Just a Couple of Childless (for the week) Millennials, Here to Ruin the Fun for Families *COMPLETED 1/5*

[DLo]

I am staying one night at Gran Destino in Nov. your pictures make me excited to see it .

 

[afwdwfan]

Well as he was standing he sees the poster for The Void, and he says, “Is that my surprise”?

I so want to do that sometime! Great idea for a surprise!

The chicken was just okay, it was pretty dry and tasteless. The sauces were good, but I feel like a better seasoned chicken would have brought out the flavors more.

That's a bummer... Seems I've heard similar reviews though. The sauces and variety are a hit, but the chicken is just ok.

Don't we look like heavily armored Ninja Turtles?

I can see it...

It was really cool in here. I have never seen Indiana Jones, but Joe is a big fan so he loved looking around.

You need to see it. Just do yourself a favor and watch the original trilogy before you watch Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Because frankly, if you watch that one first, you might not want to watch the others.

Joe ordered the Reggie’s Revenge.

I got the cool headed monkey.

Both are good choices! I like them both!

The line was empty, which we assumed meant we had just missed a bus, the wait was around 20 minutes. This would be our luck for most of the trip, we were perpetually just missing the bus.

Typical. That's the downside of Disney transportation.

I was two cards with a game of mini golf on them. I was confused because we had already received the Magical Extras card with our magicbands.

Apparently, they really want you to go play mini golf and evangelize it to your clients!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

I didn't think I would like the Void that much either since I'm not a huge gaming person but I enjoyed it too! It does feel so realistic.

I've never seen Indiana Jones either but we love Jock Lindsay's lol. We purchased the cool headed monkey cup on our first trip there.

I agree with you about the tower not fitting with the rest of the theming at Coronado. It definitely is gorgeous but seems a little out of place.

 

[ashw100]

I am staying one night at Gran Destino in Nov. your pictures make me excited to see it .

I hope you love it, make sure you stop at the top, at least for a drink at Dahlia, so beautiful.

I so want to do that sometime! Great idea for a surprise!

definitely recommend, I think you'd enjoy it.

You need to see it. Just do yourself a favor and watch the original trilogy before you watch Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Because frankly, if you watch that one first, you might not want to watch the others.

Okay, you've convinced me it's next movie series on my list, The boys and Joe love it, so I might as well.

Typical. That's the downside of Disney transportation.

Apparently, they really want you to go play mini golf and evangelize it to your clients!

I mean if they want me to evangelize upcharge events, I'm going to need it to be better than mini golf

I didn't think I would like the Void that much either since I'm not a huge gaming person but I enjoyed it too! It does feel so realistic.

Yeah, I think the reality of it was engaging, I'm not a gamer either

I've never seen Indiana Jones either but we love Jock Lindsay's lol. We purchased the cool headed monkey cup on our first trip there.

They didn't offer it to buy, so I think they just had them for serving and not for sale. I would have bought the monkey glass, so cool.

I agree with you about the tower not fitting with the rest of the theming at Coronado. It definitely is gorgeous but seems a little out of place.

Yeah, seems to be a trend with Disney. They build something really awesome, and while I love it's awesomeness, it could have been better if they just put in the right place.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

They didn't offer it to buy, so I think they just had them for serving and not for sale. I would have bought the monkey glass, so cool.

I wonder if it's like the Trader Sam's glasses that have been out of stock for months! I couldn't even tell you when we bought it, it was a while back- so long in fact that DBF told me we didn't own it and I had to go to the cabinet and show it to him.

 

[ashw100]

Did we just find our favorite drink?

We watched some Monsters Inc while we relaxed and got ready.

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Once we were ready for dinner, we took some pictures near the fountain between casitas 2 and 3.

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We walked over to the tower, and could see the fairytale wedding taking place.

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We took the elevator up to the 16th floor. An interesting thing about the elevators in the tower is that you select what floor you are going to and then it directs you to a specific elevator which will take you right up. No matter how many times we took the elevator this trip, I still made the motion to select the floor once we got on, only to remember there were no floor buttons on the elevator. We had some time before our ADR time, so we went to the bar in the Dahlia Lounge to have a drink.

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There were pictures of Walt and Dali on the wall from their time working on the animated short, Dahlia, on which the entire tower is themed.

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The bar was really beautiful, and had great views of Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.

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I ordered the Espumoso Punch, which was tart and refreshing.

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Joe went with Daura Damm Pale Ale, which he enjoyed.

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After we finished our drinks we went out to the balcony area and got some pictures of the sunset.

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We checked into our reservation at Toledo and had about a ten minute wait until we were seated.

