Trip Report Livin' La Vida Local

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.

For those of you that have been following my adventures for awhile now, welcome back! For those of you that are just joining my adventures, I'll do some quick introductions before we jump on in!

I'm Brittany and this is my prince, Dylan. We are from Pennsylvania and got engaged at MK a little over a year ago. We took a page from Walt's book shortly thereafter and chased our dreams, leading us to central Florida. I teach 1st grade and Dylan works at the Magnolia/Palm (Disney) golf courses located across from the Poly and Grand Floridian. After living in FL for a full year now, we are 100% certain that we won't be moving back to PA. We are Floridians through and through and can't imagine living our crazy life together anywhere else.

You'll see lots of faces in my report (including some of yours!), but this is the one you'll see most often. This is my very best Disney friend, Brooke (@wishes2013)! We met through this site and were brought together when we realized that we would both be teaching 1st grade at the same school. I'm not exaggerating when I say that you can either find us at school or Disney... we're together more often than we're not.

You can find the ongoing trip report that chronicles our first year living in FL and being passholders here. This report will serve as more of a "highlight reel," rather than detailing every moment of every trip we take to the parks. But fear not, there will still be lots of report to read! If you're looking for your Disney fix or a way to chase those Disney blues away, you can most certainly find it here.

To all who come to this happy place, welcome!

 

[DisneyJeff]

Oh my gosh.. that’s literally one of the ones we’re considering. That would be amazing!!

We would love it!!! It's our first Disney cruise. Can't wait!!

 

[blreinsel]

Saturday, January 4

Being off for 2 weeks means that my friends all leave to go visit family for the holidays and it’s a longgggg time being apart! Lol. We reunited for an evening in MK! We had FPs for Big Thunder, Peter Pan, and 7 Dwarfs.

We tried the new Dole Whip and it was delicious!

We also bought our first Parks Wishables. Actually Caitlin got a Frozen one, but it was equally as exciting lol.

We, naturally, included them on our mine adventure.

We watched HEA and that wrapped up our night!

 

[blreinsel]

Dylan and I decided to be crazy this morning. Wish us luck!

 

[ELeigh]

Dylan and I decided to be crazy this morning. Wish us luck!
View attachment 440738

Good luck!!

 

[Swissmiss]

I just missed you by a few hours at MK on 4 January ... and we rode Mine Trains and Big Thunder too . But it looks by the lighting during your ride that we were already on our first plane back (if not already the second!)

Hope you and Brandon were successful this morning

 

[Doc Disney]

I'm crying over all the Christmas decorations - so beautiful !! I wish I had time to see them all last trip

 

[fizzieee]

I hope you guys got a decent boarding group and had a great time yesterday. Looks like a mad house!

 

[blreinsel]

Hiiiiiiiii! Remember me? I'm finally making some time during this craziness to check in on all my Disney pals and update you on my adventures from the last 3 months. I'm like the rest of you... missing Disney and wanting to live vicariously through my past self. So here we go!

Sunday, January 12

When I last left you, Dylan and I were at Studios before sunrise to snag a boarding group for RoTR. We arrived to the park around 6:05am and went through security and the tapstiles rather quickly. I didn't anticipate having as much time between actually getting into the park and the time we could make a boarding group, so we got in there and looked at each other like "now what?" Lol. I suggested getting coffee, but Dylan wasn't thrilled about the long Starbucks line. I'm a coffee snob, so Joffrey's was out of the question. I pointed out that we could either pass the time just standing around on Hollywood Blvd. or we could pass the time and have coffee in the end.

Annnnd then we were here.

If I remember correctly, we had about 10 or 15 minutes left, so we just wandered around and ended up at the Chinese Theater end of Hollywood Blvd. You could feel the tension building the closer we got to 7:00am, and when the clock ticked over, the roar began.. quiet at first, but louder and louder as more families snagged their boarding group. I, on the other hand, was roaring in a whole different way because (huge shocker here) - MY APP WASN'T WORKING. I tried everything to no avail. I finally had to turn my phone the whole way off because I didn't know what to do. And then, by some miracle, my phone turned back on and opened the app, allowing me to grab a boarding group at 7:06am. I couldn't believe that I still managed to get one, but I breathed a huge sigh of relief (as did Dylan - he didn't want to deal with angry Brittany ).

We attempted to ride a couple of things, but by the time we got moving, waits had already started to climb. I think that we maybe had a ToT FP and did RnRC in the single rider line.

