Trip Report I am Jack's raging excitement

Merry Christmas to all my WDW Magic friends! We just returned from a wonderful 9 days at Disney that was jam packed with fun, food, and of course....these little beauties,

We truly had many wonderful experiences and of the many trips we have had at WDW , this was one of our most memorable ones. I was eager to get this reported started as soon as we got home, but shortly after our return I was in a pretty bad car accident which slowed me down a bit.

Thankfully I am ok, aside from a mild/moderate concussion when my head slammed into the steering wheel. The drivers of the other cars were ok as well. But lets rewind to appx two weeks ago when my radiator was not lodged into my engine and C and I were heading off to the warmer temperatures of Orlando!

As usual, we left the house early in the am in an effort to beat Atlanta traffic. We left around 6 am and within minutes there was an update on the radio that the highway was completely shut down due to an accident. We took an alternate route, but so did everyone else who had exited the expressway.

It normally takes us about 20 minutes to get to Atlanta once we got on the highway, but with the hwy shut down it took a little over an hour. But once we got passed the accident and got back on the expressway, we cruised the rest of the way. A few hours later were in Fla!

We stopped out or favorite breakfast spot in Gainesville, Maple Street Biscuit, for a quick meal.

We got our food to go so we would not loose to much time. I'll say this, an ooey-gooey chicken bacon gravy biscuit is even better when its served in a small bowl.

As we got in the car, we noticed this man walking around the parking lot for someone to flash?

We think he was looking for Phyliss from "The Office", haha.

We like stopping at Gainesville not only for the amazing biscuits, but also because its a little under two hours from WDW so it helps make the last leg of the drive feel pretty short. We take the 429 toll to Apopka becuase there is an awesome Publix we stop at to grab stuff for the room.

We always get some our our "go to" beers (New Belgium) and I also get an experimental brew as well. Last trip in July I tried the Bimini Row and I was not pleased. This trip I went with Funky Buddha "Top Gun". I shall report on it later...And please note the Vitamin Water. Those who read my last TR may remember my nocturnal IBS and I was not about to let it happen again, lol!!! And C always gets lots of healthy fruits and snacks too!

We also take the 429 so we can exit off Western Way and take the back entrance to WDW which spares us from driving through Orlando traffic and is a much more peaceful drive, IMO.

For the holidays, some prefer to to be beneath the mistletoe, but we prefer to be under these...

Up next... checking in to our resort!

 

[wdisney9000]

Day 5

We slept in after getting home We did our usual routine of coffee on the balcony.

Always a great view to watch the ships pass by while having some coffee. We showered up and made our way over to Epcot. The pkan was to get to MK but we werent in a rush so we figured we would stroll around Epcot and take the monorail over to MK.

Spotted Mickey near the IG entrance.

We banked a right turn after entering and made our way over to Norway pavilion for an Einstock and Aus. It was about 11:30 so it was o for beer by our standards, lol. When we entered the shop, there was a lady with a double wide stroller standing right in the middle of the shop and jamming up the flow of foot traffic. If youve ever been in the new Kringla Bakeri, you know that there is a cafeteria style line you move down and a small area behind that to allow traffic to flow through. This woman decided to wait directly in the middle of the open area while her husband was in line. Several people had to ask her to move so they could get by. She was obviously perturbed by the audacity of people trying to get through the shop. She finally moved her stroller to the side but it was still a tight jam. Why not just wait outside????

The CM working at the front of the line had seen us in there several times already during our trip and told us that we could just go straight to the register if we were just ordering beer. We chuckled that she not only recognized us but knew exactly what were in there for, lol. She was very sweet. And we enjoy hearing them say Einstock and Aus with Norwegian accent. Some will say "ale" instead of Einstock so occasionally we hear, "Ale and Aus".

Waterfalls and beer make good pics!

Watched a little pinata show while strolling past Mexico.

We made our way to the Monorail and saw one of our new favorite people watching experiences. The fake candid photo shoot! I cant help but laugh when a person intentionally tries to look as if they are staring of into the distance and they hold the pose for 20 seconds. I laugh more at the way it looks, not the person. To each their own and for all we know, it could be for a school project or something else. Still fun to witness.

