Trip Report May 2016 Babymoon to Disney World!

Hello everyone! Welcome to my almost-year-late trip report!

First, a big thanks to everyone who takes the time to write a trip report - they were so incredibly helpful and entertaining! I obsessed over all the trip reports when I was planning our 'babymoon' last year and I wanted to pay it forward by posting my own! Hopefully there's something helpful or useful in this report. I'm excited to relive a great week with you all!

So, let's start at the beginning:
Who: Me (Aut, end of 2nd trimester pregnant) & DH (Blake)
When: May 1st-7th, 2015
Where: Beach Club
Why: Our 5 year anniversary and, although the term is kinda ridiculous, our babymoon
What to expect: a mix of iphone, normal camera and photopass pictures

Sunday, May 1st: On our way!
We were able to get direct flights from our local airport into Orlando/Sanford. While we weren't flying into the main airport and able to take the Disney Magical Express, the direct flight was worth it.

[When your husband's shirt matches your luggage, you take a picture]

Our flight was uneventful and minus the fact that we were in row 6 and didn't realize there was a bathroom at the front of the plane (being 6 months pregnant, I was intimately acquainted with all bathrooms and kept trekking back to the rear bathroom) we landed on time!

We rented a car for the week using some credit card points and after breezing through all the rental stuff, we were on our way! Being responsible, mature adults, we were bound and determined to use the map the car rental agency gave us and not the gps on our phones. Well, 2 small detours later, we were pulling into the Beach Club!

We checked in around 8:35 and had 8:40 reservations at Beaches N Cream so we quickly dropped off our luggage and made our way down.

[cutest menu]

I got the hamburger and B got the patty melt - both were really good! After reading so many trip reports prior to our vacation, I knew that a No Way Jose was going to be my dessert of choice. Lucky for me, Blake is lactose intolerant, so I don't feel bad for not sharing And yes, I ate the entire thing...still don't regret it.

[if you decide to lick your screen, there will be no judgement from this corner ]

I'm sure most of you know Beaches N Cream is known for their kitchen sink which is basically a beast of an ice cream desert served in - you guessed it - a kitchen sink. The restaurant makes a big deal of it when someone orders one. The lights dim and they make a big announcement as they deliver it. It's really a fun mini-show!

We got to see 3 kitchen sink shows during the 45 minutes we were there and the first one occurred while we were eating our meal. Not 5 minutes later, the lights dimmed a 2nd time and I said to B "another one already?" I turn around to see our waitress carrying out a regular sunday and thought it was weird that they'd do an announcement for just a sunday, but then she announces "Ladies & gentlemen, help me congratulate this couple of 5 years of marriage!" It was my No Way Jose! Everyone applauded and it was such a cute moment.

To backtrack a second: when we checked in, the girl at the front desk gave us our 5 year anniversary pins. We didn't plan on wearing them because they felt a little corny but we did wear them to dinner and had several of the cast members congratulate us and we ended up receiving a couple cute treats throughout the week. Lesson to myself: when in Disney, there is no such thing as corny!!

Before calling it a night, we took a walk around the Beach Club, Yacht Club and Boardwalk and caught some of the Hollywood Studios' fireworks. We ended our evening in the marketplace where we picked up the refillable mugs and scoped out some of the merchandise.

note: we did request a large balcony because my favorite thing to do on vacation is to sit out on the balcony in the morning with my decaf coffee (a sin, I know, but when pregnant you take what you can get) but we got a room with a juliet balcony. Not the end of the world, by any means, just a note!

Coming up: breakfast with the Beast, beignets and Epcot in a downpour!

 

[AutumnN101]

Monday, May 2nd: Magic Kingdom, Port Orleans French Quarter, Disney Springs & Epcot

I was up at 6am and we were on the bus to Magic Kingdom at 7:45. While Blake was finishing getting ready, I took the chance to walk around the hotel in the daylight. I filled up my mug with my decaf coffee and started my small walk.

note: there was a carafe of half-n-half next to the rapid refill station

[Beach Club really is an enchanting resort]

[our room was near the quiet pool which was great to sneak down to in the afternoons]

[the main pool's slide and the Yacht Club in the background]

[The Beach Club's lobby, and yes, it really does have a particular smell to it that is amazing]

We were told by several cast members that we were there during the slowest week they'd had in a couple months. You could definitely tell by the buses and wait times in the park.

