Trip Report The Never-Ending Summer Of Disney *COMPLETED*

Seriously?!!

Can you believe it??

This is jaw-dropping news!!

If only.

Two things in life give me the blues ~ the end of summer and the end of a Disney vacation. A never-ending summer of Disney would be a dream come true! But I am certainly happy to “settle” for a WDW vacay in June....in July....and in August. And rather than write three separate trip reports (and annoy @amjt660 when my *COMPLETED* report really isn’t ) I decided to take @Rista1313 ’s suggestion and post an ongoing travelogue, à la @blgauger style.

So let’s get started!

Vacation #1
June 16-24, 2018
Tuvalu, Woody and Em get pampered at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

Was there rain? Any snarky Cast Members? Ridiculous guest behavior? A Magic meet-up? How many times did we watch Happily Ever After?

You’ll have to follow along to find out.

 

[Swissmiss]

Enjoy your Dooney purse - I love mine!

 

[LadyBelle]

It will come as no surprise to any of you that I adore Pooh and his friends.

I presume you will be seeing the new Christopher Robin movie? It looks amazing.

 

[Tuvalu]

I presume you will be seeing the new Christopher Robin movie? It looks amazing.

Well duh!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Love that lamp in your room - I have a Mickey lamp that speaks as you
Turn it on and off which is quite cool!

View attachment 299715

I have this same lamp in my bedroom!

 

[MinnieM123]

Beach Club has two buildings, one is regular rooms and the other DVC.

Yah, been by there many times--it's huge, all spread out like that. Curious: do you think there's much difference in the guest room design between the regular hotel and the DVC one?

Now here’s the reason for Em’s annoyance on LWTL.
Marcia Brady sat in front of her brushing her hair....with a plastic Barbie doll brush....for the entire duration of the ride.

The last thing I'd think of while riding through LWTL is how my hair looked?!!

Oh goodness!! Things people do that irritates the rest of us!

Poor Em! That would have really distracted me, too. And speaking of all our First World problems , the hair combing thing is right up there with women putting on their makeup in public. I have this "thing" about when I see a woman sitting in the train (public transit system in the city), yanking out her small mirror, and containers of face goo, and putting on makeup on her commute to work. Just drives me batty.

 

[Tuvalu]

Yah, been by there many times--it's huge, all spread out like that. Curious: do you think there's much difference in the guest room design between the regular hotel and the DVC one?

I don’t know as I’ve never been in a Beach Club DVC room. @dizfan917 can you help us out?

 

[Tuvalu]

Sunday, con’t

Now that Em had an umbrella, wouldn’t you know that the rain had stopped?! She didn’t even need to open it on our walk towards World Showcase....

....which was probably a good thing because she might have flown away like Mary Poppins!

(As Pooh would say, it was a blustery day!)

Will the wind blow these dark clouds away?

We had to make a pit stop.

No to be seen, @Swissmiss.

Our last FP was for Frozen Ever After. Look how excited I was to be in front! Matter of fact, look how excited everyone else was to be in our boat!

And then it happened. A giant wave at the bottom of the hill.
My shorts never had a chance.
When brown shorts get wet......yeah, it looked like I had an accident.
And it was time for our dinner ADR.
Oh goody!

 

[Tuvalu]

I tried not to duck waddle to the restaurant but my soggy shorts made normal walking a challenge. Thankfully we weren’t going too far.

Prior to tonight I had eaten at La Hacienda twice ~ the first time on 10/1/12, Epcot’s 30th anniversary. Woody and I had a fantastic meal and ringside seats for the unbelievable special fireworks. It is one of my favorite vacation memories.

We returned a couple years later (with Em and our son) and were highly disappointed....so disappointed that we crossed La Hacienda off our list.

But bad memories fade over time and we were willing to revisit. Did we make a good choice?

We only had a short wait in the lobby. (Light fixtures for @Doc Disney.)

We were seated at a “TV restaurant booth” (you’ll have to ask Em what that means) in the middle of the dining room. We had a nice view of the lagoon.

“Let me take a picture of you with your camera,” I said to Em.
She handed me her DSLR and showed me where to look and which button to press.

And this was the result ~

Nope, not a photographer am I.

After we both stopped laughing I took another picture of her with my trusty iPhone.

(Note to self.....always stick with your iPhone.)

The menu had a thick leather cover.

We decided we would share an appetizer and an entree. It ended up being just the right amount of food ~ filling without feeling “stuffed.”

We started with warm crispy chips and salsa....

....and freshly made Guacamole with Mango Pico de Gallo

We could have had only the chips and guac and left as happy campers. But wait, there’s more!

