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

[evafett]

Following along! I'm from Pennsylvania, and I'm planning my next trip for sometime in the fall of 2019. My DH has never been to Disney World, and I can't wait to show him around! Until then, I'm enjoying reading trip reports! My favorite part of travel day is just getting out the front door and being in vacation mode!

 

[JessRose]

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

*SPOILER ALERT* it was a win for me. It's one of my favorite restaurants on property, and I've dined at most of them.

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!

Absolutely! I don't know of any reason why we would not get a rental going forward. When it comes to buses, I turn into a petulant child at the end of the night. I always "feel" like buses for every other resort but my own keep coming and our line is the longest, etc. At least with the rental car, you're always moving!

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

Thank you! And thanks for joining in!

awesome report so far!!

Thanks! Appreciate you stopping by!

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!

I'm jealous you get to go in May. Will you be there for Pandora? I will make sure to make some time to check out your PTR!

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!

I love trip report writing, but am not great at taking pictures either. The Magical Express photos were actually taken the day of my return trip, because I REALLY wanted to write a blog post for first-timers on how to use the Magical Express, but got wrapped up in the Disney stuff immediately and as such, neglected picture taking entirely.

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!

How exciting! I'm desperately trying to make a trip over Memorial Day happen so we can see Pandora. If I'm successful, that means I will be there the 26th-29th. Maybe we'll run into each other!

 

[JessRose]

Following along! I'm from Pennsylvania, and I'm planning my next trip for sometime in the fall of 2019. My DH has never been to Disney World, and I can't wait to show him around! Until then, I'm enjoying reading trip reports! My favorite part of travel day is just getting out the front door and being in vacation mode!

That's great! I don't want to give away too many spoilers, but my boyfriend will be coming along on at least 1 trip with me this year, and it will be his first time to experience Disney anything! Once I get further into my trip report, I'll start up another PTR for my remaining trips this year.

 

[Raeven]

I'm jealous you get to go in May. Will you be there for Pandora? I will make sure to make some time to check out your PTR!

No but we might be there during the soft opening. I'm not too upset though because we'll be back in Sep and see it then.

 

[AlliGirl]

That sushi roll from Trader Sam's looks and sounds awesome! I definitely want to try it when we're there next week, in fact one week from today is our resort hopping day, woo!

 

[JessRose]

No but we might be there during the soft opening. I'm not too upset though because we'll be back in Sep and see it then.

That's great! Hopefully you get in for the soft opening and its not insanely busy!

That sushi roll from Trader Sam's looks and sounds awesome! I definitely want to try it when we're there next week, in fact one week from today is our resort hopping day, woo!

It was definitely amazing! Already can't wait to go back and have it again!

 

[JessRose]

Episode V: Drinking Around the Monorail & Disney After Hours

After wrapping things up at Trader Sam's, we headed out to the monorail platform and only had to wait about 5 minutes before our chariot arrived...

We made our way to the Grand Floridian (my dream resort to stay at). The lobby is just magical and really transports you to a magical place. This night was no exception.

While the lobby itself is impressive on it's own,

We were pleased to find out there was a little orchestra playing classic Disney songs just outside of Mizner's lounge, which is where we were headed!

I have no idea if this is a nightly occurrence (I sure hope it is!) or if it was a just a random stroke of magic, but we really really enjoyed this!

We found a seat in the lounge at a table for two. Emily ordered a cosmopolitan and I ordered a margarita. Both were properly made and very strong. We were absolutely stuffed from Trader Sam's, so didn't partake in the snack mix but it looked tasty.

Next up, we made our way over to the Contemporary. We got a bit delayed on the monorail, so were running short on time by the time we arrived. We made our way over to the lounge (I cannot remember the name of it for the life of me, but it was directly to the left of Chef Mickey's.

We jokingly asked our bartender, who was VERY tall, if we could make our drinks roadies, and to our surprise, he said we could. I could not resist ordering the Schofferhoffer grapefruit beer (which tastes SO much better in Florida than it does at home) and I'm grateful I did since I didn't get a chance to order it the rest of my trip.

Emily decided to go with a Jack & Coke.