We arrived at the Magic Kingdom and checked in for our Be Our Guest breakfast reservations around 8:10. The park opened at 9am today, but our reservation was at 8:40 and we had no trouble getting in early. We took plenty of pictures on a fairly empty Main Street.

[Main Street about 40 minutes before the official opening]

[ ]

[And there she is. Does this sight ever get old?]

We went ahead and purchased the Photopass package and were glad we did. Were all the pictures fantastic? Absolutely not, but we got several cute pictures of the two of us and thought it was money well spent for us. There were several Photopass photographers out this morning so of course we grabbed a shot in front of Cinderella Castle.

We slowly made our way to Be Our Guest admiring all the changes to the park (I hadn't been to Disney since 2008 and B hadn't been for many years before that).

[Looking back at the entrance]

Ever since I can remember, my favorite design detail in any of the parks has been the murals in Cinderella Castle that you see as you walk through. There is something about them that is so Disney (and yes, I realize they are on the walls of a castle inside the Magic Kingdom ). Colorful, happy, and they just make you feel good.

We arrived at Be Our Guest and checked in. We had pre-ordered our breakfast and went in to find a seat.

Note: Even though we had pre-ordered our meal, the cast member asked us if we would like to change anything in our order. So for those of you worried about what you're going to feel like having in 6 months, you are allowed to change your mind. Granted, I'm not sure if this is true at every restaurant where you can pre-order.

Originally, I had my eye on the West Wing (once again, thank you trip reports), but it was so dark! There were a few open tables in the ballroom but it was really loud so we moseyed into the "music box" room. What's the name of this room?? It was practically empty and quiet so we found a spot.

[ballroom; you can see the West Wing entrance on the opposite side]

[I'm calling this the music box room although I am positive that's not its real name]

There were a row of drink machines including coffees, teas, sodas, milk, and juice along the wall that you could help yourself to. Our food arrived 7ish minutes after we found our seat. Through the magic of Disney, a cast member will know where you've sat and bring your food right to you. You don't have to worry about tracking someone down.

They bring out a pastry plate for you with your meal and we thought the pastries were just okay. I got the croque monsieur and B got the quiche. Both were good! They did come out lukewarm but we didn't mind.

One our way to our first fast pass of the day, we stopped and visited some ghosts.

Jungle Cruise was our first FP and we then hit up the Tiki Room. I had never done the Tiki Room before and I will say it's selling point is you can sit in air conditioning. I could see it's charm but about 3 minutes in and I was done with the bird voices.

After the Tiki Room my world was changed by a little yellow slice of heaven known as the Dole Whip. HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THESE?! I bow down to all the trip reports I read because otherwise we would've never tried one. They are literally heaven on a spoon...cool, pineapple goodness. We had a few throughout the week. (We're going back in about a month and the first thing Blake said to me was "we're getting Dole Whips, right?" You can bet your sweet tush we are.)

We hit up Pirates before lunch at Columbia Harbor House! We picked it for no other reason than it was close

I had the fried shrimp and Blake and the lobster roll. We really enjoyed both!

We went on It's a Small World after lunch because when at Disney and then Blake went to his FP for 7DMT. Because I was pregnant I missed out on my favorites, Splash Mountain and Hollywood Tower of Terror, but Blake was able to enjoy a couple of the thrill rides. He really enjoyed 7DMT!

All the rides this morning had at most 10 minute waits to get on. Crowds were really low till about 12:30. We ended our morning at MK shooting at things with Buzz. This was actually really hard!

[My thoughts: "what in the world is happening right now?" Blake's thoughts: "world domination"]

Blake won.

20 picture limit - to be continued!

 

[Tuvalu]

This is the Beach Club balcony you wanted. It was the longest and narrowest balcony we ever had!

The room where you sat in Be Our Guest is called the Rose Gallery.

