Trip Report Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, It's Back to the World We Go! *COMPLETED*

Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you prematurely. I am your host ~ your trip report host. Here in the following pages you'll see how the Tuvalu family survived Spring Break 2017. Kindly sit back and relax please, and make room for everyone. There's no turning back now......

Well, that's not exactly true. You are free to FIND YOUR WAY OUT at any time. Although I hope you stick around for the tour. There's bound to be drama.

The deets:
Cast: Moi (Tuvalu), Benevolent Husband (Woody), and the only reason we braved Spring Break madness ~ our Teacher Daughter (Em)
Dates: April 1-8, 2017
Resort: Port Orleans French Quarter

Along the way you'll encounter the slowest cast members ever hired by Disney. Farewell performances of Wishes (were there tears?) The awesome Blue Angels flyover. A Magic meet-up with another mother/daughter pair equally obsessed with WDW as Em and me. And the BEST TRANSPORTATION EVER.

You'll also discover the answers to the following questions: Are Spring Break crowds really that bad? (I'll give you a hint......YES.) What the heck happened to the Trolley? And the flagpole? Is the Red Card really gone? Can you get a same-day ADR for Be Our Guest? What about 'Ohana?

And the most-pressing question of all: Will Woody be doomed to sit on a hard chair in our room chained to his PC and phone all week?

Now as they say, "Look alive" and we'll continue our little tour.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

The rain had ceased when we left The Land. It was time for us to return to POFQ and check in on Woody.

On our way out I made Em pose under SSE to highlight the pocket on her tee.
View attachment 201070

View attachment 201072

Just a brief wait for a bus and we were at the resort in no time! Bus service continues to be great!

Love the tee and shorts that @TrolleyFollower91 is wearing.

 

[Tuvalu]

That is my FAVORITE treat in DHS!! That's why I was devastated when they took away Starring Rolls. I'm not familiar with the Trolley Car Cafe--it looks like it's part (or somehow connected to) the Brown Derby? I'm trying to place it and I can't. What's it near? Is it a quick service place that somehow I've missed?

Trolley Car Cafe I believe is the Starbucks. They used to sell kids stuff in there and plushes were right outside.

@MySmallWorldof4 is correct, The Trolley Car Cafe is the Starbucks on the corner of Hollywood & Sunset Blvds. Some of the cupcakes from Starring Rolls are served there.

The Darth Vader cupcake was available at Backlot Express when I was there in September. Granted, we had the DDP so it was our desert of choice. Maybe that's another option??

Backlot was serving the BB8 cupcake, not Darth. We checked the other QS locations that used to serve Darth to no avail. Seems he's only currently available at The Trolley Car Cafe.

 

[dmatt87]

You are about to learn the real reason for our jaunt over to DHS this evening. The Toy Story Mania FP was just a bonus!

Two favorite things found at DHS that Em cannot get anywhere else ~
1. The Darth Vader chocolate/peanut butter cupcake
2. A Mama's Margarita

There was a wee bit 'o panic when Starring Rolls closed, since Darth was always there. We thought we might find him in Sweet Spells.

We didn't, but there was this yummy temptation.
View attachment 201197
Em loves her M&Ms....and apples.....

But she passed.

A trip inside the Trolley Car Cafe and voila! Darth! And Em could use her Starbucks gift card to pay for him .

One down one to go.

Now I don't know how an Italian restaurant can serve up a better Margarita than a Mexican restaurant, but in Em's opinion Mama Melrose does. We checked in and soon followed the legendary Jean (yup, she was working!) to our table.

View attachment 201201
Woody selected a Chardonnay from the wine list.

Em's day was made when this arrived:
View attachment 201199

And mine was made when this arrived:
View attachment 201203
The amazing charred NY strip steak and FOUR cheese mac & cheese . Em usually orders a pasta dish but based on my raves she also had the steak. While not as good as the filet she had at California Grill in February (by which all future steaks will now be measured), she had no trouble finishing it.

Woody chose the Saltimbocca ~ pork tenderloin topped with prosciutto, fontina cheese and sage in a lemon caper sauce. He said it was very good.
View attachment 201202

Service was efficient and we were pleased with our Mama's experience.
Dessert would come later.

What was Em drinking? It looks delicious!

 

[Tuvalu]

What was Em drinking? It looks delicious!

That would be the famous Mama's Margarita.

 

[dmatt87]

That would be the famous Mama's Margarita.

Great news - I love margaritas! And even better news, we have an ADR at Mama Melrose in a few weeks

 

[Tuvalu]

Great news - I love margaritas! And even better news, we have an ADR at Mama Melrose in a few weeks

Enjoy!!!!!

