Completed 1/13 - Monoraaaaaaaail! - August 2023 Trip Report

[Araminta18]

Flight of Passage and Nomad Lounge - Saturday, August 19, 2023 (part 3)​

Then our Lightning Lane! The fastpass lane though...woof. It was backed up to here:

I've never seen the lightning lane backed up this far. The worst part was just being outside here in the sun for the first bit. The sun man, woof. We ended up waiting 25 minutes total.

Hello Trevor and his hat!

It was a great ride, as always. Then where we heading?

Nomad Lounge of course! We were way later than we normally are when we go to Nomad (it was about 1:20, and we usually go at 11 when it opens), and the only seat we could get without a wait was at the bar. So that's where we sat.


Trevor got zingiber fizz and I got Lilly Gorillie, and one of us got the Kiama Mama. I apparently didn't take a picture of the Lilly Gorillie. Oops!

We got the bread service:

I think the dips were a Ginger Pear Chutney, a Coconut Curry, and a Guava sauce.


The bread was a spicy red curry bread, the flat bread, and then I think pao de quiejo/Brazilian cheese bread? I have no memory of the cheese bread which is interesting 'cause I love cheese bread (I lived in Brazil for a year and a half) and I would have thought I'd remember it. Oh well!
Then we got the sliders:

Good, but a tad dry.

The Chicken Manchurian bowl:

I have literally no memory of this. So I guess it was fine?

I was a bad dining reporter, cause we also apparently got a Tuna Poke bowl and I didn't take a picture of it. Oh well! Overall it was a good experience (as per usual at Nomad Lounge), but not as relaxing as it normally is, since we were at the bar. We did like the a/c, but overall we'll probably skip bar seats and wait for regular tables next time.

 

[Araminta18]

Can We Ride Dinosaur? - Saturday, August 19, 2023 (part 4)​

After Nomad Lounge, we had a fastpass for Navi River Journey. This may have been a mistake -

The fastpass line was backed up this far. But we ended up only waiting about 7 minutes (yay for being a party of two and skipping several people to make up the full boat. )

We got off at about 2:45, and decided to try one more ride before heading back to the hotel for a rest. What ride?

Dinosaur!! When we got in line, we were told that the ride had gone down but should be back up shortly, so we decided to wait. After about 10 min the ride came back up - yay!

We got to the top of the stairs, about ready to descend, when the ride went down again. Sadness! But again, they said it would be back pretty quickly. I entertained myself looking at all the details...

I love the in-depth theming.

But just a few minutes later, they dumped the queue. Dangit. And with all the waiting, we ended up getting back to the hotel much later than we planned. On the bright side, a bus pulled up at the bus stop right as we arrived, but we didn't get back until 4:35. Still, we didn't have anything planned until our 7:45 California Grill reservation. So, naptime! I was definitely coming down with a summer cold - a bit of congestion and general fuzziness. But I was so excited to try California Grill! We checked in and after a short wait (like 10/15 min) we got escorted to our seats-

I was hoping for a seat at the window but not bad! Magic Kingdom is right out those windows. Our waiter was nice - Trevor started with virgin Blackberry Sour,

and I got a Shirley Temple.

The waiter asked if I liked cherries and I was a little thrown and said yes, even though I don't really - I like the flavor but not the actual cherries. But he brought a little cup of cherries which was super nice.

Then, bread!


Delish.

Then, appetizers! I wasn't sure what to get at first but then I remembered everyone recommending the goat cheese ravioli, so I went with that.

This was really when I could tell I was getting a bit sick - it was kind of hard to taste. Which was a bummer cause I'm sure it was good!

 

[Araminta18]

Fireworks from California Grill - Saturday, August 19, 2023 (part 5)​

Trevor got the Spicy Kazan Roll: Crab, Shrimp, Scallops, Tuna, Fireball Sauce.

He said this was yummy. I wasn't gonna try it, cause gross.

After we finished our appetizers, it was almost time for the fireworks, so we went out to the balcony to watch them!

Such a nice view.

You could even see Epcot from up there -


Hello Grand Concourse!

Watching the fireworks from up there was really neat - we'd never seen the MK fireworks from outside the Magic Kingdom, so this was cool. It is a great view - you just miss some of the projections. But so cool to see the fireworks and realize how your perspective is forced from inside the park but outside you can see how far away some of the fireworks are from the castle. Also there was quite the lightning storm going on which made for fun background too.

The only bummer was the family sitting at the next table who followed us out and stood next to us with their 3 and 5 year olds who were having fun talking loudly during the show. Oh well! I was a bit surprised to see little kids at California Grill, but I guess I shouldn't have, cause Disney. Though I wish at nicer restaurants parents wouldn't give their kids ipads with the volume up super loudly. I know, I know - I'm old and giving off real "get off my lawn" vibes.