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We were seated in the back of the restaurant near the open kitchen where they were preparing the charcuteries.

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I was blown away by the beauty in this restaurant, from the stained glass to the trees and the views, I was in love.

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Our server came over and explained that the wine selection was extensive and mostly from Spain, but we opted to go another direction. I ordered the Manzana Fizz, which I won’t spend much time on because it wasn’t very memorable.

Joe’s drink on the other hand, we fell in love with. He got the Maeloc Strawberry hard cider and I could have had ten of these things. Joe and I never got into the whole craft beer movement, but if a cider movement ever became a thing, that would be our jam. This was so crisp and refreshing. We tried all night to figure out what it tasted like and I finally put my finger on it towards the end of the meal. It tasted like a strawberry laffy taffy, but not as sweet. This was probably our favorite drink of the trip.

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Next up, we ordered the Pan con Tomate, or tomato bread, it was grilled bread, crushed tomato and olive oil. I really wanted a charcuterie, but Joe wasn't feeling it, and here begins my eternal struggle to get him to share a charcuterie with me and him saying no .

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The tomato bread was good, but nothing out of this world. While we enjoyed our appetizer, we could see the illuminations fireworks going off behind us.

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For my entrée I got the Manhattan filet, olive oil potato puree, grilled onions, dates, and sherry vinaigrette.

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This steak was so good, the char and seasonings really brought out the flavors of the meat. The potatoes were nice a creamy and the jam mixture pictured in the center were the dates. At first I thought it was weird to have a sweet jam with the steak, but once I tried the combination I couldn’t stop. I am a sucker for sweet and salty combos.

Joe ordered the bone-in pork chop paillard olive oil potato puree, Romanesco, arugula, fennel, and lemon.

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Another hit here as well. Joe could not stop raving about how delicious it was. I took and bite, and while not a fan of pork it was very juicy and flavorful. While we enjoyed our meals, we order another round of drinks, this time the strawberry cider for both of us, and enjoyed the Star Wars fireworks.

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We weren’t completely stuffed after dinner, so we each ordered a dessert as well. I got the chocolate-avocado mousse with a strawberry-basil sorbet, and coconut crumble.

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The mousse just tasted like pudding, which was good but not super special. The strawberry sorbet was so weird with the basil, but it was weird in a good way. So refreshing and light, I could have had a tub of that. Joe got the Toledo tapas bar, with came with bite size desserts served on top of a crunchy chocolate cake. The bite-sized flavors were lemon, raspberry, dark chocolate, and coffee.

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Joe really enjoyed it a lot, especially that he go so many flavors without it being too much. Each dessert was delicious and small, but just enough to put us over the edge into the stuffed category.

Overall this is a really amazing dining experience. Toledo is a great place for a date night, without completely breaking the bank, though it is not cheap either. I would highly recommend this place.

After dinner, we took more pictures of the beautiful resort.

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We got back to our room after 10, so we Facetimed with the boys and then crashed for the night. We wanted to be well rested for our first day in the parks.

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[missangelalexis]

Your dress is so pretty! Sounds like a really nice time at Toledo!

 

[tbssenterprises]

Thank you for such an extensive review of Toledo.

 

[DLo]

Wow ! Your dinner looks amazing .

 

[lvcourtneyy]

You look gorgeous! I love that dress. Thanks for the review of Toledo and all the pictures. It looks gorgeous and tasty!

 

[buzzrelly]

Once we were ready for dinner, we took some pictures near the fountain between casitas 2 and 3.

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So pretty! Both the fountains and your dress

We took the elevator up to the 16th floor. An interesting thing about the elevators in the tower is that you select what floor you are going to and then it directs you to a specific elevator which will take you right up. No matter how many times we took the elevator this trip, I still made the motion to select the floor once we got on, only to remember there were no floor buttons on the elevator.

That's weird, I'm sure I'd be confused too

There were pictures of Walt and Dali on the wall from their time working on the animated short, Dahlia, on which the entire tower is themed.

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I love that they are adding more of Walt…I could look at pictures of him all day

After we finished our drinks we went out to the balcony area and got some pictures of the sunset.

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Holy, moly! So gorgeous!

But I'm a sucker for a good sunset

Overall this is a really amazing dining experience. Toledo is a great place for a date night, without completely breaking the bank, though it is not cheap either. I would highly recommend this place.

It looks it! What time was your reservation for? It looks like you timed it just right to get the sunset and both park's fireworks. Just perfect!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Such lovely pictures of the two of you before your dinner!

Wow, that restaurant looks AWESOME! Yours is the first review I've read of both Dahlia and Toledo and you've piqued my curiosity. It looks so fancy and both of your meals look delicious. I'm thrilled you found a drink you liked - I would be a fan of that cider, too!

