Trip Report Oi! 25 years will give you such a crick in the neck! *Completed*

Alternate title: Good thing I'm flexible since I did so many splits this stay!
Trip dates: June 14-26, 2019
Greetings, my fellow WDWMagic-ers! To those of you who continue reading, I thank you. It's how I get my validation!
This trip was just myself and DH (MSUJafar). For this report, I'll call him E. Pretty sure that's what I called him in my last report too!
Our 25th wedding anniversary is in August, but because of E's Naval Post Graduate schedule, this was the only time we could squeeze in a trip. I felt kind of fraudulent celebrating so early, but I'm pretty sure we'll still be together in August!
We Disneymooned at the Poly back in 1994. Here is some photographic evidence:

I'll leave you for today chuckling at our sweet outfits!

 

[PineapplePrincess]

June 20th continued
The backside of water:

And everyone's favorite salesman, Trader Sam!

Our skipper was quite funny and the whole boat seemed into it, so that made it more fun.
Next it was time to try something that we had been anticipating for awhile....cheeseburger egg rolls!

Actually, one of them was the cheeseburger and the other was a Cuban. They were both delish although not very filling when you're sharing.
We took a spin on the teacups before visiting the mine.

We waited in a fairly lengthy line for the People Mover and captured a little "Tronstruction".

Then we beat the heat in the Carousel of Progress.
At this point, we had somewhat of a dilemma. We were bordering on hangry, but our ADR at Tony's wasn't until 5:30. We decided that chicken nachos from Pecos Bill's were in order, but our timing was really bad as it was around 1:30. I felt like a rookie! We were lucky to get a seat, but it was NOT a pleasant experience. The nachos were good though!
After the nachos, we shared a Dole Whip float. What I really wanted was the Hei Hei cone, but they were no longer serving it!
Saw this cool light fixture while enjoying our treat:

I don't really have any photos from the rest of the day. It was hot and we were kind of cranky. When it was time for Tony's, we weren't that hungry, so we shared a pizza and I got the Caprese salad. E had really wanted to try Tony's again this trip, but he was kicking himself afterwards. No more Tony's for us!
It was our last night at BW, so we did a bit of a boardwalk crawl. We really enjoy chatting with Bill at the Flying Fish bar and the ladies working at Abracadabar were friendly and entertaining! We finished off the night at the Bellvue Lounge and then packed up for our final move.
Next: our final move and another visit to Hollywood

 

[PineapplePrincess]

Friday, June 21st
This morning we were making our final move to BLT. So we packed up our stuff once again and called bell services to have it picked up. I hope I'm not sounding too complainy here. I was well aware of how many intentional moves we were making, but I was happy that this would be our last.

On our past several trips we had stayed at BLT first before moving to Boardwalk, and I gotta say I like this way better. I had faxed a room request to BLT so we were excited to see what our view would be. But that would have to wait as we were headed back to HS first.
E really wanted to do some character pics, so we rope dropped Edna Mode.

Then Mike and Sully.

The first FP of the day was ToT. Our DD does not enjoy ToT, so E had procured some barf bags from Mission Space just so we could use them on this ride. We think we're pretty funny even if she doesn't agree!

Star Tours was next. Nothing to report.
Every time we were at HS, I would diligently check Instagram to see if @equityben would be performing in the Frozen Singalong. No luck until today! His IG page said he was performing and it was almost time for the next show. I was soooo excited! Since I had only seen the show one other time, I didn't remember that the historians spend most of the time on the left side, so we ended up sitting toward the right. I remember liking the show and thinking it was pretty funny the first time I saw it, but Ben takes it to next level funny! I took quite a few photos, but I'll just leave you with one.

E didn't understand my obsession with wanting to see him perform until after the show. It made my day!
After the show, we made our way back to Toy Story Land for our final FP of the day for TSMM.

Before heading out, we made a stop in the Launch Bay to see Chewie. My dad was a big guy with a beard and his nickname was Wookiee, so I always tear up a little when meeting Chewie. I wish they had had this meet and greet when he was still with us! There's no hug like a Wookiee hug!

After walking or boating to HS every time this trip, we were kind of disappointed that we had to walk to the bus stop. #spoiled
I do like the new bus stops though and it wasn't long before we boarded a bus to the Contemporary.

We always book a lake view at BLT and we prefer to overlook the pool. I fax our room request because they also consider the marina facing the Contemporary a lake view room as well. My fax paid off and we were rewarded with this stunning view!

