Walt Disney World Trip Report: 4/29-5/8: Dapper Day – A Galaxy Far Far Away

Previously on Reenie’s Trip to Disney World

I made some new friends via a new-ish friend, I ate good French good and bad Chinese food, I’d discovered that the heat might get the best of me.

“This Is A Fine Looking Group of Recruits”

Early rope drops are my favorite thing. It’s just really cool to get to the turnstiles when the sun is barely up, when there’s a group that feels like a crowd but you know is going to disperse so that in the end, you get on all the rides quickly. I of course headed right for Rise Of The Resistance, and while there was a short wait, something like 20 minutes, it was definitely worth that. I made a friend on line, and I wish I remembered her name, but she was lovely.

I’m not going to spoil Rise Of The Resistance. (Save a picture or 2). The surprises really make the whole ride. But it’s really really amazing. Fun and thrilling and all ages appropriate and full of exciting “how’d they do that?” Imagineering magic tricks. Really, really exceptional.

After Rise, my new friend and I hopped over to Millenium Falcon, where we both piloted, and then she was going to meet her friends and I went to ride Slinky Dog. After Slinky, I went to Tower of Terror, and then back to Galaxy Edge to try the Breakfast Ronto Wrap, and get some pictures taken, before I texted Maya and asked what their plans were.

They were just hanging out on Hollywood BLVD, shouting, “OH YOU LOOK GREAT!” at passing Dapper Folks, and as such, we had a really nice time for about a half an hour, before taking a bunch of pictures at Grauman’s Chinese theater.

Then we all broke for lunch, some people going to The Brown Derby and some to Prime Time Cafe. I was starting to wilt, and was still pretty full from my Ronto Wrap, so I went back to my room, hung in the AC and ate my leftovers from Cali Grill. Sara texted me when they finished up, I hopped right on the Skyliner and met them, for more “promenading,” to use Maya’s word, and then a decision to get out of the heat and see Frozen Ever After, before doing the big group Dapper Day meetup. (I got a milkshake with Bailey’s in there somewhere.)

Though the meetup was fun, this has never been an activity I’ve been wild about. These big photo calls at Dapper Day and at Comic Cons usually just make me feel overly sensitive and shy and I think the pandemic isolation has only amplified this tendency in me. But, most of the people I talked to were nice.

Then it was time to say goodbye to everyone. Several of my new crew were flying home that night and again, it was CRAZY HOT. So we parted ways. I hopped back on line for Rise Of The Resistance, then did Mickey And Minnie’s Runaway Railway and Star Tours. After getting off Star Tours a MASSIVE thunderstorm hit. I ran quickly and popped into Baseline Taphouse, grabbed a beer and waited out the rain with a bunch of other people who happened to be from Jersey! HEY!

By the time the rain abated, it was just about time for me to check in for my early dinner at The Brown Derby, so I took some pictures in front of Grauman’s Chinese. Then I ate dinner.

The ambience and drinks at The Brown Derby are better than the food, but the food is pretty good. I got shrimp cocktail and Coq Au Vin, plus a Gin Martini and a glass of The Silverado Zinfandel. (To go to a Disney Park and not have at least ONE serving of Silverado feels disloyal to me.)

Then it was back to Galaxy’s edge for more pictures and then the Cantina. I’d enjoyed my previous visit here, but this time, in full swing, crowded and loud and busy, it’s wildly fun. I talked to a father and son that had just wrapped their Galactic Starcruiser, and who endorsed it heartily.

Next I wound my way to one last Rise of The Resistance ride. I was once again with a fun group, but I of course left my fanny pack on the ride as I was getting off, and didn’t realize it until I was already at the front of guest services. We’ll get into that more in when I talk about the next day.

So I was back in my room and asleep by 10

Up Next On Trip Report

I take a day off from the parks, navigate the Walt Disney World Lost And Found system, and my parents come to Orlando.

My Big Florida Escape Trip Report Part 3: “Wait, how are we getting there?”

All right! All right! All right! We’re in for the real thing now! Thank you all for putting up with me getting me sea legs under me by talking about boring errand running with my mom to get to the main part of the trip, I got to go back home!

Monday, March 22: Arrival Day! Pool Bars! Disneybound!

Waking up sort of early to get a little bit of work done despite being on vacation was probably the best decision I made all week, because it did make my reentry to the real world a week after this a good deal more smooth. But I digress, by 10:30 AM, we were on the road, and by 1, we’d gotten our bags checked at both The Walt Disney World Dolphin (Mom and Dad) and The Disney Beach Club (Me!) though none of our rooms were ready. We also grabbed some quick sandwiches at Hurricane Hannah’s. (I do not recommend this, although it served our purposes)

I had seafood salad sliders and a froze, Mom had an Italian Sandwich on Ciabatta and a Bannana Cabana, and Dad had a Turkey Sub and a Budwiser. Really, I’ve had worse and less thought out first meals on a Disney trip and in less fun atmospheres, because Hurricane Hannah’s is the pool bar and the absolutely lovely Barefoot Bay pool complex at The Yacht and Beach Club. Which, rules you guys, it is the best.

After lunch, we took a walk around the Crescent Lake region. Popping into the gift shop at The Boardwalk Hotel before heading back to the The Dolphin to get my parents settled. This lead to my favorite brand of conversation from the whole trip.

“How are we getting there?”

We had a dinner reservation at The Grand Floridian, so Dad got a little panicky. (If you don’t know Walt Disney World has a largely fantastic public transportation system that is free to everyone who’s on the property. But it doesn’t run hotel to hotel, you have to transfer.) I suggested we take a bus to The Magic Kingdom and then the monorail to the Floridian. This settled him down quite a bit.

I headed back to The Beach Club, and settled in the “member’s lounge” and did some more work. (I wish I was kidding. I’ve become one of those people now) before getting the text that my room was finally ready. I settled in, took a shower, got dressed and then Mom called asking if they should head over to meet me for the bus.

