Trip Report Mini side trip to Disney Springs

Where: St. Pete Beach with a side Trip to Disney Springs
When: Thanksgiving week, but DS will be on Tuesday Nov 20th
Who:

Good grief could that picture be bigger? At least you won't have to guess if it's us!

Here's how we decided to go from Michigan to Florida for Thanksgiving week. Before the conversation let me tell you I seem to get stuck hosting Thanksgiving at my place every year. And I don't WANT to host it. I don't cook Turkey.. hubby barely likes it.. and I'm just over being made to host. So the conversation went something like this:

Me: Hey, do you want to go down to St. Pete Beach for Thanksgiving week?

Him: why?

Me: Cuz you know how much I love hosting Thanksgiving dinner

Him: yep... let's DO it!

Can you tell I had to twist his arm? And from there the trip was booked! This'll be our 3rd time in that area.. and we just love it there. As dclfan can attest too, it's a really awesome area of Florida.

So after the planning was done, Hubby asked how far it was to Orlando? (about an hour and 45 minutes) He suggested we go to Disney Springs one day. He wanted to go back to the hat shop (EYEROLL) and the rest... (whatever that means)

So the plan is:

Leave early in the morning on Tuesday.

Check out the character warehouse before DS. (reminder to check when that opens)

Arrive at DS at opening and venture off to places I must go... Basin (need more shampoo), Amarette's (just before we leave) and the Hat store. Everything else is gravy.

Lunch is reserved at Homecoming at 1135am (never been but heard lots of good things)

After lunch I think we are going to hop a transportation to GF to see the Christmas decorations and gingerbread house. Any other resort we should see?

Later we will return to DS to finish up shopping, have dinner at Polite Pig, collect yummy goodies from Amarette's to take back to the condo in SPB.

I wish we could have a MK day, but there is NO WAY, I'm going near the actual parks Thanksgiving week. I may even be sorry I agreed to go to DS, that week.

So that's the plans... we shall see how it all REALLY goes down. I'll post a mini trip report when I get back. If there is interest in the St. Pete Beach part, I can always include that.

 

[Rista1313]

Saturday morning we arrived at the airport nice and early for our 705am flight.. Everything ran right on time, we changed planes in Chicago Midway, it was snow raining there, but everything was still running smoothly. We did a quick deice and we were on our way!

I didn't recall that in the Tampa airport, there is also a fonorail!

The airport has changed since we were last in Tampa. We use to just walk across the street to get to the car rentals. Now they have their own terminal, and you have to take another train to get there.

It's only been open 8 months, and there are still people stationed to guide you in this process.

I have to say, this new terminal is great! It was so quick and easy now... Enterprise really made everything super simple... I would use them again (it helps I have a discount through work too) We picked out our car, and we were on our way!

 

[Swissmiss]

Been waiting to hear about your lunch at Homecoming. Everyone seems to rave about it so I think I’ll put it on the list of possibilities for our next trip.

 

[Rista1313]

Been waiting to hear about your lunch at Homecoming. Everyone seems to rave about it so I think I’ll put it on the list of possibilities for our next trip.

No worries, I'll definitely have your report soon!

 

[Rista1313]

I'm going to add a few pictures of our trip besides Disney Springs... if you aren't interested, just skip, and wait for the good parts =D

 

[Rista1313]

So we have a ritual when we go to St Pete, the first thing we do before we go to the condo, is take a detour to Ybor, which is near where the cruise ships are in Tampa. It's a area that originally was for cigar manufacturers. Now it's a night life spot. There are two reasons we go. One is to eat at the oldest Cuban restaurant in the area. The Columbia. circa 1905. Here are some pics. The tiles are handpainted and just beautiful!

The inside is just as beautiful.

We had Deviled Crab Croquettes. I had the famous 1905 salad and a cuban sandwich. Hubby had some other sandwich... this is my first time for a cuban there... it was underwelming.. I'll need to stick to my old standard the next time.