 

[Tuvalu]

We left Mama Melrose's a few minutes before the Star Wars fireworks were scheduled to begin. Since the projections don't matter to us, we opted to view the fireworks from outside the gate.

I was getting "fireworks whiplash" since this was going on behind us:

Whoever said DHS and Epcot don't shoot off their fireworks at the same time would be wrong! Both Star Wars and Illuminations began at 9 pm. The twofer was worth a sore neck!

As soon as the finale occurred, we made a beeline for the bus.....which was at the stop waiting for us!

Now you didn't think we forgot about dessert, did you?

Em and Woody each had their own Darth. Remember the leftover piece of Caramelita from Pepper Market? That baby was mine, all MINE!!

We literally had SWEET dreams.

 

[LisaBelle]

You are about to learn the real reason for our jaunt over to DHS this evening. The Toy Story Mania FP was just a bonus!

Two favorite things found at DHS that Em cannot get anywhere else ~
1. The Darth Vader chocolate/peanut butter cupcake
2. A Mama's Margarita

There was a wee bit 'o panic when Starring Rolls closed, since Darth was always there. We thought we might find him in Sweet Spells.

We didn't, but there was this yummy temptation.
View attachment 201197
Em loves her M&Ms....and apples.....

But she passed.

A trip inside the Trolley Car Cafe and voila! Darth! And Em could use her Starbucks gift card to pay for him .

One down one to go.

Now I don't know how an Italian restaurant can serve up a better Margarita than a Mexican restaurant, but in Em's opinion Mama Melrose does. We checked in and soon followed the legendary Jean (yup, she was working!) to our table.

View attachment 201201
Woody selected a Chardonnay from the wine list.

Em's day was made when this arrived:
View attachment 201199

And mine was made when this arrived:
View attachment 201203
The amazing charred NY strip steak and FOUR cheese mac & cheese . Em usually orders a pasta dish but based on my raves she also had the steak. While not as good as the filet she had at California Grill in February (by which all future steaks will now be measured), she had no trouble finishing it.

Woody chose the Saltimbocca ~ pork tenderloin topped with prosciutto, fontina cheese and sage in a lemon caper sauce. He said it was very good.
View attachment 201202

Service was efficient and we were pleased with our Mama's experience.
Dessert would come later.

You're killing me with the pictures of my favorite meal. I. Want. It. Right. Now!
The desserts look delicious as well!

 

[AuburnBelle919]

You are about to learn the real reason for our jaunt over to DHS this evening. The Toy Story Mania FP was just a bonus!

Two favorite things found at DHS that Em cannot get anywhere else ~
1. The Darth Vader chocolate/peanut butter cupcake
2. A Mama's Margarita

There was a wee bit 'o panic when Starring Rolls closed, since Darth was always there. We thought we might find him in Sweet Spells.

We didn't, but there was this yummy temptation.
View attachment 201197
Em loves her M&Ms....and apples.....

But she passed.

A trip inside the Trolley Car Cafe and voila! Darth! And Em could use her Starbucks gift card to pay for him .

One down one to go.

Now I don't know how an Italian restaurant can serve up a better Margarita than a Mexican restaurant, but in Em's opinion Mama Melrose does. We checked in and soon followed the legendary Jean (yup, she was working!) to our table.

View attachment 201201
Woody selected a Chardonnay from the wine list.

Em's day was made when this arrived:
View attachment 201199

And mine was made when this arrived:
View attachment 201203
The amazing charred NY strip steak and FOUR cheese mac & cheese . Em usually orders a pasta dish but based on my raves she also had the steak. While not as good as the filet she had at California Grill in February (by which all future steaks will now be measured), she had no trouble finishing it.

Woody chose the Saltimbocca ~ pork tenderloin topped with prosciutto, fontina cheese and sage in a lemon caper sauce. He said it was very good.
View attachment 201202

Service was efficient and we were pleased with our Mama's experience.
Dessert would come later.

This looks AMAZING! Definitely thinking of trying Mama Melrose on my next trip because of these pics!

 

[Kiwiduck]

Was this family so concerned about becoming separated that it was necessary to wear construction vests??!!

View attachment 200971

I love all your observations of hilarious situations and people in the parks!

 

[Zipadeelady]

It sounds like it was a great day! If i remember correctly when we watched the fireworks last July from outside of the gates we could feel the heat from the flames.

 

[Courtney6682]

Our lunch ADR required us to take a lovely stroll out the International Gateway.

Really? It's necessary to put out this sign? Were there crowds of clueless people standing in this spot saying, "I wonder what resort this is?"
Cause the Beach Club has only been here 26 years.

