Trip Report I know, Disney is just SO horrible (alternate title: Is there a sign on my scooter?) - COMPLETED

Who: My husband Scott and I
When: May 5th-11th, 2018
Where: Pop Century Resort

This is my first trip report, so please forgive me if I make an trip report faux pas!

DAY 1

Up at 4am to get a morning shower (it's my equivalent of coffee)
got ready and woke hubby up at 430am.

Scott's mom picked us up at 5am to shuttle us to the airport (she's a trooper)! We got to the airport about 530am and we were number one in the queue for Southwest. Sent off our luggage, and we had reserved a wheelchair for hubs because he's disabled, and although he can walk, he can't DISNEY walk, and in the airports we just find it easier. It also allows us to board first on Southwest, so that works out great. But before we got the wheelchair, he wanted to go outside to smoke his pipe for a bit, since we were so early (the flight was at 720am, but I worked for the airlines for 13 years, and you are suppose to be at the airport 2 hours prior to departure... I can't break that habit, and I don't like to feel late!

wow, what a wrinkly sleeve!

While we were outside, there was a dude out there dancing and facebook live-ing it.... ok then. You do you dude!

Went back to the Southwest desk to call for a skycap with a wheelchair, and we were whisked thru pre-check/handicap security really quickly.

edited to add: I did get stopped at security because of my splint on my arm/hand. the lady inspected it, wanded it, and drug tested it. All which took about 1 minute or less.

Here we are at the gate, waiting for boarding... hubby looks thrilled.

mandatory plane picture

We were off right on time. From Grand Rapids, MI, we had to change planes in Chicago Midway.

This was an interesting relic to see there:

Everything was also on time to MCO, the flight was full however, and I refuse to sit in a middle seat. Usually, I get hubby to sit aisles across from eachother, but he was being ornery this morning, so he was sitting at the window, and I'm on the aisle in the same row, with a confused person between us. She tried to get each of us at separate times to move over next to eachother, but each of us refused. Sorry lady, you were almost the last person on the plane... you get the middle seat!

Next: Day 1 continued...

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

following along, great report! Thanks for my Disney "fix".

 

[PeakSeason]

We had preordered and got our yellow rose before heading up to 2nd checkpoint... where they took my rose (was this a mistake?) and seated us in the rose wing.

You were actually assigned a specific table? The last time we had lunch at BOG we had to locate an empty table ourselves. Has there been a change in the seating procedure for lunch? Going back in two weeks and we were hoping to find a table in a room we haven't been in.

 

[Tuvalu]

You were actually assigned a specific table? The last time we had lunch at BOG we had to locate an empty table ourselves. Has there been a change in the seating procedure for lunch? Going back in two weeks and we were hoping to find a table in a room we haven't been in.

We ate there last week and could sit wherever we wanted.

Sometimes CMs assist first timers in finding a table.

 

[Rista1313]

We ate there last week and could sit wherever we wanted.

Sometimes CMs assist first timers in finding a table.

Now that you say this.. you are right.. they didn't escort us... I remember asking hubby where he wanted to sit... we didn't even try the west wing... and he didn't want to sit in the main room, so we peeked into the tapestry room and there was a seat!

I needed to write more details down in my little book.

 

[Rista1313]

following along, great report! Thanks for my Disney "fix".

Glad to have you join!

I'll be in Rochester MN at the middle of June for a week. I sure hope it starts to warm up soon!

 

[Rista1313]

A review of the revue!

We arrived about 25 minutes early, so we wandered around and looked at the horses, and at the kaleidescope and found an area where hubby could smoke his pipe for a few minutes before dinner.

There was a long line at the dining hall, but the gal at the checkin podium told us we didn't need to stand in line, we had a reserved table and no one was going to take it. So we didn't get in that silly line... we just hung out in the street and I took a picture.

Once the line went down, we went in and were seated at a perfect table. Not too close to the stage (hubby is an introvert and didn't want to interact) but not so far away that we couldn't see (we did level 2 tier).

I had not heard one negative review on this show... and tonight was no exception. It was entertaining, the food was DELICIOUS, and that Strawberry Shortcake..... we were offered SS at a restaurant here in town, and we looked at each other and the mind reading was NO.. it'll be a huge letdown.

Loved the Chandeliers

Ben from the frozen sing a long that everyone raves about was working tonight (the base drum guy) he was great! I found the guy in the yellow to be a cutie!

Hubby couldn't decide if he liked the ribs or chicken better... I liked both too!

I really feel like this show is timeless. It doesn't seem old or old fashioned to me at all. Patriotic comes to mind.. and I like that!

After the show was done we wandered to the minnie van spot, and then requested one... it took them about 10 minutes or so to get there. Not too long.

This 2nd driver... I asked him about his history with Disney, and he literally listed so many jobs that it took the entire ride... he was a little annoying.. but the ride was enjoyable, and we got back to POP safely.

