Trip Report College Graduation Celebration: Inappropriate stories, crazy cast members, taking selfies, and FOOD

When you're post vacation depression finally settles in, what must a crazed WDW fan do? Make a trip report, of course! As I type this trip report in 60 degree weather in the boring Chicago suburbs, I hope to bring magic to your home, in addition to some many, many laughs. Enjoy!

Reason: Cassie (my best friend since the 2nd grade) and I's (Jessica) college graduation! After a four grueling years of schooling, we figured we earned a much needed all girls trip to WDW.

Here's a photo of the cast with some brief information about us to make you a little more familiar with us.

From left to right:

Jessica (me, 22): I received my B.A. in elementary education at the University of St. Francis with additional endorsements in special education and middle school social science and language arts. I hope to be obtaining a teaching job at the primary level for the upcoming school year!

Jodi (my sister, 20): Jodi is a hair stylist, and is also attending junior college to eventually obtain a degree in business or communications. Jodi is actually applying for the Disney College Program in August.

Rachel (Jodi's best friend, 20): Rachel also has her cosmetology license. While going to the same college as Jodi (they are in some of the same classes), Rachel works a ton as a waitress.

Cassie (my best friend, 22): Cassie has a B.S. in Psychology from University of Illinois. Cassie will be attending grad school in the fall at Midwestern University to earn her masters in occupational therapy. Cassie did the Disney College Program last year and graduated from it. She has lots of inside knowledge!

I have made trip reports before, so feel free to check them out:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...hot-days-fun-times-and-plenty-of-food.762909/

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...-years-at-the-happiest-place-on-earth.878566/

Now, onto the report!

 

[Disneygal1]

I love Be Our Guest!! My mom and I went for the first time this past spring and we split two of the entrees, they were fantastic! I'm also a lover of French onion soup and the one there is one of the best!!

So smart! I am huge with sharing entrees, as I love to try a variety of foods. That is actually on of the reasons why I like Disney buffets so much- lots of food to try! The French onion soup was delicious. If I could get the soup for a QS, I definitely would go back and do that.

Yeah that was our opinion as well when reading all the TR's of people that went to BOG, all the pictures speaks for itself! So October will absolutely be great!

Yes, it is definitely a must if you haven't been. You really feel as though your in Beast's castle.

Still following along! Love the mirror that you found. Will definitely have to check that out on our next trip. Beauty & the Beast is my favorite Disney movie, but have not gotten to see Enchanted Tales with Belle since New Fantasyland opened. It is on my list. We had lunch at BOG on our last trip and I am really hoping for a dinner ressie on our next trip. I want to meet the Beast!!! Have you ever had the French Onion soup at Les Chefs de France in Epcot? I tried it last summer and it was delicious! My husband and I said we'd go back there again just for soups and desserts! Looking forward to reading more. You can tell that you ladies had a wonderful time!

I'm glad you're still reading! Isn't that mirror awesome? I love all of the secret Disney stuff. You must see Enchanted Tales with Belle! It can be a tear jerker when you watch the little ones' reactions. Go back to BOG! You can easily get a reservation if you keep a daily watch. Speaking of Le Chefs, that is one restaurant I've always wanted to try. I need to go there and try the French Onion soup. I almost think they're famous for it. Thanks for reading so far, and we definitely had a blast!

Joining in! You ladies seem to have had a great little trip! That Mirror!! OH MY DISNEY! They always amaze me in everything they do. Love the Disney Side outfits, the 24-hour day looks like a blast!

Welcome! We had a fabulous time, and isn't that mirror cool? The imagineers are great. Thanks for reading!

All caught up! Loving your TR.. your pictures are awesome! Following along.

Thank you, I'm glad you like it!

I agree with you!!! No one believes me when I tell them the ice creams are different at every location in the World... Some of them are just plain nasty!

AH, YES! Someone who doesn't think I'm crazy. I'm usually pretty good at knowing which places have the fake and which places have the real ice cream. I've seen Disney (very rarely) identify this type of ice cream as fat free. Like, what is that? I am not a fat free person while on vacation!

Loving your trip report!!!! The pictures are gorgeous!

Thank you!!!

Totally agree!

Ahh, I'm glad I'm not the only one who has these feelings for BOG.

I got that feeling walking through the ballroom, but it is completely different in the West Wing. Much nicer. This became a Must Do for our family for every trip going forward.

I completely agree with you. I noticed this right when we enter the West Wing to take some pictures. I totally think this place is great for kids and families, though.

