First Adult Disney Vacation! Finalized + Pictures!

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Meg
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First Adult Disney Vacation! Finalized + Pictures!

Hello all! First I would like to thank everyone for advice and planning assistance. There were so many things that I learned on this forum that ultimately made a big impact on our vacation!

Background: This vacation consisted of me and my boyfriend T! This was about my 13th or so trip and his 4th. I grew up with a lot of Disney and my parents are DVC members. He had not been since high school and really had no idea what he was getting into. Normally, my family prefers to go in December but T and I just took the bar exam. My parents were kind enough to offer some points so that we could have a vacation after the exam. The trip consisted of 7 days at the Beach Club Villas.

Day 1- Arrival: Flight left from Cincinnati at 4:30pm. We had an Olympics celebration the night before and we wanted to get a good night of sleep so we took out a late flight and decided not to do a park day. Our flight arrived about 6:15 with no major issues. I was very nervous because we were scheduled to take the magical express, which I had never done before. We walked right to the bus area (it is true that it is a hike, but with no luggage it is not that bad) and got right on a partially filled bus. We waited less then 5 minutes until we were on the road for Disney! The ride was very nice and time efficient. My only complaint was that the video did not work. But the Disney music on the bus was enough to get into the spirit!

We arrived at Beach Club by 7:30. We had no problems at all checking in and getting our park tickets. We headed over to the villas and, as always, it was amazing to be greeted by the "Welcome Home" sign! Our room was quite interesting. We had the deluxe studio room on the second floor with a garden view. I had stayed in a studio before at Wilderness Lodge, so I thought I knew what to expect. However, we got an ADA compliant room. It was very nice that it was bigger. However, our bathroom had an awkward layout with everything in one room and no real counter space. We ended up having to put all of our bathroom things on the floor, which I really did not care to do. We also did not have a closet. Instead we had a large bureau that functioned like a closet. All in all the room was fine and these were very minor complaints. In the future I will just remember to ask not to have this room.

After checking out our room, we decided to go in search of food! I loved T's reaction when we walked out of the BC for the first time and he could look across the lagoon and see the Boardwalk area. He loved it! It really felt like coming home to me and I was very excited too! We headed to the left and eventually came up to ESPN. Given the late hour and Olympics starting, I did not think we would be able to get in quickly. Fortunately, the seater took pity on us and directed us to the no wait area in the bar. We were very hungry at this point! I had the cheeseburger. I am pretty sure it was very good but I was so hungry that I'm not certain I would have known if it was bad, haha. T had a philly cheese steak that he liked. We also got our first experience of the price of Disney alcohol with a few beers. We also were able to watch beach volleyball that night at ESPN. It was really fun to be able to cheer along with other people!

Next we took a stroll along the Boardwalk. The magician that night was especially funny and we stopped to watch for quite a while. Then I took T around the yacht and beach areas. Finally, we headed back to the room to pass out! Our luggage arrived about 5 minutes after we did. We unpacked and fell immediately asleep!

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Meg
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Day 2- Magic Kingdom!: It was an early morning for us as we wanted to get to MK when it opened. We had no issues getting up, though T did have an interesting time learning how to use the villa coffee machine! We were out the door by 8 and waited no more than 5 minutes for a bus. When we arrived at MK we went straight to the right side waiting area and there were maybe 50 other people waiting at that time! I don't think T had any idea why we got there so early! We waited and people watched while trying to find shade. Luckily people were not too pushy and we were able to see some of the opening show! Once the rope dropped we "walked" down main street and through the restaurant to the tomorrowland waiting area. Though we were hurrying, there is still nothing like that main street usa view! We waited a few more minutes and then again "walked" to space mountain! Interestingly, everyone in front of us went to get a fastpass so we were actually the first people on space mountain! It was quite an experience!