Thankful that he's always willing to join me on these crazy Disney adventures of mine. ☺

We kind of wandered around for a bit, and eventually decided to head home and wait for our group to be called. I think it was around 9:00am when we went home and we got back to the park around 1:00pm because they were getting close to our group. The ride went down for a little while somewhere in the 60s range, but it didn't last long.

We decided to just head over toe GE when we arrived because we were only a few groups away!

Annnnnnnd then the ride went down... on group 92. TWO groups before ours. We stood there and waited for awhile, hoping it would be a quick fix, but it wasn't looking promising. We eventually decided to go find something else to occupy our time until things were running again.

For me, that came in the form of a strawberry margarita.

I think we ended up having to wait around an hour or so before the ride finally came back up. Things finally started moving and we were excited, so we forgot all about the wait!

We got in line at 2:45pm and it took us 15 minutes of waiting in line before we got to the first preshow. That played itself out and then we were back "in line" at 3:05pm. We got off of the ride at 3:20pm. So, what did we think?

Let me premise my review by saying I have never seen a single Star Wars movie. It's not my jam, and I have no interest in ever seeing the movies. I'm not a fan in any way, shape, or form, aside from loving baby Yoda. Dylan has seen the movies and enjoyed them, but he's not a huge fan either.

This preshow/area was incredible. I was blown away at how immersive it was and at the fact that the preshow felt like a ride, rather than just a show.

I expected more to happen here with the Stormtroopers, but the interactive part right after this with all of the CMs was immersive. I felt uncomfortable because it was intense and I had no idea who the CMs were supposed to be or even if they were "good guys" or "bad guys," but it was good show.

As for the ride... I posted this to my Instagram story immediately after we walked off of the ride, so I'll let that speak for me.

I was extremely underwhelmed. After all the build up, I felt that it was a huge letdown. I kept hearing, "You'll love it even if you don't know anything about Star Wars! It's unlike any other ride. It's so innovative!" But getting off of that ride, the only thing I could say was "meh."

A few messages that I sent to friends shortly after we rode:
1. "I was extremely underwhelmed. The preshow elements were more exiting to me than the ride itself. So many missed opportunities to make it great. I'll tick to Flight of Passage."
2. The trackless system was neat, I'll give it that. I really expected (and wanted) the AT ATs to move. That was one of the main parts where I was like 'wow Disney, missed opportunity for a WOW moment.' If I felt like I was going to get stepped on, it would have been way more exciting. Dylan and I both agreed that it just seemed like the whole ride was building and building, but it never got to the WOW moment. When we pulled into the unloading zone I said, 'Is that it?' And we just kind of sat there for a minute thinking maybe it was a fake out and it wasn't really the end... but it was lol."
3. "A huge letdown, IMO. Was it cool? Yes. The preshow was very involved and immersive. But with a preshow that good, I expected to be at a loss for words after the ride. Flight of Passage is a million times better."


So, that's my review lol. You can fight me, yell at me, scream that I'm wrong from the rooftops... but my opinion won't change. I'm happy that so many people have gotten so much joy out of it and I know that many of you will continue to do so. But I just won't be joining you.

We headed home pretty shortly after our ride, at least satisfied that we had gotten to try something new at Disney.

 

[blreinsel]

Hi! I hope that you are all healthy and doing well! You would think with having so much time at home in the last few months, I'd have been better about catching up on my report... but you know, better that I just stay consistent and be several months behind at all times. It's been awhile, obviously, so forgive me for the lack of details I have to include with the following posts! Here we go!

February 2, 2020

I went to Epcot to celebrate a friend's birthday, and this was during Festival of the Arts. We mostly just wondered around WS and took in the sights, utilized some of the photo op locations, and ate some festival food!

I can't remember what this dish is, but it was really good! I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, because I'm a super picky eater and it wasn't overly visually appealing to me at first.

This is the deconstructed strawberry cheesecake, which is a repeat from last year. It's sooooo good though! I could eat this repeatedly and not tire of it.

I loved these butterfly photo ops!

We also painted the mural - it was Figment at the time.

It was a great afternoon, but those are the only pictures I have to commemorate it!


February 9, 2020

Some random pictures from a quick visit to AK!

I can't even put into words how much I miss watching FoLK.

February 16, 2020

My parents were flying in for a visit in the afternoon, so I headed to AK for the morning to get my FoLK fix! I watched a few shows... I bumped into "King Ray" while standing in line for one of the shows, and he invited me to come and sit with him, which I obviously wasn't going to turn down! Attending a FoLK show with Ray is about as close to Disney royalty as you can get lol. He's just as entertaining to watch during the show as the performers! I always enjoy our chats and have found myself thinking of him often while the parks have been shut down. I know that he's as anxious as the rest of us to get back, and I can't wait to catch up with him!

