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- Joined
- Oct 25, 2013
- Messages
- 5,265
Hey hey friends! Just flew back in to EWR from MCO. I made the last minute decision to visit WDW for a short little solo trip over the holiday weekend, as my family had points that were about to expire and I had the opportunity to attend a DVC preview of Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, which was so much fun! I was there from 09/03-09/06.
Friday 09/03: I had a 6:00 AM flight from Newark Liberty Airport on Friday, 09/03. I got to the airport at 4:00 and it was pretty busy. It took me 45 minutes to get through to my gate, so I'm glad I got there early. I flew into MCO on JetBlue. I love JetBlue for flying into Orlando! I've flown between NJ and Orlando with JetBlue and American Airlines before and I definitely recommend JetBlue over American. It's just a more pleasant overall experience with JetBlue-- seats have more legroom, rates were better, and the boarding process went smoother. We ended up grounded for 45 minutes on the flight to Orlando (they were waiting on the fueler, they were understaffed that morning), but we still somehow got to MCO on time! It was a very pleasant flight-- I was too excited to sleep, but I watched Coco (and part of Scoob), and had a cup of coffee.
This was my first time flying since COVID-19 started and I didn't feel unsafe on either flight.
Magical Express came promptly!
My home-away-from home this trip was Old Key West, where I stayed at a Deluxe Studio (building 18, right by the Miller's Road bus stop). This was my first time at OKW and I probably will not be back. I liked that it was a quiet resort, but it is FAR too big and I hated having to rely on a a bus to get me to and from the only dining/shopping options at the resort. My Studio was fine-- the bed was the BEST BED I have ever slept on in Disney property! So comfy, I slept like a baby every night!
I dropped my bags off with bell services and got on a bus to Disney Springs. I was starving, so my first stop of the day was Everglazed.
Cinnamon Toast Crunch donut with a Salted Caramel cold brew... this donut was SO! DARN! GOOD! I am dreaming about that luscious cream cheese icing in the center of this donut. This got inhaled after a looooong morning with no food (except for a bag of pretzels at the airport). The cold brew was fine-- I prefer a nice iced latte to cold brew, but I was just happy to have deliciously sweet caffeine running through my system to alleviate a headache that was coming on from a lack of sleep.
From there, I walked around Springs a little bit-- did some window shopping, tried a ganache square for the first time (it was good), bought some small souvenirs for the family at World of Disney. Noon came around and Disney texted me that my room still wasn't ready yet, and a storm was about to roll in, so I decided to see a movie at AMC Springs. I was the only person at the 12:20 showing of "Respect," which was cool because I've never had a movie theatre to myself before. That ended, and I went off to get a drink and some lunch.
I got two alcoholic beverages this trip, one of them being the Sweet Tea Shine from the Homecomin' bar:
A) How cute is this squeeze bottle? B) This was incredible, one of my favorite alcoholic drinks on property! A sweet tea with moonshine. Super yummy and refreshing on a hot afternoon.
For lunch, I went to the Morimoto walk-up window and got an order of the spare ribs. They were very good!
Disney had texted me that my room was ready by that point, so I made one last stop before I headed back... Gideon's had no virtual queue and the line was only 10 minutes long! Gideon's Bake Shop is the one place I have to stop at every time I visit Springs. I inhale the incredible aroma of the store, I tell every CM that I love them, I get something sweet to save for dessert at my room later. I got a slice of Peanut Butter & Banana Cake this time.
Back in July, I had the Red Velvet cake and deemed it my favorite dessert on property. This Peanut Butter & Banana cake has trumped the Gideon's Red Velvet. Friends, if this cake is available while you're at Springs... YOU MUST have a slice. It is so delicious it is stupid. It should be outlawed. The thick peanut butter and banana icing was the best thing I have ever eaten in my life, period.
Anyway, I got my cake, I went back to my room, and took a FAT nap. I slept for about two hours on that glorious bed before it was time for me to get ready for dinner. My best friend, Jess, is currently on her DCP and we had a dinner reservation at Olivia's! This was my first time at Olivia's after having heard many good things about it.
Jess and I both got the Southernmost Buttermilk Chicken.
This was good. It didn't have the delicious thick, crunchy breading of Homecomin's fried chicken, BUT it was far better than the frozen, grocery-store quality fried chicken of other restaurants at Walt Disney World. I give it a 6/10.
Jess and I went back to my studio to watch TV and catch up for a little while, then she went home and I got a good night of sleep.
