Updated: Feb Trip plans "It's a Bit Less Humid Today, Right?" - a September 2018 Trip Report

Finally, they seemed to agree they'd both join in, but when the parade got near, the little sister shoved her older sister into the parade and then RAN back to her table. It was *hilarious*. :)
Such sisterly love!

To open the World Showcase, they did a cute little ceremony! They had a rope and then they picked two little kids to help, and gave them some confetti to toss in the air while saying "world showcase is open!". Not a big thing, but cute.
That is cute. my girls would love it.

The Pork slider was good, but was overwhelmingly soggy and also needed more spicy mayonnaise.
Sounds like you should just carry a small thing of spicy mayo with you!

Next up was Africa, where we got the Berbere-style Beef Tenderloin Tips with Onions, Jalapeños, Tomato and Pap. This was also surprisingly good. I wasn't super psyched for it, but I ended up loving the pap. It was spicier than I expected, which Trevor appreciated. Another winner if it cools down. :)
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I missed out on this one! It looks good.


We got everything at this booth: Ropa Vieja Empanada with Tomato Aïoli, Jerk-spiced Chicken Lollipop with Roasted Sweet Plantain Salad and Mango Chutney Yogurt, and the Quesito: Puff Pastry with Sweetened Cream Cheese and Guava Sauce. The chicken lollipop was good (though I hate bones...so much), and the empanada was good but really hot, and a bigger portion than I expected.
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Man, I we must have skipped that whole booth.All looks good.

(I never noticed that Donald was the pinata before!)
That is the best part!

I wanted to get the ice cream macaroon and the ice cream brioche...but I decided to get the brioche with chocolate ice cream and raspberry sauce. YUM. So good.
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I need to do this next time!
 
Such sisterly love!
Right? reminded me of my sister and I when we were little :rotfl2:

That is cute. my girls would love it.
I'm sure they would--it was super cute. I dunno if they do it at the other points of world showcase, I'd never heard of them doing anything special so it was nice to see.

Sounds like you should just carry a small thing of spicy mayo with you!
:rotfl2:right? And i don't even like spicy mayo that much!

Man, I we must have skipped that whole booth.All looks good.
I was not expecting to like this booth as much as I did. Definitely a hit.

I need to do this next time!
I want to try the macaron ice cream sandwich next time, but this was so good I also want to get it again....#disneyfoodproblems
 


We then moved into Liberty Square and into the Haunted Mansion. We went through the entire queue, which he used to illustrate the concept of "plussing"--adding to something, making it better. He told us about the murder mystery in the busts, which you would never notice normally, but adds to the story and the queue, for those guests who do notice. Also, fun fact (maybe spoiler?): the murder mystery ends with the crazy aunt being the last one "dead', as she died because the matches in her hair caught fire. But Michael pointed out that in the hitchhiking ghosts tableau near the end of the ride, you can see a small picture of Cousin Maude that indicates that maybe she faked her death and just wants you to think she's dead. Plussing.

We ended up doing the Keys to the Kingdom Tour the following day, and frankly it wasn't nearly as good as you made this tour sound! Maybe we just had a bad tour guide, but when we went on HM, she didn't mention any of these things, all she talked about were the chess pieces on the roof, then turned her mic off and we rode the ride without any additional info.

Sounds like such a great day for you guys though, really does sound like a fantastic tour! May need to look into this one for next years trip!
 
We ended up doing the Keys to the Kingdom Tour the following day, and frankly it wasn't nearly as good as you made this tour sound! Maybe we just had a bad tour guide, but when we went on HM, she didn't mention any of these things, all she talked about were the chess pieces on the roof, then turned her mic off and we rode the ride without any additional info.

Sounds like such a great day for you guys though, really does sound like a fantastic tour! May need to look into this one for next years trip!

Aw, bummer! Michael did say he could let us ride if we wanted, but we all indicated we'd rather have him telling us tidbits about it while we rode. I'm sorry your tour wasn't very good--I think it does depend a lot on the tour guide you have and how personable/informative they are. But you'd think for the amount of money spent, they'd all be good? *shrugs* Were the utilidoors at least worth it?