I said sure, and then turned on the TV and learned that OMG Must Watch Disney and the delightful Stacy have been replaced by probably actually entertaining Cartoon Shorts. Again, I say probably because I was too busy being outraged that my friend Stacy didn’t welcome me and yell at me about “HOW COOL IS SPLASH MOUNTAIN?” and I was quite put out.

Anyway, we had a late dinner reservation, but I wanted to check out the Enchanted Rose lounge at The Grand Floridian, having not visited since my beloved Mizner’s was converted to the trendy Beauty and The Beast style bar.

Enchanted Rose is gorgeous. And the drinks are good and the bartenders are, like all Disney Bartenders, top notch chatters. While I will always mourn when a wonderful simple hotel bar goes away, I can’t deny that at least this replacement is super worthy. I also wore a Belle Disneybound and Mom and I did a little photo shoot of me in the dress with the bar. (This room was completely empty, which is why I took my mask off. If there had been even one other group of people there I never would have. There was a level of irresponsibility even going on this trip, I certainly followed every single rule while doing so).

We also made some friends while we were having drinks who were also heading over to Narcoosee, where we were eating, so we all walked over to the restaurant together. We got a great table right by the windows, and I was thrilled when Mom gasped in happiness when The Electrical Water Pageant went by. She was probably the one most preemptively bummed out by the lack of things like parades and fireworks, (I later realized how odd and hollow the experience felt without them) so she was happy.

Narcoosee is meant to be a classic Florida restaurant, so you know what that means! MORE FISH! (I ate so much fish this week it was delightful) We started with a cheese plate which I very much enjoyed. We also ordered a bottle of Silverado Zinfandel. I suggested the Silverado as it’s the Disney Family’s Winery. It was good. I rarely choose ZInfandel, but for fish, it makes sense.

I had The Surf and Turf with Shrimp, Mom had the Porkchop and Dad got Lobster I think? I should have taken pictures. We had the first of a series of truly excellent and attentive servers. Seriously in nearly 30 years of going to Disney World and a decade of these regular adult trips, I had the best service experiences this time. Pretty much every Cast Member was enthusiastic, chatty and exceedingly helpful. The Cast have always been such a huge part of what makes Disney World special and at the moment they are working around masks, face shields and distancing requirements, a shoestring staff and a guest population that’s deeply on edge, and they’re still sunshine in a bottle.

After dinner, one of my all time Dis-nerd dreams came true. I timed this trip around my mom’s birthday, which also happens to be my parent’s wedding anniversary. (They got married on Mom’s 24th Birthday, a move she now describes as, “so romantic at the time, but kind of a pain in the ass as we grew up.”) I enlisted my siblings to give them a specialty cake for the occasion.

I have spent an inordinate amount of time on the Disboard Cake Chatter Thread and as such had a good idea of how to get exactly what I wanted and was very, very excited to see and taste the cake.

After dinner Dad excitedly asked what our transportation options were, and I said, “Oh, it’s midnight, unless you’re at Disney Springs, the option is Uber.” So we Ubered to the Dolphin, made our plans for the morning, and said goodnight.

I walked back to The Beach Club, Crescent Lake was eerily quiet, but it was lovely.

Tomorrow! I finally get to Batuu, long afternoons in the sun prove a bad call, and I fall in love with a gondola! Stay tun

My Top 10 Random Spots In Disney World

So, I spent this weekend pricing and doing some Disney research. I’m not planning a full on trip in the next year, but I have decided that I’m going to do a weekend, (taking either Friday or Monday off from work) to see Toy Story Land and see Illuminations one last time since it’s likely going away soon.

But I’ve been trying to avoid reading and researching much to try to off set that urge I get to just book a trip and head off. (For one, I can’t afford it, for another I have other travel plans for 2019…)

But during this research I started thinking about the trips I’ve taken in the past few years. (8 in the last five.) (Again, I totally don’t have a problem…) and the park exploration and the random spots that I’ve found and loved in the resort in that time. Some of these are weird out of the way spots, others are really really obvious, and others only make sense if you’re me.

10. The Waiting Areas At The Jungle Cruise: Skipper Canteen

I love the Skipper Canteen, I think it’s a wonderful restaurant with an even more wonderful menu, and fun service filled with puns. But my favorite part of eating here has very little to do with the meal and is actually while you’re waiting for your table. There are two spots that you wind up waiting, the first is the porch, where large rocking chairs sit beneath giant fans. The second is actually inside, where a few tufted chairs and a water cooler, filled with cold h2o and various fruits await you, plus a letter from Henrietta Falls and a portrait of Doctor Albert Falls hang on the wall. Both are quiet and relaxing and phase you into the great themeing of your dinner perfectly.

9. Outside Patio At Backlot Express

I actually love everything about Backlot Express, it’s a big ass quick service restaurant with a basic but well executed menu and  lots of air conditioned seating (as a quick reminder this is where I ate Star Wars themed Chicken and Waffles, and got my BB-8 souvenir cup.)  But I especially love taking some time to eat your lunch on the patio here, in view of the At-At at Star Tours and watching the Jedi Training show. It’s a nice little moment of Star Wars themed joy, which is always appreciated, when you’re me.

8. Any of The Side Gardens In Pandora

Like half this list is going to be spots in Animal Kingdom, just FYI. But wandering around Pandora, at any time of the day, but especially at night, it’s worth wandering into weird corners and seeing the plant life. But be sure to follow the trails, because if you don’t do that, you never find this particular spot.

7. Top of The Stairs In The Canada Pavillion

I think that Canada might be the most underrated of the World Showcase Pavillions, but there’s a spot right up at the top of the stairs, that looks over a waterfall and has some benches and it feels like you’re far away from the chaos of the park below you. It’s also the spot of my favorite picture of Mary, maybe ever?

