The Annual Pass Bonus Trip April/May 16. Updated 8/23

Day 2

I slept through till 5am, I was awake for about an hour before dozing off again until 7:15, I'll take that as a win!

We quickly got dressed for the day ahead and then made our way over to MK - well there's gotta be an upside to being awake this early right? We wanted to make it to see the rope drop ceremony! We valet parked at GF and hopped on the monorail.

We made it just in time, Sy got randomly selected while I was in the queue for bag check. It was then time for the show!

I cried of course, as you do. I don't think there are many things that top this for me. It's optimises everything I love about Disney.

We walked up main street slowly, taking everything in. We stopped to get some Photopass pictures with a Cast Member who we recognised from our last trip for being awesome. He took our pictures in the Grand Floridian with Jan and he was crazy good! He was so touched we remembered him that he went to town taking pictures for us <3

Afterwards I gave him one of the little thank you cards I made up before we left home which has a pic of Squirt (Finding Nemo) and says 'thanks for making our trip totally sweet'

We walked on some more before stopping in Main Street Bakery for some food. We walked and found somewhere to sit and eat outside the plaza.

Another breakfast of champions.

Selfie in front of the castle!

It was then time for our first Fastpass in the shape of Seven Dwarves Mine Train! We sat in the back row. It was way better in the back that's for sure.

We saw the ugly sisters nearby meeting so we hopped in line to meet them. Omg it was the best meet I've ever had! They were hilarious! We periscoped the meet so I'll try uploading the video here (fingers crossed it works). They were fascinated by the people inside the tiny screen watching them and commenting! (Still having trouble uploading gutted)

Ugly sisters

Here's the periscope video!

We then made our way out of MK and back to the car as we were meeting Vicki and Ali for lunch in My French Cafe, just north of MK.

We caught the boat back

Was so lovely to chat for a while over some food. I went for a BLT (hold the T), Sy had a croque Madame. We got 2 desserts to share, a passion fruit and raspberry tart and a red fruit mille feuille. They were both amazing <3

Afterwards we popped into the Publix for some supplies - meaning Diet Coke and apple with caramel sauce hehe.

We decided that we would then head back to the hotel for a swim. Ali decided to come with us to sit by the pool in the sunshine.

We arrived back in the room to find the cutest little towel animal!! Omg!! I also took some pics of the room seeing as I had forgotten the day before

Can you spot the photobomb?

Sy had a dip in the pool while Ali and I did a bit of sunbathing. I got a bit scared as I went really red but luckily it was just where I got a little hot and not sunburn, phew!

We headed back out at 5pm and over to Epcot to meet Vicki. Ali picked up her annual pass so I waited for her and Sy went in ahead. Of course this is what he did with his time...

We went to ride Spaceship Earth as we were passing and there was no wait.

We picked up our AP picture for the flower and garden festival before heading into the land pavilion to meet up with Vicki. I couldn't get over how quiet it was in there, with Soarin' closed. We went to ride a favourite of mine, Living with the Land <3 I know I've seen it a million times, but I still love it. I did notice something weird in there though, when you first go into the outdoor bit where the sand is, there were paw prints everywhere! Wonder what animal put those there?! Sadly we had gone past before I got the camera out.

Afterwards we grabbed some food in Sunshine Seasons. I went for a kids chicken wrap with potato wedges, it was ok. Sy doesn't remember what he ate and I have no pictures or notes - whoops! He did eat, trust me hehe.

We sat chatting for a bit before heading out to world showcase to see some of the Flower and Garden topiaries.

Warning, photo overload...

We stopped mid way round in America to share a funnel cake (well Sy and I did, Ali and Vicki thought we were mental for sharing Hahahaha)

Eventually as the sun had set and it was time to find a spot to watch Illuminations. We stopped between Italy and Germany.

We got chatting to the sweetest Cast Member while we waited. I forgot to catch her name sadly but I wish I had. She took a group picture for us.

Illuminations was good (it's no wishes let's face it). We had started to seriously flag now though so it was back to the hotel for us and back to Vicki's for her and Ali.

We arrived back and hit the hay at 11pm

The crisps are wrong on every level!!

I literally have about 3 days of notes and from then on its pictures and memory to rely on.... This could be a very short and rubbish TR I really did love CS, I've got more pics of the room uploaded now so hopefully that could help convince the fam

Woohoo managed to get the ugly sisters periscope video to upload...

Day 3

Woke up at 6:30 this morning and lay in bed for a bit, but by 7:50 we were up, dressed and leaving the hotel. We made our way over to McDonald's for some breakfast. Egg mcmuffin for me without the egg (this always gives them a giggle! It still comes with ham and cheese which I like, I just don't like the egg!), Sy went for his usual, sausage mcgriddle - he's gutted we don't get these at home. We went through the drive through and ate them in the car park. Weird concept really, getting drive through and then sitting in the car rather than just getting up and walking in! But that's what we did.

We then drove over to the GF and valet parked.

We hopped on the monorail and we were in time to watch Rope Drop again!! Squeeeeeee! Can never see that show enough.

We were meeting Ali this morning so we didn't want to go too far from Main Street before she arrived, so we decided to go for a ride on the old style double decker bus. This was a first for us. It's really good! It's a great perspective up there, you can see things in a whole new way. I personally loved the up close views of the Windows with everyone's name on.

We waited at the other end of Main Street and then rode back down again on the old fashioned fire truck <3 I got to ring the bell all the way down (much to the annoyance of everyone else on board haha).