I highly recommend it! Especially if you're a HM fan--I booked this tour specifically for all the HM info and it didn't disappoint. :)
 
Saturday, September 22:
Departure Day
Our last day! So sad. :( We were slow waking up, wanting to spend as much time in our room as possible before we had to leave.
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But eventually we finished packing. I couldn't figure out what to do with my rose from Victoria & Albert's so eventually I cut off most of the stem and stuck it in my bag...I didn't want to just throw it away! We dropped our bags off with the resort airline check in. I really like that service--drop our bags at the Boardwalk and not see them again until the luggage carousel. Awesome!


After dropping our bags, we went down to the Boardwalk for breakfast.
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We got breakfast at the Boardwalk Bakery (chocolate croissant and cheese danish for the win!), and hopped on the boat heading to Hollywood Studios.
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We got there pretty soon after it opened, about 9:15 am or so, and decided to split up. I'd booked a Rock n Roller Coaster fastpass and a Tower of Terror fastpass at 9 am, and so I stole one of his extra bands and headed down Sunset Boulevard to ride them, while he headed over to Star Tours to check on the standby line there.
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The line was super short at Rock N Roller Coaster, and so they weren't running the pre-show. You just walked on through to the car. This picture is one of my favorite ride photos. :)
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From there it was off to Tower of Terror, which had lots of fog and such in the line, which made it pretty spooky. Or would have, if it weren't 9:30 in the morning! Do they do that on purpose? Or why/how does that happen?
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Meanwhile, Trevor did a quick ride on Star Tours, and then decided that rather than ride it again, he'd look around in the Star Wars launch bay. He saw the Stormtroopers and had fun looking at all the cool displays in there.

Once I was done with my rides I texted Trevor and we met up in Toy Story Land for our 10 am Slinky Dog fastpass! Had to get one last ride on it. :)
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Trevor was telling me about hanging out in the Launch Bay, and so after Slinky, we decided to head back there to meet Chewie! He had a short wait and Trevor kind of wanted to meet him, and we didn't have anything really planned, so off we went.

The wait really was only 5 minutes, so that was cool! I again didn't bring the pictures I was having characters sign, but oh well. :) Chewie liked my button: it was a picture of Princess Leia with the caption "My favorite Disney princess". (and yes I know she's a General, but still )
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After meeting Chewie we got suckered into the gift shop where Trevor got a Boba Fett hat and key chain, 'cause I'm an enabler. :D

And then we headed off to Star Tours! I'd moved up our 11 am fastpass (cause there was tons of immediate availability), so we hopped right on. We got Hoth and Naboo (boooooooooo), and then rode again, but got pod racing and then Coruscant! And Princess Leia was the hologram message saying "deliver the rebel spy", which I'd never seen before, so that was neat. Also, the queue for Star Tours (the outdoor portion) doesn't get nearly enough love. Look at this cool Ewok hut!
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At that point, we wandered around some more, taking pictures and looking in gift shops. We got a picture in front of the Galaxy's Edge facade, which was neat. :)
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Essentially we were killing time until the 12 noon Indiana Jones show. We were going to try and be extras again! No CM there at the front seemed to know what we were talking about, but eventually the casting director made her way up to the little wardrobe tent and she was all "yep, jump on in!"

So we got our costumes on and got to finally see/be in the entire show. It was really neat, seeing all up close and personal. I wish we could have watched it again without being extras, just to see what it looks like from the audience, but since we only had time for one more show, being in it was definitely the way to go. Trevor got picked to be the one extra who has a whole death scene--he did really well! No pictures, since I was up there as an extra too, but he did great. He did mention to me beforehand that he hoped he wouldn't be picked for that (which inevitably ensured he would be picked) since he's a bit afraid of being in front of crowds, etc. But he did great. :) It was a fantastic experience, and a great last attraction to end our trip on.

At that point, we were heading out of the park, but I realized that we hadn't tried the cookies n cream funnel cake! And I know it was 12:30 and we had a lunch reservation at 1:50, but we had to try this. It was TOTALLY worth it. It looked huge but we ate pretty much all of it. The coolness and creaminess of the ice cream with the crispy crunchiness of the funnel cake...just yum. Highly recommend. :)
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We grabbed were in a rush to get back to the Boardwalk, so we grabbed an uber. While heading down to ride Tower of Terror and Rockin Roller Coaster, I passed the Toy Story store and realized the other night when we'd bought the Toy Story land ornament and the alien sipper cups and had them sent back to the hotel--we never picked them up!! So we had to get back to the Boardwalk and pick them up. Thus, rather than wait for a boat, we grabbed an uber and headed right to the store there to pick them up. Phew! Glad I remembered!

