Dutch & Matt Take On Disney - Our First Time in Forever Feb 2020 TR - UPDATED 5/27 - COMPLETE

[dwonderz]

I say this all the time! I glitter.

Just read your report straight through, and I’m looking forward to the next chapter!

Glitter is the best

Loved your update! How come you didn’t get to ride in the same rocket in Space Mountain?

You know - I was wondering that too!! We rode Space at least twice (maybe 3 times?) over the course of the trip and both times they didn't put us in the same rocket even though they told us were a party of 2. I thought maybe it just had to do with space/time restraints?

My family loves Big Thunder. Since I’m a colossal ride wimp I haven’t done it. (I can do Slinky with my eyes closed holding on for dear life but hated 7DMT it was too much for me). My kids say since I can do Slinky (ish) I can do Big Thunder, but I doubt it. Can’t wait to read more.

Slinky Dog shocks us both a little as well .

Seems dramatic lol they coulda just given you a heads up for next time

Definitely was a little dramatic

I almost bought that before too!

I still want to get it! Shop Disney might be a stop in the near future....

Omg yes- one of the only things I remember from when we went to Disney when I was a kid was being terrified of Fantasmic!

Right?!

 

[dwonderz]

Chapter 8 - The Rest of MK & An Epcot Evening

After lunch - we had a FP for the Rapunzel & Tiana meet and so we headed over to Fairytale Hall.

On the way over we caught the backs of Suzy and Perla who were hauling through Fantasyland - I've never seen characters walk so fast .

We arrived at Fairytale Hall and were up to meet Rapunzel in under three minutes!

This picture makes me laugh ... not sure what Matt was trying to tell me

Rapunzel was fantastic - she was so nice and very chatty. She was letting us know all about her favorite cupcake flavors (not even sure how we landed on that ... but dessert is always relevant).

Then we went off to meet Tiana ...

We were really excited to meet Tiana - she's one of our favs - but it ended up being a little disappointing. I think Tiana might have been a bit tired that day - we tried chatting it up but she wasn't really feeling it (or maybe we weren't that interesting ). Either way - it was still very cool!

We then headed off to do two Disney classics ... in complete opposite sections of the park. First up - was the Hall of Presidents.

It was starting to get a bit overcast...

While we waited for the Hall of Presidents show to start - I took a few minutes to call my Mom - while Matt took a few minutes to sit down. After the Hall of Presidents - we headed back across to Tomorrowland to ride Carousel of Progress.

We both really liked the Carousel of Progress - it's always fun to see how much things have changed over the years . I also seem to have taken a short break from photographing because I basically have no photos from the character to meet to after riding Carousel of Progress .

We had a FP for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train coming up - so we walked back across the park. We loved our Touring Plan because it saved us so much time waiting on lines - but it certainly had us trekking!

Matt reacting to the news we had to walk back across the park. Side Note: I think Brother Bear is one of the most underrated Disney movies - ever!

Along the way we stopped on Main St. at the Candy Emporium so Matt could get some sustenance

I thought this guy was cute...

I chose to get a Cheshire Cat Tail - which was so good. Most definitely one of my favorite snacks!

We also stopped for some Photo Pass photos... The photographer was awesome and kept making up all of these rhymes in response to things we were saying.

Finally it was time to ride Seven Dwarfs - we were really looking forward to it.

Matt loved the house.

For once - I looked calm and happy on a ride!!

Well ... it was nice while it lasted

We enjoyed Seven Dwarfs ... and enjoyed it even more since we had a FP! It definitely wasn't our favorite roller coaster in MK and we both agreed that we wouldn't wait in the standby line for more than 20 minutes - but we did like it! By this point we were exhausted - so we decided to head out of the parks and spend some time relaxing back at CBR.

We opted for the bus - an experience which was not repeated ever again . We ended up waiting almost 30 minutes for the bus and then of course got off at Martinique by accident and had to trek across the resort. It was truly a "once-in-a-lifetime" experience.

It was about 4:00pm by the time we got back to our room and Housekeeping still hadn't visited . We called down and they said they would send someone soon - so we headed down to the Quiet Pool and spent some time there.

View from my deck chair....

