Trip Report COMPLETED (finally!)....Did we move to WDW? Nope just a two week trip!

Hello WDW Magic friends and welcome to my trip report. I have done a few trip reports in the past of both WDW and Disneyland. My most recent report was a Spring Break trip to WDW. So if you've read one of my reports before....welcome back friends! If you haven't read one before....welcome new friend!

A little background information

People going: Me (Amy) and my husband (Brad), you'll see enough of our pictures later.

"People" we are leaving behind to go on our trip: Our miniature schnauzer Kapono, she keeps trying to come with us though. She stays with my sister and her family and Kapono has some fur cousins to play with there and is well taken care of which is a relief for me and Brad too I guess.

Our travel days July 4 -July 19. The days actually spent in WDW would be the 5th-19th. We live in Wisconsin but very close to Minneapolis/St. Paul so we fly from there. It wouldn't be a bad drive to the airport in the morning, but I like to stay near the airport the night before departure.

Since we were going to be in WDW for so long we got a lot of comments from friends joking with us that we must be moving in, hence the title of the report here.

Our Resort: All Star Movies. We don't spend much time in the room so all we need is a clean place to sleep, shower, and store our stuff. We really aren't pool people, although we do use the pool, but if we built in a lot of pool time we would stay at the Beach Club again! Side note: The first time we ever tried to stay at the Movies we were upgraded upon check in to the Beach Club! We didn't ask for it, the magic just happened, it was the best deluxe accommodations for All Star prices! So now whenever we stay at the Movies we keep our fingers crossed on check in day!

Okay so let's start shall we....

On July 4th we spent most of the day with my sister and her family and left Kapono at her "vacation home" for the next two weeks. We drove up to the Minneapolis airport area by the Mall of America, and made a quick stop at Sam's Club for one more discount Disney gift card. The Sam's Club was closing, actually it was 10 minutes before their posted close time and the lady at the door didn't want to let us in. We literally had to go over to a stand near the register and get a gift card, she even called her manager who said it was okay to let us in. We departed the store 3 minutes before for the posted close time! Take that lady! Anyway, it was dinner time but neither of us wanted to sit in a restaurant we just wanted to relax in the hotel room for the night. So there was a sub place and a Lee Ann Chin (Minnesota based Chinese take out chain), and Chinese won out. So we got our take out and checked into the hotel for the night and ate our take out, and watched a Capital Fourth on PBS. Which was fantastic this year with John Stamos as the host.

Us with our Chinese take out!

Our flight left early, but we are early birds so despite being 5 minutes away from the terminal we got there early. Plus we were too excited to sleep! Funny thing, we flipped on the tv while we were getting ready and the Steve Harvey show was on and it was one of the Epcot episodes from earlier in the year that he was recording when we were there in March. We don't normally watch that show and we didn't go to the recording but we saw it being on as a good sign that the Disney gods were with us!

We arrived in Orlando after an uneventful flight. We enjoyed some movies and tried to nap but again we were just too excited to sleep!

Magical Express load went quick and soon we were HOME!

And despite doing online check in and requesting early arrival our room wasn't ready. But that was fine, we had to stop at the front desk any way. I had lots of gift cards in my purse that we wanted to put on our account, we wanted to decline Mousekeeping, and make sure our room had a good position for the 2 weeks. Now we did decline Mousekeeping but we did have our room serviced twice while we were there. We are fairly neat, and I'm always tidying up the room anyway even with Mousekeeping so we figured we could survive without having it every day. Plus with the extra money we would be able to enjoy a good meal or some good drinks at Trader Sam's. So with all that squared away we put our carry ons with bell services and headed to the bus stop with a quick gander at the gift shop.

Next up: Disney Springs!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

love your on-ride Slinky coaster pics!

Thanks so much, it was pure luck to get some good on ride I was just blindly shooting.

I can't imagine riding Navi with more than 3 people in a row. When I was there, crowds were low so my husband and I got one row and my BIL/SIL had another. It would've been too tight with all four of us. When we did have to be in tight quarters it seemed like the brothers always put us females in the middle for some reason lol.

Yeah with the two of us in the row that is usually enough, so when the people were told to board with us and they got in it was a bit of a surprise. Oh well, we all survived.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

ohh california grill.. def would go back (if I had money lol )

I wish I could be eating a meal there now.

Omg, chip and dale with that dino costume.. so cute!!