When we arrived back down at the front Ali was just getting in the queue to meet Minnie Mouse so we went over to join her

We then went round to join the queue to meet Pluto. I do love Pluto. Sy was periscoping the meet and he just loved playing up for the camera!

We then managed to catch the Trolley show from in front of the Train Station.

It was soooo HOT today so we decided to go round on the train once for a bit of shade and breeze. Plus well, it's fun to ride the train!

We got off again at Main Street and as we were walking out we got chatting to some CM's who looked like they might be managers of some sort, they were asking how our day was etc. As we said goodbye they gave us 2 paper fastpasses, how nice of them! We decided we would go to ride Splash a little bit later and use one.

We started walking up Main Street and stopped to get some photopass pics.

Love this one, makes me laugh every time! Ali giving Sy an air kiss haha

We were all a bit parched so we decided to stop in Starbucks to get some drinks... This is where Sy turned into a teenage boy again... He had it in his head he wanted to try getting the Starbucks people to yell out a funny name. Being from the uk and having different slang words he decided he would try an unknown word in America. He went off to order his drink and told the girl who took his order his name was 'Clungay' which was a Dutch name... He even helped her spell it... C... L... U... N... G... E... Or for any Inbetweeners fans... Clunge. If you don't know what that means, well I might suggest you search the urban dictionary.

Anyway Sy returns giggling to himself to wait for his name to be called, knowing full well they will take one look at the name and pronounce it Clunge. He turned his phone to video to relive the moment over afterwards and filmed the exact moment he's called up to get his drink, even asking them to repeat the name! Back he comes again nearly wetting himself. Yes, that is my husband people. To be fair, Ali and I did do a fair bit of giggling afterwards (with him or at him, you decide!).

Just as we were walking outside the move it shake it parade was coming past so of course we had to go watch and join in! And by we I mean Ali and I joined in, and Sy periscoped us dancing like fools...

All danced out we made out way over to Splash to cool down - dancing in Florida sunshine is hot work I'll have you know The Fastpass we were given was for 5 guests so we hung about at the entrance for a few minutes till we found a couple about to join the line and asked them if they would like to join us in the Fastpass queue. They were really grateful - love spreading a bit of pixie dust!

Ali had never been on Splash, I've written in my notes 'scared Ali to death' hahaha poor Ali! I think she liked it still though...

Afterwards it was then time for some lunch, we had a reservation for Be Our Guest <3 I do enjoy lunch here. Louis came to join us too which was lovely. Bit of a queue to pay (no queue if you pre-order so must remember that for future reference!). But we were soon finding somewhere to sit in the West Wing.

I went for the usual turkey sandwich, Sy went for steak sandwich and a Masters cupcake.

I took a bit ill at lunch Ali was due to leave MK after lunch so I asked her if she would drop me back at my hotel on her way while Sy and Louis had a bit of boy time in MK.

I had an hour sleep in the hotel which along with some tablets had me feeling much better. I watched some tv and had a shower just in time for Sy to arrive back at 6:30.

Sy and Louis had been off having fun in MK. They rode Carousel of Progress and the People mover, they also went to the Polynesian to have a dole whip! alright for some (I'm just jealous I had to miss out hehe)

Sy also bought himself a present....

We were heading out again at 7pm in search of some dinner. Everywhere had huge queues outside. We ended up driving all over and settling on chili's at Lake Buena Vista.

Our server was such a sweetie and sooooooo camp. We decided to go for the 2 for $20 meal, we shared some Texas fries to start then Sy went for a bacon burger while I went for chicken fajitas. $32 inc tip. Not bad at all. The food was lush too!

I forgot to take a pic of our mains but here, drool over our starter...

We then made our way over to MK - we wanted to watch Wishes. We parked up and hopped on the monorail over. Ali was in MK too so we met up once inside.

It was almost time for the Main Street Electrical Parade so we found a spot on Main Street to watch it.

Pic of the infamous white rabbit... He didn't fall over today

Quickly popped into Guest services after to get Ali a new tables in wonderland card once the parade was over, and then it was time to find a spot to watch Wishes <3<3

We decided to go up to the Train Station and watch from there, it's meant to be a good place to watch and as we haven't ever watched from this spot we thought it would be a good place to try. We managed to get a really good view, right in the centre and only a couple of people in front of us. It was nice seeing it from up there but it's definitely not my favourite place to see it from, mainly due to the lights staying on on Main Street and the music not being played up there (you could still hear it but it was much quieter). But it was nice to try it out!

Once it was finished we were totally shattered so we decided to head straight back to the hotel. We were tucked up in bed by 11:15

Omg how have you not seen it yet?? Your next trip, you need to make it your mission - it's worth the early morning I promise.

Mauve you could do a photo trip report? Not many notes but lots pictures?

Oooh you should do September our friends have just booked CSR for their trip next year after seeing our photos, hope they like it now!
I always cry at rope drop, such a wuss lol

He really is!! So naughty

Day 4

I was awake at 6:30 this morning. My mum had sent me a message and asked me to call her so I went outside the room to call and leave Sy sleeping. It was then I first got the news about my brother being taken ill, we didn't know what he was ill with but that he was in intensive care after an ambulance being called to his home. They said the outlook wasn't good, his organs weren't working for themselves

It wasn't the best start to the day. Though it was pretty stunning outside.

I went back in and woke Sy up with the news. We decided not to rush out to a park this morning and instead messages Vicki and Ali to see if they wanted to meet for breakfast at Keke's. We arranged to meet at 10 so in the mean time we had showers and I washed my hair before heading out.