Pollo al Pastor ~ Achiote-marinated Grilled Chicken Breast, served with Roasted Vegetables, Beans, Rice, and Pineapple Relish. With corn tortillas, of course!

This was very delicious too!

While we were eating, we missed the monsoon happening outside.

Our server was very kind and overly attentive ~ constantly refilling our water glasses, checking to see if we liked the food, asking if we needed anything ~ until we were ready for the check. Then he was nowhere to be seen.

It was so odd.

When he finally appeared I had to request the check. La Hacienda does not accept Tables in Wonderland (which automatically adds gratuity) so it wasn’t that he stopped paying attention to us because he had a guaranteed tip. The long wait was especially frustrating because I still had a wet bottom and needed to get up.

Verdict?

Overall, Em and I were very pleased with La Hacienda. If our server hadn’t disappeared at the end of our meal it would have been a 5/5 experience. Instead it was a 4/5.

Was it raining when we left the restaurant? Stay tuned.

 

[Doc Disney]

“No I have not seen the Dooney Pooh Purse!” I exclaimed, practically pushing Em aside as I raced to the Pricey Purse and Jewelry section of Mouse Gear.

And there it was.

thank you for the Birthday gift idea for my Mom

**edit** never mind cant find it online

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

So sorry about your wet bum!! But I'm glad you're having a good time, even if you had more than a half-mile from the resort entrance to your room!!

We were seated at a “TV restaurant booth” (you’ll have to ask Em what that means) in the middle of the dining room. We had a nice view of the lagoon.

I'm dying to know what this means, @TrolleyFollower91

So cool you randomly ran into a MagicMeet!

I'm way too distracted on rides to brush my hair!! That girl was rude!

 

[MinnieM123]

And then it happened. A giant wave at the bottom of the hill.
My shorts never had a chance.
When brown shorts get wet......yeah, it looked like I had an accident.

(sorry . . . . . . runs and hides)

P.S.: I only ride Frozen once--underwhelmed. Anyway, I was in the middle of the boat, so I didn't even notice the big splash at the end. Note to self--don't ever sit in the front row!

 

[fractal]

"Now here’s the reason for Em’s annoyance on LWTL.
Marcia Brady sat in front of her brushing her hair....with a plastic Barbie doll brush....for the entire duration of the ride. "


So ridiculous!

 

[Figment Forever]

Remember the prairie foreshadowing I spoke of? It was POURING outside when we were ready to leave the pavilion.

“Forgetting your umbrella was a mistake,” I chided Em.

“I know!” she said ruefully. “Let’s go to Mouse Gear so I can buy another one.”

We waited a few minutes for the heavy rain to let up and then dashed from the Land to the Innoventions Plaza....then from the Innoventions Plaza into Mouse Gear.

View attachment 299755

Em located an umbrella quickly but we still perused the other merchandise.

@MinnieM123 I found the perfect shirt for you.
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@Figment Forever Hope needs the Dreamfinder and Figment ballon for her tsum tsum collection!
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When Em ran the Princess half marathon in 2016 she dressed as a Wilderness Explorer. She had to create her own hat because a Wilderness Explorer cap did not exist.....
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....until now!!
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As Em was about to check out she casually said, “Hey Mom, have you seen the new Dooney Pooh purse?”

THERE’S A DOONEY POOH PURSE???!!!

It will come as no surprise to any of you that I adore Pooh and his friends.

“No I have not seen the Dooney Pooh Purse!” I exclaimed, practically pushing Em aside as I raced to the Pricey Purse and Jewelry section of Mouse Gear.

And there it was.

View attachment 299757

And now it’s mine!

Oh my gosh - that is adorable!! Yes, I think Hope will have to add that to her collection!!!

 

[dizfan917]

I don’t know as I’ve never been in a Beach Club DVC room. @dizfan917 can you help us out?

The decor in our Beach Club DVC room looks identical to your room. Our bathroom (with THREE DOORS!) didn't have any fancy tile work, just HUGE like 2' x 3' light gray tiles in the walk in shower with all glass walls.

I, too, commented about how it was a lovely Hilton room but not an interesting themed Disney Resort room. The carpet in the hallway was the only thing with any personality (and hidden Mickeys).

 

[Tuvalu]

Sunday, con’t

It was merely sprinkling when we left La Hacienda. But things weren’t looking so good across the lagoon.

Em suggested going to Ample Hills for ice cream. By the time we reached the International Gateway the “sprinkling” had become a full-fledged downpour! My shorts were doomed to stay wet.