I know they are almost too cute for words. If they sold a plush of them in those costumes I would snatch it up!

Really fun pictures from TSL! I love the Slinky Dog ones in particular--that coaster looks like a blast. I also like the spinning ride that Brad went on.

Thanks! The new rides in TSL are just plain fun!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Here is a close up of the hidden Mickey.....

If you didn't see it at first don't worry I didn't find it until the last time we rode, and I was even scouring that mural for one.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

Here is a close up of the hidden Mickey.....

View attachment 303743
If you didn't see it at first don't worry I didn't find it until the last time we rode, and I was even scouring that mural for one.

Oh, facepalm, I can't believe how clear it is NOW! thanks

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Oh, facepalm, I can't believe how clear it is NOW! thanks

Yep as soon as I found it I was as clear as day!

 

[Cesar R M]

I know they are almost too cute for words. If they sold a plush of them in those costumes I would snatch it up!

Same!! XD

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Continuing on with day 4....

After winning on Mania I was ready to be cool and have my picture taken with the new Popsicle wall.

These guards made me giggle with their pizza spear!

It was time to drop in.

After Tower we shared a Joffrey's doughnut but the coffee was all mine!

Time for Star Tours!

Then we had to visit our Muppet friends

Without a doubt, these guys make the show with their quips!

We caught up with a few old friends before heading out of the park.

After Mickey it was time to head out of the park. We were headed for brunch at the California Grill!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

It was our first time doing brunch at the California Grill and I don't think it will be our last. We thoroughly enjoyed our experience. The appetizer buffet area would have been enough to fill us up without the entrees. So without further ado here are the pictures...

My view from the table, I let Brad look out the window behind me.

These deviled eggs were good, I ate plenty. But the Homecomin' and The Edison ones are better. Actually the ones I make are the best but I made do with these.

Yummy!

I didn't have any of the sushi, hubs did and loved it.

The music was provided by these gentleman and they were fantastic.

An orange desert type of thing that was at a station.

We didn't partake in the bloody mary's but the bloody mary bar is an interesting idea.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

And now some entrees...
B got the steak and eggs

Another look at the restaurant and kitchen area.

I got the chicken and waffles. It was okay. I was really disappointed in the waffle, it was dry and crispy. When I ordered I pictured more of a Mickey waffle type of consistency and this was not. In the end I wish I had gotten the french toast option. The chicken was good though.

We both ordered a side of bacon and sausage and they came together on a plate. We ended up only eating one piece of bacon and sausage each and taking the rest back to the hotel. We ate them for breakfast another day, and they were high quality meats!

After eating we went to the observation deck and took some pictures including this bad selfie.

I know this is blurry but I tried to get artsy with this and it turned out bad but I still kind of like it. My regular camera has a mode on it that is supposed to make things look miniature, and I used it on this and zoomed into the monorail station.

The bus station looked so nice and empty but so far away. Especially since we were so full and didn't want to walk. Well, we didn't we got a regular Lyft and napped once back at the hotel.

And here's the desserts, we were so full we had them boxed up. I'm glad I didn't save any room for desserts. These were just a little meh. They were fine but nothing I would save belly space for.

So my review of the California Grill brunch.....expensive but worth a treat.

 

[dizfan917]

That dessert with the bourbon and Grand Marnier with Corn Flakes was AMAZING!! I'm so glad I tried it. The bacon was exactly the way I like it, so I ate that up. I had the Lobster Eggs Benedict and it was also delicious! Yum!!

 

[WildcatDen]

Following along!! Looks like a great trip so far!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

That dessert with the bourbon and Grand Marnier with Corn Flakes was AMAZING!! I'm so glad I tried it. The bacon was exactly the way I like it, so I ate that up. I had the Lobster Eggs Benedict and it was also delicious! Yum!!View attachment 304119

Oh yeah, Grand Mariner, I remember now. The bacon was some of the best I've had. I'll take your word on the lobster Benedict though. I'm not a fan of lobster.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Following along!! Looks like a great trip so far!

Thanks! It's great having you here!

 

[Zipadeelady]

One thing about your hubby's rum and coke... He's loyal!

Love your sport pictures on Slinky and your miniature monorail picture. Very cool.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Day 4 continued.....
After our nap we headed over to Epcot and enjoyed a ride on Spaceship Earth.