I wanted to do this post all in one shot, but now that I'm done with update #1, I fear that the post would be obnoxiously long if I did all three days at once, so I'll update with days two, three, and flying home soon!
Friday 09/03: I had a 6:00 AM flight from Newark Liberty Airport on Friday, 09/03. I got to the airport at 4:00 and it was pretty busy. It took me 45 minutes to get through to my gate, so I'm glad I got there early. I flew into MCO on JetBlue. I love JetBlue for flying into Orlando! I've flown between NJ and Orlando with JetBlue and American Airlines before and I definitely recommend JetBlue over American. It's just a more pleasant overall experience with JetBlue-- seats have more legroom, rates were better, and the boarding process went smoother. We ended up grounded for 45 minutes on the flight to Orlando (they were waiting on the fueler, they were understaffed that morning), but we still somehow got to MCO on time! It was a very pleasant flight-- I was too excited to sleep, but I watched Coco (and part of Scoob), and had a cup of coffee.
This was my first time flying since COVID-19 started and I didn't feel unsafe on either flight.
Magical Express came promptly!
My home-away-from home this trip was Old Key West, where I stayed at a Deluxe Studio (building 18, right by the Miller's Road bus stop). This was my first time at OKW and I probably will not be back. I liked that it was a quiet resort, but it is FAR too big and I hated having to rely on a a bus to get me to and from the only dining/shopping options at the resort. My Studio was fine-- the bed was the BEST BED I have ever slept on in Disney property! So comfy, I slept like a baby every night!
I dropped my bags off with bell services and got on a bus to Disney Springs. I was starving, so my first stop of the day was Everglazed.
Cinnamon Toast Crunch donut with a Salted Caramel cold brew... this donut was SO! DARN! GOOD! I am dreaming about that luscious cream cheese icing in the center of this donut. This got inhaled after a looooong morning with no food (except for a bag of pretzels at the airport). The cold brew was fine-- I prefer a nice iced latte to cold brew, but I was just happy to have deliciously sweet caffeine running through my system to alleviate a headache that was coming on from a lack of sleep.
From there, I walked around Springs a little bit-- did some window shopping, tried a ganache square for the first time (it was good), bought some small souvenirs for the family at World of Disney. Noon came around and Disney texted me that my room still wasn't ready yet, and a storm was about to roll in, so I decided to see a movie at AMC Springs. I was the only person at the 12:20 showing of "Respect," which was cool because I've never had a movie theatre to myself before. That ended, and I went off to get a drink and some lunch.
I got two alcoholic beverages this trip, one of them being the Sweet Tea Shine from the Homecomin' bar:
A) How cute is this squeeze bottle? B) This was incredible, one of my favorite alcoholic drinks on property! A sweet tea with moonshine. Super yummy and refreshing on a hot afternoon.
For lunch, I went to the Morimoto walk-up window and got an order of the spare ribs. They were very good!
Disney had texted me that my room was ready by that point, so I made one last stop before I headed back... Gideon's had no virtual queue and the line was only 10 minutes long! Gideon's Bake Shop is the one place I have to stop at every time I visit Springs. I inhale the incredible aroma of the store, I tell every CM that I love them, I get something sweet to save for dessert at my room later. I got a slice of Peanut Butter & Banana Cake this time.
Back in July, I had the Red Velvet cake and deemed it my favorite dessert on property. This Peanut Butter & Banana cake has trumped the Gideon's Red Velvet. Friends, if this cake is available while you're at Springs... YOU MUST have a slice. It is so delicious it is stupid. It should be outlawed. The thick peanut butter and banana icing was the best thing I have ever eaten in my life, period.
Anyway, I got my cake, I went back to my room, and took a FAT nap. I slept for about two hours on that glorious bed before it was time for me to get ready for dinner. My best friend, Jess, is currently on her DCP and we had a dinner reservation at Olivia's! This was my first time at Olivia's after having heard many good things about it.
Jess and I both got the Southernmost Buttermilk Chicken.
This was good. It didn't have the delicious thick, crunchy breading of Homecomin's fried chicken, BUT it was far better than the frozen, grocery-store quality fried chicken of other restaurants at Walt Disney World. I give it a 6/10.
Jess and I went back to my studio to watch TV and catch up for a little while, then she went home and I got a good night of sleep.
I wanted to do this post all in one shot, but now that I'm done with update #1, I fear that the post would be obnoxiously long if I did all three days at once, so I'll update with days two, three, and flying home soon!
