How Soon is Too Soon? A March '17 TR *7/6 Brunch at Cali Grill*

[JessRose]

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and WELCOME to the show. I'm proud to present this trip report, in its entirety. During this performance of How Soon is Too Soon?, we ask that you refrain from the use of flash photography or external video lighting.

Haha...just kidding.

What better way to cure the PDDBs (Post Disney Departure Blues) than to kick off the trip report, right?

I'm currently on my way back from FIVE fun-filled, magical days at the happiest place on earth. Each time I go, I find myself thinking I'll never, ever be able to top that trip - and every trip after that, I somehow manage to do it. This trip was absolutely no exception!

Even though this was my fifth trip to Disney World, I was able to pack in a brand new experience each day. While this trip was planned very last minute, I still managed to fit in Disney After Hours, Rivers of Light, brunch at California Grill, and cross many items off my Disney bucket list.

I hope you'll join along for the fun, and if you do, please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle and stand clear of the closing doors. !Por favor mantengase alejado de las puertas!

Up Next: Introductions

 

[JessRose]

Episode Links

Intro:
Episode I: Where We First Meet
Episode II: 'Twas the Night Before Disney

Arrival Day (Day 1)
Episode III: Up, Up, and Away
Episode IV: You're the Star of the Show
Episode V: Drinking Around the Monorail & Disney After Hours
Episode VI: Disney After Hours (Part 2)
Episode VII: Disney After Hours (Part 3)

Day 2
Episode VIII: Things Other Than Rope Drop at Magic Kingdom
Episode IX: Where All My Dreams Come True
Episode X: Jungle Cruisin' and Festival of Adults Behaving Badly
Episode XI: At Last I See...The Cupcakes!
Episode XII: Lapu Lapus Warm My Soul

Day 3
Episode XIII: The Kingdom of Animals (Part 1)
Episode XIV: The Kingdom of Animals (Part 2)
Episode XV: Naptime on the Savannah
Episode XVI: Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo
Episode XVII: Lunch at Tiffins for Rivers of Light
Episode XVIII: Please, Have Mercy On Me + Rivers of Light
Episode XIX: Dinner at Sanaa

Day 4
Episode XX: We're Going to Hollywood
Episode XXI: Brunch at Cali Grill

 

[JessRose]

Episode I: Where We First Meet

To all who come to this happy place, welcome. I'm Jessica - your ghost hostess with the most-est. I'll be your tour guide, navigator and Jungle Cruise skipper for the remainder of this trip report.

I'm work in insurance sales operations by day (which is more interesting than it sounds), and maker of custom Disney autograph books, Disney-inspired soy candles and Disney planning worksheets and itineraries by night, weekend and pretty much any other free minute I have.

I'm a lover of Disney's animated features, although the live action movies are starting to grow on me. I refuse to pick a favorite park, because I love them all for their own, very unique reasons.

While this was my fifth visit to Disney World, it was my first trip in THREE years! It came on the heels of what was (and what will remain) the most tumultuous year of my life. In early 2016, I was diagnosed with cancer (thankfully, in a very early stage). I'm happy to report that after 2 surgeries and 2 brief, low dose courses of chemotherapy, I am in remission and no trace of cancer remains. While it was shocking and hard to cope with at the time, I was thankful to have the support of many friends and family to help me remain positive throughout. At 29, it was certainly a wake up call that days are not in infinite supply - and that I needed to stop living for tomorrow, and start living for right now.

It was with that mindset, I decided I wanted to open my small little shop and start blogging about, what else, Disney and that is how this trip came to be. I make a good living at my day job, but Disney is certainly my passion, and something that not only inspires me, but is one thing that has managed to maintain my interest for almost 30 years now.

If you want to learn more about how this trip came to be, you can read all about it in my PTR (linked in my signature).

For those of you who don't (and I don't blame you), the Cliff's Notes version is that this was my FIRST EVER trip booked less than 180 days out, in fact, it was booked less than 90 days out. It was my first ever trip I didn't use the Deluxe Dining Plan and it was.....drum roll pretty please.....my first ever SOLO TRIP. I'm not talking first ever Solo Disney trip - I'm talking first ever solo trip anywhere (other than for work, which I consider to be an exception). That's a LOT of firsts already, but they just kept coming!