Soon after we were on the monorail and then at MK. My brother loves the Partner statues so we grabbed a pic for him.

C had to use the restroom so I waited outside for her. The mens room was closed and there was a CM standing there telling people it was closed. Not only could you see him, but I was a good twenty feet away and I could hear him loud and clear saying the mens room was closed but I sat there and watched so many people continue to walk up to him (as they watched him saying it was closed) and try and go in. smh

more MK up next

 

[fractal]

You sold me on After Hours at HS - Looked like an amazing evening!

 

[wdisney9000]

Day 5 ctd...


There was a picture of Caseys at the end of my last post. I couldnt remember why I took it at first. After speaking with C, she reminded me that we went to Caseys to get fries, then took the fries over to Frontierland and got the buffalo cauliflower nuggets. She prefers the Caseys fries over the waffle fries. The food pics are on her phone, which she said she would send to me, but has not. So onward....

After having lunch, and I cant say enough how GOOD the buffalo cauliflower is, we headed to HM. They had cut the grass in the graveyard and you could get a good view of Mr. Toad.

i can not remember why she was laughing in this pic, but I like it, so Im adding it.

We saw the wait time for Mermaid was low so we hopped in line. It said ten minute wait, but it ended up being nearly 30. The line just stopped and we stood there for awhile. We debated getting out of line after ten minutes but we stuck with it.

We had a Fp for Peter Pan so we headed over there. As we entered the FP queue we noticed someone (CM said it was a child) had vomited on the platform.

Why do I post this? Because there are many threads about something happening at Epcot, and the first thing people do is blame alcohol and complain about how Epcot is full of drunk people. Anybody that has read any of my TR's over the years knows that C and I spend a majority of our time at Epcot. Not one time have we ever seen a person vomit in the middle of a ride or start a fight or any of the other nonsense people say happens. We could only laugh about the vomit at Peter Pan because if it was ANY ride at Epcot or even any location at Epcot and someone posted it, there would be dozens of people blaming it on the booze and demanding Disney do something about it. So, going by their knee jerk reaction logic, I can only assume that MK is full drunken idiots starting fights, and this picture is proof!! /rant

After Pan, we headed back to the monorail because we had a lunch reservation at La Hacienda in Epcot.

Started off with drinks of course. C usually gets the cucumber margarita on the rocks but she went frozen this time, and it will probly the last time she orders it that way. She liked it, just not as much as on the rocks.

I tried the Allende Pale Ale and it was pretty good. I'd order it again.

We had a great seat by the window overlooking the lagoon. I had a pretty good view across the table as well.

Soon the food was out.

I can not remember the names of what we ordered but they were both very good!

We finished lunch and headed back to the room for an afternoon break.

Up next ....back to Epcot!

 

[Spash007]

Day 5

We slept in after getting home We did our usual routine of coffee on the balcony.

View attachment 372824

Always a great view to watch the ships pass by while having some coffee. We showered up and made our way over to Epcot. The pkan was to get to MK but we werent in a rush so we figured we would stroll around Epcot and take the monorail over to MK.

View attachment 372825

Spotted Mickey near the IG entrance.

We banked a right turn after entering and made our way over to Norway pavilion for an Einstock and Aus. It was about 11:30 so it was o for beer by our standards, lol. When we entered the shop, there was a lady with a double wide stroller standing right in the middle of the shop and jamming up the flow of foot traffic. If youve ever been in the new Kringla Bakeri, you know that there is a cafeteria style line you move down and a small area behind that to allow traffic to flow through. This woman decided to wait directly in the middle of the open area while her husband was in line. Several people had to ask her to move so they could get by. She was obviously perturbed by the audacity of people trying to get through the shop. She finally moved her stroller to the side but it was still a tight jam. Why not just wait outside????

View attachment 372827

The CM working at the front of the line had seen us in there several times already during our trip and told us that we could just go straight to the register if we were just ordering beer. We chuckled that she not only recognized us but knew exactly what were in there for, lol. She was very sweet. And we enjoy hearing them say Einstock and Aus with Norwegian accent. Some will say "ale" instead of Einstock so occasionally we hear, "Ale and Aus".

View attachment 372828


Waterfalls and beer make good pics!

Watched a little pinata show while strolling past Mexico.

