Sunshine, food and fun...a perfect March Break adventure! A March '22 trip report! Back from PEI 08/09

[suse66]

Welcome to a magical March break adventure!

Hi everyone and welcome to friends old and new! I'm Susan, an avid lover of all things Disney. This is my 12th trip to Disney including family trips, couples trips and solo trips. When I am forced to be away from my happy place, I am a kindergarten educator, mom of three awesome young men, on demand staff to two very cute cats and collector of fun Disney things! I was joined on this trip by my lovely husband of almost 23 years. We had the best time and I am so excited to share our adventures with all of you.

Waking up on the day of your Disney trip is the best feeling ever! I actually managed to sleep a bit the night before which was unusual for me. I checked my countdown app and it was so exciting to see 0.


Since they haven't invented a way to teleport to Disney yet, we had to make our way there by more conventional means. We decided to travel out of Toronto's Billy Bishop airport which was way less stressful that travelling from Pearson. We were getting major weather alerts for Orlando, including a tornado warning! Yikes! We were beginning to feel grateful that we had a later flight as we were hearing reports of cancelled flights. We had a lovely uneventful flight to Montreal where we had to clear customs. Luckily customs was not busy at all and we zipped through easily. This left us with an almost 5 hour layover! The things you do to save money on flights!

Luckily we found a great airport restaurant called Houston's and settled in for a leisurely lunch. First up was a beverage with both of us going for a Belgian Moon.


I went for the California Chicken salad served with avocado, almonds, fresh greens and crispy chicken with a spicy sambal sauce, I always like to go for a big salad before heading to Disney because you know I won't be eating so many of them when we are there!

Our flight was about 1/2 hr late leaving but we were just thankful our delay wasn't longer. We were soon settled in and masked up for our flight. You can see from my eyes I am beaming with excitement!

Luckily we were staying at Hyatt Regency that night as it was almost 10:40 by the time we got our bags off the plane. We were really pleased with our room and managed to get it for $309/night. We went to check it out and drop our bags before grabbing a bite to eat.




Luckily we hit the lobby bar just before last call and were able to grab a glass of wine and some soup before heading up to bed.

We wanted to be up bright and early to check into Saratoga and begin our Disney adventures!

​

 

[disneyAndi14]

I’m here joining in. I’m excited to hear about all the lounges you visited and all your other adventures!
It looks like a okay travel day, not to stressful and a chance to check out the airport hotel!
I think I am first yay

 

[rdkeim]

Following Enjoy your TR's!

 

[suse66]

I’m here joining in. I’m excited to hear about all the lounges you visited and all your other adventures!
It looks like a okay travel day, not to stressful and a chance to check out the airport hotel!
I think I am first yay

You are first, Caroline! So glad to have you joining in! It was a great travel day, well as far as travel days go.

Following Enjoy your TR's!

Thanks so much for joining in! I am glad to have you here!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I am hear!!! I can't wait to hear all the details of the trip!

First up was a beverage with both of us going for a Belgian Moon.

Glad you were able to find a beer to kill time with, at least!

Sounds like a fairly easy travel day.

 

[pkondz]

Hi everyone and welcome to friends old and new!

on demand staff to two very cute cats

One does not own cats.

I actually managed to sleep a bit the night before which was unusual for me.

Impressive!

Since they haven't invented a way to teleport to Disney yet, we had to make our way there by more conventional means.

We were getting major weather alerts for Orlando, including a tornado warning! Yikes! We were beginning to feel grateful that we had a later flight as we were hearing reports of cancelled flights.

Yeah, you don't want to be flying into an active tornado storm system!

I always like to go for a big salad before heading to Disney because you know I won't be eating so many of them when we are there!

I'm not sure I'd even recognize a salad at Disney!

You can see from my eyes I am beaming with excitement!

Woot!!

We were really pleased with our room and managed to get it for $309/night.

Is that a good price? Is that the airport hotel?

Luckily we hit the lobby bar just before last call

Good timing there.

We wanted to be up bright and early to check into Saratoga and begin our Disney adventures!

Can't wait to hear all about it.

 

[footballmouse]

 

[SEAGULL59]

Following! Excited to hear about your trip.

 

[amazingact21]

I'm here! Cannot wait to read all about your March trip. You really can see the excitement in the plane picture. I love the beginnings of trips, when everything is on the horizon and you're just so ready to get the vacation started.

 

[Hubie]

$309 is a good rate for what looks like a standard hotel room???? Yikes!!

