Trip Report The "This is a relaxing and resorting trip, not a running trip!" Trip

We're back!

Basic info:
Cast: Bee (me-32), M (my wife-32), Jay (my brother-26), MIL (M's mom), FIL (M's dad)
Dates: August 16-25
Resorts: Contemporary and Swan split stay (M and me), offsite (Jay, MIL, FIL)
Tickets: 4-day, no hopper, plus DAH Boo Bash
Park plans: 8/17 Boo Bash, 8/19 MK, 8/20 Epcot, 8/22 DHS, 8/24 Epcot

PTR here.

This was a rather different trip that what we're used to, for various reasons which will be explained throughout the TR. Lots of things went really well, and a few things didn't go so well. Keep reading for food, drinks, surprises, and DRAMMA!

 

[PrincessJasmyn]

As we headed toward our next destination we saw an ibis enjoying some discarded popcorn.

In Australia you will hear people calling these "Bin Chickens"

 

[Cetta]

just started reading your trip report and only on the first page. I'm originally from NJ and know the Newark airport well and can relate to your problems. I hate that there is not many food options after TSA and how narrow the TSA area is. It was obviously built before TSA was a thing but even after remodeling, it's not much better. I also can't stand how when you look out the windows there is so much trash outside. People think Jersey is dirty already, we don't need the trash to be the first thing they see when they land.
I think people stand around the check in gate when they start calling boarding groups because they are scared of being left behind. My mom is one of those people who wants to stand up by the gate, I am always reassuring her we won't miss it, just wait! Can't wait to keep reading!

 

[bee]

It looks like you were just zipping through all the lines at the party!!!

We really were!

I especially enjoyed your photos at Small World. (I know that's borderline lame, but I have always loved that attraction -- it's so uplifting!)

Not lame! It's so fun to see all the different dolls and colors!

Seems like you were attracting a lot of big groups and their kids!

Boo Bash looks like fun and thanks for the pics of Tron Coaster.

No such thing as late! I am only on Day 2, after all!

In Australia you will hear people calling these "Bin Chickens"

Love that!

just started reading your trip report and only on the first page. I'm originally from NJ and know the Newark airport well and can relate to your problems. I hate that there is not many food options after TSA and how narrow the TSA area is. It was obviously built before TSA was a thing but even after remodeling, it's not much better. I also can't stand how when you look out the windows there is so much trash outside. People think Jersey is dirty already, we don't need the trash to be the first thing they see when they land.
I think people stand around the check in gate when they start calling boarding groups because they are scared of being left behind. My mom is one of those people who wants to stand up by the gate, I am always reassuring her we won't miss it, just wait! Can't wait to keep reading!

I can only hope that the new terminal will be an improvement!

 

[bee]

Day 2, cont.

We walked to Tomorrowland as we only had one more must-do of the evening: Space Mountain.

We walked right on! Unfortunately I think that was the last Space Mountain ride for me because it was quite rough! At least, it was my last in WDW, as the Disneyland and Tokyo SMs are much smoother! The perks of...

ANOTHER lost balloon

Spooky green castle!

With time for one more ride, we repeated our first ride of the evening.

Is it illegal to put one's feet up on the Peoplemover? If so, don't tell Disney. Our feet were TIRED!

Hi, Contemporary!

Dance Party

After we rode the Peoplemover it was about five minutes before the official end of the Boo Bash. We decided to go to the Tomorrowland ToT location and then get one last popcorn. The ToT station was inside the MILF (lol) building and it took longer to get to the actual candy than at the other locations. By the time we got out it was 12:29 and we had less than a minute to get to the nearest popcorn cart.

Up next: Will we get our popcorn???

 

[bee]

Day 2, cont.

We RAN from the MILF exit over the bridge back to the hub, where the nearest popcorn cart was. I kept checking and rechecking the time and it seemed like we could make it.

Then, when we were almost close enough to get in line, the clock struck 12:30 and a CM came out from behind the cart and gestured to approaching guests to indicate they were closed.

Despite missing out on another box of popcorn we were still elated after the wonderful evening! We stopped for a few photos on the way out, since we knew the trip back to the hotel would be short and we weren't in a rush.

(Check out the costume on the woman in orange to the left of the tracks!)

Characters in costume!

Since everyone was leaving at once there was quite a crowd in the front of the park and the entrance/exit area. This, combined with our VERY TIRED feet, convinced us to find a bench and just sit for a bit as the people poured out.

