Trip Report Completed: March 5-14, 2020: Our Return to WDW and the "Hips and Elbows People, Hips and Elbows!" edition

Hello everyone! It has been one month since we made our return to Walt Disney World, it was 593 days since we had been there. We hadn't been without Disney trips, we were annual passholders of Disneyland during that time. More info in my pre-trip report. Needless to say we were were excited to return. I was a little apprehensive for a few reasons: 1. what if I didn't like WDW as much any more after being away so long and maybe I had fallen too much in love with Disneyland. 2. I was slightly worried about this corona virus thing (maybe I should have been more worried), but I was hopeful we would get through the trip without having to think about it.

In case you don't want to go back to my pre-trip report let me give you a few more details:

Who: Amy and Brad (my husband)
Resort: Pop Century



Let's begin:

March 5, 2020

We had an early morning flight, it is a pain getting up at 3 am but we do like getting to our destination early and being able to spend a lot of our day at our vacation destination. Plus we were early birds so it wasn't too bad. Luckily there wasn't a snow storm and our flight out of Minneapolis was on schedule!

Not much was open so early but Caribou coffee!

Coming up more of our journey and lots of fun, food and beer!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

March 5, 2020

Oh, I totally forgot to put in my previous picture post that when we got to Disney Springs we headed to guest relations and upgraded our package tickets to annual passes so again we were passholders of Walt Disney World!!! And I must say the guest relations experience at Disney Springs was very nice. There was a comfortable waiting area with refreshing water to drink and a nice desk area to talk to the cm's when it was our turn. And we decided to purchase Tables in Wonderland since we like to enjoy some adult beverages with nice meals.

After World of Disney we wandered over to Raglan Road. It turns out some of our friends that recently moved to Michigan were at WDW and this was their last full day. So the friends left the kids with the relatives they were staying with and we met for dinner at Raglan Road. It was a great meal and fun to catch up with them.

I and one of our friends started with beer samplers. I had the Pale Ale, Irish Red, the Blonde and the IPA

And here's the sampler. They were fine.

A very blurry picture of the bangers and mash I got. I had finished off my flight by the time food came so maybe I was a little blurry too. The bangers and mash were fantastic though.

I had spotted this beer on the menu and I think @lostpro9het had mentioned it in one of his reports. So I wanted to try it, and it was excellent! I haven't found it for sale in my area, but I haven't had much opportunity to look, if I find it I will buy it all! The waiter started to pour my beer and got all that foam on it. I saw it happening and I said something (politely) that made him stop. I wish more people knew how to pour a beer properly.

Brad got the fish and chips and he enjoyed them. For his drink (no picture) he got a scotch and soda. Brad has given up Coca-cola so there will be no more rum and cokes.

After dinner we said our goodbyes to our friends and continued exploring Disney Springs. We went in the Disney style store (sorry can't remember the name right now) and I saw these retro tie dyed shirts and I had an instant flashback to when they were originally for sale at WDW. I really wanted one but never got one. So I tried it on and decided not to get it. It fit just fine but I was having a frugal moment. I totally regret it now so I hope that I will be able to get one this summer. Does anyone else remember these shirts? Or better yet have a picture of themselves in one?

There wasn't much more to our night after this. I was getting pretty tired at this point and so was Brad. I had hadn't slept well and had been up since 2:15am (central time) so we decided to call it a night and drove back to the Pop for the night. We weren't going to unpack but once we got in the room we decided just to unpack and be done with it.

Coming up tomorrow: "We've been at WDW less than 24 hours, so let's go our separate ways" and a park that isn't Disney!

 

[Loco_driver]

I’ve been looking forward to this one! Happy to follow along. Sorry I’m late, it’s been a crazy couple of days here!

 

[MickeyCB]

The teen expressed that she would like to go to Disneyland some day and then the mom started in with some snooty comments, like "Disneyland is so small and it can be done in a day", and that they are WDW locals which is so much better and they come all the time, and us being from California (we aren't, I wish though) would be able to see how nice and big WDW was compared to Disneyland and blah blah blah. I didn't want to fight with the lady about Disneyland vs. WDW so I just said that we were from Wisconsin and were frequent passholders of both parks and I had been coming to WDW since I was a toddler. I think I made a mention of Disneyland being the original and Walt's park which is very special and then luckily we were close to Epcot and could see the Ratatouille construction and I loudly pointed it out to Brad and how cool it would be to ride Ratatouille again like we did in Paris. The mom kind of looked at me with a strange look but I didn't like her attitude of her "being a local passholder" it was like she thought that made her better than us and I didn't like that.

WHAT is wrong with people?!?!
And hah!! you've been to Paris, so there woman!

And between the east and west parks, my opinion is they are simply 2 very different ways to experience Disney. And if you can't appreciate the history of the original park, "you ain't no real Disney fan"!

