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

[KatMark]

I'm glad it was only a minor issue with the drama with the family. That must have been quite uncomfortable.

I am with you. That bus should have definitely kept the doors closed and pulled up to you guys. Trust me, I would have had a few choice words for the CM and the bus driver.

Glad the single rider line was short; we're not fans of the new one so we skip it. I'm with you...no Mission: Space. I did it once and never again. I wanted to cry the rest of the day.

Cute photopass picture.

 

[Vernie822]

Hi everyone - I swear I'll be back to updating soon. Gotta finish up with our last day!

I have been crazy busy. Work has been a pain - we are implementing a huge project. It's essentially occupying 100% of my work time. And one of the vendors we work with has been quite frustrating, to say the least. So with that craziness, plus an exam in a few days, things have just been nuts.

Justin and I were in the car last night and he said "Man, work has just been insane lately.. November can't come soon enough.." and I responded with "You literally read my mind.. We need a vaca ASAP.."

Now, it crossed my mind for a few minutes - Niagara Falls. NYC. Washington DC. All within 8 or so hours driving. Myrtle Beach, Outer Banks, etc.. I contemplated each one. We felt like we could get away over Memorial Day weekend. Maybe take Friday off, and get back Monday afternoon/night.

And then, an idea sprung up on me that I couldn't shake.. UMMMM, WDW.

If I'm gonna spend a weekend away, why not spend it in the happiest place on earth?

Because I have a wedding to save for. Because I was just there in March. Because it seems pointless to fly down there for 4 days...

Then, the other side of me said -- Aside from the occasional shopping allowance and vacations, I don't spend money on myself that often. I don't go out each weekend (because I spend a lot of it studying.. lol), and we're pretty responsible.

So I started doing Disney Math, because that's what someone with an Annual Pass does. I bought my AP because when Justin and I planned our trip last September (after not having been to WDW for like, six years), I knew I would be back in March. So my AP expires in September.

Memorial Day weekend looked like a no-go. Flights were pretty pricy, but hotels were worse! If we'd stay off-site, plus factoring in a rental car, it was still more than we wanted to spend. Staying on-site was pretty much impossible. The cheapest we'd get away with was $600+ for 3 nights (everything was sold out, and I could not justify $750 for a Pirate room at Port Orleans)! We also thought about driving to save on flights, but then we'd need to take more time off (it's approx 20 hours) and it's pretty much just as expensive by the time you factor in gas, meals, and a rental car.

So I squashed the idea, as I could not justify the cost. We settled on something within driving distance, like Cleveland, Niagara Falls, or my beloved Buffalo (Walden Galleria Mall, anyone!?)...

Until I was at the gym this morning.. and I thought of something else. Justin works Saturdays every other month, and when his schedule rotates from Tues-Sat back to Mon-Fri, he gets a 3 day weekend every couple of months. Sooooo I checked flights on his 3 day weekend in June!

The beauty of living in northwestern PA is NOT that our airport flights are cheap.. because they are not. Our airport flights are like $500+ for a roundtrip to Florida. Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Buffalo are all equidistant from where we live, which is really nice for flying.

So I checked with Southwest out of Pittsburgh, our go-to. No luck there, as it would be $500+ for flights. We checked with Frontier, which flies out of Cleveland - and we could get flights, Friday to Monday, for $133 each..

And Disney had an AP discount, so we could stay at Pop for a great rate..

And I have an AP, so my tickets are "free" essentially..

And Justin just needs tickets, which is an expense, but a worthwhile one..

And I projected out the costs, and it's do-able.

If we don't do WDW, we would do NYC or DC.

I am all for visiting other places. I love traveling. BUT, this AP is burning a hole in my pocket, people!!! LOL. I priced out what it would cost to drive to NYC, or DC. And stay in a hotel, and do some touristy things..

And honestly it's pretty similar. By the time you factor in $300-ish for a rental car (we don't want to put the mileage on ours), $200/night for a hotel (unless we'd stay outside of the city, then it would be less), plus money for tours, museums, etc... it would be pretty close.

So I pulled the trigger today and booked Pop for 3 nights in June! I wanted to get the dates set in stone before we decide in two weeks to do it and the room is gone. So I can always cancel.

