Trip Report *COMPLETED* 6 Parks, F&W Fest, MNSSHP & One HUGEEE Surprise!!!

Hi everyone! We got back from our Disney vacation two days ago and I am still exhausted and unfortunately sick, but I wanted to jump right into the report because if I don’t do it now, it will never get done!

You can find my pre-trip report here, http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/first-trip-in-6-years-with-a-wdw-first-timer.915675/ but here is a quick recap:

Who: My boyfriend, Mark, and yours truly

What: 5-Day Park Hopper Tickets, Food & Wine Festival, One night at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary-Halloween Party, One day at Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure and one HUUUUGE surprise, but I’m not giving anything away just yet!! You’ll have to follow along J

When: September 26th-October 3rd

Where: POP Century

Why: Mark’s first trip to Disney, and my first time back since being an AP 6 years ago!

Now that we have the particulars out of the way, let’s dive on in!
 

Second Star to the Right

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
After visiting "Norway" it only made sense to go to Mexico...

I think the next time we go I will make reservations for San Angel. It's so fun!
Mexico 1.jpg


Since we were already there and it was a 5 minute wait we decided to take a spin with the Three Caballeros
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We explored some of the shops and carts within Mexico after that, and then it was time to start making our way back to the Seas for our ADR at Coral Reef.

Caught Pluto on the way :)
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Epcot 2.jpg



Epcot 3.jpg


Not quite...
Epcot 4.jpg
 

Second Star to the Right

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I've never eaten at Coral Reef before and I know it gets mixed reviews, but this is where Uncle Jesse tried proposing to Aunt Becky...I had to eat here at least once!

We arrived a few minutes early for our reservation, and were told to take a seat and a table would be ready in a moment. As soon as I sat down, I realized I forgot to request a window by the fish tank. I got back up to go ask, and as soon as I approached the hostess our table buzzer went off so I just figured no need to bother them with that now. To my delight, we were still seated at a table right next to the tank :D The place was packed as well, so that might have worked in our favor since it seemed most of the tables for two are along the tank.

Coral Reef 1.jpg


Our view:
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Second best view at dinner so far...we still liked Sanaa better.
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Fish are friends...not food! He's staring right at me!
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This manta was huuuuge and came to visit a few times during dinner
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Coral Reef 7.jpg

I just love turtles
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Again, I asked our waiter for a drink recommendation, and he suggested the Pina CoLAVA. It has Bacardi Black Razz Rum blended with Piña Colada Mix and Raspberry Purée.
Coral Reef 8.jpg


It was very good, but I think I would have ordered something a little less heavy and dessert-like. I was still pretty full from snacking around the world. We didn't even bother with an appetizer because of that.
 

Second Star to the Right

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
It took about 10-15 minutes for us to actually get our drinks, and then not long after that our food arrived. Again, I forgot to take a picture of the menu. Mark was finished with his soda after 3 bites into his meal and our waiter never came by to ask if he wanted a refill. :facepalm: I think he was bitter because neither one of us ordered his two recommendations ;)

I ordered the pan-seared salmon with mushroom risotto in a pinot noir reduction. I thought it was very good. The salmon was cooked well, and the risotto was delicious, but I am a sucker for mushroom risotto.
Coral Reef 1.jpg


Mark ordered the Mahi-Mahi with Jasmine Rice, Cilantro, and a Coconut-Lime Sauce. I could smell the coconut-lime sauce as soon as it came to the table and it smelled amazing!! Mark loved it and about licked his plate clean. He still didn't have a refill on his coke, but he really enjoyed the meal!
Coral Reef 2.jpg


Dessert was up next:
Coral Reef 3.jpg


But first, a couple more fish pictures while we wait. One of the turtles came back for a visit!
Coral Reef 4.jpg


Coral Reef 5.jpg


I opted for the Baileys and Jack Daniel's Mousse
Coral Reef 6.jpg


You had me at Jack Daniels :inlove::inlove: This was delicious. Incredibly rich, as a mousse should be, but I still couldn't finish it all. I came close though!
Coral Reef 7.jpg


Mark chose the Coconut-Mango Chiffon Cake. If you haven't noticed a pattern yet, I almost always opt for the chocolate option and he goes for the fruitier variety. This always works out very nicely because we generally never have to share a dessert :hilarious:
Coral Reef 8.jpg


He said it was good, just not what he was expecting. He was picturing more of a traditional cake.

Overall impression: Our food was very good, our service was not. Our waiter was actually a bit pushy. When I had asked for a drink recommendation he told me to stop scanning the pages of the drink menu and just order the Pina CoLAVA...oook. Again, no refill on Mark's drink, and he seemed annoyed that we were too full from the F&W fest to order an appetizer. Most people's complaints seem to be about the food, so I'm glad that wasn't the case here. I can handle a busy waiter, but bad food would have bummed me out!

Out of our 5 TS meals of the trip, this is rated #4. To be fair, we had some amazing meals while we were there so it was tough to put them in order...except for our worst meal. That was really easy to rate. We hadn't experienced that yet, but it would be coming up the next day.
 

Second Star to the Right

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
At this point, I am assuming I was exhausted because I have no notes and no pictures until we are back in MK for MNSSHP. I do remember, vaguely, what happened next.

