menus. They decided they would love to try the pizza at Via Napoli.

Since we had an open day on Wednesday, our last day, I went on to My Disney Experience and snagged a lunch reservation for 2 PM. I had been to Via Napoli on our last trip and raved to them about how great the pizza was, so they were eager to try it.




Next up was my favorite pavilion in all of Epcot.. Germany!

My mother and aunt’s father was 100% German, and my dad’s family is almost all German, so we had a lot of heritage to celebrate here.

I’m also obsessed with Schofferhofer Grapefruit beer, so I was really excited to get back to it.

First up was a Miss Piggy topiary.

I forced them to stick their heads inside Karamell Kuche and sniff it out. I told everyone about how great the popcorn was, and let them know that I was waiting in line for a large bag that I wasn’t willing to share.

My mom also got in line with me and we ordered some goodies.

I got a large bag of caramel corn, as did she (for my dad). She also got a milk chocolate salted caramel square for $3.99, and a caramel bar, which I think had shortbread on the bottom and pecans on it.

We saved our treats for later, but what can I say, that popcorn is amazing. Unfortunately it sat in our room and we ate it as the trip went on.. so it got kind of stale. She did take the second bag home for my dad.

The caramel bar was good, but way too much caramel for me. My mom agreed. She ate it throughout the trip and said it was good, but really sweet.

The salted caramel got tossed into her suitcase for later consumption. She forgot all about it and found it at home – hard as a rock, haha.

My cousin, mom and I were dying for a Schofferhofer, so we got in line at the Bier stand right across from Karamell Kuche.

There was a group of 20 somethings drinking around the world for someone’s 21st birthday, so they all jumped in front of us. One of them was in line, and the other 18 joined her. Kind of irritating, but what can you do. So I stood in line with my mom while my aunt and cousin went to check out Sommerfest.

As I mentioned with Italy, I also really like spending time in the Germany pavilion.

After 20 minutes in line, my aunt came back out and said that they sold Shofferhofer inside Sommerfest, and that she and my cousin were going to get 2 dishes to share, and 2 Schofferhofers as well.

There was hardly a wait inside Sommerfest, which was awesome. I had never been in there before.

We ordered a nudel gratin and a bratwurst. My cousin was really excited to try the bratwurst.

Bratwurst isn’t something I usually eat, but this was delicious. It was juicy and flavorful, and the bun was good as well. The sauerkraut went along with it too.

Nudel Gratin – Baked Macaroni with Cheese Custard, $3.79
Bratwurst – Fresh Cooked Brat with Roll and Sauerkraut, $7.49
Schofferhofer Grapefruit Beer, $8.25


My mom and cousin agreed that the Shofferhofer was fantastic. We’d end up stopping back here on our last day for another. My aunt isn’t a drinker because of her high blood pressure medication so she just had a few sips but agreed it was tasty!

My favorite!

We also spent some time looking around the Christmas ornament store. Both my mom and my aunt love ornaments. My mom purchased a few and so did my aunt. I like looking at them and checking out all the different designs!

We made one last stop at the Florida Fresh booth, where I had one thing on my mind. Shrimp and grits.

I’ve never had shrimp and grits, but I love shrimp, and was dying to try this dish. My cousin likes grits so she was excited, too.

Shrimp and Stone-Ground Grits – with Andouille Sausage, Sweet Corn, Tomatoes, and Cilantro, $6.00

This was up there with the burnt ends hash and Parisian style dumplings as the best thing we ate that day.

There were quite a few jumbo shrimp in there – well worth the $6 price tag.

The grits were creamy, and it had just the right amount of cilantro.

I also loved the addition of the Andouille sausage, it provided a nice kick to the dish! And I love corn and tomatoes, so those made it all the more delicious.



My mom had to get going over to DHS for the band awards that evening, so we continued on without her. We were stuffed though, so we actually didn’t try anything else after that.

We walked through Norway and Mexico before heading for a bus back to POFQ.

But first, we stopped to take some pictures with our favorite sisters.

Luckily, one was sitting there and was pretty much full. It was changing drivers so we asked if we could get on and on we were the last ones they allowed on. Yes!

Overall, I’m so glad we built in some time for some World Showcase/F&G eats. Everything was exceptional for the most part, and we really loved splitting everything 4 ways. Mostly everything was really easy to share, so we got a taste of so many different delicious things!

My cousin and aunt were both pretty tired, and I was too, so we decided to nap and relax at the resort for the remainder of the evening.