Also as a fun bonus, we got to see a bit of the Electric Water Pageant before the fireworks and a bit more of it afterwards! No music, but still neat to see it, esp cause it was the first time we saw it in person!

But then, back inside for food!

I got the venison.

Trevor got the Sea Bass.

Both were good, but I'm looking forward to going back to California Grill in May when I can actually taste it!

Then for dessert, Trevor got the Peanut and Banana Torte:

Yum!

I went for the cheese board:

Mt Tam cheese on the far left (triple cream cheese from CA); Bay Blue (blue cheese), then Humboldt Fog (goat's milk cheese sprinkled in vegetable ash and with a line of ash running through the middle). This wasn't my favorite; I don't love blue cheese or goat's cheese.

Overall, a great meal! I just wish I didn't have a cold. Also, it is SO NICE to finish with a huge meal and just be steps away from your room. 10/10, highly recommend.

Fun with Metrics:
Steps walked: 13703 steps (6 miles)
Ride count: 4 (Flight of Passage, Navi River Journey, Safari, Everest)
Savings due to AP discount: $36.86 (merch + discount at CA Grill)

 

[Araminta18]

How to get to Brunch - Sunday, August 20, 2023 (part 1)​

This morning we'd originally planned to do the Garden Grill breakfast at 8:30 am, but last night we'd decided to cancel it, and sleep in a bit and take a slow day. And then I decided to look and see if there were any reservations at Topolino's Terrace and there was! So at 10 pm last night we made a reservation for Topolino's Terrace at 11:10 am. Woot!

We slept in (though I woke up a bit before 7 so decided to do the Guardians virtual queue, just in case we got up early and were ready to go to the park, cause the virtual queue first thing in the morning is fast ), and ended up being ready to go at about 10:20 am.

And this is about where it all went to heck in a handbasket. I was like "oh, to get to the Riviera, we can just take the monorail to Epcot and then take a bus from Epcot to the Riviera." So...off to the monorail we went!

Hello five legged goat!


I really liked this view of the lagoon while waiting for the monorail.

5 min later we were at the Ticket and Transportation Center, waiting for the monorail to Epcot.

Hi Trevor!

So by 10:50, we were in front of Epcot, heading towards the buses to catch the bus to Riviera.

Hi pretty Epcot ball!

Anyone else spot the problem? NO BUS TO THE RIVIERA FROM EPCOT. Which we didn't find out about until we walked all the way over to the bus boards and saw that it said for Riviera to take the Skyliner from International Gateway. If there was a way to find this out without actually going there, I would appreciate the tip, cause I felt pretty stupid. We were absolutely not up for walking all the way through the park to get to the International Gateway, so we decided to catch an Uber. It was a bit of a walk over there too, but definitely not as bad as to the back of the park!

I was starting to get worried about time - our reservation was at 11:10 and the uber didn't come until 11:05. But that was probably just me being anxious - we got there at about 11:15 (fun fact the guard absolutely checked that we had a reservation, even just to be dropped off in the uber), and headed immediately to the elevator to go up to the restaurant.

Passed this lovely artpiece on the way - gorgeous!

And even in the elevator it was all nice - I loved this little border on the mirror (in the elevator. )

Once checked in, we waited about 10 minutes or so before we were seated, which was nice - gave me a bit of a chance to recover from the chaos of trying to get there! We had fun looking at the menu - normally I plan out the reservations way in advance, and so I've looked at the menus and have an idea of what I want. But with this one being so last minute, we hadn't really done any of that. So it was all a surprise!

As we were looking, we got the pastries!

I love the cute little painter's palette and the knife! I think it's like the knife they use on the Disney cruises at Animator's Palette? Super cute thought. The pastries themselves were fine - a bit on the dry side, but still good.

We ordered, and almost immediately, Mickey came around!

Hi Mickey! This is where I really should take better notes - I remember we had a really good interaction with him, but I can't remember the details! I think he maybe liked my Winnie the pooh button, or my ears/shirt + Trevor's shirt? But I honestly don't remember. Bummer It did inspire Trevor to film the rest of our interactions with the characters, though those weren't nearly as good. Oh well. But it did start our meal on a fantastic note!

And then, food started arriving! Well, drinks. Both Trevor and I got the "Peche Repose": Peach, Mint, Lemon, Soda Water.

We both really liked this - absolutely delicious and very peachy. Highly recommend.

