Plan to not have a plan- Summer 2017 vacation!

[Butterstick]

I just completed a trip with DH. This trip we were much more "go with the flow" as we didn't have a dining plan, traveled with our car instead of flying, and... honestly, we've been so many times now that we didn't feel we were missing out if we didn't see and do EVERYTHING (which honestly, is never possible!).

Our loosey goosey plans:
Sunday: California Grill brunch , check in at Carribean Beach, go back to see fireworks from top of Contemporary
Monday: FPs for Flight of Passage at AK
Tuesday: FPs for Na'vi River Journey
Wednesday: MK
Thursday: late night FPs for Flight of Passage, and Rivers of Light

Saturday:
Driving down (14 hours!), spent night at off property hotel (snagged a last minute deal on Hotwire- 3-star for $77!)

Sunday:
California Grill brunch. OMG. Well worth the splurge, and a great way to kick off vacation. We took the elevator up, and we were immediately handed mimosas. Awesome! While we waited for our table to be ready, we sat in some comfy chairs near the jazz musicians - sipping mimosas and enjoying the amazing views of the Seven Seas Lagoon, and the Magic Kingdom. Perfect.
The. Food. A buffet + a brunch entree was included (as were unlimited mimosas). I loaded up my plate with charcuterie, like, 5 types of sushi... there were lots more items on the buffet, but my memory is a bit hazy . For my entree, I had cheddar grits with shrimp. So good. And if that wasn't enough, they also brought out a platter of desserts at the end of our meal. Handmade chocolates, macaroons, chocolate bark, almond cake, and delicious cookies.
After brunch, I was pretty tipsy and our room wasn't ready yet, so we took the monorail to the Grand Floridian to hang out a while in their lobby, shops, and lounge. Quiet, peaceful, civilized. The GF is my happy place.
Once we got the text, we were off to Carribean Beach. I was a bit nervous booking it because of all the construction (and I had never stayed there). But our room in Aruba was great. I loved all the landscaping. The room was very comfortable, and the TV was HUGE.
Our tentative plan was to go to the pool, but it was raining pretty hard that afternoon (like it did for *every* day of our trip), so we just stayed in, watched cartoons and napped.
For dinner we decided to head back to the Contemporary since we were allowed to return with a brunch receipt to watch the fireworks from the roof. We decided on the Wave since we could get a 20% passholder discount there, and neither one of us had been before. It was... ok. Tasty, but nothing special. It was very noisy with lots of toddler kiddos.
The new fireworks show from atop the Contemporary was great! Loved the music. I _might_ have teared up a bit, but who's to say... I feel like we missed a good chunk of the show, though, because the projections were hard to see from where we were.
All in all, a fun, relaxing day.
Wow, this is taking longer than I thought to write up! Follow-ups for the rest of our trip to come...

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

We have never done California Grill Brunch - I think we might have to. Sounds great. Look forward to the rest of the review.

 

[Butterstick]

Monday:

Woke up, went straight to the feature pool at Caribbean Beach. Hot tub was empty! Bliss. Tried both slides at the pool. Fun!
The construction noises at the pool were a bit bothersome (loud noises coming from... Old Port Royale?), but tolerable. Cast members seemed really on top of their game at CB. Very friendly, very helpful- talked us up in an unobtrusive way, and offered recommendations.

After swimming we were hungry, and debating where to go in Disney Springs for an early lunch... but out of the corner of my eye I caught the big tent I had heard about that was replacing the restaurants at CB during construction. We had cover-ups on, the price was right, and MICKEY WAFFLES. So we did the infamous "tent buffet".

The wait around 10:30am was pretty long, but we weren't in a hurry to get anywhere so it didn't bother us. Cast members were doing a good job with crowd control. Seemed very organized and calm. Mickey waffles were delicious. I was happy with the selection offered. Cast members were very attentive after we were seated. I got to talk to one about the construction. Even though it was a self service buffet, they offered to bring me a refill during our meal. I was happy with the service and food.

We headed to AK in the early evening. Had dinner at Flame Tree Barbeque (another first time, another 20% passholder discount). Really delicious. Worth a repeat visit. Caught the 8pm show of the Festival of the Lion King, which DH had never seen. He generally hates musical theater, so I was a little nervous he wouldn't like it, but he was pleasantly surprised. I think the fire dancer had something to do with it. I noticed that they cut out the monkey gymnastics part of the show-- I wonder if that's permanent? Or was a monkey injured so that they couldn't perform their act?

After FLK, we headed over to Pandora. Since we were coming from FLK, we took the much quieter "back entrance". Stunning. Magical. The night noises, the glowing walkway, the twinkling "fireflies" in the trees. Beautiful.

DH is not a fan of heights, or Soarin', so he skipped the FP he had for Flight of Passage. I went by myself. Wow. Just wow. That is the most incredible experience at WDW. I walked around in a daze after getting off of it. I just had this stupid look of amazement on my face for the rest of the night.

Before we left, we went to experience Kilimanjaro Safari after dark for the first time. I was... underwhelmed. I kinda felt bad for the animals. I felt like we were disturbing them when they should be resting. It was so quiet out there that the guide's voice over the speakers felt deafening.

 

[Butterstick]

Tuesday:

Woke up earlyish, headed to AK. Used a FP (not necessary) for the Finding Nemo musical, then Expedition Everest, then Na'vi River Journey. As everyone says, the animatronics are amazing.

From AK, drove over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for lunch at Sanaa. We skipped their naan bread service in favor of lamb skewers for an appetizer. It was good, but I wished we had gotten the naan. I think I had tandoori chicken? Good, but not memorable. I appreciated getting out of the crowded park and going somewhere calm for lunch.

Afternoon pool time, then Disney Springs for dinner (Frontera Cocina), a little shopping, and ice cream sundaes at Ghirardelli.