View attachment 372826

We made our way to the Monorail and saw one of our new favorite people watching experiences. The fake candid photo shoot! I cant help but laugh when a person intentionally tries to look as if they are staring of into the distance and they hold the pose for 20 seconds. I laugh more at the way it looks, not the person. To each their own and for all we know, it could be for a school project or something else. Still fun to witness.

View attachment 372830

Soon after we were on the monorail and then at MK. My brother loves the Partner statues so we grabbed a pic for him.

View attachment 372871

C had to use the restroom so I waited outside for her. The mens room was closed and there was a CM standing there telling people it was closed. Not only could you see him, but I was a good twenty feet away and I could hear him loud and clear saying the mens room was closed but I sat there and watched so many people continue to walk up to him (as they watched him saying it was closed) and try and go in. smh

more MK up next










View attachment 372831

View attachment 372823

Couple reasons I could think of stroller lady:

1) It was hot outside and she wanted to stay cool (but by judging off her outfit, that's not the case)
2) She doesn't trust her husband - to order, to not flirt (that picture makes her look like she is staring down sweatshirt around the waist man who in turn looks quite pleased himself), to find her outside etc

Either way that is super obnoxious, and is really frustrating to see when I go out of my way to make sure I'm out of the way with a stroller.
But that's also one of the reasons I'm refusing to take a double stroller to Disney - they're not worth the hassle!

 

[wdisney9000]

Couple reasons I could think of stroller lady:

1) It was hot outside and she wanted to stay cool (but by judging off her outfit, that's not the case)
2) She doesn't trust her husband - to order, to not flirt (that picture makes her look like she is staring down sweatshirt around the waist man who in turn looks quite pleased himself), to find her outside etc

Either way that is super obnoxious, and is really frustrating to see when I go out of my way to make sure I'm out of the way with a stroller.
But that's also one of the reasons I'm refusing to take a double stroller to Disney - they're not worth the hassle!

it definitely was not hot outside especially considering it was late morning early afternoon in December. And if I recall the look on her face was more from her agitation of several people asking her to move.

The picture I took was after she had moved. Before she was right in the middle of that small walkway that was created by removing LOL. And it could very well be possible that she either doesn't trust her husband to get the order right or flirt but considering they have two children it seems she's most likely stuck with him now so what's the point LOL

 

[Spash007]

it definitely was not hot outside especially considering it was late morning early afternoon in December. And if I recall the look on her face was more from her agitation of several people asking her to move.

The picture I took was after she had moved. Before she was right in the middle of that small walkway that was created by removing LOL. And it could very well be possible that she either doesn't trust her husband to get the order right or flirt but considering they have two children it seems she's most likely stuck with him now so what's the point LOL

She was in a spot worse than that?? smh

Procreation, amirite?

 

[lostpro9het]

I did just rescue a kitten though. Vet thinks about 3 weeks old. She is the tiniest thing! She weighs just a little over 1 pound. She is the size of a pair of rolled up socks.

View attachment 372155

This right here is frickin awesome!

 

[MinnieM123]

After having lunch, and I cant say enough how GOOD the buffalo cauliflower is, we headed to HM. They had cut the grass in the graveyard and you could get a good view of Mr. Toad.

I don't think I've ever even noticed Mr. Toad in the graveyard! Amazing how many times I've been by there and never once noticed!

 

[Minnie1986]

Day 5 ctd...


There was a picture of Caseys at the end of my last post. I couldnt remember why I took it at first. After speaking with C, she reminded me that we went to Caseys to get fries, then took the fries over to Frontierland and got the buffalo cauliflower nuggets. She prefers the Caseys fries over the waffle fries. The food pics are on her phone, which she said she would send to me, but has not. So onward....

After having lunch, and I cant say enough how GOOD the buffalo cauliflower is, we headed to HM. They had cut the grass in the graveyard and you could get a good view of Mr. Toad.

View attachment 373106


i can not remember why she was laughing in this pic, but I like it, so Im adding it.

View attachment 373107

We saw the wait time for Mermaid was low so we hopped in line. It said ten minute wait, but it ended up being nearly 30. The line just stopped and we stood there for awhile. We debated getting out of line after ten minutes but we stuck with it.