 

[Araminta18]

Breakfast at Topolino's Terrace - Sunday August 20, 2023 (part 2)​

We also had to get some POG juice

It actually ended up taking a bit for our food to come, but that's ok - we got to meet Minnie and Daisy in the meantime! We actually got to see them do their little dance, take a break, and then come out for the next cycle and meet Minnie and Daisy before our food came out - it was about 25 minutes from ordering to getting the food. But Minnie!

Such a cute outfit.

Minnie was flirting with Trevor!


Then a few minutes later, Daisy!

Seriously - the outfits at this restaurant are adorable. Love it.

Then the food! I got the quiche gruyere: house-made pancetta, roasted potatos, gruyere, field greens, lemon vinaigrette.


This was really good - the potatoes especially, oddly enough. I was having a hard time choosing between this and the avocado toast, but I'm glad I got this. Though I kind of sort of want to try this again and get the avocado toast!

Trevor got the steak: polenta, pomodoraccio tomatoes, roasted onions, wild mushroom conserva, and watercress, along with a side of scrambled eggs.

This was also delicious. Seriously, the food here is top notch.

Then, Donald stopped by!



Donald was the only one who noticed that Trevor had propped up his phone (he had the Pixel Fold so he could prop it up on itself) to film the interactions, which was kind of funny.

I hate how I sound...ignore me!

 

[Araminta18]

Riviera Views and Art - Sunday August 20, 2023 (part 3)​

After we finished eating, we went out on the balcony to look around and enjoy the view. And it is an amazing view!



It was a bit windy, but so pretty! What a view. It was a bit windy and that weather was looking a bit sketchy, but that helped with the heat.

Afterwards, we left and wandered around the main floor a bit. I loved looking at all the artwork!

Sleeping Beauty!


The geese from the Aristocats!! In a style reminiscent of Van Gogh - love it.

In the gift shop they had some more fun pieces hanging:

They also had one of those art on demand kiosks, but I didn't end up buying anything cause a distinct lack of wall space at home and they only had big sizes for sale. Oh well!

Also the Riveira has a lot of cool resort-specific merch - bags, suitcases, shirts... Too bad all the hotels don't have as much!

Anyways. Done with our food and looking around inside, we headed for the skyliner, but first I wanted to stop and see the murals! I'd heard so much about them, so was excited to see them in person.

I didn't realize this cute little fountain was there right by the murals.



So cool!

 

[Araminta18]

Surprise Character Meet! - Sunday August 20, 2023 (part 4)​

More pictures!

I do love how the mural goes up and across the ceiling.



The golden ship! This side of the Peter Pan mural reminds me of the ending painting/scene of the Peter Pan ride with the ship all golden and covered in pixie dust - I love it.

Took some video, just for funsies:

Then, time for the Skyliner!

Ridden the skyliner through this station before but the first time we ever boarded here!

There they go!

We got on with no wait, and then took the wiiiiiiiindy ride over to Epcot.

We stopped a bit and the wind was really blowing so I tried filming to capture just how much it was swaying. And as is always the way, it had calmed down a bit by the time i got my phone out. Oh well!

Pretty soon we were at Epcot so we decided to walk over to the Boardwalk and look at the gift shop there for some of the Boardwalk specific merch.

Trevor ended up getting a nice fancy polo shirt with the Boardwalk logo on it, and I got a t-shirt and a boardwalk pin. Love it!

Then, onto the Friendship boats to head into Epcot.

We got our favorite seat - out on the back, enjoying the breeze.

Once inside, the plan was to ride Guardians of the Galaxy! But we were slow about it. We stopped to look around in the UK pavilion, and Trevor bought some tea while I bought a 101 Dalmations print. It's so cute!
Then as we kept walking, we ran into Mary Poppins meeting with a super short wait! So of course had to jump in line.

View of the lagoon with no barges!

Then it was time to meet Mary!


It was a good little meet and greet - I love Mary Poppins! I told her about how I have a button that says "it's a Jolly Holiday" but I didn't know I would meet her so I wasn't wearing it. Oh well. Trevor tried filming but it was still quite windy.

Such a fun little detour - I love the serendipitous things you don't plan!

 

[Araminta18]

Raspberry Soda - Sunday August 20, 2023 (part 5)​

As we made our way over there, we ran into a fun photo op with the Disney 100 sign:


Some day I think I may buy myself a balloon at Disney. Maybe. We'll see.

Then Guardians! It was time for our Lightning Lane, so we did that vs our virtual queue.

Kind of long for a lightning lane. And then one side went down briefly as we got out of the second pre-show (filing into that room/funnel):

So we ended up waiting 20 minutes right around here. Not our favorite thing, but what can you do. At least at the end it's the amazing ride that is Guardians!