We had our bags sent up and we happily unpacked since we would be staying in this room for 5 whole nights! The plan for tonight was to have dinner at the California Grill lounge followed by dessert and Happily Ever After at the Top of the World Lounge. We sat at a nice table right next to the window and enjoyed our dinner. The highlight of my evening was meeting a celebrity (in my mind)!
As we were soaking in the atmosphere, I spotted the Josh and Taylor a.k.a The WDW Couple walk by with another couple to a table. They are vloggers who we watch religiously. We even sent them some Michigan themed gifts last year!
Now I didn't want to disturb them while they were eating, but when Taylor went to use the rest room, I figured she was fair game. No, I didn't follow her into the bathroom, but I did approach her on her way back to the table. I introduced myself and asked if she would mind getting a photo. She was very gracious and kind and I was thrilled!

She asked if we were staying for the fireworks and when I told her we were going to ToTWL, she recommended the 7 layer cake which we had already planned to have.

This is an old pic. The cake is the same, but they plate it a little differently now. Too much for 2 people, but we still managed to finish most of it!
We finished the night with our first of four viewings of HEA and then walked down seven flights of stairs to get to our room. One of the reasons we LOVE staying at BLT.

Coming soon: a monorail ride to Epcot

 

[Rista1313]

Friday, June 21st
This morning we were making our final move to BLT. So we packed up our stuff once again and called bell services to have it picked up. I hope I'm not sounding too complainy here. I was well aware of how many intentional moves we were making, but I was happy that this would be our last.

On our past several trips we had stayed at BLT first before moving to Boardwalk, and I gotta say I like this way better. I had faxed a room request to BLT so we were excited to see what our view would be. But that would have to wait as we were headed back to HS first.
E really wanted to do some character pics, so we rope dropped Edna Mode.
View attachment 393338
Then Mike and Sully.
View attachment 393339
The first FP of the day was ToT. Our DD does not enjoy ToT, so E had procured some barf bags from Mission Space just so we could use them on this ride. We think we're pretty funny even if she doesn't agree!
View attachment 393340

Star Tours was next. Nothing to report.
Every time we were at HS, I would diligently check Instagram to see if @equityben would be performing in the Frozen Singalong. No luck until today! His IG page said he was performing and it was almost time for the next show. I was soooo excited! Since I had only seen the show one other time, I didn't remember that the historians spend most of the time on the left side, so we ended up sitting toward the right. I remember liking the show and thinking it was pretty funny the first time I saw it, but Ben takes it to next level funny! I took quite a few photos, but I'll just leave you with one.
View attachment 393344
E didn't understand my obsession with wanting to see him perform until after the show. It made my day!
After the show, we made our way back to Toy Story Land for our final FP of the day for TSMM.
View attachment 393345

Before heading out, we made a stop in the Launch Bay to see Chewie. My dad was a big guy with a beard and his nickname was Wookiee, so I always tear up a little when meeting Chewie. I wish they had had this meet and greet when he was still with us! There's no hug like a Wookiee hug!
View attachment 393347

After walking or boating to HS every time this trip, we were kind of disappointed that we had to walk to the bus stop. #spoiled
I do like the new bus stops though and it wasn't long before we boarded a bus to the Contemporary.

We always book a lake view at BLT and we prefer to overlook the pool. I fax our room request because they also consider the marina facing the Contemporary a lake view room as well. My fax paid off and we were rewarded with this stunning view!

View attachment 393349

We had our bags sent up and we happily unpacked since we would be staying in this room for 5 whole nights! The plan for tonight was to have dinner at the California Grill lounge followed by dessert and Happily Ever After at the Top of the World Lounge. We sat at a nice table right next to the window and enjoyed our dinner. The highlight of my evening was meeting a celebrity (in my mind)!
As we were soaking in the atmosphere, I spotted the Josh and Taylor a.k.a The WDW Couple walk by with another couple to a table. They are vloggers who we watch religiously. We even sent them some Michigan themed gifts last year!
Now I didn't want to disturb them while they were eating, but when Taylor went to use the rest room, I figured she was fair game. No, I didn't follow her into the bathroom, but I did approach her on her way back to the table. I introduced myself and asked if she would mind getting a photo. She was very gracious and kind and I was thrilled!
View attachment 393365
She asked if we were staying for the fireworks and when I told her we were going to ToTWL, she recommended the 7 layer cake which we had already planned to have.
View attachment 393367

This is an old pic. The cake is the same, but they plate it a little differently now. Too much for 2 people, but we still managed to finish most of it!
We finished the night with our first of four viewings of HEA and then walked down seven flights of stairs to get to our room. One of the reasons we LOVE staying at BLT.

