Trip Report *COMPLETED* Flowers, Family, and ??Fireworks?? (and lots of FOOD): A Memorial Week Trip Report

We are back! I am departing from my usual trip report procedure in that I haven't written the entire thing yet, but am instead posting a bit at a time as I go along. Tonight I am starting with introductions of the cast, since there are some additions who haven't previously appeared in my TRs.

The Cast

The cast of this trip of course includes my wife M and me, Bee. There are three new players, however: M’s mom, dad, and brother, all of whom I consider to be my own family as well! For simplicity I will refer to them as MIL (mother-in-law), FIL (father-in-law), and BIL (brother-in-law because his name starts with M as well! Oh and we all have M last names. Even MIL's maiden name starts with M). A little about each of us:

Bee (me)
Age: 27
Occupation: opera singer/voice and piano teacher
Vegetarian, obsessed with Disney, loves seeing Broadway musicals
Married to M for going on two years, honeymooned at WDW
The planner and organizer of the bunch

M (my wife)
Age: 27
Occupation: writer/academic advisor
Vegetarian, smart and funny, not exactly OBSESSED with Disney like I am but still loves going
Married to me for going on two years, honeymooned at WDW

MIL
Occupation: church musician/voice and piano teacher
Obsessed with Disney and giraffes, loves children
Married to FIL for (almost) 32 years, honeymooned at...you guessed it, WDW!

FIL
Occupation: HS guidance counselor
Quiet but secretly hilarious, reads all the time, half Italian
Married to MIL for (almost) 32 years, can you tell where we get our Disney obsession??

BIL
Age: 23
Occupation: HS math teacher
Did not get bitten by the Disney bug like the rest of us! Guessing if he gets married he will NOT honeymoon at WDW!

As you can see education is important to this family! It goes back to the previous generation as well because both of M’s grandfathers were university professors; one has a doctorate and the other was ABD when family circumstances prevented him from finishing. In addition, BIL, M, and I all graduated from the HS where FIL is now a guidance counselor (though he worked at a different school while we were are going there) and BIL now teaches there too.

The Plans

Dates
Saturday, May 28-Thursday, June 2 (Me and M)
Saturday, May 28-Monday, May 30 (MIL, FIL, BIL)

Hotel
Pop Century one night, WDW Swan four nights (Me and M)
Two nights offsite in LBV (MIL, FIL, BIL)

Tickets
Annual Passes (Me, M, MIL, FIL)
FL Resident Park Hopper (BIL)

Flights
Southwest Airlines nonstop (Me and M. The others drove as they live 2.5 hours away)

Transportation
DME and Uber (Me and M)
Rental car (MIL, FIL, BIL)

The week before our trip was busy and we didn’t have much time to pack and prepare for the trip. A few days before I finally dragged out the suitcase and started putting things inside, but it wasn’t until the night before we left that we finally got serious about packing. I had rehearsal in Westchester that evening and got home to NJ around 9:30. M had done a lot of work toward packing and we managed to get in bed before midnight for a brief sleep.

We debated whether to bring a large suitcase or a small one and decided on a small one so it wouldn’t be too much trouble to transfer from Pop to the Swan on Sunday. Since the suitcase was small enough we had the option to check it or carry it on. We decided to put the DME tag on it in case we wanted to check it, but to make the final decision in the morning after we saw the line for Southwest bag check. I had been reading TSA horror stories about crazy long wait times and missed flights and I didn’t want to add any unnecessary time to our pre-security time.

Next up: Day 1

 

[bee]

Sorry you had to go home, but at least you landed early at good old EWR

Yes indeed! Landed early, didn't have to claim baggage, and our apartment is only 20-25 minutes from the airport in good traffic! It was a little strange to get home in the afternoon instead of 11pm or later but we liked having part of the day to rest so we'll probably aim for flights like that in the future.

Both the Swan and Dolphin have some excellent restaurants.

I can't wait to try Il Mulino!

Oh no--your TR is over?!

Go back tomorrow! I want to read more!

Really though, thank you for sharing your TR with everyone here. I really enjoyed it and am happy that your trip was full of fun and excitement!

Haha! Would that I could! Thank you for reading along and sharing the re-living journey with me!

Ideally I will post my final thoughts tomorrow so stay tuned...

 

[FlaggNL]

Will stay tuned Curious for the final thoughts!

 

[Figgy1]

I can't wait to hear your thoughts.

 

[bee]

Final thoughts

• The trip was my favorite Disney trip yet. With each trip we understand better our preferred traveling style and are able to plan the next trip a little better.
  
