Trip Report Pineapple Princess Packed Her Patience

Hel-lo there! It's been awhile since my last trip report, so a brief introduction may be in order. Here are the participants in this trip:

Myself: PineapplePrincess, a fifth grade teacher who survived this "unprecedented" year.
Hubby: MSUJafar who will go by E in this report. He's been working from home since the beginning of the pandemic and is about to return to the office for a few days a week starting tomorrow.
Our DD23 did not join us for this trip since she got her first "big girl" job and doesn't have vacation time yet.

We stayed at Old Key West. It is our home resort, but we've only stayed there for a weekend trip back in 2011. While we really loved the theming here, transportation was not great. The boat to Disney Springs is currently not running which was a big bummer.
We arrived on June 20 via a car service that provided a stop at Publix. Unfortunately, our room was not quite ready even though it was past 4:00, so we got dropped off with all our stuff at the Hospitality House.
When I checked in, I was told that there was a problem with the room we were originally assigned, but they had another room ready to go for us.
We ended up in room 1310. The building was right across the street from the Hospitality House which was convenient, but not the best for morning buses. More on that later. Here is the view from our room:

Not bad, I guess? We really don't know since we've never stayed there before. The golf course was closed, so we didn't see any golfers, but E did spot a golf ball which he retrieved. Who says there are no free souvenirs at Disney?! Here's another free souvenir that was on the table when we arrived:

Nice touch! I didn't get any room pics. Traveling takes a lot out of us, and we had a dinner reservation to get ready for.
I have no pics, but we went to Bull & Bear at the Waldorf Astoria. It was good, but we probably won't go back because of a "situation" that occurred.
I didn't realize there was a dress code and E wore what he would wear to California Grill: a nice pair of shorts, a golf shirt, and nice leather flip flops. I mean it's summer in Florida...that seems like a reasonable outfit, right? Wrong! The woman who sat us was new, and didn't say a word.
After we were seated, the manager stopped by to inform E that we could stay since we were already seated. However, they don't allow shorts or flip flops so the hostess should not have seated us. He also asked that E not use the restroom during the meal to avoid them being questioned by other diners as to why he was allowed without the proper attire! In hindsight, we probably should have left. We felt like scolded children! However, it had been a long day, we were starving, and we had really been looking forward to this meal. The food was very good, but we were left with a bad taste in our mouths after being scolded.
We skulked out after our meal looking forward to the next day's breakfast at Kona Cafe.

 

[cgersic]

Your bag is adorable!!!

 

[PineapplePrincess]

Your bag is adorable!!!

Thank you very much!

 

[PineapplePrincess]

MK continued
While we were eating our lunch, I mobile ordered a Kakamora float from Aloha Isle. It about killed me to try something different!

Photo fail! There is a tiki sculpture directly behind the float that I was so artfully trying to get in the picture.

There's that smudge again!
This float was delicious, but it's no pineapple float. The coconut dole whip is very creamy. My next goal is to get a pineapple/coconut swirl in pineapple juice if that's even possible.
Since we were right there, we visited some birds that sing words and some flowers that croon.

Splash was posted at 50 minutes, but we were on in about 35.

I did not want to get wet hence the backwards rain jacket. E had put a mask on the rabbit in front, but you can't tell from the pic.
Nothing to do next, but go right next door. BTM was posted at 25 minutes, but we waited only 15.

There was a storm brewing, but we managed to hit Starbucks and look around the Emporium on our way out.
We had a dinner reservation at Topolino's Terrace with some friends (J & A) from home. They were at WDW just for a couple of nights to visit HS and golf.
Again, no photos, but this was a stand out meal. E & I sat at the bar while waiting for our friends to arrive. I had the French Rose. From DFB:

It's sooo tasty, but a little too sweet to have more than one.
E had a Blanton's which prompted an in depth discussion between E and our bartender. I know nothing about bourbon, so I was happy he had someone to talk to about it. In the end, our bartender gave E the top from the bottle which is a thing, I guess?!