Coming soon: a monorail ride to Epcot

SO glad you got to see Ben and meet Taylor... I like to watch her and Josh too, as well as PagingMrMorrow. I haven't seen Ben in the frozen show as DH isn't a fan of Frozen at all.. no show and no ride... =( Pout. But I saw him in the Hoop Dee Doo Revue last year. He's a pretty funny guy!

 

[Laura Loves Tigger]

Late to the party, but following along! We are sort of neighbors as I live in Northwestern Ohio and fly out of DTW any time I fly. Happy 25th anniversary!

 

[LSV]

Also late, but all caught up. Not a Frozen fan, but had heard the sing-a-long was funny, so finally tried it a few years ago and lucked out the first time with Ben as Eric- he is the best! Happy Anniversary!

 

[PineapplePrincess]

SO glad you got to see Ben and meet Taylor... I like to watch her and Josh too, as well as PagingMrMorrow. I haven't seen Ben in the frozen show as DH isn't a fan of Frozen at all.. no show and no ride... =( Pout. But I saw him in the Hoop Dee Doo Revue last year. He's a pretty funny guy!

E is not a Frozen fan either, but he went to make me happy! We also watch PagingMrMorrow (so sad about their divorce) and I tried to message Nate on Instagram to see if he would meet us for a drink, but he didn't respond so either a) he doesn't check his IG messages or b) he thought I was a weird stalker!

Late to the party, but following along! We are sort of neighbors as I live in Northwestern Ohio and fly out of DTW any time I fly. Happy 25th anniversary!

Thanks! We were thinking of flying out of Cleveland for next spring break because prices from DTW are out of control!

Also late, but all caught up. Not a Frozen fan, but had heard the sing-a-long was funny, so finally tried it a few years ago and lucked out the first time with Ben as Eric- he is the best! Happy Anniversary!

Thank you! Yes, Ben has quite a following. I hope they keep him!

 

[PineapplePrincess]

Saturday, June 22nd

It had been years since we monorailed to Epcot. We would always save our Epcot days for when we were staying at the Boardwalk. We made our way to the monorail, smiling at all the young families enjoying breakfast at Chef Mickey's.
I forewarned E that we would have to go through security twice going this way, so he was grumbling a bit. He works for the Department of Defense and has top security clearance, so he thinks Disney should honor that! I was ready for nightmare security lines, but was pleasantly surprised and soon we were waiting with the masses to head to Soarin'.
Terrible Soarin' selfie!

We rode it once then did the farm ride and then used our FP to ride Soarin' again.
A small obsession with Les Halles had formed, so we went to France. For anyone who's counting, yes this was the THIRD time!
The ham and cheese croissant was E's jam and he didn't waver, but this time I went with the Quiche Lorraine. It was sooo good!

We were just meandering while digesting our breakfast and trying to soak in the atmosphere. I had to laugh at this little scene in Germany:

Roof blown off, man down....the tornado must have hit this little village!

E had a hankering for egg rolls so we paused at the Lotus Blossom Cafe. I was still full from my quiche, but I snapped a photo of this cool light fixture while he was eating.

There is always a

A margarita for E

and a Grey Goose slushy for me

Up next: back to the future(world)

 

[Ghostdog]

The cheeseburger egg rolls, where are those and are they considered a snack in the dining plan?

Sorry you had so much rain during your trip. We got lucky and it only rained once. We were in the pool on day 2 of our trip and they quickly got everyone out and closed it because of lightening. A torrential down pour hit with 2 minutes of the pool being closed and lasted about 30 minutes. That was the only rain we had all week; but geez was it HOT HOT HOT . Good thing we brought morning clothes and after swimming clothes.

I’m loving your TR. I’m a bit lazy to do one.

 

[PineapplePrincess]

The cheeseburger egg rolls, where are those and are they considered a snack in the dining plan?

They are on a cart across from the Enchanted Tiki Room. We don't do the dining plan, so I'm not sure if they're a snack credit. If I had to guess, I would say that they're not because it's $7.99 for two.

 

[Rista1313]

I tried to message Nate on Instagram to see if he would meet us for a drink, but he didn't respond so either a) he doesn't check his IG messages or b) he thought I was a weird stalker!

