Trip Report Meet the Floridians

Hello humans!

Most of you know me by now, but for those of you who haven't followed my past TR's (particularly my most recent), I'll do some brief introductions. Feel free to check out my past reports (in my signature) if you'd like!

Who: I'm Brittany! I'm 25 and completely Disney obsessed. My better half is Dylan, also 25 and not quite as Disney obsessed. Prior to meeting me, he had never been to WDW! It was obviously top priority to remedy that.

This is our baby, Tink. She also loves Disney.

We got engaged in Magic Kingdom in June.. my dream come true! Though our wedding won't take place in Disney, it will be Disney themed.

While we were enjoying our time in the World, I accepted a 1st grade teaching position in Osceola County, Florida. Fast forward a month, and we packed up a U-Haul to relocate from Pennsylvania to the Sunshine State!

We currently live 20 minutes from Disney property, and one of our first purchases should come as no surprise. This report will be a collection of our adventures as annual passholders, and I'll update it with a Table of Contents as we go. Now, without further ado...

To all who come to this happy place, welcome!

 

[DisneyGigi]

Saturday, October 7 cont.

Next, we tried the Almond Orchard booth.

Cauliflower Risotto with Pulled Chicken, Artichokes, Spinach and Parmesan Cheese and Aged Balsamic ($4.75)
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The risotto was just okay.. I wouldn't get it again.

We continued along and decided that we wanted to stop at Canada even though we'd already tried the things it had to offer.

“Le Cellier” Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon with Truffle-Butter Sauce ($8)
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We loved it just as much the second time, though we agreed that it seems like the portion got smaller since last time we had it.

We had some company as we ate @DisneyShe
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I was ready for something sweet and Ireland had the perfect dish!

Warm Chocolate Pudding with Irish Cream Liqueur Custard ($4)
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Oh my word... this was AMAZING! I would get it a million more times! Dylan only asked for a couple of bites and then left me to enjoy it in all my chocolate glory.

I had eaten a late lunch, so I was starting to get full already. Dylan was still hungry and wanted to get an actual meal from one of the QS spots.

You can see how busy it was in this picture.
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We had eaten at Lotus Blossom Cafe on our June trip and enjoyed it, so that was where Dylan requested we go next. He ordered the Shrimp Fried Rice and thought it was surprisingly good! I ate a few bites of rice and have to agree.
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We got in line at the Brazil booth to get something else to try, however it started raining pretty hard as we were waiting. We ran for cover until it let up enough to make our way to the exit. It was too busy to ride anything and we were just done with crowds at that point.

Guys... Disney date nights are the BEST. We're so stinkin' lucky.
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While I was on MDE looking at wait times, I noticed a FP+ for Toy Story Mania that seemed to be calling our names. Wait times at HS were just all around better so we decided to pop in there to end the evening!

Florida Birds!!!! :-D
Disney date nights.... I am so jealous!

 

[blreinsel]

Friday, October 13

We had a teacher work day at school so I was actually able to leave at a decent time with some energy left at the end of the day. Dylan was already on property golfing with a friend, so we agreed to meet up for a few hours.

I was hungry so hopped on the app to see if there were any ADR's available that I was interested in. I found one that I had been wanting to try and soon I was headed to HS. But where would we be eating...?

It was PACKED and there were only FP+'s left for Muppets, Frozen, and something else you don't actually need one for. We decided to go and watch Frozen with hopes of Ben performing!

We were disappointed when Ben didn't come running out onto the stage. I always feel bad being disappointed because the other historians do a good job... but nobody does it like Ben! Anna was just plain bad. She acted tired and bored both times she was onstage.

We were more than ready to let it go after that subpar performance...

We still had about 30 minutes until our reservation, so we decided to check something else off the Disney bucket list!

Apparently I forgot to save the picture I took of my drink, but I had a Mowie Wowie and it was really good! I was sure to send a picture to @wdisney9000 to let him know that we were holding down the fort for him. Our bartender was super sweet.. I believe her name was Crystal? We'll be back to Tune In!

The new area around Baseline Tap House looks AMAZING! I can't wait to try it out!

We continued on and were soon checking in for our ADR!

 

[blreinsel]

Friday, October 13 cont.

We're here!

We gave them our name and then waited for just a few minutes before being led to our table. It was SO cute inside! Dylan commented on how it didn't even feel like we were in the middle of a Disney park. The atmosphere was great!

Our waitress brought us some yummy bread to snack on while we waited for our meals. I wasn't real crazy about the dipping oil, but I felt weird asking for butter so I ate it anyway.

