Trip Report Meet the Floridians

Hello humans!

Most of you know me by now, but for those of you who haven't followed my past TR's (particularly my most recent), I'll do some brief introductions. Feel free to check out my past reports (in my signature) if you'd like!

Who: I'm Brittany! I'm 25 and completely Disney obsessed. My better half is Dylan, also 25 and not quite as Disney obsessed. Prior to meeting me, he had never been to WDW! It was obviously top priority to remedy that.

This is our baby, Tink. She also loves Disney.

We got engaged in Magic Kingdom in June.. my dream come true! Though our wedding won't take place in Disney, it will be Disney themed.

While we were enjoying our time in the World, I accepted a 1st grade teaching position in Osceola County, Florida. Fast forward a month, and we packed up a U-Haul to relocate from Pennsylvania to the Sunshine State!

We currently live 20 minutes from Disney property, and one of our first purchases should come as no surprise. This report will be a collection of our adventures as annual passholders, and I'll update it with a Table of Contents as we go. Now, without further ado...

To all who come to this happy place, welcome!

 

[blreinsel]

Saturday, March 10

When friends text you and ask you to meet them at Epcot for F&G, the answer is always yes. We were off to enjoy the sights and smells of spring! We rode a few rides throughout the evening but I don't have pictures of any of those. If I remember correctly, we rode Frozen, Nemo, and 3 Caballeros. We also stopped to grab our AP magnets.. I'm too afraid to put the speciality ones on my car for fear of them being stolen, so they reside on my fridge instead.

Anyway, let's talk about the most important part.. FOOD! We both had the Beef Tenderloin Tips, Mushroom Bordelaise Sauce, Whipped Potatoes with Garden Vegetables – $6.75 Super yummy and something I'd have again!

We also tried the famous Frushi: Fresh Pineapple, Strawberry and Melon rolled with Coconut Rice, sprinkled with Toasted Coconut and Whipped Cream with Raspberry Sauce on the side – $5.95 The texture was a little weird, but it was REALLY good! I definitely recommend it.

And last but certainly not least, Frozen Desert Violet Lemonade – $4.25 This was AMAZING! So refreshing and delicious. My only complaint is that it doesn't come in a larger serving size.

We spent a few hours touring the world but decided to head out before closing. I ended up meeting Dylan at Magic Kingdom for a couple of hours after he got off of work. Since I hadn't snacked enough, I decided to get a Mickey pretzel and he got one of the Fanta slushies from the Lunching Pad in Tomorrowland. The cart I got my pretzel from was out of cheese so it was kind of dry. BUT, a dry Mickey pretzel is better than none at all.

Sunday, March 11

The day before, I had actually been on my way to Disney Springs to get a birthday present for the same friend who texted me to go to Epcot with her. I couldn't take her along with me, so that just meant I got to try again the next day. I successfully made it to Alex and Ani, however I did not successfully make it out of the store without also buying something for myself.

Anyway, Dylan met me after work to walk around for a little while and grab some dessert. Chocolate covered strawberry something or another and it was SO GOOD. Yes, their ice cream is expensive. But it's also TOTALLY worth it.

 

[blreinsel]

Friday, March 16

I had a teacher work day for ½ day today and as soon as I could bust out of there, I did! SPRING BREAK WAS FINALLY HERE!!!!! Where else would I start a week off of work? Magic Kingdom, of course. I was hungry so got the corn dog nugget meal from Casey's. Some of them tasted really weird.. almost like they were freezer burnt. I was disappointed... last time I had this it was perfect.

Anyway, while I ate Festival of Fantasy floated by and kept me entertained.

I finished my meal and then went to ride Little Mermaid.. I think this is the only thing I rode because it was REALLY busy. This is such an underrated part of the park.

I made it back to Main Street and stopped into the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor. I've always wanted to try something from here but the line is always way too long. It was kind of long today, but I decided to just suck it up and wait. My All American Sundae was totally worth the wait. I sat on the hub grass and savored every bite!

