“Life is Grand, it Yacht to be, we are at Disney! 1/29 New TR link, a question, and this TR is complete!

For sure, it is fun to assist people with our vast Disney knowledge :mickeyjum
::yes::
It was weird but this fish came out of the rocks and stared at Andi and followed her around the tank, the CM even noticed and said he doesn’t normally do that!
Ah yes. The little known Stalker Fish.
We are on our last day at WDW!
Don't go!!!
This was a 10 night trip for us and it still went by quick!
It always does.
Airport check in. This is such a wonderful perk Disney has the resorts.
I wish I could use it. Just sounds wonderful.
Some people have asked me if you can use airport check inif you aren’t using the DME, yes you sure can! It is such a time saver once you arrive at the airport. So if Uber or Lyft are your preference no problem, still use airport check in at your Disney Resort!
Good to know... if it was an option.
We decided to head over to WtP and this was about a 15 minute wait, not bad.
That is not bad. I won't stand in line much longer than that for that ride.
We tried to ride Under the Sea with Ariel except it was down.
Really? I think that might be the first time I've heard it being down.
I wanted to try the Cheshire Cat tail and slushy. We headed over to this kiosk and ordered both. It was nice and quiet in this area. We were able to sit for a few minutes and enjoy our sugary breakfast. I really enjoyed both,
Glad you liked the Cat tail... I wasn't a fan.
With the sugar high, we were giddy and thought IASW was a good idea.:laughing:
Yeah... you'd have to be high to think that.


:rolleyes1
Our first FP was for PPF, this is a must for me as many times as possible,
::yes:: Me too.
This is another favorite of ours, Andi likes this one more than I do, so I always try to FP at least once a trip.
Nice of you. :)
This was a fun cruise, however, our skipper was just average to me, nothing special.
Well, that's too bad. That ride is made or busted by the skipper.
Tiki Birds before the next FP. This is a nice filler attraction and a way to cool down on these hot days.
::yes:: Agreed. Hot? Tiki birds.
It was time for BTMRR FP, this was fun as usual, always makes me laugh, see ya next time Big Thunder.
:laughing: Such a great ride. :)
We did have a nice cool down in here and it was the first time we saw Donald Trump :sad2:
So... politics aside... how was the animatronic Trump from a technical view point?
We went in Momento Mori for a little while before the HM FP, when we came out the FP line was all the way back to CHH.
Whoa! The FP line was that long???? Holy crap!
Thank goodness next time is 14 days away from today.pixiedust:
Soon! Two weeks!
We headed to Captain Cooks for lunch.
Never been, but have heard others mention it.
This QS uses a buzzer to bring your food out to you. This is a plus because you can sit and be served instead of standing forever in a long line.
Nice. Like that much better.
I am not giving up my delicious nachos to share another vegetarian dish, no way!
:lmao:
It was time to have the last dole whip of the trip.
Such a sad statement.
It is weird looking because they can’t swirl the flavors, :confused3 they have to plop it on top of each other.
That does seem odd... and...
IMG_Jan12020at71552AM.jpg
… yeah, that looks weird. Especially Andi's.
The security screening without it was taking 40-50 minutes, yikes!
:eek:
MK was so crowded with some not so nice guests
:( Not cool.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write about your adventures! :goodvibes
 
You made a lot of use of your time on your last WDW day. A ride on BTMRR and PPF sounds like just the thing to do on a final MK day. :goodvibes

I never noticed that they can't swirl the flavors together. That's interesting!

I feel like MCO has the craziest security lines. It's always packed! TSA Precheck really is a lifesaver.
 


I wanted to try the Cheshire Cat tail
Yum! I tried this for the first time in August myself, and really enjoyed it.

We decided to go in the Hall of Presidents to cool off. It sure was hot otherwise there is no way I can get Andi in this attraction, to boring she claims. We did have a nice cool down in here and it was the first time we saw Donald Trump :sad2:
Haven't yet had the pleasure myself... :sad2:

Thank goodness next time is 14 days away from today.pixiedust:
Yay!!!