I think Nate is fairly new to Instagram, so I'm guessing he doesn't check his messages. It is so sad about his marriage, I don't know what happened, but it seemed super sudden.

 

[PineapplePrincess]

June 22nd continued
We've gotten so used to ending our Epcot days at World Showcase that I wasn't even thinking when I originally made our FPs. Anyways, I moved our final FP to later in the afternoon since it was at SSE. I did a pretty good job estimating what time we would be on our way out.
Before SSE we made a few stops.

These topiaries were cute. They were by a play place for kids. It was really hot and we were pretty tired, so we stopped at the DVC lounge. We don't always stop at the DVC lounge, but when we do, we stay until the bring the snacks around.

We actually stayed long enough for them to bring the snacks around twice, but we declined a second snack. I'm happy to report that everyone in the lounge was well behaved. Shoes were kept on and the furniture stayed where it belonged!
We decided to visit Nemo and friends.

Manatees are my spirit animal! I could watch them all day long.

We used our FP for SSE on our way out and I chose the opposite of what I would normally pick on the screen.

We were "those people" who did Leave a Legacy back in the day. Our side had not been taken down yet, so we stopped to take one last look at it before it gets moved.

DD is on the left and we're on the right. It was DD's first trip...she was barely three! Soooo cute!

I had made an ADR at Terralina, but cancelled it the day before. We decided to go to Trader Sam's. There was an hour wait though, so we sat at the Tambu lounge while we waited. I gotta say, we've never had worse service at a Disney bar! We ordered drinks and then were basically ignored for 50 minutes. As soon as we were acknowledged again and we ordered the dumplings, E got the text that we could head down to Trader Sam's.
We cancelled the dumpling order and made our way downstairs.
We managed to get seats at the bar and ended up having the flatbread and the tacos.

I had the pineapple cider and I'm not sure what E had. We overheard someone order a Spiky Pineapple and I got very excited! I thought you could only get them if you sit outside. We both ordered one with an extra floater of 151 rum. Needless to say, the rest of the evening is a blur!
Edited to add that we did end our evening at ToTWL for our second viewing of HEA!
On deck: California Grill Brunch and an evening at AK

 

[Sabrina1705]

Enjoying your report so far! I’m in

 

[dizfan917]

I'm a California Grill brunch fan. Excited to hear about it (and all those mimosas...)!

 

[Tuvalu]

In your picture of topiary Buzz, it looks like he is wearing a “hat”!

Thanks for posting your Leave a Legacy photos. It was interesting seeing a couple I recognize and not just indiscernible etchings of strangers.

 

[PineapplePrincess]

Enjoying your report so far! I’m in

Thank you! It's great to have you aboard!

I'm a California Grill brunch fan. Excited to hear about it (and all those mimosas...)!

Stay tuned....many mimosas were consumed!

In your picture of topiary Buzz, it looks like he is wearing a “hat”!

Thanks for posting your Leave a Legacy photos. It was interesting seeing a couple I recognize and not just indiscernible etchings of strangers.

I had to go back and look at the picture. It DOES look like he's wearing a hat, but I always get distracted by the grown man in the background whose shirt says, "I paused my game to be here" !
I'm glad that they're removing the monstrosity that was Leave a Legacy even though we're on it. We only visited it on this trip because we knew it would be the last time.

 

[PineapplePrincess]

Sunday, June 23rd Brunch Day!

E and I had been looking forward to this brunch for literally a year! Last trip we did the brunch on our first full day and then headed over to the Magic Kingdom. This year, we knew better. The plan was brunch, nap by the pool and AK in the evening.
Our brunch was at 10:30 and since this is not a dining review, I won't go into a lot of detail. Our server was wonderful though I can't remember her name! Our glasses were never empty!

Mimosa with blueberry boba balls.

My first plate. I could eat that bacon and egg salad all day every day! As you can see, they will also bring you a traditional mimosa if you want one. E prefers the traditional while I like the boba. See the glass of orange juice in the next picture? Our server brought E a big glass of o.j. and left some prosecco on ice next to our table so he could mix his own!

My entree was the brie and berries french toast.