I headed out after that because the crowds were just too much for me to handle. Lines were way too long to ride anything and I knew I had a whole week coming up that I could make up for it. Spring Break was off to a great start!

 

[blreinsel]

Sunday, March 18

I started my day out at Sea World with some friends from work to enjoy their version of F&W/F&G, as well as seeing Easton Corbin in their concert series. I really enjoyed Sea World's festival.. their portion sizes are HUGE and the prices aren't bad. I hate to say this, but I really think that Disney could learn a thing or two from them about festivals.

The concert ended around 6pm (I think) and we decided that we weren't ready to go home just yet. Brooke is also a pass holder and is the friend I've mentioned going to the parks with before. She's a forum member too, but she chooses to lurk and not comment (calling @wishes2013) Anyway, we were on the app and saw that 7DMT had a 20 minute wait and were like LET'S GO. By the time we got there, the wait had gone back up, but MK was still strangely empty. Don't ask me to remember everything that we rode, but we accomplished quite a bit. I know that we rode Big Thunder and People Mover, but I can't remember what else because this wasn't our only trip to MK over spring break. We wanted ice cream so stopped by Auntie Gravity's to take care of that. I think they have the best ice cream in MK.

We had a FP+ for Buzz, but it had gone down and the doors were completely closed. It didn't look good and I figured that with it being so close to closing, the chances of them opening it back up were slim. We decided to head back to the hub to claim a spot for HEA and were surprised to get such a perfect spot only 15 minutes before showtime!

Afterwards, we went and used our "anything FP+" from Buzz going down to ride Big Thunder again. After that wild ride, we used our final FP+ for Splash. It kept getting backed up and there was an extended period of time where there's supposed to be music or some sort of audio playing but it wasn't working, making for an awkward boat ride in silence.

We headed out after this, but we'd be back at it the next day!

 

[blreinsel]

Monday, March 19

I was off to Epcot for a magical WDWMagic meet up! Who would I be meeting today?

@Longers, @becca_, and her sweet grandma!

We stood in Norway for quite some time, chatting away about their trips, future trips, and memories of past trips (like acorns, right @Longers?) Tracey was so kind and brought us some special treats from the UK! Dylan and I made a good dent in them later that night. They are both so sweet and fun to talk to, leaving me hopeful for future meet ups when they return to WDW! I've said it once and I'll say it 1,000 times again... there are no friends like Disney friends! I'm so happy that we finally got to meet.

After we parted ways, I hopped over to the Mexico QS for some lunch. I went with the chicken tacos again after loving them on my last visit. They didn't disappoint! @wishes2013 met me there so we could continue our spring break festivities. While I waited for her, these two random people came over and sat down at the table with me. I was relieved when Brooke finally got there lol.

I believe we had a FP+ for Soarin' first, so we headed over for our flight. At some point, we rode TT in the single rider line, so I'm going to go ahead and say that we did that after Soarin' since I can't actually remember what order we rode things.

We also rode Nemo at some point and enjoyed some F&G! I hadn't noticed this topiary on any of my prior visits.

We took ourselves on the self-guided Tea Tour in the UK and looked around in the shops.

We both tried the Orange Blossom Twist — Frozen Orange Pineapple topped with Vodka – $9.99 from the Joffrey's cart. It was pretty good and the size was good for the price.

At some point (for a reason that I can't remember) we decided to ride the monorail over to MK for a couple of hours. We hopped around using FP+'s and dodging the sporadic rain. I know that we rode Splash, Pooh, and Ariel, but there may have been a few others that I'm not remembering. Crowds were crazy sparse at both parks again today! We got pretty soaked on Splash and had a really good ride picture, but of course the boats got backed up and it was gone by the time we exited. We rode Pooh with a FP+ next before journeying under the sea with Ariel!

After exiting Under the Sea, we met up with @DisneyJeff and chatted while walking out of the park. We rode the monorail back to Epcot together and shared Disney stories like true WDWMagic friends would do. I was happy that we were finally able to meet up, as our plans had us just missing each other several times over the last couple of days! Before we parted ways, @DisneyJeff offered up an invitation that I couldn't possibly turn down! I'll get to that in a couple of posts.

