Trip Report From Batuu to the Boardwalk...and Beyond!

We're back from an absolutely wonderful trip that involved many firsts! As many times as we have been to Disney, we are always looking to try new things and find new favorites, and this trip was no exception! If you read my PTR (here) you will know that we actually went on two trips back-to-back; many of you questioned my sanity when I posted about the short trip, but you'll have to keep reading to find out exactly how crazy it was. If you're ready for food, drinks, and DRAMMA, you have come to the right place!

 

[dizfan917]

I'm glad yours was good. the crust was just blah, not chewy with zero flavor. The sauce was bland and even the cheese didn't taste like much... I'm pretty easy going when it comes to pizza (what's that expression about even bad pizza being pretty good?) but this one failed on every single level. And I had to wait 15 minutes for it, so I knew it was fresh.

I'm not sure why mine was so terrible. I threw away 1/4 of it cuz I just couldn't eat it. Hooray for veggie pizza!!

 

[bee]

2-4, cont.

Staying deluxe meant we had an extra special room amenity: a balcony!

LOVE these curtains!!!

We love a good ceiling fan!

Lots of stuff...but NO LOTION! @Darstarr

ALSO no lotion!

MORE adorable curtains!

Up next: Mom time!

 

[bee]

2-4, cont.

M's mom wanted to come see our room and we all had FPs for Epcot that afternoon, so she took her first Lyft ride ever from her hotel to the Boardwalk. We actually just used my account and I requested the car to her hotel and she said she was me.

I met her in the lobby and showed her to the room.

She loved our room! Which was no surprise because so did we!

Soon we all began the walk to Epcot.

Yes, I tried it. No, it didn't work. Yes, I know how to use one of these!

Up next: Epcot!

 

[Hula Baloo]

The Boardwalk hotel has always been on my list of hotels I don't want to stay at. Your pictures are seriously making me reconsider though.

 

[bee]

The Boardwalk hotel has always been on my list of hotels I don't want to stay at. Your pictures are seriously making me reconsider though.

*Spoiler alert* We loved our stay there!

 

[bee]

2-4, cont.

The walk to Epcot from the Boardwalk was SO. SHORT. I know that's kind of obvious, but we were amazed at how quickly we arrived at the International Gateway! On the way MIL offered to buy us beers, but we had an AYCD dinner reservation later and didn't want to drink before we arrived. But she was very insistent on getting us SOMETHING, so we stopped at the Joffrey's by Canada and M and I shared an iced chai with Bailey's.

And, this was the day we wore our matching rainbow WDW shirts!

MIL isn't a big coffee drinker so we helped her choose a flavored latte. She likes everything sweet, sweet, sweet so we asked the Joffrey's CM to add a few pumps of syrup for her. The three of us sat on a bench by the lagoon and sipped our beverages.

BIRD

Then we headed to the front of the park for some FPs.

Scooter centipede! Scooterpede?

MONORAIL!

We stopped for a snack at Sunshine Seasons before our FP windows began.

Not that good. Only at Disney will you pay $8 for some bland cheese and 3 nearly-moldy strawberries...

Up next: My favorite ride!

 

[bee]

2-4, cont.

I think we had a FP for Soarin', which we rode first, and then immediately after we had a LWTL FP.

Mt. Fuji!

Saudi Arabia and Mexico are gone...

...as are the 1982 hairstyles!

Up next: More Vegetable Boat Ride!

 

[bee]

2-4, cont.

Thank Agave...

My MIL recently texted me, "What does the eggplant emoji mean?" I didn't respond and later she sent, "Nevermind, I found out!"

After the ride we noticed this lovely plant at the Behind the Seeds info desk:

Up next: In the biiiiiiig bluuuuuuue wooooooooorld

 

[Darstarr]

Home Improvement! But no Wilson here...

I just can’t...

Lots of stuff...but NO LOTION! @Darstarr

I asked and got some, but I am afraid it is BYOL from now on. TSA won’t mind right???

Yes, I know how to use one of these!

 

[Rista1313]

I asked and got some, but I am afraid it is BYOL from now on. TSA won’t mind right???

3 oz and under ma'am

 

[Darstarr]

3 oz and under ma'am

That would do one leg!!!

 

[bee]

2-4, cont.

After LWTL I was able to get a FP for Nemo...not that we needed it.

M and her mom rode together and I rode by myself. After the ride MIL asked us to join her at Turtle Talk with Crush, which we agreed to only after she assured us it was a short show and the CMs said the next show would begin in five minutes, because we had a dinner reservation to get to!

Unfortunately the show did NOT start on time and we had to leave early. Also, one of the kids asked to participate was from Spain and had a Spanish name that was unfamiliar to the guy playing Crush, and he kept making fun of his name and then his parents' names. Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks it's unkind and unfunny to make fun of a kid just because he has a foreign name?? It made me super uncomfortable.

Up next: The dinner we've all been waiting for!

 

[bee]

2-4, cont.

We zoomed over to the UK to check in for our IllumiNations dining package at the Rose and Crown. We weren't sure how early they would allow check in and we wanted to make sure we got the best possible table and could start enjoying our drinks early! We arrived at 7:30 and were asked to come back at 7:45 (the official start time was 8:00). So, we browsed the UK shops for a few minutes.

