Trip Report An OG Anniversary Trip - Completed

And we're back!

We'll be spending our anniversary-ish trip at Walt Disney World. You may remember that we've turned into avid Disney cruisers and have pretty much sailabrated (see what I did there) on a cruise ship for the past several years. Much to our dismay, that won't be happening this year, but cruising will be back, so in the meantime, we will get Disney where we can.

If you've followed our past journeys, we may have mentioned that we had a DLR and cruise planned for mid-September. Cruise was cancelled and it's not looking like DLR is going to open the parks any time soon. We hate that Disney waits until THE LAST MINUTE to cancel, so we've taken it upon ourselves to change our plans.

I called up DVC today (less than 5-minute wait) and changed our Grand Californian stay to a Walt Disney World stay.

Here's the rundown. Jim Halpert needs to take notes.

Who:

What: A rescheduled DLR trip.
When: September 22 - 27
Where: Boardwalk Villas Studio

We converted a 3-day ticket for a visit in February to a 6-day in September, no problem. I made park reservations as well. I'm not going to lie...when this park reservation business began, I thought this was going to be a crazy free-for-all and all the dates would be snatched up. I was wrong. I've had positive experiences both times when reserving parks.

We have our room reservation and tickets in place. Now I'm working on flights and dining reservations.

 

[Zipadeelady]

Sorry @imahistorygeek I have to agree with Sean on this one.... Sangria looks tasty but that spam hash brings back bad memories.

 

[Swissmiss]

Oh, falafel fries sound delish. We’re they?

 

[MinnieM123]

We landed at MCO, grabbed our rental car, hit up Publix for supplies, and made it to our room in an hour!

That's good timing. (Did you rent a car because it's faster? Just wondering why you didn't use Magic Express, because it's free.) Also, do they charge you a parking fee each day at the Boardwalk, or is it included in your room reservation rate?

 

[lostpro9het]

Oh, falafel fries sound delish. We’re they?

They were excellent. Very repeatable.

That's good timing. (Did you rent a car because it's faster? Just wondering why you didn't use Magic Express, because it's free.) Also, do they charge you a parking fee each day at the Boardwalk, or is it included in your room reservation rate?

We wanted some freedom to avoid park transportation, heard some ridiculous times with DME too, and wanted more time at AK on Sunday before we fly back. DVC Members do not have to pay for parking when staying on points.

 

[lostpro9het]

After the DVC lounge we hit up SE, TT, and MS. SE was walk on and we got to interact with the screens. For some reason I thought they stopped that. TT was also a walk on and just not the same without the car build. Finally, if Lt.Dan ain't leading my space training then I ain't flying. We legit thought our training vessel was about to die. It creaked something fierce with every tilt.

After surveying our near death we grabbed a Joffrey’s, a S’mores pie, and a chimichurri dish. The pie was excellent and will leave the chimchurri review to my bride.

We made our way back towards the Seas after grabbing some pins.

 

[lostpro9het]

After the Seas we took a warrped flight with Puddy before getting an agriculture lesson and checking in with an emotion.

For dinner we checked out Sam Eagles joint. The food was decent and actually priced well, we’d go back for sure. This made up for Tangierine cafe being closed.

We’re now relaxing by the quiet pool now looking forward to a full MK day tomorrow.

 

[lostpro9het]

Had a great breakfast at the Wave this morning. Then Walked over to the park.

MK is a ghost town, relatively speaking. Knocking out some serious rides today.

 

[BigDis]

Late but now onboard. Not first!

 

[lostpro9het]

Been crushing rides all morning. Weather has been nice and crowds pretty lite.

 

[lostpro9het]

Just finished off some Hades nachos for lunch, they’re repeatable. Now queued up for some pirates. Side note, picked up a Narcoossee's ADR for tonight after MK closes. Never had it and figured wed give it a go.

 

[lostpro9het]

Refueling now with some liquid bean before some shopping and more riding. Took a little cruise, met up with a Pan, and caught a cavalcade. Wait times are still solid and the weather has been kind.

 

[lostpro9het]

5 minutes later and the next float came by. Also, got warning on my phone that Epcot will be testing fireworks tonight!

 

[RememberWhen]

5 minutes later and the next float came by. Also, got warning on my phone that Epcot will be testing fireworks tonight!
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You’re at Boardwalk, right? Maybe you can see them!

 

[lostpro9het]

Closed out a great day at MK. Rode everything and had a blast. We hopped on the monorail and made our way to the annual Tamboooooooo Club of Awesomeness meeting but @wdisney9000 was a no show so we grabbed a mai tai and Hawaiian coconut porter before making our way to Enchanted Rose for some pinkies up action before dinner, Old fashioned and a Floral Bitter Beauty in style.

You’re at Boardwalk, right? Maybe you can see them!