 

[AutumnN101]

We ended our morning here and caught a bus to POFQ. Again, thank you to trip reports (are you seeing a theme here?) I knew I wanted to try the beignets at POFQ because fried dough. We also knew we could catch the boat to Disney Springs and we hadn't seen it since all the rework. The beignets were amazing! We are staying at POFQ when we return next month and the easy access to beignets may have played a small part in that choice.

[why is fried dough in any form so good?]

[Entrance at POFQ]

[I understand they've changed the look of Sassagoula Floatworks recently. I think they've taken most every hanging decoration down]

[Boat to Disney Springs. It took us maybe 15 minutes to get there]

By the time we got there, I realized how exhausted I was - late night, early morning, generally pregnant - so we went to the personalization store to get our ears for our gender reveal and then headed back to Beach Club. We headed down to the main pool when we got back to the resort. I was super excited to try the lazy river!

The lazy river ended up being a disappointment. I wasn't expecting something you'd find at a water park, but it was a small circle with water that kinda moved in one direction. It was underwhelming. BUT, the rest of the Stormalong Bay area is not! It is a huge pool! There were numerous different activities going on while we were there.

We walked over to Epcot around 6:30 to check out some of the Food and Garden booths. I ended up getting a falafel at Morroco's quick service and it was delicious. What was especially good was the pistachio baklava! So good!

[pistachio baklava]

We stopped at a couple different booths in which I have no notes and no pictures, but I do know we stopped at the America booth and Blake got the brisket burnt ends hash which he loved. He had it again later in the week.

[brisket burnt ends hash]

By the time we got to Mexico, the sky was turning very dark and it started to lightly sprinkle, so we made our way back towards France and our resort. A little after 8pm, we got stuck in a torrential downpour. It was thundering & lightening so we hung out for about 10 minutes under an awning in Chefs de France but we were already soaked and it wasn't letting up so I took off my sandals and we just went for it!

The lower part of the walkway between the World Showcase and Beach Club had water standing up to almost my knee! I wish I would've gotten a picture of it, but again, torrential downpour. But, to give you an idea, here is a before and after from the evening:

[Photo courtesy of Photopass]

[photo courtesy of torrential downpour]

We ended our night refilling our mugs and grabbing an ice cream sandwich from Beaches N Cream. We were in bed by 9:30! We didn't realize our room would have 2 queen beds and at first we were kinda bummed but we quickly learned to love having our own beds

Miles walked: 9 miles today! I don't think that's not too bad for a Disney day (although my feet and ankles will think differently in the morning)

Coming up:Hollywood Studios & Epcot!

 

[AutumnN101]

This is the Beach Club balcony you wanted. It was the longest and narrowest balcony we ever had!

View attachment 199507

The room where you sat in Be Our Guest is called the Rose Gallery.

Yes! That is the balcony I wanted! The juliet balcony was cute but not so much for actually sitting on.

Rose Gallery! Thank you!

 

[MomofPrincessGrace]

I loved sitting in the Rose Gallery at BOG. We sat right under the dancing statue at the little bench with chairs in the other side (which was perfect because my daughter could lay back and relax a little better on the bench than on a chair. Plus I loved looking at all the portraits on the wall. It seemed that was the least busy room of them all.

 

[AutumnN101]

I loved sitting in the Rose Gallery at BOG. We sat right under the dancing statue at the little bench with chairs in the other side (which was perfect because my daughter could lay back and relax a little better on the bench than on a chair. Plus I loved looking at all the portraits on the wall. It seemed that was the least busy room of them all.

I totally agree with you! Going in, it was the room I was least excited about but it really does have a certain charm to it!

 

[joshsprincess921]

Following along! Great start!

 

[AutumnN101]

Tuesday, May 3rd

We were headed to Hollywood Studios this morning and were hoping to be there for the opening at 9am. We were out of the resort by 8:45 and walked straight onto a boat! I find Hollywood Studio's main street to be so charming. I love the music that is piped in and it really makes you feel like you've been transported back to the golden age of Hollywood.

We hadn't eaten breakfast yet but knew (from trip reports....shocking, I know) that Starring Rolls may have some tasty things.

Blake is not a big sweets guy, especially at breakfast, so he got a turkey sandwich. One of my great loves in this world is fruit tarts, so when I saw they had them, I scooped one up!

