elsbit
Using colors bold and bright
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2015
Intro Part 1:
Who: Elsbit, a gal and her friend, the birthday boy Mr. J
The Trip: A road trip to Disney for a 5 night stay at the Port of Orleans Riverside in January 2019
The Background:
Me, I am late to the Disney game. My family never went to the land of magic when I was growing up. We never had the finances to travel as a family. My dad's idea of a good time was taking us fishing two summers in Minnesota. When I graduated 8th Grade, my dad took just me to Adventureland in Iowa. I remember riding a wooden roller coaster. I swear I am not THAT ancient.
The first time I went to Disney was in 2014. My husband's had a work trip scheduled in Florida, so he suggested that the kids and I (daughters were around 5.5 and 2.5) go with so we could do one day at Disney. We stayed at the Pop Resort in early April. I did NO planning for this trip (amateur!), other than to make a brunch reservation at 1900 Park Fare. To be honest, my memory of this trip, even thought it was not long ago is fuzzy. I think this is due to the fact that while at Disney, I received a telephone call that my grandmother had died. I think that diminished the magic a bit for me and dimmed my memory. I distinctly remember the man's face who played the Mad Hatter, cold strawberry soup (overrated) and some sort amazing lobster Hollandaise sauce. We ate at Casey's. Beyond that, I only remember a few rides, my youngest trying on Minnie ears, and seeing the Easter eggs at the Grand Floridian. I remember riding the Aladdin Magic Carpet ride and looking over the Magic Kingdom and feeling very disconnected from all of the vibrancy going on around me and thinking it was odd to be at a theme park when having just learned someone died. Approximately, 3.5 months later, my beloved step-father unexpectedly died. He was so close to retirement, yet never got to experience that lifestyle he had planned and saved for. His death sparked me to plan an ultimate "once in a lifetime" Christmas trip to Disney in December 2015. So often I had put off taking vacations because there was always something 'more important' to spend our money on. After his death, I adapted the viewpoint of you only live once, don't wait until you retire to have your fun. Because I never got to take family vacations (other than 2 fishing trips), it was important to me to let my kids experience that. So long story short, we went on that epic Disney Christmas once in a lifetime vacation and we used the DDP. I expected to hate it because I don't like crowds, get motion sick, and am not into the saccharine sweet princess world. Boy was I wrong! We had SUCH a great magical time that we went again in October 2016 for one of the Halloween parties. The day we were supposed to go to the Halloween party, I learned that I was pregnant with my 3rd. In a way, it was a complete surprise because I had taken a pregnancy test before we left on vacation and it was negative. So what is a girl to do when she didn't get to ride any fun rides? Plan a trip for 2018!
My family went DXDP in May 2018 and it was a fantastic experience that I meant to write about, but did not get around to it. :/ Captain Lazy here with always the best intentions. Honestly, I ADORE the extreme planning of our Disney vacations. I plan and plan and make color coded spreadsheets. This is honestly really fun for me and would help me decompress from a stressful work day (weirdo much? haha). Part of what helped me so much was reading other reviews, so I thought I would add to the compilation and post my review from this trip.
This time, I am going with my friend Mr. J, who was celebrating the big 4-0! We have been friends since 2004. (Yes, my husband is okay with this. Now Mr. J's mom was originally aghast [yes we are grown-ups...]. She was aghast because I am a married woman traveling across multiple state lines with another man (no joke, this was said), totally ignoring the fact that her son prefers gentleman, that I am married, and we are just friends!! However, I invited her to Christmas dinner and she gave her stamp of approval. I guess she decided that I was not so scandalous and so-not-a-seductress after spending time with me, my horde of children, husband, and in-laws. Though this still makes me laugh, that I am like the scandalous BFF crossing state lines on the way to a scandalous Disney vacation, where we plan to overindulge in food and drink. *clutches pearls*
Mr. J had not been to DW since he was younger, had never stayed on property, and had only dined at quick service. I had so much to show him! He was totally cool with letting me take the reins and do all the planning. I would send him my little Google Docs Excel Spreadsheet with color coded nerdieness to keep him apprised of all of the awesomeness. I sent him menu links, reviews, and photos to help make decisions.
The different thing about this trip, was that we decided to do it 3 months out. That meant I was already late to the dining reservation game! Oh the planning to be done!
This time I used Touring Plans to help score hard-to-get reservations. Oh-My-Word! This proved to be an amazing decision because it helped me score a reservation to Victoria and Albert's. I may have squealed and frantically pawed at my phone with my not-so-nimble fingers in a frenzy trying to make sure I nabbed the coveted reservation. I got it, and then convinced Mr. J that we had to keep it. Bless his heart, I won over his frugality and he agreed to a once-in-a-lifetime meal. My foodie heart swooned. TP Reservation Finder also helped me grab some other hard to get reservations that I really wanted, like California Grill Brunch. Woo!