View attachment 373108

We had a Fp for Peter Pan so we headed over there. As we entered the FP queue we noticed someone (CM said it was a child) had vomited on the platform.

View attachment 373109

Why do I post this? Because there are many threads about something happening at Epcot, and the first thing people do is blame alcohol and complain about how Epcot is full of drunk people. Anybody that has read any of my TR's over the years knows that C and I spend a majority of our time at Epcot. Not one time have we ever seen a person vomit in the middle of a ride or start a fight or any of the other nonsense people say happens. We could only laugh about the vomit at Peter Pan because if it was ANY ride at Epcot or even any location at Epcot and someone posted it, there would be dozens of people blaming it on the booze and demanding Disney do something about it. So, going by their knee jerk reaction logic, I can only assume that MK is full drunken idiots starting fights, and this picture is proof!! /rant

After Pan, we headed back to the monorail because we had a lunch reservation at La Hacienda in Epcot.

View attachment 373111

Started off with drinks of course. C usually gets the cucumber margarita on the rocks but she went frozen this time, and it will probly the last time she orders it that way. She liked it, just not as much as on the rocks.

View attachment 373110

I tried the Allende Pale Ale and it was pretty good. I'd order it again.

We had a great seat by the window overlooking the lagoon. I had a pretty good view across the table as well.

View attachment 373112

Soon the food was out.

View attachment 373113

View attachment 373114

View attachment 373115

I can not remember the names of what we ordered but they were both very good!

We finished lunch and headed back to the room for an afternoon break.

Up next ....back to Epcot!

Do you remember where in Frontierland you got the buffalo cauliflower?

 

[wdisney9000]

Do you remember where in Frontierland you got the buffalo cauliflower?

Golden Oak Outpost. Its on the pathway if youre walking from PoTC towards Splash Mountain. Its on the left side as you pass the backside exit of Pecos Bill

 

[wdisney9000]

ctd...


After the afternoon break we headed back to Epcot. We had a dinner ADR at Spice Road Table in Moroco pavilion. I had seen in one of @Tuvalu trip reports that they ate on the patio and watched Illuminations. We originally planned on trying the Frozen dessert party but wound up making an ADR instead. They were not too busy when we checked in but we noticed a lady giving the hostess a hard time about something. Seemed to be that they had more people than their reservation stated and the hostess was telling her it just be a short wait. The woman was not happy about that and kept going outside to talk to her party then back inside to try and haggle with the hostess. After a few minutes, the hostess noticed us and apologized for the wait. We told her we didnt mind and that it was a shame she has to deal with people like the woman before us. We explained we just wanted to have some drinks and appetizers on the patio to watch the fireworks. She told us to hold one one moment and she soon returned and asked if we would like to sit in the middle of the dining room where there is a huge window and you can see the show. We agreed! A little kindness goes a long way with the CMs!!

We had an amazing view from the dining room. We ordered drinks first.

Followed by the brie

And the fried hummus, which we will ABSOLUTELY be back for! It was awesome!

We ordered second round of drinks while we watched the show. The service was outstanding. We had a very polite waiter that was kept our glasses full and had good conversation.

We strolled around WS a bit and I grabbed another beer somewhere, cant remember.

Ill take a random picture like this just for the sake of remembering for the TR, and then I forget where it was, lol.

We headed back to Boardwalk and C went up to the room and I stopped at Big River for a late night brewski

Up next... day 6, morning at HS and there were people in line for the attractions! The After Hours party spoiled us, haha!

 

[Minnie1986]

Golden Oak Outpost. Its on the pathway if youre walking from PoTC towards Splash Mountain. Its on the left side as you pass the backside exit of Pecos Bill

Thanks so much!!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Ill take a random picture like this just for the sake of remembering for the TR, and then I forget where it was, lol.

Me too!

 

[amjt660]

There are too many new forum members with a "Disney is a business" attitude and someone has to take them down a peg with passive aggressive comments, lol.

What are these passive aggressive comments you speak of?

How about...

"oh look, @wdisney9000 is back in his TR again - I wonder if he will finish this one?"

Max

 

[wdisney9000]

What are these passive aggressive comments you speak of?

How about...

"oh look, @wdisney9000 is back in his TR again - I wonder if he will finish this one?"