  
• It will be difficult to stay in a value resort again. The contrast between the crowded, chaotic Pop Century common areas and the serene, sophisticated Swan lobby was stark.
  
  
• Honestly it’s hard for me to imagine staying anywhere besides the Swan and Dolphin now that I know how much I love it there.
  
  
• This was our first trip with two signature dinner reservations. It was very relaxing to come back to the hotel room to relax, shower, and change into non-park clothes and enjoy a nice dinner. We would definitely do this again.
  
  
• It was really hot. Even though it wasn’t July-hot it was still unpleasant at times. I can’t see us taking any more summer trips (and by summer I mean any time from May-September).
  
  
• There is really no right or wrong way to do Disney. We do Disney how we like to do Disney even though we do some things differently from how others do them. We are not commando style people and, while we like to plan things in advance, we also like to adjust our plans as we go along and “go with the flow!” The dining plan math never works out in our favor, but for some families it’s a great value! Some people don’t find the Swolphin to be “Disney enough” but I think the theming is gorgeous.

Favorites (food/drink)

• Meal overall: Jiko (me), Trattoria (M)
  
  
• Breakfast: Trattoria
  
  
• Lunch/Dinner: Jiko
  
  
• Ice cream: Cappuccino caramel from The Fountain
  
  
• Sushi: Kimonos and California Grill
  
  
• Snack: Spring rolls from Lotus Blossom
  
  
• Lounge: Victoria Falls
  
  
• Wine: Barista Pinotage from Victoria Falls
  
  
• Beer: I guess none really stood out this trip.
  
  
• Cocktail: Espresso martini from Tutto Gusto (me), Viking Coffee (M)

Other favorites

• Park: Epcot, of course!
  
  
• Ride: Living with the Land, Big Thunder Mountain
  
  
• Fireworks experience: IllumiNations, alone together, from inside the Swan

Thing we would do differently:

• Take a longer trip, if possible
  
  
• Go during not-summer
  
  
• Book more table service dinners, signature or otherwise
  
  
• Wait longer to save more money for a longer trip and possibly a deluxe stay
  
  
• Spend time at AK, which we decided not to visit because of the RoL delay
  
  
• Spend more time at DS after more things are open

Next up: What comes next? (Hamilton reference!)

 

[FlaggNL]

Thanks for the final thoughts... we think alot alike.. although (maybe because we are European) we are not that planning type of people. More like go with the flow. Off course some ADR's and FP+ is planned, but to be honest even that is sometimes to much... feels like being lived during the trip by the time schedule of the plans!

 

[C.FERNIE]

Aww thanks for your trip report it was awesome

 

[bee]

Thanks for the final thoughts... we think alot alike.. although (maybe because we are European) we are not that planning type of people. More like go with the flow. Off course some ADR's and FP+ is planned, but to be honest even that is sometimes to much... feels like being lived during the trip by the time schedule of the plans!

I like how everyone can have a Disney vacation to match their style and personality. If you're a big planner there is TONS for you to plan; if you're a go with the flow type you may have to step a bit out of your comfort zone to plan a few things (ADRs and FPs like you said) but otherwise there is so much you can just happen upon; and if you are somewhere in between like most of us you can make that work too!

Aww thanks for your trip report it was awesome

Thank you! Thanks for reading and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

 

[bee]

A note on walking

Here's a screenshot I left out showing how much we walked. On previous trips we averaged 10-12 miles a day so as you can see we took it relatively easy this time. We did quite a bit on our arrival day (considering it WAS our arrival day) and the second day (when we switched to the Swan and walked back and forth between Swan and HS). Then on day three you can tell we rested more and picked things back up for the last two full days.

What’s next?

• We didn’t renew our APs for the upcoming year. We were very fortunate to have taken 2 5-night trips and several shorter trips during the year and we’ve decided to take a break from WDW.
  
  
• We are thinking about continuing our pattern of every-other-year APs and taking one 5+ night trip per year, timing them so that they both fall under one AP. That way we’d also have the passes for when we visit family in Florida.
  
  
• (Side note: after we discussed this, Disney Visa sent us both emails today about the presale for Food and Wine dining events. The Parisian Breakfast is back and M asked me if I have any Sundays off this fall. It's so tempting but we're going to try to stay strong!)
  
  
• Now that we both have steady income and M has paid time off, we are hoping to take a 2017 trip California. M reeeeally wants to see the redwoods, so we would fly in somewhere in the north of the state and rent a car and make our way down the state to visit various cities. The last few days of the trip would be at Disneyland, of course! Just because we’ll be staying away from the World doesn’t mean we can stay totally away from Disney!
  