We then walked down to ToT and Rock N Roller Coaster to see the standby times for B (20 and 30 minutes respectively). He didn't feel like waiting by himself so he skipped both. We visited the photopass photographers in both areas before walking over to the Great Movie Ride. We love this ride! The standby said 1/2 hour but it was more like 15 minutes. We were kind of hoping for more like 1/2 hour since we love the standby line. It so much fun to see the old movie clips on the screen.

Our first FP was for Muppets 3D and I will say the fast pass was totally unnecessary. I don't know if it's typically no wait, but it was on our trip. Again, it was nice to sit down in the air conditioning for a few minutes but I would be okay never doing this attraction again. The standby for Star Tours as only 10 minutes so Blake decided to go on. He said he got the scene where they fly through the ruins of a downed starship (or something along those lines).

Our 2nd FP was to Toy Story Mania which I like so much better than the Buzz one at MK. On our way to lunch, the Star Wars show was starting. There's nothing major to it but I thought it was very enjoyable to watch.

The best part was watching the storm troopers march towards the crowd

One of my favorite restaurants on Walt Disney World property is the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theatre. It's not that the food is spectacular, but the atmosphere and theming is perfection! I remember eating here on visits as a kid so I'm not sure if it was comforting or surprising to see the same movie reel from 20 years ago.

[You get to eat in a car while watching campy horror movie clips from decades ago on a big screen - the place is brilliant]

I had their burger special which had fried boursin cheese on top I also had a chocolate milkshake that was okay. B made his own burger and we both really enjoyed our meals. Our sweet waitress brought us out a "celebration cupcake" which as a vanilla cupcake with cream cheese frosting and sprinkles. You could tell it had been recently unfrozen, but it was still so good!

Our last FP was at the classic Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular and all I kept thinking was how hot those CMs must get! We ended our time at HS by buzzing over to the Star Wars Launch Bay. I highly recommend watching the video and not going straight into the memorabilia & character meet and greet. If you're a fan of Star Wars, this is a neat area! On our way our the Star Wars show was ending so we got to watch the Storm Troopers walk by.

[There was something very cool about watching them all walk by. Made me want to watch the movies when I got home.]

To be continued!

 

[LadyBelle]

I love Sci-Fi Dine in. It's a must ADR for me at Hollywood Studios.

Looking forward to more!

 

[PrincessL]

I'm in! Great start!

 

[Ciara]

LOVING your report so far! Cant wait for more

 

[WDWDarling]

I'm so glad you decided to share your report - absolutely loving reading it! Although I should have waited to read until after dinner because your food pictures are making me hungry lol.

Following along!

 

[AutumnN101]

Following along! Great start!

Thanks!

I love Sci-Fi Dine in. It's a must ADR for me at Hollywood Studios.
It really is one of the most fun restaurants on property!

Looking forward to more!

I'm in! Great start!

Yay!

LOVING your report so far! Cant wait for more

Thank you!

I'm so glad you decided to share your report - absolutely loving reading it! Although I should have waited to read until after dinner because your food pictures are making me hungry lol.
Haha, there are so many tasty things at Disney World!

Following along!

Awesome, thanks!

 

[AutumnN101]

Continuing Monday, May 3rd

We were worn out at this point so we headed out of the park, picking up a glass of ice water at one of the booths. I really can't imagine the parks in July/August; pretty sure I'd just be dumping that ice water on my head.

We took the boat back to the resort but Blake got off at the 1st Swan & Dolphin stop to walk over to Boardwalk and grab a pretzel. It was quicker than getting off at the Boardwalk stop! I love that all these resorts are connected. It almost makes you feel like you're staying at several resorts. Plus, the Boardwalk at night is cute!

While B had his pretzel, I had my afternoon relaxation time of pool and Sudoku. We had dinner tonight at Chefs de France in Epcot so we laid around till it was time to go. We were on the end of Beach Club closest to Epcot and it was probably a 15 minute walk from our room to Chefs de France.

We both ended up doing their prix fixe menu. A lot of times we choose not to because not all the options sound good but everything on the prix fix menu at Chefs de France sounded delicious.

I got the french onion soup after hearing so many raving reviews of it on this board and B got the lobster bisque. We both thought the lobster bisque was better!