 

[Sillysidewalker]

Following along. I feel like DL and WDW are like my children I could never pick just one! However depending on their behavior I may have a favorite in the moment. We were hoping to germ back to WDW soon but it’s 2021 for us now.

 

[Songbird76]

Thursday March 5, 2020

We made it to the Pop and our room wasn't ready which was fine we had places to be. So we dropped our carry on bags off at bell services and headed to the Skyliner. Our destination was the Dolphin resort to pick up our rental car and I knew an Uber or Lyft would be quicker than the Skyliner but we both wanted to try it. And we LOVED it! Except that it did come to an extreme crawl/stop for a little bit over a road so that was a little scary at first. It didn't last long and soon we were at the Epcot station and we walked over to the Dolphin.

We were also happy that we got the first gondola to ourselves to the Caribbean station. For the second stretch we were with a lady and her teenage mom. The teenager saw my Disneyland shirt which has a passholder logo and started asking us questions which was fine and pleasant. The teen expressed that she would like to go to Disneyland some day and then the mom started in with some snooty comments, like "Disneyland is so small and it can be done in a day", and that they are WDW locals which is so much better and they come all the time, and us being from California (we aren't, I wish though) would be able to see how nice and big WDW was compared to Disneyland and blah blah blah. I didn't want to fight with the lady about Disneyland vs. WDW so I just said that we were from Wisconsin and were frequent passholders of both parks and I had been coming to WDW since I was a toddler. I think I made a mention of Disneyland being the original and Walt's park which is very special and then luckily we were close to Epcot and could see the Ratatouille construction and I loudly pointed it out to Brad and how cool it would be to ride Ratatouille again like we did in Paris. The mom kind of looked at me with a strange look but I didn't like her attitude of her "being a local passholder" it was like she thought that made her better than us and I didn't like that.

Brad wanted to take the boat to the Dolphin, but I wanted to walk after being cooped up on the plane and then the bus I wanted a little movement.

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The rental car process at the Dolphin was very easy and soon the valet brought out our ride and we were on our way. Where were we going? My dad lives about an hour north of WDW so we were going to have a late lunch with him and visit for a little bit.
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After the visit with my dad we headed back to Orlando and we made a stop at the Disney outlet. We were amazed to find a parking spot quickly and there wasn't a line to get in. We spent about 20 minutes there and then continued to Disney Springs. At Disney Springs we checked out the World of Disney. I didn't buy anything there, Brad got baby yoda socks, but I continued my tradition of taking pictures of story displays and merch I liked.

I thought this would be cute for our dog at home.
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Once we got to the end of the World of Disney I made a pit stop to Basin and did get some things there.
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Then we went back into the World of Disney.
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I could have bought all the Ink and Paint merch, it is so cool!
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Neat 2020 logo.
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Wow, that gondola ride must have felt so long with the snooty mom! How old was the teenager? Did she seem embarrassed?

 

[Songbird76]

Great beginning to your TR! I am scared of heights so I am very apprehensive about trying the Skyliner. Part of me wants to do it because it's new, the views look beautiful and it's Disney, but I think I would be scared, especially if it slowed down or stopped. Glad you put that lady in her place! Looking forward to reading more.

I am the same way, and my son is terrified of heights even worse than I am. I think we'll probably have to stay at a different resort next time we go because CBR has reduced buses because of the skyliner access, but there's no way my son will get on the skyliner, I'm sure. And if he won't go on that, and the buses are few and far between, we'll have to stay somewhere with full bus schedules.

 

[Zipadeelady]

No more Rum and Coke!!! Everytime you show a pic of your drink I'm always expecting the next one to be a Rum & Coke.

Not teasing...I really like them too.

Brad has got some serious will power, good for him.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I’ve been looking forward to this one! Happy to follow along. Sorry I’m late, it’s been a crazy couple of days here!

No problem, glad you are following along.

Following along. I feel like DL and WDW are like my children I could never pick just one! However depending on their behavior I may have a favorite in the moment. We were hoping to germ back to WDW soon but it’s 2021 for us now.

Glad you are here, sorry you will have to wait until 2021 but that gives you time for an epic trip!

WHAT is wrong with people?!?!
And hah!! you've been to Paris, so there woman!

And between the east and west parks, my opinion is they are simply 2 very different ways to experience Disney. And if you can't appreciate the history of the original park, "you ain't no real Disney fan"!

Yep true Disney fans appreciate all the parks.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Wow, that gondola ride must have felt so long with the snooty mom! How old was the teenager? Did she seem embarrassed?

It wasn't too long, I was still excited just to be at WDW and trying out the gondola. The teen was a junior or senior in high school because she mentioned wanting to go to Disneyland for a grad trip. She didn't seem embarrassed by her mom.

No more Rum and Coke!!! Everytime you show a pic of your drink I'm always expecting the next one to be a Rum & Coke.