Before I jump into the nitty gritty of the actual trip report itself, I'll give you the skinny of the trip:

Who: Just Me!
When: March 2nd - 7th
Where: Disney's Pop Century Resort
With: 5 Day Magic Your Way Tickets + Disney Dining Plan

If you're brave enough to follow along, I first promise you - you will NOT be disappointed you did, and second, ask you to stop by and introduce yourself! Where are you from? When's your next trip? What do you like most about your Disney Travel Day?

Up Next: Will I survive or regret my first solo trip? Travel Day + Disney After Hours

 

[MsGlassSlipper]

Following! Looks like we were there much of the same time - I'm just starting to write my first ever trip report, though it's certainly not my first trip! To answer your questions...I live near Washington DC, no trip currently planned, and Magical Express

 

[andera42]

Following along. I'm from MN my next trip is planned for October. My favorite part of the travel day is Magic Express and going to Disney Springs. Although, that area is all new since I last visited.

 

[JessRose]

Following! Looks like we were there much of the same time - I'm just starting to write my first ever trip report, though it's certainly not my first trip! To answer your questions...I live near Washington DC, no trip currently planned, and Magical Express

Thanks for joining! Yay!! for trip report writing!

Following along. I'm from MN my next trip is planned for October. My favorite part of the travel day is Magic Express and going to Disney Springs. Although, that area is all new since I last visited.

Welcome! Disney Springs was also brand new for me on this trip. I wish I would have planned more time to spend there, but this trip was all go go go! Usually that is how we spend our first day.

 

[Reflections of Earth]

I'm happy to report that after 2 surgeries and 2 brief, low dose courses of chemotherapy, I am in remission and no trace of cancer remains.

First off, congratulations!! I'm following along as well. I'm from New Jersey and my next trip is planned for the end of May. I do not do much on travel day; usually just settle in and walk around the resort!

 

[JessRose]

First off, congratulations!! I'm following along as well. I'm from New Jersey and my next trip is planned for the end of May. I do not do much on travel day; usually just settle in and walk around the resort!

Thank you, and thanks for joining along. I'm SO jealous that you're going the end of May because Pandora is finally opening. I'm desperately trying to make a trip happen then, even if it is just for Memorial Day weekend and I know it will be PACKED!

 

[JessRose]

Episode II: 'Twas the Night Before Disney

This trip was full of SO many firsts for me, some big and some small. This was the first time I took a trip to Disney and flew out of my home airport. It was rather luxurious. Given that this was a solo trip, I didn't want to drive to Milwaukee (about 2 hours away) or Chicago (about 3.5 hours away) by myself. This ended up being one of the BEST decisions I made for my trip.

The day before my trip, we got about 6 inches of snow throughout the day. It was the awful, heavy wet kind and I am SO thankful I didn't need to brave going out in that at all, let alone myself. I worked a half day at work, and then took care of super important last minute vacation items: getting a manicure/pedicure and stopping at Target to buy unnecessary items.

I tried to avoid listening to the weather or watching the news, because I knew the more I watched, the more I would worry about whether or not my flight would get cancelled or delayed. I only had an hour and a half layover in Detroit, which didn't leave much room for error.

Thankfully, I had neglected packing until the very last minute, which occupied most of my night. I also wanted to make sure I got my Beauty and the Beast candles listed on Etsy for pre-order before I left, which took longer than planned. Before I knew it, it was after midnight, and I had a 4 am wake up call.

With bags packed, it was time to head off to bed. Unfortunately, the excitement of Disney was keeping me wide awake, and I felt like I had just fallen asleep when I woke up to a chorus of alarms at 4 AM.

Up Next: Will my flight make it out of the snowy wilderness? Will I miss Disney After Hours? And, a special Guest Star!

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Oooh, count me in!

I'm happy to report that after 2 surgeries and 2 brief, low dose courses of chemotherapy, I am in remission and no trace of cancer remains.