We wandered over to the bridge to AoA and it had rained that day, so there were lots of these out:

Next up.. Day 3

 

[Songbird76]

Thank you for the pictures of Hoop-dee-doo! But...no pictures of the strawberry shortcake? And do they have an alternative? My son won't eat fruit...is there a chance we could get the cake without the strawberries for him?

 

[Rista1313]

Thank you for the pictures of Hoop-dee-doo! But...no pictures of the strawberry shortcake? And do they have an alternative? My son won't eat fruit...is there a chance we could get the cake without the strawberries for him?

I forgot to take a picture, because we dug in, but here's a picture from the internet:

I'm not sure if they have substitutes, but Disney is usually really good about that... so I'm sure they do.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

Glad to have you join!

I'll be in Rochester MN at the middle of June for a week. I sure hope it starts to warm up soon!

It should be! If not, I'm moving to Florida LOL

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Glad to have you join!

I'll be in Rochester MN at the middle of June for a week. I sure hope it starts to warm up soon!

I live a little over an hour away from Rochester and we will be in the 80's this week so when you are there in June it should be warm!

 

[fractal]

View attachment 284949

A review of the revue!

We arrived about 25 minutes early, so we wandered around and looked at the horses, and at the kaleidescope and found an area where hubby could smoke his pipe for a few minutes before dinner.

There was a long line at the dining hall, but the gal at the checkin podium told us we didn't need to stand in line, we had a reserved table and no one was going to take it. So we didn't get in that silly line... we just hung out in the street and I took a picture.

View attachment 284951

Once the line went down, we went in and were seated at a perfect table. Not too close to the stage (hubby is an introvert and didn't want to interact) but not so far away that we couldn't see (we did level 2 tier).

I had not heard one negative review on this show... and tonight was no exception. It was entertaining, the food was DELICIOUS, and that Strawberry Shortcake..... we were offered SS at a restaurant here in town, and we looked at each other and the mind reading was NO.. it'll be a huge letdown.

View attachment 284952
Loved the Chandeliers
View attachment 284953
Ben from the frozen sing a long that everyone raves about was working tonight (the base drum guy) he was great! I found the guy in the yellow to be a cutie!
View attachment 284954
View attachment 284955
Hubby couldn't decide if he liked the ribs or chicken better... I liked both too!

I really feel like this show is timeless. It doesn't seem old or old fashioned to me at all. Patriotic comes to mind.. and I like that!

After the show was done we wandered to the minnie van spot, and then requested one... it took them about 10 minutes or so to get there. Not too long.

This 2nd driver... I asked him about his history with Disney, and he literally listed so many jobs that it took the entire ride... he was a little annoying.. but the ride was enjoyable, and we got back to POP safely.

We wandered over to the bridge to AoA and it had rained that day, so there were lots of these out:
View attachment 284956

Next up.. Day 3

Glad you liked HDDR so much!

 

[Rista1313]

Day 3

Please bear with me for day 3, this is an epcot day, and it'll take me quite awhile for this one.

Also, I need to apologize, because I seem to slack most of the rest of the trip, .. I guess I was too busy living in the moment. I'll fill in the best I can.. and I may need to borrow photos from time to time. Especially for HS in future days to come.

I don't remember waiting on the bus this morning.. but it must have been fairly quick... I remember that the bag line was busy, but I got thru fairly quickly.

We stopped into Art of Disney before moving on to The Land. Hubby was looking for a mom's day present.

Our first fast pass:

We were very fortunate, we got middle section, 2nd row. OMGEE... I loved this ride so much! (I never saw the old one) I felt amazing.. the sites and smells really made this ride... I wanted to ride it again.

Our next fast pass was Living with the land.. this was another ride that I remember going on with my family... a must do for DH and I... but we had a little time. So we went back down the hill and found this sign so DH could smoke. I took a picture, so we would know where they were the rest of the day.

Is it a coincidence that the countries that normally smoke the most get smoking sections near them?

While we were sitting and relaxing waiting for our next Fast pass, and hubby smoking... I took a couple shots... one was a sky writer... first he/she wrote, "I love god" then this smiley face.

Look at all the freckles!

We got to chat with lots of people during that time... I always enjoy meeting new people from all around..

Pretty soon it was time for our FP
back up the hill (why didn't they level it out?)

Picture heavy for this ride...

I couldn't believe how many tomatoes were on this thing!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

I'm in and enjoying so far!!!

 

[allisonmomofthree]

This is awesome!! Following

 

[Swissmiss]

Glad you enjoyed Hoop-dee-doo. It's a must for us and great that it appeals to all ages.

 

[Rista1313]

I'm in and enjoying so far!!!

Welcome, glad you are following!

This is awesome!! Following

Glad to have you!

 

[louisrubin]

After the show was done we wandered to the minnie van spot, and then requested one... it took them about 10 minutes or so to get there. Not too long.