Dylan and I met up after he got off of work and went back to MK for maybe an hour or so. We watched the fireworks from the Poly boat launch while enjoying some treats courtesy of @Longers. We rode a few things before heading home for the night.

 

[blreinsel]

Wednesday, March 21

@wishes2013 and I were at it again! We met up at MK and though we had FP+'s for Buzz, we weren't going to have enough time to ride before our ADR. We decided to move the FP+ time back and head to lunch! Where would we be dining?

Sigh. The restaurant was pretty empty so it was nice to not feel rushed or cramped. I went with the French Onion Soup, French Dip Sandwich, and a Master's Cupcake. My usual order, I know, but why mess with perfection? Brooke had the same, except she had the Carved Turkey Sandwich instead. I'll never get tired of BOG... I just love it so much. I'm so disappointed that dinner probably won't be an option anymore with the crazy price increase, but I'll continue coming back for lunch time and time again.

As many times as I've dined there, I've never noticed these beautiful, intricate roses on all of the pillars. I love them!

After lunch, we had some time before our FP+ window was open so decided to watch Philharmagic, one of my favorites! Crowds had picked up a bit today so we actually had somewhat of a wait to get in.

After the show, our FP+ window for the new Pirates was open so we were off to Adventureland! Keep on scrolling if you don't want to see the new red head scene.

I couldn't really focus on what they were saying because I was so occupied with the scene itself. I'll hopefully have a little more feedback after riding it a few more times. But, my first impression of the scene was good. It looks shiny and new and doesn't look out of place, which was my initial concern. For people who aren't familiar with the ride, they won't even notice that it's different than the original. The part that upset me more than this was THE MERMAID SKELETON IS GONE. The one at the very beginning of the ride, laying on the beach. I don't know why, but I loved that part lol.

We hopped on the train in Frontierland and rode it the whole way around (and then some), disembarking on our second stop in Fantasyland. We attempted to ride Small World and Ariel, but they both had longer waits than we cared to stand in. We opted for the People Mover and got a glimpse of Space Mountain with the lights on just as we were exiting the building.

Our FP+ window for Peter Pan was open, so we were off to Neverland! I know it's a classic and yes, it's a neat ride. But is it really worth more than a 20 minute wait? Really? I don't understand it.

We were ready for a snack and it came in the form of Dole Whips. We utilized the app to do mobile ordering and had our Dole Whips immediately, while everybody else continued to stand in line. SUCH a great feature. We took our snacks into the Tiki Room to visit some noisy birds and kill some time before our last FP+ of the day.

We arrived to a RIDICULOUSLY long FP+ line for Buzz that ended up being a 25 minute wait when it was all said and done. The ride kept going down and was so backed up. They had closed the doors and weren't letting people into the standby.. it was that bad. We were finally able to take on Zurg and Brooke got Galactic Hero... I struggle with this game so much. She was even telling me where to shoot and I still couldn't do it lol. Concentration. Determination.

We decided to head out after our galactic battle!

 

[blreinsel]

Thursday, March 22

Dylan and I spent the day at Sea World and had a great time! When we left, we had plans to meet up with one of his friends at Fantasia Gardens mini golf. There are two courses... the fun, typical mini golf course and one that's like a real golf course. Also rated one of the hardest mini golf courses by Golf Digest, I came to find out. I wasn't paying attention when they checked us in so didn't realize we were playing the hard, BORING course until we were standing at the first hole. I was irritated, but tried to be a good sport. They made it up to me and we played the other course when we were done.

These are from the FUN side of the course.

I feel like the mini golf courses are often forgotten with all of the other great things there are to do at Disney, but I highly recommend them! We've played all of the courses other than the summer side of Winter Summerland, and they're a great (cheap) way to spend some time sans parks!

 

[blreinsel]

Friday, March 23

Dylan and I had a couple of FP+'s at Hollywood Studios before some pretty great evening plans. This was the last day we were allowed into the parks before our spring blockout dates took effect. I had to get one last ride on two of my favorites!