E had the lemon ricotta pancakes.
In all honesty the entrees are not the big draw for us. If it's not already obvious, we go for the bottomless mimosas! Seriously though, the self-serve selections are good enough to go for. I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture of the bourbon baba. @Darstarr It was "out of this world delicious"!
We spent close to 3 hours enjoying our brunch! Yes it's pricey, but Tables In Wonderland takes the sting out a little bit. Since it was nap time, we had our desserts boxed up to take with us. Brunch is definitely on the agenda for our spring break trip!
I was on a mission to find a nice shaded lounge by the BLT pool for my nap. So focused was I on my mission that I left E behind in the room! Luckily, I found two chairs right under an umbrella and proceeded to pass out. E said that by the time he got down there I was sawing logs! My apologies to anyone who was at the BLT pool that day and was serenaded by my loud snoring. Not very ladylike, I must say!
After an apparently much needed nap and a quick dip in the pool, we cleaned up and made our way to AK.
Our first FP was for Dinosaur. On the way we stopped for a photo with Launchpad McQuack. He liked my Disney leggings!

I really do enjoy Dinosaur.

E is a good sport as far as posing for any picture that I ask him to.

FP number 2 was for the safari.

I'd like to say he was dramatically roaring in this pic, but he was actually dramatically yawning!

After FP number three, FoP we were beat despite our nap by the pool. So we made our way back to BLT. The timing was just right for us to reach ToTWL ten minutes before HEA was to start. So we ended our night with HEA once again.

Coming soon: back to Epcot...stay tuned to find out if we visit Les Halles for a 4th time!

 

[Darstarr]

Forget about the food...those mimosas looked out of this world delicious!!!

 

[dizfan917]

Forget about the food...those mimosas looked out of this world delicious!!!

the food is REALLY GOOD, too. was there any avocado? there must have been...

 

[PineapplePrincess]

Monday, June 24th

So today was our fourth and final visit to Epcot. Our FPs for today were for Test Track, Mission Space and SSE. Soarin' is one of our favorite rides and we didn't want to miss it, so we rope dropped it and were able to ride it twice. Surprisingly, neither one of us were feeling Les Halles this morning so we ate at Sunshine Seasons. Breakfast of champions! Not as good as it used to be, but still pretty darn good!

Test Track was fun. E designed the car because I really could care less about that stuff.

I'm pretty sure we skipped MS and I once again moved our SSE FP to later in the day when we would be on our way out.
Another visit to La Cava del Tequila was in order! I did not photograph our drinks this time. We also had some of the scrumptious queso today. It's the perfect snack.
A leisurely walk around WS was enjoyed.

As we made our way around, we stumbled upon what I think is known as a Characterpalooza. It's where they open up the gates and inside are characters in training. So in just a short time, you can get photos with a bunch of characters. We saw Mr. Smee, Donald Duck, Pluto, Goofy and Mickey himself!

It was one of those unplanned, but fun experiences that makes us love WDW so much!
When we last visited Rose & Crown, Carl was not there. So we popped in today to take a peek and there he was, ready to pour me a Carl's Combo!

We found a seat and shared some fish and chips again. As we were sitting there, in walked @dclfan and Jerome! I'm mad at myself now, but at the time I was feeling kind of shy. So I didn't go over and say hello. E told me I would regret it and I do!

After Rose & Crown, we were ready to go. We used our SSE FP on the way out, knowing it would be the last time riding this version.

We were still thinking about our cancelled order of dumplings (or are they potstickers?) from the Tambu Lounge, so that's what where we went. E was partaking in quite a few "girly" drinks this trip. No judgement, but I did have to tease him a little!
Two Pina Colavas, please!

Service tonight was MUCH better and the dumplings/potstickers were "out of this world delicious"! They are the ones that are served at 'Ohana.
We monorailed over to GF to have another snack and drink at the lounge in Citrico's. Apparently, one of the bartenders called off and as a result, service was not great. Obviously we don't know the dynamics of the relationships between the CMs there, but from our observation, the manager seemed like a real arrogant A-hole! At one point, he questioned the bartender about why two chairs were in a certain spot. Mind you, he was literally standing behind the two chairs in question. Instead of moving them himself, he made the bartender (who had no help behind the bar) come all the way around the bar to move the chairs!
The cherry on top of this experience was that the Arancini was not as we remembered it, and the deconstructed Key Lime Tart was no longer on the menu.

So we called it quits at GF (Mizner's, Oh how we miss you!) and monorailed back to the Contemporary where we ended our night with HEA at ToTWL once again!

Up next: a fun day at MK!

 

[Darstarr]

the food is REALLY GOOD, too. was there any avocado? there must have been...