Good for you. When we were there in early May for the Mickey's Backyard BBQ, the app could not find any cars for the return trip for over 20 minutes, so we had to get the MK bus and then the resort bus. Luckily, they were close. We had 4 adults and 2 infants, without our scooter or stroller.

 

[clarabellej]

Enjoying your TR!

The pics are fine.

I have to admit I have purchased “Early Bird” on our latest flights. I do not like being pinned in.

We got to stay in a new Pop room in March. Very nice. I wasn’t a fan of the fat pillows, but other than that it was such a treat to have a newly renovated room.

I do need coffee/tea, so the in room coffee maker was fantastic.

I hear you about those darn Pop bus stops.

I swear on year when we were deposited at MK, I literally looked around and said “where are we??!” We were that far from MK.

Glad your hubby has the good sense to know he can’t walk at Disney. I have a kooky back myself and usually end up taking Aleve around the clock.

We did the dessert party too! Really fun. Sadly I did not like HEA. Just is not the same as Wishes!

Keep the reports coming

 

[clarabellej]

“his grandma was kinda uppity”

I love it!

Another vote for team Citrus Swirl!!! Absolutely one of my favorite treats. I only managed to have one. Not sure why?? Always a little awkward bc my daughter doesn’t like it or any of the ice cream at Sunshine Terrace. So I always have to make her sit and wait while I have mine.

Good trick your husband pulled on the crying kid. Kids. Gotta love ‘em.

Cute pics on Buzz and the Minnie Van.

We have yet to do Hoop Dee Doo, but did hang out over there for the Chip N Dale Campfire Sing A Long.

 

[Rista1313]

Day 3 cont...

After my favorite greenhouse... I was able to move up our last fast pass to go directly over to Nemo...

Hubby hates the mine mine mine birds, but I love them.

I was disappointed in this ride..it's basically the movie in short. Not sure what I was expecting... but I think this needs to be revamped.

I did enjoy the aquarium life after.. I had never seen a Manatee before... so that was cool... Aquariums are always my favorite!

Seahorses are so cool...

After Nemo.. we made our way over to club cool. I thought for sure hubby would like Beverly, he tends to like odd flavors... even HE was prepared to like Beverly... but no, he sure didn't! But we both loved what we call, "the bubble gum drink"
Peru's Inca Kola... so weird that it was called a Cola, and tasted like bubble gum

After our beverage stop... we started making our way to WS... our first stop were the Flower & Garden merchandise booths on the way in towards Canada. I may have lost my head and got a bunch of items, but in my defense, I hadn't bought myself any souvenirs up until this point, where hubby had bought quite a few items... I made up for it here!

I acquired:

and

I love the tshirt for the most part... my only complaint is that it's one of those extremely thin fabric tshirts... not my fave, but I couldn't resist... must have all the Orange Bird!

After we got all that sent off to the resort (love THAT service by the way! No carrying around packages... genius!)

We were once again off to WS... and it was time to spend some snack credits!

Our first stop.. Was at the Pineapple Promenade for hubby to get a Violet Lemonade. I generally don't care for flowery flavor, but I tried this... I don't know if it was because it was a hot day or what... but I did like this.

Our 2nd stop, it was decided that dessert was first... I wasn't going to backtrack, and the next booth I came upon was The Honey Bee-Stro, where I already knew I wanted to try the Marscapone Cheesecake and honey ice cream... I shared this sparingly with hubby... it was our intention to share everything.. but there are a few things along the way I didn't want to try, but he did.

and then our next stop was Northern Bloom, where Hubby wanted Scallops, and I wanted beef tips. We each tried eachothers, but ultimately decided we liked our own best.

The next two stops, I think were Scott's only... and I forgot to take pictures. At Cider house he had Pear Cider-brined Shredded Corned Beef with Braised Cabbage and Branston Dressing with Pears. and he also got Canard Confit Aux Gnocchi à la Parisienne: Braised Duck Confit with Parisian Gnocchi at Fleur de lys. I had bites of each, they were just ok.

Since we were near France... we had two more must do's on our list. One was to go to the Patisserie. Where we met the hitler CM.... We were in line to get something, and apparently I wasn't suppose to move to the glass cases, until I was told. I ended up getting scolded. =/ When it was our turn I got The Raspberry Lime Macaron, and hubby got a cherry cheesecake tart. I liked mine best, and he liked his best.

Note: I loved the ice in there... i asked for a glass of ice and ice water... the ice was cylinder shaped, and I was able to shove it into our water bottles... I swear it melted as fast as I put it in there. It was so hot that day... I had my mini frog tog out... soaking it every chance I got... I was getting overheated.

So what does one do when they get overheated? They get the 2nd thing on their list in France. A Gran Marnier slushie. We shared this... but I wish we had purchased two... it was so good.. and we are not big drinkers.

That's all for now... I'll cont day 3 later.