The hotel looked beautiful tonight.

Next, we had a VIP pass to see Aerosmith!

After that, we had to head out of the park and over to the Yacht Club. We had a few minutes to walk around and check out the beautiful resort, inhaling the sweet aroma that everybody always talks about. We walked outside and sat under the lighthouse, enjoying the perfect evening!

Grumpy Gills

After a few minutes of relaxing, it was time for us to go and meet @DisneyJeff to check in for our fun evening! But what exactly were we doing? We would be joining Jeff, his wife, and his aunt on the Illuminations Fireworks Cruise! The cruises can accommodate up to 10 people and include snacks and non-alcoholic drinks. They also gave us really nice blankets to use since it had cooled off a bit as the sun went down. Our driver was training and was super sweet! She said that she already drives the boat for the Pirates cruise, but apparently has to go through different training for this one. We drove all around the Boardwalk area, past the Swan & Dolphin, around the Hollywood Studios entrance, and eventually to the Epcot area. I'd say we drove around for at least a good 30 minutes. I couldn't get over how amazing of an experience it was! Our company was pretty great, too.

Jeff's wife and Dylan kept making fun of us for our forum addiction and ridiculous knowledge of Disney. They also teased us about knowing so much about all of you and your trips. I think they enjoyed having each other... somebody that understands what it's like to live with a Disney and WDWMagic addict.

 

[blreinsel]

Friday, March 23 cont.

We parked under the World Showcase bridge just before showtime. We had a boat on either side of us, sitting with this perfect view in the canal!

The show started and there was a little bit of commotion on one of the boats next to us. We quickly realized that the man on the boat had just proposed! We wished them congratulations before turning back to the show. When we returned to the dock later, the CM's had hung a congratulations banner on the railing. Well done Disney. That guy obviously did some planning, too!

I've never really paid much attention to Illuminations, but this experience helped me to appreciate it in a new light! How could you not with a view like this?

We went directly back to the dock following the show, and I was on Cloud 9! This was SUCH an amazing experience and I can't thank @DisneyJeff enough for allowing us to join them! We had so much fun and it's a memory that will last a lifetime. I'll be sure to add the picture that we took together once Jeff does his TR (hint hint ).

Oh! One last thing... we saw a boat that was a bar. A full service bar. How freaking cool!!!! Our driver told us that it was called the Fantasy and somebody on our boat joked that the bar boat was fantasy, while our boat with non-alcoholic drinks was reality. I told Dylan that he should look into it for his bachelor party. If he doesn't, I may look into it for my bachelorette party.

 

[blreinsel]

Friday, March 30

Dylan and I met up with @sheriffwoody and R at Disney Springs to get drinks, with the plan being to do so at The Edison. However when we arrived, they told us that they were currently seating by reservation only. They said that we could try to find a seat at one of the bars, but we weren't having any luck. We decided to continue on into Enzo's Hideaway where we lucked into four people leaving as we approached! We spent a few hours chatting and enjoying the yummy drinks they have to offer! We spent a tad too much money, but the drinks and company were both worthwhile.

My first drink was the Luciano Spritz, which was really good! When the bartender handed me my drink Dylan said, "Is that a tomato?" Nope.. it's a blood orange lol. I went with some Moscato next and it was AMAZING. I ended up having another glass later on. I can't speak for what everybody else had, but I know that they enjoyed them as well!

Here we are trying to avoid the guys' golf talk... feeling pretty good by this point.

We settled our bills around 11:30pm and walked over to Blaze for some late night food. We were all pleased with our meals and the extra time to hangout together. We parted ways after that, already making plans to get together when they're back in May. Enzo's was a lot of fun and I would recommend trying it out! However, don't let yourself get carried away because those drinks are expensive.

 

[blreinsel]

Sunday, April 1

Happy Easter! Dylan had to work all day today, so I was off to fill my Disney void as best as I could without being allowed into a park. I parked at the TTC and then walked to the Poly.

As I approached the pools, I noticed this sign detailing the day's activities, which I thought was a nice touch.