During the part on the descent I close my eyes and just randomly poke at the screen so I never know what ending I'm going to get. It was something about healthcare. Good to know I'm 100% ok!

Then it was time for Livin' with the Land.

After the Land B wanted to go visit Figment. We did make a pit stop at the Imagination bathrooms. I only say this because Iike these bathrooms, they aren't well trafficed, in fact I only saw 4 people as I waited on a nice bench for B. And they were all cast members. I also liked that the bench was in the shade, against a wall (so back support), the bench was positioned so I still got a Air Conditioned breeze from the bathrooms and I could hear the great music they play in the area. Oh and I was close enough to the show building of Soarin' so the Play app thought I was in line and I was able to play the trivia of the Soarin' challenge. I was actually very happy waiting in that area.

A couple views from the bench.

Well, all good things must come to an end and we went in a said high to Figment and they actually closed the line behind us. It was 7pm and Future World was closing. We've never been on the last ride of the day for anything. And then we headed into World Showcase.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

One thing about your hubby's rum and coke... He's loyal!

Love your sport pictures on Slinky and your miniature monorail picture. Very cool.

Thanks for the compliment on the pictures. And loyalty is a very good quality in my husband. I just like to tease him about the drinks.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Once in World Showcase we headed to the UK. Hubs wanted fish and chips for dinner. He only wanted to get them from the stand outside the pub. It has been on his list to get fish and chips there for many trips now but other things and festivals came up so he was denied. I have told him it is the same outside as in the pub but he didn't beleive me. Well, I have expressed my dislike of seafood a few times, so I was wondering what I was going to eat. I had no problem though stopping for his fish and then stopping again someplace for me.

As we got closer to the pub I decided that I would at least get a beer while he ate and then I remembered that there are scotch eggs and battered bangers at the pub area. So I figured that if there was a table in the area I would order some food there and he could go to the stand outside for his fish and chips. Luckily that is what happened. We grabbed one of the few tables while he went and got his fish and then I went to the bar and ordered my meal. We enjoyed our meals, and I like the pub atmosphere.

Peeking into the pub.

His fish and chips. After he ate them I asked if they were any different from what he has had at the Rose and Crown before and he admitted it was not. But at least he crossed off the "getting them at the stand" off his list.

I got the scotch egg for both of us but I did not share much of the battered bangers. I did let him have a bite of one.

I got a black and tan, but it didn't stay separated and was very foamy. I still enjoyed drinking it.

After dinner we wandered through the shops.

 

[worldfanatic]

Enjoying your report.
I generally prefer to visit WDW for 12 nights if possible (like next month), which most friends & family think is crazy long. It's nice to see people who are willing to push it even further. Haha.
Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

In the sporty shop at the UK hubs likes looking at golf related things and liked this display. He says his dream trip is to go to Germany and walk in the footsteps of Martin Luther (I'm fine with that as long as some of those steps lead to a a Biergarten), but I think he is starting to lead to golfing through the UK. That golfing thing doesn't excite me as much, perhaps he'll golf his way through the UK and I can pub tour.

Still wandering...

A look at France, with the gondola poles. Now, I have nothing against the gondolas, I'm looking forward to riding them. I'm just wondering how everything will look when it is all done. I'm sure it will be fine....

After wandering we were both in the mood for a sweet treat. We considered Ample Hills and even though the Boardwalk is close it seemed easier to go to France. As we went to France though the movie was going to be starting soon so we held off on the treat and had a nostalgic look at France. We decided on Les Halles for our treat and we were lucky to get a table outside. Once we finally got outside, I will just say this....double wide stroller with no kids (kids were running around in the queue for the restaurant) blocking the exit at the register next to us, and both parents ignored repeated excuse me's by us, so we just set our try back down on the counter and waited for them. Then their cast member finally asked them to move the stroller and they looked taken aback and the mom gave me a dirty look.

Our treats....creme brulee for him and a duo au chocolat for me.

After treats I wanted to stay to see Illuminations, he did not. So I settled for walking slow as it was starting so I could kind of see most the first part, which is the part I like the best. Then we headed out for the night.

Coming up Day 5 and a return to Slinky.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Enjoying your report.
I generally prefer to visit WDW for 12 nights if possible (like next month), which most friends & family think is crazy long. It's nice to see people who are willing to push it even further. Haha.
Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.

Thanks we like to have the long trips but we have done as short as 2 1/2 days, whatever I can fit in!