6. The Rose Gallery At Be Our Guest

To be honest, there are not going to be many Magic Kingdom spots here, because I very very rarely stop to smell the roses in that park. (This is also proof that I rarely spend ENOUGH time in Magic Kingdom), but I love The Rose Gallery, if all of Be Our Guest were just this room, it would still be spectacular. (The West Wing and The Ballroom are also spectular and it makes the whole place magical) I love the music box, and the “paintings” and banquette tables. It’s the only room that really feels like a French bistro. And fun fact, I wrote the scene where Lefty and Marina dance for the first time while eating my Croque Monsieur here.

5. The Patio At Spice Road Table

Spice Road Table is my favorite restaurant at Disney World, and sitting on the patio, drinking Sangria and eating hummus fries while watching Illuminations is probably my favorite thing to do while at Disney World. (Besides ride The Haunted Mansion) It’s a thing I gently manipulate everyone who joins me at Disney into sharing at least one part of this experience. (no one has been disappointed..btw…)

4. The Porch At The Nomad Lounge

Nomad Lounge might be my favorite bar in the parks. (Not on property, we’ll get there) and sitting on the porch, with a beer, (while Mom and Kristi pussied out and drank tea…) is easily one of my favorite moments I’ve ever had. It’s just a solid and beautiful space, with a great view and excellent drinks and a pretty good menu. Although it changes a lot and the fish tacos that I adored are now gone…but still, grab a Night Monkey (this is a rum drink that also has espresso in it!) or a Safari Amber and watch the water good past.

3. The Terrace At California Grill

Watching Wishes at California Grill was one of my top ten favorite moments of my big Disney year, but it’s also a beautiful spot, with an incredible view no matter what, and to quote Gonzo, I’m going to go back there someday.

2. The Aviary On The Mahrajah Jungle Trek

To explain the incredible moment of magic that was walking into this room right after feeding time when Juli, Dom and I were there is impossible. It was so incredible. And the other times I’ve walked the Trek, this is still a beautiful space full of gorgeous creatures.

1. The Fireplace Chairs At River Roost

I’ve now stayed at Port Orleans Riverside twice, which makes it my most stayed at Disney Resort, and I will likely stay there again. I like the rooms, and the food court and the proximity to Disney Springs, but I really really love River Roost lounge and those big leather arm chairs by the fireplace where Tommy and I sat, laughing about our adventures while drinking wine remain my favorite place in the whole resort.

Revenge Of Dapper Day 4/29: A Dream Can Be A Dream Come True

I don’t know why I ever even tell myself that I’m going to go to Studios for Extra Magic Hour on Sunday. I never wind up doing it. It just doesn’t happen. This time, I was actually ready, but missed the bus and I decided rather than rush it when the next bus came, I’d take my time, get some breakfast and rope drop at Epcot.

This wound up being a much better choice, in the long run, I think. While waiting at the turnstiles I made some friends (YAY!) with two girls who were bounding as Rey and Kylo Ren, we parted ways quickly, but I was happy to have talked to them. Once we got in to the doors, I reconnected with them and there was again, a bunch of chatting, giggling and explaining of dapper ware. We wound up riding Soarin together, before I was off to Norway, ready to redeem my Frozen 9:30 fast pass.

There wasn’t much of a line, so I decided to wait for it on standby and then ride again with the fast pass. This worked awesomely, and by 10 I’d ridden the ride twice.

I had a bunch of time to kill, since I was waiting to meet up with Michael and Megan, and with our friend Nick, and his brother in law and his girlfriend (We had quite a crew), so I decided to wander around a bit. I stopped for photopass pictures, I met Baymax, I rode Spaceship Earth & Imagination (had to, you know, the bound..) Then I heard from Nick, and we met up with him and his baby daughter Eva. (His son Matty was sick, so Matty and his wife Jen stayed home). We rode Nemo, which was Eva’s first Disney ride. (She’s not even 1, she was such a trooper all day.) We then met up with Nick’s brother in law Mike and Mike’s girlfriend Gabby, headed to Mexico to get La Cava Margaritas, before Mike and Megan finally got to the park.

So, we were supposed to eat at Biergarten at 2, but by the time we’d met up with everyone, it was closer to 3. (Notes on a theme) Luckily, we still got our table. The German buffet was delicious, the music was really fun, and I heartily reccomend this restaurant for larger groups. (We were seven including baby…) especially if you like meat. Pork in particular.

Then we just got to wandering in World Showcase, stopping for drinks in Italy, France and The UK, before the locals decided to split. We took some group pictures in front of Spaceship Earth, and then Mike, Megan and I decided to ride it.

I teased Mike that this felt exceptionally like when we were kids and our dad always took us on Spaceship Earth in the evening before the fireworks. He nodded, “Dad, really loves this ride.” After our trip through time (I should note both times I rode, no breakdowns. HOORAY!) Then we decided to go for Margaritas (TWICE IN ONE DAY! BLESS!) then Mike said he wanted to try for Frozen.

Wait was about a half hour, and we got right on. (3 times, I rode Frozen 3 times this day, if you’re keeping track.) Then we headed to Morocco to check in for our Spice Road Table reservation. We settled at a table, ordered Hummus Fries, (YESSSS) Rasberrie Brie, Fish Croquettes and a pitcher of Sangria, and watched Illuminations. It was lovely. As always.

Next stop was The Beach Club to grab a Minnie Van to Springs, where we had drinks at Enzo’s Hideaway and then Raglan Road before heading back to the room and basically pass out.

Stay tuned for Animal Kingdom, light Studios, and a quick AF trip home!

Revenge Of Dapper Day Disney Trip Preview!

Guys! I’m off to Disney World again this week. (SHUT UP! YOU HAVE A PROBLEM! I’m FINE!)

So, as always I thought I’d do a rundown of what I have planned, what I’d like to do and then when I do the trip reports, we can all laugh about the plans going off the rails, sound good?

First of all, named the trip “Revenge Of Dapper Day” since it’s the third one. My third Dapper Day and the third time I’m going this weekend in April.  (It’s a Star Wars joke!)