I stopped by Capt. Cook's for lunch, getting none other than the Pulled Pork Nachos. They really loaded them up today, too!

After lunch, I ran upstairs to get a Pina Colava for the road. Living my best life. I sat on the beach between the Poly and GF to enjoy my drink.

It was such a beautiful day and I was so content just swinging away, listening to the distant sounds of MK... boats, the train, and Friendship Faire. I ended up sitting there for about an hour!

I finally decided to continue on my walk.. as I was sitting there, I had noticed that the Wedding Pavilion gates were open again! However, by the time I got over there, this was what greeted me. No Wedding Pavilion for me today.

Soon I arrived at the GF, my true destination for the day! I was dying to see the Easter Egg Display!

Front and back of the Nightmare Before Christmas egg.

 

[blreinsel]

Sunday, April 1 cont.

More Easter Egg Display! Front and back of the Zootopia egg.

Front and back of the Aristocats egg... I love this movie and was so excited to see it represented!

Isn't he the cutest!?

 

[blreinsel]

Sunday, April 1 cont.

Front and back of Tangled.

Front and back of Aladdin.

Love this one!

This one was divided into quarters, each one featuring a different season.

This one had a different villain on each side.

I think this is actually the back of one that I already posted it, come to think of it. But still really neat!

And now, my absolute FAVORITE! I only briefly considered grabbing it and running.

 

[LisaBelle]

Monday, March 19

I was off to Epcot for a magical WDWMagic meet up! Who would I be meeting today?
View attachment 274316

@Longers, @becca_, and her sweet grandma!
View attachment 274315

We stood in Norway for quite some time, chatting away about their trips, future trips, and memories of past trips (like acorns, right @Longers?) Tracey was so kind and brought us some special treats from the UK! Dylan and I made a good dent in them later that night. They are both so sweet and fun to talk to, leaving me hopeful for future meet ups when they return to WDW! I've said it once and I'll say it 1,000 times again... there are no friends like Disney friends! I'm so happy that we finally got to meet.
View attachment 274313

After we parted ways, I hopped over to the Mexico QS for some lunch. I went with the chicken tacos again after loving them on my last visit. They didn't disappoint! @wishes2013 met me there so we could continue our spring break festivities. While I waited for her, these two random people came over and sat down at the table with me. I was relieved when Brooke finally got there lol.
View attachment 274317

I believe we had a FP+ for Soarin' first, so we headed over for our flight. At some point, we rode TT in the single rider line, so I'm going to go ahead and say that we did that after Soarin' since I can't actually remember what order we rode things.
View attachment 274314

We also rode Nemo at some point and enjoyed some F&G! I hadn't noticed this topiary on any of my prior visits.
View attachment 274318

We took ourselves on the self-guided Tea Tour in the UK and looked around in the shops.
View attachment 274320

We both tried the Orange Blossom Twist — Frozen Orange Pineapple topped with Vodka – $9.99 from the Joffrey's cart. It was pretty good and the size was good for the price.
View attachment 274319

At some point (for a reason that I can't remember) we decided to ride the monorail over to MK for a couple of hours. We hopped around using FP+'s and dodging the sporadic rain. I know that we rode Splash, Pooh, and Ariel, but there may have been a few others that I'm not remembering. Crowds were crazy sparse at both parks again today! We got pretty soaked on Splash and had a really good ride picture, but of course the boats got backed up and it was gone by the time we exited. We rode Pooh with a FP+ next before journeying under the sea with Ariel!
View attachment 274312

After exiting Under the Sea, we met up with @DisneyJeff and chatted while walking out of the park. We rode the monorail back to Epcot together and shared Disney stories like true WDWMagic friends would do. I was happy that we were finally able to meet up, as our plans had us just missing each other several times over the last couple of days! Before we parted ways, @DisneyJeff offered up an invitation that I couldn't possibly turn down! I'll get to that in a couple of posts.

Dylan and I met up after he got off of work and went back to MK for maybe an hour or so. We watched the fireworks from the Poly boat launch while enjoying some treats courtesy of @Longers. We rode a few things before heading home for the night.

