Trip Report Everything is So Contemporary (Fall Anniversary Trip)

EDITED 07.07.17 - Photobucket has updated their policies so my photos aren't displaying. I'll try to switch them all over to Flickr eventually!

Pre-trip report here

Who: Me and my husband
When: Sept 28-Oct 2
Why: Our third anniversary (Oct 6, we celebrated early)
Where: Bay Lake Towers, rented points

Hey y'all! We've been home less than 24 hours, but I want to get a roll on this report before I forget everything. I have the world's worst memory, so I'm doing this partially to be able to look back at it for myself and recall my experiences. But I'm also doing this for all the other Disney fans like me who love reading trip reports

Day 1: Road trip!

We got up early Sunday to head out. I think my goal was to leave the house between 7 and 8, and we got out around 7:40. Not bad! Sadly, we had to drop our best buddy off at his new home for the week. He loves it there because he has a little pup friend, but we miss him so much.

We finally tore ourselves away from him at about 8:30, and off we went! We had about a 12 hour drive, and it seemed like we stopped about every 2 hours for either food, bathroom or gas. We never stop for more than about 5 minutes, so it doesn't add much, but it helps us not go crazy.

The scenery between our home in West Tennessee and the Georgia line is lovely, so that kept me entertained. Unfortunately, beyond that, it gets quite boring. I spent a lot of time reading a political satire, Boomsday by Christopher Buckley, which I finished on the trip. It was good!

It ain't a road trip without a little fast food! Gas station coffee (Pilot, especially) and fast food are two reasons I love road trips. And beef jerky. And sour gummy worms. And those 79 cent huge sodas!

I was sooooo looking forward to the orange juice at the welcome center! It was closed by the time we got there, and I was bummed. It's fine though because I don't even like orange juice. I'm just a sheep who doesn't want to miss out

I don't know if you can tell from that picture, but I realized about halfway down that I was having an allergic reaction. My face was getting swollen and bumpy and burned a little. I've had a few issues with beauty products, so I wasn't entirely surprised. I had just bought the Aveeno CC cream to use under my powder, and I guess something in it is an allergen for me. Not the best way to start a vacation, but I figured as long as I didn't use it again, I'd be alright. Glad my husband loves me no matter how bumpy my face is! ha

The drive was smooth (unlike my face). We got a SunPass, so we cruised through the tolls with no cares. I think it ended up deducting about $4 on the drive down, and then $3 on the way back. We got in around 10 (we lost an hour going from Central to Eastern) and checked in at a Fairfield Inn and Suites for the night. It was close to WDW and a really nice place! The decor was great, it was quiet, and the staff was friendly.

We didn't waste much time getting to sleep because we had an early day!

Up next: Brews, Breakfast and MUCH more

 

[myhappyplace]

Excellent start! Your dog is adorable, too!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Day 2: Brews, Breakfast and MUCH more

Let's see if I can recall everything...

We woke up around 6:15 to get ready to head to Epcot! We had reservations for one of the Disney Chase Visa events at 8:30 at The Odyssey, and I didn't want to be late. The event was called Brews, Breakfast and More, and it was exactly what it sounds like: Breakfast paired with beer. Weird, right? Totally my kind of event!

We left the hotel only a few minutes after 7am during a beautiful sunrise, and got to Epcot quickly.

Hello, my love! Nice to see you again

I wasn't thrilled with waiting so long to eat, but we had some other participants to talk to. We ended up chatting with a couple from Pennsylvania the entire time! They have been DVC owners since the 90s, and were so great to talk to. They walked us into the park at around 8:20 and straight to the Odyssey. My heart swelled three sizes as soon as I heard that beautiful park music! I don't think I've ever smiled so hard in my life! After all the planning, all the waiting, we were there. We were ACTUALLY THERE. I wish I could freeze that moment forever.

Speaking of freezing things, as we walked in, we were given a cone of Liquid Nitro Fried Smoking S'Mores Cereal. It was so weird, but once I ate a piece, I couldn't get enough. The little bag you see in the photo had a nice Disney journal for us to take notes.

The chef, Leonard Thompson, came out before each course and explained his process behind choosing the food. He said they actually started with the beer for these pairings. There was a guy from Florida Beer Company giving information about each beer they served. It was cool to hear a little about the process of pairing these! I was expecting some kind of history of beer lesson, which we didn't get, but I still really enjoyed it.

Here's the details of the food, since I probably won't type all that out (lazy much?)