Anywho, here’s my thoughts:

Friday April 27: Arrival Day

Hooray for arrival day! I’m not taking my customary 5/6 AM flight for a lot of reasons, but mainly it was because I wanted to actually do a Disney Springs night, and that tends to not happen when I arrive in the morning and want to rush right to the parks. SO! My flight is at 2, I get in at 4:30, which means I should be arriving at Port Orleans: Riverside by 6:30 at the latest. I have a reservation at Maria & Enzo’s at 7:45 after which I plan to just wander around a little before going to The Edison for drinking and dancing. That’s also the official Dapper gathering. If I’m not enjoying myself, there’s a NON ZERO shot of me hopping a bus to the Poly and hitting Trader Sam’s.

Saturday April 28: Dapper Day at Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom opens at 8, so I plan to be at the turnstiles at 6:30.

I’m kidding. I‘m not doing that again. In REALITY, I’d like to be there by 7:30, that way I can rope drop over to Fantasy Land and get Mine Train and Princess Meets knocked out. (I’ll be dapper bounding as Cinderella so she’s a must, and obviously I have to see my buddy Rapunzel.) I have a bunch of morning fast passes (Space Mountain, Peter Pan & Splash Mountain) plus I’ll hit the other heavy hitters with lighter lines (Pirates, Mansion, Small World, Jungle Cruise) and then I’m thinking I’ll go over and do a brunch type meal at The Grand Floridian, after checking out the Dapper Day pop up shop there. I don’t have a reservation, but I doubt I’ll have trouble getting a table at Grand Floridian Cafe, there seem to ALWAYS be reservations for that day of!

I’ll probably pick up a fast pass and maybe ride the riverboat after that before my afternoon break, where I FULLY PLAN on spending at least an hour sitting by the pool. I never do pool time on these trips and I always regret it. I’m hoping to then either do Riverside Mill quick grab or maybe head to Springs for a late lunch/supper type meal depending on timing, before going back over to MK for the evening (Aiming for around 6).

I love evening at The Kingdom, so I’ll likely wander, do a few rides, maybe character meets, but the one thing I absolutely want to do this trip is head to The Contemporary around 8 and see if I can get to California Grill Lounge for Happily Ever After. Then I’ll head back to the park for my absolute favorite time of day post nighttime show park time. God, I love it, I love the lighting and swimming upstream from the crowds leaving at Main Street (or Hollywood Ave, or The Oasis, Or…I’ve actually never stayed at Epcot post Illuminations…) There are a few things I SPECIFICALLY want to do in these two hours (Dumbo, People Mover & Big Thunder Mountain) but mostly again, I think I’m just gonna grab a Dole Whip and walk about. The park closes at midnight, so I likely won’t go out afterwards, but if I’m SUPER antsy, I MIGHT go to Jellyrolls, (Which stays open until 2) or Sam’s (open until 1 I think?)

Sunday April 29: Epcot Dapper Day and FRIENDS GALORE!

I’m really looking forward to Sunday. I’m hoping to get up and over to Studios for it’s Extra Magic Hour, and hit it’s 4 rides being done by 9:30-ish (this is a truly non difficult thing to do over there at the moment…) I don’t feel the need to over indulge at the Launch Bay or do any of the shows, since I’ve done them all a few times, and I want to get to Epcot for Dapper Day festivities.

I have a 9:30 Frozen fast pass (PSYCHED!) so I don’t have to worry about rope dropping it, and I left my third open, (second was for Spaceship Earth) so that I can hopefully pick up Soarin’ after that. As y’all know, I prefer light scheduling for Epcot days since it’s a wander around and find your fun park (as opposed to Magic Kingdom, where I hyperventilate if my morning isn’t SUPER STRUCTURED because otherwise SO MANY LINES). I haven’t decided on my bound, I’m too fat for the dress I initially wanted to wear, the thing I put together instead looks a bit too casual, though is still very period and I’m waiting on a few pieces I ordered from Amazon as a third alternative, which isn’t a bound at all, just dapper. (I’m hanging out with Juli today, I’m sure she’ll help me decide)

BUT most excited of all for this day, my brother Mike and his girlfriend Megan are going to meet up with me here. They’ll be at a wedding in Sarasota on Saturday and were looking for something to do for the rest of the weekend, and this just sort of worked out. We’re also meeting up with our friend Nick and Jen and their kids (YAY! BABIES!) (Also Nick and Jen!) and Meg’s cousin. We’re doing a late-ish lunch at Biergarten (2PM) and an 8:15 PM drinks/desert/small plates at Spice Road Table (Though I’m continuing to look for Pub reservations throughout the week. MAYBE WE’LL GET LUCKY!) I’m excited for Biergarten, and Mama loves her Hummus fries so woo!

Because we’ll be with Mike, we’ll likely wind up back at Springs for the night festivities, as he feels about Raglan Road how I feel about Trader Sam’s. It’s his all time favorite Disney Spot. I haven’t done the pub properly, so I’m sure this will be super duper fun!

Monday April 30th: ANIMAL KINGDOM HOORAY!

Mike’s dying to go to Pandora and I’m never in a million years going to say no to time at Animal Kingdom, so that’s what we’re doing in the morning. My flight isn’t until 10 PM, where as Mike and Meg head out at 7, so I’ll have the late afternoon/early evening to myself and I’m torn between MORE ANIMAL KINGDOM, and Studios or Epcot or Springs, but I’ll play it by ear…I’ll definitely do a good meal, where to be determined, but hopefully somewhere new, around 6, before getting a Lyft to the airport around 7:30 or 8. (Suggestions welcome, someplace with bar/lounge seating preferred…just because solo dining…)

I’m excited for a lot of things this trip but mostly I’m excited to get bits of a solo trip and hang out and share new memories with people I care about. It’s the best of both worlds! Honestly, if I had one thing I would have changed about my November trip it would have been insisting on splitting off and doing my own thing a bit more (or changing my flights so I had some solo time…) just because I’m so used to doing things on my own in the parks that I bristled a bit at being on someone else’s time table the entire time.