We were a bit early so we could put our names down on the waiting list.

Ali, Vicki and Vicki's son Finlay arrived just before we were called in. Perfect timing.

Breakfast was yummy! I had a waffle and loaded hash browns, oh man I wish I could eat them right now....

Sy went for eggs benedict, Vicki had stuffed French toast and Ali had banana French toast.

Our breakfast was $28. Not the cheapest but very nice. We left Keke's, said goodbye to the others and made our way to Animal Kingdom.

It was sooooo hot today! We went to watch it's tough to be a big first to get out of the sun and into the aircon.

After we decided to make our way over to festival of the lion king, favourite show in Disney! We had time to stop for a frozen jungle juice on the way - there's always time for a frozen jungle juice We still had a bit of time to kill so we watched the African band playing for a little while, loved watching the dancers getting all the little kids up to dance.

It was then time to make our way into the Lion King, we were first in line so we got a great viewing spot, sorry no pictures though! The show was of course amazing as always.

Afterwards it was time for our Fastpass for Kali. The Fastpass queue was 20 minutes long crazy! We lucked out and got a spot which didn't get too wet, though I think in the current heat the wet might have been a welcomed relief. In fact it was so hot that we decided to call it a day after and head back to the hotel.

We stopped on the way for Sy to get some pics of the new River's of light viewing area.

After being up so early this morning, I was feeling sleepy and had a 45 minute nap. Sy woke me up as we had to make our way out to dinner with Carrie and Mark. We were going to a bbq place called Cecil's outside of the normal tourist spot. I hadn't looked at the place online or anything, Carrie said they did chicken so I was good. I put the address in Google and off we went.

I was starting to panic when we got nearly there and the area wasn't looking the best... But we pulled up and it looked good. Though I was a tad overdressed lol

The food was really, really good, and it looked a good price - though I can't say exactly as Carrie and Mark paid for our dinner <3

This is the place if anyone wants to visit http://www.cecilsbbq.com

We stayed there chatting for hours till the place was pretty much empty. We said goodbye at 9pm.

We decided on a whim to go up to top of the world lounge for fireworks so we hot footed it over to Bay Lake Tower. There was no room inside at a table so we got a spot outside and waited for Wishes to start. For some reason Wishes was late tonight, and then when it did start there was no music! What?! We were a bit gutted honestly after rushing to get there. Ah well! Not like we haven't seen it before

We left bay lake tower at 10:30 and made our way back to the hotel, we were in bed by 11:30.

I know! He was so fun, was over the moon to find him and he was so chuffed we remembered him

Day 5

Woke up at 7am and saw that I had message from our friend Brian (who worked at the Animal Kingdom Lodge club lounge). He was working the day at the Boardwalk so we made plans to go over and see him first thing.

We got dressed and made our way over, valet parked and went in to find Brian <3 he was working on the front desk so we found him right away. Cue lots of hugs! We caught up for about 15 minutes and we gave him the chocolates we had brought over for him, but we didn't want to stay too long and get him into trouble for slacking off. I'm totally gutted that I forgot to get a pic :'-(

We then made our way over to Epcot We did toy with breakfast at the Boardwalk Bakery but the queue was mahooooosive so instead we decided to France. We stopped on the way for a few pics of the Flower and Garden festival while there was no one else around.

The bakery was pretty empty inside. I decided to get a croissant and a Demi pain. Sy went for a bacon and cheese pastry. We were served by a guy from Toulon, the place where I spent most of my childhood holidays! We chatted a little bit about his hometown and our shared love for it <3

We then found a table and got our munch on... My croissant was pretty disappointing if I'm honest. I'll skip that next time. However the bread was good and Sy's enjoyed his.

Once finished we made our way to the front of the park to meet up with Ali, grabbing some more flower and garden pics on the way...

We met Ali at the Joy and Sadness meet and hopped in the queue. I had to take a pic of Ali's top, perfect for the meet! Ali is a huge sadness fan and I'm a Joy fan, so I think we balance each other perfectly

The queue took forEVER! Omg! It didn't look long when we joined but it moved soooooooo slowly. I think we waited 45 minutes! But then it was our turn and it was amazing <3<3 Sadness loved Ali's top. I told Joy that we were the real life Joy and Sadness, was such a fun meet.

After the handlers dragged us away kicking and screaming like little children... We went across the room and joined the queue for Baymax which only took 5 minutes.

Sy was wearing the perfect tshirt for the occasion...

And seeing as Sy was wearing his special outfit Ali and I decided we would let him to meet Baymax first...

Awwwwwwwwww <3 <3

They hugged, and hugged, and hugged. Sy tried to get away but Baymax wouldn't let go! Eventually though we were allowed to come in for some pictures too. Ali got a bit cuddle happy and Baymax ended up wearing some make up poor Baymax had to have a baby wipe haha.

As we were right there, we popped across the walkway into Character Spot.

I have no idea what Minnie and I were talking about, but it looks animated haha.

Ali isn't the biggest Epcot fan (I know, shock horror!) so other than the meet and greets, she's not spent a whole load of time in Epcot. We were trying to change her mind We stopped to watch the Jaminators, a cute little show (and one of the things I remember from my first ever visit to Epcot)

It was hot out after being stood in direct sun, so we decided to do Ellen's energy adventure (as Ali had never been on it) followed by Test track (another first for Ali).