First course! Grapefruit? Really? I can eat grapefruit any old day. Oh, but wait, this is some seriously souped-up grapefruit! The sweet and sour flavors were so great together, and the pumpkin beer complimented it wonderfully. The beer was a pretty standard pumpkin ale, but I picked up a little vanilla in it, which I really felt elevated it. In my notes I said it was a "successful pairing." Look at me acting like I know something! I guess that 3 ounces of beer was already getting to me

Second course. O. M. G. If there was a food heaven, this would be served daily. I clearly forgot about the beer since I didn't take a photo, but you know what beer looks like. Most everyone was saying the Tripel Ale was their favorite, but it wasn't mine. I did like it, especially the strong clove flavor, but it was one that I would call a "sipper." It's the kind of beer I would nurse over the course of an hour, but then be mad that it got warm. The food definitely stole the show in the pairing. I'm actually sitting here kind of ed off that I'm not eating it right now.

A terrible photo of the chef. Sorry! The light in there was pure blue for some reason, so I made it black and white. It's my go-to when wedding lighting is bad

Final course! The jalepeno syrup stuff was the highlight of this dish. The waffle and chicken were perfectly fine, but that sauce was outta this world. The beer was good with this one too, but I think the pumpkin one was my favorite. What can I say? I'm a white girl in my 20s...I like pumpkin.

This is the awesome couple that we met and talked to that morning. They've been to Disney so many times and had some great tips for us! It was so good to have someone to talk to, and I think their company really made the experience even more fun for us.

I really tried to be open to meeting people and sharing my experiences with other guests this trip. This is very much outside my comfort zone, but I knew if I just opened up, I wouldn't regret it. I was right! I'll be sharing more of my stories about interacting with guests and cast members, so stay tuned!

Up next: More Epcot and our room at Bay Lake Towers

 

[sheriffwoody]

Excellent start! Your dog is adorable, too!

Thank you! He's the sweetest thing ever. He's also pretty badly behaved, but I can't get mad at him. He's too cute!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Day 2 (continued): More Epcot and our room at Bay Lake Towers

It felt so weird not going to Magic Kingdom first, but I definitely wasn't upset to be in Epcot! I don't know why, but I had made Spaceship Earth our first FP, so we headed there.

Always love this fly girl working on the computer. This ride never gets old to me! I love it.

We had some time before our next FP, so we did something we've never done before. Captain EO was so (so so so so so) weird, but the dance number was absolutely delightful! I couldn't stop giggling at how goofy it was. I doubt it was intended to be goofy, but it is.

A little impromptu photo shoot outside of Captain EO. You can tell it's humid. My bangs were already sticking to my forehead

We saw that Nemo only had a 10 minute wait, so we hopped in line to go to the big blue world. Unfortunately it was actually a 30 minute wait, and there was a very angry child in line. Kids are fine, but when they scream bloody murder over and over, it grinds my nerves more than almost anything else. It doesn't make me mad... I mean, kids scream, it's just life. But something about that sound really gets me. It's right up there with mouth sounds! Ok, enough about that. We looked around the aquariums after the ride, and I loved seeing the dolphins swimming around.

Next up:

Test Track! We enjoy this one, and we did pretty well. First in two categories and second in the other two. I think this is my husband's favorite ride here. After this we rode Mission Space with a FP. It was awesome, as usual! Unfortunately we didn't have a pilot and our commander wasn't participating, so the computer had to do half the work! Glad we didn't crash...whew!

Next we went to Club Cool for the first time

Can you guess what I tried first? It actually wasn't that bad! I mean, I wouldn't call it refreshing, but it wasn't as repulsive as I expected. The pineapple Fanta was my favorite, and the stuff from Japan was also super good. I tried them all, which ironically made me really thirsty. I guess it was all the sugar!

And now, on to my favorite part of the trip, the festival kiosks! This is a beef empanada and a grilled beef skewer with chimichurri sauce and boniato purée from Patagonia. Both were delicious! We had the beef skewer on another trip, and it's a favorite of ours. We wanted to try something from each kiosk during the trip. Will we succeed?

I love the details in all the kiosks! Disney just does their theming so well. I hear the kiosk theming has improved a lot since the first festival.

Next is New Zealand. We got the seared venison loin with wild mushroom marsala sauce and kumara dumpling (left) and the lamb meatball with spicy tomato chutney. I ended up liking the venison better, even though I chose the lamb. The lamb dish, while super awesome with the chutney, was a bit gamey for me. Odd since venison is usually gamey, and I found it to be super delicious! The dumpling was different, but very good. The meatball also had some kind of bun with it that was good.