Love the photos of you, @Longers & @becca_ What an awesome meet up!

 

[blreinsel]

Sunday, April 1 cont.

I love this one! Can you find Zazu?

Another underrepresented Disney movie!

I think this one is super cute, too!

I was obsessed with this movie when I was a kid! It's so good!

 

[blreinsel]

Sunday, April 1 cont.

Finishing up!

Front and back of this very GF-esque egg.

While I walked around and observed the amazing detail of the eggs, Cinderella and Charming led a parade of little princesses from the upper level to the lobby for a royal dance. I assume this is part of the special tea party that they do at the GF or something? Either way, it was cute.

I finished looking at the amazing eggs and then hopped on the monorail to head back to my car. I'm so happy that I got to see the display for myself this year because pictures really don't do them justice.

 

[blreinsel]

Love the photos of you, @Longers & @becca_ What an awesome meet up!

It really was! I'm so happy we were able to make our schedules match up.

 

[LisaBelle]

Friday, March 23 cont.

We parked under the World Showcase bridge just before showtime. We had a boat on either side of us, sitting with this perfect view in the canal!
View attachment 274377

The show started and there was a little bit of commotion on one of the boats next to us. We quickly realized that the man on the boat had just proposed! We wished them congratulations before turning back to the show. When we returned to the dock later, the CM's had hung a congratulations banner on the railing. Well done Disney. That guy obviously did some planning, too!
View attachment 274378

I've never really paid much attention to Illuminations, but this experience helped me to appreciate it in a new light! How could you not with a view like this?
View attachment 274379

View attachment 274380

We went directly back to the dock following the show, and I was on Cloud 9! This was SUCH an amazing experience and I can't thank @DisneyJeff enough for allowing us to join them! We had so much fun and it's a memory that will last a lifetime. I'll be sure to add the picture that we took together once Jeff does his TR (hint hint ).

Oh! One last thing... we saw a boat that was a bar. A full service bar. How freaking cool!!!! Our driver told us that it was called the Fantasy and somebody on our boat joked that the bar boat was fantasy, while our boat with non-alcoholic drinks was reality. I told Dylan that he should look into it for his bachelor party. If he doesn't, I may look into it for my bachelorette party.

Friday, March 30
What a spectacular view for Illuminations! That was super nice of @DisneyJeff to invite you & Dylan!
Dylan and I met up with @sheriffwoody and R at Disney Springs to get drinks, with the plan being to do so at The Edison. However when we arrived, they told us that they were currently seating by reservation only. They said that we could try to find a seat at one of the bars, but we weren't having any luck. We decided to continue on into Enzo's Hideaway where we lucked into four people leaving as we approached! We spent a few hours chatting and enjoying the yummy drinks they have to offer! We spent a tad too much money, but the drinks and company were both worthwhile.

My first drink was the Luciano Spritz, which was really good! When the bartender handed me my drink Dylan said, "Is that a tomato?" Nope.. it's a blood orange lol. I went with some Moscato next and it was AMAZING. I ended up having another glass later on. I can't speak for what everybody else had, but I know that they enjoyed them as well!
View attachment 274398

Here we are trying to avoid the guys' golf talk... feeling pretty good by this point.
View attachment 274399

We settled our bills around 11:30pm and walked over to Blaze for some late night food. We were all pleased with our meals and the extra time to hangout together. We parted ways after that, already making plans to get together when they're back in May. Enzo's was a lot of fun and I would recommend trying it out! However, don't let yourself get carried away because those drinks are expensive.

More magical meet ups! Your first drink looks delicious!

 

[LisaBelle]

OMG! Those eggs are unbelievable!

 

[sheriffwoody]

WOWZA those eggs!!! I would love to see those in person.

So glad we got to hang out! I have complained about that bill ever since. It was worth it though, we had a great time!

Also, I am so proud of you keeping up with your trip report! I mean you already have today posted...that's dedication.

 

[Matt and Kelly]

Love all the details they put into the Easter eggs!