We stopped to get some photopass pics. The lady was making us do fun things but she sounded like she couldn't be any less excited to be at work if she tried hahaha.

While we were waiting for Test Track we were chatting with Vicki and we made plans to head over to Sweet Tomatoes for some lunch. Sy walked back through World Showcase to get the car and I went with Ali as she wasn't sure of the way. On the way out however I spotted a sign at the Art of Disney shop saying David Doss was in there signing his pictures O.M.G. He is our favourite Disney artist, we have a few pictures of his hanging in our beachy themed bathroom. Of course we had to go inside and take a sneak peek... Ali had 2 pictures signed and I bought another picture and had it signed to Sy.

David also graciously posed for a pic with us. He seemed genuinely pleased when I told his that we already had some of his pictures.

We then rushed over to Sweet Tomatoes arriving only a few minutes late... Vicki and the kids were already waiting for us along with Sy.... Oops!

Lunch was sooo yummy. I do love a sweet tomatoes. And a bargain. We stayed for quite a while just chatting, before heading back to our hotel to swim and do some packing - tomorrow we would be heading to Vero Beach!

We had another friend waiting for us in our room when we got back...

How cute is that?! We now had a boy and a girl

The wifi in our room had been unusable and we had raised it a few times with Disney, not long after we returned to the room an engineer arrived to have another go at fixing it, which was great but it meant we couldn't really get on with the packing... Nor could we get changed into our swimwear

After he left we were able to get changed and go for a swim. I went over to the main pool first but omg it was sooooo busy. I lay down on one of the only spare loungers I could find, Sy was meant to be coming to find me but after about 10 minutes I'd already given up with the main pool and walked back over to the quiet pool by our room.

How pretty is this resort?!

We only had time for a super quick dip to cool down and then had to back up to the room to change. We had somewhere special to go tonight... We were heading to Club Villain!! Woohoo!!! Once dressed we made our way to the bus stop, Club Villain is a free bar so in case we wanted a few drinks we thought we better get the bus we didn't have long to wait at all.

Bus selfie!

We arrived at Hollywood Studios in no time. We had a Fastpass for the Great Movie Ride so we went there first, it was our first time since the new additions - I wasn't convinced lol but then maybe it's just cause I hate change?! Haha! Great Movie Ride is a huge favourite of mine so maybe I just don't want it messed with...

We still had a bit of time to kill so we went to watch the Muppet show, a classic!

It was then time to meet up with Ali and head into Club Villain! Squeeeeeee!

I Must start by saying, I wasn't really sure I wanted to do club villain, it's an awful lot of money for me to not eat any of the food and hardly drink. Sy wanted to do it and Ali so I went along with it, and my goodness I am SO glad I did. I really enjoyed the whole evening.

We checked in about half an hour early and were given welcome drinks and our official invitations with our set times to meet the characters (to avoid big queues). There were standing tables set up but we went for one of the benches off to one side to get a seat.

They invited everyone in 10 minutes early, we found our table was right in the middle so we had a great view of the stage and dance floor. The food was out already so I went round taking pictures of everything.

Desserts

Ali knew to go round all the different thrones to get pictures sat in the empty seats so we did that before eating.

Being a right queen on his throne...

Each villain had their own signature cocktail, and there was a normal fairly well stocked bar. There were also cans of soft drinks so you could help yourself. I actually didn't feel 100% so I decided not to drink, we tried one of each cocktail though, some were nicer than others.

As I expected, I didn't enjoy any of the food. I couldn't eat any of the savoury dishes (I did try the gumbo till I realised it had something in it I couldn't have) and the desserts were very sweet, I just didn't enjoy them. Sy loved it all though so that was good.

When we sat down to eat the show started, I didn't know there would be a show element to the party, so I was pleasantly surprised. It was very, very good as well. It was a singer (Kanzo), dancers and Dr Facilier. They introduced the Villains to come out to sit in their thrones for the meets.

We joined the queue for Cruella De Vil first, she was very fun.

Maleficent was definitely a more serious affair. She made us stand all serious for the pictures lol

Later on we met the Queen of Hearts who was AMAZING! Her queue was soooo long but that's cause she was taking her time with everyone. She's one of the best meets I've ever had, and that's even with her going crazy at me for having a white rose in my hair and shunning me out of the pictures she took a real shine so Sy though

She was not happy with Ali's ears...

Last up was the Evil Queen, she was very serious again, though we shared a moment in that I don't really like Snow White either - she's too vacuous for me haha. She appreciated that I didn't like her haha. Ali said she didn't trust her as she lived with so many men! Hahahaha!

The whole feel of the night was very adult. There were a couple of kids but 95% over 21's. People were dressed up, I almost felt under dressed! I see they have added dates for while we are there in October... I'd be lying if I said I wasnt tempted - it really was that good! But it's a lot of money for somewhere that I'm not going to drink much or eat. But who knows, if we come into some money between now and then, maybe I'll book it

Some more party pics from the night

The party finished at 11:15 (slightly later than scheduled) so we made our way back out of an empty park. We stopped on the way to get a couple of pictures while it was empty.

When we got out to the bus station we were asked where we were going and then taken to a bus who took us and one other family back to Coronado. What service eh? He even asked which stop so he could go straight there.

We walked back to our room and then stumbled on the hammocks by the beach. We decided to sit for a bit star gazing. It was the perfect end to a lovely evening <3

Back in the room we packed up most of our things and we were in bed by 12:30am.