With a successful lunch on the books, we decided to head to our room, which we'd been told was ready at about 2pm. We love the text alerts!

So there it is! I will save my thoughts on the resort until the end. But as you can see, it's a perfectly fine room with a nice view of the lake. I wish I could wake up to a lake view every day

Up Next: Saying Hello to Magic Kingdom and Best Dinner on Property?

 

[fractal]

Great start - I'm onboard!

 

[worldfanatic]

I'm watching!
You're pics are fun!

 

[LisaBelle]

Enjoying your report so far. The breakfast brews event sounds fun! I know what you mean about not going to MK first. MK has always been our first park of every trip. That will change when my sister and I go in February. MK will be our last day! Hopefully we will figure out a way to get in there sooner even if just for a short while. Following along!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Great start - I'm onboard!

Yay! Thanks for following along. I loved your most recent report.

I'm watching!
You're pics are fun!

Thanks so much! Glad to have ya

Enjoying your report so far. The breakfast brews event sounds fun! I know what you mean about not going to MK first. MK has always been our first park of every trip. That will change when my sister and I go in February. MK will be our last day! Hopefully we will figure out a way to get in there sooner even if just for a short while. Following along!

Oh wow! Yeah, maybe even if you can't go in, you could ride by on the monorail or something just to take in the castle view haha. Either way, a sister trip will be so much fun. Thanks for following along!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Day 2 (continued again): Saying Hello to Magic Kingdom and Best Dinner on Property?

I guess I should explain my title (though seeing as I stayed at BLT, it's probably not too confusing). My husband and I would point stuff out throughout the trip and if we couldn't think of a descriptive word, it was always contemporary (this rain is so contemporary, that curved wall is so contemporary, etc.). We also walked around the Contemporary hotel when we were over there and it went like this: "Oooo look at that chandelier! So contemporary. And that contemporary trash can. Check out that contemporary coffee bar with the disgusting contemporary coffee. Oh those jet skis outside! So contemporary." This just went on and on through the trip. We have a lot of words or phrases that we use between us to be goofy, and now we have a new one

Ok. So back to the trip. We didn't rest long in the room, but we took in the view and unpacked a little. Then we decided to head over to Magic Kingdom! I was bouncing off the walls ready to get over there. We asked a cast member to point the way, and we headed down the path to MK. It was only about a 10 minute walk, which was absolutely the best thing about staying at Bay Lake Tower.

We made it! I love the train station with the Mickey floral in front of it. It's just such a beautiful view! We had no agenda, but I did want to eventually take a ride around on the train. I definitely wanted to walk down Main Street first though!

Best time of the year!

I used self timer and set my camera on a trash can for this I'm sure that was crazy! The camera I take on trips is pretty small though, so I figured no one would really care to take it. Sadly, this shot isn't entirely in focus. I must have just been in too big of a rush. Aaaaanyway, I also remember there was this lady right out of the frame to the right just screaming at her kid and maybe her husband too. No idea what they did because they weren't speaking English, but it was uh...awkward.

We wandered a little. We were going to do Hall of Presidents, but it was a little while before the next show, so we continued on to the Riverboat, something new for us! I don't know why we've never ridden it, but it was so peaceful and relaxing.

Glad I'm not in that line!

If the train would have come by like 30 seconds sooner when I was still further to the left, this would have been a much better shot! I had it framed up forever, then the train came right at the last second. This would be a really neat shot in the morning, when the sun is hitting that side of the ride.

Somehow, even after all the food we'd eaten, I was hungry. Since we were close by, we grabbed some BLT waffle fries. They were delicious! Not the easiest to eat without a fork though...lesson learned. With my belly satisfied for now, we headed over to hop on the train in Frontierland.

I love the little lamps on the ceiling. We had a nice ride over to Fantasyland, and then we continued on to Main Street Station. Allllll aboard!

We caught the end of the flag retreat ceremony as we exited the train station. I'll be honest, I had no idea they did this! I've seen a few retreats before, but it was neat to watch it in this setting. I believe the serviceman was in the National Guard, but I could be remembering it wrong. @myhappyplace was it you who had photos of this as well?