We probably had enough time to wait for the bus, but it's me and I was anxious. So we picked them up and then meandered over to the Beach Club for our last ADR of the trip: Beaches and Cream! We were a bit early, but we checked in anyways. They seated us a minute or two later, at 1:33. They had a couple open tables...I guess a super late lunch like that isn't a popular choice.
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Despite having eaten the ice cream funnel cake, we decided to go ahead and get some real food and the ice cream here. Take advantage of our last few hours on vacation! I got the tomato soup and grilled cheese with grilled onions. This was really good! I only ate about half, cause I was a bit full from earlier, and also because the grilled onions added a weird flavor to the sandwich. But overall I was pleased.
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Trevor got the French Fries topped with Cheese Sauce, Bacon, Red Onions, and Garlic-Peppercorn Ranch, which he really enjoyed. However, his favorite part was the soda with syrup! He loves adding vanilla syrup to his sodas, so he was pleasantly surprised to find it on the menu. :)
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Despite being full, we couldn't leave without getting the ice cream! We decided to get the Fudge Mudslide with chocolate ice cream. Per the menu, A gooey, chewy Brownie covered with Hot Fudge, Three-scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream, Oreo Cookies, and Whipped Cream topped with Chocolate Syrup and a Cherry. Aside from the brownie being dry, and a bit of a weird texture, this was also delicious.
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While this wasn't the best meal or dessert we had, it was still a solid meal. We'd probably go back, though I wouldn't make a special trip or anything. Certainly worth experiencing.

We finished eating at around 2:20, and the Tragical Express wasn't picking us up until 3:30. Trevor had passed through the arcade to use the restroom, and he noted that the (empty) arcade had skeeball. Skeeball is one of my favorite arcade games, so we decided to play a few rounds. :) Trevor beat me overall, but I had some good scores in there. And we had great fun playing for 10 minutes or so.

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This is Trevor's "I got an awesome score!" dance. :D

We slowly strolled back to the Boardwalk, got our bags from Bell Services, and awaited the Tragical Express.
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Trevor's too happy to be leaving. Though I am too in this picture I guess. This is better :)

We boarded at 3:30. I honestly can't remember if we stopped at any other resorts to pick people up, though my picture of us arriving at the airport is time stamped at 4:11, so it's probable that we did.
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I don't know why Trevor is so happy to see this sign....I'm not!

Our flight didn't take off until 6:45, so arriving at 4:15 gave us some time to kill. We spent some time looking in the shops at the airport, buying a few pins and and a rice krispy treat at the Disney store there. I always want to try the chocolate covered mickey rice krispy treats that you can buy at Disney Springs, but haven't been able to yet, so this was a good substitute.
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Going through security was mostly fine, though we had a bit of an issue with one of our souvenirs in particular. I'd brought a small cast iron frying pan for Rpanuzel and Flynn to sign, and the TSA guy saw it and started asking the other TSA people if they'd consider it a weapon. The answer he got back was "yep, it's a weapon, it's a blunt object!" And I was like "oooh, we got it signed! I didn't even think!" I think they took pity on me, 'cause despite the one TSA agent saying it was a blunt object, the first TSA agent let it through and didn't say anything about needing to open the bag or confiscate it, so I grabbed the suitcase and (figuratively) ran! Ironic, if they took a frying pan from me 'cause it's a weapon. :)

All went fine with our flight: boarded on time, no turbulence. It wasn't super crowded, and with the plane being small there were only two seats on each side so no middle seat! We decided we liked flying Jet Blue. :)

We touched down at 8:40 ish, and our bags came pretty promptly. We were in the Lyft (yes, Lyft, not uber--there was a $15 coupon from Jet Blue, so....why not? :D) at 9:02 and home at 9:30. Our cat was very excited to see us! We were glad to be home, but sad our vacation was over.
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We weren't as exhausted as we maybe expected to be, but we were still very happy that we had a day to rest before we had to go back to work. We unpacked a little bit, and fell into bed, happy to be back in our own bed.