1. Way more crowded than the past August trips we have done.
Agreed!

MNSSHP was way to crowded to really enjoy like we use to.
I was so bummed about the crowds that night :headache:

What a wonderful trip, Caroline! And I was SO happy to be a part of it :goodvibes Can't wait to hear about your January plans!
 


Another amazing trip report, Caroline! As always, I loved following along with you and Andi :goodvibes



You all can continue to feel sorry for me :rotfl: We have received 44 inches of snow since the week of Thanksgiving. This is more than double what is normal for a 2 month period.
It is crazy! I am use to snow, I have lived in Northern Minnesota and Northern Michigan my entire life, however, I am not impressed! It seals the deal for me to move to Florida soon!

Yuck! That's crazy :scared1:


I plan to work from home, once Andi graduates from college, and live in Florida for 3 months each year! This is my goal and in reality it could happen as soon as 2 years from now, yay!!

OMG, that's so exciting!


With the sugar high, we were giddy and thought IASW was a good idea.:laughing: The ride was not bad,

Not bad???? It's one of my favorites :love::rotfl2:


We had a picture by the pumpkins before saying goodbye to MK.
IMG_Jan12020at72339AM.jpg

Aw, so sweet :lovestruc


Goodbye MK, when I left off we were saying goodbye to MK until next time. Thank goodness next time is 14 days away from today.pixiedust:

Lucky you!


It is weird looking because they can’t swirl the flavors, :confused3 they have to plop it on top of each other.
IMG_Jan12020at91254AM.jpg


IMG_Jan12020at71552AM.jpg

It still looks yummy 😋


All in all I absolutely love WDW and will continue to go on trips as long as I am able! I have so many beautiful and wonderful memories of our WDW trips, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

I know how you feel :hug:
 
I'm glad you enjoyed La Hacienda! I tried it back in 2013 with a last-minute reservation and was very pleasantly surprised. I feel like you never hear about that restaurant, but both our food and service were excellent. I went again in 2015!

It sounds like you had a nice evening with the good meal and rides on several great attractions. It's always tough to say "goodbye for now" to each park near the end of a trip!
 
What a wonderful last day! Several great rides, great snacks, and a great lunch. That's the way to leave Disney (if you really must leave!).

I completely agree with you about airport check-in - it's wonderful! Not having to worry about checking in, getting your boarding pass, or wrestling with your luggage is a MAJOR perk.

I must, must, must try those pork nachos when I stay at the Poly in May. (Since we're staying there it will be easier to make time to get it, right? I sure hope so!)

Thank you for the wonderful trip report! I look forward to hearing about your next trip!
 
We arrived right before 9 am at MK and walked in and our chariot was waiting, did we use it, no! How dumb, we just got a picture, maybe next time.
:laughing: We've ridden the MS vehicles a few times, so neat to have an "escort" of sorts down to the castle. Definitely try it next time!
the candy Straw was not to our liking so we tossed that.
The kids had this a couple years ago in a slushie from Tomorrowland and it was GROSS. Too much sugar even for them.
. It sure was hot otherwise there is no way I can get Andi in this attraction, to boring she claims.
LOL yes it's a good filler. In July we all did it and it was a first for Chris and Ricky didn't remember anything about it
Thank goodness next time is 14 days away from today.pixiedust:
YAY! Fourteen for us as of today too!
I ordered the Pulled Pork Nachos
Probably the best decision one can make while in WDW ::yes::
2 awesome tours which I highly recommend, The Rhino tour and UnDiscovered Nations in WS.
I did the Rhino tour with Jenny and Joe and really want to do it again with the family. And super excited for the UnDiscovered tour this month!
 
Happy New Year Caroline! I'd fallen behind on your TR but was able to catch up over the holidays! So excuse my very delayed reactions!

Oh my, I've never seen the Tarzan M&G and I'm kind of surprised that this costume is still around. Wonder what that casting process is like :rotfl:


I have some exciting news about my January trip. I was checking prices this morning on the Disney website and found The Destino Tower for about $160.00 a night with a water view. I jumped on this for our last 4 nights at WDW.
Can't wait to hear your thoughts on Gran Destino. I have a room booked here in July (if I decide to brave the heat) and it looks so beautiful! 160 is such a great rate, even POP costs that much these days!