After our luck with SM, we decided to head over to Buzz Lighyear after a fun run in with Chip n Dale! I LOVE this ride! I don't know what happened but somehow I hit the lucky target and ended up with a personal high of over 320,000 and major bragging rights! Once we exited, it was clear that tomorrowland was going to be very busy. We made the decision to go over to frontierland to see if it was less crowded. We got very lucky! We were able to ride btmrr, pirates, jungle cruise, and splash mountain all before 10:30. Poor T got soaked! We then headed over to Haunted Mansion. I thought the new interactive queue was awesome! It was great to do it in the morning without too many kids or heat! At this point we headed over to Fantasyland and rode It's a Small World, T was a great sport on that one!

Though it was only 11:30 we decided to head straight over to Liberty Tree for lunch. I remember this being a favorite growing up. However, I think it could probably be skipped for a while. I had a burger again that was just okay. T had a pasta dish that he enjoyed. I was also so sad that they no longer have any apple butter! We were starting to get tired post-lunch and we knew that we were coming back for EMH that evening so we moved back to main street for some shopping. T had the idea to get matching ears!!! I was thrilled! Then after a short wait and posing for pictures, we headed back to BCV for a nap!

Normally I would suggest the pool in the afternoon, but we were SO tired from traveling, an early morning, and an exhausting summer in general- that we took a very long nap instead. Dinner reservations were for Yachtsman Steakhouse, for a law school graduation celebration. Dinner was veryyyy good! We both had a caesar salad and drinks. I had the filet with mashed potatoes and he had the porterhouse and we split the truffle mac n cheese! The food was delicious and I had to make myself stop eating the mac n cheese before I got too full to go back to MK.

Finally it was time to head back to MK for the parade, fireworks, and EMH. In theory I was very excited for this night as I had never stayed late like this at MK. We got there by 8:15 with the intention to watch the parade. However, we found it to be way too full on the route at that point. Instead, we went to adventureland where I had my very first Dole Whip! It was just as good as the hype!!!!

We then tried to go to Hall of Presidents, but there was some tech problem. Instead we walked through fantasyland to get Peter Pan fastpasses. We then rode the carousel and the teacups with no wait. We tried to ride the peoplemover but sadly it shut down literally as we were stepping into the cart. Instead we escaped the humidity in carousel of progress.

Next it was fireworks time! We got to an alcove area on the right of the castle in just enough time to see the magic, memories, and you. The fireworks were then wonderful! I had not stopped to enjoy them in years and I loved it! I also found them highly romantic! We then had some time to kill before the 10pm parade. We rushed over to use our PPF fastpasses (we still had to wait 15 minutes- our first wait of the day actually!). Then we rode the new Dumbo with no wait! I was very impressed! We didn't get to see the interactive area but everything was still so neat!! We got decent seats on main street for the second parade. We were fading fast at this point but decided to end the day like we started- at Space Mountain. After a 30 minute wait, we left the park and we were home and in bed by 1am. It was a LONG day and we probably pushed too hard but it was a blast to spend a whole day at MK!

PreviewAttachmentSize
Matching Ears!
Matching Ears! 1.57 MB
Castle at Night!
Castle at Night!1.96 MB
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Meg
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More to come tomorrow!

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The Cookie Crumbler's picture
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Nice! This sounds like a great first day and I can't wait to hear the rest.

About the video on Magical Express, from what I remember it was mainly about what to expect when you check in, places to shop and eat, how to use fast pass, things like that. So you didn't miss much since you've been there so many times mickey

Care to share how bad the drink prices have gotten? wink

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Sounds like fun so far...

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Sounds like an awesome trip so far! Can't wait to hear the rest... Nice trip report!

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Sounds like a fantastic time so far! So how does it feel having your first grown up trip? Are you enjoying being on your schedule instead of your parents? Have you noticed any significant differences?

Kris1971's picture
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Awesome picture of you guys with the ears! Great trip report...keep it coming!

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Great trip report. Thanks for sharing and I am looking forward to more.