Fun with Metrics:
Steps Walked: 13,682 (5.5 miles)
Total AP Discount: $20.87
Ride Total (Tiffany): 6 (Rock n Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Slinky, Star Tours x2, Indiana Jones)
Ride Total (Trevor): 5 (Star Tours, Slinky, Star Tours x2, Indiana Jones)

Up Next: Vacation Summary and final thoughts
 


A New Trip!!
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Making use of my AP already--just booked a trip for the Festival of the Arts! They released the lineup for the Broadway concerts, and I was all over it--there are four I want to see and luckily they performing on back to back nights. SO, details!

When: Feb 9th through Feb 14th
Where: Coronado Springs Feb 9-11, All Star Music Feb 11-14 (cheapest rooms available with the AP discounts)
Who: just me, though I did invite a friend...we'll see :)

I'm stalking the Disney website (and priceline) to see if I can get cheaper hotel, though i'm committed to staying on site, so not sure how much cheaper I'll be able to get it. I have enough points to get a free flight down and back, so the biggest cost is the hotel.

Mostly, excited to hear Disney Broadway singers and experience this fun festival! :) (without it being INSANELY hot)

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Final Thoughts:
Epic Amounts of Fun with Metrics!

I realize that I'm a broken record: everything was amazing or fantastic or wonderful or we loved it. But it was really true! Aside from the hurricane worries, this trip couldn't have gone better. And actually, the hurricane worries made it even better, since it extended our trip a few days. The crowds were low, and we rode everything we wanted multiple times with fastpasses; the food was amazing and we ate ALL the things. Our room at the Boardwalk was absolutely perfect; we got to try so many fun experiences (tours, exclusive parties, special events) that were all completely worth it. We made sure to take naps and there wasn't any tantrums or crying. Losing the weight made it so I didn't have any (seriously, none) foot pain or chafing or any physical problems, which was something I don't think I could have dreamed of last trip. The only downside was the heat, but even with that, this trip will go down as one of my happiest memories: me and Trevor, enjoying the parks but mostly being able to spend time together having such a fun, stress-free time. A giant THANK YOU to everyone on here for all their help and advice, and for following along with me on my pre-trip report and on this trip report. :D

To commemorate our trip, I made a Disney wall in one of our spare rooms (that we use as a library. Two shadow boxes, and all around are the pictures we got off etsy and had all the characters sign. It's a bit busy, but I love how it all turned out. A great reminder of our trip.
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Feel free to stop reading now :). However, I love metrics and breaking things down, so I thought I'd do that below. There's metrics about rides, about Food & Wine, about the restaurants we ate at, and all of our many "firsts" for this trip.

Annual Passholder:
We upgraded my 9-day hopper to an Annual Pass, and it was totally worth it. We saved $276.96 on food and merchandise alone. Total amount of discounts that we got (including $169.99 for Memory Maker because we definitely would have bought it) was $528.33 We needed to save $382.33 to break even, so overall, having an Annual Pass saved us $145.90.

And that doesn't even count the trip I'm planning in February and the savings on park tickets, etc for that. :)

Also, we got two AP magnets at the park and one in the mail--so fun!
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Souvenirs:
We had a budget of $400. We spent $859.59. I really thought $400 was overestimating. I underestimated how much Disney sucks you in with their merchandise. But I'm ok with what we spent--we bought a lot of things to use--things we're already using around the house.

We bought a Food and Wine frilly apron, which we both use. Trevor wore it to make us a Sunday dinner of crepes today. :)
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Our fridge is full of magnets: in between all the Broadway/tv show magnets, there's two Tower of Terror magnets, a Pandora magnet, a Remy Food & Wine magnet, and the hitchhiking ghosts and hatbox ghost magnet (and yes, those do glow in the dark). Bonus, Halloween refillable mug on top of the fridge.
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The Sanaa tray and recipe book
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The frying pan that I had Flynn and Rapunzel sign at the breakfast. Bonus POFQ beads :)
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My Haunted Mansion purse that I love:
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Grape soda baseball cap! Trevor has a Boba Fett one, but it's at work
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Haunted Mansion book
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Tower of Terror Lenticular photo, in the Haunted Mansion frame
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Shirts! First Mary Poppins:
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Food and Wine:
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Boardwalk (this is like seriously my favorite tee shirt):
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I didn't get a picture of my MNSSHP shirt 'cause I was wearing it and I'm pretty sure y'all have seen enough of me :)