Max

Well done, and probly not. I need to start my PTR for my upcoming trip next week. That will be the demise of this one. But I am trying to crank it out

 

[amjt660]

Well done, and probly not. I need to start my PTR for my upcoming trip next week. That will be the demise of this one. But I am trying to crank it out

Max

 

[wdisney9000]

Me too!

It always seems like such a genius idea in the moment. But when we get home, I'm forced to solve the mystery of where or why.

 

[wdisney9000]

Day 6


In an effort to bang this report out so I can start my Pre Trip Report for an up coming trip (next week!), and I also I had a little passive aggressive push from @amjt660 , Im gonna go be brief and get through this quickly.

After morning coffee we headed on the pathway to HS. C did her Jen Tracker pose for a picture.

I got a pic of the new bathrooms. Their really nice, IMO and I love the HS color scheme.

Baseline for a quick snack and to fuel up!

My Princess

After Baseline we went over to Star TOurs.

You gotta love when the FP line is out the door. We miss the After Hours, lol.

We had FP for Slinky Dog but C wanted to grab a drink from Starbucks. While she was getting her drink, I ducked into the Brown Derby to get a selfie to send our friends who had just left WDW and were headed home. BD is one of their favorites and their always telling us to go there but we havent yet. So I figured ID tease them.

They messaged back right away to share their excitement about us finally trying it out! Thats when I took them down a peg and told them I was just there to use the bathroom.

C joined me and we stopped in one of the shops to get a pin. She only buys the collector or special edition ones to keep and then buy stater packs to trade with CMs. I think this was it. There was two and one of them was more important than the other. I dont know, perhaps @sheriffwoody can verify if this one is special???

Im glad we took this pic since the (better) HS sign is now changed to the new (IP vomited on) version.

We made our way over to TSL and soon we were on SDD. We love the hidden mickey in the clouds on the mural.

Then we got photobombed by a CM blowing her nose. Well done, CM.

Up next more day 6

 

[wdisney9000]

Day 6 ctd..


We did a few more things at HS but the pics are obviously on C's phone. We headed back to BW to freshen before heading over to Disney Springs. C had been trying to get me to go there for over a year. I finally agreed. I dont have anything against it, just never felt like going.

Spotted a "service" dog on our way out to the bus. You cant even see the dog because its owner was allowing it to play with the lady. Great work, pup! FWIW, I never blame the dog, just the human who puts a false label on it so they can bring it into a hotel or theme park, or any place the dog is most likely not acclimated to.

One good thing about the Springs is that Disney seems to keep about two buses running at the resorts to get you to and from each theme park, but they have 47 buses at each resort for the Springs. We didnt have to wait long. I had brought a beer for the walk to the bus and got on without thinking about it and still had the beer in hand.

We arrived at the Springs and the plan was for C to do a little shopping and we would try a new restaurant. Shopping first to build up an appetite! Of course, we spotted another dog on our way in, and it was in a stroller. smh.

C made her around a few shops for a specialty coffee they have and a few other places for some type of soap or candle, I cant remember.

I found a beer stand so I could have something to do while she shopped.

They had a pretty sweet Christmas tree.

The Springs was growing on me as we walked around and C was showing me the different areas and restaurants. HEr mom and her have been several times so she knows her way around.

Shirley status...

Up next... where to eat???

 

[wdisney9000]

Day 6 ctd...


After debating for awhile, we decided to try Art Smith Homecomin'. Boy am I glad we did. This place will get me back to the Springs, no questions asked! We started with the fried green tomatoes with ham arugula. I dont even like fried green tomatoes, well, I didnt until I tried these bad boys! They were great!

C went with the Rome City IPA and she loved it

I went with an oldie but goodie...

Our entrees were out shortly after. I went with a sampler plate and C got some form of sandwich, no doubt a veggie or vegan style.

I made a biscuit sandwich out of all the offerings. All the food was amazing. We devoured it. I seriously cant wait to go back. We sat outside on the covered patio and the views were awesome and the service was great. C and her mom went in February and she said it was just as good.

After lunch we headed back to bus stop. C showed me this cup cake ATM. I loved it. Great idea.

We got back to the resort mid afternoon to rest up for the evening.

Up next... relaxing evening at Epcot.