When the time came to actually leave we decided to take the monorail instead of walking.

I was excited to be on Monorail Orange after the Halloween event!

And we had the car to ourselves!

Being one stop from MK was SOOOOO nice. The walk back to the Garden Wing did feel quite long (did I mention that our feet hurt lol) but we were there soon enough. And here is the closest thing I have to a pic of our complete costumes:

We passed this in the hallway

We made it back to our room a bit after 1:00am, showered, and CRASHED. Okay, we have also eaten some candy in there...

In case you couldn't tell from my description of the evening, WE. LOVED. IT. Every ride was a walk-on except for Seven Dwarfs (totally understandable) and Peter Pan (also understandable, but it was still only six minutes!). The park felt SO empty. The spooky projections and themed music just made it that much more fun to walk through each land. We didn't really come for the characters but it was still nice to see them. I thought the Boo Bash was a great replacement for a day ticket; we probably rode just as many rides (if not more), it was far less crowded, and it wasn't so hot. Honestly DAH may be the only way we ever do MK in the future. And if DAH events come back to DHS and AK before our next trip (whenever that will be), we might just replace multiple park days for those parks with After Hours.

Up next: Day 3! California Grill twice in one day (sort of)!

 

[Bullseye1967]

How did I miss this? Following along now!

 

[lindawdw]

Glad you both had such a great time!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Glad Boo Bash was such a hit!!

All caught up now and two things: 1. The Jenna Marbles gif is getting me in my feels. I miss her! 2. Our neighbors have a Corgi (different neighbors than @Darstarr ) that we call Cheddar. He visits us often and sometimes leaves unwanted presents in our driveway, but we still love him.

 

[bee]

How did I miss this? Following along now!

Welcome! You haven't missed much...I've barely started!

Glad you both had such a great time!

We are too!

Glad Boo Bash was such a hit!!

All caught up now and two things: 1. The Jenna Marbles gif is getting me in my feels. I miss her! 2. Our neighbors have a Corgi (different neighbors than @Darstarr ) that we call Cheddar. He visits us often and sometimes leaves unwanted presents in our driveway, but we still love him.

I miss her too! Do you not know "Cheddar"'s name, or do you know and call him that anyway?

 

[bee]

At this rate I'll be a 33-year-old lady before I finish this. Well, better late than never, eh?

Day 3: Wednesday, August 18

After the late night we'd just had at the Boo Bash we were happy that all our plans for the day were at our own resort.

Well thanks, I think we'll try that today!

We walked to the tower second floor and I did mobile checkin for breakfast.

Our table was ready quickly and even though we were supposed to just get in the elevator and go, it still felt like that wasn't allowed, so I told the hostess our table was ready and she said to go on up. She may have looked at me like I was silly for checking with her...

Upstairs Ansley greeted us and we had a nice chat on the way to our table. She was new and we mentioned we had done the Boo Bash the night before, and she asked if we liked it and it was worth it. Of course we said YES and YES! She said she wasn't even thinking about doing it but we may have convinced her... She brought us to a great table by a window.

Our server Tim greeted us and the first thing he said was, "I love your rainbow glasses!" to M. Then he turned to me and saw I was ALSO wearing my rainbow glasses and he got a kick out of it.

We of course ordered the "refillable" (aka bottomless) mimosas; he saw from our IDs that we live in North Jersey and he told us he's from South Jersey! He's been in Florida for over twenty years (I believe) and goes back every year to visit his mom.

Yesss!

Up next: Food, and "Yes, I am magic!"

 

[bee]

Day 3, cont.

We started with the fresh fruit appetizer, which was excellent.

I had the veggie omelet.

M had the pancakes, but asked for a side of scrambled eggs instead of meat.

Accompaniments

The food was really good and we had a great time chatting with Tim. He too asked us about the Boo Bash and we maaaay have convinced him to go. We noticed throughout the trip we had so many great CM interactions. Of course the CMs are always great but maybe the ones who were working at this particular time were just so excited to be back?

Tim kept the mimosas coming and we definitely got our money's worth. He also told us that he didn't officially know the new name of The Wave, but that he was 99% sure it would be Steakhouse 71 (but we didn't hear it from him!). I think the name was announced a few days later during our trip. He also said he would still be working there after the change and to please ask for him when we come back. We will, of course!

We enjoyed the views for a few more minutes before paying and heading out.