Day 5

Woke up at 7am and saw that I had message from our friend Brian (who worked at the Animal Kingdom Lodge club lounge). He was working the day at the Boardwalk so we made plans to go over and see him first thing.

We got dressed and made our way over, valet parked and went in to find Brian <3 he was working on the front desk so we found him right away. Cue lots of hugs! We caught up for about 15 minutes and we gave him the chocolates we had brought over for him, but we didn't want to stay too long and get him into trouble for slacking off. I'm totally gutted that I forgot to get a pic :'-(

We then made our way over to Epcot We did toy with breakfast at the Boardwalk Bakery but the queue was mahooooosive so instead we decided to France. We stopped on the way for a few pics of the Flower and Garden festival while there was no one else around.

The bakery was pretty empty inside. I decided to get a croissant and a Demi pain. Sy went for a bacon and cheese pastry. We were served by a guy from Toulon, the place where I spent most of my childhood holidays! We chatted a little bit about his hometown and our shared love for it <3

We then found a table and got our munch on... My croissant was pretty disappointing if I'm honest. I'll skip that next time. However the bread was good and Sy's enjoyed his.

Once finished we made our way to the front of the park to meet up with Ali, grabbing some more flower and garden pics on the way...

We met Ali at the Joy and Sadness meet and hopped in the queue. I had to take a pic of Ali's top, perfect for the meet! Ali is a huge sadness fan and I'm a Joy fan, so I think we balance each other perfectly

The queue took forEVER! Omg! It didn't look long when we joined but it moved soooooooo slowly. I think we waited 45 minutes! But then it was our turn and it was amazing <3<3 Sadness loved Ali's top. I told Joy that we were the real life Joy and Sadness, was such a fun meet.

After the handlers dragged us away kicking and screaming like little children... We went across the room and joined the queue for Baymax which only took 5 minutes.

Sy was wearing the perfect tshirt for the occasion...

And seeing as Sy was wearing his special outfit Ali and I decided we would let him to meet Baymax first...

Awwwwwwwwww <3 <3

They hugged, and hugged, and hugged. Sy tried to get away but Baymax wouldn't let go! Eventually though we were allowed to come in for some pictures too. Ali got a bit cuddle happy and Baymax ended up wearing some make up poor Baymax had to have a baby wipe haha.

As we were right there, we popped across the walkway into Character Spot.

I have no idea what Minnie and I were talking about, but it looks animated haha.

Ali isn't the biggest Epcot fan (I know, shock horror!) so other than the meet and greets, she's not spent a whole load of time in Epcot. We were trying to change her mind We stopped to watch the Jaminators, a cute little show (and one of the things I remember from my first ever visit to Epcot)

It was hot out after being stood in direct sun, so we decided to do Ellen's energy adventure (as Ali had never been on it) followed by Test track (another first for Ali).

We stopped to get some photopass pics. The lady was making us do fun things but she sounded like she couldn't be any less excited to be at work if she tried hahaha.

While we were waiting for Test Track we were chatting with Vicki and we made plans to head over to Sweet Tomatoes for some lunch. Sy walked back through World Showcase to get the car and I went with Ali as she wasn't sure of the way. On the way out however I spotted a sign at the Art of Disney shop saying David Doss was in there signing his pictures O.M.G. He is our favourite Disney artist, we have a few pictures of his hanging in our beachy themed bathroom. Of course we had to go inside and take a sneak peek... Ali had 2 pictures signed and I bought another picture and had it signed to Sy.

David also graciously posed for a pic with us. He seemed genuinely pleased when I told his that we already had some of his pictures.

We then rushed over to Sweet Tomatoes arriving only a few minutes late... Vicki and the kids were already waiting for us along with Sy.... Oops!

Lunch was sooo yummy. I do love a sweet tomatoes. And a bargain. We stayed for quite a while just chatting, before heading back to our hotel to swim and do some packing - tomorrow we would be heading to Vero Beach!

We had another friend waiting for us in our room when we got back...

How cute is that?! We now had a boy and a girl

The wifi in our room had been unusable and we had raised it a few times with Disney, not long after we returned to the room an engineer arrived to have another go at fixing it, which was great but it meant we couldn't really get on with the packing... Nor could we get changed into our swimwear

After he left we were able to get changed and go for a swim. I went over to the main pool first but omg it was sooooo busy. I lay down on one of the only spare loungers I could find, Sy was meant to be coming to find me but after about 10 minutes I'd already given up with the main pool and walked back over to the quiet pool by our room.

How pretty is this resort?!

We only had time for a super quick dip to cool down and then had to back up to the room to change. We had somewhere special to go tonight... We were heading to Club Villain!! Woohoo!!! Once dressed we made our way to the bus stop, Club Villain is a free bar so in case we wanted a few drinks we thought we better get the bus we didn't have long to wait at all.

Bus selfie!

We arrived at Hollywood Studios in no time. We had a Fastpass for the Great Movie Ride so we went there first, it was our first time since the new additions - I wasn't convinced lol but then maybe it's just cause I hate change?! Haha! Great Movie Ride is a huge favourite of mine so maybe I just don't want it messed with...

We still had a bit of time to kill so we went to watch the Muppet show, a classic!

It was then time to meet up with Ali and head into Club Villain! Squeeeeeee!

I Must start by saying, I wasn't really sure I wanted to do club villain, it's an awful lot of money for me to not eat any of the food and hardly drink. Sy wanted to do it and Ali so I went along with it, and my goodness I am SO glad I did. I really enjoyed the whole evening.