We both loved the Quiet pool - I preferred it to the main pool! There was no slide or hot tub ... but it was so calm! After about an hour we headed back up to the room and spent some time hanging out before catching an Uber to Downtown Disney Disney Springs (I still think of it as DTD sometimes) for some dinner.

Once again - we've hit a bit of a photo drought - apologies in advance. Upon arriving to DS - we headed straight to Chicken Guy for dinner. We wanted something easy and we really enjoyed our meal here! We both got chicken tenders and shared some fries - highly recommend stopping here for an easy dinner.

We then wandered through some shops - I stopped into Ron Jon and picked up a t-shirt while Matt headed over to Uniqlo. While we were in our respective stores - the skies completely opened up and a downpour ensued. Matt sprinted over to Ron Jon and then we dashed over to Amorette's Patisserie ... because dessert is important even in a downpour.

We were really excited to try the "signature" cake (which I think had 11 layers) and were sadly disappointed. It was just ok - very pretty - but just okay flavor wise. The $16 price tag didn't help .

Super Pretty ... just not super tasty.

At this point it was about 8:00 and we decided to hop over to Epcot to catch the fireworks. It was our first time calling an Uber from DS and we got a bit confused trying to find the pick up spot. We literally took every wrong turn possible, wound up on the outside of Disney Springs, and eventually ended up having to cancel the Uber.

Accurate depiction of how we looked trying to find the pickup spot...

After recollecting ourselves (and a few minutes of "I thought you knew where we were going" "I was following you" "Well I didn't know where we were going - why didn't you say something?" ), we found the pickup spot, got an Uber, and made it over to Epcot for the fireworks.

The park was surprisingly quiet - especially considering Epcot had EMH that evening. I think the rainstorm earlier cleared out a lot of the park. We found a great spot beneath/next to the UK/France Bridge.

We enjoyed the show - it was definitely our least favorite of all of the nighttime shows we saw this trip. We both loved Illuminations - and we are really looking forward to Harmonious.

We decided to take advantage of the EMH - and walked over to Soarin. We didn't manage to grab a FP in advance for this ride and so we thought riding it now would be a smart move.

It ended up being only a 20 minute wait - ten of which was waiting for them to perform a "cleaning inspection." We both had a feeling what that meant ... as did others in line ... but no one said anything .

We really enjoyed Soarin! It was a bit wild for us since the last time either of us visited Soarin was the ride and its technology was considered amazing. Nowadays, with things like FOP and Star Wars, it almost seems like a "classic" ride now. Still amazing - just funny how things change!

We were pretty exhausted by this point - so we decided to grab the Skyliner back to CBR and call it a night.

Good Night Bears!

Up Next: DHS Day & Yacht Club Check-In!​

 

[buzzrelly]

We were really excited to meet Tiana - she's one of our favs - but it ended up being a little disappointing. I think Tiana might have been a bit tired that day - we tried chatting it up but she wasn't really feeling it (or maybe we weren't that interesting ). Either way - it was still very cool!

That's a bummer. Tiana is my favorite

Side Note: I think Brother Bear is one of the most underrated Disney movies - ever!

Good to know…I haven't seen it.

Along the way we stopped on Main St. at the Candy Emporium so Matt could get some sustenance

Yum. I wish I was there right now

The $16 price tag didn't help .

Super Pretty ... just not super tasty.

Yikes…pretty expensive, but it sure does look pretty.

At this point it was about 8:00 and we decided to hop over to Epcot to catch the fireworks. It was our first time calling an Uber from DS and we got a bit confused trying to find the pick up spot. We literally took every wrong turn possible, wound up on the outside of Disney Springs, and eventually ended up having to cancel the Uber.

I can never find our way out of DS. Last time we were there, we ended up walking in circles and then finally finding the bus area but had to walk another mile to our stop.

We found a great spot beneath/next to the UK/France Bridge.

Pretty

We enjoyed the show - it was definitely our least favorite of all of the nighttime shows we saw this trip. We both loved Illuminations - and we are really looking forward to Harmonious.

I still haven't seen it…lost my chance this March. Still hoping to catch it in July.