 

[BLAllee]

After we finished our drinks we went out to the balcony area and got some pictures of the sunset.

Gorgeous

Joe and I never got into the whole craft beer movement, but if a cider movement ever became a thing, that would be our jam.

Same, I think Cider is very underrated

 

[cindianne320]

What a fun date night. You looked so pretty and relaxed! Now I have another place on my must-try list!

 

[ashw100]

Your dress is so pretty! Sounds like a really nice time at Toledo!

Thank you, Toledo was amazing we loved it.

Thank you for such an extensive review of Toledo.

You’re welcome, I don’t feel super confident in my dining reviews, so that is nice to hear.

Wow ! Your dinner looks amazing .

It was! Highly recommend

You look gorgeous! I love that dress. Thanks for the review of Toledo and all the pictures. It looks gorgeous and tasty!

Aw that’s sweet thank you. It was so good

So pretty! Both the fountains and your dress

Thank you

That's weird, I'm sure I'd be confused too

Took some getting used to, I’m sure if we stayed there I would have stopped doing that eventually

I love that they are adding more of Walt…I could look at pictures of him all day

I agree! Love seeing Walt there, this hotel is like a love letter to work of Walt and Dali

Such lovely pictures of the two of you before your dinner!

Wow, that restaurant looks AWESOME! Yours is the first review I've read of both Dahlia and Toledo and you've piqued my curiosity. It looks so fancy and both of your meals look delicious. I'm thrilled you found a drink you liked - I would be a fan of that cider, too!

It was nice but not overly fancy, I hope you get to try it on your next trip.

Gorgeous


Same, I think Cider is very underrated

We found some great ciders this trip, stay tuned for more.

What a fun date night. You looked so pretty and relaxed! Now I have another place on my must-try list!

Thank you, it’s amazing how relaxing dinner can be when your not have to entertain three boys

 

[ashw100]

It looks it! What time was your reservation for? It looks like you timed it just right to get the sunset and both park's fireworks. Just perfect!

Realized I forgot to respond to this part. Our reservation was at 8:15, with it being summer the later sunset worked out perfect for drinks beforehand. And specifically timed dinner at 8 so we would be wrapping up around fireworks time at 9:00 and 9:30.

 

[Morieris]

What a goregeous resort from your lovely pictures. Fingers crossed you get your charcuterie board soon.

 

[ashw100]

What a goregeous resort from your lovely pictures. Fingers crossed you get your charcuterie board soon.

I don't think I'll ever get the charcuterie with this husband, maybe I need a new one

 

[ashw100]

Ha-ha Rock and Roll Puns

My first night in Disney was not a good sleep, I was just too excited. I finally rolled out of bed at 5:30 and got ready for the day. I let Joe sleep some more, but we were out the door by 7. We had to wait a little bit for the bus, but we got to DHS around 7:30 which isn’t bad. I got my first glimpse of the gondolas, which was exciting.

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We were through the screening and the tapstiles and finally on sunset at 7:45.

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Once the park opened for good, it was a madhouse. I haven’t done this type of rope drop in a long time, but I was determined to get on ToT, before the wait got insane.

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I don’t think the ride was ready right at opening because we got stuck in the garden area of the queue for about 10 minutes, but then the line started moving consistently and we were seeing the preshow 10 minutes later.

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We had an exhilarating trip to the Twilight Zone.

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I was really sad we couldn’t ride more, especially because, we had one of the worst groups ever to ride with. Notice the group of eight in the two rows behind us. They were non-English speaking and didn't understand what was going on during loading, which delayed us all. But worse yet, they talked LOUDLY during the entire pre-show and ride. They were shushed multiple time, which I believe is universal, so no language barrier there, and they just didn't care. I try really hard not to let things that that affect my enjoyment, but when this is my favorite attraction and one of two times to ride it during the trip, I could help it.

The wait was already at 90 minutes by 8:30 in the morning and I never saw it less than that the entire trip. So sadly, we moved on to the next ride. RnR was next on our list, but the wait was 35 minutes at that point.

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We thought we could shave off some time and get in the single rider line. The cast member who was telling us to cram into the load area for the preshow, started cracking jokes. No one seemed to pay him any attention, so he laughs to himself and says haha, rock and roll puns. Even though I seemed to be the only one who heard, I appreciated random cast member’s humor.

Once we got past the preshow, we noticed people that we had ridden ToT with were in the standby line passing us, so much for single rider saving us time.