Overall I’m excited to head back, and I love that this has sort of become my little welcome the good weather back tradition. (And that it happens to coincide with Dapper Day now is extra fun.) Seeing Epcot done up for Flower And Garden Festival is sooo lovely, it’s my favorite time of year there, aesthetically. (Though I haven’t done Festival Of The Arts…maybe next year…)

 

Merry Dapper Day: 11/20/2017: “That Time Of Year”

If there’s one thing that I’ve done in this year of Disney that I do not every feel the need to do again, it is the 4 Park Day.

While very fun, these marathons are exhausting, and made more so by the discontinuing of the Express Bus Service. (Seriously, such a bummer that this isn’t a thing anymore.) If other people I’m with want to do it, I’ll nope out at lunch time and take a nap.

Anyway, all this to say, that I’m glad I did both of my 4 Park Days this year, but I am not doing it again for a very long time.

So, we got up early, there was a 7 AM extra magic hour at Animal Kingdom, and we drove over. We were through the gates by 7:45 and on Kilamanjaro Safaris by 8. After the safari, (which went well, again, I don’t know that I’ll ever top February’s safari trip, but again, this one was very good.) and then did Gorilla Falls, before grabbing a fastpass picture and then driving to park at the TTC. (We planned on finishing the day at Magic Kingdom, so this made the most sense.) Then we caught the Monorail to Epcot, since we had some Fastpasses (and a burning desire for some Via Nappoli Pizza.) there. We rode Living With Land, then got on The Friendship Boat, and hit Italy, hoping for a walk up to Via Nappoli. We got a table in about 10 minutes (I always forget how fricking HUGE that restaurant is) and a pepperoni pie and a bellini made the whole day a little better. (I was feeling my hangover from the day before, LET ME TELL YOU!) We then backtracked to the Land pavillion again, to ride Soarin’ and followed that up with a ride on Imagination.

Somewhere in there, we managed to take this picture.

I haven’t done either Living With The Land or Imagination since I was kid and they were fun to revisit. Living With The Land is super relaxing and the tour of the Greenhouses is really cool, and honestly, who doesn’t simply adore Figment?

After that we worked our way to the back exit, took a Friendship Boat to the Yacht and Beach Club to check out the Gingerbread Carousel. Juli’s always said that The Boardwalk is her dream resort, where as I lean more Yacht & Beach, and I think after catching a glimpse of Storm A Long Bay, I’ve brought her over to my point of view. (STEP INTO MY WEB!) We then got back on the boat, and headed to Studios.

Because of lines, we opted out of any of the rides there, but did catch Muppets 3-D, For The First Time In Forever: A Frozen Sing A Long, (which featured a special ending with “That Time Of Year” and “When We’re Together” from Olaf’s Frozen Adventure.) We also hung out on Sunset Boulevard and watched the projection show “Sunset Season’s Greetings” which goes onto the Tower of Terror. It’s a really cute show, and I especially appreciated that one of the segments is based around “Mickey’s Christmas Carol,” which has always been my favorite version of that story.

We settled in for Fantasmic after that, and golly, what a good show that is! I haven’t seen it in a while, but it’s Juli’s favorite, so we were definitely not skipping it. We managed to see the actual fireworks from “Jingle Bell Jingle Bam” while we waited, as well as the finale of Illuminations! (Pretty cool stuff!)

Fantasmic really is great though, it’s sweet, and an excellent use of characters and has some great music in it. The five minute long Pocohontas section is a little bit dated. (I mean, I’m just saying it wouldn’t be hard to say, switch that up to be about a young Polynesian girl wondering how far she’ll go…) But otherwise, this is a stone cold classic.

Our final stop was Magic Kingdom, where we arrived just as the lights were dimming for “Happily Ever After.” Our plans were all Fantasyland based, so we saw the fireworks, but not the projection show. (Still really good.)

Also, got these cool pics with the fireworks in them!

We rode Under The Sea, and then Dom wanted to check out Winnie The Pooh. I’m not a huge fan of that ride, and was wearing my Rapunzel Disneybound, so I went to meet up with Punzie herself (and my girl Tiana!)

As I talked about my “best day ever” with Rapunzel, I thought about how lucky I’ve been this year, to share my favorite place with so many people I love so much, and how happy I am to have made these little touchstones for myself.

Chatting with Rapunzel = My favorite thing to do on trips. For serious.

Juli, Dom and I met up altogether at the latern photo spot by Rapunzel’s tower, and then we headed out to get to the TTC and then home.

The lines for both the monorail and the ferry were bonkers, so we walked to the contemporary and took the monorail from there. Once we got back to the hotel, we all quickly crashed out.

Our final day might have been my favorite…I’ll get into why when I talk about it tomorrow! (Yes, I’m burning through these write ups…I had to do something to distract myself during the boring/terrible parts of the prequels…so you know…most of the prequels…)

Merry Dapper Day Trip: 11/19/2017: “Dapper World Travel”

Crazy early rope dropping is crazy. Normal things kick off at 9 AM rope dropping…way better. Which made our Sunday much easier than our Saturday.

It was Dapper Day at Epcot, all three of us were bounding as Inside out Characters. Juli as Disgust, Dom as Anger and me as Fear. Our first stop was obviously the Character Spot to meet Joy and Sadness. It worked out perfectly, we were the first ones in the door and our friends were just so happy to see us.

Our next stop was Test Track, which because of the speedy Joy and Sadness meet, we waited 20 minutes for. (HOORAY! I ❤ Rope Drop!) And then thanks to Dom, we crushed all of our tests (except efficiency, which you know, fine.)

Our next stop was Spaceship Earth, and I mean, you all know how I feel about Spaceship Earth, but this ride was, well, rough. It’s normally a 20 minute experience and due to breakdowns in every single room it took about an hour. It may have even cured me of my love for it. (Not really, but I mean, maybe.)