We also ordered drinks.. I had a Bellini Cocktail and Dylan had the Red Sangria. My drink was good but his was It reminded me of cough syrup lol. Needless to say, he only drank about half of it.

We both went with the Charred Strip Steak It was really good, as was the macaroni! I've been drooling over this dish for awhile now and it definitely lived up to my expectations!

We paid our bill and left the restaurant, enjoying the quiet walk to the front of the park sans crowds. Is there anything more romantic than walking through a vacant Disney park hand in hand with the one you love? No.. no there is not.

We walked out of the park as the "fireworks" were going off and were soon on our way home after another perfect Disney date night.

 

[sheriffwoody]

You can see how busy it was in this picture.

UGH. That day was awful. It was already that crowded at lunchtime. I was not having it

We walked right onto Tower of Terror and were surprised by some new/different features during the drop sequence. I won't spoil it for those of you who haven't gotten to ride yet. They're very subtle changes, but they really add to the overall experience I think!

Ok, I am either super oblivious or they didn't do anything different for us. I want to know what it is!

 

[fractal]

Friday, September 29 cont.

I'm absolutely obsessed with this part of the parade. I can't handle the awesomeness!
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Literally would still watch if these guys were the only part. They were AMAZING!
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These two effectively scared the dole whip out of me when they screamed and lunged toward us.
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So. Freaking. Cool.
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The smell coming from her float...
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Floppy hyenas.... SO weird.
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More strange parade participants...
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Why do we love villains? Lol
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Not a parade person, but this does look pretty cool!

 

[blreinsel]

UGH. That day was awful. It was already that crowded at lunchtime. I was not having it

Ok, I am either super oblivious or they didn't do anything different for us. I want to know what it is!

It was ridiculous lol. I love F&W for obvious reasons but hate it for the crowds it brings.

I feel like you would have noticed it! It was obvious enough that even Dylan noticed.

Not a parade person, but this does look pretty cool!

Ugh, you would do this parade so much more justice than I ever could! It was truly awesome!

 

[wdwfamilynh]

Disney date nights.... I am so jealous!

Me too

 

[blreinsel]

Saturday, October 14

You know how upsetting it is when you try to book an ADR 180 days out but there aren't any left and it's the END OF THE WORLD? I got a 1:10pm lunch reservation for Be Our Guest exactly a week in advance. It CAN be done. Satisfying Disney food cravings is honestly one of the best parts of living 20 minutes away.

I got to the TTC at 12:30pm and went up the ramp to board the monorail. I was sent into the boarding area to wait. So I waited... and waited... and waited. There was a monorail sitting near the Contemporary during this time, so nobody was sure what was going on. It finally started moving again but we continued to wait for several more minutes before one pulled into the station. Everybody got on board and waited... and waited. After probably 10 minutes they came over the intercom and asked us to disembark. I marched down the ramp and straight onto the now packed ferry.

We finally floated into the dock area and I hustled to BOG, already 15 minutes late at this point. I arrived and was greeted by this.

Wonderful.

I checked in at 1:40pm, making me a half an hour late. I was fuming (hangry) and apologized to the CM, telling her that the monorail was down. She didn't seem to be bothered by my tardiness and handed me a rose before sending me down the bridge. I know there's a buffer with ADR's, but 30 minutes is a lot. My day at MK was not off to a good start.

There was also a line inside the castle, so I stopped for some pictures on the way.

There was a mom and daughter duo in line behind me who complained (loudly) the ENTIRE time we waited. They couldn't understand why the preorder line was taking SO LONG... it wasn't taking that long. There were several families ahead of us in line, yes. But there were two CM's checking people in and they seemed to be doing so efficiently. What more do you want? They just seemed very entitled and were very annoying, especially in my hangry state. I was finally called and after all of the stress of getting there, I decided to add dessert to my order. Treat yo self.

It felt very strange to be there alone.. this was my first solo ADR experience. However, I scored a perfect seat right next to the windows. This is the only snow I'm interested in seeing for the rest of my life. #notmywinter

VIEWS.

It wasn't long before my food came out. Did I need this much food? No. I didn't eat nearly all of it. Do I regret it? Nope. The CM gave me one of the fancy Mickey straws and told me that Mickey wanted me to have it.

My beloved. SO GOOD. Better than I remember (ya know, from way back in July when I had it last).

I went with the Carved Turkey Sandwich, as I always do. I was disappointed. It just wasn't as good as it has been in the past. Not sure what the change is, but it's not a good one. I guess I'll finally be able to try something different next time.

You, my dear, will NEVER disappoint. I still miss the fancy "Be Our Guest" chocolate squares, though.

