Trip Report Disney Deja Vu

catmom46 · May 28, 2015

I just wanted to say your trip report so far has made me smile, giggle, and guffaw so many times, which I really needed as I'm having one of the worst weeks in my life (think Angela Chase bad). Thank you so much for bringing some light into the darkness. I really appreciate it and looking forward to the rest of your report! :cat:

BigHero4 · May 28, 2015

What was your "cry count" for this trip? My guess is 83, but I haven't heard the full report yet. And "Dismas" might be my new favorite Disney term... although not an acronym, it works.

officialtom · May 28, 2015

Always love your TRs. And I'm still 150% jealous. I'm dying to take my BF when he's done school (degree #2) IN TWO MORE YEARSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

UnhealthilyObsessed · May 28, 2015

Day Six: The Case For A Park-Free WDW Trip

Today was our first purely park-free day. So you’d think a whole lotta chillin’ was on the docket. But today I was anything but chill. I was waiting for some pretty important news. Remember how I had to reschedule the entire trip due to a career opportunity to LA? Well, I had gone and done that and had a great time, but today was the day I’d find out whether or not the company was going to sign me to a talent deal and give me a cash bonus, based on my performance. This was insanely important to me, and would mean the difference between a merry Christmas and a scary one. But it also meant something else.

See, over the course of 2014 my Disney fandom went from casual to top-hat-and-tails. Our January trip was so transformative that afterwards I just gobbled up all the Disney I could, from movies to podcasts to a day trip to DCA to planning this current trip to helping plan trips for others. I found myself getting so knowledgable about trip planning and finding it so fun that I thought, “Why don’t I try to do this as a job?” So I started looking into what it would take to be a Disney travel agent. Turns out the biggest requirement is a bunch of trips to WDW! Around September, I finally got up the courage to tell BF about what I was thinking: that I would upgrade to AP on this trip and start planning multiple weekend trips in the new year to become eligible to apply for most of the Disney travel agencies. To my relief, he said “Sounds fun! I’ll get it too!” I promptly booked a January 2015 trip, staying at Coronado Springs, with the plan being to upgrade to AP on the last day of this trip.

That was before was landed in Orlando and a feeling of “Geez, we were JUST here” washed over us. If that’s how we felt after 10 months, coming back two months later would feel like we never even left! BF broke the news to me a couple of days ago: “Baby, I don’t want an annual pass.” “Oh, thank god! I don’t want one either!” Besides, with these sudden developments in my chosen career, maybe I didn’t need to try to be a TA. I resolved that if I didn’t get the talent deal or bonus, I would stick to the plan and upgrade to AP and pursue becoming a travel agent. If I did get it, I wouldn’t. Hence, my mind was swimming today.

Happily, however, my body was swimming too. It was a sunny and beautiful day, and BF and I headed straight to the pool to catch some rays and some waves (okay, no real waves, but it made the sentence flow; hey, get off my back, you guys!). We followed up a quick tasty meal at Mara with, predictably, two Mt. Kilimaritas, and grabbed poolside chairs (we practically had the run of the place). Swim, waterslide, hot tub, repeat. So relaxing, so fun, so ever-so-slightly enhanced by tequila. Once we were appropriately prune-y, we went back to the room to shower and change for the evening’s proceedings: a bread service and cocktail at Sanaa followed by a tour of the Monorail resorts.

We arrived at a completely empty Sanaa, sandwiched between the lunch and dinner hours (mmm…sandwiched). We sat in the beautiful and relaxing lounge area and ordered some cocktails and the Dippy Carbgasm we had been craving since our first taste of it yesterday. About halfway through sipping and noshing, I got a text from my manager: “Call me.” I excused myself and walked out onto the savanna and called him, heart pounding. As I had hoped, I had indeed gotten a talent deal with a big cash bonus. I kept telling myself that either way, I’d be in Disney World when I got the news, so either being there would enhance the joyfulness or cushion the disappointment. Still, I’m really glad it was the former. I walked back to our table, told BF “I got it.” and then proceeded to completely burst into tears. I told him I had to call my mother and tell her, so I went back out on the savanna. There’s nothing like being able to tell your biggest champion good news while looking out onto a beautiful display of wildlife. I returned to the table to find two big glasses of champagne, compliments of our very lovely bartender. We toasted to my success, as well as the certainty that we would not upgrade to AP and would cancel our January trip. Sad in some ways, but the right decision.