We tried the Polite Pig on our recent trip and absolutely loved it! We haven't done a ton of dining in DS but now we'll probably just be going back there instead of trying anything new, oops! The brussel sprouts were our favorite surprisingly.

Your room at the Grand looked so pretty, we hope to stay there some day if the price is right. Love the idea of being able to hop on the monorail. We tried visiting from the MK to see the gingerbread house and realized there is no bus. The monorail line and boat line were so long at the time since MVMCP was starting, we wondered if that would ever be a downside (unless they add buses when it's that busy)?

Yak and Yeti was on our radar for dinner. We flashed our Landry’s card and had a table in no time. We were on the lower level this time. It was okay not as nice as the tables upstairs with the view.
I think I will have to try Yak & the Yeti one of these days! Your food always looks good and I signed up for a Landry's card since we have so many of those restaurants here in Minneapolis.

It is a balmy 12 degrees this morning, we have fast forward to January temps already. To say I am not thrilled, is a huge understatement. I have today off and I am planning to lounge around today. :faint:
I forgot it got so cold so early (November 7th!) this year! It feels like we've had a heat wave lately with the high 20s. Makes me wonder what's to come...

We use to come here with virtually no crowds and ride Dinosaur over and over! I think our record was 9x in a row and Andi’s Everest record was 11x in a row, those days are gone now!
Oh my! :hyper: I forget if you gals have been to Disneyland or not. I loved Indiana Jones and it's supposed to be the same as Dinosaur, but I rode Dinosaur for the first time in December and they felt so different. Not sure I could ride either more than a few times in a row without a massive headache or whiplash :rotfl2:

Rino tour sounds awesome, I like the idea of the shorter and cheaper tours. One day I'd like to do Keys to the Kingdom but a 5hr commitment sounds like a lot, especially if weather is not great!

Sanaa looks so good, we did a short stay at AKL and missed it because we loved Boma so much we went twice! That bread service keeps calling to me though, I will have to make the trek out on an AK park day.

I am thinking of adding a day at US in January so we can try to ride Hagrid’s, get macarons and Vodoo Donuts.
Hagrid's is AMAZING, I hope you can ride it! The lines are so much more manageable now, I waited 50 minutes over lunch (which seemed to be the lowest wait). I also tried the macarons thanks to your reviews, so delicious! I wanted to buy everything at Toothsome's!
462573

We decided to buy junk food item #3, some Lays potato chips and dip in the gift shop. Contemporary has a bigger store with food items. This is the best deal at Disney:laughing: Right around $5.00 with AP discount. This is cheap and a good deal for the best potato chips around!
We noticed that the gift ships are such a "deal" compared to the food court. They had a full size cereal for like $6. Compared to the tiny cereals and milk they sell at breakfast that aren't even a full serving for practically the same price!

We did Buzz twice, the second time Andi was a galactic hero, yay, again, happy for her.:sad2:
I need some tips from Andi. I read a guide on which targets to aim for and I still struggled to hit one 100k target :sad: I'm much better at Midway Mania since I can see my shots, ha!

The tea room was not very busy and with our seating luck, we were brought to a table less than 6 inches away from another table of two. We found out they were also a mother/daughter traveling team. We talked to them for awhile. They had just arrived from South Carolina. They were enjoying the tea except the daughter was a little cranky and short with her mom, huh, imagine that. I had no idea what the poor mom must be feeling!:rolleyes1:hyper:
Every mother/daughter duo must be like this! Sometimes I wonder how my mom has the patience to put up with my snappy moods. :laughing: Tea looks scrumptious, I did the holiday tea at the St. Paul hotel recently with a friend and had a fabulous time. If I do tea in WDW I'll make sure to pick something decaf, we made that mistake and never again! :sad2:

When we arrived at Launch Bay, Chewbacca had a low wait. We decided to visit with our favorite SW friend. I did forget the box was taking our pictures now. It was a little distracting and I did get several pictures of my back. :D :confused3 Nice going picture box.
Ugh, I so hope these tests are a fail and they don't add anymore boxes! PhotoPass is so expensive so it's kind of ridiculous! So many people want to work for Disney so I don't want them to take more jobs away, I'll pay more for tickets if I have to :worship:.