Stuffed and happy, I rolled myself out of the restaurant. This might be the best picture I've ever been able to get of the mosaic. They had the door propped open and the sun was a major help with lighting.

My happy place inside of my happy place. I will never get tired of BOG.

 

[blreinsel]

Saturday, October 14 cont.

A few more pictures on my way out.

I've never really paid attention to the stream under the bridge... it's so quaint and peaceful. Plus, the ducks are pretty cute.

I decided to stop by Bonjour! Village Gifts to look around. I want Dylan to get this shirt.

LOOK AT THESE!!! They are freakin' adorable. I'm going to need a bigger Christmas tree.

Adding these two to my list with Lumiere and Cogsworth. I'm hoping somebody will buy them for me for Christmas because I need them for wedding decorations.

I had a FP+ for Pirates, so that was my next destination. I rode with two older ladies who were so amazed by all of the little details in the ride. They were funny to listen to lol.

A blurry ride picture. The actual ride picture never showed up on my account.

I walked back to Main Street afterwards to do some shopping while I waited for my next FP+ window to open up.

 

[blreinsel]

Saturday, October 14 cont.

This isn't my style at all, but I loved that it was Beauty and the Beast.

I CANNOT HANDLE THE CUTENESS. I'm not a purse kinda girl, but if I was...

My FP+ window was now open, so off to Tomorrowland I went. I've never gotten to see one of these in person.. the CM was an older gentleman and I think he was training the girl with him. I overheard him tell her that things like this are the best part of the job because they make people so happy. A true Disney quality CM folks.

I scanned my band and was off to space!

Ummm... has anybody else noticed the freaking BALL PIT in the queue before? If an adult jumping into the Space Mountain ball pit makes the news, don't look at me.

My ride picture was super unflattering so I was in the very back and it was a wild ride.. it's been awhile since I've gotten to ride back there lol. There was a lady riding in front of me who had to be pushing 80.. If I worry about being decapitated on SM, then I can't imagine how she was feeling.

I had a Big Thunder FP+ scheduled but I decided to cancel it and head out. The park was super busy and I was just done for the day. Fortunately there were no transportation issues on the way back to the TTC.

 

[dclfan]

Omg that chip purse @blgauger ive been drooling over it for months. There is also a white rabbit one that I adore. I know I'm leaving with one of the two when I go in December lol. They are just so gosh darn cute.

 

[Bullseye1967]

Ummm... has anybody else noticed the freaking BALL PIT in the queue before? If an adult jumping into the Space Mountain ball pit makes the news, don't look at me.

We never saw this

 

[krisri18]

We never saw this

Me neither, where is it hiding?

 

[12in12]

I have a solo lunch reservation at BOG in January but I plan to order from the kids menu due to the size of the regular meals. I am sorry your sandwich wasn't very nice.

 

[becca_]

I. LOVE. THE. BALL. PIT. I want to jump in it every single time I see it!!!!!!

 

[rshell68]

Saturday, October 14

Ahhhh we were in MK that day too! Then headed over to EPCOT for the debauchery of the Wine and Food.

 

[blreinsel]

Omg that chip purse @blgauger ive been drooling over it for months. There is also a white rabbit one that I adore. I know I'm leaving with one of the two when I go in December lol. They are just so gosh darn cute.

Lol! They are super cute! I'm glad I don't use purses or I probably would have left with Chip that day.

We never saw this

Me neither, where is it hiding?

If you look over the railing right as you enter the queue you'll see it.

I have a solo lunch reservation at BOG in January but I plan to order from the kids menu due to the size of the regular meals. I am sorry your sandwich wasn't very nice.

I could probably finish the meal if that's the only thing I ordered.. however I will probably NEVER go to BOG without also ordering French Onion Soup. And somehow a cupcake usually ends up on my table, too.

I. LOVE. THE. BALL. PIT. I want to jump in it every single time I see it!!!!!!

As if Space wasn't already awesome enough.

Ahhhh we were in MK that day too! Then headed over to EPCOT for the debauchery of the Wine and Food.

It was NUTS! I can only imagine how Epcot was... it's been a madhouse since F&W started!

 

[12in12]

I could probably finish the meal if that's the only thing I ordered.. however I will probably NEVER go to BOG without also ordering French Onion Soup. And somehow a cupcake usually ends up on my table, too.

I seriously NEED that cupcake when I have lunch there.

 

[joshsprincess921]

Those ornaments are going on my Christmas list! I got Lumiere last year, so naturally I need the other ones to go with!!

 

[Zipadeelady]

Very cool you got to see the water art of Donald! I've always wanted to come across one but haven't. Also, it's refreshing to hear the comments of the CM.