We checked in about half an hour early and were given welcome drinks and our official invitations with our set times to meet the characters (to avoid big queues). There were standing tables set up but we went for one of the benches off to one side to get a seat.

They invited everyone in 10 minutes early, we found our table was right in the middle so we had a great view of the stage and dance floor. The food was out already so I went round taking pictures of everything.

Desserts

Ali knew to go round all the different thrones to get pictures sat in the empty seats so we did that before eating.

Being a right queen on his throne...

Each villain had their own signature cocktail, and there was a normal fairly well stocked bar. There were also cans of soft drinks so you could help yourself. I actually didn't feel 100% so I decided not to drink, we tried one of each cocktail though, some were nicer than others.

As I expected, I didn't enjoy any of the food. I couldn't eat any of the savoury dishes (I did try the gumbo till I realised it had something in it I couldn't have) and the desserts were very sweet, I just didn't enjoy them. Sy loved it all though so that was good.

When we sat down to eat the show started, I didn't know there would be a show element to the party, so I was pleasantly surprised. It was very, very good as well. It was a singer (Kanzo), dancers and Dr Facilier. They introduced the Villains to come out to sit in their thrones for the meets.

We joined the queue for Cruella De Vil first, she was very fun.

Maleficent was definitely a more serious affair. She made us stand all serious for the pictures lol

Later on we met the Queen of Hearts who was AMAZING! Her queue was soooo long but that's cause she was taking her time with everyone. She's one of the best meets I've ever had, and that's even with her going crazy at me for having a white rose in my hair and shunning me out of the pictures she took a real shine so Sy though

She was not happy with Ali's ears...

Last up was the Evil Queen, she was very serious again, though we shared a moment in that I don't really like Snow White either - she's too vacuous for me haha. She appreciated that I didn't like her haha. Ali said she didn't trust her as she lived with so many men! Hahahaha!

The whole feel of the night was very adult. There were a couple of kids but 95% over 21's. People were dressed up, I almost felt under dressed! I see they have added dates for while we are there in October... I'd be lying if I said I wasnt tempted - it really was that good! But it's a lot of money for somewhere that I'm not going to drink much or eat. But who knows, if we come into some money between now and then, maybe I'll book it

Some more party pics from the night

The party finished at 11:15 (slightly later than scheduled) so we made our way back out of an empty park. We stopped on the way to get a couple of pictures while it was empty.

When we got out to the bus station we were asked where we were going and then taken to a bus who took us and one other family back to Coronado. What service eh? He even asked which stop so he could go straight there.

We walked back to our room and then stumbled on the hammocks by the beach. We decided to sit for a bit star gazing. It was the perfect end to a lovely evening <3

Back in the room we packed up most of our things and we were in bed by 12:30am.

Awww yay! you've started your trip report!! I'm going to go read it / look at the pics in a minute thanks re the outfit those are some of the nicest trousers in the hot weather, they are like crape material which stays cool. I bought them with Florida in mind

I feel you re trying you get out the room early enough with the little one, it's hard enough getting Sy ready

I'm totally going to pre order in future at be out guest, no queue whatsoever there!

Apparently the no sound was a mix up as wishes was late for whatever reason, sometimes the syncing gets mixed up (Sy's friend is an imagineer and he was watching our periscope at the time and told us haha)

The bbq place was gooooood, we are going to try another ba place next time!

Day 6

Vero beach day!

Woke up with the alarm at 7:30 and finished up packing. We called down to Bell Services to ask them to transfer 2 bags over to the Boardwalk ready for us to arrive in 2 days time, the guy was there in no time at all.

Over the last few days we had been chatting with another family who was also staying at Coronado Springs (they are members of the facebook group we help manage - it's orlando time). Well we found out as we were about to leave that they were in the room right next door! Small world! So of course we grabbed a quick pic together before we left.

We were finally leaving Coronado Springs at 9:25 and heading over to pick up Ali from the Disney car centre where she was ditching her car that she had used all of about twice

We were on the road within minutes! Woohoo!

We stopped to get a McDonald's breakfast on the way - breakfast of champions right?! Any reason Sy can pull to get another McGriddle, today's was 'well we need to get on the road so I think we should get a McDonald's' hahaha. He got his McGriddle inside him and he was a happy driver.

The car journey there was pretty uneventful, we came off of the highway a little early so we could drive along the coast road. It took about 2 & 1/2 hours in total by the time we stopped for breakfast, gas and drove some of the way along the coast.

Some pics of the road trip.

Of course we were earlier than the normal check in time but luckily for us our rooms were ready!

We got first visit pins as it was our first time to Vero Beach which was cute.

We were in the main building in a 'garden view' room which was actually just a car park view. We had connecting rooms though which was brilliant.

Loving the elevator hand!

I went around taking a million pics, the newly refurbished rooms were beautiful <3

We unpacked what we had brought with us and then popped out to find some lunch, I'd been looking online and found a highly rated place by the beach so we went off in search of it.

I must say, when we arrived I was a bit worried - it was really manky looking. We went in gingerly, ordered at the bar and sat at one of the tables. (It looks nicer in the picture than it did in real life!)

Can't beat the view from our table though...

The girl who took our order was so friendly, she mad over to chat with us. The food came and we were in agreement that it was the best food we had eaten all trip! And since coming home I still stand by that statement! I had home made nachos, Sy had a shrimp po boy and Ali had chicken tenders and fries.