Now what you are actually wanting to know. Where did we eat. The down and dirty nitty gritty details (oink):
California Grill Brunch
Hoop Dee Doo Revue
Tiffins
Victoria and Alberts
Akershus Royal Banquet
Eat around the World-Festival of Arts
Monsieur Paul (this was swapped to Kona, due to a long day)
BOG PPO Breakfast aka my expensive fast pass
Skipper Canteen
Liberty Tree
Paddlefish
50s Prime Time
Keys to the Kingdom Surprise lunch
Jiko
Who: Elsbit, a gal and her friend, the birthday boy Mr. J
The Trip: A road trip to Disney for a 5 night stay at the Port of Orleans Riverside in January 2019
The Background:
Me, I am late to the Disney game. My family never went to the land of magic when I was growing up. We never had the finances to travel as a family. My dad's idea of a good time was taking us fishing two summers in Minnesota. When I graduated 8th Grade, my dad took just me to Adventureland in Iowa. I remember riding a wooden roller coaster. I swear I am not THAT ancient.
The first time I went to Disney was in 2014. My husband's had a work trip scheduled in Florida, so he suggested that the kids and I (daughters were around 5.5 and 2.5) go with so we could do one day at Disney. We stayed at the Pop Resort in early April. I did NO planning for this trip (amateur!), other than to make a brunch reservation at 1900 Park Fare. To be honest, my memory of this trip, even thought it was not long ago is fuzzy. I think this is due to the fact that while at Disney, I received a telephone call that my grandmother had died. I think that diminished the magic a bit for me and dimmed my memory. I distinctly remember the man's face who played the Mad Hatter, cold strawberry soup (overrated) and some sort amazing lobster Hollandaise sauce. We ate at Casey's. Beyond that, I only remember a few rides, my youngest trying on Minnie ears, and seeing the Easter eggs at the Grand Floridian. I remember riding the Aladdin Magic Carpet ride and looking over the Magic Kingdom and feeling very disconnected from all of the vibrancy going on around me and thinking it was odd to be at a theme park when having just learned someone died. Approximately, 3.5 months later, my beloved step-father unexpectedly died. He was so close to retirement, yet never got to experience that lifestyle he had planned and saved for. His death sparked me to plan an ultimate "once in a lifetime" Christmas trip to Disney in December 2015. So often I had put off taking vacations because there was always something 'more important' to spend our money on. After his death, I adapted the viewpoint of you only live once, don't wait until you retire to have your fun. Because I never got to take family vacations (other than 2 fishing trips), it was important to me to let my kids experience that. So long story short, we went on that epic Disney Christmas once in a lifetime vacation and we used the DDP. I expected to hate it because I don't like crowds, get motion sick, and am not into the saccharine sweet princess world. Boy was I wrong! We had SUCH a great magical time that we went again in October 2016 for one of the Halloween parties. The day we were supposed to go to the Halloween party, I learned that I was pregnant with my 3rd. In a way, it was a complete surprise because I had taken a pregnancy test before we left on vacation and it was negative. So what is a girl to do when she didn't get to ride any fun rides? Plan a trip for 2018!
My family went DXDP in May 2018 and it was a fantastic experience that I meant to write about, but did not get around to it. :/ Captain Lazy here with always the best intentions. Honestly, I ADORE the extreme planning of our Disney vacations. I plan and plan and make color coded spreadsheets. This is honestly really fun for me and would help me decompress from a stressful work day (weirdo much? haha). Part of what helped me so much was reading other reviews, so I thought I would add to the compilation and post my review from this trip.
This time, I am going with my friend Mr. J, who was celebrating the big 4-0! We have been friends since 2004. (Yes, my husband is okay with this. Now Mr. J's mom was originally aghast [yes we are grown-ups...]. She was aghast because I am a married woman traveling across multiple state lines with another man (no joke, this was said), totally ignoring the fact that her son prefers gentleman, that I am married, and we are just friends!! However, I invited her to Christmas dinner and she gave her stamp of approval. I guess she decided that I was not so scandalous and so-not-a-seductress after spending time with me, my horde of children, husband, and in-laws. Though this still makes me laugh, that I am like the scandalous BFF crossing state lines on the way to a scandalous Disney vacation, where we plan to overindulge in food and drink. *clutches pearls*
Mr. J had not been to DW since he was younger, had never stayed on property, and had only dined at quick service. I had so much to show him! He was totally cool with letting me take the reins and do all the planning. I would send him my little Google Docs Excel Spreadsheet with color coded nerdieness to keep him apprised of all of the awesomeness. I sent him menu links, reviews, and photos to help make decisions.
The different thing about this trip, was that we decided to do it 3 months out. That meant I was already late to the dining reservation game! Oh the planning to be done!
This time I used Touring Plans to help score hard-to-get reservations. Oh-My-Word! This proved to be an amazing decision because it helped me score a reservation to Victoria and Albert's. I may have squealed and frantically pawed at my phone with my not-so-nimble fingers in a frenzy trying to make sure I nabbed the coveted reservation. I got it, and then convinced Mr. J that we had to keep it. Bless his heart, I won over his frugality and he agreed to a once-in-a-lifetime meal. My foodie heart swooned. TP Reservation Finder also helped me grab some other hard to get reservations that I really wanted, like California Grill Brunch. Woo!
Now what you are actually wanting to know. Where did we eat. The down and dirty nitty gritty details (oink):
California Grill Brunch
Hoop Dee Doo Revue
Tiffins
Victoria and Alberts
Akershus Royal Banquet
Eat around the World-Festival of Arts
Monsieur Paul (this was swapped to Kona, due to a long day)
BOG PPO Breakfast aka my expensive fast pass
Skipper Canteen
Liberty Tree
Paddlefish
50s Prime Time
Keys to the Kingdom Surprise lunch
Jiko
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