How wonderful! And what better place to celebrate than WDW

Where are you from? When's your next trip? What do you like most about your Disney Travel Day?

I'm originally from California but we live in Madison, WI now. My next trip is in 192 days, but who's counting?! I'm going with my 8-year-old son...just us two!

We drive from WI so our arrival day depends a lot on what time we arrive. Last October we checked into the Beach Club, hit Stormalong Bay, then went to Epcot for a couple of rides, some F&W Festival snacks, then had dinner on the Boardwalk. This upcoming trip my son and I are checking into AKL-Jambo for just our first night (before moving to WL) so we are going to RELAX, hit the pool, and go to Sanaa for dinner! Looking forward to just enjoying the resort and being at our happy place

Looking forward to your report!

 

[JessRose]

Episode III: Up, Up, and Away

Like most travel day posts, this one is a little photo light until I actually got to Florida.

My flight was scheduled to depart the Green Bay airport at 6:30, with the boarding process beginning at 5:50. We left the house at 5:00, right on schedule and were greeted by some fairly icy roads. Lucky for me, my partner in crime, Eric, as in charge of delivering precious cargo (me) to the airport and is an expert winter weather driver - I, on the other hand, am not. I arrived at the airport at 5:20, and had checked my bag and made it through security by 5:26. Man, do I love Green Bay. We were off to a good start.

The boarding process was easy, and after a quick break to de-ice the plane, we took off about 5 minutes later than planned, but were still scheduled to arrive in DTW 15 minutes early.

When I landed in Detroit, I was FAMISHED, and knew there was no way I could wait for Disney food. I went to Plum Market (highly recommend if you're ever in DTW. If you have more time, check out the breakfast burrito at Long Horn Steakhouse. To. Die. For). Anyway, I ordered a breakfast burrito and called the nights special guest star to let them know all systems were a go. Not 30 seconds after I hung up the phone, did I get a text that my flight was delayed about an hour. Well...no big deal, and the good news was that the incoming plane was already IN the air, and the weather in Detroit was clear. I decided to take advantage of the great tables/charging ports at Plum Market and finish my much neglected pre-trip report with my Day 4 plans. I never got to Day 5 unfortunately. By the time I finished my update, it was time to go find my gate. By the time I arrived, the incoming aircraft had landed and passengers were deplaning. It was almost go time!!

I boarded with Zone 1 (I have lowly Silver status with Delta, and declined an 'upgrade' to a middle seat in Comfort+) for this little beauty...

My favorite seat on the plane is by far the Exit Row seat with no seat in front of it. As a side note, I was SUPER excited to be traveling for fun vs. work, because it meant I got to wear stretchy pants to the airport instead of business dress. The only bummer about this seat, is unless you have a REALLY long cord on your headphones, you can't take advantage of the in-seat entertainment. I planned ahead, and downloaded Moana for the flight. I didn't get a chance to see it in theaters. It was really hard to wait until my flight to watch it, but I LOVED it. What a beautiful movie.

About an hour and a half into my flight, something exceptionally rare happened, and I took. a. nap! I can NEVER sleep on airplanes, so this was GREAT! Maybe, it was the stretchy pants.

When I landed in Florida, I made the mad dash to the Fake-o-Rail...

And then made my way over to Side B...

Down the escalator and then the elevator to Level 1 where I followed the signs to Magical Express...

I tapped my MagicKeeper...

And was directed to Line Number 7 for Pop Century.

It was less than a 5 minute wait before I was climbing aboard...

Once on board, I let my guest star know I was on my way and they informed me they were already headed to the hotel. In hindsight, it would have worked better for them to pick me up from the airport, however, this was planned pretty last minute. It worked out fine in the end.

In what felt like no time at all, I was passing under this gorgeous sight...

Not a good picture, I know. I promise, they only get better from here.

While I was on the bus, I got a special text message:

(Ignore the timestamp, as I just uploaded it tonight).

I had already done online check-in about 30 days out, and two days before I arrived received an email that said I was eligible to receive my room assignment via text message on the day arrival and could entirely bypass the front desk. This worked great! So well, in fact, I never even went to the front desk until the last day of my trip when I paid my shopping tab with Disney gift cards.