We made our way back to the monorail station, and we were off to a night of pixie dust at the Magic Kingdom!

Just hanging out, drinking on the monorail...

By the time we arrived at the Magic Kingdom, we were met by the crowds of people pouring into the park for Wishes. I was really excited to try out my new camera for the first time!

At the center of the turn-styles, there was a special event check in. When I purchased my ticket, I was mailed a plastic ticket, which I neglected to link to my MagicBand. Thankfully, it worked and we were handed hard passes for the event.

Crowds were starting to form for the fireworks, so we decided to find a decent-ish spot towards the hub while we formulated a game plan for after hours. We decided to head towards the left-hand side of the park and work our way around. I still didn't know how to use all the bells and whistles on my new camera, and neglected to do much research before I left on my trip (a mistake on my part for sure). This camera does not have a fireworks setting, and I didn't know enough about aperture, shutter speed, etc. to know what settings would work best for fireworks. Immediately upon my return home, I signed up for a photography class at my local camera shop and ordered a camera tripod.

So, here I present my extremely amateur photos of Wishes...

At this point, I knew I didn't have the right settings on my camera, so gave up trying to take pictures and just enjoyed watching the show. I knew it would be one of my very last times getting to watch Wishes. Because it was very windy that night, Tinker Bell did not fly, which made me pretty sad!

We still had 45 minutes before our event 'officially' started, but decided we to make a go for...

We were pleased to find it was almost completely empty. Apparently all of the crowds decided to bail after the fireworks.

When we arrived at the Jungle Cruise, it was listed at a 5 minute wait, but was a walk-on.

I had never gone on the Jungle Cruise after dark! I liked it a lot, but didn't manage to get any cool pictures on the ride itself.

Next up was the Pirates of the Caribbean. It was listed at a 5 minute wait as well...

But, as you can see, it was incredibly busy!

This was the first time using my camera on a dark ride. While I only managed to get a few decent shots (with practice I know I'll get better), I was amazed at the quality of pictures I could get not using a flash! The camera definitely made it easy.

After pirates, we were off to...

Where we made without a doubt, the dumbest decision of the trip!

Up Next: More Disney After Hours!

 

[GoonieBride]

When I was a CP, My buddies and I would drink on the monorail too! HAHA

 

[MeghanEmily]

Following! Go you for taking a solo trip at a time when you probably needed it most. Sounds like so much fun! I'm excited to see how the rest of your night went with After Hours.

 

[JessRose]

When I was a CP, My buddies and I would drink on the monorail too! HAHA

That's awesome! Next time, I think we'll take advantage of the small plates at each location too instead of loading up at Trader Sam's. It was a very impromptu decision, but I'm really glad we did it.

Following! Go you for taking a solo trip at a time when you probably needed it most. Sounds like so much fun! I'm excited to see how the rest of your night went with After Hours.

It was a really great trip, and being 'solo' wasn't as weird as I had pictured it to be in my mind. I'm sure people were probably thinking "What a weirdo, here by herself." but after the first day I mostly just didn't care.

 

[JessRose]

Episode VI: Disney After Hours (Part 2)

So now we come to the point of the trip where we made absolutely the dumbest decision of my entire 6 days...this mountain beckoned us...

I knew better. We both knew better. But, still, we could not resist the urge to take a trip to the laughing place, where I was able to capture some good photos.

And then...it happened. Despite being in the back of the boat...we. got. soaked. Torrentially, soaked. I'm talking we could have wrung our clothes out when we were done. And it was an already chilly and extremely windy night. Talk about unpleasant. Still, we pressed on.

Next up, we were headed towards this gorgeous site...

There was absolutely no one in the queue at all...

By the time we got into the stretching room, there were maybe 10 other people behind us. The ride was great, and it was one of the very few times I was able to ride without it breaking down. Things got a little creepy in the end, when you go through the hall with mirrors at the end and ghosts join you in the doom buggy, one of them was holding a sign that something about Wisconsin (where I'm from). It was a little creepy, but after about 5 minutes of conversation about it, we had convinced ourselves it was just a coincidence.

At this point, it was time for a pit stop. What better place to do this than the Tangled Restrooms?

