Trip Report Florida Fresh Spring March 2018

Hello all and welcome to my trip report! I've been back for about a week but I've been slow to upload pictures and I actually caught a pretty nasty cold that has had me down the last couple of days.

So here's the intro:

Who: Me (Amy) and my husband (Brad)
Where are we from?: Northern Wisconsin (So were were definitely in need of some Florida sun.)
When: March 10-17, 2018
Resort: All Star Sports (we stay value because it is the cheapest and we can use that extra $$ for good food and drinks)

Start of the journey:

We actually started our trip on Friday March 9 and drove up to Minneapolis and stayed at a hotel near the airport. Our flight was leaving early in the morning and we didn't want to have drive early in the morning to the airport. So we relaxed at the Hilton by the airport and had a nice dinner at the Mall of America. We did have a crazy experience at the pool area here...we were just getting into the pool and we saw a pre-teen girl get out of the hot tub and was walking quickly (not running) towards the pool and she slipped and her head banged like a basketball on the pool area floor. It was pretty horrifying. I was about to get out of the pool and go help her but her parents were there and helped her and got medical help. So that put a little bit of a damper on what turned out to be our only pool time of the trip but I'm sure the girl had a worse time of it then we did.

Me with my first beer of the trip at the Mall of America. It was a Surly Furious, a local brew.

Relaxing at the Hilton with a drink. A fancy rum and Coke for hubs and a Grain Belt (another Minnesota beer) for me. This was at about 7:30-8pm and we were basically falling asleep.

At the airport bright and early for our flight! The Caribou coffee place wasn't open yet, but I like their coffee so much better than Dunkin', Starbucks, or even McDonald's so I waited about 15 minutes for it to open before heading to the gate.

All aboard! We splurge a little bit and always get the big front seat when we fly with Spirit, it is almost like first class but without the booze and the meal.

Bye bye!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to ketchup. As always loving every word and have put a few things on my bucket list.

No problem, I've been kind of lazy in finishing. I'm going to try to get around to it this weekend.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I suppose I should work on finishing this puppy off! Where I left off....we had returned to the resort after time at the Magic Kingdom. It was also our last full day in WDW.

So after a rest at the hotel we headed over to Epcot for the evening to do the Easter Egg Hunt.

We stopped for Pineapple Beer for me.

And "poutine" with the Canadian Beer Cheese soup. It was okay, the soup needed a little more salt or pepper though.

Then it was time to start hunting.

Canada's was in the garden area.

Then we found the UK's.

And France.

We thought the eggs were easy to find this year. We soon figured out that all the eggs were outside somewhere and not in shops like a lot were last year.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Then a stop in France for the rose (I think) Slushie for Brad, and we got another tomato tart.

Then I "needed" another Kumquat beer so we stopped at the Florida Fresh stand and we also got the beef dish that was served on a black bean cake.

We found the egg in Morocco

And Japan

And onto America. Where we detoured to the Smokehouse to get a pork belly slider again. While we ate we heard some of the band for the night play. I don't remember who it was and honestly I'm too lazy to look it up. It wasn't really anyone we cared about, clearly.

And found the Mickey egg.

Italy's egg was easy to spot this year, last year we looked for a long time before finally finding it. By this point we were also on alert for kids shouting about them and pointing to them. That made it a lot easier to find.

Then we continued on to Germany and I saw someone who looked familar but I wasn't sure....luckily @Longers spotted me too and called my name. We had a fun chat with her and her husband. They were working around World Showcase on their egg hunt in the opposite direction as us.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

After we parted ways with Longers, we found the egg in Germany.

Sunset was upon us and the sky looked pretty.

We started to hustle now to find our eggs while we still had some light.

Found the one at the Outpost, it was in about the same spot as last year.

China's was in the garden area we like to sit and relax in.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

By the time we found the egg in Norway it was getting very dark and the area wasn't lit. But we still found it...only one to go! My first picture turned out too blurry but it gives and idea of where it was.

Mexico's was inside the show building. Wish we had stopped for a drink at La Cava...

We redeemed our map (which we did get to keep) and got our Mickey egg, there was also a Pluto sticker inside.

on our way out of Mexico we did see this Coco display that was pretty cool.

Brad and I got a snack from La Isla Fresca, I got cake and he got the beef dish. Then we went in search of a decent place for Illuminations. We found one between between Mexico and Norway. The family we sat behind had about 3 kids so we positioned ourselves behind the kids because we knew that when they stood up at the rail we would easily be able to see over their heads. And it was great, it was like we had a spot at the rail.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Some more Illuminations shots. The show was good, but I still think the old one that played all the classical music & folk music from the countries was better (at least the music was better). I wouldn't be sad though if a new show took this Illuminations place.

Anyway, towards the end of the show, when there was about 3-5 minutes left. Brad felt someone tap him, he just ignored it and then the tap was more of a shove. So he turned and a lady (about 100 pounds and 5 foot) was trying to shove my husband out of the way so she could step with her kid (who was taller than her) in front of him. There weren't many people around us and there were other openings she could go to but for some reason she thought being in front of my husband was the best plan. He just looked at her and said no, and turned more to block her. Really lady!? She moved over a little more and wedged her way next to another family at the rail. In a way it was kind of funny that she thought she could shove him out of her way!

 

[MinnieM123]

Anyway, towards the end of the show, when there was about 3-5 minutes left. Brad felt someone tap him, he just ignored it and then the tap was more of a shove. So he turned and a lady (about 100 pounds and 5 foot) was trying to shove my husband out of the way so she could step with her kid (who was taller than her) in front of him. There weren't many people around us and there were other openings she could go to but for some reason she thought being in front of my husband was the best plan. He just looked at her and said no, and turned more to block her. Really lady!? She moved over a little more and wedged her way next to another family at the rail. In a way it was kind of funny that she thought she could shove him out of her way!