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I also can't wait to hear more. I know it is SO hot there...it was hot last week for me! That pic of you guys with the ears is awesome. I just love trip reports. mickey

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Love the picture with your mouse ears! Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

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Great report, thanks for sharing. awesome

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Great report so far, we are staying at the bcv when we go in sept, i hope it is as nice as i heard it is. can't wait for the rest

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Meg
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Day 3- Epcot: Given the long day at MK, we decided to sleep in some before heading to Epcot. We finally made it there walking through the International Gateway by 10. I was sooo surprised at how busy it was at that time! We used the Mobile Magic app the whole vacation and it was wonderful! A real life saver! We used it to realize just how long the lines were at that time too.

So- we decided to check out innovations. I am not usually a fan, but I knew that T would enjoy it. So- we headed in and ended up having a lot of fun! We did a game where you put yourself into a videogame and then the build your own roller coaster! SO cool! When the line died down, we headed to Spaceship Earth! This is a personal favorite of mine, especially since it was updated!

Next up was an early lunch at Coral Reef. I did love the view, but I have to agree with many other reviewers that the food was not great. I had the shrimp and T had a shrimp caesar salad. It was just very overpriced and kind of bland. We did get to see lots of sharks and rays though, which made the lunch experience fun. I think we also learned at this point that we didn't really need lunch reservations- especially with the extra price. But, live and learn. We then checked out the seas pavilion. I always take time to go see the manatees, which is really a neat and rare thing to do. We picked up some Soarin fastpasses (already for 6:20 at 12:30). We also rode Journey into the Imagination, which I had never ridden before. It was one of T's favorite rides as a kid I think and he loved going again. After that, there was not really anything else we wanted to do in future world. I was definitely missed Test Track! We would probably have done mission space if we hadn't just eaten lunch.

Next it was time to hit up the pool!! I love Stormalong Bay! I was so excited for T to try out the sandbottom pool too! We had a blast for a little over an hour and I felt like a kid again! My only small complaint was the slide. I LOVE this slide and I spent hours doing the slide over and over in the past. However, I noticed this time that the seams of the different sections really rubbed against my back each time and almost hurt. I think I am going to send a letter or something because this was really sad to me. I hope it is something that can be fixed.

After a short nap (we are big vacation nappers!) it was back to Epcot. First, we used our fastpasses for Soarin! It really is such a neat ride. I also followed advice on here and requested the top row. It really made for a more enjoyable ride. We also rode Living with the Land to get out of the rain at that time.

I was very excited for dinner! Following advice from this board, we had reservations at Rose & Crown at 745 to get a table for Illuminations. We got there early to request a good table. Less than 10 minutes later, we got what the seater called the best table in the house! And it was! We were right on the patio next to the railing and it was perfect! Dinner was a cheese plate, fish n chips, and the (shepherd ish) pie accompanied by Scotch and British Beers. YUM! We then had the perfect view of Illuminations! It was a wonderful night!

To top off the night, we went to the lounge at Beach Club for some drinks. This was also a location showing the Olympics! We stayed and watched for a while before bed!

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Our Video Game!
Our Video Game! 1.4 MB
Stormalong Bay!
Stormalong Bay! 1.66 MB
View at Dinner!
View at Dinner! 1.31 MB
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Sounds like you had a great day 3! However, looks like you don't like to journey around the countries much? That's one of my favorite parts of Epcot! Maybe you were saving it for another day..I'll wait for the rest Smile

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Meg
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Day 4- Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney: This day began at 7am with bad news- I was sick. I am still not sure what was wrong but I was miserably, clammy, stuffy, and had awful leg pains. It was not good. But, I was determined to have fun day! So- off we went. We waited at the entrance with everyone else and then on Discovery Island bound for my favorite ride- Expedition Everest! Sadly, it was not working right off the bat so we had to get fastpasses.