We really enjoyed Soarin! It was a bit wild for us since the last time either of us visited Soarin was the ride and its technology was considered amazing. Nowadays, with things like FOP and Star Wars, it almost seems like a "classic" ride now. Still amazing - just funny how things change!

So true!

 

[pepperandchips]

I enjoyed catching up!!! You guys sure logged a lot of miles!

I still haven’t tried Chicken Guy - did you have any memorable sauces?

I love the Amorette’s mini cake, so I’m so sad to hear you didn’t enjoy yours! You’re so right that $16 is a lot, but we usually are able to snack on one for a few days so we justify the cost. I also love trying the seasonal ones they have!

I still never saw Epcot Forever in person and am hoping we are growing closer to the debut of Harmonious. Sounds like I’m not missing much!

Looking forward to what you report next

 

[dwonderz]

That's a bummer. Tiana is my favorite

I know - we were a little bummed. We still love her though

Good to know…I haven't seen it.

Definitely recommend!

I can never find our way out of DS. Last time we were there, we ended up walking in circles and then finally finding the bus area but had to walk another mile to our stop.

Yes!! I think they need better signage...

I still haven't seen it…lost my chance this March. Still hoping to catch it in July.

You get to see it in July!

I enjoyed catching up!!! You guys sure logged a lot of miles!
I still haven’t tried Chicken Guy - did you have any memorable sauces?

Yes! I tried the garlic parmesan, lemon pepper, and avocado crema - all were great! Matt also tried the Buffalo and he enjoyed it!

I love the Amorette’s mini cake, so I’m so sad to hear you didn’t enjoy yours! You’re so right that $16 is a lot, but we usually are able to snack on one for a few days so we justify the cost. I also love trying the seasonal ones they have!

I definitely want to go back at some point and try something else (the eclairs looked really good). I think what probably did us in was the fondant on the outside .

 

[ariane37]

We were really excited to meet Tiana

Sorry this wasn't a great meet, she's actually the only Princess I haven't met yet! I do always seem to enjoy meeting Rapunzel

We enjoyed Seven Dwarfs ... and enjoyed it even more since we had a FP! It definitely wasn't our favorite roller coaster in MK and we both agreed that we wouldn't wait in the standby line for more than 20 minutes - but we did like it!

We all really like 7DMT too although Big Thunder is our favorite coaster in MK We do always try to get FP for 7D because 30 minutes would basically be the longest we'd wait. We RD's it once, just DH and I, and the wait ended up being 40 minutes Wasted prime early morning ride time so haven't done that again!

We were really excited to try the "signature" cake (which I think had 11 layers) and were sadly disappointed. It was just ok - very pretty - but just okay flavor wise. The $16 price tag didn't help .

I made this mistake a few years ago when they first opened. Youngest DS and I went down a few days before DH and oldest DS and decided to try this cake and both of us were disappointed. I've also had the larger character "dome" cakes from there and they look TONS better than they taste as well!

 

[dwonderz]

We all really like 7DMT too although Big Thunder is our favorite coaster in MK We do always try to get FP for 7D because 30 minutes would basically be the longest we'd wait. We RD's it once, just DH and I, and the wait ended up being 40 minutes Wasted prime early morning ride time so haven't done that again!

Omg!! That's crazy

I made this mistake a few years ago when they first opened. Youngest DS and I went down a few days before DH and oldest DS and decided to try this cake and both of us were disappointed. I've also had the larger character "dome" cakes from there and they look TONS better than they taste as well!

Such a bummer! We had high hopes for this one - I think we might give it one more try - but we're definitely going to stick with the smaller desserts.

 

[dwonderz]

Chapter 9: A Hollywood Studios Morning!

We woke up this morning tired! I think it was a combination of a very busy Tuesday, the early wake up call, and it being the "halfway" point of our trip that had us feeling a bit exhausted. But ... we soldiered on ... which really is so difficult when you're at Disney .

After pulling ourselves together we hopped in an Uber over to Hollywood Studios. The plan for the morning was to attempt to get a boarding pass, before returning to CBR to eat breakfast/pack/transfer our bags and then Skyliner back to HS for the day. Initially, I felt like it would be a lot of back and forth, but we were grateful to not be packing our bags at 7am .

Beautiful sunrise over Barefoot Bay

Not many other people up....