I was getting tired, so we walked over to Starbucks. My husband was impressed with how well-disguised all the Starbucks locations are! Except maybe Epcot...I can't remember. But this one and the one in Animal Kingdom blend really well. Anyway, I was going to get plain iced coffee but my husband expressed interest in sharing and he needs the sweet and flavored nonsense . So we went with a caramel frappuccino. I didn't mind too much. It was like a caffeinated milk shake!

With beverage in hand, we headed out of the kingdom for dinner. We had a boat to catch!

Ta-ta for now! When we were waiting for the boat, one of the castmembers noticed my button and we got to talking about the girl who makes them, Casey. She runs a store called Parkbound, which I'm sure a lot of you know of. I LOVE her buttons, and I wore a Haunted Mansion one that said "Come out to socialize" most days. I also wore one with Han and Chewie on it that said "Chewie, We're Home." Both were big hits. Anyway, the castmember and I were both hoping to see Casey while she was down there on vacation with her husband! Alas, I never ran into her, but it was fun getting to chat with people (mostly castmembers) about the awesome buttons.

Ok, so you're probably wondering where this "best meal on property?" is. Any guesses?

Wilderness Lodge! Specifically Artist Point. We arrived a little early, so we walked around the main part of the resort and hung out in the BAC (big __ chairs)

While we were waiting to be seated, a couple in their wedding attire and some family members came up! They must have either just gotten married or just did a photo shoot, but I'm assuming the former since they had family with them. How awesome that must be to get married at Walt Disney World! We were seated right after that, and our waiter Chris took excellent care of us.

It has been one week and I already can't remember what beer I ordered. Looking at the menu, it was probably the Widmer Hefeweizen Draft. And I think my husband got the St. Bernardus Abt Ale (only reason I know this is because we looked it up to see if we could find it locally). Mine was crisp and refreshing, as hefes often are.

Chris made some recommendations, and while we skipped any apps or salads, we did take his suggestions on main courses. My husband got the aged buffalo strip loin. I tried it, and it was a FANTASTIC bit of meat. I ordered the Berkshire pork tenderloin. Here's the description: Goat Cheese Polenta, Baby Carrots, Favas, Heirloom Apples, Pomegranate Jus. Whoever came up with this dish needs to come to my house so I can give him/her a huge hug! The pork was melt-in-your-mouth tender and the flavors in the polenta and veggies were so perfect. I was eating so slowly, just so I could savor it. The one critique I have is that the carrots were still crunchy, but some people like that, so I let it slide. I like my cooked carrots soft!

Here's my not-so-great photo of it. I usually take several in a row when I have to worry about motion blur, but I only took one and OF COURSE it's blurry. I was heavy breathing because I wanted to dig into this food so badly.

That wraps up our evening! We took the boat over to the Contemporary, and of course I pointed out River Country to my husband. We could also see it from our room. We talked about how creepy it is, and how we wish we could see it up close. I don't want to get banned though!

Up Next: I Make Terrible Decisions

 

[Mickey2422]

Great food pics - making me drool! Looking forward to reading more.

 

[LindsayLoves]

Oh thanks for sharing the beer breakfast rundown it looks like an event I would really enjoy - there is no shame in drinking beer with breakfast, especially on vacation!

 

[lostpro9het]

We caught the end of the flag retreat ceremony as we exited the train station. I'll be honest, I had no idea they did this! I've seen a few retreats before, but it was neat to watch it in this setting. I believe the serviceman was in the National Guard, but I could be remembering it wrong. @myhappyplace was it you who had photos of this as well?

I nabbed a few over here.

 

[sheriffwoody]

I nabbed a few over here.

That's right! I knew I saw them recently. I've been reading a lot of reports so I guess they're blending

 

[lostpro9het]

That's right! I knew I saw them recently. I've been reading a lot of reports so I guess they're blending

To compound it, myhappyplace and I took virtually the same trip, right down to The Dream!! So confusion about the TRs is bound to happen.

 

[sheriffwoody]

Oh thanks for sharing the beer breakfast rundown it looks like an event I would really enjoy - there is no shame in drinking beer with breakfast, especially on vacation!

I'm kind of thinking beer should be standard with breakfast all the time. ha! I guess it would only be ok if you work from home

 

[myhappyplace]

Ha, what lostpro9het said...though I have seen a Flag Retreat ceremony there before and just love it.

Excellent photos!! I do kinda regret not ever eating at Artist Point but there is always next time.

 

[Mindy16]

Beer and breakfast? Sounds awesome!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Excellent photos!! I do kinda regret not ever eating at Artist Point but there is always next time.