 

[vamassey1]

I'm here! I need to get caught up.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

I’m here and excited to read along. Did you guys have to do preflight testing to enter USA? More than anything that is what stops me planning a trip. The idea that one of us could test positive for coronavirus the day before. Your travel day sounds pleasant enough and I think you made a great call staying at the Hyatt since you arrived so late in the day. Looking forward to all the details of your trip

 

[suse66]

I am hear!!! I can't wait to hear all the details of the trip!

So happy you are here, Ariella!

Sounds like a fairly easy travel day.

It was long but pretty smooth over all.

One does not own cats.

Absolutely not. They tolerate us and allow us to be in their presence as long as we feed them on time.

Yeah, you don't want to be flying into an active tornado storm system!

Definitely not! There were so many cancelled or delayed flights out of Pearson that morning. I was very happy our flight got out safely.

I'm not sure I'd even recognize a salad at Disney!

Who needs salad when you can eat Mickey pretzels, Mickey ice cream, danishes....... you know the good stuff!

Is that a good price? Is that the airport hotel?

It was the Hyatt Regency at the airport. Sadly that was a good price booked 5 months out.

Can't wait to hear all about it.

First Disney day coming up soon!

Welcome!

Following! Excited to hear about your trip.

So happy to have you joining in!

I'm here! Cannot wait to read all about your March trip. You really can see the excitement in the plane picture. I love the beginnings of trips, when everything is on the horizon and you're just so ready to get the vacation started.

Thanks Alicia! It was such a fun trip and the PDD is hitting hard.

$309 is a good rate for what looks like a standard hotel room???? Yikes!!

Yikes is right! We decided to stay at the airport as our flight was so late and we didn't want to pay Disney prices for the night. Everything is SO much more expensive these days....

I'm here! I need to get caught up.

Yay Vanessa! Happy you are here!

I’m here and excited to read along. Did you guys have to do preflight testing to enter USA? More than anything that is what stops me planning a trip. The idea that one of us could test positive for coronavirus the day before. Your travel day sounds pleasant enough and I think you made a great call staying at the Hyatt since you arrived so late in the day. Looking forward to all the details of your trip

Hi Moira! We did have to do preflight rapid antigen testing and it is SO stressful!. Your whole trip hangs in the balance depending on the outcome of the test. Then we had to test again to come back to Canada! If you test positive you have to quarantine for 10 days before entering the country so we had insurance to cover that just in case. Luckily Canada is dropping pre arrival testing as of April 1st and I really hope the US does the same soon. The Hyatt worked out really well and I would stay there again.

 

[pkondz]

Who needs salad when you can eat Mickey pretzels, Mickey ice cream, danishes....... you know the good stuff!

It was the Hyatt Regency at the airport. Sadly that was a good price booked 5 months out.

Okay. With that price tag, I thought it might be.

First Disney day coming up soon!

 

[suse66]

We've got the sunshine, what happened to the warmth??

We were up bright and early with everything packed up to head to Disney. I simply couldn't wait another minute to be back on property. I checked my weather app to see what I should wear. Imagine my horror when I saw it was 7 degrees (44 F). What??? I checked again to see if I was still on my home town page but no...it was 7 degrees in Orlando. Thank goodness I brought layers!

We went down to wait for a ride share which we figured was the best way to arrive quickly. Lyft did not disappoint and for $36 USD was economical as well. We dropped our luggage off with Bell Services and made our way to Disney Springs. I am not going to lie, this was a bit of a process. You know when you are traveling with family and one of you says "I think we should go this way." Then the other person says "no, I think it's that way." Well that was Bill and I for about 20 minutes while we walked around in circles, consulted various maps, got lost a few times, retraced our steps and eventually figured out how to get to the Disney Springs pathway.

The scenery was gorgeous and the sunshine made the chill in the air a little more bearable. I guess I should tell you where we were going....we were on our way to brunch at Wine Bar George for the first time!!

Here I am all bundled up on the bridge. Yes, I have a blouse, a jean jacket, a Columbia quilted jacket and a scarf on. In March! I was not impressed.



We made our way to Wine Bar George and were brought upstairs to a lovely two top. There were some brave souls eating on the patio, I only hope they had the heaters on. I had been salivating over the WBG menu for months so knew exactly what I had to have. The Burrata of dreams...served over toasted cibatta with greens, toy box tomato, avocado and bacon. Simply the most delicious meal a girl could hope for!

Bill decided to go for the Eggs Benedict served over house made chicken hash on English muffin bread. He thoroughly enjoyed his as well.

We decided we needed an extra order of bacon because we all know bacon is a food group on it's own. Then the waiter told us they made buttermilk biscuits in house and served them with sea salt butter and hot honey. Say no more. An order of those soon made their way to our table as well.