What kind of camera do you have? You're pictures are so great and vibrant!

I have a Nikon D7100, but I do saturate my photos to make them more vibrant and lively. I use apple's simple photo editing program, iPhoto. Thanks for the kind comment!

I just started reading this earlier today and I'm all caught up! I love the idea of going to the parks with your girlfriends, it seems like such fun. I'm excited to read on!

Hi, and welcome! I'm glad you like it! You must do a girl trip. It's a blast, and I find there's a lot of freedom. There may be some cattiness once in a while, but hey, four girls together 24/7 for 12 days can be a lot!

Enjoying the report! Glad I came across this. Looking forward to more.

Good luck with the job search.

Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying! Thank you, it's taking up my life at the moment!

 

[epcotisbest]

The photos are nice. The D7100 is a sweet camera. I used to take my old D80 but got tired of carrying it so now we just take a little Canon Digital ELPH point and shoot. So small and light and I can just slip it into my pocket instead of the camera bag with multiple lenses, batteries, filters, shutter remote, vertical grip etc... Not carrying around all that stuff makes the trip more enjoyable, but come to think of it, I enjoyed the DSLR a lot at the the time.

 

[Disneygal1]

Day 3: So We Decided to Kind of Do Nothing: Part 1

We woke up rather late due to the 24 hour event. I believe we woke up somewhere around 12:30. We planned to take advantage of something Disney should have done a long time ago, waterpark hopping! Before we went off to the waterparks, we ate lunch. For some reason, I failed to take pictures of our first meal of the day numerous times.

We decided to hit Blizzard Beach first since we knew we wouldn't need to be there for too long. While Blizzard Beach is cool, Typhoon Lagoon is AWESOME.

I just love this building/QS Restaurant.

As I was taking pictures, I noticed something was wrong with my underwater camera. Somehow, the camera got water in it while I was snorkeling a few days back. I was not too happy about the fuzzy photos...

Blurry (

As we were heading to the beach to find a spot, we saw Goofy! He was really afraid of the sprinklers and tried to avoid them.

Lots of people...

Cassie and Rachel went on Summit Plummet while Jodi and I went on the two person slide (sorry I'm not good at those water ride names). As we were walking to the slide, one cast member told Jodi that her shoe was untied. Naturally, Jodi looked down and we were cracking up. Then something kind of funny but weird happened, another lifeguard came out of no where and asked the cast member if we needed to be escorted out and he told us to come follow him in a joking way. Now, the guy was going in the same direction as the ride, so it ended up seeming like we were doing what he told us to do, follow him. Then, the best part came, when he asked where we worked. Lol, those cast members like to hook up, don't they? This guy was basically directing the conversation to Jodi and she replied, "Huh? I work in Chicago!" The cast member got so embarrassed and red, and he said "oh, never mind" and fled off. I found this absolutely hilarious. He acted like he got caught doing something bad.

After the tube ride, Jodi and I headed to the Summit Plummet landing to watch for Cassie and Rachel. We only had to wait around 5 minutes for them to slide down Summit Plummet. After, we went on the gondola to go on the family ride. Has anyone ever gone in the single rider line for the gondola? I discovered my hate for it when I had this guy just slamming the middle bar into my thigh. Cassie mentioned how she had a terrible bruise last year from someone doing that, and it happened to her again this time, too! Anyway, I still love the gondolas, but I will never do the single rider line again.

As for the family ride, we had a blast! Right after we got off the slide, went back to our spot, and headed on over to Typhoon Lagoon.

As we were approaching Typhoon, I could not believe the sight in front of me. Oh my gosh, the construction, and what on earth is that ghastly building dead ahead? Oh, it's the parking garage, and I'm sorry, but it's hideous. Hideous, but needed.

I can't get over it, though.

All is forgotten now. Hello, beautiful!

 

[abzoo]

Awesome pictures in this TR so far. I was there for the 24hour event too!

Girls trips seriously are the best, right?! Following along!

 

[gilm0114]

These are great pictures! Thanks for sharing!

My girlfriend and I are planning on going in January 2016 to celebrate our college graduations (I graduated this spring, she'll graduate next year). Your trip report is getting me even more excited for our trip!

 

[Goofnut1980]

AH, YES! Someone who doesn't think I'm crazy. I'm usually pretty good at knowing which places have the fake and which places have the real ice cream. I've seen Disney (very rarely) identify this type of ice cream as fat free. Like, what is that? I am not a fat free person while on vacation!!