We got "One Way or Another". Not too shabby!

We were going to try and do our virtual queue afterwards but with the one side having gone down the line was super long so we decided to bail. Trevor was over the pre-shows anyways. We decided to head back to the hotel for a little bit.

We got distracted by Club Cool though -

I tried to get Trevor to try Beverly again but he wasn't falling for it. I did manage to help someone else convincing a family member to try it though. Bwahahahahaha But mostly Trevor and I were trying all the sodas - I liked the Viva (on the far right) Raspberry on from Moldova. So good! I wish Club Cool would sell full bottles of these sodas - how fun would that be?

Refreshed by the sodas, we kept heading towards the monorail. Guess what we got distracted by this time?


If you guessed photos, you're right! The Epcot super zoom, to be specific.

There were a couple other photographers out so of course had to get those too.

Fish eye is not my favorite, but still kind of fun.


Figment! I totally misunderstood the pose! LOL

That was the last photo before we made it to the monorail, I promise!

 

[Araminta18]

Exploring the Grand Floridian - Sunday August 20, 2023 (part 6)​

We got on the monorail, and got off at the Poly - I was thinking that since we had 90 minutes til our dinner reservation, we could kill some time at Trader Sam's!

I can hear you all laughign from here. Which is appropriate - the quoted wait was like 3 hours. Oops! Oh well.

And this is where I didn't take good notes. I have a picture of the Poly monorail station at 3:45, and the next picture is at the Contemporary monorail station at 4:30. That doesn't feel like enough time for us to have gone back to the room, but maybe we did? Or maybe we just hung out in the Grand Concourse at the Contemporary? No idea. Dang. I also realized that happened yesterday! The naptime I mentioned between 4:30 and dinner at California Grill? Was not all naptime! We got back to the room and Mousekeeping was just a few doors away from doing our room, so we decided to (for the very first time!) go to the pool! We never go to the pool at Disney, but we figured this would be a great time to try it, and it was! I just kind of floated in the pool in the shade and it was nice - Trevor tried the slide, though I didn't. The Contemporary pool isn't super exciting, but it was kind of nice to enjoy swimming and just floating and relaxing. Then after about 45 minutes we headed back to the room (now all clean ) and took a nap. Anyways.

We arrived at the Grand Floridian at 4:45, for a dinner reservation at 5 pm. So you know we had fun wandering around and looking around.

Gross, construction walls. Not gonna lie - I'd be SO MAD if I were paying the premium price to stay in the main building and this construction was going on. I'd want some kind of discount but I doubt they're running discounts for the construction.

As we walked around, we found a photographer, taking pictures with:

Cindy's glass slipper!!!!!

There was one group in front of us but of course we had to get our picture taken with the slipper.

The three fairies!

So cool!

We had a couple minutes so we poked around the Enchanted Rose lounge. The theming in there is so neat!

Kind of wish it was classic Beauty and the Beast vs the live action film, but still super cool.




This reminds me more of Sleeping Beauty than Beauty and the Beast, but still, so cool. We are definitely going to have to go to this lounge sometime!!

Then, we headed down to our dinner reservation, passing the Mrs Potts mural on the floor - adorbs.

Have you guessed our dinner yet?

 

[Araminta18]

Brand New Meal at Grand Floridian - Sunday August 20, 2023 (part 7)​

Ha you have to wait a couple more pictures to find out the dinner, cause LOOK AT THIS CHOCOLATE CASTLE THING:


The castle with Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother! That's amazing. So intricate.

Ok, dinner - Citrico's!! When I heard they re-themed to Mary Poppins you know I had to make us a reservation. We were in the first seating, so there was actually a line of waiters waiting to take us to our seat (I'd never seen that before).

Our waiter was super nice and full of interesting information about the restaurant. All the fabric of the chairs was based on various bags of Mary Poppins in the movies.

So pretty.

But then, food! We started with a couple mocktails:
I got the Paradise Punch: Sparkling Grapefruit: Melted Sugar, Caribbean Spices, Strawberry, Vanilla Bean, Orgeat (Almond), Cranberry, Citrus

This was really good - I liked it a lot.

Then Trevor got the Sparkling Grapefruit Soda: House-made Grapefruit Syrup, Florida Honey, House-made Seltzer

This was also good, though I think we both liked mine a bit better.

Also look at the fun design on the cutlery!

Love it.

Then, bread!!

Delish.