After lunch we walked down the street, stopped to get a brick of DH's favorite coffee, and continued on to his favorite cigar shop. Thank goodness it's still there!

Just a picture of the area.

As we mosied back we played pokemon go, and ended up on a side street where we were met by this gang.

It was almost 430pm when we started heading for the Condo, so I took a picture the next morning.

We've now stayed in 3 of the 4 one bedrooms and there are also 2 two bedrooms as well.

 

[Rista1313]

Right across the street is the trail to paradise. In the distance you can see a Wedding set up.. they had a wedding on the beach at 10am that morning.

and a beautiful Sunset

 

[Rista1313]

When I woke up this day (Sunday) I noticed my throat was getting scratchy, and my ears were bothering me. Ut oh.. the plane full of people strikes again... I was in denial yet, so we took at ride into St. Petersburg to visit the local yarn shop there. Stash St. Pete... we've gotten to know the owner over the years and she follows me on instagram, so she opened the door wide when she saw us coming up the walk. They moved the shop last year, and it's big and beautiful now. (it use to be tiny and beautiful) so we made ourselves at home and sat and knit and chatted for awhile.

For lunch we went to a new to us place that didn't disappoint. It was reasonable and tasty.

Hubby had peel and eat shrimp, which were large and sweet, but I forgot to take a picture! My Scampi was so good.. I dipped my potatoes in the leftover garlicy sauce... yum!

After lunch I realized a trip to Walgreens would be necessary. Procured some night/dayquil, cough drops, and kleenex. Went back to the condo and tried to figure out how to work the TV forever. The condo got new TV and cable, and no instructions on how to work it. So that was an adventure.

Went to dinner... I left my phone in the car for this one... it was just an OK meal.

This night is when I learn I can not take nyquil anymore. It kept up all night... ugh.. that was not the goal right?

Monday we mostly stayed by the condo, except for a quick run to the grocery store because I forgot creamer when I went to the grocery store on arrival day.. oops. Since I didn't feel great, I just watched TV and napped. DH went across the street for a little while. He left me in peace because he knew I needed to rest for the next day. Disney Springs!

 

[John Dulmage]

1. St. Pete Beach is one of my FAVORITE places. I'm jealous!
2. Nyquil does the same thing to me. If I take it, I'm restless and can't sleep, thus just making matters worse! Hope you got feeling better fast.

 

[Longers]

How did I miss this?
The beach looks beautiful. I have just returned from Disney myself.
Hope you had a good time

 

[LeighM]

The only cold medicine that actually makes me feel better is TheraFlu. Especially nighttime TheraFlu. I suffered that one year they pulled it off the market while they changed the formula. Everything else was a sad, pathetic substitute LOL. When I saw the boxes on the shelf again, I would buy 2 at a time so I could stock up on them in case I couldn't find them again. I think others had the same idea - it was like the 80s and the tug of war over the cabbage patch dolls

 

[Rista1313]

Tuesday was our planned Disney Springs day... not too close to the end of the week, but after the Monday rush.... The plan was to make a quick trip thru the Character Warehouse on Vineland, and then onto the Springs. Well that didn't go quite a planned... when I told google maps where to take me, it ended up sending me to some Disney Discount store a few miles down the road. We got there, and I thought.. this doesn't look right! (I'd been watching a youtube video where the vlogger told me where to park for the easiest access.) I got back on the google, and confirmed we were in the wrong place! We did finally make it.. about 1010am... I was hoping to get there as they opened. Man... it was a ZOO! Is it always that busy in there? We did a quick tour... grabbed DH a Halloween hoodie for $17.99 and a magnet and got the heck outta here... my wait in line was maybe 10 minutes.. but when I left it was all the way in the back of the store. I'm sure there was more to see, but too many people made it unbearable for me. So we forged on.