This ended up being a great delay, as we were able to go to Kilamanjaro Safaris at that time. We had a fantastic safari! I am SO glad that they got ride of the poaching story and can focus more on the animals! We got to see the giraffes SO close and we saw an ostrich in a fight with some sort of antelope like animal. It was hilarious! I didn't really take many pictures so I could just enjoy the ride! We then were able to go straight away to our breakfast at Tusker House. I really wanted to do a character breakfast, but sadly Cape May at our hotel was closed the entire time we were there. So- taking advice we picked this place. I LOVED IT! We will definitely be going there again! The food was SOOO good. I had a breakfast quiche that was the best I had ever had. I ate soo much that it probably just contributed to my sickness, but I didn't care! We got to see Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Mickey!

Next up we finally got to ride EE and snagged fastpasses for later. This is my favorite ride at WDW but T had never ridden it! We waited for the front row as I always do! Loved it! I think that there is a yeti there at the end but I could not completely tell. Then we went over to Dinoland. T loved dinos as a kid, so he was excited. He even convinced me to ride Dinosaur! I almost didn't get on the ride. This is the only ride at WDW that I am scared of at all. I cried the first time I rode it. When we rode it, I closed my eyes pretty much at the site of the first dinosaur and nearly bruised T from holding on. Then we got off and I was so embarrassed. Since there was no wait, we got back on. This time I was determined to keep my eyes open. I succeeded- for about half of the ride.

By this time, I was feeling pretty terrible. However, T was having tons of fun and I was determined to keep up. We did it's tough to be a bug and then walked the jungle trek. I had never done the trek before and it was so fun! We got to just watch a gorilla for about 15 minutes! Even sick and with leg pain, it was still nice. Finally, we did EE again, front seat of course, and then headed home. Normally, I would have liked to do more at AK, but it was the hottest day there and I felt terrible. So we headed back to the hotel for a very needed nap!

After the nap, it was time for DD. I was still feeling terrible but I was hoping a relaxed night would help. We got off at the Marketplace and enjoyed some casual shopping. I always buy some ornaments at the Christmas store. We also enjoyed walking through the big stores and the lego store. We still had a lot of time before dinner, so we had some drinks at Raglan Road. This was nice because it was happy hour so they were cheaper than normal disney drinks. Dinner was at House of Blues! It was great! We had an appetizer of the chicken street tacos and OH MY! They were the best thing we ate the entire trip! We almost cancelled dinner and had more of those. I highly recommend them! For actual dinner we split shrimp n grits and jambalaya. Very good and spicy! However, I was still feeling terrible and kind of wanted to watch the gymnastics team final that night. So, we took the boat back to the Marketplace and finally caught the bus.

We topped off the night back in the lounge and enjoyed watching with a large group of team usa fans! I may have been sick but it was still a day filled with disney magic!

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Sorry you weren't feeling well but kudos to you for pushing through the pain!

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Sounds like you were a real trooper. Nice report!

Meg
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Day 5-Hollywood Studios/Epcot/Boardwalk: I woke up this day and finally felt better! So we got ready quickly and caught the boat to HS (which I always forget is no longer MGM!). We managed to get there before it opened again, which was nice. My family usually goes to HS on the day we arrive- usually afternoon. I didn't remember ever going in the morning. Though I head that people went first to TSM, we decided to stick with Rock N Roller Coaster. T and I both love this ride! Then we walked right onto Tower of Terror- probably my second favorite ride!

After riding both rides, it was still only about 9:20. I had read on here about Starring Rolls and I love cupcakes! So we stopped in and I had the delicious red velvet cupcake! Yum! We then picked up TSM FPs- already at 12:00. We intended to go GMR next, but it was not yet open. So- we went over to Star Wars! To say that T is a big Star Wars fan is an understatement. He LOVES Star Wars. He had not been on the ride since it was updated and he was beyond excited. We let people pass us so that we could enjoy the queue area. Our first ride was awesome! We had Darth Vader, Hoth, Admiral Ackbar, and the Rebel Base. I thought he might cry! We then spent some time in the store, posed for pics on the speeder, and watched the Jedi training academy! The jedis were SO adorable. T had to be reminded twice that the age limit was 12!