You my friend have hit the nail... right on the head!

 

[prfctlyximprct]

They have waterpark hopping now?! How did I not know about this??

 

[gsrjedi]

Fantastic trip report so far.

 

[FlaggNL]

Yes, it is definitely a must if you haven't been. You really feel as though your in Beast's castle

I hope we have the same feelings afterwards. But just read your opinion about BOG and it wasn't that good So the atmosphere is great but the meals are not that great?

 

[LilWalt]

Flagg, I enjoyed it but did the quick service lunch. You are able to pick where you sit and the food was pretty good. The detail is amazing inside. Where we sat the noise was minimal.

Great trip report!

 

[FlaggNL]

Flagg, I enjoyed it but did the quick service lunch. You are able to pick where you sit and the food was pretty good. The detail is amazing inside. Where we sat the noise was minimal.

Great trip report!

Thanks for the explanation Will will see in october

 

[Disneygal1]

Awesome pictures in this TR so far. I was there for the 24hour event too!

Girls trips seriously are the best, right?! Following along!

Thank you! Girls trips are the best!

These are great pictures! Thanks for sharing!

My girlfriend and I are planning on going in January 2016 to celebrate our college graduations (I graduated this spring, she'll graduate next year). Your trip report is getting me even more excited for our trip!

Thank you! Ahh, that sound like so much fun! Congrats!

You my friend have hit the nail... right on the head!

Haha, thank you! Someone that understand my ice cream critiquing!

They have waterpark hopping now?! How did I not know about this??

Yes!!! WDWmagic announced it not too long ago.

Fantastic trip report so far.

Thank you!

I hope we have the same feelings afterwards. But just read your opinion about BOG and it wasn't that good So the atmosphere is great but the meals are not that great?

I mean, I would not say the meal was bad. It was simply decent and very traditional in terms of an American homemade meal. You will definitely not regret going, as this will be your first visit. Plus, people have different food preferences, so you may just love it! Either way, I am certain you won't regret, and I look forward to hearing what you think!

Flagg, I enjoyed it but did the quick service lunch. You are able to pick where you sit and the food was pretty good. The detail is amazing inside. Where we sat the noise was minimal.

Great trip report!

Thanks for reading!

 

[Disneygal1]

Day 3: So We Decided to Kind of Do Nothing: Part 2

As we were parking, some woman did not like my driving and decided to start screaming at me as I was driving. I honestly have no clue why she was so upset, and I just ignored her. I have this theory that the heat was getting to her... Haha

As soon as we got to Typhoon, I wanted to get the famous bucket of ice cream, especially since the water parks have the real ice cream. When we got to the ice cream kiosk, I asked for the bucket but with a catch- no toppings, just ice cream. I'm weird and hate toppings, but this isn't the weird part of the story. When I asked the CM if this was possible, he simply said yes and proceeded to ring me up. Now, the CM, who was making the orders, flipped out on me and said, "PLAIN ICE CREAM? You want PLAIN ice cream?" To which I replied, "Yep! I don't like toppings. I just want a bucket of ice cream." She then replied, "No toppings? No whip cream? No sprinkles? No fudge?" and continued on naming the toppings. I then reassured her that I was sure I wanted a plain bucket of ice cream and another CM popped up from no where and was like, "Yeah, I totally agree with you! Plain rocks! (something along those lines)." BUT the other CM had to ask again if I really wanted plain ice cream, and now I was agitated and said yes. She then looked back at Jodi, Rachel, and Cassie for their approval, but they just stood their confused with the entire situation. The CM then shrugged and filled my bucket.

It seriously was the strangest situation of ordering food I endured, and I kind of wish I complained since the CM was pretty rude. Despite this situation, I was still happy to get my ice cream.

IT'S BEAUTIFUL

After we got ice cream, we found a spot and shared the bucket. We scarfed it down in, at most, 10 minutes. After our ice cream, we did the typical Typhoon stuff, the slides and of course, the wave pool. I loved placing my chair in the "shore" and having my legs in the water. I think I may have this aura that attracts children because some random kids pulled a couple chairs right next to me and ate sandwiches. It was pretty funny. Cassie and I also figured out the spot where you get hit the hardest by the wave... It was pretty awesome. I also enjoyed lifeguard watching.