After that we had a fast pass for Character Spot, which again, is on my top 10 character meets. It’s just a lot of fun, and you get the classic looks for the characters.

At last, we decided to begin our trip around the world, where we would eat, drink and be holiday merry! Juli wanted to do the Chip and Dale Oranament Scavenger Hunt, which wound up being a great deal of fun! Our first stop was Mexico, which meant, of course! Margaritas!

I decided to skip La Cava (I know, blasphemy!) And to check out the new tequila stand, La Choza. I went for the classic lime frozen Margarita which was delicious and refreshing. We also ate a couple of snacks from the holiday kitchen, and then shopped in the pavilion, and rode La Fiesta Tour! (I still think that ride has some weird racial elements, but everyone else tells me I’m nuts, so you know, whatever.)

Then came Norway, where we had a fastpass for Frozen Ever After. I still love it. I will always love it. Post ride, we split a beer and got some pastries at Kringla, and HOLY CRAP am I planning on doing that every time from now on. Everything was sensationally yummy, not too sweet and delicious.

China netted another beer, some pot stickers and egg rolls, and a wander through the exhibit on Shanghai Disneyland. Someday I will attempt the Asian parks, though Disneyland Paris seems way more likely this half decade. (I have some vague Europe plans, that include Paris, and well, it’s something I’d like to do for a day…) then Germany, (beer and cheese fondue…) then Italy, (Rose Regale), American Adventure, where we not only chowed down on turkey and stuffing (and a citrusy wheat beer,) but we shopped and I bought some mega cute Mason Jar Glasses featuring Huey, Dewey and Louie enjoying New York and New Jersey.

In Japan, we skipped drinking or eating (nothing really appealed) and just wandered around Mitsokoshi.

Morocco brought more wandering through the market place (and Sangria) followed by a bit of Bouche De Noel, (and Kir Royale) in France, plus some more shopping. We reached the UK, and I demanded a Snake Bite! Juli wanted tea, so we got that too, and again, our search for Chip and Dale lead us through the shops.

Finally we got to Canada, and decided to check in for dinner early. The desk actually advised against it, and we instead found out way to the front of the park to take some pictures. I love a picture of Spaceship Earth at night and honestly, I think this picture of the three of us in front of the Epcot Christmas Tree is one of the best we took.

During this, we squared with the fact that we just might miss Illuminations. I was bummer, but excited to try the new restaurant, which was, once we checked in, truly great. We ate the Cheddar Cheese soup (natch) and a special Poutine only available to Annual Pass Holders (Woo hoo! That decision paid off again!) and then split the Porterhouse for 2 among the three of us. (It was more than enough!) We were finished by 8:50, and the meal was well paced, but not super rushed, and able to find spots right on the railing for Illuminations.

I love this show, and everytime I’ve seen it this year, I’ve remembered that it may be the last time, and I’ve cried. This time, I held it together, until, well, until the end. After the normal finale, there was a very special Holiday Tag, which aside from being a lovely blue color scheme, is soundtracked by a children’s choir singing “Let There Be Peace On Earth.”

So, I was basically a puddle.

After that, we strolled to the Boardwalk and over to Jellyrolls. A few beers, and a lot of fun (though more mellow than the usual brand I’ve had there) later, we decided to hop in a Lyft and head back to the hotel.

Ummm, with a Lyft driver, I will only describe as eccentric, (who didn’t use GPS, God help us) we all did out best to get through the ride without bursting into giggles. The giggles came, once we exited and headed back to the room.

We were in bed well before midnight, ready for our 4 park day, the next day…stay tuned!

Disney Cousin Fall Trip 9/17/2017 Part 1: “Brunch!”

Ah, waking up with a hangover in Disney. I’ve done it every trip I’ve taken since Juli and my trip 2 years ago.

This time, while Tom got ready, I trekked down to the food court again, returning with Biscuits and Bacon, and we quietly, but with great speed, found our way to the bus to head to Hollywood Studios.

The plan was to ride the 4 rides there and then head to Epcot for our brilliantly planned Brunch reservation at Spice Road Table.  We did succeed in that.

First we hit Rockin Roller Coaster, which is always a good time.

It was Walk On (Thanks Extra Magic Hour!)  and rather than jump right over to Tower of Terror (I learned, from the stomach issues of the past) we headed to Toy Story, which again, we walked on to. Next we backtracked to Tower of Terror, which was showing an 85 minute wait time.

The cast member at the front said it was likely to be closer to 40, so we shrugged and headed in to wait in line.

I want to make it absolutely clear that I actually looked at the clock every step of the way. From entering under the gate to watching the video in the library, it was 10 minutes. From exiting the library to entering our elevator, it was 10 minutes. We waited 20 minutes for a ride that was marked with an 85 minute wait time. (I told you this would be a theme.)

Tom is saying something profound, I’m sure…

Tower of Terror was great, it always is. After that we headed right over to Star Tours, where again, the wait was brief, but I love that queue so I’d wait, like a maximum of 40 minutes for that ride.

Tom nearly got sick so, we opted to skip Muppets, because seriously, nausea + 3-D is rarely a good combo, and we headed to the Launch Bay. The lines for the meets were a little bit on the long side, so we opted to head to Epcot, since Frozen Ever After was showing a 40 minute wait.

At nearly 10:30 AM.

YES REALLY!

We skipped off to the boat and rode over to Epcot, happily discussing our strategy (Tom feeling much better) and wound our way over to Norway, to get in line for Frozen, now showing 35 minutes. (At 11:15! Prime World Showcase arrival time. I was flummoxed). I set a timer, because I was curious. The Ever After line is a good one, once you get inside, full of things to look at and nice music and AC, but we didn’t even have to walk through Kristoff’s Ice House, and only wound around the town square once, and we only caught a glimpse of Oaken, before boarding our boat to the Mountain 15 minutes after getting on line.