Next up, we headed for it's a small world. I have the very real, very rational fear of being trapped on this ride.

The Polynesian room is always my favorite, and was extra important to me this year. To celebrate turning 30 in September, my partner and crime and I are headed to Hawaii for 9 nights. If I must turn 30, I must do so slightly drunk, on a beach somewhere.

When we finally made it to the end...

You could see that the little sign was saying good bye to me, Jessica. It was then that it occurred to me that this must have something to do with the RFID technology in the new magic bands.

Next up, we made our way across the way to...

It was a walk on.

Next up, we went to Philharmagic, one of my absolute favorites. I'm even making a candle themed after the ride.

Again...super busy.

At this point, it was not quite 10 PM. We were making excellent time!

Up Next...Another first for me and wrapping up Disney After Hours

 

[mousetravel]

Hi, I'm joining in! I'm from SC. Not sure when my next trip is, as me and my daughter had our last Disney trips last year in March and August. We always take trips by ourselves but I would love to do a solo trip sometime!

 

[quandrea]

Loving your report. I have to take a solo trip some day. Maybe when the kids are grown!

 

[Reflections of Earth]

I do not think I have ever witnessed Peter Pan being a walk on! My last trip was in December (Christmas week) and the wait time was posted at over 300 minutes at least two different days! Aside from being soaked on Splash Mountain, glad that your first night is going smoothly so far.

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Following along and loving your TR so far!

 

[Raeven]

At this point, it was time for a pit stop. What better place to do this than the Tangled Restrooms?

So true

Next up, we headed for it's a small world. I have the very real, very rational fear of being trapped on this ride.

I do too! We actually did get stuck for awhile in Sep after my boyfriend convinced me we should just take a ride on it to get out of the rain. I haven't gone on it again since

I'd love to do afterhours if they bring it back in the future. It sounds awesome, but we've never been while they're running it and I couldn't convince my boyfriend to do a last minute trip to go to one of the earlier ones this year

 

[Disneyhayes]

We were considering after hours after hearing about how empty the park is. I also can't wait to try that grapefruit beer! It's on all the reviews!

 

[JessRose]

So true



I do too! We actually did get stuck for awhile in Sep after my boyfriend convinced me we should just take a ride on it to get out of the rain. I haven't gone on it again since

I'd love to do afterhours if they bring it back in the future. It sounds awesome, but we've never been while they're running it and I couldn't convince my boyfriend to do a last minute trip to go to one of the earlier ones this year

I do think they'll bring it back. While it did not sell out the night we were there, it was a good amount of people that attended. I think they'll keep this around when they don't have other events like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party or the Christmas Party!

We were considering after hours after hearing about how empty the park is. I also can't wait to try that grapefruit beer! It's on all the reviews!

I screamed out loud (at an inappropriate decibel) when I first found this beer at home. It tastes much better in Florida though. If you're going during Flower & Garden, it's sister beer (Zitrone) is at the Germany kiosk. While I didn't find it to be as good, it was still excellent!

 

[JessRose]

Hi, I'm joining in! I'm from SC. Not sure when my next trip is, as me and my daughter had our last Disney trips last year in March and August. We always take trips by ourselves but I would love to do a solo trip sometime!

Mother/daughter trips sound awesome! I'd love to do that someday. Thanks for joining in!

Loving your report. I have to take a solo trip some day. Maybe when the kids are grown!

Definitely do it! It was great.

I do not think I have ever witnessed Peter Pan being a walk on! My last trip was in December (Christmas week) and the wait time was posted at over 300 minutes at least two different days! Aside from being soaked on Splash Mountain, glad that your first night is going smoothly so far.

300 minutes?!?! That is insane. I will consider our Disney After Hours a success for the sole reason we did not wait 300 minutes. Although, the next morning, the wait was at 85 minutes!

Following along and loving your TR so far!

Thank you! I appreciate you stopping by!

 

[Raeven]

I do think they'll bring it back. While it did not sell out the night we were there, it was a good amount of people that attended. I think they'll keep this around when they don't have other events like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party or the Christmas Party!

Aw yeah they wont do it during the parties and that's usually when we go maybe next year!