Thank you!! And yes, I highly recommend it. I don't know that we'll do it every time since it was a bit of a splurge, but it'll definitely be on our return list at some point. Maybe they'll eventually update the somewhat dated decor. haha

Beer and breakfast? Sounds awesome!

SO awesome! It was a great way to kick off the trip. Thanks for following along

 

[sheriffwoody]

Day 3: I Make Terrible Decisions

I really should have known that day two (first park day) was TOO good. There was no way the whole trip could be that good right? Right.

The plan was to get up and go see the opening show for the first time at MK since we could walk instead of depending on a bus. Well, guess what we woke up to? Rain. Dumb, stupid rain. And it looked like it would be sticking around. In typical "us" fashion, my husband and I argued about what to do because neither of us would make a decision. He finally insisted that I make the call, and I decided we'd go. It had slacked up, so I thought we'd be fine.

5 minutes into the walk the rain starts picking up. And up. And up. When we got to the gates, it was pouring and they wouldn't let us stand under any overhangs while people were still trying to get in. It was AWFUL. A nice woman did give up the tiny piece of covering by a pillar she had since she had a poncho, and for that I was super grateful. Of course, I figured they wouldn't do the show in the pouring rain, and they didn't. Since we'd walked over there for nothing, my husband was annoyed, so we headed back.

Not happy people.

We hung up our wet clothes and dried off. We decided we would head out to a grocery store for some sodas, water, breakfast food and cream for my morning coffee (I always bring my own coffee). We went to a Publix and the gps took us a really crazy route through the bowels of the Disney property. It took forever to go like 6 miles. Sometimes Google is dumb! We also stopped at a Walgreens and got some ponchos for later. This is literally the first time in four trips that we've needed them, so I guess we've been lucky.

(Note: A lot of the pictures in this post are with my phone. I didn't want my camera out in the rain.)

Around lunch I grabbed a buffalo sandwich from the Contempo Cafe and got a shot of that awesome Mary Blair mural. The sandwich was actually really good, and not very expensive!

We hopped on the monorail and rode to the kingdom even though it takes longer than walking. We didn't want to soak ourselves again.

First up, we took a trip to space! I wish I could convince my husband to ride over and over, but he's more of a one and done guy. Just means we have to take more frequent trips! Also, notice our March Magic shirts. He picked the losing Cannonballs, but I picked the winners, the Gracey Manor Ghouls. Not that I'm gloating...

We hit up Monster's Inc Laugh Floor (always funny) and the delightful Carousel of Progress before heading over for a little Adventure! I tried my very first Dole Whip, and the verdict...

HOLYOMG so good! The hype is definitely deserved. I think the cast member at the entrance could tell I was looking at the menu quizzically so she asked if I knew what I wanted. I just said, "yeah, a dole thing!" ha! I couldn't remember my words, I was so excited. She recommended that I get the float, so I did. I really loved the pineapple juice with it! I make a frozen pineapple sorbet at home, and this was quite a bit more delicious.

We did the Tiki Room for the first time and got out of the rain for a bit. Before the Tiki Room we were running around in the rain trying to find a bathroom, and somehow we got separated (those ponchos limit your peripheral vision) and went to different bathrooms. My husband went waaaaay far away to the Tangled bathrooms, but I finally pulled out my phone and found the closest one. We reunited in time for the show, and enjoyed it.

We got the red card for Jungle Cruise! And we look like some wet hot messes...please excuse. Clearly my husband was getting tired.

Our skipper was adorable and hilarious. I would LOVE doing this job. I'm a very big pun fan

On our way out of Adventureland, we noticed the FOF parade was starting, which is always a must-do. I don't know why I didn't realize it was already time for it! It was still raining on and off, so we stood under the little DVC area. The cast members in there were super nice and happy to let us stay out of the rain. They were dancing to the music too. I took some pictures over other people's shoulders, so they're not great, but oh well.

My husband thought this tattoo was Pocahontas choking out Merida . I thought it was really pretty, so I snagged this shot when Merida came by. Sorry to be a creeper! I tried to catch up to her after the parade and compliment her tattoo, but she was too fast.

Donald is my favorite!

I had to get a photo outside Gracy Manor in my Ghouls tshirt. Again, excused the drowned rat look. It was a rough day. Before we left we rode Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean and Splash Mountain (I had changed our morning FPs to later ones after the rain fiasco).

Up next: Reunited at the Boardwalk!