At this point, GMR was finally open. It said there was a 20 minute wait but I have to say it was more like 40-50. It was the longest wait of maybe the entire trip and the longest ever for this ride. I think that they were only running half the cars or something because there was no second one at the end- which would explain the delay. I have to say this was the biggest disappointment ride wise of the trip. Both the guide and the gangster seemed bored and unenthusiastic. T did not remember ever riding this so I was just sad for him.

We still made it to our fastpass time for TSM. This was a new experience for both of us! I loved it! I can see why there is such a long wait! T kicked my butt (revenge for Buzz Lighyear I suppose). This will definitely be a must do on our list in the future! Next was lunch at Sci Fi Dine In! I had never been there before but this was T's request. It was awesome! We both loved it! This is a lunch reservation that we will definitely make in the future. We both had burgers and beer and just sat back and watched the whole movie loop!

After lunch we did the Muppets! Another favorite and always so cute! And then Star Wars again with fastpasses! We then realized that we were both starting to get tired and the weather was looking crummy. So, we headed out and caught the boat immediately back to BCV. Though we planned on another pool day, the weather started to be really bad and we napped instead!

Once the weather cleared up and we felt rested, we went back over to Epcot. We planned to spend the whole day the next day in the countries but we did some initial walking around before dinner. We ate at Teppan Edo, as we both love Hibatchi. This is a place my family eats pretty much every visit. I still love it, but the menu has really changed over the years. I wish they still did the full salad/soup and also fried rice- but I understand streamlining the meal some. It was still very good! I had the chicken and shrimp and T had delicious swordfish.

After dinner, we opted to leave Epcot and do a night on the Boardwalk. But first we had to stop for the final show of the British Revolution. I was very unsure about this. The old British Invasion was a family favorite and my dad's favorite. We probably would see the show 3-4 times each vacation. However, I was pleasantly surprised that the new show was even better! I loved the updated songs and was glad to see that they still closed with a Beatles song. I was surprised that the musicians were Orlando natives and not British, but it was still great!

We then took to the Boardwalk. It was a very nice evening and we enjoyed walking around for quite a while. Originally we planned to go to Jellyrolls, but with the $12 cover and no one there, we decided to go back to the bar at ESPN instead. We ended up having a blast watching the Olympics and splitting a pitcher or two. We spent the night talking to the bartender and other guests and just had a blast. We were there so long we had to get more fries for a snack!

Finally we went to bed- happy for our planned sleep in day tomorrow!

PreviewAttachmentSize
Happy at HS!
Happy at HS! 1.22 MB
Star Wars Fans!
Star Wars Fans!1.93 MB
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Sorry to hear that you weren't feeling well, but sounds like you definitely made the most of it!

And holy cannoli, Jellyrolls is a $12 cover now?? eek

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Meg
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Day 6-Epcot: This was the day we finally planned to sleep in! We actually slept till 11 and it was wonderful! Today was also our planned Drink Around the World Day. Originally, we intended to go to Universal this day (thanks for the advice in earlier posts everyone!) However, ultimately we decided not to spend all the money and hassle of going up there. We will be going again with my family sometime in the next year and we think we will just do a night at a Universal hotel and a day there before our Disney trip instead.

So- we decided that in the spirit of an adults only trip- we would spend the day eating and drinking around Epcot. This was SOOO much fun. We started in Mexico with a quick lunch of the tacos. Very yummy. I wish we had done quick service every day for lunch- but again, live and learn. We decided that the plan was to do each country in order with a drink, possible snack, and a full exploration of the pavilion. We started in Mexico on the boat ride. I forgot that the inside of the Mexico pavilion scared me as a kid when my dad told me that ancient Mayans sacrificed people on those temples. I think I refused to eat there for a few years actually. Our drink in Mexico was a strawberry margarita. We decided that we would split our drinks along the path when possible- with one person probably being the primary drinker and the other sipping some. The margarita was mine and it was great!