Not teasing...I really like them too.

Brad has got some serious will power, good for him.

He thought about having a rum and Coke a couple times but he didn't want to fall into the Coke trap again. He would occasionally drink scotch before but now he becoming a more of a fan of it.

 

[Songbird76]

It wasn't too long, I was still excited just to be at WDW and trying out the gondola. The teen was a junior or senior in high school because she mentioned wanting to go to Disneyland for a grad trip. She didn't seem embarrassed by her mom.

I would have been so embarrassed if my mom had done that! I mean, everyone has their favorites, but to act like your opinion has more weight or like obviously you'll see how much better they are than you...

I do really want to go to DL. I LOVE WDW and my favorite park is Epcot, so I would definitely miss that, but I want to go on Carrots at DL. The DLP version is so much better than the WDW, even though I like the overal WDW park experience more because there's so much more to do. But I did like that the resorts at DLP are all within walking distance to the parks, and that you can go from one park to the other in minutes. There are pros and cons to all of them, I'd imagine. But I definitely want to experience DL!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Friday March 6, 2020

So we had been at WDW for less than 24 hours so of course we had to separate and do our own thing! Not because we were sick of each other but Brad wanted to go golfing and I did not. So I made a early reservation for breakfast at Kona Cafe and Brad made an early tee time for Oak Trail golf course. It was the only golf course on property he hadn't golfed at yet. So even though Kona wasn't going to be open for about an hour and a half I had him drop me off at the Polynesian on his way to the golf course. I decided I would take a morning walk from the Poly to the Grand Floridian before breakfast. I hadn't ever walked that pathway before and I was so enjoyable! I had hoped that the bridge connecting the GF to the Magic Kingdom would be open by the this time but it wasn't but that was fine, when it does get completed that will just give me a chance to make this lovely morning walk again.

So here are some pictures on the first part of my journey from the Poly to the GF.

And just me being a crazy goof.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I would have been so embarrassed if my mom had done that! I mean, everyone has their favorites, but to act like your opinion has more weight or like obviously you'll see how much better they are than you...

I do really want to go to DL. I LOVE WDW and my favorite park is Epcot, so I would definitely miss that, but I want to go on Carrots at DL. The DLP version is so much better than the WDW, even though I like the overal WDW park experience more because there's so much more to do. But I did like that the resorts at DLP are all within walking distance to the parks, and that you can go from one park to the other in minutes. There are pros and cons to all of them, I'd imagine. But I definitely want to experience DL!

I liked the DLP version of Pirates a lot, personally I think it is the best version even better than Disneyland's. I like that DLP's resorts were in an easy walking distance to the parks too. At Disneyland we usually stay at the Best Western across the street from Disneyland, and I have timed our walking and we can be from the turnstile of Disneyland and back in our room in less than 10 minutes, if the stoplight cooperates I have been from turnstile to my hotel room in 5 minutes. That is one thing love about Disneyland compared to WDW. At the MK it is almost a 5 minute walk just to the bus, then there's the wait for the bus, and then the bus ride itself! Are you thinking about going to DL for your next trip here?

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Friday March 6, 2020

More on my journey to the Grand Floridian. I was excited to have a close up view of the wedding pavillion. I had wanted to get married at WDW but at the time Brad wasn't as into Disney parks as he is now, and with him being a new pastor he thought that the best way to get married was in a church. Now he has different views. So we compromised and had our honeymoon at WDW, which until we got there he wasn't that thrilled about it. He had been to WDW twice with his family and didn't remember much from the first trip and the second trip was after his dad had passed away and he said his mom and sisters just wanted to be by the pool and not ride many rides; not even Thunder Mt! In the end I'm glad we just had our honeymoon at WDW, a wedding there would have been fun but much more expensive than the wedding we had.

Anyway, the wedding pavillion is very pretty. It would have been nice to go inside but it was locked up tight. Yes, I checked!

View of the castle from here.

made it to the GF

I spent some time on the dock. It was very relaxing and quiet. I could hear the monorail spiel faintly in the distance.

 

[Songbird76]

I liked the DLP version of Pirates a lot, personally I think it is the best version even better than Disneyland's. I like that DLP's resorts were in an easy walking distance to the parks too. At Disneyland we usually stay at the Best Western across the street from Disneyland, and I have timed our walking and we can be from the turnstile of Disneyland and back in our room in less than 10 minutes, if the stoplight cooperates I have been from turnstile to my hotel room in 5 minutes. That is one thing love about Disneyland compared to WDW. At the MK it is almost a 5 minute walk just to the bus, then there's the wait for the bus, and then the bus ride itself! Are you thinking about going to DL for your next trip here?