Boardwalk print (this is in our bedroom):
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Popcorn cauldron (we used this to pass out Halloween candy :D ):
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Our Glow cube collection! There's two poison apples, Tinkerbell, pascal, Headless Horseman, Unadelta Seed, and Buzz Lightyear.
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Ornaments for our Christmas tree: Food and Wine and Toy Story Land passholder ornament
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Mary Poppins pillow. I use this every day. :)
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Up earrings:
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Haunted Mansion and Tower of Terror Notebooks:
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Pins: the Mary Poppins ones are on my wallet, and the Flynn and Tower of Terror ones Trevor wears on his lanyard at work and swaps them out.
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Tower of Terror keychain:
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We also bought some pictures from the Marketplace Co Op which I have hanging up at work, some fun Duck Tales and Darkwing Duck socks for Trevor, a Boba Fett hat and keychain that Trevor uses, and a Boba Fett shirt. We bought a lot, but we're using it. :)

Rides:
I rode 117 rides (though two of those were "half" rides--half of our first Indiana Jones show and half of our second Monster's Inc Laugh Floor show). Trevor rode 103 rides.

Rode several things twice, but the big numbers:
Big Thunger Mountain: 4 times
Flight of Passage: 4 times
Seven Dwarves 13 times

I rode:
Expedition Everest 5 times
Slinky Dog Dash 6 times
Space Mountain 4 times
Splash Mountain 4 times
Star Tours 9 times
Tower of Terror 4 times

Trevor rode:
Slinky Dog Dash 4 times
Star Tours 13 times

Trevor rode Space Mountain! He conquered all the coasters in Magic Kingdom. :) This is a big deal: he doesn't like heights or big drops, so first time we came, he rode Splash and 7DMT and that was it. He watched a ride video and decided to try Big Thunder this trip and liked it, and then on our last night in the Magic Kingdom, he decided he'd try Space. And he liked it! Yay! Still no Expedition Everest or Rock n Roller Coaster, but he's conquered the Magic Kingdom. :)

Food & Wine:
We ate a total of 53 dishes (54 if you count the second time we got the Banana Almond Soft Serve Sundae, but with just the banana soft serve), including everything on our "Yes" lists and a couple things on our "Maybe" list. Favorites are (and yes, we have a lot of favorites!...mostly desserts):
  • Belgium: Belgian Waffle with Chocolate Ganache and Whipped Cream
  • Chocolate Studio: Sweet Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart with Whipped Cream
  • Chocolate Studio: Liquid Nitro Chocolate-Almond Truffle with Warm Whiskey-Caramel
  • Germany: Roast Bratwurst in a Pretzel Roll
  • France: Crème Brûlée à la Confiture de Framboises: Crème Brûlée with House-made Raspberry Jam
  • Hops and Barley: New England Lobster Roll: Warm Lobster with Fresh Herb Mayonnaise and Griddled Roll
  • Wine and Dine Studio: Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter Vinaigrette, Parmesan Cheese and Pumpkin Seeds
  • Cheese Shop: Cheese Trio: Profiterole topped with Boursin Garlic and Fine Herbs Cheese and Orange Apricot Jam; Smoked Salmon Pinwheel with Boursin Shallot and Chive Cheese and Everything Seasoning; Strawberry Macaron with Boursin Pepper Cheese
  • Greece: Bougatsa: Warm Phyllo Dough Strudel with Sweet Vanilla Custard, Lemon Honey Syrup and Cinnamon
  • Mexico: Coconut Rice Pudding served with Mango Coulis
  • Mexico: Short Rib Tostada: Corn Tortilla topped with Short Ribs, Black Beans, Salsa Verde and Spring Onion
  • China: Beijing Roasted Duck Bao Bun with Hoisin Sauce
  • China: Xi’an Pancake with Beef
  • Islands of the Caribbean: Quesito: Puff Pastry with Sweetened Cream Cheese and Guava Sauce
  • Islands of the Caribbean: Ropa Vieja Empanada with Tomato Aïoli
  • Taste Track: Croissant Doughnut with Chocolate and Marshmallows with gelato
  • Flavors from Fire: Charred Chimichurri Skirt Steak on a Smoked Corn Cake with Pickled Vegetable Slaw and Cilantro Aïoli (But mostly just the skirt steak--I could do without the corn cake)
  • Canada: “Le Cellier” Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon with Truffle-Butter Sauce
  • Almond Orchard: Banana Almond Soft-serve Sundae with Fresh Berries and Chocolate Almond Streusel (But really just the banana soft-serve :D)
Restaurants:
We ate at 14 Table Service restaurants, and 4 counter service restaurants.