 

[blreinsel]

February 21, 2020

In the county I work in, we don't get President's Day off of school. We get the following Friday off instead, for Rodeo Day. We, of course, always take advantage of having the day off and head to the parks. We started the chilly Florida day with a lunch ADR at Beaches and Cream! I love this restaurant so much and have found myself wishing I could eat there more than a few times over the last few months. This was shortly after they reopened following the renovations, so I was excited to see the updates.

I'm usually pretty critical of Disney updates, but I'm a huge fan of these ones! The restaurant maintained it's classy charm but now feels so much more open and roomy. I love all of the artwork they have on the walls, too. They did a great job!

I had a chicken sandwich and a milkshake, both of which were amazing! I'm pretty sure I ordered the exact same things as the last time I ate here, but I'm a creature of habit.

We went to the desk at both Yacht and Beach Club to look at their pin books, and managed to get some we had been looking for. We hopped on a bus to MK next to use our FPs and do some more pin trading.

I'm telling you... It was uncharacteristically COLD and we were not handling it well. We're all from the North so you'd think we'd be used to it, but we have thin Florida blood now.

We found these cuties causing trouble in the gift shop beside Splash Mountain.

We eventually headed out because we had plans to go to the rodeo later in the evening. We were relieved to get on a heated Disney bus, that's for sure! We documented our successful pin hunting day before parting ways.

 

[blreinsel]

February 22, 2020

When Disney announced a new quick service in Epcot, I was overjoyed! I find the Epcot food options to be seriously lacking (for my taste at least), and this one is exactly what they needed. Dylan and I headed there the weekend right after they opened to check it out. I did go over to read the bar menu, but there wasn't really anything that spoke to me. I've heard a lot of people rave about it though!

There wasn't a ton of change on the inside, but it did look refreshed and very well decorated.

Dylan had the Kansas Half Chicken and I had the North Carolina Chopped Smoked Pork Butt Platter. We chose to order a variety of things so we could share and sample the menu!

I literally cannot say enough good things about this place. I'm not even a huge Epcot fan, but I went 3 weeks in a row specifically to eat at Regal Eagle, if that puts it into perspective for you. The portion sizes are decent and the prices aren't bad. All of the main dishes and side dishes that I've tried are amazing and I'm so excited to get back there to eat again! I highly recommend eating here!

February 29, 2020

To prove my point.... Week 2

It was Leap Day, and at the time, we were excited to be getting "an extra day of magic." Jokes on us.

We were in search of a particular sweatshirt, and after checking 3 Epcot stores with no luck, we headed to Disney Springs to check World of Disney. We stopped by the PhotoPass store for some pictures while we were there. It was rapid fire pose changes, and we felt super uncomfortable. But it was fun nevertheless!

 

[blreinsel]

February 29, 2020

A few more from our photo shoot.

March 4, 2020

It was the first day of Flower & Garden and I could hardly contain my excitement, waiting for school to be over so we could head to Epcot! After months of waiting, I was finally reunited with my true love...

It was just as amazing as I remembered it.

I was bummed that the Honey Bee-Stro wasn't open yet, so we continued around WS and sampled some other dishes! I'm sad that I never did get to have anything from the Bee-Stro.

These are the Crab and Cheese Wontons from Lotus House and they were delicious!

Another of my favorite returning dishes - Potato Pancakes from Germany.

March 7, 2020

Week 3 of Regal Eagle.

 

[blreinsel]

March 12, 2020

It was Brooke's birthday so we were off to MK to celebrate! This was also the first day of our Spring Break, so we had double the reason to celebrate!

We were greeted by some friends when we arrived, so we stopped to "get our ears on" before heading to our first FP.

No birthday is complete without a Dole Whip, so that was on our list of things to do. I think that mine was pineapple and raspberry twist?

We walked around, taking pictures and just enjoying the evening.

This was, of course, when the pandemic was gaining speed and things were getting out of hand. Later in the evening, we passed a group of people and overheard them say, "Disney closing for this long is unheard of.. it's like 9/11. You can remember where you were and what you were doing when the planes crashed, and you'll always remember where you were when Disney announced that they were closing." We laughed and joked about how ridiculous it was, but we were in line and next to board a Pirates of the Caribbean boat when they announced, so maybe it wasn't that crazy of a thing to say. The announcement made us even more determined to enjoy every second of our evening in MK, because we had no idea when we would be back.

The last time I saw HEA for who knows how long. The tears were flowing!