  
• The goal for 2018 is to visit Europe for a week and a half or so (as much time as we can manage, really). I’ve been fortunate enough to study in Italy, Czech Republic, and Austria on significant partial scholarships. It would be really nice to be able to save enough for a totally fun (no singing!) trip. And if it included a stop at Disneyland Paris...I wouldn’t complain!

• As far as completely non-Disney trips go, we just got back from a weekend in Washington, DC, just for fun. In October we’re going to Chicago for three nights to celebrate our two year wedding anniversary. We managed to get tickets to Hamilton for our actual anniversary! We basically live in New York and have so far been unsuccessful getting tickets here, haha. We’re hoping to take other short trips like this to new places around the country.

Welp...that's it! Thank you so much for reading and liking and commenting! It was so much fun to share my memories with all of you. And now I've got some TRs to catch up on myself!

 

[FlaggNL]

Thanks for the wrap-up! It was great to follow so thanks for sharing! And if you manage to be in Europe in 2018, be sure to be in DLP Our next plan for DLP is April 2017, 12th to be precise... the day of DLP anniversary!

 

[sheriffwoody]

We managed to get tickets to Hamilton for our actual anniversary!

SO JEALOUSSSSSSSSS. I hope to get to see it someday if it tours in a few years. I would have loved to see it in New York with the original cast, but there was no way that was going to happen. That will be a perfect way to spend an anniversary!

 

[bee]

Thanks for the wrap-up! It was great to follow so thanks for sharing! And if you manage to be in Europe in 2018, be sure to be in DLP Our next plan for DLP is April 2017, 12th to be precise... the day of DLP anniversary!

The fingers are crossed!! Have a great time at the anniversary celebration!

SO JEALOUSSSSSSSSS. I hope to get to see it someday if it tours in a few years. I would have loved to see it in New York with the original cast, but there was no way that was going to happen. That will be a perfect way to spend an anniversary!

It's going on tour 2017-2018! I spent three hours online and on the phone (including over 30 phone calls to various Ticketmaster lines) trying to get our tickets the day they went on sale. I don't know if it will be as difficult for the tour as it was for the Chicago sitting production...but may the Force be with you!

 

[sheriffwoody]

It's going on tour 2017-2018! I spent three hours online and on the phone (including over 30 phone calls to various Ticketmaster lines) trying to get our tickets the day they went on sale. I don't know if it will be as difficult for the tour as it was for the Chicago sitting production...but may the Force be with you!

I can't imagine it will be as bad, but I'm sure it will still be hard. Of course it's not coming close to me , so I'll be driving 5-6 hours if I want to see it. Maybe I'll be able to work it out. I thought about trying to go in Chicago because my husband takes work trips there twice a year and I could tag along. Once I find out dates for when he's going, I may try for it, but it's all still up in the air. It's just SUCH a good show, I feel like I must see it! Me and my work bestie launch into Hamilton quotes at least 20 times a day

 

[bee]

I can't imagine it will be as bad, but I'm sure it will still be hard. Of course it's not coming close to me , so I'll be driving 5-6 hours if I want to see it. Maybe I'll be able to work it out. I thought about trying to go in Chicago because my husband takes work trips there twice a year and I could tag along. Once I find out dates for when he's going, I may try for it, but it's all still up in the air. It's just SUCH a good show, I feel like I must see it! Me and my work bestie launch into Hamilton quotes at least 20 times a day

I drive M nuts sometimes singing certain songs over and over. Mostly "Schuyler Sisters" and "You'll Be Back" and its various reiterations.

 

[FlaggNL]

The fingers are crossed!! Have a great time at the anniversary celebration!

Thanks! I will help yuo with fingers crossed And I am sure it will be a great and magical time next October

 

[LisaBelle]

Great TR! Your photos were great and I loved seeing the Swan. Thanks so much for sharing.

 

[Tuvalu]

Finally all caught up! As others have commented, your Epcot photos were beautiful! And the private hallway fireworks viewing? I have been known to do that too ...I mean, it's there, no crowds, why not????

Sorry to hear it will be awhile before the next WDW trip (unless M wears you down for F&W ) Means I'll have to wait awhile for the next TR.

 

[bee]

Thanks! I will help yuo with fingers crossed And I am sure it will be a great and magical time next October

Great TR! Your photos were great and I loved seeing the Swan. Thanks so much for sharing.

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the photos!

