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!

 

[Swissmiss]

Your pictures make your morning walk come across as soooooo relaxing. What a great way to start the day.

 

[MinnieM123]

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.

That t-shirt is so cute! Dang, your frugal moment!!

 

[LisaBelle]

The walk between the Poly and the GF is gorgeous! My sister and I did on our 2016 trip and it’s something I’d love to do again!

 

[Matt and Kelly]

Omg those retro shirts! I sent a picture of them to my mom when we were there in January. Soon as I saw them I could remember my mom and dad wearing them when we went to Disneyland when I was 5. It was a nice memory of my dad that day and brought a smile to my face that day. I love the early morning pictures of the grand and Poly!
kelly

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

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

Thank you. I think it will be a repeated walk.

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

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.

My plan was to check out a large liquor store in the Minneapolis area when we returned from WDW because it has a lot of variety and brands not found in my little stores that are close to us. But the stay at home orders have put that on hold. I also have quite a large stash of beer at home, so the plan is to drink through that before I buy any more. But I have put the name of Trois Pistoles on my list! Thanks.

I'm In!

Looking good Brad!

Brad says thank you! And I'm glad you are following along.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Your pictures make your morning walk come across as soooooo relaxing. What a great way to start the day.

It was very relaxing and I liked just wandering at my own pace. I often take morning walks at home (when the weather is good) but the scenery wasn't as nice a this walk.

That t-shirt is so cute! Dang, your frugal moment!!

I know. I might look for it on shop disney today, but if it isn't there its one of the first things I'm going to look for to buy when we go again.

The walk between the Poly and the GF is gorgeous! My sister and I did on our 2016 trip and it’s something I’d love to do again!

It was a pretty walk in the morning, it would probably be nice in the evening too but maybe not so much in the heat of day.

Omg those retro shirts! I sent a picture of them to my mom when we were there in January. Soon as I saw them I could remember my mom and dad wearing them when we went to Disneyland when I was 5. It was a nice memory of my dad that day and brought a smile to my face that day. I love the early morning pictures of the grand and Poly!
kelly

So cool that your parents had them. I could probably have seen my mom wearing one, she would have been daring. But my dad....never. He doesn't like to wear shirts that don't have a pocket and he would never wear a tie dyed Mickey shirt. Actually I'm laughing just thinking him in that type of shirt.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Friday March 6, 2020

Time for breakfast at Kona. While I was waiting to be called for my table, on lady walked up and checked in and then walked away. She came back about a minute later with a horde of teenagers! Oh my! They all walked into the restaurant and filled the whole right hand side of the restaurant! Yowsers! I thought two things...

1. I hope I sit far away from that. I was here for a relaxing breakfast. I was seated on the far opposite side of the restaurant with a nice view of the monorail.

2. I'd better order before they do so I don't have to wait super long for my food. Which I was planning to do anyway.

My view.

My Kona pressed pot coffee...all for ME!!! It was very good.

I got the Loco Moco. (hamburger patty with rice and egg with a chorizo gravy). I have had this before and it was good, it was very tasty this time too. I decided on scrambled egg this time, next time I might get a fried egg again. I decided to ask for extra gravy and that came on the side and it was a fantastic decision, the gravy is soooo good.

Extra gravy in the top left. Before coming here I had listened to a podcast review of Kona Cafe for breakfast and they raved about the Gouda grits. I'm not usually a grits person, but they raved about how cheesy it was and soooo creamy. So I figured I would try it, I was disappointed the cheese was just what you see on top and the grits were kind of pasty. So I just skimmed some of the grits off the top with the cheese and dipped it into my extra gravy. I wouldn't get the grits again but I'm glad I tried it so I wasn't left wondering if they were not to be missed as the people on the podcast seemed to think.

Around the time I was mid-meal Brad texted that he was halfway through his golf round. He was having a good time and got paired up with two guys who were local and had similar golfing ability as he did. He said he had a nice time golfing with these guys, he said they chatted enough to be friendly but like him also wanted to focus on playing.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I am in! This could be the very last Trip Report on these boards before the WDW closure?