In good spirits and filled with better spirits, we boarded the MK bus and cut through the bus lot to the Contemporary. This was very exciting because I had never stepped foot into any of the Monorail resorts. I had heard that the Contemporary leaves something to be desired due to the light touch of its theming, but we were unequivocally blown away. We hadn’t even gotten to the main lobby and the lower levels were already dazzling us with its design. BF is a huge midcentury modern fan, and the bold, sleek simplicity was checking all of our boxes. My first instinct was to grab a cocktail at The Wave, but luckily the downstairs check-in desk for California Grill caught my eye. What in hell was I thinking?!? Why do the rest when you can do the best? The CM at the desk was very friendly and told us we could go right up to order cocktails, walk around, whatever we wanted. Could this be true?

California Grill was, simply put, stunning. The restaurant itself was a visual feast. Add the incredible view to that and we’re really in business. Incredibly, the lounge area had tables right by the windows overlooking Magic Kingdom! With a full menu available! If we hadn’t already had ADRs to Kona Cafe in a little bit, it would’ve been a no-brainer. We were content to merely order (delicious!) drinks and take in the ambience. California Grill was one of the ADRs I booked for our aborted January trip. Alas, what could’ve been…

Did I mention that Celebrate the Magic totally began while we were sitting there, and we got to unexpectedly see the freakin’ castle show from a perfect vantage point?!? Because we totally did.

We spent about 20 minutes out on the outdoor observation deck, just taking in the stillness and beauty of our surroundings and looking down into the bustling lobby below.

It occurred to me that there were still so many things at this resort I had yet to experience, and I realized that even though I wouldn’t be coming back as soon as I was expecting, there would always be new reasons to come back for the rest of my life. Also, this wall by the bathrooms is kind of a big deal.

We zoomed back down to the lobby to browse the shops and gawk at the absolutely stunning Mary Blair murals. Even if A FREAKIN’ TRAIN didn’t run through this place, it would be pretty darn special. After a sufficient amount of mouth-agape photo-taking, we hopped on the Monorail for the Poly.

I had never been before, and I knew it was basically a giant construction zone and was prepared to be underwhelmed. What I got was a real mixture. We arrived about 30 minutes before our Kona ADR, so we had a little time to explore. First of all, the lobby gift shop was incredible! So much resort-specific merchandise. Both of us were really impressed with the breadth, quality, and uniqueness of the goods here. That said, our suitcases were already pretty stuffed, and we figured we’d rather buy Poly stuff once we had actually stayed at the Poly. I don’t know if there’s such thing as a Disney poseur, but this seemed to veer dangerously into that territory.

Of course, the smartest thing to do right before a large dinner is to have dessert. But when at the Poly, you do as the Polynesians do. Passing the really striking posters at Captain Cook’s, we headed outside to Pineapple Lanai and split a delicious treat that the lines in Adventureland had kept us from for far too long: the Dole Whip.

A treat this lopsided is only a problem if you don’t finish it in 3.5 seconds. IT WAS NOT A PROBLEM.

We headed back upstairs toward Kona, passing through possibly the most unpleasant area of all of WDW I have ever seen: the waiting area for Ohana. Is it always like this? Just wall-to-wall strollers and screaming? I swear we had to physically step over human beings to get to the hallway to access Kona. Maybe it was just the construction and the area is usually way less congested, but as it was it seemed like a particularly nefarious circle of hell. Stitch notwithstanding.

Our pager number at Kona was 212. NYC represent, baby! And with that, our most disappointing dining experience this trip began. Don’t get me wrong: Kona has its merits. The food was tasty and was a definite departure from standard American tourist food. And though the ambience is mall food court-y, I knew that going in. I booked this dinner for two main reasons: a) an excuse to visit the Poly and b) I heard they served the best steak at WDW. Well…at least we visited the Poly. My steak was fine; but it didn’t begin to compare to my steak at BOG. We started, of course, with that delectable Hawaiian sweet bread, and shared a volcano roll. Both types of roll were really solid. The problem was: our server basically abandoned us. He never checked on us after the app was dropped, and trust me as an eight-year veteran of waitressing: that is a no-no. Once the steak hit the table and I was in desperate need of a steak knife, he was still nowhere to be found. After a couple of minutes, we finally had to flag someone down to get us a knife. Plus, BF was filled up from the Dole Whip, bread, and our app. So he barely touched his scallops. Being a monstrous bottomless bit, I touched the hell out of them, but the whole thing put a damper on our experience. Our waiter finally reappeared in order to upsell us on coffees. At which…well, he succeeded. We took our pineapple upside down cakes to go and tried basically to wash the whole experience out of our hair.