We decided that it will be a low-key trip. Justin's only request was to eat at Ohana.

I think we'll do a lot of laying by the pool, eating (a LOT..), and strolling around the parks at our own pace. I love touring at WDW, and going commando sun up to sunset, but I think it would be lovely to have a somewhat spontaneous trip and to just go with the flow!! We said we'd only do a few dining ADR's and just wing it the rest of the time.

So who knows if we'll stick with it. It's worth the thought for now. But we've been working so hard lately and haven't taken a break (ok, since my trip to WDW a month and a half ago.. hahaha), so what the heck. If we can swing it, why not!? You only live once and when your day-to-day life is lots of work, you deserve the treat now and then.

Ok, back to your regularly scheduled programming..

 

[scholastica]

Just joining in, but I've really enjoyed it so far!

 

[ariane37]

Hey Ashley!
I saw on the Nov. FB group (I think) you mentioned your possible June trip, and like I said there, DO IT!!! As far as "only" going for 3 nights, DH and I went for 4 nights back in March. We didn't land until almost 7 on Thurs. night, so except for dinner in EPCOT and strolling the Boardwalk, we basically just had 3 days (we flew out early Mon. morning). Of course I wanted more time lol, but even just those few days it was a nice relaxing trip And, we bought AP's on that trip, so in addition to going in Nov. we plan on doing another 4 or 5 night trip early next year before they expire so I totally understand your wanting to get as much use as possible out of them!
One final thing: you don't have kids yet Take these short, quick trips now while you can, because before you know it you'll have more responsibilities and it won't be quite so easy!

 

[afwdwfan]

That is awesome! I totally feel you in needing a few days to get away. And if you can make it a few days at WDW, even better!!!

I'm glad you were able to pencil it out and make it work for an extra trip. I never can go this time of year, so I don't really pay attention to when the special things begin and end, but will you be there for a Star Wars weekend or Flower & Garden or are you going after they end? Might not be things of particular interest to you, but I'd think an afternoon of grazing around WS would be great for the 2 of you!

 

[Vernie822]

Thanks Ariane!! I guess I have a guilty feeling since we have a November trip too.. But we aren't huge beach people, although NYC could be fun.. I kinda feel like we could do that any time. I feel like we may as well go to WDW since the flights are cheap, the discounts there, and no tickets required for me.. I am totally sold on the idea, lol!

Thanks, Andy! Unfortunately F&G will be over by the time we are there.. I really liked being there in March. We will be there for SWW. It's not something either are of us are crazy about, but it would be fun to see. Maybe we'll make plans to get there for a little. I was totally clueless when it came to crowd calendars.. since we're planning to do some relaxing I hope big crowds don't affect us too much and we can just go with the flow. I checked Touring Plans and the crowds are 5/6/7, so that doesn't seem too bad.

 

[KatMark]

for a short getaway weekend. Those AP's will do that to you...burn a hole in your pocket.

 

[Felipe4]

What weekend are you going? If you'll be there the second weekend, I have a reservation for the Sunday evening at Ohana I'm looking to cancel. It's pretty late (9:35), but you might catch the fireworks!

 

[Vernie822]

for a short getaway weekend. Those AP's will do that to you...burn a hole in your pocket.

It is doing just that, haha! It is great to feel like you can get away for even just a few days.

What weekend are you going? If you'll be there the second weekend, I have a reservation for the Sunday evening at Ohana I'm looking to cancel. It's pretty late (9:35), but you might catch the fireworks!

I was stalking around on the MDE app the other day and I found one for 8:15 for Friday, so I grabbed it real quick. Thank you so much for the offer though, that is so kind

 

[kde175]

Hi there...I'm more of a lurker on the DIS, but am trying to participate a little more.

Anyway, I feel you on the APs burning a hole in your pocket. We live just outside of Pittsburgh, out near the airport and have had APs for a few years now. I have become an expert at Disney math, and this year has worked out the best for us. We bought APs for our trip in September 2014. That was a 10 day trip. We knew we'd go back and use them again this September (a nine day trip), so it just made sense. Well...then we started tossing around the idea of a Star Wars Weekends trip. My DH and my DD are huge Star Wars fans, and it's one of the few Special Events at Disney that we hadn't done. We have the APs. We're DVC and had points left, so the room was covered. Both DH and I had free RT tickets on Southwest. So...for the cost of one lane ticket and food, we've got a new 5 day trip planned.