Not sure what these kids were doing.. bathing? I just wanted a picture of the sign! We parked in the Lime garage and got a bottom floor parking spot... which means we had to go up to go across, then back down. Hubby was not amused. But we arrived at the fountain.

We had about 40 minutes until our ADR, so we went to Chapel Hats (the whole reason DH wanted to come) and he procured his new Hat.

Yes, that's right... a Top hat.... I'm not sure if he's trying to be Scrooge McDuck, Slash from Guns and Roses... or a Magician. But other people sure liked his new hat... only 2 people asked him if he could pull a rabbit out of it. He loved it... and was very excited... like we aren't the weirdo people who walk the cat already.... oh boy!

We finished just in time and were 5 minutes early for our ADR, but they let us right in.

How come no one mentions how comfy the chairs are at this place?

Dh ordered a Watermelon cocktail. It was called something mash... it was pretty tasty.... a bit puckery on the back of the throat

We decided we were going to do two appetizers and split an entree....

Our waiter was great, I'm really bad at remember their names after we leave... he asked about Allergies, and I mentioned my Sunflower seed allergy... I normally don't, but you just never know. I made sure to tell him sunflower oil is fine. The manager came over and verified the allergy and was very sweet and asked us where we were from, etc.

We had the Church Lady Deviled Eggs and the Ham & Jam Biscuits. I don't love deviled eggs, but the first bite was tasty with the bacon. Hubby had the rest. The Ham biscuits were really tasty... with fig jam and pimento cheese. I tell you what these were so filling, we each ate 1. We split the chicken and donuts for a main... we could hardly eat the whole thing, but it was so good.. omg those Mash potatoes... SO SO yummy..

(stolen picture I forgot to take one)

So my summation... everything was AMAZING! If I had to do it over again, I would get the thigh high biscuits, and another appetizer (or potatoes ala cart!) and call it good... The chicken really was tasty! I will say it was the most expensive lunch I ever paid out of pocket for. I would do it again with the dining plan.

 

[Rista1313]

We realized we missed a lot of DS when we were there in May... I guess that's what happens when you have limited time and ADR's to get to ... So after lunch we went exploring... we went back to Disney Style where I found my replacement Orange Birds... I got 2, so I'd have a replacement.

This time I also went into the Coca-Cola store.. which I didn't do last time... I love Coke and could have easily bought at least 5 things in there, but I refrained.

DH dragged me into the Lego store... it was so cool to see this new Hogwarts castle set!

After we split up... DH wanted a free Chocolate, so he went into Ghiradelli, and I went into Basin. That's where I ran into an issue.... I wanted the 4 pack of bar shampoo, but they didn't have one of the scents I wanted... I wanted 2 bars of Satsuma, and 2 bars of good hair day... They had good hair day, but not Satsuma... that was a GF only scent, and GF didn't have good hair day, they only had Iced Cherries. (supposedly like good hair day) So I walked out empty handed well except for a bar of Holiday soap. Good thing we already had plans to go to GF today.

Next we made our way to the Tree Trail. It was nice, even though DS was really busy, the Tree Trail wasn't too bad in the afternoon.

I really need @Doc Disney to teach me how to pose... her mom and her always look so nice in their photos!

After the tree trail we made our way to a special art of Disney exhibit, then to Goofy's to get our sugar on.

This was the best Rice Krispie treat I ever had!

DH got his own, and he got some gingerbread dryer lint... I had a bite, just for you @Tuvalu !

Next up: Our Trip to GF

 

[Tuvalu]

Gingerbread dryer lint has to be the worst flavor of all!

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

The only cold medicine that actually makes me feel better is TheraFlu. Especially nighttime TheraFlu. I suffered that one year they pulled it off the market while they changed the formula. Everything else was a sad, pathetic substitute LOL. When I saw the boxes on the shelf again, I would buy 2 at a time so I could stock up on them in case I couldn't find them again. I think others had the same idea - it was like the 80s and the tug of war over the cabbage patch dolls

Wanted my mom to go through that "war". Unfortunately for me, she said no to that. I did end up getting one months later when the hype ended. No scars for mom. Guess she was one of the smart ones.