After Typhoon, we headed back to our room to get ready for dinner. Once we entered our room, something was not right, perhaps it was the fact that our room had been neglected of being cleaned?! Mind you it was 6 o'clock!! We were not happy, so Jodi called housekeeping, and they stated that we slept in too long for them to clean the room. With Jodi really getting no answer from the phone call, I called again, but this time, I made the call to the front desk. I informed the CM of our situation, telling her how I thought it was rather strange that sleeping in is somewhat of a punishment, and I found it rather odd for our housekeeper to be cleaning rooms as early as 9. I mean, can't I sleep in on my vacation?! She completely agreed with me and was understanding of how I felt. Her answer to this issue was for us to call housekeeping every morning, letting them know that our room needed to be cleaned. After she told me this, I asked her if the housekeepers were to check if the rooms that had do not disturb signs on them were removed later in the day. She said yes but they must forget, and I said, "So, you're telling me to essentially do their job?" She laughed and basically said yeah. Yep, this was basically how our housekeeping service was during the trip. But.... there are more stories to come...

After getting ready for dinner, we drove to the Polynesian, also newly named, The Polynesian Village. When we went to the check in table to get a beeper, we asked if we could request a window seat, and the CMs told us no. Now, I would like to know how one gets a window seat then, and I found this odd, but with all of our crazy run ins with CMs, I decided to not even pry. We waited a maximum of 2 minutes before our beeper went off.

I actually liked our spot. When we were seated, though, we had some people sitting next to us that asked to be moved because they were very close to the fire ovens. I don't blame them, but I was rather comfortable- temperature wise.

I was wearing my new Lilly that I got from the Grand Floridian.

The cool luau lady! I love how she posed for a picture.

Up next: More stories and my review of Ohana!

 

[briannarebelo]

That bucket of ice cream just looks amazing! And I'm totally with you on the no toppings! Ahh, now I'm dying to go to Typhoon Lagoon. May 2016 can't come fast enough!

By the way, love the pattern of your Lilly dress, it's so bright and pretty!

 

[FlaggNL]

I mean, I would not say the meal was bad. It was simply decent and very traditional in terms of an American homemade meal. You will definitely not regret going, as this will be your first visit. Plus, people have different food preferences, so you may just love it! Either way, I am certain you won't regret, and I look forward to hearing what you think!

We'll see about the meal, but I am sure it will be quite an experience And we absolutely will have a TR after our return home, just as our prior trip to WDW and some trips to DLP

And wow what a bucket of Ice cream! Gotta have myself one when we return to WDW

 

[coachwnh]

How was I unaware of that ice cream bucket!!!!!!!!!! But unlike you, I would not have shared.

 

[ItlngrlBella]

Loving your reports! Best wishes on the job search!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

So weird about the ice cream! That would have irritated me too!

 

[ohiodisfan]

Enjoying reading about your trip. Making me excited for our trip in September! Your costume idea has given me ideas for the not so scary party. Thanks and hope you find a job that you enjoy.

 

[LAKid53]

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Cassie pointed out how the pool area was all new. I wasn't able to really notice, as I really never paid attention to the pool (haha). Cassie said she really liked it, though.

Consequently, I took pictures to document the additions!
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Seriously, the lobby never gets old.
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The tiki man
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While we were exploring, we came across the pretty secretive inside entrance for Trader Sam's. The restaurant/bar had just opened and we were able to get in. We weren't really in the mood to get drinks since we had to get ready, so we just stood around for a couple of minutes.

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I have to say, Trader Sam's is pretty neat, but really small. The cast members in front of the restaurant take count of who enters. You can tell they will not let anyone in past a certain number capacity. I'm assuming we were pretty lucky to get in right away.

Once we were done shopping and exploring, we hopped back on the monorail to get to the Grand Floridian.

I just love GF's lobby.
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We did lots of shopping here. I got two body butters and some chapstick at Basin White. Ohh, and I splurged at the clothing shop downstairs by buying a Lilly Pulitzer dress for our dinner at in a couple days.

After shopping, I took Cassie and Rachel to see Victoria & Albert's since they had never seen its entrance. I explained how you could kind of see the restaurant through the windows on the door and insisted that they should peak in. Well, they did, and some cast members noticed and stood in front of the doors. I found this pretty odd how I use to do this all the time, and I almost sure the diners can't event see the front doors from where they were.

After exploring GF, we hopped back on the monorail to make our way back to All Stars.

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I'm so glad GF has a Basin in it. Now I have 2 places to shop for bath bombs. We never, ever go to Disney without at least 1 trip to Basin's. Usually because we've used the bombs during our trip (so nice in the jacuzzi tubs in the DVC resorts) and need more.