The last part of the Poly we had to explore was the outside. Sure, a bunch of construction walls were still up, but the pool looked great as we rounded it toward the beach. And, completely by happenstance, we arrived at the beach at the perfect time:

Wishes. WITH PIPED-IN MUSIC. There were just a smattering of us out on the beach, taking in what is now my favorite view of the nighttime fireworks. So romantic, so perfect. Add another to the list of Disney firsts we checked off today.

It was getting late, but BF wanted to see the Grand Floridian. Good, because I was DYING TO. My entire family all stayed at the GF in 1996…EXCEPT FOR ME. I was in a freakin’ summer production of Grease and couldn’t go with my family on their vacation. So while they had the time of their lives in opulent luxury, I fed the dog and practiced my step-ball-change. This was an experience I had been waiting for for 18 years. And it was…nice! It certainly lives up to the grandness in its name. Amazing lobby, cool high-end shops everywhere (sadly all closed by the time we got there)…but it all seemed a little…cheeseball? Almost girly? I always thought for sure the GF would be my holy grail, but I’d much rather stay at the Contemporary or Poly (and though I still haven’t been, Wilderness Lodge). Still…lovely. We sat at Mizner’s Lounge and ordered a nightcap, and overlooking the exquisitely manicured pool areas, I started to see more of the appeal of staying there. Maybe someday.

I am, however, happy to report that BF and I bought a home! Amazingly, it's right on WDW property, it's very spacious, and it's completely edible!

On second thought, that thing probably gets very sticky in the summer. And with that, we bid the Seven Seas Lagoon a fond farewell for now, and as Cinderella Castle disappeared behind me on the bus, I realized I wouldn’t see it again for a while. But that was okay. Especially now that I know you can spend an incredibly full day at WDW and never step foot into a park. My big news of the day didn’t hurt either.

Next: Day Seven: See You Real Soon(…ish)

catmom46 · May 28, 2015

Congrats on getting the deal! And so glad to hear you liked the look of the Contemporary, as we'll be staying at Bay Lake in July, plus dining at California Grill. Bummer about Kona - it's one of our faves, even though service can be spotty. Oh, and thanks for adding a new word to my vocabulary: Carbgasm! :hungry:

catmom46 · May 28, 2015

Oh, and I also wanted to thank you for not bringing up the light outage at GF. Can you believe there's a thread war going on right now about that???

UnhealthilyObsessed · May 28, 2015

catmom46 said:
Oh, and I also wanted to thank you for not bringing up the light outage at GF. Can you believe there's a thread war going on right now about that???

There's certain things that surpass even my level of insanity.

sheriffwoody · May 28, 2015

Congrats on the career opportunity! You had me in suspense with that one. The champagne was such a nice touch, and I'm not at all surprised by that (Sanaa is kind of the best). I think Kona Cafe is where we ate on our honeymoon and had the best seared ahi tuna of our lives. We still bring it up occasionally. I don't think it's still on the menu though, which is a shame.

UnhealthilyObsessed · May 28, 2015

Day Seven: See You Real Soon(…ish)

Last day. No matter how much fun is ahead of you, it’s always a little sad, right? We packed our suitcases (stuffed a little more full now), solemnly sipped coffee, and said a somber goodbye to our balcony animals (balcimals?) before dropping our bags off with the bellmen and hopping a bus back to our first park of the trip: Animal Kingdom.

We absolutely love this park. Naysayers are welcome to continue saying nay, as we love how manageable the crowds are. We went on EE seven times. Seven. And we weren’t even there a long time! Together, single rider, inside, outside, front, back…we did it all. It’s BF’s favorite ride in the World, and it’s definitely up there for me. Though I do think the disco yeti could use a gold medallion and some roller skates.

Our FPs were set for Everest and Kilimanjaro Safaris, and I asked BF what he’d like the 3rd FP to be. To my shock, he said, “How about Dinosaur?” Dinosaur?!? The ride we rode in January where his eyes were closed the entire time?!? “Yeah, that’s part of the fun of it!” I will never fully understand that man, but Dinosaur it was.

But first: food! We were peckish and BF liked our table service experience at Yak and Yeti so much, he wanted to check out the counter service. Worked for me! While our TS Yak and Yeti experience was above average, the CS experience was exactly average. We live in New York City, so we can get the type of food they’re going for on any street corner and it’s way more flavorful. That said, not everyone has that type of access, and it was definitely decent. Big portions for the price, and I love me an egg roll.