I planned our MNSSHP day for the day we would be at Epcot, because I figured that would be easiest for travel purposes. I knew we wouldn't want to go all the way back to the hotel to change into our costumes and waste all that time. It also worked out because that was really one of the only nights we would be able to make it work on the trip.

Since we had taken the bus to MK that morning to transfer to Epcot via the monorail, we ran into MK to rent a locker and put our costumes in there for when we returned later that night. That actually worked out really nicely. We got on the monorail once again to head back to MK for the party. As soon as we got through security, I ran to the locker, grabbed our stuff and we headed to the closest bathroom to change.

The place was already hopping and people were starting to line up for the first parade. This was my first MNSSHP and I was excited to experience it for the first time, especially with Mark.

All the lighting down Main Street was very fun, and the music helped put us in the Halloween spirit (even if it was 80 degrees out!) :hilarious:
Halloween 1.jpg


I had been racking my brains for months trying to come up with a costume idea for the two of us. I really wanted to dress as something Disney related, but it needed to be something inexpensive, lightweight, easy to pack, and something I could get Mark to agree to wearing! I came up with the idea of Br'er Rabbit and Br'er Fox because I already had some of the things to make the outfits work and it wouldn't take up that much extra space in our luggage. I ran the idea by Mark and he didn't like it because he didn't think people would get who we were supposed to be. This is what happens when you have never been to Disney!! Deprived.

After a few more ideas being shot down by him or me for various reasons, I just figured we weren't going to be able to dress up. Then, my birthday rolled around and changed my plans. As I've mentioned, I am a HUGE Harry Potter nerd. I love the books, I love the movies, I love everything to do with it. I've been sorted through J.K. Rowling's website Pottermore, and I am a Hufflepuff (sorry to all of those who have no idea what I am talking about). For my birthday, Mark had gotten me a Hufflepuff Quidditch jersey with my last name across the back. It was awesome!

He joked that he almost bought one for himself (he is also a Hufflepuff) when he saw how great mine came out. Right then and there I knew what our costumes were going to be. I already had everything needed with the exception of a jersey for Mark. I told him that I have our costumes, but they were going to be a surprise. He trusted me with the idea, but still asked almost daily what the costumes were going to be.

They aren't Disney, but they were very comfortable, lightweight and I knew he would like it. We went as Hufflepuff Quidditch players!
We already had our wands and I had two pairs of Hufflepuff socks already, so we were set!
Halloween 8.JPG


We are such dorks!
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Considering we got to the party late, MSUSA was not that crowded for the parade. We found an open spot and decided to plop down there for the Boo to You Parade. It was set to start in about 15 minutes.

I tried getting a pano shot, but it was too dark to come out well with my phone. Kinda gives a fun creepy vibe though!
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This is why he's the best:
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There was a fun dance party going on while we were waiting for the parade.
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It was so fun checking out all of the different costumes on the kids and adults. We saw several Harley Quinns, many Judy Hopps, and several Kylo-Rens.
Halloween 7.jpg
 

Second Star to the Right

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I can't wait to hear your review of Coral Reef. I'm eating there for the first time at the end of the month. It will just be two of us, so hopefully we will be seated next to the tank as well.
We both thought the food was very good, the service just wasn't great. We couldn't figure out if our waiter was busy and that might have been the issue, but we hardly saw him on the floor with other tables.

Again, the food and the view were both very good. Mark really enjoyed his Mahi, and I really liked my salmon. I hope you guys have a great time!
 

Second Star to the Right

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Mmmmm...mushroom risotto. :inlove: I don't usually go for tropical drinks, but that CoLAVA looked good.

I've eaten at Coral Reef many times, both lunch and dinner, and always enjoyed it. The service can be a little spotty.
The CoLAVA was definitely good, just a bit heavier than I should have gotten. My eyes were bigger than my stomach at that point. I could actually go for some of that risotto right now!

The service wasn't terrible, it just wasn't great. I wouldn't have cared if Mark had just gotten his refill. I felt bad about that!
 

Second Star to the Right

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Judy Hopps making her way down MSUSA. She's so cute!
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Halloween 2.jpg


This is where we keep our wands. #wizards At this point, we met several CMs who noticed our costumes and commented that they were also in Hufflepuff! Yay for Hufflepuff pride!
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Just a few minutes until the start of the parade! I was very excited to see the Headless Horseman make his way down MSUSA!
 

Second Star to the Right

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Apparently I took more video than photos at the parade, so enjoy!

Here is Wendy, Peter Pan, the Lost Boys and Captain Hook :)


In keeping with the pirate theme, up next was Captain Jack Sparrow and Barbossa


The gravediggers were awesome! Definitely one of my favorite parts of the parade!


Followed closely by these guys:

It was like being in the ballroom scene of the Haunted Mansion!



Boo to You 1.jpg


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Last edited:

LeighM

Well-Known Member
I'm a Gryffindor :) I hope to be able to go to Universal soon since my husband and I are both big Potter fans. And I love your costumes for the Halloween party. We didn't dress up this year. Last year, we were a pirate and gypsy but I added the party too late this year to plan anything. I wanted to go as Vanellope but couldn't figure out how to make that work in Florida's humidity. Love your pictures of the parade - we totally missed it this time :(
 

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