We definitely splurged (both with money and stomach space) - appetizers up first! I love strawberry salads so when I saw one on the menu I had to get it:

Yum. So good. Strawberry Salad: Chamomile-infused Goat Cheese, frisee, spiced sunflower seeds, bacon vinaigrette

Then Trevor, at the recommendation of our waiter, got the Smoked Duck Breast: Fresh Tagliatelle pasta, celeriac puree, and duck confit.

Also delicious. YUM.

We were already starting the food coma...but tune in to the next post for our entrees!

 

[Araminta18]

Dinner at Citricos - Sunday August 20, 2023 (part 8)​

Once we got our food, I was taking pictures of the dishes but I looked up to see this:

So of course I had to take a picture of that semi-manical look.

Trevor got the Tilefish: Jupiter Rice-Chorizo Risotto, Key West Pink Shrimp, and Confit tomatoes.

He said it was delicious. I didn't try it cause seafood, gross.

I got the Oak Grilled Filet Mignon: Potato Puree, Broccolini, Cipollini, and Bordelaise.

This was also DELICIOUS. I love that sauce with the steak, and the potatoes were also good - so creamy. YUM.

We were pretty full after this but then the waiter talked us into dessert: we got the Chocolate Torte: Chocolate Financier, Dark Chocolate Ganache, Morello cherries, vanilla mascarpone cream.

Oh my gosh look at that. How gorgeous is that? The pattern on the plate is made of cocoa dust! This was SO good. I wanted just a tad more vanilla to cut the chocolate but it was amazing. 10/10, highly recommend.

So overall, HIGHLY recommend Citricos. The food was amazing, the service was fantastic - we'll definitely be coming back. And on the way out I made sure to peek in at the small dining room to see some of the Mary Poppins touches -



I'd love to eat in there some time! But so fun to see the carpetbag and the umbrella.

Whew, we rolled out of there! The rest of our night was to be spent at Magic Kingdom, but we spent a bit more time at the Grand Floridian, including getting sucked in to Basin where I ended up buying some body scrub and lotion. But I was smart and had them shipped home so I didn't have to carry them!

We also ended up getting to see/hear the pianist in the lobby! Trevor was in the bathroom so I got to just hang out and watch.

So fun. Also I like that because of my angle you get to see the fancy lobby and also into the construction area.

By 6:45, we were on the monorail heading to the Magic Kingdom.

Hi there Contemporary!

There was a photographer out in front of the train station, and we got lucky with a very small line. Woot!


Then, into the Magic Kingdom for some fun! ALSO. This poster guys -

I love it so much! I wish I could buy it but I haven't been able to find it for sale anywhere. If anyone knows...let me know!

 

[Araminta18]

Vibrating with Excitement for Happily Ever After - Sunday August 20, 2023 (part 9)​

Our plan for tonight was just to see the fireworks - we wanted to see Happily Ever After and have a good view, so I bought the dessert party (the after one). It was about 7 pm, and we didn't really have any particular plans. I'm sure you're shocked to hear we took some pictures:

Mickey pumpkin!

Also, I never noticed this 50 statue before, with the mice from Cinderella!

So cute.

We meandered back into Fantasyland and ended up getting pictures taken by Be Our Guest. The photographer was amazing and spent a good amount of time with us and each group. It was awesome!




Definitely crazy hot but some good pics.

At this point, it was a bit after 7:30, so we decided to just go check in for the party and hang out in the garden, enjoy the ambiance, etc.

We grabbed our normal spot for the dessert party...

And just hung out as the garden filled in. I know the whole point of the party is that you don't have to camp out for your spot but it was really nice to just hang out and let our big meal digest and enjoy the atmosphere.

Finally, it was about 4 minutes til the fireworks!


Vibrating with excitement to see Happily Ever After again! (Shhh I know we saw it the night before but now we could see the projections!)

 

[Araminta18]

Speed Run Tron and SDMT - Sunday August 20, 2023 (part 10)​

I was all getting set up to watch the fireworks and we took our selfie and then...

Trevor tried to eat me.

ANYWAYS back to fireworks!

That gorgeous castle.

Then Trevor and I apparently BOTH filmed Happily Ever After cause we missed it so much.
Trevor's version:

My version:

Happily Ever After is SO GOOD. And honestly this was probably one of the better views we had - no kids on shoulders in front of us, all goodness. There was a lady who started filming with her flash on at the beginning but she turned it off (after being asked by several of us) but overall - awesome.

And then, the craziness started. We had bought a Lightning Lane for Tron from 6:50 to 7:50 pm but the timing hadn't quite worked out - I can't remember if we asked or just decided to show up late (I think we talked to someone and got it moved to after the fireworks). But! we had also bought at a Seven Dwarves Lightning Lane good from 9:25 to 10 pm (so also after the fireworks). But we had the dessert party! What to do?!