I've really enjoyed reading along on your report.

 

[Vernie822]

Anyway, I feel you on the APs burning a hole in your pocket. We live just outside of Pittsburgh, out near the airport and have had APs for a few years now. I have become an expert at Disney math, and this year has worked out the best for us. We bought APs for our trip in September 2014. That was a 10 day trip. We knew we'd go back and use them again this September (a nine day trip), so it just made sense. Well...then we started tossing around the idea of a Star Wars Weekends trip. My DH and my DD are huge Star Wars fans, and it's one of the few Special Events at Disney that we hadn't done. We have the APs. We're DVC and had points left, so the room was covered. Both DH and I had free RT tickets on Southwest. So...for the cost of one lane ticket and food, we've got a new 5 day trip planned.

Hey Tina - Small world! Thanks for reading. I grew up in Plum and went to school at Robert Morris. I live in Erie now though. That's why we always fly out of PGH when we can, since my parents are still there. You can't pass up RT tickets, DVC, and "Free" entry to the parks with your APs!! Where are you staying on your 5-day trip? We are considering DVC now that we know we want to visit more often.

 

[kde175]

It is a Small World, Ashley. My youngest brother went to Robert Morris. He graduated around 2012, I think. We live right next to the Moon campus. We can see the Sewall Center out our front door and the back of the scoreboard at the stadium from our deck.

We own DVC at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We've stayed there a few times, but seem to keep going back to Old Key West. We're staying at Old Key West in May. Since this is going to be kind of a whirlwind trip, we decided that we didn't really need our usual one bedroom, so we're doing a studio this trip. OKW seemed like the best choice since they have the largest rooms on property.

We love owning DVC. Our only regret is not having done it sooner.

 

[Vernie822]

It is a Small World, Ashley. My youngest brother went to Robert Morris. He graduated around 2012, I think. We live right next to the Moon campus. We can see the Sewall Center out our front door and the back of the scoreboard at the stadium from our deck.

We own DVC at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We've stayed there a few times, but seem to keep going back to Old Key West. We're staying at Old Key West in May. Since this is going to be kind of a whirlwind trip, we decided that we didn't really need our usual one bedroom, so we're doing a studio this trip. OKW seemed like the best choice since they have the largest rooms on property.

We love owning DVC. Our only regret is not having done it sooner.

I graduated in December 2012 from RMU. How crazy! Moon is a nice area, I really liked it there.


I have only been to OKW on a Magical Express bus picking up/dropping off other guests, but it looked lovely. It seems a little quieter than the other DVC resorts? We are excited to stay at AKL. We're thinking of buying resale, but we aren't sure where. We're hoping to get a feel for some of the resorts when we go down in November.

 

[kde175]

OKW is a little quieter. Originally, it was supposed to be the only DVC resort. They had no idea how popular DVC would be. I think because of that that rooms are larger and seem to be a little more solid. I notice that the rooms themselves are more insulated from outside noise. The only WDW DVC resorts we haven't stayed at are the Grand Floridian and the new Polynesian rooms. We have loved them all but OKW, AKV and the Wilderness Lodge are our favorites.

I just paid off our first contract earlier this month. DH is now looking at buying more. We'll probably do resale on those, but I'm not sure where yet.

 

[NJlauren]

Just caught up what an amazing trip and TR!!

Your trip looks amazing and some of the things you tried at F&G look soooo good!!!!

 

[afnaechiquita]

just finished reading through your TR! had to giggle at the ornaments - my mom decorates three trees too! one is full of angels, the other full of fun ornaments, and the last full of candy ornaments. it's nuts!

i think the last day is the one most likely for tempers to flare. no one wants to leave, and so we all get a bit grouchy. hopefully it was just that one time, and you had a good time the rest of the day!

 

[KathyM2]

Hiya!!! Just read your TR and it's fabulous! I'm so excited for you that you planned another trip!! Off topic...but I live in Toronto, Canada...and we go to Walden Galleria ALL THE TIME lol...so funny because when I was in high school, we always went there to shop for prom dresses lol. I had no idea that Americans thought it was a great mall too lol. Anyway.. going to WDW in June is MUCH better! Also, loved your TR and I'm looking forward to staying at POFQ in October!! Had I known that I would be back so soon I might have gotten that AP when we were there in March! Anyway...I look forward to hearing about the rest of your trip!