The family we hitched a ride with in the diner was from Britain and very nice. I do believe they were a little shocked we would be sitting in the back of the car. I don’t believe they understood the whole hitchhiking thing.
Sooo awkward! We were hitchhikers as well, luckily the family did not even react to us. Kind of a similar story, I picked up a solo FP to Slinky (mom doesn't ride big rides sadly) and got put in a row with a woman with her two little girls in the row ahead of us. She went to sit in the first seat and I had to awkwardly tell her I was supposed to get in her row too. The struggle!
We shared the oreo milkshake too and thought it was so good!

The Epcot tour seems so interesting, I didn't realize they did this. I definitely am guilty of overlooking everything in the WS. I've been in all the shops and tend to skip most of them apart from Mitsukoshi in Japan.

We decided to order a pizza from Flippers. This was the first time we have ordered something from off property. I was a little leary because of all the scams I have read about with Pizza delivery. It actually worked out really well. I just paid cash so no need to give a credit card and the ordering process online was pretty easy!
We split a pizza with cheese, mushrooms and pepperoni on my side. It did take about 1 hour from the ordering to the delivery. Andi went to the main lobby to pick up and pay the driver!
I will have to try ordering food in sometime. We usually end up doing a few food court meals at the resort but sometimes you just need something different! I hear that Uber Eats and those services deliver to the resorts so maybe I will do that next trip! Did you watch Finding Dory on the room TV? Our room at Coronado had Chromecast(?) and some Disney movies, it was so nice having that and I hope more resorts add that feature (and all hotels in general, it is 2020 after all!)

We have received 44 inches of snow since the week of Thanksgiving. This is more than double what is normal for a 2 month period.
It is crazy! I am use to snow, I have lived in Northern Minnesota and Northern Michigan my entire life, however, I am not impressed! It seals the deal for me to move to Florida soon! I plan to work from home, once Andi graduates from college, and live in Florida for 3 months each year! This is my goal and in reality it could happen as soon as 2 years from now, yay!!
How amazing would that be! I keep telling my mom she needs to do this, either in FL or AZ. :hyper:

We decided to walk the Gorilla trails next. I highly recommend spending time on these trails. The morning is the best time, less crowded and you can see more of the animals and interact with the CM’s. We stopped to watch the CM feed the big turtle, he likes worms. The cute meerkats were fun to watch for awhile. We stopped to look at all the beautiful blue cichlids. We spent time talking with the CM at this exhibit. These fish came from Africa and they were dying rapidly there for some reason. Once at Disney, they thrived, in fact there are so many, Disney is giving some to Busch Gardens for the new African exhibit. Did you know, Disney autopsies every fish? They do, the CM explained how important it is to do this. It helps detect possible diseases and also if it was just time for the fish to die. We really enjoyed visiting with her and of course, learning more interesting things about AK. I highly recommend these trails, so fun!
I need to explore AK more! Usually we are so tired we don't do a lot of the trails.

Andi and I decided to try Nomads lounge. We were able to snag a table outside in the shade. The chairs are so comfortable. This was heaven, it feels like you are on a private veranda in Africa.
I definitely plan on trying this out on my solo trip! My friend recommended this to me as well, I've always wanted to try Tiffins but this seems like a more solo-friendly option. I'm a little worried the servers will not pay me much attention if I am alone and not on the dining plan, so the lounge would probably ease that fear!

We shared a compartment with 2 brothers. The boys were worried about missing Soarin FP. They were cutting it close. They didn’t know about the 15 minute grace period and I explained it to them and they were so happy to hear this!
We used this grace period more times than I'd like to admit on our last trip! I tend to book our FPs back to back so we can get them done by lunch time and make extra FPs but this means I'm always late to the next one, ha! It amazes me how many tricks there are that no one knows. Even the extra FPs, I'd be curious how many people have no idea because I always see people in long lines even early in the day.