Well the CMs said they'd have the snacks open for about 20/25 min after the park close, so we decided to run for our rides. We left our bag of stuff at our reserved table at the dessert party, and then we RAN for Tron. We were slightly concerned on if we'd have enough time to do Tron and SDMT before the park closed, even with Lightning Lanes, because you know that Tron line can still be a bit long. We got in line at 9:30, and at 9:43, we were being sent up to the front row, without even asking!

Woot!

We got on at 9:45 exactly:

Yay!!

Always a great ride, and even better in the front row when we didn't have to ask!

But we got off at 9:48 and then had to BOOK it out that CRAZY long exit pathway and over to Seven Dwarves Mine Train. We were walking quiiiiiiiiiiiiiite quickly. But we made it! We tapped in at 9:56 pm - 4 min to spare. Woot!


We actually got lucky - they were looking for a party of two to fill out the train so we got pulled from like 20 people back to get on the back row (our favorite row). Woo hoo! What a great way to end the ride night.

It was crazy of us to try and do both headliners and then make it back to the dessert party, but it was kind of this crazy fun adrenaline rush. I wouldn't plan to do it again but we had fun.

Hello pretty castle as we book it back to the dessert party!

We made it back to the dessert party at 10:06, and hungry for treats! There were some things that they'd run out of, but lots of good stuff still remaining.



Yum!

We did have a bit of a heart attack when we noticed that our bag wasn't on our chair!!! We had to track down a couple CMs and it took a bit of time but eventually they told us they'd taken it back to Guest Relations. Well, at least it wasn't stolen! So we hung out to eat our treats, and then we would stop by Guest Relations on our way out.

The food was standard dessert party food, but still yummy! After all you don't book the party for the food, though we were determined to get at least some money's worth out of it.

We closed it out and then made our way to City Hall to get our bag (they had it, phew. ). By 10:52 we were on the monorail and by 10:56 we were exiting the monorail at the Contemporary. The monorail is amaaaaaaaaaazing.

Back at the room I spent some time packing up (sadness ) as we were checking out the next morning. I was trying to figure out how to get all our stuff in the 3 checked bags we were going to have (normally we have 4, cause Southwest, but 'cause work was flying me in and out, I only had one checked bag), including the 35 pounds of candy from MNSSHP.

Overall though, today was a great day. We rode some awesome rides, had some great meet and greets with characters, and an amazing meal plus fireworks and some adrenaline just to cap off the night. So good.

Fun with Metrics:
Steps walked: 20070 steps (8.1 miles)
Ride count: 3 (Guardians, Seven Dwarves, Tron)
Savings due to AP discount: $99.64 (10% off at Topolino's and Citrico's; lots of merch )

 

[Counting Stars]

Thanks for taking the time to share your trip- I really enjoy reading your reports, great detail and great pictures. You two are an adorable couple and fun people. Got my Disney fix today in this frigid weather by reading your report

 

[Araminta18]

Last Morning - Monday, August 21, 2023 (part 1)​

Today was our departure day. Though it was probably time - with the heat and all we were exhausted. But we still had a day of fun left! My plane took off at 7:50, and Trevor's took off at 6:50, so the plan was to leave the Contemporary at 4 pm to make sure we had plenty of time for security and everything.

We woke up a bit before 7 am so I could get a Tron boarding group - and I did! I think I got like group 17 or something? An early group for sure - so lucky! Highly recommend that tip about having the time pulled up on time.gov on another device. It helps!

We then finished packing up - I had an idea in the middle of the night about how I could rearrange stuff to make it fit better, so I tried that and it worked - woot! Got everything to fit, including all the treats. Yay! As a contrast to Art of Animation, we called Bell Services and they came and got all our bags, and then we headed off to the Magic Kingdom! We decided to walk over this morning and by 9:27, we were in this line:

Yay!

Once in, our boarding group had been called so we headed right on back to Tron! I was hoping the line wouldn't be too long that early, and it wasn't too bad at all.




I also filmed my favorite part of the Tron pre-show video - the lady is talking about winners and losers and asks "who are you". Something about the way she says that just gets me -- kind of like the "and uh fly" from Flight of Passage, except not irritating.

20 minutes after getting in line, we were getting on the ride!

We had a great time:


We got the back row, which was awesome.

A great start to our Magic Kingdom day. Woohoo!

Off the ride we saw a photographer so of course -

Next up, we decided to go ride the Jungle Cruise one more time!

Look at that line....Actually we'd bought Genie+ so we just headed right on.

We didn't film this ride, but it was a good one (as honestly most of them are). I love Dad jokes.