Next was Norway! Though we intended to get a Carlsbad, we realized that was not actually from Norway. Instead we split a shot of a vodka/jager like drink from Norway. It was okay. We actually rode the Maelstrom the night before (I forgot to mention this but it was fun as always). We looked through the museum then on to China.

The drink in China was a tsing tao (I think?) beer that T primarily drank. We looked around the shops for a while and then viewed the very neat terra cotta exhibit. We then watched the movie, which I had never seen before. Very neat and really made us want to go to China. We didn't see any traditional beers in the africa outpost, so we went on to Germany. It was really starting to get hot at this point. So- we decided to each get a German beer and found a seat in the shade to drink and relax for a while! After that, we moved skipped Italy and moved to the US. We wanted to see the American Adventure and we were lucky enough to catch the tail end of the singers right before! We had to run out at the end to make it to Italy. The day before we saw a sign for a free wine tasting. We managed to get a seat and enjoyed two great Sicilian wines! For Free! There was a vineyard promoter doing the tasting- but we didn't mind. Again, it was free. And there was free cheese!

After our wonderful free tasting, we went back to the US and decided to have the Red Stag Lemonade Slushy in honor of bourbon from our home state of Kentucky! It was pretty sweet but I enjoyed how cold it was in the heat. Next up was Japan, where we had hot sake as we sat in the shade and watched the drumming and then explored. Very fun again. Next stop was Morocco, where we split the Moroccan beer and had a great time looking all around the pavillion. We decided to save France and champagne for last so we went back to the UK. We had a Bass in the UK and then went over to Canada and had a Moosehead. We didn't intend to, but we ended up spending a long time in Canada and made friends with some cast members while doing a trivia quiz then watching the very funny Martin Short movie.

At this point, we were getting a little tired again but we didn't want to leave Epcot yet. SO we went back to Future World to ride Ellen's Energy ride. We stopped at MouseGear as well where I finally found the Be Our Guest pillows that I really wanted! I will also admit that I totally slept through most of Ellen- which was awesome. T loved that ride as a kid and luckily stayed awake through it! Finally it was time to head back to finish the challenge. We each got some champagne in France and we had officially survived! We took some time to really visit the pavillion, but opted for a croissant snack instead of the film.

We intended to leave the park for dinner and recovery after completing the challenge. However, we felt really good and decided to get another beer and watch another show of the British Revolution. We probably could have skipped this last round- but we had fun watching the band and we decided to dance too! Sadly, it did not catch on and people just kind of stared at us. Oh well. We finally left the park. We were not sure where we were going to eat dinner. I really wanted to try beaches n cream- but I knew it would probably be really busy. Luckily, we got right in! I had a great strawberry steak and an okay burger while T had a chocolate shake and a fantastic chessy hotdog! We topped off the night back at ESPN before heading to bed!

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Beer in Germany!
Beer in Germany! 1.83 MB
Free Wine in Italy!
Free Wine in Italy! 1.75 MB
British Revolution!
British Revolution!1.74 MB
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Meg it really sounds like,you & T had great time. Glad you didn't let anything get you down.

Meg
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Day 7- Last Day: After much deliberation, we decided to repeat at HS for our last day. After oversleeping just a bit (oops!) we caught the boat and made it by 11! Of course, things were really packed there at that time. We wanted to ride TT again so we went to ride- as there is usually not much of a wait. We were shocked that there was an 80 minute wait! We later realized that only one side was working so it was really delayed. Instead, we picked up fastpasses.