Lovely wires...

We stopped in the ladies' room and as we were walking there a kid (10ish?) kept saying, "Abracadabra!" as he "magically" opened the elevators for other guest. Of course we all saw him just pushing the down button but everyone let him have his fun. When it was our turn to leave he said, "Allow me," and summoned the elevator for us. As we boarded he said, "Yes, I AM magic!"

We stopped on the fourth floor for some tea and headed back to the room, where we took a nice nap.

Why pay for Chef Mickey's when you can just take photos from over the barrier wall between CM's and Contempo Café??

Up next: Poooool????

 

[dizfan917]

That looks like a fair amount of CHEESE on that omelet! YUM! That was almost as good as Brunch at the Top (and probably $200 cheaper for you guys...).

 

[sheriffwoody]

Welcome! You haven't missed much...I've barely started!

We are too!

I miss her too! Do you not know "Cheddar"'s name, or do you know and call him that anyway?

We know his name (Samson) but we still call him Cheddar. Can't help it! We are dogsitting him next week because I'm a pushover who can't say no.

 

[bee]

Day 3, cont.

When we woke up from our nap we tried the pool again. This time I took my phone with me in case the pool was closed and we wanted to wait it out outside. And wouldn't you know...

Not again!

We had a dinner reservation at California Grill later so we decided if the pool didn't open by a certain time we would go back to the room to get ready. While we waited we tried the famous Piña Colava:

It was just as good as everyone says it is! If you like sweet frozen drinks definitely try this!

As we waited, so did a lot of other people! We noticed how many families with small kids were staying at the Contemporary at the same time we were. I guess it makes sense to stay there if you will be spending a lot of time at MK with small kids so you can make a quick getaway for an afternoon nap. There was one family in particular we kept running into and recognizing over the next few days on transportation and in the parks. There was a kid from another family whom we called "Mulch Kid" because he kept playing in the mulch while waiting for the pool to reopen.

There were also plenty of birds hanging around trying to steal human food!

After we finished our drink we moved to a table closer to Bay Lake so one of the families with food could sit and eat.

There was only one other couple in this area so it was very quiet and peaceful!

By this point it was not raining even a little bit so we waited anxiously for the all-clear to go back in the pool. We kept seeing lifeguards running back and forth and talking with each other and stared at them looking for any sign that the pool might reopen soon! I hope we didn't creep them out too much but I'm sure they're used to that every time the pool closes haha.

Finally, around 4:30, the pools reopened! We chose the quiet pool since a) we hadn't swum in it yet and b) it was...quiet! For awhile we were the only ones there which was very nice.

So smooth!

Two other women got in the pool maybe twenty minutes after it opened. It still felt very quiet and relaxing since there were no kids!

Since we thought this might be our last pool day we determined that we NEEDED to experience the water slide in the feature pool. It was fun but we didn't feel the need to repeat it. Soon we left the pool to shower and get dressed for dinner.

Up next: "Sorry about the view!"

 

[bee]

I really do intend to finish this thing...

Day 3, cont.

We walked to the main building to check in for our California Grill reservation.

I always like this logo

We match sometimes...these are the same shoes in different colors and I'm pretty sure they are the exact same pants lol

This carpet always makes me think of coffee beans

Honeycomb!

Waiting for our table to be ready!

We were seated pretty close to our reservation time. We had a booth near the north observation deck with an amazing view. The hostess told us our server would be George, but when he showed up his nametag clearly said, "Jorge." He told us we could call him either name! He also "apologized" for the view.

We started with a bottle of red:

Tres Sabores Zinfandel

It was suuuuuper delicious and complex yet drinkable. It was full-bodied with a lot of red fruit and some spice. I would definitely drink this one again.

We ordered several things to share and Jorge brought us bread and olive oil.

We maaaaaay have eaten a whole loaf and then saved the other loaf for breakfast the next day...it's just purse bread, right @Tuvalu?

This doesn't even do the view justice. Not even close.

Cheese plate!

Of course I waited so long to write this that the menu isn't online anymore. But it's clearly a vegetable pasta!

Raviolo

Heirloom tomato salad

Everything was, of course, wonderful. The salad had little crispy bits with warm spices like cardamom, which I would have NEVER thought to pair with a salad like this but that totally worked. The cheeses were all great and both pasta dishes were delicious. As you can see by this plate:

Hidden Mickey in my glass!

Mushroom lamp!