  • The Edison: Lunch
  • Hollywood Brown Derby: dinner
  • Flying Fish: dinner
  • Yak n Yeti: lunch
  • Satuli Canteen: dinner
  • Crystal Palace: breakfast
  • Skipper Canteen: dinner
  • Woody's Lunchbox: breakfast
  • Coral Reef: dinner
  • Early Morning Magic at MK: breakfast
  • Be Our Guest: lunch
  • Victoria & Albert's: dinner
  • Sanaa: Lunch
  • Ohana: dinner
  • The Plaza: lunch
  • Be Our Guest: dinner
  • Bon Voyage Character Breakfast at Trattoria al Forno: breakfast
  • Beaches and Cream: lunch
All were really good, except for The Edison and Ohana. Those were our least favorites, but even they weren't bad, more like they weren't as good as the rest of our meals. Likewise with Beaches and Cream, though that was saved a bit by the awesome dessert. But overall, we had fantastic meals everywhere. So much good food!

We spent $1815 on food, including all our restaurants, Food & Wine booths, and various snacks (not counting $625 for Victoria & Albert's). Trying to match up our dining to the dining plan really didn't work super well, but a rough estimate is below.

  • the regular dining plan would have been $1358.82 for all nine nights, but we would have only had 18 TS credits, and would have needed 32 TS credits.
  • The deluxe dining plan would have been $2092.50, but we would have only needed 38 meal credits, and we would have had 54. Even turning those extra credits into snacks, that gives us 84 snacks, which would have covered Food & Wine and several of the other snacks we got, but also would have been an extra $277.15.
The DDP is closer to how we ate, but honestly, we felt more freedom to just get what we wanted, and to not worry about "maximizing" the plan, or figuring out if its within the plan for Trevor to get 3 appetizers for his meal (like we did at the Hollywood Brown Derby).

Firsts:
We had so many "firsts" this trip, so I thought I'd break some (most?) of them out.