I had the scallops, E & J had the filet. A is gluten free and allergic to a lot of things, so she had steak and mashed potatoes. She almost cried when our server brought her gluten free bread to start. We were all very impressed with the meal and the service. Great conversation was had to the point that we didn't notice the restaurant was closed! So there wasn't time for dessert. It is now on our "must do" list for dining.
After a "May the force be with you" to J & A on getting a boarding group in the morning (they did), we ubered back to OKW. We had another early morning the next day at AK.

 

[PineapplePrincess]

Wednesday, June 23 AK
So today is the day we would learn that being close to the Hospitality House for the buses is not always a good thing. We got to the bus stop at 7:15 for AK's 8:00 opening. At this point, we hadn't realized that all parks except for MK seemed to be opening 30 minutes early.
Since the HH stop is last before the buses head to the park, we watched as 2 full AK buses bypassed us. Also the bus screen at the HH stop was the only one that didn't work.
We ended up waiting 45 minutes for a bus, and by the time we got in, FoP was already 90 minutes! Not a great start to the day. We REALLY miss fastpasses! After debating about getting an Uber, it was decided that we would have been even crankier if a bus showed up at the same time as our Uber.
Since we were not willing to wait 90 minutes for FoP, we opted for some PP photos. Enjoy this Magic Shot!

Safari was an accurately posted 30 minutes, so we joined that queue.

A rhino showing us his "good side".

While in line for the safari, I had mobile ordered 2 kids cheeseburger pod meals from Satuli Canteen. We picked up a pineapple lumpia, a Hawkes' Grog Ale, and a Night Blossom to go with our cheeseburger pods. All of the items were new to us except for the lumpia.

The Night Blossom was so refreshing. I can't believe we'd never tried it before!

This also came with a Cutie and a drink. We LOVED the pods! I thought the chips were great as well, but E doesn't like "open air" chips because he says they seem stale. I get where he's coming from. The humidity does a number on them, but they were still very tasty!
FoP was now at a posted 75 minutes, but we didn't fancy waiting. Also it was a little after 11:00 and we really wanted to get in to Nomad Lounge.

We got right in and sat at the bar. E had the Botarita and I had a version of the Leaping Lizard.

No food was ordered since we had just eaten, so we took our time sipping our drinks in the AC.

 

[ladydi]

We were right by the HH bus stop last month and had the same problem. We decided to walk to the Pennisula stop each morning since that was the first pick up stop. A bit further of a walk but well worth it in the morning.

 

[PineapplePrincess]

We were right by the HH bus stop last month and had the same problem. We decided to walk to the Pennisula stop each morning since that was the first pick up stop. A bit further of a walk but well worth it in the morning.

I was willing to do that later on in the trip, but E was not. We didn't know all of our options at this early point in our trip since it was our first time staying at OKW for any length of time. We have been really spoiled on our previous trips by doing split stays at BLT and Boardwalk.

 

[Swissmiss]

What’s in the Night Blossom? It does look good!

 

[PineapplePrincess]

What’s in the Night Blossom? It does look good!

It's a mixture of limeade with apple and desert pear flavors, layered on top of one another and topped with passion fruit boba balls. Copied from Google. I think we didn't try it in the past because I'm not a fan of green apple flavored drinks. However, it wasn't overly apple-y. The boba balls are a little much, but you could probably tell them to go light on those. They also have a version with rum (I think).

 

[PineapplePrincess]

June 23 AK cont.
Although I really wanted to try the churros, we decided to wait until our next AK day.
I needed a coffee and E had a hankering for some egg rolls, so we hit Creature Comforts and Yak & Yeti QS.

I had the Strawberry Shortcake ice cream sandwich on my list of things to try, so we made our way over to Dino Bites. It was pretty good, but not repeatable.