Up next: Dessert and FIREWORKS!!!

 

[bee]

Day 3, cont.

As the sun set we decided to share a dessert. This was a celebratory trip, after all!

Peach bourbon crème brulée

This was . It was sweet and creamy and tart and crunchy and just overall and fantastic dessert.

Now it looks like I was stalking this family. I promise I wasn't! I was just trying to remember the glorious sunset!

It was getting close to fireworks time and while we could have stayed at our table we decided to settle the bill so another group could have our table and Jorge could serve the next party.

We of course loved Happily Ever After. We ran back inside as soon as it was finishing so we could catch one of the first elevators back down. We were tired.

On the way back we stopped for water from the machines at Contempo Café, and happened to catch the Chef Mickey's show again. Who needs to pay for Chef Mickey's when you can watch from the other side of the wall??

Unfortunately, as we walked back to the room I suddenly had a headache and started feeling super nauseous. M felt fine and we had eaten all the same things so we know it wasn't a food issue. Much later we figured out that it was due to a new medication I had just started taking that occasionally gives me headaches and nausea. Now I rarely get them but when it happens I know to immediately take some ibuprofen and an antacid and they will go away shortly. But on this night I had no idea what was wrong and just had a really bad rest of the night.

Up next: Feeling better??

 

[Darstarr]

The hostess told us our server would be George, but when he showed up his nametag clearly said, "Jorge." He told us we could call him either name!

Ok, my friend M, who you have all met, owns a small business with his family. Today I was working and we have a customer who tells me his name is George but I can not find him in the data base. I ask him to spell his name and its Jorge. I say, “ dude, I am from California. You can be real with me.”

Tres Sabores Zinfandel

On my list. Love a full bodied Zin! (@wdisney9000 , is Zin an ok abbrev? Is abbrev an ok abbrev for abbreviation?)

Hidden Mickey in my glass!

Hmmmm….exactly how many refills did you have???

 

[wdisney9000]

On my list. Love a full bodied Zin! (@wdisney9000 , is Zin an ok abbrev? Is abbrev an ok abbrev for abbreviation?)

Sure...

 

[bee]

At this rate I'll be a 33-year-old lady before I finish this. Well, better late than never, eh?

Oops. I was correct. Maybe I'll finish this before I turn 34??

Day 4: Thursday, August 19

Remember how I felt terrible the night before? The good news is when I have these incidents I am completely fine the next morning.

Originally we had planned for this to be a full MK day, but after our magical night at the Boo Bash we each independently decided we didn't want to go back to MK. The Boo Bash was everything we like about a good MK day (rides, short lines) without the things we don't like (heat, crowds). I was worried at first that M wouldn't want to change our park reservation so after the Boo Bash I sort of "joked" about going to Epcot instead. She said she was thinking the same thing. So we switched day 4 from MK to Epcot!

I woke up to this email from our doctors office:

Nothing like checking your email to remind you about the "real world!" Months later in October M and I both got boosted basically as soon as we were eligible.

I braided M's hair before we left the room.

On our way!

First, a stop at the Contempo Café!

Monorail! Also maskhole

When I sent my brother this photo he responded, "Why is the Publix employee in the ceiling?" IYKYK

Did I mention we took some purse bread from CG the night before? Well in case I didn't:

The purse bread made a good breakfast.

Nearly empty!

After our "free" breakfast we headed up to the monorail.

We had planned our shirts today with MK in mind but we wore them even though we went to Epcot instead. I wore my Disney Princess shirt and M wore her Ursula shirt. I'm not sure what that says about our two personalities

The Epcot monorail arrived pretty quickly and we were soon on our way!

Hi Swolphin! See you soon!

I checked the wait times while we were on the monorail, about an hour after park opening. Nice!

WE'RE HERE!!!

Up next: Health concerns

 

[bee]

Day 4, cont.

Spaceship Earth had a short wait time so we practically walked right on.

Prepare for a bunch of blurry photos!

I should mention here that I selected French as the language for this journey at the beginning. M and I speak a little French and I've been brushing up on my French on Duolingo for awhile in hopes that our next international trip will be to France. So when it came time to choose our future we did okay understanding what we were choosing.

And we chose santé (health) because who ISN'T preoccupied with health these days?!?!?

I guess M's future includes no eyes...

We enjoyed our very healthy future and then looked for ourselves on the world map:

Can you find us?

Up next: Let me in! (or: Let me listen to my block!)