I'm trying to convince my husband we should. Our next trip to the US will be Wyoming/Yellowstone. I have yet to see my brother's new house or his restaurant, since he got both after my dad passed and we haven't been to Wyoming since. So I want to take the kids to see all the Wyoming sites....Independence Rock, The Oregon Trail wagon ruts, Fort Laramie, Fort Casper, The Wind River reservation, and of course Yellowstone. But I don't like to spend the money on flights for a short trip, so I was thinking we should also drive over to California and maybe visit my cousin there, and we could do a couple of days at DL. By that time, I should have a drivers license again and can help with the driving, which might help convince him to do that. He doesn't want to pay for a flight from Denver to LAX, and I can't blame him, but if we drive, he doesn't want to have to do ALL the driving. So I'm hoping with me working on getting my license, that won't be as much of an issue, and it's a great way to see more of the US. He's not a huge Disney fan, but SW:GE might be a big draw for him, and the fact that we'd only be there a couple of days would help, too. He wouldn't feel so trapped in the bubble. Plus, by the time we get to go, A will be old enough to do more on his own, and I imagine M will kind of go his own way and he won't be stuck doing what we want to do. We can get a National Parks pass and we could catch Yosemite while we were in Cali. That way we could fill up a 4 week trip no problem and still have enough time to spend with my bro's family...maybe he'd even decide to do some of the stuff with us, especially the Wyoming stuff. We'll see how it works out.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Friday March 6, 2020

I went inside the Grand Floridian and it was still nice and quiet. I wanted to stay in the lobby and relax a little more but I had got start heading back to the Poly for breakfast.

I'd noticed this dome before but hadn't really acknowledge how gorgeous it is.

Made it back to the Polynesian and noticed this lovely flower.

And on my way to Kona I walked past Trader Sam's and had to screech to a stop and back up a little when I noticed the sign. Trader Sam's opens at 3pm now! I thought it was 4 pm. This was amazing news, we love Trader's Sams but didn't think we would make it there this trip but this 3pm time might be a game changer for us....

Ready for breakfast!

Coming up: breakfast at the Kona and B's golf excursion. Plus which park will we go to......

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I'm trying to convince my husband we should. Our next trip to the US will be Wyoming/Yellowstone. I have yet to see my brother's new house or his restaurant, since he got both after my dad passed and we haven't been to Wyoming since. So I want to take the kids to see all the Wyoming sites....Independence Rock, The Oregon Trail wagon ruts, Fort Laramie, Fort Casper, The Wind River reservation, and of course Yellowstone. But I don't like to spend the money on flights for a short trip, so I was thinking we should also drive over to California and maybe visit my cousin there, and we could do a couple of days at DL. By that time, I should have a drivers license again and can help with the driving, which might help convince him to do that. He doesn't want to pay for a flight from Denver to LAX, and I can't blame him, but if we drive, he doesn't want to have to do ALL the driving. So I'm hoping with me working on getting my license, that won't be as much of an issue, and it's a great way to see more of the US. He's not a huge Disney fan, but SW:GE might be a big draw for him, and the fact that we'd only be there a couple of days would help, too. He wouldn't feel so trapped in the bubble. Plus, by the time we get to go, A will be old enough to do more on his own, and I imagine M will kind of go his own way and he won't be stuck doing what we want to do. We can get a National Parks pass and we could catch Yosemite while we were in Cali. That way we could fill up a 4 week trip no problem and still have enough time to spend with my bro's family...maybe he'd even decide to do some of the stuff with us, especially the Wyoming stuff. We'll see how it works out.

Sounds like a great trip. We did a cross country drive from Wisconsin to Yellowstone...to Yosemite...San Francisco...Disneyland...Grand Canyon and back home. It was a little over 2 weeks for us so with 4 you could really make it a fabulous journey.

 

[TheMouseFan]

Beautiful pics! I love that walk! We try to do it each time we eat at the Poly.

 

[lostpro9het]

I had spotted this beer on the menu and I think @lostpro9het had mentioned it in one of his reports.

Yes, ma'am. A few reports in fact. I was so excited when The Magic had it on tap!

The waiter started to pour my beer and got all that foam on it. I saw it happening and I said something (politely) that made him stop. I wish more people knew how to pour a beer properly.

Nice! Exactly, it is surprising how many servers, even pub servers, think 2 inches of foam is desirable.

I'm still a little surprised you cant find it in your area given you being physically a lot closer to the brewery than we are in the south. Anyway, if you can't get La Fin, Trois Pistoles is another solid brew by Unibroue.

 

[fractal]

I'm In!

Looking good Brad!

 

[Songbird76]

Sounds like a great trip. We did a cross country drive from Wisconsin to Yellowstone...to Yosemite...San Francisco...Disneyland...Grand Canyon and back home. It was a little over 2 weeks for us so with 4 you could really make it a fabulous journey.

I'm sure we could! IF I can convince my husband to do it. Wish me luck!