Awww mannnn, you're killing me pal!! A patty melt an a choc marshmallow sundae?! Heaven!!!!

 

[Tuvalu]

You're killing me with the pictures of my favorite meal. I. Want. It. Right. Now!
The desserts look delicious as well!

This looks AMAZING! Definitely thinking of trying Mama Melrose on my next trip because of these pics!

Awww mannnn, you're killing me pal!! A patty melt an a choc marshmallow sundae?! Heaven!!!!

Disney Trip To Do List for @LisaBelle and @AuburnBelle919:
Book Mama Melrose

Disney Trip To Do List for @Courtney6682:
Book Beaches and Cream for August NOW!!

 

[Tuvalu]

I love all your observations of hilarious situations and people in the parks!

Awww, thanks!

It sounds like it was a great day! If i remember correctly when we watched the fireworks last July from outside of the gates we could feel the heat from the flames.

You do remember correctly ~ we DID feel the heat from those flames!

 

[Courtney6682]

Disney Trip To Do List for @LisaBelle and @AuburnBelle919:
Book Mama Melrose

Disney Trip To Do List for @Courtney6682:
Book Beaches and Cream for August NOW!!

I always go back and forth on B&C. Brook went once when she was around 1 or 2, can't remember...so it has been about 15 years since I've been there as well. I just don't want to over schedule this August trip...so I'm carefully considering every option before jumping on it!

 

[gdisneyfans]

<Gets on soapbox> People, if you are finished swimming and are leaving the pool, PLEASE scoop up your towels from the chairs you are no longer using and deposit them in the towel bin. Not only is this a courtesy to the staff, but it is also a courtesy to new arrivals who are looking for chairs. When each chair has a single white towel on it, we assume it is occupied.....though 9 times out of 10, it's probably not. The number of people in the pool never matches the number of chairs "saved" by white towels. Which brings me to my second point....if everyone in your party does not plan to ever use a chair, please don't take one. Use one chair for everyone's stuff. Thank you. <Steps down>

YES! This is our pet peeve too You're all excited to get down to the pool and find some chairs together (usually only two of us because our daughter then just lives in the pool) and you walk and walk and walk and notice all of these towels, but are afraid they are someone's so you just walk past and keep looking. But like you said, 9 times out of 10, they are just dirty ones from the past guests who can't pick up after themselves!

View attachment 201036
(Note Em's Lilly shorts. )

Em's shorts and tshirt! I love the Spaceship Earth close up on the pocket - how original!!!

 

[gdisneyfans]

@TrolleyFollower91 your photos are fantastic!!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Wednesday, April 5

Our day started really early. As in 3:30 am. The moment Em regretted going for a morning run along the Sassagoula followed by a long day of walking around Epcot and DHS.

She awakened sobbing, "My toe has a heartbeat!"

Em lost the nail on her big toe in an accident several months ago. The new nail was growing back incorrectly which required a trip to the podiatrist. Unfortunately that trim was not successful ~ evidenced now by her red, swollen and very infected toe.

She soaked her foot, swallowed a mega dose of ibuprofen and tried to go back to sleep. As soon as the gift store opened, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide was purchased. I picked up coffee and muffins for breakfast and brought them to our room.

Em wanted to stick with our day's plans so she put her carefully bandaged toe into her running shoes (no sandals today!) and we headed for the car. Woody would not be joining us (not even for lunch ) as he had a series of meetings.

Soon we were here:

We entered the turnstiles and it wasn't long before we spotted our first creature. Talk about camouflage!

But we were most excited to notice these creatures ~

Are kangaroos new to AK? We don't remember seeing them before. I wish Kanga had gotten closer so we could look for a Roo!

These creatures were in front of the Tree of Life.

It was the perfect day for Em to wear her Sadness shirt. Her smile betrays her throbbing toe.

 

[Tuvalu]

We made our way to our first FP.

 

[Tuvalu]

Our happy faces before our safari began.

As safaris go, we were fortunate to see a LOT of animals. However, many were blink-and-you-miss-them. Why? Our jeep driver was a NASCAR wannabe. Seriously. She put the pedal to the medal and barely slowed down long enough to take a picture of whatever animals were in view. This was especially annoying at Pride Rock.

We see you, baby giraffe!

Mama G is telling us to put the cameras down.

Hellooo, zeeba neighbor! (Shout out to any Pearls Before Swine fans!)

Lion sightings are rare and I about had a heart attack when our driver wouldn't slow down. (Yeah, I *may* have shouted "slow down! " much to Em's chagrin.) Maybe she didn't see Simba. He is camouflaged pretty well.

I love cats of all kinds. And I'm not ashamed to tell the world. (Or at least a Safari driver.)