Our entree was the vegetable enchiladas, we really enjoyed these. It was so much food for the 2 of us. We got a big bowl of black beans and these were so flavorful. I honestly don’t know how 1 person could eat this whole meal, it was a lot of food. Our meal and service were two big thumbs up from us this evening.
That's the biggest bowl of beans I've ever seen! I LOL'ed at the booth, we twosomes really do get the short end of the stick at WDW. Although, sometimes being so close to other guests does provide a source of free entertainment for the meal :hyper:

Some people have asked me if you can use airport check inif you aren’t using the DME, yes you sure can! It is such a time saver once you arrive at the airport. So if Uber or Lyft are your preference no problem, still use airport check in at your Disney Resort!
We loved using airline check in for the first time! I think we either weren't aware or were not flying one of the necessary airlines on our last trips. It was nice not having to wait in line to check a bag at the airport.

We decided to head over to WtP and this was about a 15 minute wait, not bad. This ride also makes me happy!
My favorite ride, we always make sure to get a picture by one of the Gophers signs!

I wanted to try the Cheshire Cat tail and slushy. We headed over to this kiosk and ordered both. It was nice and quiet in this area. We were able to sit for a few minutes and enjoy our sugary breakfast. I really enjoyed both, the candy Straw was not to our liking so we tossed that.
This is on my list to try! I wish the straw was like a hollow candy rope though, seems like a design flaw to just cover a paper straw (already terrible) with candy!

Our first FP was for PPF, this is a must for me as many times as possible, Andi not so much, she tolerates it for her mom.
There's hope for Andi, this ride is slowly growing on me!

We decided to go in the Hall of Presidents to cool off. It sure was hot otherwise there is no way I can get Andi in this attraction, to boring she claims. We did have a nice cool down in here and it was the first time we saw Donald Trump :sad2:
We did this for the last time for a while in 2018, we enjoyed the montage of #44 but had no need to see #45 again. Have you heard the rumors that originally made the animatronic based on a certain someone that was projected to win, and then had to make do at least minute? We thought this was the case when we saw it :rotfl:

Andi enjoyed her noodles, way to much for her but I am not giving up my delicious nachos to share another vegetarian dish, no way!
Those noodles look so good, I will have to make a special trip to try those if I'm not feeling CHH or Pecos Bills.

That is so funny! They hardly even tried :laughing:

Glad you both had such a fun trip despite the crowds and weather! I'm nervous to go in the summer but am contemplating a 4th of July trip (crazy right). I feel like as long as you manage your expectations you can always have a good time. The people that have a bad time are the ones trying to ride every ride and see ever show in one trip, just not possible unless you are there for an entire month!

Can't wait to hear about your upcoming trip, the crowds should be nice and low! Thanks for posting such a fun TR! Reading about Disney sure does make the time between trips feel a lot shorter! :lovestruc
 
We do enjoy checking out the aquarium area.

I love that area too!

Our entree was the vegetable enchiladas, we really enjoyed these. It was so much food for the 2 of us. We got a big bowl of black beans and these were so flavorful. I honestly don’t know how 1 person could eat this whole meal, it was a lot of food.

That all sounds so good! But yeah, way too much food. Such a waste.

We did get B1 without even asking, yay! Always a plus to see the world without distortion!

YAY!! I always ask now, but nice to just get it.

This was a 10 night trip for us and it still went by quick!

They always do!

It is such a time saver once you arrive at the airport.

YES!!

our chariot was waiting, did we use it, no!

But why?! LOL!! They are so fun!

The ride was not bad, it is growing on me, adios small world until next time.

I love it, but it's a nostalgia thing for me.

when we came out the FP line was all the way back to CHH. It was in the hot sun so we made an executive decision and passed on it.

WHOA! Holy cow! Good plan to pass, just too long.

I ordered the Pulled Pork Nachos

I MUST try these. I never did on my last trip and I even stayed there!

Our ride was uneventful, however the airport was packed! I was glad we had TSA precheck. The security screening without it was taking 40-50 minutes, yikes!

UGH again. I don't know WHY Orlando is such a cluster most of the time.

3. Wait times for everything were a lot to handle this trip, like resort check in, rides, guest services, merchandise shops, QS places, transportation, and picture opportunities.