We realized that we were starving at this point even though it was early! We opted to eat at Pizza Planet and it was very good! I was pleasantly surprised. Then we decided to do the Backlot Tour. It was very fun and I always enjoy seeing all the people working and the movie props. I wonder though if it is time to update the Catastophe canyon? Next we had to do Star Wars one more time! The last thing we really wanted to do was go see Indiana Jones. T really wanted to be picked to be an extra in the show so we got there before the last one was even over. Sadly, it started to really storm and they were only able to do the first scene- so no extras. But we did get to talk to the people afterward. We decided this just meant that we had to come back! Finally, we used our TT fastpasses. We actually got a really cool ride and we dropped like 8 times! Then we decided that we were done and headed back!

The storm cleared and we decided to have some more pool time. Though I love the main pool, it seemed really busy. Instead we hung around the villas pool for a few hours. It was very relaxing! I think in the future we will do one big pool day and then mostly do villa pools. After the pool, we forced ourselves not to nap. Instead we watched some Olympic coverage before preparing for our big night out!

Our dinner plans were for California Grill! I was beyond excited! I had never eaten there but this board really recommended it! We took a bus then the monorail over! We got right up and we were told we could be seated even before our reservation time. As we were about to be seated, I realized that the assigned table was not at a window and far away from a MK view. I asked our seater if we could get a window table instead and luckily she said she would try if we didn't mind to wait. Of course we didn't and went to the bar to get drinks. We hadn't even received our drinks when we got buzzed again. Not only did we have a window table, it was the perfect MK view! I was thrilled.

I cannot say enough how good this food was! We had been using Disney gift cards and we still had a fair amount left so we decided to go all out for dinner! First, we had the cheese board. AMAZING. Then T ordered the Spicy Kazan Roll. I am historically not a fan of sushi. However, T insisted that I try it. I actually really liked it and had 2! Next we split the corn chowder and then the goat cheese ravioli. My entree was the scallops with risotto! YUM! T had the pork tenderloin. We both like our entree and each others! Finally, we had desert where I ordered the banana caramel dish. To our surprise, we also go free champagne after T mentioned we just took the bar to our server! More Disney magic.

We intended to leave right after dinner as we had to be up at 3:30 the next day as we had a wedding to attend back home and a very early flight. However, we took our time with dinner and at 9:30 we decided to stay for the fireworks. We took some pics outside and then watched them from our table! SO glad we did that and it was the perfect end to our vacation!!!!

After dinner, we took a cab back to avoid the post-fireworks bus rush. We were first in line for the cabs but the desk asked if we would share with the people behind us who were also going to BCV. We agreed and had a great conversation! The other couple was so nice and ended up paying for our ride! So sweet of them! Then we packed and tried to force ourselves to sleep!

The next morning started off sad and tired as we didn't want to leave Disney and had about 3.5 hours of sleep. We had to be at the bust at 4:35 but ended up catching the 4:05 that was running late. We had a great and easy time on the bus and the video actually worked. We made it to the airport a bit after 5 and had no trouble taking our luggage and getting checked in! We were too early to use resort check in! Finally we were headed home!

PreviewAttachmentSize
With Indiana Jones!
With Indiana Jones! 1.79 MB
I don't want to leave!
I don't want to leave! 1.42 MB
Last Night View!
Last Night View! 1.36 MB
Perfect Ending!
Perfect Ending! 1.87 MB
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Meg
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Some final reflections!

Again- I am SO thankful for everything that I found on this board. We would not have had such a memorable and easygoing vacation without all the tips and advice!

Some Things to do Differently: Non-handicapped room, getting sick, coral reef, making more than one lunch reservation, we probably won't do yachtsman again when we also to california grill, early flight home.

Also, absent special circumstances we will probably never go in the summer again. My family usually goes in December so we will probably do that with maybe the Food & Wine Festival or the earliest Star Wars Weekend. Though we managed the heat, I think if we can avoid it completely, it makes for a more enjoyable trip.