If we get done with Narcoossee's in time!

 

[lostpro9het]

Folks, Narcoossee's is for real. I’ve avoided it for years because im not big on seafood but tonight was just fantastic. We had a great server, Michael, great view, and great food. We shared a surf n’ turf, cheese plate, and a pair of enhancements. We’d definitely go back. We’re back at BWV and hear EC testing their fireworks. Looking forward to a great day at HS tomorrow.

 

[imahistorygeek]

Polynesian MRE aka Spam hash - I actually liked it. I think it could have been better, but there were good elements. The vegetables and teriyaki flavor were good. I know what spam is supposed to taste like, and that wasn't it. Spam is salty. This was salt-free. The chunks were too big and it should have been fried. You listening, Disney? Spam should be fried.

The rose sangria was also good and refreshing. It was heavy on the red wine and light on the rose, but I'd drink it again.

Oh, falafel fries sound delish. We’re they?

Yes! I could have eaten another round of them. I love falafel so these were right up my alley.

The avocado toast at The Wave...if you like avocado, this is THE DISH for you. It was so good. It's like guacamole for breakfast I think I'll get it again on Saturday.

Story from The Wave - I don't know how it came up, but somehow it came up that we didn't have any coffee mugs in our room. Our server put two extra coffee mugs on our table with the intention of us taking them with is. We told her that we couldn't take them. She was going to leave them at the front desk for us to come back and pick them up. We politely declined.

Hades Nachos - I think a sprinkling of blue cheese would work on top of these. I'd eat them again, but no rush. The orange color was weird.

As you can see above, we went to Tambu Lounge for drinks with the understanding that we'd hit Enchanted Rose for more drinks before our dinner at Narcoossee's. As we were drinking our drinks at Tambu, we were looking at the price of the drinks at Enchanted Rose. One word: EXPENSIVE. An old fashioned is $20. Reviews were calling it overpriced drinks. We were going to ditch it, but decided since it was something new, we would try it out.

I had in my mind that it was a Beauty & the Beast theme. I couldn't be more wrong. It's elegant and beautiful on the inside. We made our way to the bar and ordered our two drinks. We watched Sheila, the bartender, make our drinks. They were heavy on the good alcohol. Beautiful presentation of the drinks and they were good. I think they were well worth the $. You could definitely taste the alcohol in these drinks whereas the drinks at Tambu tasted watered down. Enchanted Rose is upscale and the quality of the drinks reflect the setting. This may be our new watering hole.

We've been having a great time and while the experiences have been cut, we've still found plenty to do both inside and outside of the parks. The low crowds are nice and Disney is handling things quite well. However, for the amount of experiences they have cut, the price of a ticket right now isn't worth it. Yet, here we are. We're paying for the experience of low crowds. If they don't open APs soon, I'm not sure we will be back anytime soon. I can't stomach the price again. Honestly, I'd rather spend my money on cruising.

Tomorrow is Hollywood Studios. If so inclined, please pray to the Disney Gods that we can one, get a boarding pass, and 2, the ride is running.

 

[MinnieM123]

As we were drinking our drinks at Tambu, we were looking at the price of the drinks at Enchanted Rose. One word: EXPENSIVE. An old fashioned is $20. Reviews were calling it overpriced drinks.

Twenty dollars for one drink??!! Luckily, I rarely drink. But seriously, if that's the going price, it's yet another reason why people like me are getting priced out of WDW, pandemic or not.

(That aside, I realize you both liked your drinks, and realize it's an infrequent treat to enjoy while on vacation. )

 

[imahistorygeek]

Twenty dollars for one drink??!! Luckily, I rarely drink. But seriously, if that's the going price, it's yet another reason why people like me are getting priced out of WDW, pandemic or not.

(That aside, I realize you both liked your drinks, and realize it's an infrequent treat to enjoy while on vacation. )

We haven't found that to be the typical price of drinks. I think location had something to do with the price. Still though, crazy expensive.

 

[imahistorygeek]

Ok, who puts the towel roll right here? We were looking everywhere for it.

 

[lostpro9het]

Twenty dollars for one drink??!! Luckily, I rarely drink. But seriously, if that's the going price, it's yet another reason why people like me are getting priced out of WDW, pandemic or not.

(That aside, I realize you both liked your drinks, and realize it's an infrequent treat to enjoy while on vacation. )

Trust me, this is waaaay out of character for me! That said, we'll try just about anything once. I wont lie, ER is bordering on pretentious and you're paying for location and the façade BUT Shelia was a fantastic bartender and she "eyeballed" the alcohol going into our drinks with a seriously heavy hand.

To your point of pricing out, we’re experiencing it too. Im afraid The Mouse has acquired to strong of a taste for profit over guest experience.

Meanwhile, tick-tock open this thing!