Dinosaur was posted at 25 minutes, but we waited only 15. While in line, I spotted @ajrwdwgirl ! I introduced myself in passing and then we ended up chatting with her and Brad for a couple of minutes after the ride. Brad took a photo of us, I didn't think to do that!
At this point we headed out to Disney Springs. I wasn't sure how crowded Wine Bar George would be, so I made an ADR while we were waiting for the bus. We joined the virtual queue for Gideon's and then headed to Wine Bar George. They no longer had the chicken skewers on the menu, so E was pretty disappointed. He did enjoy 2 Hoots and the Burrata, while I had a Frozcato and the meatballs.

Also on my must try list was the Duck Duck Razz, so we found an outdoor seat at the Boathouse.

It was good, but very sweet and got warm quickly because it was sooo hot out! I'm glad I tried it, but don't feel the need to have it again.
We waited about 15 min to get into Jock Lindsey's. Another storm was brewing while we had a couple drinks and ate our pretzel.

It was time for Gideon's!

We got a peanut butter crunch, original chocolate chip, and a white chocolate macadamia ( I don't see that one on the menu right now, so I'm not sure exactly what it was called). I also had the famous peanut butter cold brew. I had really been looking forward to it, and it was good, but not as good as I had thought it would be.
We headed back to OKW to rest up for our attempt at getting a boarding group in the morning. Stay tuned to see if we were successful!

 

[Swissmiss]

They also have a version with rum (I think).

Now you’re talking

 

[PineapplePrincess]

Thursday, June 24 HS
It's a gloomy rainy day here in Michigan, so I can't think of anything better to do than keep updating my TR!

E & I were up and anxiously awaiting 7 A.M. My phone was being problematic and showing a blank page when I tried to open my plans. E was unable to secure a boarding group this morning, so our day started out badly. I was okay because I knew we had 2 more HS days reserved, but E really doesn't like it when things don't go his way. He has NO chill, but I have enough for both of us!
Luckily there were no bus issues this morning and we were waiting on Hollywood Boulevard at 8:20. They let us in at 8:30 and we headed straight for MMRR. We waited about 10 minutes.

So happy to see the pre-show! It really does add a lot to the experience.

During our 10 minute wait, I ordered a chicken club from ABC commissary for us to share with a pick up of 11:00-11:30 and I also ordered a Wookie Cookie from Backlot Express for the same pick up time.
In the meantime, we checked in to the Hollywood Tower Hotel. Posted wait time 45 minutes. Actual wait 30. We had probably the best drop sequence we've ever had.
The PP photographer told us to look scared. I'm not sure what E thought he said!

Woefully unprepared for the ride photo.

I waited at Backlot Express for the Wookie Cookie, while E picked up our sandwich and found us a seat at ABC Commissary. It was a little hectic, since we had an 11:30 date at Oga's Cantina.

This was another item for my must try list. Oatmeal cookies with cream. It was very good, but sickeningly sweet. I can't imagine one person eating it all. It was definitely too sweet for E, but he was a trooper and ate almost half.
Our shared chicken club and Wookie Cookie hit the spot and we were only a few minutes late for Oga's.

 

[PineapplePrincess]

Thursday, June 24 HS continued

We had a great spot at the bar and enjoyed chatting with our bartender Kim. 2 Yub Nubs each helped ease the pain of not getting a boarding group. My only complaint (for now) about Oga's is the lack of seating. You have a very slim chance of getting a seat unless you have a large group. I totally understand why, but have mercy...we are old and tired!

More HS coming up!

 

[PineapplePrincess]

Still June 24
So I was able to secure us a boarding pass at 1:00 and from they way things were going, it looked like our group would be called around 4:30. We had an ADR at California Grill at 7:10, so we were keeping our fingers crossed.
In the meantime, TSMM was posted at 45 minutes. We ended up waiting 50. The CMs stopped us right before going up the stairs. Apparently that side went down and they were re-routing all of the guests who were in the queue up and down the stairs. By the time they got everyone re-routed the ride came back up.
Not our best, but not our worst either. I always have fun no matter what my score is!