I’m still smiling huge because the line was so short!

I’ve ridden it with a Fastpass and had the line take longer than 15 minutes. I declared after our trip to see the whole gang, (and Tom’s agreement that Sven is a most impressive Animatronic) that I would ALWAYS come this time of year now, Hurricane Season Be Damned, because OMG 15 minutes? We were now late for our reservation, though I doubted it would be a problem, and we headed straight on over to Morocco.

Spice Road Table is on my “favorite restaurants in Disney World” for a reason, you guys. It’s a lovely place, small but not claustrophobic, interesting but accessible food, and never crowded. This was the first time I ate inside the restaurant, which was very different, and the first time I at there during the sunlight.

Tom helped himself to Lamb Sliders, and I went for a combination of hummus fries (BESSTTT) and Rosemary Brie Fondue. Both were excellent, and drinking a Pomegranate Mimosa made it officially Brunch.  (It’s not brunch without champagne drinks!) Post food and ooohing over the view, we headed to the front to get our bus for afternoon nap.

This nap was even more necessesary than the previous, and also featured football watching. I went and grabbed a soda at one point, and I ate the rest of the biscuits, because if I don’t eat every hour or so I get cranky, and also they were there.

The final thing I did during this break, was run down to the store and pick up a Christmas ornament. See, I have my own apartment now, which means that for the first time in my life, I will have my OWN Christmas tree, which means, I need stuff to put on it.

Because I am who I am, I know that there will be a healthy amount of Disney representation on that tree, just generally, but I wanted something to specifically remember the oddness of this year and the four trips that went into it. I came up with the idea of getting an ornament from each resort I stayed in, which can become my tradition, even AFTER this crazy Disney year ends, when I stay in different resorts. (My dad is determined to return, and we’re likely to stay either on the Boardwalk or on the Monorail loop then…) So, I grabbed the Riverside ornament this time. (I also got a Saratoga Springs one, but that’s for the report on Monday of this trip!)

Once all of that was settled in, we headed down to get on our Magic Kingdom bus, for our last park excursion of the trip, and some Halloween time fun! (WEEE!)

Stay tuned for more on that!

I’m One of THOSE People Now: My Solo Disney Trip Part 3

I swear this is the final update on this! (Seriously, I need to move on, there was just so much that I wanted to write about and so much of it was amazing.)

Sunday 5/1/2016

This was easily my favorite day of the trip, where I spent most of the day at Magic Kingdom, (with a quick jump back over to Epcot to hang out with some awesome people!)But first things first.

Gratefully, the saga of the horrible on fire contacts was resolved in the new solution making them wearable, and my eyes were un reddened. (Woo!) So, rather than risk missing my breakfast reservation I grabbed an Uber over to the Contrmporary, and walked right up to the gates! I was not prepared, in the slightest for how cool it felt to be walking down a practically empty Main Street, USA.

Heart of America, indeed!

I was doing breakfast at Be Our Guest which is all the way at the back, so I got to walk through Fantasyland as well. I got to the restaurant and settled in. I’d pre ordered a Croque Madame, and opted for a table in The West Wing, which was cool, but in the end, I think I would have preferred sticking to the ballroom.

The sandwich was so good, I wound up scraping every last drop of bechamel off my plate. Then I wandered the castle for a bit and waited for official opening time, I walked right on to almost every ride, and wound up only using my fastpass for Splash Mountain. I also decided to keep the princess hunt going and met Tiana.

Then it was lunchtime and so back to Epcot! I don’t consider a Disney trip complete without a ferry ride, so I took the ferry over to the Epcot monorail, and while heading through world showcase happened upon Greg and Joanna! (I’m kidding, of course. We planned it and Joanna and I had been texting about meeting up for days before hand!) We had lunch at Via Nappolie in Italy, which was amazing! 

Then it was time for a visit with Belle in France, and back to Magic Kingdom. I quickly rode Jungle Cruise, met Ariel, Aurora, Anna and Elsa, then started on my favorite part of my whole trip, The Monorail Bar Crawl!

If you don’t know what that is, it’s quite simple, you get on the monorail from Magic Kingdom, you stop at The Contemporary, Polynesian Village and The Grand Floridian and go to a bar (or multiple bars) at each. I did one each, The Wave at Contemporary, Trader Sam’s at Polynesian, and Mizner’s at Floridian.

At The Wave, I discovered the joy of The Moscow Mule. But it was definitely not a hang out and chat place. There was a convention there, so most of the people were just talking to each other, but Moscow Mule, AWESOME!

Then it was on to Trader Sam’s which was EASILY, my favorite place in the whole of Disney World (narrowly edging out Jellyrolls over at the Boardwalk). The bar is spectacular! I had the Krakatoa Punch, and the Tuna Poke and chatted with a nice couple staying at the resort. 

After realizing that I couldn’t actually sit there all night I hopped on the Monorail at hit Mizner’s, which included a cosmopolitan, some jazz, and some more lovely conversation. 

Then it was back to Magic Kingdom for The Mainstreet Electrical Parade, Celebrate The Magic and Wishes. And so much crying. I also managed to meet Cinderella and Rapunzel, ride Peter Pan and Haunted Mansion again! I got back to the hotel and watched Game of Thrones. 

Monday 5/2

Not much to report. I went to Disney Springs. I shopped, I ate, I flew home. 

Sorry this post was so late! I’ve been at ACBC having the best time ever! But overall, I had an amazing trip!

I’m One Of THOSE People Now: My Solo Disney World Adventure Part 1

It was really only a matter of time before I had the time and disposable income to become a Crazy Disney Person. The writing was on the wall when I went to Vegas and spent half the time thinking I’d rather be in Disney, but it solidified with my pure joy at my trip this past October, and diving into the Disney blog scene plus my growing friendship with Kristi, it kind of had to happen. (Yes, Kristi, I’m blaming this on you…)

But this weekend, the only free weekend I have for a couple of months I think, I decided to spend in Disney World, by myself, (save lunch on Sunday!), on my second trip inside of a year, well that clinched it. I’m a Disney Person now. I guess my next step is an Annual Pass and after that DVC..but right now I’m just at one trip a year stage.