Our bellies filled with deep-fried chunks of chicken and rice, we were off to Dinosaur! In the queue, I was quickly reminded of the secret reason BF wanted to return: Phylicia Rashad. Though her TV husband’s stock has fallen spectacularly since our last trip, Ms. Claire Huxtable was as ferocious as ever. Foolishly, I expected BF to open his eyes for at least 3 or 4 percent of this ride, but it was not to be. I myself had much more fun on Dinosaur this time than last time, probably because I was worried about BF the 1st time. I feel like I took in way more of the details, and BF’s abject terror was actually amusing this time rather than stressful. When we got to the ride photo displays, I nearly wet myself. While last time, the photo depicted a very scared BF with his eyes closed, this timehe was so stricken with fear that he was covering his face with his hands. “Please don’t take a photo of that.” Your wish is my command, you sweet little puddin’.

DinoLand USA is very ugly. This, however, is very cute and cool.

Plus Donald hangs out there and we love that old crank. Our next stop was It’s Tough to be a Bug!, one of my jams. It’s hilarious, exciting, gross, the queue with all the parody posters is amazing, and it’s under the Tree of Life. What’s not to love? I am always reading complaints about this needing a big refurb; what am I missing?

Kilimanjaro Safaris was almost as incredible as the first time we went on it. Surprising, considering it was afternoon and I didn’t expect to see nearly as many animals. There were no hippos out, but we saw darned near everything else.

We got off just as it started to POUR. Luckily, we brought our handy-dandy ponchos and skipped off to Pagani Forest to get our hippo fix. He wasn’t swimming like last time, but at least we saw him! With gawking-like-children-at-a-hippo crossed off our checklist, we reluctantly made our way to the exit to head back to Animal Kingdom Lodge.

I know what you’re worried about, but please relax: we DID have time for one last Mt. Kilimarita in a lobby rocking chair before we shoved off on Disney Magical Express. All in all, going to WDW 10 months after the last trip felt soon. But as the week went on, we realized that soon wasn’t bad. In fact, it was kind of great. And now we’re looking at a January 2017 return for low crowds, low rates, and a long-awaited reunion with a friend we’ve grown to know very well.

Next: Knowing Me, Probably Late Summer of 2017! Byyyyeeee!!!

catmom46 · May 28, 2015

What??? I have to wait 2 more years before getting to read another one of your uber-fabulous trip reports?!?! But you take a vacation every year, right? You can write about non-Disney trips, too, right?? Long weekends??? :cry:

catmom46 · May 28, 2015

You can't just leave me stuck with the stupid GF light thread war!!

BuddyThomas · May 28, 2015

UnhealthilyObsessed said:
Day Seven: See You Real Soon(…ish)

Last day. No matter how much fun is ahead of you, it’s always a little sad, right? We packed our suitcases (stuffed a little more full now), solemnly sipped coffee, and said a somber goodbye to our balcony animals (balcimals?) before dropping our bags off with the bellmen and hopping a bus back to our first park of the trip: Animal Kingdom.
View attachment 94659
We absolutely love this park. Naysayers are welcome to continue saying nay, as we love how manageable the crowds are. We went on EE seven times. Seven. And we weren’t even there a long time! Together, single rider, inside, outside, front, back…we did it all. It’s BF’s favorite ride in the World, and it’s definitely up there for me. Though I do think the disco yeti could use a gold medallion and some roller skates.

Our FPs were set for Everest and Kilimanjaro Safaris, and I asked BF what he’d like the 3rd FP to be. To my shock, he said, “How about Dinosaur?” Dinosaur?!? The ride we rode in January where his eyes were closed the entire time?!? “Yeah, that’s part of the fun of it!” I will never fully understand that man, but Dinosaur it was.
View attachment 94663
But first: food! We were peckish and BF liked our table service experience at Yak and Yeti so much, he wanted to check out the counter service. Worked for me! While our TS Yak and Yeti experience was above average, the CS experience was exactly average. We live in New York City, so we can get the type of food they’re going for on any street corner and it’s way more flavorful. That said, not everyone has that type of access, and it was definitely decent. Big portions for the price, and I love me an egg roll.