We made it to HS without any trouble - although we were both surprised by how many Uber's/Lyft's were trying to get in the park! I can only imagine what it was like back in December. Getting through bag check was easy and soon we were in the park. Since we weren't rope dropping anything that morning (we walked over to Toy Story Land - but it was a zoo) we just wandered around the park .... waiting for the clock to strike 8!

Full Disclosure: Neither of us are huge Star Wars fans .... in fact we're pretty lame Star Wars fans. But we still really wanted to try RoR since we heard it was so cool! So we read and researched all the different ways to grab a boarding pass and we felt ready. Matt was on Wifi. I was on Data. We were refreshing. We had the page open. We were ready.

And then it froze.

First my app crashed and then Matt's app froze. And then we finally got through and managed to get a backup boarding group (#98). We were a bit disappointed - more so because we had woken up and schlepped to the park - but we took it in stride with the hopes that we might get to ride! With that - we skyliner-ed back to CBR and finished packing!

While Matt finished packing - I ran over to the Gift Shop to pick up a few pins and the packages we had sent over from the parks. It took a little while because one of the items was a print from Pandora that was considered "oversized" so they had to find that...

This is a copy of the print we got...

Soon enough we were calling Bell Services to have our bags transferred and saying goodbye to room 5251 and CBR!

Our very cool Gondola on the way back to DHS

Our first Fast Pass of the day was for Tower of Terror so we made our way over there. I love the theming on Tower of Terror - although it's not my favorite ride (I'd rather go fast than drop fast ).Our FP's had us on and through the ride in under 20 minutes!

Love all of the details...

You can see us in the back corner ... I am clearly enjoying myself

After ToT we were just in time for our Rock n Roller Coaster FP! On the way over we stopped and got some of the most awkward PhotoPass pics of the trip...

Still not 100% sure what was happening here...

We also had a kind of odd interaction with the photographer - he asked us where we were from and when I said "New York," he said "Oh I hope not New York City! I can't stand New York City! It's so crowded and all of those people - it's just horrible." No smiling. No joking. Not deadpan. Just dead serious. So I smiled and said "We're from New York City! We love it! You should come visit sometime - it's almost as crowded as Disney World!" I couldn't help myself...

Me when I found out our photographer didn't like NY

After our awkward Photo Pass stop we headed off to Rock N Roller Coaster - which both Matt and I love. It was super fun!

Clearly still very much getting a handle on the whole on ride photos...

After RnR we headed over to the Cars Racing Academy. Probably a one and done for us - but we both enjoy Cars and we thought it was cute and well done!

We were getting a bit hungry at this point - so we mobile ordered lunch from Fairfax Fare. It was definitely our least favorite meal of the trip. We also sadly didn't take any pics. We did remedy lunch, however, with a quick stop for some dessert...

With our energy we back - we made our way over to Galaxy's Edge as we had a FP for Millennium Falcon. I had been on the train going to rehearsal when they announced the release of FP's for the ride back in January and so I texted Matt to try and get one because I kept losing service on my phone. Matt kept trying on his computer/iPad and I kept trying for the entire 50 min. train ride - and I managed to grab one just as we got to my stop! Thank you FP Gods .

I love these little fake shops!

We got to Millennium Falcon and were through the Queue in under 15 minutes with our FP's.

We were given the roles of "Engineer" and rode with a group of 4 girls who were really funny - none of us really had any idea what we were doing.

Overall - it was a fun ride! As I said - we are the worst Star Wars fans and so we didn't really understand the different parts - but we could totally see and appreciate how awesome the entire land is for SW fans!

At this point we were both getting a bit tired so we checked the app to see what BG they were on; they were almost to 45! We felt somewhat hopeful, but we also knew it wouldn't be happening anytime soon, so we started to make our way out of the parks.

First, however, we had to stop by and meet Edna Mode. Our fav!

I thought this little Edna character was great!

Also love all of the artwork and costume displays!

Edna was fantastic! I am so glad they have this Meet & Greet area - the wait was under 5 minutes and it was so much fun! I wish there was a way for her to talk - as I think that would be awesome - but I also understand how difficult that could be!