  • Split Stay: one night at POFQ and 8 nights at Boardwalk
  • Long Stay: initially planned to be 9 days, 8 nights; ended up being 11 days, 10 nights.
  • Hurricane Scare: we came down early to beat the hurricane heading up to us in VA, but ended up (for us) being a bit of a bust
  • Deluxe: a boardwalk view room at Boardwalk Villas
  • Renting DVC Points: spent $1845 for 8 nights at a boardwalk view at Boardwalk Villas. $230.63 a night. (We paid $243.00 for the one night at PO:FQ)
  • Made our own buttons: We got lots of comments on them, especially Trevor's Great Movie Ride button
  • Birthday Trip: My birthday was the Tuesday we were here. We got lots of fun birthday pixie dust, with free desserts and such: a nice touch that I really wasn't expecting :)
  • Boat Transportation: We did the boat to Disney Springs, which we loved. And then the friendship boats to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. The boat is fantastic--definitely one of our favorite ways to travel.
  • Walking to a park: We walked to Epcot a lot, and loved the freedom to do that. We've been spoiled. :)
  • Mid-day Naps: I finally calmed down on my "GO GO GO" touring style and the napping in the middle of the day became a needed and appreciated respite from the heat
  • Riding the Amphicar: hot, but neat :)
  • Trying Virtual Reality: Star Wars The Void was a fantastic experience. We loved it (see picture!)
  • Trying Mocktails: We had Shirley Temples and raspberry lemonades, no-jitos, fancier ones at Victoria & Albert's, but my favorite was the Raspberry Fizz from Flying Fish. Trevor's was the Black Cherry Limeade, also from Flying Fish.
  • Enjoying Toy Story Land: We loved it at night, especially Slinky. :) Also the food here was better than I expected.
  • Beignet Sundae at PO:FQ: Totally recommend this over-the-top treat.
  • Cake for Breakfast: the cake from Amorette's and the cupcake from Sprinkles. I highly recommend cake as your breakfast for a day at Disney.
  • MK in the Fall: We loved the pumpkin mickeys and all the decorations
  • Seeing the CMs drawing characters with their water brooms. A fun way to stop and enjoy the atmosphere
  • Trevor's first time on Big Thunder Mountain. He loved it! He doesn't like coasters or heights, but after watching a ride video, decided to try it. I'm so glad he did! He enjoyed it a lot. :)
  • Seeing "Muppets Present: Great Moments in American History". So funny! We loved Sam the Eagle and his side-eye to "Others"--non-Americans :)
  • Food & Wine: SO much food. We ate a ton. and loved it.
  • Trevor's first time on Soarin. I was afraid he wouldn't like it 'cause of his fear of heights, but he loved it.
  • Trevor's first time on Frozen. He thought it was cute--we liked the animatronics, and being able to "sing along", but it is a kiddie ride.
  • Trevor's first time on Mission Space Orange. After being freaked out by all the warnings last time and thus trying the Green side, he was totally unimpressed and decided this time he'd definitely do the Orange side. And it was great, no problems..
  • Trevor's first time at the Animal Kingdom. In his opinion, definitely the hottest park, but still neat.
  • Pandora: We loved Flight of Passage, and even Navi River Journey. What an amazingly themed land. Pictures don't do it justice
  • Tom Sawyer Island: I mean, just for the naps, but still :)
  • Festival of Fantasy Parade. Bummer that we never got to see Maleficent breathing fire, but oh well
  • MNSSHP: I had seen lots of reviews about how crowded the parties were, but we had a fantastic time. We trick or treated, met characters, took Magic Shots, saw the parade, did the dessert party, saw the fireworks--it was a fantastic night for us.
  • Early Morning Magic at the MK. We rode Seven Dwarves 10 times in a row. And the breakfast was much better than we expected. What a great time, marred only by the fact that the ride photo wasn't working. :(
  • Victoria & Alberts! I don't even really have anything to add to this. What an experience. :)
  • First time eating at resort restaurants: We'd never ventured outside the parks before. We ate at AKL, GF, the Polynesian, Beach Club...Definitely going to be doing more of this!
  • Tour: Marceline to the Magic Kingdom was amazing. Our tour guide was fantastic, and we loved going backstage and seeing the workings of the ballroom scene in the Haunted Mansion. I was excited for this, but Trevor wasn't overly so. However it turned out to be one of his favorite parts of the trip.
  • Seeing Happily Ever After/doing a fireworks dessert party. An awesome way to see the fireworks without being too crowded. We loved it.
  • Disney After Hours. I know, I'm a broken record, but we loved this too. It was amazing. We just had so much fun.
  • First time trying a Mickey bar. (only cause they were free at Disney After Hours)
  • Watching fireworks from our hotel. This is awesome.
  • Playing at the arcade! We are skeeball fans; it was a fun little stop after Beaches and Cream and a fun way to wind down the trip.
  • Participate as extras in a show. Even though when we were picked for the Indy show it got canceled for weather, we did go back and got to participate in (and see!) the whole thing.
39 firsts! Not too shabby.

And amazingly enough, that's the end of the metrics. I know, I'm crazy verbose. But these are the things I'm interested in, so I guess I write it mostly for me and hopefully at least some people find it interesting! Thanks for joining me on this report--I loved writing it!
 
Souvenirs:
We had a budget of $400. We spent $859.59. I really thought $400 was overestimating. I underestimated how much Disney sucks you in with their merchandise. But I'm ok with what we spent--we bought a lot of things to use--things we're already using around the house.
You can easily get sucked in! God, I don't even want I want to know how much we spend with the girls!

The Sanaa tray and recipe book
jIFMnuX.jpg
Still jealous!!! We are doing BOMA on our next trip and I might make us all trek over to see if they have that at the other resort.

Mary Poppins pillow. I use this every day. :)
oiSHv7m.jpg
Because you are practically perfect in every way!

Rode several things twice, but the big numbers:
Big Thunger Mountain: 4 times
Flight of Passage: 4 times
Seven Dwarves 13 times
This is amazing!!!

We ate a total of 53 dishes
I wonder how many we ate, I will have to do a tally for us.

Trevor's first time on Soarin. I was afraid he wouldn't like it 'cause of his fear of heights, but he loved it.
Morgan doesn't like heights either, and she doesn't seem to mind Soarin' either.

39 firsts! Not too shabby.
The whole trip was AMAZING sounding!

Can't wait to hear about your next trip! Let us know if you do a PTR and/or a TR!!!!
 

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