[Ugh, can I have one now?]

I had the chicken (Poulet fermier à la Layonnaise, pomme puree if we want to get official) and Blake had the beef short ribs (Boeuf Bourguignon, polenta cremeuse).

[chicken]

[beef short ribs]

We thought the chicken was better but both dishes were very good. I will say the polenta with the short ribs was amazing! For dessert it was an easy decision. I love creme brulee. If it's on the menu, it will shortly be in my mouth. Blake ordered the apple tart which I usually find very bland and boring in restaurants but something shocking happened.

The apple tart was better!!! What?! The croissant like dough was absolutely delicious and that creamy caramel on the side should've been served as it's own dessert it was so good. Do they make drinking caramel? To top it all off it tasted like it had some amaretto flavor to it and when I'm not pregnant, I will have a glass of amaretto on the rocks - I love it.

I would definitely recommend Chefs de France. We had made a reservation during illuminations but were seated so we couldn't see them which wasn't the end of the world to us. We actually never caught illuminations any time that week!

There was almost two hours till park closing so we walked through England and Canada and bought a cute Eyeore stuffed animal for the baby. Eyeore is the best, isn't he?

I loved the Food & Garden topiaries light up at night.

[Not everyone saw Peter Pan at the top of the building so make sure you look up if you see Captain Hook]

We decided to walk on over to Test Track so B could see how long the single rider line was and he buzzed right through. He loved it and never went on it prior to the remodel. I haven't been on it since the remodel so I only remember the old Test Track.

We wandered through Mouse Gears (which I had never step foot in) and we were blown away at the selection and size of the store! They had so much great stuff and some how we didn't buy anything!

I don't know if it's every night or if they rotate music but as we were walking through World Showcase on our way back to the resort, music from the Lion King was being piped in and it was such a beautiful moment. The lighting for the World Showcase is soft and romantic at night and then you throw Lion King music on top if it? I'm done for.

Miles walked: 7

 

[SarahBella82]

Hi! I visited the World last July when I was seven months pregnant, so I'm enjoying another mom's perspective. Thanks for sharing!

 

[AutumnN101]

Hi! I visited the World last July when I was seven months pregnant, so I'm enjoying another mom's perspective. Thanks for sharing!

That's awesome! Minus missing out on some of the rides and dealing with swollen feet, I really enjoyed it! Felt we spent more time in the shops and exploring than we would've normally.

 

[LisaBelle]

I'm enjoying your report. My husband and I ate at Chefs de France in 2014 to celebrate our anniversary. We totally agree that the Lobster bisque was so much better than the French onion soup. I think the French onion soup at BOG is THE BEST EVER. I loved the creme brûlée, but your description of the apple tart makes me want to try it as well.
The anniversary pins are definitely worth wearing. It's fun to hear all the congratulations and the unexpected treats are an awesome little perk!
Looking forward to more.

 

[AutumnN101]

I'm enjoying your report. My husband and I ate at Chefs de France in 2014 to celebrate our anniversary. We totally agree that the Lobster bisque was so much better than the French onion soup. I think the French onion soup at BOG is THE BEST EVER. I loved the creme brûlée, but your description of the apple tart makes me want to try it as well.
The anniversary pins are definitely worth wearing. It's fun to hear all the congratulations and the unexpected treats are an awesome little perk!
Looking forward to more.

Agreed, all the well wishes the pins brought was such a fun bonus throughout the week.

 

[AutumnN101]

Let's move right along with Wednesday, May 4th (and may the forth be with you)

The forecast today was 100% chance of rain till 9/10pm and it was 100% accurate! We were going to spend the morning at Animal Kingdom, but with the rain, that plan didn't sound appealing.

We decided to Monorail resort hop and then I remembered reading about the Tonga Toast at the Poly, so I hopped on the My Disney Experience app and there was an open reservation at Kona Cafe! We snatched that up and left Beach Club a little after 9 to catch our 10:35 reservation.

Our plan was to catch a bus to MK and then hop on the monorail but each MK bus was packed, so we hopped a bus to HS and then caught a bus to Poly. This journey took a solid hour.