 

[Vernie822]

Just caught up what an amazing trip and TR!!

Your trip looks amazing and some of the things you tried at F&G look soooo good!!!!

Hey! Thanks for reading. I am so behind on updates, lol. The food was DELICIOUS everywhere we went!

just finished reading through your TR! had to giggle at the ornaments - my mom decorates three trees too! one is full of angels, the other full of fun ornaments, and the last full of candy ornaments. it's nuts!

i think the last day is the one most likely for tempers to flare. no one wants to leave, and so we all get a bit grouchy. hopefully it was just that one time, and you had a good time the rest of the day!

I swear, moms and their ornaments, lol. Tempers were flaring, it was tense for a little while. Thankfully that was it but I just thought to myself "oh lord here we go"! Thanks for reading.

Hiya!!! Just read your TR and it's fabulous! I'm so excited for you that you planned another trip!! Off topic...but I live in Toronto, Canada...and we go to Walden Galleria ALL THE TIME lol...so funny because when I was in high school, we always went there to shop for prom dresses lol. I had no idea that Americans thought it was a great mall too lol. Anyway.. going to WDW in June is MUCH better! Also, loved your TR and I'm looking forward to staying at POFQ in October!! Had I known that I would be back so soon I might have gotten that AP when we were there in March! Anyway...I look forward to hearing about the rest of your trip!

Haha, we love Walden Galleria! I am originally from Pittsburgh where there are malls everywhere.. in Erie, not so much. One mall that is OK but nothing like Walden Galleria or Ross Park in Pittsburgh.. so we like to go there, and to the outlets in NY, to get some shopping done! Only stinky thing is that in PA we have no sales tax on clothes, but in NY I believe there is a sales tax. I am so glad you are enjoying my report, we really loved POFQ. If you are looking to stay close to the bus stops and main building, I definitely suggest building 4.

 

[Vernie822]

Hey everyone! I am so sorry for neglecting this update. Here's one of my final installments, lunch at my beloved Via Napoli on our last day. I always forget this place has a 10% AP discount at lunch - something to keep in mind, for sure!

Anyways.. today was our last day at WDW. Originally we were scheduled to fly home the day before (Tuesday), but about a month before I easily talked the rest of my party into switching our flights (with no fee, via Southwest!) and adding on an extra day to our trip.

So we packed up our stuff that morning, got it to luggage services for our checked bags and stored carryons, and headed off to Epcot. We jumped on Test Track and Soarin', did a few more attractions, and found ourselves heading to Italy for lunch via the World Showcase entrance by Mexico.


A few days before, when we had passed by Via Napoli during Flower and Garden, the girls asked if we could eat here. Um, but of course!


We had originally made our ADR for 2 PM, but I switched it to 11:30 the day before so that we could get to MK after Epcot.


But first, we had very important business to attend to. Something that has become a twice per trip tradition for me (ok only on the last two trips..) Round 2 of Schofferhofer and Caramel Corn! Ok, so the Schofferhofer would wait until after lunch, but I wanted to grab the caramel corn while the store wasn't too busy.


We went through the caramel store one last time. I got a bag to take home. I think it actually made it a few days, which is probably a record for me. I love that stuff. It’s like crack!


Since it was still just after 11, the World Showcase was nearly empty and it was great.


We checked in for our ADR right at 11:30 and were seated within 5 minutes. I think the restaurant had just opened for lunch.

I love this chandelier in the entry way.

We had two waiters, Giuseppe and Nicola. I have a friend, Nicola, she’s south African. This waiter was a male from Italy. Cool to see the name used in different ways.


I had one thing that I wanted and one thing only – the carciofi pizza. I didn’t care if I got an individual or a mezzo metro to myself, I had to have it.


Since moving from Pittsburgh, Justin and I have NOT found a good pizza place. We’ve found a few ‘okay’ pizza places, but none that we can really call our “go-to” pizza joint. I know Pittsburgh isn’t necessarily the most Italian place in the world, but hey, there’s plenty of great pizza to be had. My parents order regularly from this little tiny shop called Fortino’s and let me tell you, it’s some of the best pizza I’ve ever had. I hunt for leftovers any time I’m home.