And what a trip it was! I’m going to go Day By Day because that’s easiest for me!

Friday 4/29

After the genuine hell that was Newark Airport Security (seriously, I showed up at 5:30 for a 7 AM flight and only made it because the flight was delayed…CRAZY) I had an uneventful flight and trip back to The Swan where I was staying. I chose The Swan for a lot of reasons, I’ve always wanted to stay there, since driving past the weird stylish Swan & Dolphin buildings as a kid, and it was about the same price wise as staying at Port Orleans and it’s a way better location (walkable to Epcot and a minutes long Boat Ride to Hollywood Studios.) I registered, though didn’t get into my room (it was 10:30 in the morning, it was a longshot), changed out of my tee shirt and yoga pants plane outfit and walked myself over to Epcot.

It was the Flower and Garden Festival so Epcot was especially beautiful, and I was planning on being there for at least a little while every day (meals, for the most part). Since it was now approaching noon and the only things I’d had to eat were a Special K bar at 4:30 AM and a cookie on the plane, I was ready for some real deal good World Showcase food. I’d decided before leaving home that I’d grab a sandwich at Les Halles de Boulangerie in France since it’s not far from the gates and apparently awesome. So I grabbed the Beurre Jambon sandwich and a Mimosa and got going.

I sat down inside because it was noon in Orlando in April and I’m not a crazy person….and was almost immediately joined by a young woman named Heather, who was enjoying a day in the park while her boyfriend stayed at their hotel. We chatted and oohed and ahhed over our sandwiches, she mentioned that she was heading for a wine flight, I said I was going to wander around until I got into my room and then was heading to Hollywood Studios, we parted ways.

I then wandered around World Showcase, peaking into the various pavilions in a way I didn’t get to in October, since it was the Food and Wine Festival and I was focused on well, Food and Wine. I was particularly thrilled when I hit the Mitsukoshi Department Store in Japan and was immediately greeted by my favorite Pretty Guardians.

I caught the tail end of The Flag Show in Italy and also wandered in and out of the shops in China, and by the time I hit Germany, I knew it was time for me to grab a drink. Since I’d done wine in Germany previously, I went to the quick service restaurant and got an Oktoberfest, as well as a big tall water (Hey Water Buddy, even 1,000 away I can hear you in my head!) I drank it and wandered through the German Village and next door to Mexico, and into the pyramid (which is great, because it’s Air Conditioned!) and noticed that the line for La Cava De Tequila wasn’t terribly long. I was psyched, because in October it literally wound four times around the pyramid. So I popped in and got the Blood Orange Margarita, and you guys, I cannot make this more clear, this is the single greatest drink I have ever had. It was everything a Margarita should be, sweet and tangy and smooth and fruity and amazing.

At this point I realized that if I didn’t ride Test Track, I’d probably be too drunk if I waited much longer. So I headed in that general direction, stopping to say hi to Daisy on my way.

Got on the single rider line, got stuck in a car full of cheerleaders and thoroughly enjoyed my first Disney ride of the trip.

I then went to Spaceship Earth, because you have to eat your vegetables and also I love it. (I justify the fact that I never plan to do The Hall of Presidents again, by loving the crap out of Spaceship Earth.) By then I’d basically sweat through my clothes so I decided to see if I could get into my room. I could! So I showered, unpacked and then hopped right on a boat to Hollywood Studios.

Guys this was my favorite part of the trip and I know this post is crazy long, but seriously, it is amazing over there right now. It was like I died, got to heaven and it turned out that heaven was just full of Star Wars stuff. (As I imagine heaven probably is.)  Of course I did the usual suspects, I rode Tower of Terror (twice, once during the day and once after dark), and Toy Story Mania and The Hollywood Rockin Roller Coaster and The Great Movie Ride. I saw The Indiana Jones stunt show.

I skipped The Muppets because when it made sense timing wise for me to do it, I had a headache and the old 3-D was not a good idea. I also skipped Fantasmic, because I’ve seen it and I’d already cried enough by then (I’ll get to it) I hit The Hollywood Brown Derby Lounge for Dinner, and had their Shrimp and Grits as well as their white Sangria (for the most part I tried to eat places I didn’t eat in October, and I think this counts because the Lounge menu is completely different than the dining room menu) both were awesome, but especially the Shrimp and Grits which is a dish I would eat pretty much anywhere I see it because it is not common where I live.

Anyway, Star Wars, so obviously, let’s start with Star Tours, which I wanted to ride twice but only got to once. I got to see the new scene where you meet up with Finn on Jakku, and while this creates just a universe of continuity errors (Vader and Finn are not around at the same time, Star Tours…) I giggled and clapped when he popped up on my screen. I saw the tail end of “Trials of The Jedi Temple” show and watched the Younglings with their sabers and cried. Then I saw the Star Wars: A Galaxy Far Far Away show and cried. Then I went to do the meet and greet with Kylo Ren and Chewbacca and stood up to Kylo Ren because I was dressed as Poe, he got in my face, I was defiant, and I have a new profile picture (sorry Cap!) then I saw Chewy and he noticed my outfit and roared and saluted me and I cried.

Then I ran around taking pictures of all of Rey and Poe’s props so that Aless and I can use those as reference points (#cosplayproblems) then I found a spot to watch the Star Wars: Symphony In The Stars fireworks and I cried. Look, if you’ve been around for a while you know that Star Wars stuff makes me cry, this isn’t news. (The sangria didn’t help…) Studios was open until midnight so there was a lot of running around late at night getting stuff done but I made it back to the hotel and basically passed out.

Anyway, I figured I’d get the Star Wars stuff in today! May The 4th Be With You!

Rest of the trip report will probably be up next Tuesday…Love you all!