We chatted some more with the girl there and told her how much we enjoyed the food, we were debating going back the next day but she told us it was their last day of opening! Noooooo! She was taking the food to the road in a food truck.

Afterwards we popped in next door for an ice cream and sat outside in the warm Florida sunshine.

We walked over the street to take some pics of the beautiful beach.

We then made our way back to the hotel for a swim - I was even brave enough for a trip down the slide hehehe

Back in the room we showered and got dressed for dinner. We decided to head into Vero to Sonny's BBQ.

We arrived at about 8pm and were some of the last people in there, clearly Vero is a place where people are up early and in bed early. We were very much the novelty tourists in there, with the waitresses telling us how much they loved our accents haha

The food was really good, and again we got some of the massive glasses haha

We paid the bill and I think were the very last ones to leave at about 9pm.

We were right nextdoor to a Walmart so we decided to pop inside for some supplies. We got few things like drinks, stuff to take home, and some noodles for the pool.

Ali went to one check out next to Sy and I, and as we were walking out Ali was in fits of laughter. The lady on the check out was blown away by Ali's accent! She had complimented Ali on her dress and when Ali said thank you her words were 'What you sayin'? is that your real accent?' She couldn't believe that Ali's Scottish accent was real Hahahaha. I guess we really were outside of the tourist area! At first when Ali told me I thought she meant the kids who had been in the queue ahead of us, that was funny enough but when she said no it was the check out girl we fell about in fits of laughter hehehehe.

We drove back to our hotel and decided to pop into the bar for a drink.
Sy went for his old favourite - Long Island iced tea. I had a strawberry daiquiri and Ali went for a blue glowtini.

We only stayed for 1 drink, think the early morning was catching up with us! We paid up and made our way to bed, hopping in around 11:30. I was beginning to fall a little bit in love with Vero Beach.

Yeah the joy and sadness queue was totally worth it! I'll do it again for sure

Fingers crossed we both come into some money so we can do club villain as well hehehe

Hope you enjoy reading about Vero, I've now reached the point in where my notes finish so the rest is going to be all memory let's hope my memory wants to play ball and work lol

Day 7

So my notes for today say 'Vero'. Just that one word.... oh dear! Come on memory... Don't fail me now!

We were up and out at about 9 (i think), heading into Vero for breakfast. I'd found a highly rated place on Trip Advisor called the Lemon Tree. Ali described it as the old peoples breakfast hahaha! It's totally accurate though, we were some of the youngest in there, it was decorated for the older generation - not in a bad way though. And the food. Omg the food! I could see why this place had such high ratings and a queue out of the door! Luckily when we arrived there wasn't a wait but it built while we were there. It was pretty reasonably priced from what I remember too

Sy's breakfast

Ali's breakfast

My breakfast

We popped to the outlets which were about 10 minutes drive away, I couldn't be that near an outlet and not go in naturally Wow this was a different experience to Orlando! It was almost empty! We mooched for a an hour or so, got a couple of bits in Ralph Lauren (some palazzo pants for me and a couple of shirts for Sy) before making our way back to the hotel.

Found this super cute sign from Crackerbarrel that I'm still kicking myself for not buying...

Back in the room we got changed and headed down to the pool... Only to get there in time for them to close it due to a storm coming in. I looked up at the sky. Nope not a single cloud. None in the distance even. I know they close it when there's a storm within a certain distance but it was a little frustrating when there wasn't a cloud in the sky, nor did one ever appear. It's for everyone's safety though so shouldn't really complain... I'm just grumbling and being a grouch.

We walked back up to the room deciding to have a nap instead.... We lasted for about 20 minutes before I was ready to kill someone. They were laying carpet above! Bang bang bang.... So we decided to chance the pool again while I still had my sanity.
In the mean time I'd got some washing ready and went to find some machines on route to the pool. I went to the front desk to find out where they were and was told that all the main building machines were out of use as there was work going on on the top floor. So I had to go to one of the outer buildings and they only had 1 machine! Gah! That was super annoying only being able to do one wash at a time.

Pool was open again so I was swimming/sun bathing in half hour stints between going back to change loads in the washing machine.

I did find time to buy us a dole whip each. It was Ali's first ever omg! How has Ali in all of her many trips to Walt Disney World never had a Dole Whip? It was a hit though so that's good it might have taken Ali a while to have her first one but I don't think it will be her last! It was a refreshing change not to have to queue up for it too.

As the sun started to make its way down Sy and I went for a quick walk along the beach as we hadn't stepped foot on there yet. It was so peaceful - there was pretty much no one else around. It was totally picturesque. We spent a little time walking along and watching the little birds chasing in and out as the waves came in. Was just like the short 'Piper' from Finding Dory!

Sy decided to be a cutie and write a note in the sand.

We then made our way back to the room to get ready for dinner. Tonight was a very special dinner... Pirate dinner with Goofy and Donald!

There's not much written about this online but what I could gather was that it was a bit like hoop de doo food, served family style. I was right about the style of food but wrong about the way it was served, they had changed it to a buffet. There were only 4 tables in there including us and one table of cast members! I'm guessing this might be why it's been cancelled now... (Sob!).

We were given bandanas and beads to wear, the waiters were all dressed up too.

Sy looks like a reject from a crap rock band hahahaha

There were table decorations as well as wall hangings and a DJ blaring out Piratey music.