And I love the updates they made to the ride - so much fun!

 

[Araminta18]

Magic Kingdom Meanderings - Monday, August 21, 2023 (part 2)​

I'm so bad with notes! After Jungle Cruise, I think I got a fastpass for Big Thunder, so on our way over we stopped and got breakfast:

Chicken cheese biscuit from Westward Ho. This was surprisingly good - highly recommend! It's filling and you can definitely split it - Trevor and I split it and it was perfect.

But then Big Thunder went down, so we decided to do Haunted Mansion instead. On the way, photos!

Never seen a hitchhiking ghost on that boardwalk area there! Fun times.

Haunted Mansion was fun, as always.


Sleepy tourists!

The ghost we got at the end just tipped his hat to us:

Such a fun effect.

As we got off, there was another photographer so we got some pics in front of the Mansion. I know you're all probably bored with them...I can't help it!



After Haunted Mansion, we did some browsing around in Memento Mori, and then wandered around through Fantasyland. We had a fastpass for Space Mountain in a little bit, so we had some time to kill. We ended up getting a Powerade and a slushy from Pinocchio Village House, and then I wanted to look in the gift shop over by Be Our Guest, so we headed over there. Stopping, of course, for a couple more pictures.

As we kept going towards Space Mountain, we stopped in to Big Top Souvenirs to look around - I ended up buying the Robin Hood Disney 100 magic band. Who doesn't love Robin Hood? It's super cute.

Then, Space Mountain! The fastpass line seemed to be a bit backed up:

But i think it was just people struggling with tapping in, because 5 min or so later we were getting on the ride.

Some day we'll remember to look right at the camera, but not today!

 

[Araminta18]

How Many Rides Can We Do Before We Have to Go? - Monday, August 21, 2023 (part 3)​

After Space Mountain, we got a fastpass for Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, cause it's hilarious.

We had not great timing - we just missed a show. Oh well - soon enough we were in the auditorium:

We didn't make it up on screen at all, but it was still hilarious! And also, air conditioning!

Next up, Buzz Lightyear!

Fastpass was a bit backed up - took about 10 minutes to get on the ride.

How did we do?

Not bad, but not great. Oh well! No galactic heroes this time, but there's always next time!

Now, time for Big Thunder!!


Love it. Despite being out in the sun and heat. We waited for the back row, and it was worth it. Back row is always the best on Big Thunder.

We figured we'd complete the last couple of big rides at Magic Kingdom before we headed back to the Contemporary at 3. First up - Pirates!

It was pretty much a walk on for Lightning Lane.

Sleepy tourists again (second row from the back )

Last ride? Peter Pan! I got lucky with the Lightning Lanes for sure, and even though it was cutting it a little close, we went for it.

It was a good way to end the day - Peter Pan is so fun. I just love that you're "flying" and looking down on everything, vs being on the ground.

We got off at 3:02, and it was time to head back to the hotel, grab out bags, and maybe a bit of food. We headed for the monorail, and were back at the Contemporary by 3:22. Monorail is the BEST!

 

[Araminta18]

Back Home! - Monday, August 21, 2023 (part 4)​

Back at the Contemporary, we decided we were hungry, and headed to the Steakhouse 71 Lounge for food. To drink though, I got a virgin Last Concourse: Lemon juice, raspberry, and sage syrup. Basically a fancy raspberry lemonade, but really yummy.


Then for food, I got the burger:


While Trevor got the Lump Crab Cakes: Old Bay Rémoulade, Corn Hash, House-made Saltine Crackers:

He said this was good - I disagree 'cause sea food.

It was actually a really pleasant lunch - a good way to wind down from the park and cool off and get ready to head back to reality. We had some extra time because Trevor's plane had been delayed slightly, so we ended up heading to the airport at 5 pm, instead of 4. It was really nice to not be rushed.

We made it to the airport at 5:30, and got all checked in, bags dropped off, all that jazz. We were flying out of very different gates so we split up at security. Trevor actually ended up boarding after me due to delays, which was funny cause I was suppose to take off an hour after him. But by 7:30 we were both on our planes:

Trevor got the seat with all the extra legroom, which was nice 'cause I'd made him carry a bunch of the treats in his backpack which left not very much room for his legs. But it all worked out.

And I got even luckier - no one else in my row!

Well that's not quite true - there was a guy in the seat right next to me but after we pushed back from the gate he hopped across the aisle to sit next to his daughter. Which gave me my own row. Woohoo! Trevor got neighbors and a kid kicking his seat behind him, but at least he got the legroom!