 

[Vernie822]

Day 1 - Saturday March 7th - An Evening at MK

It was probably 7:15 when we got back to the resort. K and I unpacked a little and laid down to rest. We were exhausted. My FitBit had me at about 15,000 steps, which is about 7.5 miles for me.

We had planned to all get up and go meet my mom at MK around 9 PM for some fireworks and maybe a few rides.

K was passed out after a few minutes - it was clear she was exhausted. My aunt fell asleep too, and I just laid there. I really don't nap, and I wasn't about to waste precious park time.

I jumped in the shower and put on some comfy clothes. I decided that I'd head out to MK. I let my aunt and cousin know and they were worried about me going alone. I don't know if they felt bad because they weren't coming, or they were nervous for my safety, maybe both. But I told them to please not feel like they had to come with me, because I was fine going out alone and meeting up with my mom.

They decided that they'd stay back and rest. K was really tired and wanted to be up on time for breakfast (she likes to sleep in).

I wasn't mad at anyone or wanting some time away, but I let them know that I was perfectly content catching a bus to MK and wandering around by myself for a little. Actually, I really enjoyed the thought of it. I'd never really had alone time at Disney before, so this excited me, even though it was a family trip and I was more than excited to be here with them.

Like I said, I knew if I fell asleep that I'd never get back up and to the parks that night.

So I put on a thicker Columbia jacket, and set off to head to MK by 8 PM.

I stopped at Sassagoula Floatworks to fill up my Brita bottle.

Then I waited at the bus stop for a bus. It was pretty much empty.

By 8:15, myself, one other lady, and a family of 3 boarded for Magic Kingdom.

I was really excited to be on my own. I don't know why. A few years ago, I hated being by myself. Growing up with a big family, someone was always around. So I struggled a lot with down time and knowing what to do. Since moving out on my own (now Justin and I live together), I really became used to being alone, so now I don't mind it as much. Actually, I like it! Ha.

Once I got to MK, I headed towards the castle. I didn't have a plan, which was perfectly fine with me. I wanted a sweet snack, I just didn't know what.

Ah, hello, old friend!

I hung right at the castle and stopped by the Plaza Rose Garden, where Justin and I got engaged, and admired the spot for a minute.

I took the path back towards Fantasyland. I love that area, so I just wanted to walk around there and enjoy the fact that I was at the Magic Kingdom!

I eventually ended up in Liberty Square, a place I really enjoy because of it's theming. Even if there isn't a ton to do there, I like looking around.

I decided that my treat for the evening would be a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich from Sleepy Hollow. I jumped in a line that was probably 10 minutes long, which was fine by me since I had the time to waste.

I paid for this beauty, $4.19, and grabbed a fork.

My mom was on her way, so I let her know where I was - right across from the Christmas shop.

Still she somehow ended up in Tomorrowland (ha) but she got to me right before the parade started.

There was no way I was finishing the cookie sandwich monstrosity. I had went at it with a fork for awhile, but over 2/3 of it was still left. My mom helped me out a little bit.

She said the band awards were a bit disappointing at DHS, and that the announcer wasn't all that great. So she left a bit early and was right in time for the parade.

We enjoyed watching the parade together. I love the MSEP!

We decided after that to jump on a ride or two before Wishes started.

We headed towards Tomorrowland and got on the People Mover. I love it for whatever reason, so we tried to catch some of Celebrate the Magic before the fireworks started.

Then, we got off and watched the fireworks from right next to the Plaza Rose Garden.

Last time, Justin and I didn't catch much of Wishes. Our first night, we missed them because we were so exhausted. Our last night, we didn't see them because it started pouring so we headed for the buses. We had seen HalloWishes, which was pretty good. So I was excited to see them in their entirety for the first time since 2009.

My mom and I thought about staying after that, but we had to be up by 7 for Tusker House the next morning, and I was sooooo tired. So we headed out via an alternate exit (I think it was back near the Plaza and was backstage) and somehow ended up by the Train Station.

We spotted Marie or "that girl" as my mom referred to her since she didn't remember her name, upstairs, and ran up to take a picture. There was only one couple in front of us.

She was so cute! I don't think I have ever met her before.

My mom and I got on a bus and headed back to POFQ. I was positively exhausted, yet thankful I had come to spend some alone time/Mom and me time at MK. It was so enjoyable and the fireworks were spectacular!!

 

[RunnerMommyof4]

I'm here loving your trip report! I decided to skip super because I was stuffed from your food photos lol It all looks delicious!