Tragedy

Empty stage

We came back promptly at 7:45 and were immediately taken to our table, which had probably the best possible location EVER for viewing the show.

Mary Poppins would NOT approve

Our server, Emily, arrived shortly to explain the menu and take our first drink orders. She also noticed me taking photos of the gorgeous sky and offered to take a picture of the two of us before it got completely dark.

Parker Station Pinot Noir and Cider & Black

We also asked Emily about vegetarian entree choices and there were FOUR! Yes, FOUR CHOICES!!!

Up next: Food, more drinks, and TWO Magician Meetups!

 

[Nunu]

Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks it's unkind and unfunny to make fun of a kid just because he has a foreign name?? It made me super uncomfortable.

You're not the only one. Not cool with me either.

 

[Nunu]

2-4, cont.

We zoomed over to the UK to check in for our IllumiNations dining package at the Rose and Crown. We weren't sure how early they would allow check in and we wanted to make sure we got the best possible table and could start enjoying our drinks early! We arrived at 7:30 and were asked to come back at 7:45 (the official start time was 8:00). So, we browsed the UK shops for a few minutes.

Tragedy

Empty stage

We came back promptly at 7:45 and were immediately taken to our table, which had probably the best possible location EVER for viewing the show.

Mary Poppins would NOT approve

Our server, Emily, arrived shortly to explain the menu and take our first drink orders. She also noticed me taking photos of the gorgeous sky and offered to take a picture of the two of us before it got completely dark.

Parker Station Pinot Noir and Cider & Black

We also asked Emily about vegetarian entree choices and there were FOUR! Yes, FOUR CHOICES!!!

Up next: Food, more drinks, and TWO Magician Meetups!

Beautiful sunset pictures!

 

[riverside]

Also, one of the kids asked to participate was from Spain and had a Spanish name that was unfamiliar to the guy playing Crush, and he kept making fun of his name and then his parents' names. Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks it's unkind and unfunny to make fun of a kid just because he has a foreign name?? It made me super uncomfortable.

Not only is it unkind & unfunny but it's downright childish to act that way. I hope that CM got ripped a new one after that. That's totally unacceptable & mean.

 

[MinnieM123]

Unfortunately the show did NOT start on time and we had to leave early. Also, one of the kids asked to participate was from Spain and had a Spanish name that was unfamiliar to the guy playing Crush, and he kept making fun of his name and then his parents' names. Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks it's unkind and unfunny to make fun of a kid just because he has a foreign name?? It made me super uncomfortable.

Love you photos -- you really have an eye for interesting details.

As for the guy playing Crush, that was disappointing. Kids (not to mention some adults) can be very sensitive about their name, and for the guy to keep harping on the kid's name was very strange. I especially feel bad for the kid as he was not from this country, and probably felt very uncomfortable in that situation.

 

[Gurt]

I can now tick off binge reading your report, I will get through all these reports I only went away for a week and I can't catch up great pictures as usual

 

[bee]

You're not the only one. Not cool with me either.

Not only is it unkind & unfunny but it's downright childish to act that way. I hope that CM got ripped a new one after that. That's totally unacceptable & mean.

As for the guy playing Crush, that was disappointing. Kids (not to mention some adults) can be very sensitive about their name, and for the guy to keep harping on the kid's name was very strange. I especially feel bad for the kid as he was not from this country, and probably felt very uncomfortable in that situation.

Glad I'm not the only one! A lot of the audience was laughing, which was very disturbing to me!

Beautiful sunset pictures!

Thank you!

Love you photos -- you really have an eye for interesting details.

Thank you!

I can now tick off binge reading your report, I will get through all these reports I only went away for a week and I can't catch up great pictures as usual

Thank you and welcome to the binge!

 

[bee]

2-4, cont.

Emily arrived shortly with our appetizers: two cheese plates!

These were all excellent! The cheeses and accompaniments all went together perfectly, and we both especially enjoyed the pickled vegetables that came with the orange cheese (bottom right/top left above).

Round two! This time I got a BumbleBEE (how could I not??)

Round three! I don't remember what I had. M had the sparkling cocktail. I tried a sip. Way too sweet. Not worth repeating.

It was around this time that we heard a, "Hey, guys!" and turned to see none other than @Tony the Tigger and Brian! They had missed IllumiNations last night because of the rain and the manager invited them back to watch IllumiNations from the reserved area.

Soon we looked up to see another Magician, @Darstarr! Those of us who were all at WDW at the same time had an ongoing group chat and I posted some photos from our table and she tracked us down based on my photo! We had so much fun chatting and she even gave us some glow sticks she didn't need (she was leaving the next day), which we wore to the SWGE opening day. You can see our selfie in her TR!

It wasn't long before Emily brought out the entrees.

Um. Blame the lighting, not the drinks...

That's better!

These were both delicious and SO. MUCH. FOOD. Neither of us could finish. M's vegan fish and chips were especially outstanding. We both want to go back to R&C just for those. My veggie bangers and mash were quite good as well!

At some point I stopped counting the drinks...because...they were working...

And soon IllumiNations began!

Up next: Wrapping up the night