 

[Rista1313]

Gingerbread dryer lint has to be the worst flavor of all!

LOL... well in my defense I had that cold (and still have), so all I tasted was sugar.

 

[LeighM]

Wanted my mom to go through that "war". Unfortunately for me, she said no to that. I did end up getting one months later when the hype ended. No scars for mom. Guess she was one of the smart ones.

My mom was the winner - I got two cabbage dolls and she had no scars Just plenty of stories LOL.

 

[Rista1313]

My mom was the winner - I got two cabbage dolls and she had no scars Just plenty of stories LOL.

So my Grandparents lived near Atlanta, and I would stay with them in the summer. One year before Xavier Roberts sold out to Coleco, I adopted a "Little People". This is the totally soft sculptured version of the cabbage patch doll. You adopted them from "Babyland General" which was a little old school house turned doll hospital in Cleveland GA. I still have her... my family all chipped in for my birthday and paid for her... now she's worth a bunch... and I still have her and all her paperwork.

ETA: So when the Coleco version came out, I wasn't even interested.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

So my Grandparents lived near Atlanta, and I would stay with them in the summer. One year before Xavier Roberts sold out to Coleco, I adopted a "Little People". This is the totally soft sculptured version of the cabbage patch doll. You adopted them from "Babyland General" which was a little old school house turned doll hospital in Cleveland GA. I still have her... my family all chipped in for my birthday and paid for her... now she's worth a bunch... and I still have her and all her paperwork.

ETA: So when the Coleco version came out, I wasn't even interested.

I remember seeing something about the original Xavier Roberts dolls when I was a kid. Maybe it was on 60 minutes? I wanted one of those too. No doubt yours is worth a lot. Still have my Coleco one.

 

[Rista1313]

Since it was almost 4ish... we decided to get on the bus to go to GF to see the gingerbread house, go to basin, and walk around.

Well let's just say this wasn't a good plan.. the bus took 45 minutes to get to GF... DH was livid by the time we got there... I tried to explain that I'm sure they have a route they are required to take but he was having none of it. He was angry. With him being so upset, I knew I wouldn't get to go to WL after this... so I made the best of GF.

So many poinsetta's! It looked very nice.

Very cool looking. The line was long to get any treats, so we skipped that and just took a couple pics... went for a walk on the grounds.. came back and went to basin.

Then the great debate started about the bus and going back to DS... needless to say we ended up taking a Lyft back because DH was having no part of another long bus ride!

The lyft drop off was right in the middle of the xmas tree trail. Any other day that would have been a weird far off place to drop someone, but during xmas.. I think it was perfect.

 

[MinnieM123]

Since it was almost 4ish... we decided to get on the bus to go to GF to see the gingerbread house, go to basin, and walk around.

View attachment 329043

Well let's just say this wasn't a good plan.. the bus took 45 minutes to get to GF... DH was livid by the time we got there... I tried to explain that I'm sure they have a route they are required to take but he was having none of it. He was angry. With him being so upset, I knew I wouldn't get to go to WL after this... so I made the best of GF.

View attachment 329044
View attachment 329045
So many poinsetta's! It looked very nice.
View attachment 329046
View attachment 329047
Very cool looking. The line was long to get any treats, so we skipped that and just took a couple pics... went for a walk on the grounds.. came back and went to basin.

View attachment 329049
View attachment 329050
View attachment 329051

Then the great debate started about the bus and going back to DS... needless to say we ended up taking a Lyft back because DH was having no part of another long bus ride!

The lyft drop off was right in the middle of the xmas tree trail. Any other day that would have been a weird far off place to drop someone, but during xmas.. I think it was perfect.

Oh my--thank you for posting the gorgeous photos of the gingerbread display at the GF!