It lacked a little atmosphere to begin with but it got better as soon as the Cast Members got going, the 2 cm running the night were 'Sally Sealegs' and 'Captain Nobeard'. They were fab! They were playing with the kids, teaching them to speak pirate and play games. Poor Captain could have done with some parental help at one point when there were a couple of kids using him as sword practice hehe. There's only so many times you can say 'gently', 'enough now' and 'that's hurting me'

The food was very okay, it wasn't very hot but there was a lot of it. They went for quantity over quality I fear, but I found enough to eat so that was fine.

Once we were fed Goofy and Donald came out to pose for pictures, they really could have done with some better lighting here or a photographer. The pictures came out terribly!

Afterwards the guys stayed around for a dance! Goofy could really throw some shapes. I've taken a screen grab of Goofy doing the skanky leg from our 18 min long video hehe

The evening started to wrap up and we were the last table to leave before the table of staff. We sat chatting with Sally for a while, she was telling us about how much she loves working there and that she's actually getting married there and honeymooning in Hawaii when we are planning to be there next September. Who knows maybe we will see her?! Will we recognise her without her pirate outfit i wonder? Hehe

We weren't quite ready for bed so we went up to the bar and got another cocktail each. It had been a big day back home for the Facebook page we manage, we had hit 50,000 members! So of course we had to get a cocktail to celebrate #anyexcuse

We sat out on the balcony, but of course it was dark so we could hear the waves but couldn't see them. It was a gorgeous evening.

I was really falling in love with Vero

I'm relying heavily on pictures to remind me what happened haha

Aww thank you! It was an eBay purchase which came from Hong Kong. Wasn't expensive either

Thanks re the FB group, we hit 60k members this week

Day 8 leave vero

Today was a sad day.... We were leaving Vero boohoo!

Side note, I didn't take a single note from here out so the rest of the trip will be done from memory and pictures to jog it haha. I hope it's still fun to read!

This morning we decided not to rush off early as we didn't know when we would get back here, so we leisurely packed and went downstairs for some breakfast in Shutters. Sy took aaaaaaaaaaaaages to get ready so Ali and I went ahead and even ordered without him... Well that's what you get when you take forever to get ready grrrrrr (story of my life waiting for Sy to be ready for stuff! Honestly, I tell him we need to be places half hour early when we are at home so that he gets sorted in time - he was running into the church when he heard the horses on the street with me arriving at our wedding!).

Anyway, I couldn't stay mad for too long - who could stay mad in a beautiful place like Vero?!

We ordered from our super cute waitress (who must have been about 80), I went for French toast made without cinnamon - I know I'm weird but I really don't like cinnamon! Ali had the same thing - she is also weird and doesn't like cinnamon

Sy went for corned beef hash.

How cute is the butter?

We were given maple syrup, a pineapple and orange marmalade and some honey butter...

We could use our tables in wonderland to get 20% discount in here which was fab.

I took a couple of pictures around the hotel.

We packed up the last of our things and made our way to check out sad times!

We stopped by the lounge we had drinks in the last 2 nights so we could get a view of the sea without it being pitch black.

The pics didn't really come out of us but a lady at a table there offered to take a picture and we didn't want to be rude and say thanks but no thanks.

We then hit the road. We drove straight onto the highway to get back to Disney as soon as possible! Ali and I both napped on the drive. Only a few days earlier I had been telling Ali about the car that looks like a mouse and we saw it on the way back!

Gotta love seeing that sign again! Takes the edge off having to leave Vero

We made our way over to Boardwalk first, we were checking into a standard view studio for a week. As the rooms had just been refurbished Ali decided to come with us and have a look. She's decided that she's a deluxe person trapped in a value budget hehehe but hey, if it means you can afford to go to Disney at least twice per year I'd take value over deluxe!

We took Ali over to Pop Century so she could check in and then made our way back to the Boardwalk.

We got changed and made our way down to the boardwalk area. Stopped on the way to snap this pic.

We watched some of the performers down at the boardwalk for a while.

Look at the beautiful sunset <3

We then made our way over to the international gateway and into Epcot.

Tonight's munchies were from the flower and garden festival booths.

I was a bit rubbish at taking pictures, I did remember this one of Sy's bratwurst. He said it was yummy!

I snapped this pic while we were heading round World Showcase. So pretty <3

I got some spring rolls from China and bumped into Amy who was there buying some of the candied strawberries. Amy and I are Facebook friends - we met on Walt Disney World For Grown Ups! We were hoping to bump into each other, we had messaged on facebook and we were both heading the right way around world showcase, we had said what we were each wearing so we knew what to look out for hehehe. Amy had left her mum in a spot ready to watch Illuminations so we went back with Amy and stayed to watch it with them. It was a while off so we had a good old chat while we waited. It was SO lovely to finally meet!!!!

Amy is amazing and remembered to get a picture.

Illuminations was good as always - still not quite Wishes hehe

It was extra magic hours tonight, we had hoped we could eat some more from the booths but they had all closed up - clearly they weren't staying open late. So we said goodbye to Amy and her mum and made our way back through the international gateway. We planned to go into Big River Grille at some point while we were staying at the Boardwalk and with the food booths closing and scuppering our plans to eat there, tonight seemed like the perfect opportunity. We went in and sat down while perusing the menu, I started to feel a bit icky though so we decided to order take out to the room instead, Sy waited for it while I went on ahead. I got the nachos while Sy had a burger. It was pretty good, and not bad for the price. I'm sure we will eat here again when staying at the boardwalk.

We then decided to get into bed and get some sleep. It was about 11:30 by this point so we were ready to head to the land of nod.