(Polynesian's lobby)

For those who don't know what Tonga Toast is kinda like french toast, but they use huge, thick pieces of sourdough bread and put some sort of banana compote between the 2 slices of sourdough. Then, they deep fry it and put cinnamon sugar on top. People rave about this dish all the time so I guess my expectations where high, but I didn't love it! It was fine, but I'd be okay not having it again!

(Blake got something involving poached eggs and a side of hashbrowns)

We wondered the resort then hopped the monorail to Grand Floridian! GF is on my bucket list of Disney resorts to stay at. We almost booked it for this trip because when we made our reservations, the room prices were the same for BC and GF. However, we loved the idea of being so close to Epcot.

[Grand Floridian with Polynesian in the background. This was before the alligator attack and you can see the beach isn't fenced off yet.]

We both loved GF! It has such this classic, victorian/preppy vibe that we loved. We walked through their shops and discovered Basin for ourselves. Basin has all these great smelling soaps, bath bombs, and scrubs and we spent a good deal of time (and money) in there. I know there's also a Basin at Disney Springs.

We wandered there general Disney merchandise type store and found a book that I wish we would've bought. It talked about all the hidden Mickeys through the parks and resorts. We thought that could be fun to track one time! We sat in the lobby for a couple minutes and saw the Princess Tea Party ending and it was adorable to see all the little girls in their princess dresses. B and I about crapped when we saw the price for the tea party - $333 for ages 3-9 and then it was $100 per additional guest! We still figured we'd do it with our girl when she gets older.

We then made our way to the Contemporary and this resort did nothing for either one of us. We hate how it felt like a transportation station with some rooms around it. Again, I know folks love this resort and I say more power to them, it's just not our cup of tea. Blake did buy some sort of sweet from their QS location.

[Said sweet]

We then took the monorail back to MK and caught a bus back to BC, arriving around 2:30. We were going to try and grab lunch at Beaches N Cream's counter but didn't realize those are also under reservations and it was a 1 1/2 hour wait at 2:30. So, we grabbed something from QS and took a nap.

After our nap, we headed to MK for our FP to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. It was a cute ride but Blake and I are pretty sure someone laced Pooh's honey with acid. You see him slouched over in his bedroom and then you enter a psychedelic room with a flying purple elephant and it's all kind of what I imagine an acid trip to be like.

Like the forecast said, it did rain throughout the day but it had been pretty light late afternoon. As soon as we came out of Pooh, it was pouring and looking at the radar, it wasn't letting up anytime soon. We had 7:55 reservations at O'hana and it was getting closer to our reservation time, so we bit he bullet and bought two $20 ponchos.

While I think being on a monorail resort would be convenient, every time we were on the monorail that week, it was jam packed and there was so much stopping and starting. This journey to Poly was no different. The cars were packed with a huge high school group going to the Luau and we kept stopping. We left at 7:25 and got to the Poly at 8:05. Thankfully, being 10 minutes late for our reservation wasn't issue and we weren't sat until 8:30.

O'hana was great, money well spent. The highlights for us were the salad, pork dumplings and bread pudding. Some of the meat was a little dry but it was all still very good.

[insert awkward salad picture here]

[noodles and veggies]

[The awesome bread pudding. Sorry, forgot all other pictures of what we ate!]

The bread pudding was also served with a caramel sauce that you can't see but it was amazing. Even Blake loved this desert and he's generally not a huge sweets guy.

After stuffing ourselves, we hopped back on the monorail 1 more time and walked into MK just as Wishes, Celebrate the Magic and the Electrical Parade started. We stood on the 2nd level of the train station which was great to see all three shows. I can see how being closer for Celebrate the Magic would be better and I guess with Wishes leaving soon and the Electrical Parade gone some of these notes are moot points!

I agree with everyone else when I say Wishes is amazing. I'm excited to see the new show when we are down their next month, however. Change is good even though it's bittersweet!

MK had Extra Magic Hours from 11-1am so we wandered for a bit. B rode Big Thunder Mountain but we mainly just took in the park and strolled around. We did grab an ice cream on the way out because 1 desert a night just isn't enough on vacation.

[The rain definitely cooled things down!]

We caught the bus back to BC and crawled into bed around 2am.

Miles walked: 7.2

Next Up: Epcot and Disney Springs!