New Adventures to Do Again!!!: All the rides, magical express, staying at BCV, california grill, animal kingdom trek, sci fi dine in, World Showcase day, Tusker House, adult romantic trip, having a party of 2 (makes it all so much easier!), British Revolution, hanging at ESPN bar, villas pool,

So overall it was an AMAZING and MAGICAL trip. We cannot wait to go back again and we are even talking about doing a Disney Cruise next time!!!!

Thanks again and I'll add in some more pics too!

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Meg
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Kristen K. wrote:
Sounds like a fantastic time so far! So how does it feel having your first grown up trip? Are you enjoying being on your schedule instead of your parents? Have you noticed any significant differences?

It was great! My family is really all go-go-go when we are at Disney. Though it was good to rely on that plan for days like MK and AK, it was nice to be able to sleep in some and go at a slower pace. I also got to experience different things being just with T. We actually focused a bit more on relaxing and enjoying our surroundings rather than riding everything.

Of course, the biggest difference was paying for everything ourselves rather than my parents paying for things! Though we were fortunate to have to room points and park tickets as graduation presents, we had no idea how much things were really going to cost us. Though we knew planned well for the two big dinners and didn't spend lots of money on snacks or desert, we didn't really know how much it was going to be till we were there. We will definitely do things differently in the future.

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Meg
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The Cookie Crumbler wrote:
Nice! This sounds like a great first day and I can't wait to hear the rest.

About the video on Magical Express, from what I remember it was mainly about what to expect when you check in, places to shop and eat, how to use fast pass, things like that. So you didn't miss much since you've been there so many times mickey

Care to share how bad the drink prices have gotten? wink

The drink prices only seemed bad in reference to some of the things we get at home, like beer. I knew it would be expensive but it was still a lot to pay over $5 for a beer. We got a few pitchers of Bud Light at ESPN that I think were around $18. Our bar tab at ESPN for just drinks and fries one night was over $60. T likes martinis and he was pleasantly surprised that he found a few beefeater martinis for only $7.50. I suppose it was as bad as to be expected but it was just our first time there alone and we really wanted to enjoy our trip so it seemed like a lot to us.

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WooHoo! What a great trip and great trip report! mickey

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Meg, I'm so glad T went with the spicy kazan roll at the Cali Grill. That is my all time favorite!!!! I'm craving it so much right now!

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Meg this was an awesome trip report and it sounds like you had an absolute blast. Next time I go I am going with none of my younger siblings (just my parents), and I get to do whatever I want for my graduation, so I am very grateful for that! The big difference is, is my parents are still paying for everything yay !! Anyways, sounds like you two had fun. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if you were at Disney some of the same days we were. When we were at HS, it poured basically all day, so maybe we were there on the same days? I'm not sure, but if so - Cool! Lol. awesome

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Meg wrote:
The Cookie Crumbler wrote:
Nice! This sounds like a great first day and I can't wait to hear the rest.

About the video on Magical Express, from what I remember it was mainly about what to expect when you check in, places to shop and eat, how to use fast pass, things like that. So you didn't miss much since you've been there so many times mickey

Care to share how bad the drink prices have gotten? wink

The drink prices only seemed bad in reference to some of the things we get at home, like beer. I knew it would be expensive but it was still a lot to pay over $5 for a beer. We got a few pitchers of Bud Light at ESPN that I think were around $18. Our bar tab at ESPN for just drinks and fries one night was over $60. T likes martinis and he was pleasantly surprised that he found a few beefeater martinis for only $7.50. I suppose it was as bad as to be expected but it was just our first time there alone and we really wanted to enjoy our trip so it seemed like a lot to us.

Ah yes, I understand what you mean. The way I go in is thinking that it's going to be roughly the same price I'd pay for a cocktail in a lounge in the city or something. That helps take some of the sting out of it.

Also, AllEars has specialty drink prices listed some of the restaurants, so that's a good reference for next time!

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How fantastic! So glad that you had such a good time, and that California Grill was able to make a little extra magic for you!