Popsicle wall selfie!

SDD was posted at 90 minutes and we had some time to kill, so we waited. Turned out to be 55 minutes.

It was a blast as usual!
There was still time to kill, so we decided to go the the Brown Derby Lounge. There was absolutely no one there and we thought they were closed. It turned out that although they weren't waiting on tables, you could order your drink and then have a seat. After we sat down, several groups followed suit, so we weren't the only ones who thought they were closed!

Boarding groups were not progressing at this point. We heard that the ride had been down, so RoTR was not in the cards for us today.
We picked up our Scenic Selfie prize on our way out to get ready for our dinner.

 

[PineapplePrincess]

June 24 California Grill
After getting cleaned up, we Ubered to the Contemporary. It was a little early, so we had a difficult decision to make. A drink at Outer Rim or The Wave?
We chose The Wave since Outer Rim's proximity to Chef Mickey's makes it quite noisy. I believe it had recently been announced that The Wave would be closing for a re-do. Michael Kay was sitting at the bar vlogging while we were there. We don't watch his vlogs regularly, but enough to recognize him.

I think we overheard him say that he was going to go there everyday until they close!
Upon checking in for Cali Grill, we were seated at one of the raised U-shaped booths which is our favorite spot.
They did not have the blueberry lemon drop martini, so I had a blackberry sour. Photo copied from the Google.

I'm sure E had Blanton's again. He had the filet and I got the California Combination Roll.

And an Orange Blossom Pilsner.

We weren't feeling the dessert here, so we ordered the 7 layer chocolate cake from the bar at The Wave to take back to the room with us. It was pouring and Uber jacked up the prices.
We ended up taking an Uber Black for what a regular Uber would have cost us. This trip report was almost titled "Uber, take my money"!

 

[PineapplePrincess]

Friday, June 25th
Today was another Epcot day. Our original ADR at Kona Cafe was 7:45! Luckily, I was able to modify it to 10:05. We were TIRED! I usually schedule a rest day right about this point in our trip. However, with having to make reservations, I made one for everyday thinking we could just not go one of the days. Yeah, right! During this trip we decided that reservations or not, a rest day would be scheduled for our next long trip.
We arrived at Epcot a short time after rope drop.
We realized on our other Epcot day, that wait times for Soarin' and SSE were much shorter later in the day, so we started out in WS today with Frozen. The posted wait time was 60 minutes, but we waited 45.

La Cava de Tequila was next on our list and we were sent around a back way to put our name on the list for a seat. We ended up waiting only about 15 minutes to get seated. Although we weren't starving, we couldn't pass up the queso. I had a La Cava Avocado and I can't remember what E had for his first one, but he had the Cucumber Jalapeno Margarita after that.

There was a really loud know-it-all guy in there. Luckily we weren't sitting next to him because he was engaging everyone in his vicinity in conversation and his topics were the ones you should avoid.
We enjoyed our snack very quietly so as not to draw attention to ourselves.
Since I didn't have a second margarita, I needed a Dole Whip with rum after that. E didn't have a must try list, but I knew he wanted to try the Popsicle Trio.

Very refreshing...we liked the lemon one best.
Figment was posted at 15 minutes, but we only waited 5. Then we headed upstairs to the DVC lounge where we enjoyed a cold beverage and I snapped photos of our Epcot Scenic Selfie buttons.

Soarin' was posted 35 minutes. We waited 15. A kind of weird thing happened at this point. They called for a party of 2, so we went up. The CM (Kevin) then said we'll put one of you in row 2 and the other in row 3. Ummm, no thanks. Part of the fun of Soarin' is being with your group. Also, E & I like to hook feet when we're Soarin'. Does anyone else do that?!
We asked Kevin politely if we could wait because we wanted to be together. He was happy to oblige and we were in B1! Thanks, Kevin!
I enjoy this ride no matter where we are sitting, but I'm not going to turn down B1.
Living with The Land was a walk on.