Of course we had to have brunch cocktails as well. I mean you have to celebrate being in Disney...right? Bill went for the "Hoot"​

The Hoot	$15.00
Made with Hooten Young American Whiskey (aged 12 years), G.E. Massenez Crème de Cassis and a splash of Ginger Beer. Discovered by Master Sommelier George Miliotes.

Suffice to say, he loved it and it was the perfect choice to kick off our trip.


I went for the Aperol Spitz (Aperol, Prosecco and soda). This was light and refreshing and just felt like the perfect summery drink.

We were absolutely thrilled with our meal, drinks and excellent service. Wine Bar George will be a must do on all trips going forward.

After brunch we browsed around a bit and were happy to get a notification that our room was ready! We were so pleased to get an early notification as it is always nice to have a little extra time to settle in. We spent a little more time in Disney Springs and decided to head over across the walkway back to Saratoga. It was warming up a bit now to around 14 degrees (57 F) and we were walking right by Dockside Margaritas. Well you know there is only one option, right? We just had to order something delicious! Bill went for the frozen lime margarita (Patrón Silver Tequila, Grand Marnier, Lime Juice and Sweet-and-Sour) while I went for the frozen strawberry margarita (Herradura Reposado Tequila and Lime Juice blended with Strawberry Purée) Both were great and we thoroughly enjoyed listening to the live music and taking in the view while enjoying our drinks.


Florida sunshine selfie!


My luscious strawberry margarita....


Next up, checking in to Saratoga and an unexpected change of plans for our evening.​

 

[princessbelle2015]

A great start to your trip! All of the food from Wine Bar George looks delicious!! I look forward to reading the about the rest of your trip.

 

[suse66]

A great start to your trip! All of the food from Wine Bar George looks delicious!! I look forward to reading the about the rest of your trip.

Thanks for following along! Wine Bar George was so good! It is definitely worth a visit if you haven't eaten there yet.

 

[rdkeim]

Despite the chilly temps, a nice start to your vacation! Hope it warms up for you.

 

[pkondz]

Imagine my horror when I saw it was 7 degrees (44 F). What??? I checked again to see if I was still on my home town page but no...it was 7 degrees in Orlando.

I can just see this. The double take. The checking the app page. The disbelief...

Thank goodness I brought layers!

And I bet you wore all of them!

Lyft did not disappoint and for $36 USD was economical as well.

Not too bad. Probably what we'll do when we go down. Not sure yet... but probably.

You know when you are traveling with family and one of you says "I think we should go this way." Then the other person says "no, I think it's that way." Well that was Bill and I for about 20 minutes while we walked around in circles, consulted various maps, got lost a few times, retraced our steps and eventually figured out how to get to the Disney Springs pathway.

Someone in a top floor room was watching you guys like rats in a maze.

we were on our way to brunch at Wine Bar George for the first time!!

This place sure has been getting a lot of DIS support!

You look both nice and toasty in your layers and very happy.

were brought upstairs to a lovely two top.

You must have worked in the industry. People who haven't don't usually say "two top".

The Burrata of dreams...served over toasted cibatta with greens, toy box tomato, avocado and bacon. Simply the most delicious meal a girl could hope for!

Is that a poached egg on top?

Bill decided to go for the Eggs Benedict

This is what I would have ordered. Sure sounds good!

We decided we needed an extra order of bacon because we all know bacon is a food group on it's own.

Bacon is life.

Then the waiter told us they made buttermilk biscuits in house and served them with sea salt butter and hot honey. Say no more.

Kinda hard to say no to that! How were they??

Suffice to say, he loved it and it was the perfect choice to kick off our trip.

I went for the Aperol Spitz (Aperol, Prosecco and soda). This was light and refreshing and just felt like the perfect summery drink.

I have a feeling I wouldn't care for either of those. I'd try them... but have my doubts.

We were absolutely thrilled with our meal, drinks and excellent service. Wine Bar George will be a must do on all trips going forward.

Glad it was such a hit!

we were walking right by Dockside Margaritas. Well you know there is only one option, right?

Of course! And these drinks I would have loved.

Florida sunshine selfie!

You guys look great! And happy!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We went down to wait for a ride share which we figured was the best way to arrive quickly. Lyft did not disappoint and for $36 USD was economical as well.

How was it? Did you have a handful of options? The planner in my doesn't like not knowing if there will be lyfts to shoose from before hand.

Here I am all bundled up on the bridge. Yes, I have a blouse, a jean jacket, a Columbia quilted jacket and a scarf on. In March! I was not impressed.

You blend in just like a local!

Of course we had to have brunch cocktails as well. I mean you have to celebrate being in Disney...right? Bill went for the "Hoot"

You HAVE to kick off the vacation with cocktails!

Florida sunshine selfie!

You both look so happy to be there! Great picture!