 

[Rista1313]

Thanks for posting this in the chit-chat thread, I haven't been checking on trip reports as often lately, and I missed this new one!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I am in! This could be the very last Trip Report on these boards before the WDW closure?

Thanks for being here. I haven't seen any other reports from right before close.

Thanks for posting this in the chit-chat thread, I haven't been checking on trip reports as often lately, and I missed this new one!

No problem glad you are here.

 

[RememberWhen]

Friday March 6, 2020

Time for breakfast at Kona. While I was waiting to be called for my table, on lady walked up and checked in and then walked away. She came back about a minute later with a horde of teenagers! Oh my! They all walked into the restaurant and filled the whole right hand side of the restaurant! Yowsers! I thought two things...

1. I hope I sit far away from that. I was here for a relaxing breakfast. I was seated on the far opposite side of the restaurant with a nice view of the monorail.

2. I'd better order before they do so I don't have to wait super long for my food. Which I was planning to do anyway.

View attachment 462030

My view.
View attachment 462031

My Kona pressed pot coffee...all for ME!!! It was very good.
View attachment 462032

I got the Loco Moco. (hamburger patty with rice and egg with a chorizo gravy). I have had this before and it was good, it was very tasty this time too. I decided on scrambled egg this time, next time I might get a fried egg again. I decided to ask for extra gravy and that came on the side and it was a fantastic decision, the gravy is soooo good.
View attachment 462033

Extra gravy in the top left. Before coming here I had listened to a podcast review of Kona Cafe for breakfast and they raved about the Gouda grits. I'm not usually a grits person, but they raved about how cheesy it was and soooo creamy. So I figured I would try it, I was disappointed the cheese was just what you see on top and the grits were kind of pasty. So I just skimmed some of the grits off the top with the cheese and dipped it into my extra gravy. I wouldn't get the grits again but I'm glad I tried it so I wasn't left wondering if they were not to be missed as the people on the podcast seemed to think.
View attachment 462035

Around the time I was mid-meal Brad texted that he was halfway through his golf round. He was having a good time and got paired up with two guys who were local and had similar golfing ability as he did. He said he had a nice time golfing with these guys, he said they chatted enough to be friendly but like him also wanted to focus on playing.
View attachment 462036

View attachment 462037

I did a semester “abroad” in Hawaii and lived off loco moco. So filling. So cheap. So delicious. Though I never saw it with scrambled eggs, that seems like it would be good! I liked mine with chicken sometimes instead of the hamburger. 2 scoops of rice, 2 chicken patties, 2 fried eggs, covered in gravy. It was usually about $4 and was enough food that I could count it as lunch and dinner! Thanks for the memories!

 

[dizfan917]

Maybe you were supposed to mix the cheese into the grits?! Do you think that would have helped? I'm not a grits eater either. Although I did have some AMAZING crispy cheesey grits "cakes" when I was visiting our store in Birmingham from a place across the street. Those were SO good! More cheesey than gritsy, if I recall correctly and crispy and just yummy.

Glad to be able to follow along on your triumphant return to WDW!!

 

[Disstevefan1]

@ajrwdwgirl , I don't mean to nag, but where is our next installment??? We are WDW fans in isolation, I can only look at the park maps so many times

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I did a semester “abroad” in Hawaii and lived off loco moco. So filling. So cheap. So delicious. Though I never saw it with scrambled eggs, that seems like it would be good! I liked mine with chicken sometimes instead of the hamburger. 2 scoops of rice, 2 chicken patties, 2 fried eggs, covered in gravy. It was usually about $4 and was enough food that I could count it as lunch and dinner! Thanks for the memories!