The Seas with Nemo and Friends was also a walk on. Then we paid a visit to Lil' Joe and Lou.

I could watch them all day!
It started raining (again), but we hit Epcot Experience and SSE on the way out.

We were headed to the Poly to see if we could get a seat at the Tambu Lounge. On the way out, we found our Leave a Legacy photos from 20 years ago!

Luckily (?) there was a table open a Tambu Lounge. The service wasn't great and the menu was limited. We should have mobile ordered from Captain Cook's and brought it up there, but that seemed like a lot of effort. I had the ribs which were okay and I can't remember what E had. Apparently I was done taking notes and pictures for the day!

 

[Songbird76]

Friday, June 25th
Today was another Epcot day. Our original ADR at Kona Cafe was 7:45! Luckily, I was able to modify it to 10:05. We were TIRED! I usually schedule a rest day right about this point in our trip. However, with having to make reservations, I made one for everyday thinking we could just not go one of the days. Yeah, right! During this trip we decided that reservations or not, a rest day would be scheduled for our next long trip.
We arrived at Epcot a short time after rope drop.
We realized on our other Epcot day, that wait times for Soarin' and SSE were much shorter later in the day, so we started out in WS today with Frozen. The posted wait time was 60 minutes, but we waited 45.
View attachment 571756
La Cava de Tequila was next on our list and we were sent around a back way to put our name on the list for a seat. We ended up waiting only about 15 minutes to get seated. Although we weren't starving, we couldn't pass up the queso. I had a La Cava Avocado and I can't remember what E had for his first one, but he had the Cucumber Jalapeno Margarita after that.
View attachment 571730
There was a really loud know-it-all guy in there. Luckily we weren't sitting next to him because he was engaging everyone in his vicinity in conversation and his topics were the ones you should avoid.
We enjoyed our snack very quietly so as not to draw attention to ourselves.
Since I didn't have a second margarita, I needed a Dole Whip with rum after that. E didn't have a must try list, but I knew he wanted to try the Popsicle Trio.
View attachment 571731
Very refreshing...we liked the lemon one best.
Figment was posted at 15 minutes, but we only waited 5. Then we headed upstairs to the DVC lounge where we enjoyed a cold beverage and I snapped photos of our Epcot Scenic Selfie buttons.
View attachment 571733
View attachment 571732
Soarin' was posted 35 minutes. We waited 15. A kind of weird thing happened at this point. They called for a party of 2, so we went up. The CM (Kevin) then said we'll put one of you in row 2 and the other in row 3. Ummm, no thanks. Part of the fun of Soarin' is being with your group. Also, E & I like to hook feet when we're Soarin'. Does anyone else do that?!
We asked Kevin politely if we could wait because we wanted to be together. He was happy to oblige and we were in B1! Thanks, Kevin!
I enjoy this ride no matter where we are sitting, but I'm not going to turn down B1.
Living with The Land was a walk on.
View attachment 571735
The Seas with Nemo and Friends was also a walk on. Then we paid a visit to Lil' Joe and Lou.
View attachment 571737
I could watch them all day!
It started raining (again), but we hit Epcot Experience and SSE on the way out.
View attachment 571738View attachment 571739
We were headed to the Poly to see if we could get a seat at the Tambu Lounge. On the way out, we found our Leave a Legacy photos from 20 years ago!
View attachment 571757
Luckily (?) there was a table open a Tambu Lounge. The service wasn't great and the menu was limited. We should have mobile ordered from Captain Cook's and brought it up there, but that seemed like a lot of effort. I had the ribs which were okay and I can't remember what E had. Apparently I was done taking notes and pictures for the day!

The guy in the front of the Frozen ride photo looks like Norman Fell! (Mr. Roper from Three's Company)

 

[PineapplePrincess]

Saturday, June 26 HS, Stitch Day, and also the day we found out what else they don't sell at WDW besides gum.
E managed to get us Boarding Group 22, hallelujah!
It was a very steamy morning!