We saw Mrs. Incredible on the way out and managed to grab her signature. The CM's were very insistent about people not lining up to meet her and saying that she would stop for people herself - so we just kept trying to be in her vicinity. <-- us trying to get noticed casually

We then headed out of the park and made our way over to the boat launch for our first boat trip to Yacht Club!

Up Next: YC Check-In and MK Night!​

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

The whole boarding pass system is kind of hard for me to process...we didn't go to DHS on this last trip, but I would definitely be frustrated if we had gotten up that early and then didn't get to ride. We heard people at our bus stop at CSR saying that they were going EVERY DAY of their trip until they got a boarding pass and were able to ride--that just seems crazy to me!

Otherwise though, it seems like yall had a great time at DHS! Can't wait to see what you think of YC (one of my bucket list resorts)!

 

[igrsod]

The whole boarding pass system is kind of hard for me to process...we didn't go to DHS on this last trip, but I would definitely be frustrated if we had gotten up that early and then didn't get to ride. We heard people at our bus stop at CSR saying that they were going EVERY DAY of their trip until they got a boarding pass and were able to ride--that just seems crazy to me!

Otherwise though, it seems like yall had a great time at DHS! Can't wait to see what you think of YC (one of my bucket list resorts)!

We got a backup boarding group on our first try... and sadly didn't get to ride that day. The next attempt only 2 of 6 in our group was willing to go through that rigamaroll again. My hubby and I were successful... and the other 4 were sad. Next trip I hope this is all sorted out and everyone gets to ride.

 

[dtl62]

Enjoying following along!

We also had a kind of odd interaction with the photographer - he asked us where we were from and when I said "New York," he said "Oh I hope not New York City! I can't stand New York City! It's so crowded and all of those people - it's just horrible." No smiling. No joking. Not deadpan. Just dead serious. So I smiled and said "We're from New York City! We love it! You should come visit sometime - it's almost as crowded as Disney World!" I couldn't help myself...

Yikes, this CM has a unique method of making a guest's experience magical. "Where do you folks call home...yeah I hate that place!"
Good comeback though.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

First my app crashed and then Matt's app froze

Oh no!!

nd then we finally got through and managed to get a backup boarding group (#98).

Glad you got something- I hope you got to ride.

Oo I really like this.

I said "New York," he said "Oh I hope not New York City! I can't stand New York City! It's so crowded and all of those people - it's just horrible." No smiling. No joking. Not deadpan. Just dead serious. So I smiled and said "We're from New York City! We love it! You should come visit sometime - it's almost as crowded as Disney World!"

so strange lol

 

[buzzrelly]

we were grateful to not be packing our bags at 7am .

Beautiful sunrise over Barefoot Bay

So gorgeous. Nothing beats a Florida sunrise

First my app crashed and then Matt's app froze. And then we finally got through and managed to get a backup boarding group (#98). We were a bit disappointed - more so because we had woken up and schlepped to the park

Ack! That's the part that stinks about Boarding Groups! It's such a crap shoot! I hope you got to get on later!

a print from Pandora that was considered "oversized" so they had to find that...

This is a copy of the print we got...

Love it!

On the way over we stopped and got some of the most awkward PhotoPass pics of the trip...

Still not 100% sure what was happening here...

What the…???

 

[PlutosRHM55]

I'm sorry to hear you had issues getting a boarding pass. I really must've been lucky when I went in one day to try to nab a boarding pass and got it. No back-up group or anything. Hopefully the boarding groups went by fast like it did the day I rode because they definitely dipped into the back-up groups. Rise is pretty amazing so fingers crossed for y'all.

Yeah, that Photopass photographer in terms of feelings to NYC (which is one of my favorite places I've ever visited and if I wasn't so averse to winter I'd probably love to live there) and that pose... they were A CHOICE.

Lol I'm totally the opposite on rides, I find ToT a much easier attraction than RnRC. I mean, I literally have texted people on ToT during the drop sequence and filmed myself during it. But I also guess that is what happens when you've been on either as much as I have.