Yeah. I saw that as a trend in your trip. :(
 
I fell woefully behind but caught back up for the end. It was so great to see you again this trip and spend some time with you and And! I agree this August seemed much hotter and more crowded than years past. I guess there really is no slow time anymore but we're skipping the summer again this year for hopefully some cooler November temps.

Can't wait to hear about your January trip.
 
Happy New Year. Great TR..I got lots of information..put Nomad on my must try list for our upcoming February trip. Great memories for you two.
:thanks: and Happy New Year! I hope you have a wonderful trip and fun at Nomads, it is so good!
Wish we had it too.
Fabulous trip report. Thanks for taking us along. Looking forward to hearing all about your future adventures
It is such a nice perk for us that are able to take advantage of the airline check in. Thanks so much for following along, stay tuned for more fun !
Ah yes. The little known Stalker Fish.
He was cool to watch
I wish I could use it. Just sounds wonderful.
I’m sorry you all can’t take advantage, I suppose with customs and all it makes it not available.
Well, that's too bad. That ride is made or busted by the skipper.
So true! We have had some great skippers in the past and makes such a difference
So... politics aside... how was the animatronic Trump from a technical view point?
Creepy:laughing: looked a little like Hilary C. Changed to Donald:hyper:
Whoa! The FP line was that long???? Holy crap!
It was crazy long, to much for us since we have done so many times!
Never been, but have heard others mention it.
Put Captain Cooks on your list, really good! Dole whips are a plus as well!
Thank you so much for taking the time to write about your adventures! :goodvibes
:thanks: So much for following along and commenting. Very nice!
 
You made a lot of use of your time on your last WDW day. A ride on BTMRR and PPF sounds like just the thing to do on a final MK day. :goodvibes

I never noticed that they can't swirl the flavors together. That's interesting!

I feel like MCO has the craziest security lines. It's always packed! TSA Precheck really is a lifesaver.
We really had a nice last day, just enough park time to get some favorite attractions in and a yummy lunch
MCO is crazy and the TSA staff are like drill Sargents, always barking at you!
 
Yum! I tried this for the first time in August myself, and really enjoyed it.
I liked the Cheshire Cat tail, might get it again next week!
What a wonderful trip, Caroline! And I was SO happy to be a part of it :goodvibes Can't wait to hear about your January plans!
It was fun and I was so happy to spend a little time with you. I sure hope we can meet up again soon.
Another awesome trip in the books. Can't wait to see you in 2 weeks!!!
Yay Jenny, I can now say next week I will be in WDW!
Sounds like a great last day and overall wonderful trip for the two of you!
Thank you Alexis for Commenting and joining in on my reports, I enjoy conversing with you. Guess what? The weather looks great next week, hopefully warmer than last January!
Sounds like a great last day at MK but trips do always seem to end too soon!

Can't wait to hear about your upcoming trip!
:thanks:
Another amazing trip report, Caroline! As always, I loved following along with you and And
:thanks:
OMG, that's so exciting!
I know, I plan to buy a condo and spend 3 months down in Florida. I hope in about 2 years.
Not bad???? It's one of my favorites
I have really been enjoying the last few trips, IASW is cute!
Lucky you!
It’s almost time for warm weather, I hope!
 
I'm glad you enjoyed La Hacienda! I tried it back in 2013 with a last-minute reservation and was very pleasantly surprised. I feel like you never hear about that restaurant, but both our food and service were excellent. I went again in 2015!

It sounds like you had a nice evening with the good meal and rides on several great attractions. It's always tough to say "goodbye for now" to each park near the end of a trip!
We really liked La Hacienda, it really was a pleasant surprise
I will be saying Hi to Epcot again very soon, yay!
 
What a wonderful last day! Several great rides, great snacks, and a great lunch. That's the way to leave Disney (if you really must leave!).

I completely agree with you about airport check-in - it's wonderful! Not having to worry about checking in, getting your boarding pass, or wrestling with your luggage is a MAJOR perk.

I must, must, must try those pork nachos when I stay at the Poly in May. (Since we're staying there it will be easier to make time to get it, right? I sure hope so!)

Thank you for the wonderful trip report! I look forward to hearing about your next trip!
Our last day was a fun day
Make sure you try the pork nachos in May, so good!
Thank you for joining in
 

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