So when Justin and I had pizza here last year, I fell in love. And so did he. So much that he ate all of his and close to half of mine – minus the artichokes, because why would he eat a vegetable on his pizza?!


Anyhow..


We placed our drink order. I’m pretty sure we all got water and my aunt tried the strawberry aqua fresca. She loved it!

We decided that we did want pizza. I let them know that a mezzo metro was as big as the table, and we decided a large would probably do, because we planned on having dessert in France at the bakery.


My cousin decided she would like to try arancini, which she’d had before (not from Via Napoli). None of us had, but I told her they got great reviews. After this week, she probably thinks I do nothing but sit online and read dining reviews.. which may or may not be true..


We decided to split a large pizza, that would give us each two slices. My mom and I thought the carciofi sounded good. My cousin and aunt wanted to try the margherita. We all were excited to try both.


My aunt suggested the family style house salad for $7. $7 is great for a huge salad that everyone can share!


We placed our order and then saw that the salad was $7 PER PERSON. Ok, $7 per person is crazy, I would have rather split another appetizer for that much.


We were offered bread and oil with our salad, which was nice. When I was here before, they didn’t offer us bread, but we also hadn’t ordered salad.

The bread was good, kind of had a ciabatta taste to it, much like the bread that came with the mozzarella/prosciutto pinwheel from Primavera Kitchen. The oil was a nice accompaniment.

Family Style House Salad - Served Exclusively with Pizza - $7 per person, minimum 2 people; leaf lettuces, diced tomato, peppers, cucumber, mushrooms, olives, peperonicini, red wine vinaigrette $7.00 per person

The salad was just OK. I wasn’t a huge fan of the red wine vinaigrette, but it was still good. I loved the olives they used – they were so delicious! I guess I just kept thinking to myself “Omg, this is a $30 salad..” hahaha.

Arancini - fried risotto balls filled with mozzarella and meat ragu $11.00

The arancini came out with the salad. We cut these to share. They were sooooo good! Definitely something we’ll have to order next time as well. The sauce was good, the inside was cheesy. Yum.

The pizza came out not too long after. It was every bit as delicious as I remembered. Ahhh. We each got a slice of carciofi and a slice of margherita. I still preferred the carciofi, but the margherita was also good.

Carciofi Signature Pie - white pizza, artichoke, fontina, mozzarella, truffle oil
& the other half was margherita (tomatoes, mozzarella, basil) which for some reason is not on the menu I'm looking at! I think a large pizza is $31.

I learned on the Magical Express video that they get their water imported from western Pennsylvania, because the minerals in the water there are similar to the minerals in the water in Naples, Italy. How cool! Considering that’s where we’re from, I wonder if that’s why we can get great pizza there?! Too bad that theory doesn’t extend up to Erie where the pizza is sub-par.


After our delicious meal, we settled the bill. I got 10% off with my Annual Pass, which was greatly appreciated.

I want to say it was around $15-20 per person with tip. Not too bad, if you ask me, for 2 slices of pizza, some salad, and arancini. Considering you can spend $20 easily at a QS place for a meal with a drink and dessert. I absolutely love Via Napoli! Justin did too, so we'll definitely try to come here for lunch on our next trip.

I would love to try a pasta dish, but I don't know if I can stray away from my beloved carciofi.


We then headed towards France, because we just could not get enough of that bakery. Mmmm!!

 

[Vernie822]

Overall I think choosing Via Napoli for our last day lunch was a great idea. We got to experience the amazinggggg pizza, and it wasn’t too filling that we couldn’t move the rest of the day. I kind of like that their crust is light like that. Yum.. now I’m thinking about the pizza.. again.


We made an ADR for Via Napoli on our November trip. For June, the only ADRs I made are Ohana and Le Cellier, at my fiance’s request. And we are trying so hardly to ‘wing it’, but hey, at least if we wing it the rest of the time that’s still somewhat spontaneous, right!?


Oh, and I found a Be Our Guest lunch during that weekend so I grabbed it.. we’ve never done lunch and the one I was able to get for November wasn’t all that great (11:20) so maybe if we could get it done this time around that would be better!