Some of the worst guest behavior seems to happen around the parades and also the evening fireworks. Since when it it acceptable that a stranger would shove another stranger, to push their way into a better spot? I might expect a kid to try something like that, but when I see adults acting that way, it just disgusts me.

 

[JenniferS]

Some of the worst guest behavior seems to happen around the parades and also the evening fireworks. Since when it it acceptable that a stranger would shove another stranger, to push their way into a better spot? I might expect a kid to try something like that, but when I see adults acting that way, it just disgusts me.

I just say no.

 

[MinnieM123]

I just say no.

. . . and then do you take a swing at the person?

 

[JenniferS]

. . . and then do you take a swing at the person?

No, Mike just “boxes them out”.
(Basketball term, non-violent. )

Much like with Brad, ain’t no one getting past Mike if he decides they’re not.

 

[FlaggNL]

So finnaly caught up! Thanks for sharing this great report!!

 

[Figgy1]

By the time we found the egg in Norway it was getting very dark and the area wasn't lit. But we still found it...only one to go! My first picture turned out too blurry but it gives and idea of where it was.
View attachment 282351View attachment 282352View attachment 282353

Mexico's was inside the show building. Wish we had stopped for a drink at La Cava...
View attachment 282354View attachment 282355


We redeemed our map (which we did get to keep) and got our Mickey egg, there was also a Pluto sticker inside.
View attachment 282356

on our way out of Mexico we did see this Coco display that was pretty cool.
View attachment 282357

Brad and I got a snack from La Isla Fresca, I got cake and he got the beef dish. Then we went in search of a decent place for Illuminations. We found one between between Mexico and Norway. The family we sat behind had about 3 kids so we positioned ourselves behind the kids because we knew that when they stood up at the rail we would easily be able to see over their heads. And it was great, it was like we had a spot at the rail.
View attachment 282358View attachment 282360View attachment 282361

I'm not a fan of IPs in WS but IMHO Coco would be perfect for Mexico much better than Donald Duck. As much as I love the Frozen ride don't get me started on where they put it

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I'm not a fan of IPs in WS but IMHO Coco would be perfect for Mexico much better than Donald Duck. As much as I love the Frozen ride don't get me started on where they put it

I hear ya! I do like the Frozen ride, although I have plenty of ideas for improvement, but I am not really a fan of where it was put. I understand why it was put there but...Maelstrom

 

[mlegerto]

ajrwdgirl, I've really enjoyed following along. Such a great trip!

 

[rshell68]

Growing up in Wisconsin polka dancing was one of our Phy. Ed units, guess he didn't learn that in Illinois.

We had to square dance in Illinois

 

[rshell68]

Soon I could see paradise in the front window....

Meatloaf says it's by the dashboard light.....

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

ajrwdgirl, I've really enjoyed following along. Such a great trip!

Thanks! I still have a little bit more to post.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

We had to square dance in Illinois

We had polka and square dancing in Wisconsin. We were cool....

Meatloaf says it's by the dashboard light.....

He's wrong.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

Catching up, finally

I think Space Mountain is so beautiful to photograph in the evening time. It's one of my favorite photos.
Thanks for the other lovely pictures - the egg hunt looks fun. And you got to meet Longers. They are a great, fun couple!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Well, it is July 1st and I'm days away from going on my next trip to WDW. I did have a couple days there at the end of June with my college gal pa, but that was just a small part of a Florida trip with her. Anyway, I was thinking about my trip in March and I realized I never finished my report!

So I'm going to do a brief post wrapping it up.
We started the day at Hollywood Studios and lamented the fact this would be our last visit in the Pixar Place area. Not that we are really attached to the area, it will just be a little strange to go to a new place to ride Toy Story Mania. After Toy Story, we did the normal Tower and Tours, wandered around the Walt Disney exhibit (can't remember the name) and saw the Walt Disney movie before riding Toy Story again.

Time for a snack. We shared these.

Then Brad wanted to see the Star Wars show.

We had some time before our Star Tours fast pass so we tried the Baseline Tap House. Brad got a rum and Coke (surprise!) which he got a little buzz with because the bartender just finished out the bottle on it. I had a variety of beers, I liked them all. A group of adults sat with us, a couple near our age and their parents.

After Star Tours we were hungry and in the mood for pizza so we went to Pizzarizzo. And don't hate us but we enjoyed it. It certainly isn't the best pizza I've had but it was hot, fresh, and cheesy. I also enjoyed my salad and Diet Coke (I rarely drink soda so it was a treat).

Then we headed over to the Magic Kingdom and got some All American sundaes (fudge & peanut butter) and caught the last half of the Festival of Fantasy parade from this spot as we enjoyed our ice cream.

I guess it was a day of lasts, last Pixar Place time and the last time I would see the dragon in the parade (although maybe she'll be back someday). It was a little windy, so no fire breathing that day.

We didn't end up doing any attractions but we had wanted to end up our trip at the Magic Kingdom so that was fine. We hadn't seen the Dapper Dans all trip (despite many tries) and Brad was very disappointed. And it was time to head out of the Magic Kingdom to go back to the Sports and as we neared the train station we heard the melodious sounds of the Dans. Brad sprinted to them! And I followed. I now had one happy husband, his trip was complete!

It was time to wave goodbye to the Magic Kingdom and head home.

A shot leaving the Sports on the Tragical Express.