I first had a loco moco at Cafe 100 in Hilo, have you been there? They had many varieties and so many were so cheap and huge portions. I'm not always a fan of fried eggs (I don't like to get runny yolk so it has to be fried hard) so I usually get scrambled. I also like soy sauce on it too. I usually ask for soy sauce at Kona Cafe, and I get an odd look. I asked for soy sauce this last time, and I got it delivered to my table but for some reason none would shake out, I was glad I got the extra gravy.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Maybe you were supposed to mix the cheese into the grits?! Do you think that would have helped? I'm not a grits eater either. Although I did have some AMAZING crispy cheesey grits "cakes" when I was visiting our store in Birmingham from a place across the street. Those were SO good! More cheesey than gritsy, if I recall correctly and crispy and just yummy.

Glad to be able to follow along on your triumphant return to WDW!!

I think I probably was supposed to mix the cheese in but I just mixed in a little I didn't plan on eating the whole thing of grits anyway so I wanted to concentrate my cheese to just what I was going to eat. Grit cakes would probably be tasty.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

@ajrwdwgirl , I don't mean to nag, but where is our next installment??? We are WDW fans in isolation, I can only look at the park maps so many times

Sorry I will post more tomorrow. This was our first week of virtual learning at school. I teach middle and high school science. The kids were told that teachers would not be available on Friday (normally would have been a day off for Good Friday) so all the kids that didn't do their assignments early in the week did them today and I was flooded with questions and assignments. Tomorrow...promise!

 

[MickeyCB]

The early morning photographs are absolutely beautiful!

 

[Disstevefan1]

Sorry I will post more tomorrow. This was our first week of virtual learning at school. I teach middle and high school science. The kids were told that teachers would not be available on Friday (normally would have been a day off for Good Friday) so all the kids that didn't do their assignments early in the week did them today and I was flooded with questions and assignments. Tomorrow...promise!

Teaching the kiddos is Job 1 ! Thanks to you and all the teachers out there, especially in these times, we need you now more than ever!! Thanks again!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Friday March 6, 2020

I finished my breakfast and I still had a little Kona press pot coffee left so I asked for a to go cup and decided to ride the monorail. I knew that B was almost done with his golf round so I didn't have enough time to go into the Magic Kingdom. I figured that I would just loop the monorail a few time and then he would be ready to meet me at the Polynesian for our adventure.

I guess I got a refurnished monorail, it looks nice but the seat looks a little shoddily covered in plastic. It didn't really have that monorail smell. But I was still happy riding the rail. At this station, the GF, I got a text from Brad that he was almost done shopping at the golf course store (he likes Disney golf shirts). I told him I was on the monorail at the GF and I would meet him in the Poly lobby.

The timing worked out great, I made it to the lobby about 2 minutes before he did. Since the BouTiki shop was going to open in a few minutes we waited around and browsed there. We like looking at the Hawaiian type stuff offered at the store.

Soon we headed out to our first park, but which park. It is a non-Disney park....

So we hopped in the rental car and drove to Bok Tower. It is about a 40-50 minute drive from WDW and it is a botanical garden. We are members of the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and our membership grants us admission to many botanical gardens around the country (and a few in Canada). So we thought since we had a car for once we would check out Bok Tower. We like historic things and nature so it was a win win.

Here is a short little description from the internet: Bok Tower Gardens is a contemplative garden, and bird sanctuary located north of Lake Wales, Florida, United States. It consists of a 250-acre garden, the 205-foot tall Singing Tower with its carillon bells, Pine Ridge Trail, Pinewood Estate, and a visitor center.

Driving up to the main area we passed an orange grove. It was lovely to see all the oranges.

Bok Tower. It is known as the singing tower and there are concerts 2 times a day with the bells. But it does chime often and we were able to hear it go a few times, but we didn't stick around for the first full concert which wasn't until 1pm. We were there around 10:30-ish.

The area was very pretty and it wasn't very crowded in this area, yet. There were a lot of people and some school groups but they were in other areas of the grounds.

A closer look

Sundial on the side of the tower.

The tower is on a hill and it was nice to sit on the benches and enjoy the overlook.

More orange groves.

A closer look at the top of the tower.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Teaching the kiddos is Job 1 ! Thanks to you and all the teachers out there, especially in these times, we need you now more than ever!! Thanks again!

Thanks for the support and encouragement!