We took cover outside the restrooms. It rained HARD but I don’t recall hearing any thunder (otherwise we would have gone straight to Beach Club.) When the rain finally stopped we headed for the Friendship boat to ride to Boardwalk.

Only the boat wasn’t operating. We’d have to walk after all.

Somewhere over the rainbow.....

We planned to share an ice cream flight. Each of us would get to pick three flavors. After Em made her selections she went outside to snag the only table available that was under the awning. (An ounce of prevention...)

Top 3 LtoR ~ Dark Chocolate, Oatmeal Lace, Chocolate Fudge Brownie
Bottom 3 LtoR ~ Ooey Gooey Butter Cake, PB Wins the Cup, Baked/Unbaked

Em’s fave was PB Wins the Cup. Mine was Dark Chocolate (although I mixed several spoonfuls with the Ooey Gooey for a flavor sensation. )

@ajrwdwgirl, I really wanted to like your fave Oatmeal Lace. Truly I did. But it was too heavily-cinnamoned for me. I did think of you when I tasted it though!

We enjoyed this view as we pigged out. And hoped we could make it back before the next storm rolled in.

 

[Tuvalu]

Though it wasn’t raining, it was still a wet walk to Beach Club. My sneakers (and socks) had gotten totally soaked in the after-dinner monsoon so stepping in a few more puddles wasn’t too awful. I had worn socks and sneakers today because I knew we’d have to remove our footwear at the airport and I didn’t want to walk barefoot on the airport floor. When I noticed Em wearing sandals this morning, I teased her about all the germs her bare tootsies would encounter at security.

But it was Em who had the last laugh ~ thanks to her sandals, she wasn’t bothered by any puddles and her feet were a thousand times more comfortable than mine! (My socks were still wet the next morning!)

Upon entering Beach Club this floral arrangement caught my eye.

How neat are the starfish?!

We briefly popped into the Marketplace and saw these cute things ~

It felt wonderful to remove my wet items (I literally wrung out my socks!) and put on pjs. Just as we heard the first booms from Illuminations, we saw a BIG lightning strike outside our room ~ through the blackout drapes!

Then we were unsure if the booms we heard were from Illuminations or a thunderstorm. Either way we were content to be in our room and not out in the elements.

We went to sleep happy to be in Disney beds again.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Sunday, con’t

It was merely sprinkling when we left La Hacienda. But things weren’t looking so good across the lagoon.

View attachment 300068

Em suggested going to Ample Hills for ice cream. By the time we reached the International Gateway the “sprinkling” had become a full-fledged downpour! My shorts were doomed to stay wet.

We took cover outside the restrooms. It rained HARD but I don’t recall hearing any thunder (otherwise we would have gone straight to Beach Club.) When the rain finally stopped we headed for the Friendship boat to ride to Boardwalk.

Only the boat wasn’t operating. We’d have to walk after all.

Somewhere over the rainbow.....
View attachment 300069

View attachment 300070

View attachment 300071

View attachment 300072

We planned to share an ice cream flight. Each of us would get to pick three flavors. After Em made her selections she went outside to snag the only table available that was under the awning. (An ounce of prevention...)

View attachment 300073

View attachment 300074

View attachment 300075
Top 3 LtoR ~ Dark Chocolate, Oatmeal Lace, Chocolate Fudge Brownie
Bottom 3 LtoR ~ Ooey Gooey Butter Cake, PB Wins the Cup, Baked/Unbaked

Em’s fave was PB Wins the Cup. Mine was Dark Chocolate (although I mixed several spoonfuls with the Ooey Gooey for a flavor sensation. )

@ajrwdwgirl, I really wanted to like your fave Oatmeal Lace. Truly I did. But it was too heavily-cinnamoned for me. I did think of you when I tasted it though!

We enjoyed this view as we pigged out. And hoped we could make it back before the next storm rolled in.
View attachment 300076

I’m glad you at least tried the oatmeal. PB wins the cup is my second favorite. Brad likes the PB wins the cup the best too for two reasons he likes chocolate peanut thingsamd he thinks it is named after him. He thinks it is named after him because he is a pastor and everyone calls him PB (Pastor Brad)! Really though all the ice cream I’ve had at Ample Hills has been fantastic, no losers at this place!

 

[Tuvalu]

Brad likes the PB wins the cup the best too for two reasons he likes chocolate peanut things and he thinks it is named after him. He thinks it is named after him because he is a pastor and everyone calls him PB (Pastor Brad)!

Love it!

 

[amjt660]

TV restaurant booth

Open on both sides?


Max

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

TV restaurant booth

Open on both sides?


Max

I knew I could always count on you, Max!