Finally all caught up! As others have commented, your Epcot photos were beautiful! And the private hallway fireworks viewing? I have been known to do that too ...I mean, it's there, no crowds, why not????

Sorry to hear it will be awhile before the next WDW trip (unless M wears you down for F&W ) Means I'll have to wait awhile for the next TR.

Thank you! I agree about private fireworks, especially if you've seen the show so many times you have the soundtrack nearly memorized!

I briefly entertained the idea of a quick no-parks trip this month to take advantage of the TiW card that doesn't expire until the 31st...but I just started rehearsals for an opera that opens the second weekend of September so there's really not much time available for travel between now and then. But don't worry, the next time we're planning a trip there will definitely be a PTR here!

 

[21stamps]

We are back! I am departing from my usual trip report procedure in that I haven't written the entire thing yet, but am instead posting a bit at a time as I go along. Tonight I am starting with introductions of the cast, since there are some additions who haven't previously appeared in my TRs.

The Cast

The cast of this trip of course includes my wife M and me, Bee. There are three new players, however: M’s mom, dad, and brother, all of whom I consider to be my own family as well! For simplicity I will refer to them as MIL (mother-in-law), FIL (father-in-law), and BIL (brother-in-law because his name starts with M as well! Oh and we all have M last names. Even MIL's maiden name starts with M). A little about each of us:

Bee (me)
Age: 27
Occupation: opera singer/voice and piano teacher
Vegetarian, obsessed with Disney, loves seeing Broadway musicals
Married to M for going on two years, honeymooned at WDW
The planner and organizer of the bunch

M (my wife)
Age: 27
Occupation: writer/academic advisor
Vegetarian, smart and funny, not exactly OBSESSED with Disney like I am but still loves going
Married to me for going on two years, honeymooned at WDW

MIL
Occupation: church musician/voice and piano teacher
Obsessed with Disney and giraffes, loves children
Married to FIL for (almost) 32 years, honeymooned at...you guessed it, WDW!

FIL
Occupation: HS guidance counselor
Quiet but secretly hilarious, reads all the time, half Italian
Married to MIL for (almost) 32 years, can you tell where we get our Disney obsession??

BIL
Age: 23
Occupation: HS math teacher
Did not get bitten by the Disney bug like the rest of us! Guessing if he gets married he will NOT honeymoon at WDW!

As you can see education is important to this family! It goes back to the previous generation as well because both of M’s grandfathers were university professors; one has a doctorate and the other was ABD when family circumstances prevented him from finishing. In addition, BIL, M, and I all graduated from the HS where FIL is now a guidance counselor (though he worked at a different school while we were are going there) and BIL now teaches there too.

The Plans

Dates
Saturday, May 28-Thursday, June 2 (Me and M)
Saturday, May 28-Monday, May 30 (MIL, FIL, BIL)

Hotel
Pop Century one night, WDW Swan four nights (Me and M)
Two nights offsite in LBV (MIL, FIL, BIL)

Tickets
Annual Passes (Me, M, MIL, FIL)
FL Resident Park Hopper (BIL)

Flights
Southwest Airlines nonstop (Me and M. The others drove as they live 2.5 hours away)

Transportation
DME and Uber (Me and M)
Rental car (MIL, FIL, BIL)

The week before our trip was busy and we didn’t have much time to pack and prepare for the trip. A few days before I finally dragged out the suitcase and started putting things inside, but it wasn’t until the night before we left that we finally got serious about packing. I had rehearsal in Westchester that evening and got home to NJ around 9:30. M had done a lot of work toward packing and we managed to get in bed before midnight for a brief sleep.

We debated whether to bring a large suitcase or a small one and decided on a small one so it wouldn’t be too much trouble to transfer from Pop to the Swan on Sunday. Since the suitcase was small enough we had the option to check it or carry it on. We decided to put the DME tag on it in case we wanted to check it, but to make the final decision in the morning after we saw the line for Southwest bag check. I had been reading TSA horror stories about crazy long wait times and missed flights and I didn’t want to add any unnecessary time to our pre-security time.

Next up: Day 1

You had me at "Broadway musicals!!!" I look forward to reading through your report!

 

[Ciara]

Ahh! I just started reading, I have so much to catch up on! So far i am still on your first day at the SWOLPHIN Love it!

 

[bee]

You had me at "Broadway musicals!!!" I look forward to reading through your report!

Thanks for joining! My wife and I see a lot of musicals for people who aren't Tony voters.

Ahh! I just started reading, I have so much to catch up on! So far i am still on your first day at the SWOLPHIN Love it!

Thanks for reading! I sure do miss the SWOLPHIN!