Once we arrived at the resort (we were the second stop after Art of Animation), I headed towards my room, where my special guest was already waiting!

Up Next: Who is my special guest? Trader Sam's Grog Grotto. Drinks Around the Seven Seas Lagoon and Disney After Hours.

 

[JessRose]

Oooh, count me in!



How wonderful! And what better place to celebrate than WDW



I'm originally from California but we live in Madison, WI now. My next trip is in 192 days, but who's counting?! I'm going with my 8-year-old son...just us two!

We drive from WI so our arrival day depends a lot on what time we arrive. Last October we checked into the Beach Club, hit Stormalong Bay, then went to Epcot for a couple of rides, some F&W Festival snacks, then had dinner on the Boardwalk. This upcoming trip my son and I are checking into AKL-Jambo for just our first night (before moving to WL) so we are going to RELAX, hit the pool, and go to Sanaa for dinner! Looking forward to just enjoying the resort and being at our happy place

Looking forward to your report!

How awesome! I live in Green Bay now! You're close to your ADR date, so that's exciting!

I have never been to F&W, but it's on my Disney bucket list! And I did check out Sanaa for the second time on this trip. Stay tuned to see how that worked out...

 

[JessRose]

Episode IV: You're the Star of the Show!

While I had planned this as a solo trip, I was REALLY excited when my friend Emily, who lives in Savannah, GA was able to come over for the night to attend Disney After Hours with me. While I was SUPER glad to have some company, *SPOILER ALERT*, I was thankful this was a solo trip. I spent a lot of time taking pictures with my brand new DSLR (a Christmas gift) and that takes time away from doing things like riding rides and seeing shows. But, since Disney After Hours was all about rides, I was thankful to have Emily because it eliminated the awkward 'I'm here by myself on this ride' vibe and helped me sort of ease into things on my own.

The backstory with Emily and I is really long/complicated, but basically, she dated my uncle years ago when he was stationed in Savannah. My uncle and I are the same age, so he was always more like a brother to me. Ever since then, Emily and I have stayed in touch and she's part of our family, always.

Anyway, here's the two of us later that night. Spoiler alert, I think this may be one of two known photos of me on this trip (I am not a selfie taker, mostly because I don't know how to take cute selfies). I'll have to finish going through my photos later!

I took the opportunity to drop my carry-on bag off in the room and Em gave me a lift to the Car Care Center where I picked up my rental for the trip. I rented from the Car Care Center because I REALLY wanted to take Magical Express, because it just gets me in the Disney spirit right away, and Florida drivers be crazy. Considering the line at National was about 50 people deep, this too was a very good decision. Even though the Car Care Center is about as un-Disney as you can get and you do not have the luxury of picking your car like you do at other airport locations.

I reserved a small size SUV and was given a black Jeep Patriot. It was nice.

Emily then followed me back to the hotel, where she dropped off her car and we rode together to our first destination of the trip, another first for me, Trader Sam's Grog Grotto! At this point, it was about 3:30, and we were making excellent time considering I didn't land in Florida until 2:00. We arrived at the Poly just after 4:00.

Here's more about our time at Trader Sam's (including some great food porn) from my Dining Review.

One of the dining experiences I was most looking forward to on this trip was Trader Sam's. I haven't been to Disney in 3 years, meaning this gem was still under construction on my last visit. I was absolutely FAMISHED from my travel day, and couldn't wait for us to get to Trader Sam's. We arrived just after 4 PM, and the place was already completely packed. We were lucky to snag 1 seat and some standing room at the bar. Everywhere else was already full. We were able to snag a spot at the island table before our food came.

Let me start by saying, if you're unfamiliar with this location and you're looking for a quiet or romantic place to grab a drink...this is not it. However, we loved the atmosphere here and had a blast. I wish we could have stayed longer!