In a much better mood this morning having secured a boarding group, we rope dropped MMRR again.

ToT was posted at 40 minutes, but we waited 25.

Our boarding group was called right after we checked out of the Hollywood Tower Hotel!

He's a happy guy!
We had seen on someone's vlog (maybe Paging Mr. Morrow) that you get some really good views standing at the back of the transporter. He wasn't wrong!

Such an incredible experience no matter how many times you've done it!
I had again ordered the Chicken Club from ABC Commissary. Before picking it up though, I needed my vanilla sweet cream cold brew (my vacation coffee of choice) and a carrot cake cookie. E had to pull the rope on the way to the Trolley Car Cafe.

I know a lot of people think QS at HS is terrible, but we really do enjoy that Chicken Club! One of these days I'll remember to take a photo of it. I did photograph this little beauty though.

Sorry for the wrinkly hand...there was no time for a do-over because it was kind of droopy. I really fancied myself a member of the Disney Food Blog team taking photos of my snacks on this trip!
Up next: We have another date at Oga's Cantina, and you'll find out what else WDW doesn't sell besides gum.

 

[Tuvalu]

I had again ordered the Chicken Club from ABC Commissary. I know a lot of people think QS at HS is terrible, but we really do enjoy that Chicken Club! One of these days I'll remember to take a photo of it.

Allow me….

 

[PineapplePrincess]

Allow me….

View attachment 572048

Thanks!

 

[PineapplePrincess]

Sat. June 26 continued
Our reservation at Oga's was for 12:15. We again got a nice spot at the bar. I was even able to sit for part of the time after a chair had been vacated.

I know the drinks are pre-made, but they are still good and strong. We both went with our go to Yub Nub. I spied a very intriguing looking item that the woman next to me was enjoying. We decided to try it.

It's the Rodian Ration and basically a fancy jello shot. It was tasty and we loved the pop rocks! Our bartender taught us what to say instead of "Cheers". I'm spelling it phonetically, "Yakola Ateema".
After leaving Oga's, we visited the Muppets. Just had to wait for the pre-show. Star Tours was an accurately posted 10 minutes.
TSMM was posted 35...we waited 30. Better score for me this time, but E was embarrassed by his score.

We waited 25 minutes to ride A.S.S. which had a posted wait time of 20 minutes.
Then we waited about 9 minutes for the next "Vacation Fun" movie to start. It really is a nice AC break and a cute movie. I love the seats!

I went to take another photo after this and was met with a "Memory Card Full" message. My stomach dropped because I knew I had not brought another one with me. This next part will be a little text heavy, so I apologize in advance.
The camera I use is a Sony Alpha 5000. It's perfect for me. I have nicer, more advanced cameras, but this one is simple and easy to carry around. Anyway, about a year ago I got a message that the lens could not be recognized and to attach it properly.
After looking up You Tube videos to see if I could fix it myself (I couldn't) and taking it to a camera repair shop (surprisingly hard to find), it turned out that I needed a new lens.
E wanted to buy me a new camera, but as I said, I really like this one and I was able to get a brand new lens from Amazon. When I received the new lens, I put in the first memory card I saw laying around not realizing that it was only a 2 gig! I had never run out of memory on a trip before, so I didn't even think to pack another one.
No worries...every park has a camera shop. We'll just stop in and buy a new card. Nope! They are not sold anywhere on property! I was pretty upset with myself for this rookie mistake and it kind of put a damper on our dinner at Brown Derby.
We thought about ubering to get one, but didn't want to waste time. So I deleted some photos to make room for dinner pics, and decided to just use our phones for the rest of the trip.

I didn't photograph E's meal. He had the filet as usual. I love getting the Cobb Salad since I know I won't be too full for the Grapefruit Cake.
After dinner, we headed back to OKW. We had another early MK morning. We needed to be there at rope drop because we would be leaving for a 12:30 brunch reservation at House of Blues.