In somewhat related news, Brooke mentioned in passing awhile back that she needed a "castle cake" for her birthday because she was turning 25. Well, Christen and I took that and ran with it, resulting in one of the best birthday surprises I've ever been a part of. This cake was a labor of love, to say the least, but we had so much fun making it and fortunately laughed more than we cried.

 

[blreinsel]

March 14, 2020

Now that we knew the parks were closing, it was imperative that I get another violet lemonade to hold me over! We headed to Epcot for a few hours, with really only one thing on the agenda. We probably ate at Regal Eagle too, who am I kidding. I just don't have a picture to prove it!

March 15, 2020

I had made morning Studios FPs long before the park closing announcement, but I obviously had to go to AK on my last park day for who knows how long. One of my FPs was Slinky Dog, so I definitely wasn't giving that up! I decided to keep my FPs and then hop to AK for the rest of the day.

I started with my Slinky FP, and then decided to wait in the single rider line for Smugglers Run, since I hadn't ridden it since August. I wasn't a huge fan of it the first ride either, so I wanted to give it a second chance. I waited probably 30 minutes or so, and was the gunner (I think that's what it's called? Whoever sits in the middle row).

I'm still not a HUGE fan, but I did enjoy the ride more this time around.

Next up was a Tower of Terror FP.

I took a coffee break and grabbed a drink from Starbucks before using my Mania FP. I considered waiting standby for Runaway Railway, but the line didn't look promising and I wanted to get to AK. I was already noticing the crowds starting to thin out, so I was hopeful for a productive afternoon with some monkeys!


Hellllllooooo beautiful!

My only true goal was to watch FoLK multiple times, and because the crowds were so light, I was able to scan into the FP line and then immediately make another FP for the next show. This allowed me to get great seats every show, so I was a happy camper. There also just weren't that many people there, so the CMs were mostly just letting us choose where we wanted to sit. Right before one of the shows started, I noticed a guest laying on the floor inside the theater with some important looking CMs gathered around. Not long after, the announcement came that the next show was cancelled and that everybody had to exit the theater. I was bummed, but hoped everything was okay. I decided to take advantage of a 15 minute safari wait to pass the time until the next show... I ended up basically walking on, so that was even better!

I was able to watch the rest of the shows, most of which ended with me in tears. I was happy that I got to see some of my favorite monkeys perform, but it was all so bittersweet.

Same, Timon.

It was really an eerie feeling being in the parks this day, having no idea what was to come but trying to soak up every minute. I'm thankful that I was able to have such a great last day, and it has left me hungry for more, as I'm sure you can all relate to!

After exiting Harambe Theatre following the last show of the day, I slowly made my way to the front of the park. I sat on one of the rock walls near the Tree of Life and just took it all in, memorizing every detail and feeling equally as happy as I was sad. You can see just how empty the park was by this point (around 6:30pm) in the picture below. I finally drug myself out of the park, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't have tears in my eyes as I walked.

See ya real soon.

 

[Songbird76]

I'm glad you got to go on the last day before they closed. I am glad we went last year instead of this year, since we don't get to go often, but I imagine it's really hard for you, being used to going whenever you feel like it and then suddenly have that cut off indefinitely. It's not so bad when you aren't expecting to get to go anyway, but I bet it's like a withdrawal for you! Will you get to go back with your AP as soon as they open, or is that restricted?

 

[macefamily]

You really tugged on our heart strings. That was very emotional. On the lighter side, we're hoping that things level out in FL and we're able to fulfill our reservations for next Wed - Fri. We're moving our daughter down to Jacksonville, and reserved our APH tickets for Wed - Fri. Also have a few dining reservations that we're looking forward to. Be safe.

 

[blreinsel]

I'm glad you got to go on the last day before they closed. I am glad we went last year instead of this year, since we don't get to go often, but I imagine it's really hard for you, being used to going whenever you feel like it and then suddenly have that cut off indefinitely. It's not so bad when you aren't expecting to get to go anyway, but I bet it's like a withdrawal for you! Will you get to go back with your AP as soon as they open, or is that restricted?

You are so right! I try not to be all “life is soooo hard because I can’t go to Disney whenever I want,” but it has definitely been tough not being able to go, living so close. I’ve been trying to look on the bright side and enjoy the “pre-feelings” that I don’t get to enjoy leading up to a trip anymore, so that’s at least been a little bit fun. I’ll be back very soon! I’m going to update with my plans after I post the last of my pictures here!