We both took off at about the same time, and I ended up landing about 15 minutes before him, but then we both stayed waiting for a gate for a while. Trevor actually got off before I did by a minute or two (it was about 30 minutes of my plane waiting for the gate). Not bad, actually! Better than him waiting an hour for me. Then I got my bag before him, and headed over to the other terminal to meet up with Trevor, as he had the bigger checked bags. We were reunited at about 11, and in the uber back home. By 11:30, we had made it safely home. Yay! A long day, but a good day. And it was MUCH less hot back home than it was in Florida.

Final impressions? We'll never do DisneyWorld in August in that kind of heat wave again. It was just bonkers hot - no bueno. But even with that, we had fun, and got to try lots of new things. Also the class was great - highly recommend Disney Institute classes. Informative and interesting. I'm glad I got to go! And this trip has definitely kndled in us a love of the Contemporary and the monorail. BEST form of transportation ever!

Finally, our haul - that annual passholder discount is DANGEROUS.

Dooney and Burke bag, Tower of Terror magnets, hats for Trevor, shirts, and an awesome calendar (it's hanging up at work right now).

More shirts and jackets, and a few Harry Potter things for Trevor the Hufflepuff. Also, Duck Tales water bottle!

Trevor's lightsaber and the things to display the lightsaber and the kyber crystals, and his black kyber crystal!!

Art! The coasters Trevor got from Jock Lindsay's, and the cards are from Gideon's.

Robin Hood magic band, Haunted Mansion bride mug, and Minnie pumpkin!

 

[Araminta18]

Final Haul and Epic Fun with Metrics - Monday, August 21, 2023 (part 4) and WrapUp​

More...

101 Dalmatians piece from the UK pavilion - we had this one shipped home. So cute!

One benefit of staying at the Contemporary was the toiletries! Love it.

All the toys I got for answering questions in class.

Halloween candy haul!

Stuffed fullllllllllllll. We used this for the candy we passed out at Halloween and still had a bunch. I think we only got through it all right before Christmas, including sharing with coworkers and such.


Cake from Gideon's - so good. Delicious.


The Haunted Mansion haul we had shipped home - pajama set and blanket and hollow book and earrings, and an ornament. The blanket is so soft!

Finally, the body scrub and lotion from Basin. I love this box!


Such cute packaging. And good product!

So yea, we went way overboard. Oops! But such a fun trip, and a good way to kick off our year of being annual passholders. Next trip? Christmas at Disney at Saratoga Springs!! Thanks for following along and for your patience with all my pictures!!

EPIC Fun with Metrics:
Steps Walked: 194,904 steps (79.5 miles) (well for me - Trevor had more )

Video Playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLD2n0Bq57wmrWpCLA0uQhMSF8KG5pERW&feature=shared

Songs heard while riding Guardians: 5/6! (though we've had September on other trips so we've heard all 6 songs!)
I Ran x3
Disco Inferno
Everybody wants to Rule the World
Conga
One Way or Another x2


Ride count: 64 for me, 70 for Trevor
Tower of Terror
Toy Story Midway Mania
Slinky Dog Dash
Rise of the Resistance
Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway
Rockin Roller Coaster
Star Tours (x1 for Trevor)
Millenium Falcon (x1 for Trevor)
Soarin
Spaceship Earth
The Seas
Living with the Land
Ratatouille
Frozen
Guardians x8
Haunted Mansion (x3 for me; x2 for Trevor)
Peter Pan x2
Carousel (x5 for me; x1 for Trevor)
Little Mermaid
Seven Dwarfs (x3)
Tron (x5 for me; x7 for Trevor)
Space Mountain (x3 for me; x4 for Trevor)
Jungle Cruise (x4 for me; x3 for Trevor)
Pirates x3
Buzz Lightyear (x6 for me; x3 for Trevor)
Big Thunder x2
Monsters Inc Laugh Floor x2
Peoplemover
Flight of Passage
Navi River Journey
Safari
Expedition Everest

And Trevor's Universal rides:
Men in Black
Fast and Furious
Gringotts
Race Through New York
VillainCon
Mummy
Hogwarts Express
Forbidden Journey
Spiderman
King Kong
Hagrids

 

[Araminta18]

Thanks for taking the time to share your trip- I really enjoy reading your reports, great detail and great pictures. You two are an adorable couple and fun people. Got my Disney fix today in this frigid weather by reading your report

Aw, thank you for reading! I'm glad you enjoyed it and I could help with the Disney fix during the gross weather. Thank you for commenting!! I really wanted to finish it tonight, cause we leave for Disney tomorrow morning, and I wanted to only be 1 trip behind (we went in December) instead of 2.