You definitely need to go back and ride Smugglers and try to nab Pilot or Gunner. Y'all actually get to do stuff. Engineer can be useless if you have a good pilot. Also, jumping to lightspeed is an emotional experience, at least for someone who lived Star Wars for a solid 8 months

So glad you guys had such a good interaction with Edna. She is so fabulous. Just like Daisy, she can end up feeding those instagram model needs lol

 

[disneyAndi14]

I love the Pandora print, beautiful!
We were lucky getting boarding groups in January, we got 3, I hope you got to ride! It is amazing
We love meeting Edna Mode, “dahling”
I think YC right now is my favorite Deluxe, we had a big corner room in August, we loved it!!
Mickey ice cream is the best!

 

[dwonderz]

The whole boarding pass system is kind of hard for me to process...we didn't go to DHS on this last trip, but I would definitely be frustrated if we had gotten up that early and then didn't get to ride. We heard people at our bus stop at CSR saying that they were going EVERY DAY of their trip until they got a boarding pass and were able to ride--that just seems crazy to me!

Otherwise though, it seems like yall had a great time at DHS! Can't wait to see what you think of YC (one of my bucket list resorts)!

I know - it really is crazy!! I'm hoping they are able to figure out an alternative one day

We got a backup boarding group on our first try... and sadly didn't get to ride that day. The next attempt only 2 of 6 in our group was willing to go through that rigamaroll again. My hubby and I were successful... and the other 4 were sad. Next trip I hope this is all sorted out and everyone gets to ride.

It really is like the hunger games of theme park attractions

Enjoying following along!

Yay! So glad you're enjoying

Yikes, this CM has a unique method of making a guest's experience magical. "Where do you folks call home...yeah I hate that place!"
Good comeback though.

I know ... it was certainly interesting

Oo I really like this.

I love it! Still trying to figure out where to hang it and then after that it will take me like another 3 months to actually get it framed ... but we're getting there

so strange lol

Right??

So gorgeous. Nothing beats a Florida sunrise

Absolutely nothing!

What the…???

Right?

Yeah, that Photopass photographer in terms of feelings to NYC (which is one of my favorite places I've ever visited and if I wasn't so averse to winter I'd probably love to live there) and that pose... they were A CHOICE.

A CHOICE!! The best way to describe it

Lol I'm totally the opposite on rides, I find ToT a much easier attraction than RnRC. I mean, I literally have texted people on ToT during the drop sequence and filmed myself during it. But I also guess that is what happens when you've been on either as much as I have.

Omg - I could never! I think there's something about not knowing when it's going to drop that sends me over the edge.

You definitely need to go back and ride Smugglers and try to nab Pilot or Gunner. Y'all actually get to do stuff. Engineer can be useless if you have a good pilot. Also, jumping to lightspeed is an emotional experience, at least for someone who lived Star Wars for a solid 8 months

Yes! I definitely want to go back and try getting one of those spots! I couldn't figure out why people were allowing us to pass by them - I think it was because they were trying to be pilot!

So glad you guys had such a good interaction with Edna. She is so fabulous. Just like Daisy, she can end up feeding those instagram model needs lol

100%!!

I love the Pandora print, beautiful!

Definitely one of my fav purchases!

We love meeting Edna Mode, “dahling”

She's fantastic - #nocapes!

I think YC right now is my favorite Deluxe, we had a big corner room in August, we loved it!!

Definitely my favorite deluxe resort!

 

[andy_dangg]

Somehow missed out on the last few updates but I’m all caught up now and loving all the updates! Those kids meals at BoG didn’t look great—that was one of my favorite restaurants, but I know not everyone loves it.
I don’t get the Amorette’s hype either! The desserts are very pretty but SO expensive.
Also your NYC interaction with the PhotoPass photographer is too much! I’ve had a similar experience when I tell people I’m originally from Maryland...they comment on how they were in Baltimore and how it felt so unsafe and dirty I love my hometown!
Hope y’all are staying safe and healthy!

 

[dwonderz]

Somehow missed out on the last few updates but I’m all caught up now and loving all the updates! Those kids meals at BoG didn’t look great—that was one of my favorite restaurants, but I know not everyone loves it.

I definitely want to go back to try either breakfast or an adult meal!

Also your NYC interaction with the PhotoPass photographer is too much! I’ve had a similar experience when I tell people I’m originally from Maryland...they comment on how they were in Baltimore and how it felt so unsafe and dirty I love my hometown!