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In the end it took us 35 minutes in the standby, which was probabyl ten minutes longer than the standby, oh well lesson learned. The park was already very crowded now that the park was officially open, so we headed out of the Sunset area, but not before taking some pictures.

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Now, I am sure you all understand where the title of my TR comes from. The timing of the childless millenial outrage and articles came out two days before we left on vacation, which was interesting timing for us. I had not planned on putting any pictures on my personal Facebook page. As I am sure you can all understand, non-Disney people in our lives don't understand and can even get a little judgey about not only going to Disney AGAIN, but leaving our kids behind in the process. However, I have planned to market heavily on my business page, because a huge chunk of my family and friends and therefore clients or potential clients are childless millenials. So I had planned to use this trip as a way to showcase how fun being childless in Disney can actually be. I don't know if the article helped or hurt my cause, but I decided to not be ashamed and let my freak (Disney) flag fly and posed this on Facebook that morning.

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I think it was well received.

Our first fastpass was for Star Tours, and normally at 9:00 in the morning you wouldn’t need it, but the wait was already 30 minutes. We got the Jakku, Crait, and landed in Batuu, which is my favorite sequence. We looked around Tatooine Traders, but nothing caught our eye.

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We could see the wall was down around the Galaxy’s Edge entrance, and tried to see a whole lot of nothing.

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We walked over to Muppets, but it still had 20 minutes before it opened. Not wanting to wait for the Muppets, we walked over to Voyage of the Little Mermaid. We were directly in the sun, so I pulled out my very fashionable neck fan. Sadly we did not make it into the 10 o’clock and with little else to do, we decided to stick it out and wait for the 10:25 show. We passed the time in line playing heads up.

I was very grateful for the A/C and seats when it was time for the show.

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This was Joe’s first time seeing and he really liked it. We had our FP for RnR next.

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Sadly no rock and roll puns during this wait. I have to say, while this is Joe’s favorite ride, I am not a fan. It usually gives me a massive headache, but it didn’t seem to bother me as much this time and I was able to enjoy it a lot more. We’re practically bored by it now.

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We were feeling hungry and it was just after 11, so we walked over to food area on Sunset to find something to eat. We have never eaten over here and believe it or not we have never had the infamous Disney pizza. We used mobile order to get a pizza and side caesar salad each, a coke to share and some ice water.

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I actually thought the pizza was good, was it the best pizza ever, no, but it did the trick. This was also the first time we didn’t order bottle water for a trip. I am really trying to do my best to reduce my plastic consumption, and we didn’t want to carry around a bunch water in the parks each day. Instead we had our water bottles, which we filled with ice and water from the liter we had purchased the night before. Then each time we went to a quick service we would grab water in the little cups and dump that into our water. We never took more than the one cup, but it was a great way to stay hydrated, and I definitely think we will continue with this method moving forward.

After our lunch, we made our way into a new section of the park, the Lightening McQueen area.

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The next show was supposed to start in 10 minutes so we just hung out. They have little umbrellas set up similar to how it is in Toy Story Land, but of course they were all taken. We baked in the sun, but at least I got to see ToT from a new angle.

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The space that they have the show in looks very thrown together, black walls, metal benches. The screens and animatronic are cool though.

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While this show was cute, I think it’s a one and done for us. I wouldn’t even both to drag the kids over there unless we had nothing else to do. But if you happen to be over there and you have the time, it’s a nice, entertaining distraction.

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[buzzrelly]

I was really sad we couldn’t ride more, especially because, we had one of the worst groups ever to ride with. Notice the group of eight in the two rows behind us. They were non-English speaking and didn't understand what was going on during loading, which delayed us all. But worse yet, they talked LOUDLY during the entire pre-show and ride. They were shushed multiple time, which I believe is universal, so no language barrier there, and they just didn't care.

That's the worst. My DS gets so mad when that happens. It really does ruin the ride and it's just so inconsiderate

I decided to not be ashamed and let my freak (Disney) flag fly and posed this on Facebook that morning.

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Perfect

We used mobile order to get a pizza and side caesar salad each, a coke to share and some ice water.

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Sometimes that pizza hits the spot. I used to love Pizza Planet, though last time I went to Pizzarizzo I was kind of disappointed. I'd still try it again.

I am really trying to do my best to reduce my plastic consumption, and we didn’t want to carry around a bunch water in the parks each day. Instead we had our water bottles, which we filled with ice and water from the liter we had purchased the night before. Then each time we went to a quick service we would grab water in the little cups and dump that into our water.

I haven't bought water in Disney for years and years. And I don't even bother carrying a water bottle. I just stop and get the free water when I'm thirsty and I've never had a issue with dehydration.