You really tugged on our heart strings. That was very emotional. On the lighter side, we're hoping that things level out in FL and we're able to fulfill our reservations for next Wed - Fri. We're moving our daughter down to Jacksonville, and reserved our APH tickets for Wed - Fri. Also have a few dining reservations that we're looking forward to. Be safe.

This whole experience has made me that much more thankful for Disney, as I’m sure so many people here can relate to! Distance truly does make the heart grow fonder.

I’m hoping that things calm down here soon for so many reasons, but I honestly think that I’ll feel safer at Disney than anywhere else because they’ll be so over the top with cleaning and safety protocols! Keeping my fingers crossed that you get to enjoy your days back in the parks!

 

[blreinsel]

May 20, 2020

My friends and I were super excited to reunite in general, but mostly because it was Springs’ opening day! I only have a few pictures, but we had a great night! I squealed like a little girl and cried when drove under the Disney arch again for the first time (in forever), and I maintained those giddy feelings throughout the night! We got some boozy beverages to enjoy and then had dinner at Polite Pig.

I’ve been to Springs probably 4 or 5 times since they opened, but I’ve taken very few pictures. We mostly just go and walk around for something to do. These two are from last week when we went to Blaze for dinner.

Arendelle Aqua Punch - this was amazing and so refreshing!

I’ve also recently developed a gelato addiction, so this was a necessary stop.

I’m sure that you’ve already read everybody else’s thoughts on the “new” Springs, but I’ll share my own as well. Overall I feel pretty safe while there and MOST people are good about adhering to the rules. I’ve noticed things get a lot more lax over the weeks since they reopened, but the majority of people keep their masks on and whatnot. The crowds have been really low, though those have also picked back up a bit since reopening day. It seems like the later in the evening it gets, the more people get “bold” and walk around with their masks off. I saw a group of young girls one day, one of which was wearing a “birthday girl” sash. A couple of the girls in her entourage had drinks in their hands, but the rest did not (including the birthday girl). However, nobody in the party was wearing a mask. They were just walking around and were not sitting down, finishing a meal/drinks, etc. So I was a little bothered by that one, but other than that, like I said, people have been pretty good. I’m hopeful that this remains the case once the parks reopen. The temperature screening process is super quick and easy, and the CMs there are always so happy and welcoming. I’m anxious to see what the screenings look like for the parks, because as we all know, those lines are a bit longer.

Anyway, I’m officially caught up and ready to get back to more current reporting soon!

 

[blreinsel]

Reopening Plans

Passholder Preview @ MK - Thursday, 7/9
Animal Kingdom - Monday, 7/13
Magic Kingdom- Tuesday, 7/14 (my birthday!)
Hollywood Studios - Wednesday, 7/15

I was very fortunate to get all of my reservations with no trouble at all, so Dylan and I are super excited to finally be back in a few days! We’re a little uneasy, with the continuously rising cases, but we’re putting our trust in God and Disney and hoping for the best! I’ll be sure to share our experiences here, but if you want to follow along in “real time,” you can follow me on Instagram (@enchantedtaleswithbrittany).

 

[blreinsel]

Some random, non Disney life updates!

Dylan and I purchased a house back in March, so that has certainly kept us busy over the last few months. We’re so happy to have more space and to put down some roots here in the Sunshine State!

The house came with a fenced in yard, so that was all we needed to make the decision to add another pup to our family! We adopted this sweet, sweet girl who we named Wendy back in April. Unfortunately, she had parvovirus and lost her battle after living with us for only a few days. It was absolutely devastating for both of us and we still think about and miss her every single day.

But, after every storm comes a rainbow, and our little rainbow happens to be named Wally! ❤

He was adopted from the same shelter where we found Wendy, so it felt a little bit like we were honoring her by welcoming this sweet boy into our home. We miss her so much, but we are so thankful that she led us to Wally! His paperwork said “Wall-E,” so he was a Disney dog from the start and clearly meant to be ours. It took Tink a little while to really warm up to him, but now they’re the best of friends in the way that only brothers and sisters can be.

Dylan and I also celebrated our 1 year anniversary at the end of June, and it’s so crazy to me that we’ve already been married for that long. Time really does fly when you’re having fun.

So that’s it! We’ve enjoyed spending time at home together and with the pups, all while adjusting to this new normal. As much as I’m excited for Disney to reopen and life to eventually get back to “normal,” I have truly cherished every single moment we’ve gotten to spend together as a family over the last few months. Life is always so hectic, so having this time to slow down and just “be” has been a welcomed change.

Thank you for reading my always delayed TR, and I’ll try to be better over the next couple of weeks, because I know that you’re all hungry for some Disney pictures!