Right? Such a strange interaction

Hope y’all are staying safe and healthy!

Thank you! You too!!

 

[dwonderz]

Chapter 10: YC Check-In & A MK Evening

Our boat ride over to the Yacht Club was super nice - years ago when I stayed at Wilderness Lodge one of my favorite things about the resort was the ferry to MK. I think boat transportation is the best!

We had sent in a request via Touring Plans and I had also called the Reservations phone number to note our 2 requests (upper floor/water view). We had booked a "garden view" and there were a few rooms in that category which faced the water - so we were hoping to get one of those.

So Pretty!

The CM checking us in was super sweet - it was only her 3rd day working the front desk as part of the College Program! Unfortunately our request wasn't showing up - but she was determined to get us a room we liked.

Almost a little too determined . We must have stood at that front desk for close to 30 minutes while she went back and forth over different options. Did we want a high floor? Low floor? Close to lobby? Close to boardwalk? Daybed? No daybed? Full balcony? It was really kind - but also a bit overwhelming.

So many choices...

I kept answering her questions because I knew she was trying and I think she kept asking them because she wanted to help - but it got to the point where I think we were both overwhelmed. Finally I was just like "We'll take any room! Whatever you have available!"

With our check-in done, our CM told us to expect a "room ready" text in about 5 minutes. So we headed outside to wait.

Loved all of the little seating areas!

About 45 minutes later we still hadn't received a text, so Matt volunteered to go in and check. I think he could tell I was a little overwhelmed from our front desk experience earlier .

Matt came back and reported our room - 3040 - was ready! We had both a full balcony and a view of the quiet pool (at one point she had us in a Juliette Balcony looking at the conference center - so it was anyone's guess at that point ).

We were happy! We had a nice view and a beautiful room! Although we didn't have the lake view, we're both of the thinking that if we want a particular view, we should book that view - and anything above and beyond is just luck .

I didn't know if I would like the "hardwood floors" ... but I really did!

I love the decor!

View looking back into our room from the Balcony

The view from our room!

Matt decided to take a quick nap in the room and I headed off to explore some more of the resort. I also stopped at the YC Marketplace to pick up some early dinner (I think I grabbed 2 paninis) to have in the room. At some point in there - our bags got dropped off.

Here for all of the nautical theming and then some!

I'm assuming these used to be Pay Phones?

Beach Club looking beautiful!

I loved all of the flower arrangements!

After dinner - we decided to check out the pool for a little bit. Which was just beyond! I feel like everyone always talks about how awesome Stormalong Bay is ... but I didn't really get it until we were there. It really is so cool! In all of my excitement I didn't get any pictures that night - but it was gorgeous! It had stormed a bit that afternoon and the sun cleared out just in time...

After about an hour at the pool, around 6:30, we headed back to the room to chill out for a couple of hours/shower before heading over to MK for EMH. We thought about attempting to make it in time for Happily Ever After ... the YC beds managed to hold us hostage .

Around 8:30 we went downstairs to grab an Uber over to the Contemporary ... we ended up having to speed walk to grab it ... those YC hallways can be loooonnnggg.

The Castle in all of its nighttime glory...

My notes and photos for this night are abysmal - I do know that we rode Space Mountain, Big Thunder, and saw the Country Bear Jamboree! I know we spent most of this night just taking in the energy of MK - rather than attempting lots of rides! At some point, it started to rain again, so we decided to call it a night and head back to YC!

Goodnight MK!

Sidenote: As you've probably guessed - they never called our boarding group . Matt and I both think the ride must have gone down at some point during the day - since all the other days they were making it through Groups 115-120 (we were 98). We were a bit disappointed - but it ended up working out. We had a really magical night at MK - and that simply wouldn't have happened if our BG had been called!

Up Next: A Relaxing Morning & AK Evening​

 

[disneyAndi14]

Wow, the room assignment sounded a little overwhelming!
I’m glad you liked your room, nice view!
We were upgraded to a lake view corner room and it was so nice! I enjoyed my stay there.
I’m sorry your group didn’t get called for Rise!
MK is always a fun park in the evening and who doesn’t love the Country Bears, a nice substitute for Rise.