Back to your regularly scheduled TR…


After our lunch at Via Napoli we had some more food-related things in mind. Food is my favorite thing at Disney after all! Everyone wanted to get some pastries from Les Halles for our plane ride home or breakfast tomorrow. So we headed that way, but something else caught my eye first.. I wanted to peek inside Les Artisans des Glaces. I've been in there before, but I've never had the ice cream.


On the way to the Boulangerie Patisserie, I wanted to peek inside Les Artisans des Glaces. I've been in there before, but I've never had the ice cream.

My aunt and mom immediately decided that they had to have ice cream!

I had heard great things about the coconut white chocolate flavor. They had lots of good looking flavors.

The cinnamon, carmel apple crumble crunch sounded delicious. We asked about the Profiterole, and the cast members told us it was similar to cookie dough. My aunt decided to try that.

My mom decided on the coconut white chocolate. In an effort to get something different, I went with the Caramel fleur de Sel, which the cast members said is like salted caramel. Yum!

Here's my caramel fleur de sel..

They have lots of other yummy treats to try, although we decided on just a small cup.

It was $3.99 for a small cup which is kind of pricy, but the ice cream had a great texture and was much better than just regular ice cream!

I love the Mickeys in the ice cream:

We got outside and all tasted our ice cream, and each other's. My cousin skipped the ice cream and decided she'd rather save space for Boulangerie Patisserie.

I took one taste of my salted caramel ice cream and...

Oh my gosh, was it GROSS. I couldn't tell if it was my tastebuds, a bad batch of ice cream, or if I had just expected it to taste differently. I passed it around and everyone else tasted it, too. My aunt could tolerate it, but the rest of us said EWWW!

You know when you're making caramel in a pan on the stove, and you don't double boil it, and the sugar gets burnt on the bottom of the pan? That's exactly what it wasted like. It was gross. It tasted like burnt caramel. The cast member could tell I didn't like it, so I asked him what he thought.

In the nicest way possible, he said "Oh yeah, that flavor is gross.." hahahaha. Luckily, he asked what flavor I would like instead and had no problem replacing my salted caramel with the coconut white chocolate.

I was a MUCH happier camper now!

I felt bad that I didn't like it because I didn't want to insult the CM's. Like I said, could've been an off-batch or that could really be the way it tastes. Whatever it was, I was not a fan.


After the ice cream, we stopped in Boulangerie Patisserie for a few to-go items. If you recall from our first day, we fell in love with the Frangipane (and almond-y croissant). My mom wanted one of those, and so did my aunt. My aunt was in line and grabbed a chocolate croissant for my cousin. My cousin was separated from her so she ordered a frangipane, not knowing that her mom had already ordered her one. I ordered a chocolate croissant, too.

My mom ended up eating hers on the plane and so did my cousin. My aunt saved hers and the second pastry for their breakfast the next day. I saved mine as well - it was fine but it definitely was not as fresh as the day before. It also got mega-squished in my bag.

We had to stop for one last Bier in Germany on our way out of Epcot. I can't go without at least 2 of these on each trip.

One day I'll get one of those massive pretzels!

Ah, my beloved Schofferhofer.

Until next time, Schofferhofer & homeland of Germany!

Honestly, we loved Boulangerie Patisserie - I can't wait to come back next time and try something new. Those sandwiches look divine every time.

We stopped in my mom’s favorite store, the Christmas tree store, one last time. She needed to purchase a few items before we left (my mom, needing more ornaments.. go figure). She purchased a few cute ones, I think one was a pretzel, and another Christmas-y one for her annual ornament exchange with her girlfriends.


It was still quiet in the World Showcase, so we started talking to the adorable girl at the cash register. Her name was Laura and she was here from Germany on her college program. She had a few months left of her program, which lasted a year. My brother is currently studying abroad in Munich, so my mom had lots of questions for her. She was so bubbly and adorable! We really enjoyed talking to her.


We decided to head out towards Mexico, since we hadn’t looked much at Norway or Mexico. We browsed around that area and then headed for the monorail, by now it was 2:30. We took the monorail (luckily getting right on) and soon after that we arrived at the Magic Kingdom!