Hi all!!
So I'm super behind but I thought I'd hop on to give a short trip report. Unfortunately I didn't keep notes and we've been back for a while so it means that I couldn't remember each day if I wanted to. Instead I've decided to go through the many "firsts" we accomplished on this trip.
Port Orleans Riverside - Sorry fans but we won't be staying here again. Pros: The twin murphy bed in the room would be great for a family of 3. The room itself was nicely decorated. We had a room close to the bus stop. The boat to DTD was fun. Restaurant on property. The big pool area was nice. Cons: Alligator Bayou was dark and buggy. I went home with a number of bug bites. It felt like we were still at home in the northeast. The bed was hard. as. a. rock. Absolutely awful. Grounds were HUGE and while I didn't enjoy the bayou after passing by Magnolia Bend on our boat ride I was glad we didn't get some of those rooms. We waited a very long time some mornings for the bus. The lines to get on a bus at night were WAY longer than any other line. One night at HS there was a line 2-3 full buses worth of people and there were literally NO lines at any other stop. It was BAD.
Memory Maker - Convenient but wish we hadn't done it. We ended up feeling obligated to stop and take as many pictures as possible. And with only two of us it just didn't work out in cost.
DVC Tour - Man, do I wish we could afford it right now. It was VERY convincing but I stayed strong and said no. It's definitely something we will be considering in the next couple of years though. Gosh those rooms are beautiful. Plus extra fast passes and ice cream!
No DDP - We'll probably never go again without it. We only saved about $120 but we also didn't get 5 additional snacks, dessert at each meal or the mug. So while it saved us money, the DDP would have been more bang for our buck. Plus we didn't like sitting down each night and looking at the prices. I ended up stressing over trying to save money because I wanted to make sure we spent less than we would have with the DDP. It sucked quite a bit of the fun out of eating and it's part of the trip we enjoy.
Carriage Ride - It was a fun time! If we ever do it again I'd like to schedule it at night. We had a very friendly driver who took us over to the FQ. A little pricey but we liked it.
Boatwrights Dining Hall - Dinner. Delicious! We didn't love the actual setting but the food made up for it! I got a pasta dish (HUGE!) and my DH got the jambalaya. We would go here again.
Be Our Guest - Dinner. Good food in a GREAT venue. We sat in the Beast's Room and while very dim we loved the theme. All the effects were well worth it.
Restaurant Marrakesh - Dinner - Beautiful with great dinner. We were both very hesitant about coming here and loved every minute of it. We'll definitely go again.
Trattorio Al Fornio - Dinner - Meh. Our waiter was not good, there were screaming kids being allowed to literally run around the tables and the food was not good. Sadly we won't go back.
Turf Club - Great recommendation from you all on here. It was our anniversary dinner. It POURED BUCKETS that night and we sat under the awning, back near the windows and enjoyed the thunder and the cooling effect of the rain. It was HOT HOT HOT while we were there so the rain was a little welcome. Great server, great food, great atmosphere.
Goofy's Candy Shop - Make your own Rice Krispy Treat - My DH loved it. We had quite a bit of fun picking the toppings. This might become tradition.
Carrot Cake Cookie - If only there was a bakery near my house that made these. Or maybe it's good that there isn't. I'd be 900 pounds.
"Rides" - Ellen's Energy Adventure (Fun but not a must-do), Captain EO (Interesting one time. DH slept through it and I have no interest in seeing it again), Prince Charming's Carousel (Even convinced my DH to ride. Big horses that adults fit on easily so I loved it!), Journey Into Imagination with Figment (Will definitely do this in the future. Nothing exciting but great for AC and it was cute), Big Thunder Mountain at night (One of my new favorites! So much more fun than during the day!)
The Boardwalk - What a pretty area. I wish it had even more stuff. We watched Coney Island Chris and laughed right out loud multiple times.
Disney Quest - Is anyone else as sad as we are that this is going away? If only we'd known it existed before this. We had a ball playing all the games and checking stuff out. Sadly, we went as an after thought one evening and only got to spend about an hour in there. Wish we'd gone earlier since we won't get to go again.
I think that about covers it! It was fun trying out so much new stuff. Our next trip probably won't be for at least 2 years so I'll have plenty of time to come up with other stuff. One thing we wanted to do but never got to was taking the Behind the Seeds tour. Next time. 