The bar menu is primarily composed of rum, rum or rum. I was really looking forward to bringing home a souvenir Tiki Glass, but was disappointed to find out you couldn't order a specific drink (I wanted the punch) and request a different glass (I didn't want the Tiki Mug it came in). No worries, I decided to save the Tiki Glass for another trip, and both Emily and I ordered the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum - Pyrat XO Reserve Rum, Cream of Coconut, and pineapple and orange juices dusted with cinnamon and nutmeg $12.00

It was prepared by our excellent bartender, Ohnalee (which I'm 84% sure I'm spelling incorrectly).

We perused the menu, and decided to get a few dishes to share.

We started off with Pan-Fried Dumplings - with soy-sesame dipping sauce $8.49

These were fine. It's pretty hard to mess up a dumpling, and it's also pretty hard to make them 'wow' worthy. No complaints here, and we really liked the shredded carrots they were served over to add a little crunch to the dish.

Next up...Kahlua Pork Tacos - with cabbage and pickled vegetables $9.99

These were O.M.Good! I just realized looking at the picture now they were served with lime wedges, but they certainly didn't need them. I'm sure that would have made them even better though. The pork was delicious and the slaw and sweet/spicy mayo were amazing. These were awesome and neither of us would hesitate to order them again!

However, the real star of the show was...Headhunter Sushi Roll $14.99

The menu did not give any details, so we had to ask. It's a spicy tuna roll made with beet rice (which is basically rice cooked with beet juice) and tuna and salmon on the outside. It was served with a hibiscus soy and traditional wasabi/ginger.

Not only was this roll BEAUTIFUL,

But it was incredibly delicious. The fish was the freshest I've had, second only to that at California Grill. Ohnalee informed us the soy was on the sweeter side and to try it before going crazy with it. This is one of the few sushi rolls in my life I've eaten that didn't need any soy or wasabi to be considers incredible, but the sauce really enhanced and balanced it out. I could have eaten several of these! I was really unsure about the beet rice, but it was DELICIOUS. Even if you don't like beets themselves, you'll still like this!

Overall, we really enjoyed this and it was a great way to kick off the trip. I already can't wait to go back!

We finished up at Trader Sam's around 5:30. We couldn't check in for our event until 7, so we decided to do drink around the Monorail to pass away the time!

Up Next: Drinks at Mizner's and at the Contemporary Resort

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

How awesome! I live in Green Bay now! You're close to your ADR date, so that's exciting!

I have never been to F&W, but it's on my Disney bucket list! And I did check out Sanaa for the second time on this trip. Stay tuned to see how that worked out...

Well we're practically neighbors! Yes, getting all geared up for our ADRs...just finalized my list today

F&W is so much fun. We weren't really clued in during our October 2014 trip, but we were ready this past October! We hit quite a few booths. Reviews are in my dining report (linked in my signature) if you want to check it out!

I hope Sanaa was a win for you...can't wait to read about it

 

[Reflections of Earth]

I rented from the Car Care Center because I REALLY wanted to take Magical Express, because it just gets me in the Disney spirit right away, and Florida drivers be crazy.

Renting a car is great to do things within your own timeframe. Your trip is already off to a great start, can't wait to read more!

 

[mistyinca]

Following along! Congrats on being in remission!!! That is wonderful news!!

 

[GoonieBride]

awesome report so far!!

 

[Raeven]

Following along here and on your dining report! My name is Raeven, and I'm from NY. I have an AP this year and usually go with my boyfriend, Josh. My next trip is coming up in May! It'll be the first time at Flower and Garden! My ptr for it is in my signature.

After hours looks so cool, I hope they bring it back so we get the chance to go someday. We loved Trader Sams when we went in Dec too!

 

[balty74]

We were there the same time! Can't wait to follow along and see if we did any of the same things
It will be fun to relive our trip as you post yours I've never done a Trip Report before - I think I'm too random with my photo taking and I definitely don't take enough food photos But this really makes me want to try!

 

[Disneyhayes]

Joining in m! And per your request...my name is Katharine. I live in Hilliard, OH which is a suburb of Columbus. Our next trip starts 5/27! We have done both flying and driving to Disney. When we fly, my favorite part is the video on ME. When we drive, it's the anticipation my kids have while watching all their Disney movies in the car. One of my bucket list items is to do a solo trip to Disney!