Our bellies filled with deep-fried chunks of chicken and rice, we were off to Dinosaur! In the queue, I was quickly reminded of the secret reason BF wanted to return: Phylicia Rashad. Though her TV husband’s stock has fallen spectacularly since our last trip, Ms. Claire Huxtable was as ferocious as ever. Foolishly, I expected BF to open his eyes for at least 3 or 4 percent of this ride, but it was not to be. I myself had much more fun on Dinosaur this time than last time, probably because I was worried about BF the 1st time. I feel like I took in way more of the details, and BF’s abject terror was actually amusing this time rather than stressful. When we got to the ride photo displays, I nearly wet myself. While last time, the photo depicted a very scared BF with his eyes closed, this timehe was so stricken with fear that he was covering his face with his hands. “Please don’t take a photo of that.” Your wish is my command, you sweet little puddin’.

DinoLand USA is very ugly. This, however, is very cute and cool.
View attachment 94661
Plus Donald hangs out there and we love that old crank. Our next stop was It’s Tough to be a Bug!, one of my jams. It’s hilarious, exciting, gross, the queue with all the parody posters is amazing, and it’s under the Tree of Life. What’s not to love? I am always reading complaints about this needing a big refurb; what am I missing?
View attachment 94668
Kilimanjaro Safaris was almost as incredible as the first time we went on it. Surprising, considering it was afternoon and I didn’t expect to see nearly as many animals. There were no hippos out, but we saw darned near everything else.
View attachment 94671

View attachment 94677
We got off just as it started to POUR. Luckily, we brought our handy-dandy ponchos and skipped off to Pagani Forest to get our hippo fix. He wasn’t swimming like last time, but at least we saw him! With gawking-like-children-at-a-hippo crossed off our checklist, we reluctantly made our way to the exit to head back to Animal Kingdom Lodge.

I know what you’re worried about, but please relax: we DID have time for one last Mt. Kilimarita in a lobby rocking chair before we shoved off on Disney Magical Express. All in all, going to WDW 10 months after the last trip felt soon. But as the week went on, we realized that soon wasn’t bad. In fact, it was kind of great. And now we’re looking at a January 2017 return for low crowds, low rates, and a long-awaited reunion with a friend we’ve grown to know very well.

Next: Knowing Me, Probably Late Summer of 2017! Byyyyeeee!!!

Thank you so much for this amazing trip report. I leave a week from today for the "days that dare not speak their name" on here. Let's just say that parties and red shirts are involved. Anyway, loved every line of your report and thanks for taking the time to post this. Some publishing house ought to sign you to a three book deal.

catmom46 · May 28, 2015

BuddyThomas said:
Thank you so much for this amazing trip report. I leave a week from today for the "days that dare not speak their name" on here. Let's just say that parties and red shirts are involved. Anyway, loved every line if your report and thanks for taking the time to post this. Some publishing house ought to sign you to a three book deal.

I'd buy those books!

BuddyThomas · May 28, 2015

catmom46 said:
I'd buy those books!

Me too.

Catmom, not to hijack the thread, but have you seen this picture series called "This is Not My Cat" - about cats that appear in people's houses (but not their cats) - very fun.
http://www.pleated-jeans.com/2015/05/18/this-is-not-my-cat-24-pics/

catmom46 · May 28, 2015

Oh my goodness, I love it! Some of those pics are crazy, especially the pile o' kitties on the porch! :cat:

catmom46 · May 28, 2015

By the way, so jealous that you're going next week for those "nameless days" - you're gonna have so much fun!

catmom46 · May 29, 2015

Ok not to hijack the thread again but just had to point out the administrator finally had to close down the light thread because all they were doing now is bickering. LOL Like a parent having to separate the kids: "if you can't play nice, then don't play at all!"

BJones82 · May 29, 2015

UnhealthilyObsessed said:
I always thought for sure the GF would be my holy grail, but I’d much rather stay at the Contemporary or Poly (and though I still haven’t been, Wilderness Lodge).

I agree with this, we wandered through there one day and we were so excited but it just seemed like... too much in a rich way... I would much rather stay at Contemporary or Wilderness Lodge... It was what I thought would be a life long achievement to stay there but now it's like... Meh, not for me I guess lol...

blreinsel · May 30, 2015

Absolutely loving your TR! Your sense of humor is great. I'm also now obsessed with your idea for the People Mover.. it would literally be PERFECTION!

PineapplePrincess · May 31, 2015

Thank you for some much needed entertainment on a dreary Sunday afternoon! I would totally read your books as well, should you publish some. You definitely have a way with words and a flair for the dramatic! Oh and congrats on your new career opportunity!

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