Hey everyone! So, it's been a couple of weeks since we've been back. It was amazing! We spent my husband's birthday there, and the florists did an amazing job 
The surprise gift basket/balloon was delivered to our room while we were out on the day of our arrival. Lucky us, our first night there had extra magic hours till past midnight at MK! 
Our top five favorite things were: Victoria & Albert's, Be Our Guest, Hallowishes, Mandara Spa, and IllumiNations. These made our MUST-DO list for our next visit.
Victoria & Albert's was AMAZING, we went there for my husband's pre-birthday dinner. Hands down, the best dining experience of our lives! It was around $400 (including tip and my husband got the wine pairing) for the two of us, and it's hard to imagine, but it was soooo worth it! We were fine before the dessert....then, BOOM, fullness hit us. The food was so good, that we just had to finish every bite. I still have the long stem rose that they give you at the end of the dinner. Also, if you order tea at the end of the meal, it's crazy! It looks like a science experiment. And I kid you not, the iced tea had ice cubes made of iced tea so that it never watered down your drink. I mean, even the bread served between courses was amazing....we had brioche with truffles in it, with truffle butter. It was insane. It's one of our must do's for our next trip there.
Be Our Guest was MAGICAL, the Beast came out during dinner time, our dessert was served on a rolling tray (just like the movie!) and our waiter was incredible. They encourage you to take as many pictures are you want to and take you on a tour of the restaurant before seating. We sat in the West Wing, we got to see the beast photo change with the lightning and the magical rose that was dropping petals. I had the steak and my husband had the pork, both were scrumptious. Of course, I had the grey stuff! My husband had the cupcake. And after dinner we got to take pictures with the Beast, thank goodness for photopass+!
Hallowishes was great! Lol, I made my husband wait with me for over 2 hrs in the waiting for the show. I read that in front of Casey's Corner was the best spot for the show.....it was. It was also a great place for the parade as well, and it gave us something to look at while waiting for both. Mainstreet was lit up and it was fun to watch everything all Halloweeny. It was probably one of the best fireworks shows we've ever seen. It encompasses more than your field of view can take in, we had to keep turning our heads to see everything.
We had a couple's massage at Mandara Spa. We got to ride the boat from Epcot to the resort, SO FUN! We got there early and just hung out on the hammocks for a while. It was a first time for both of us to get a massage professionally. It was incredible, we had the 50 minute Swedish massage. It was so relaxing, and I scheduled it for midway through our vacation, which was needed by then. I scheduled it for late in the day, so it was a nice ending to a long day of walking. It made us feel so much better and helped keep us amped for the rest of the vacation (total vacay days=9).
Last but not least, IllumiNations. We waited for only 15 minutes for a prime spot, right in the Japan area. It was an amazing view, and major plus, the smoke didn't move to us during the immense amount of fireworks. Also, the restaurant that we ate at right before, Mitsukoshi (in Japan) was INCREDIBLE. The sashimi that I had there was better than what I had in Japan. It practically melted in my mouth. The restaurant staff was great there too....actually, the staff in all of Disney was pretty great.
Honorable mention- La Nouba. It was my husband's first Cirque du Soleil show, and many years ago, it was mine. He absolutely loved it. We had center seats just far back enough to not have to turn around and see everything. It was just as incredible as I remembered it. Plus, they had military discounts, which we loved.
One thing though, in one of the guide books that I read, which we now refer to as The Book, it gave a junk rating to Fulton's Crab House in Downtown Disney. Aside from V&A and BOG, it was one of our favorite places that we ate at. It had AMAZING wait staff, delicious food and they took the dining plan (we took advantage of the free dining plan). It wasn't the best creme brulee I've ever had, but OH MY GOSH...THE CRAB! I should have made more dining reservations at Downtown Disney. Every time we were there, the reservations were all taken and the wait was over an hour for every restaurant we walked in to.
Also, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was INCREDIBLE! I could have spent days upon days there. We went there both of the days were allotted for Universal. The Three Broomsticks was delicious, the fish and chips were soooo good. Also, we got a tip from one of the Disney cast members to try the pumpkin juice from the tap, and we're so glad we listened! I liked the fizzy version and my husband liked the regular version better, so it worked out 
Oh my goodness....the butterbeer! We got it both days, frozen and regular. I like it better than Lefou's brew, the citrus foam weirded me out a little, but it was still really good. The rides kept breaking down, but they were always quickly fixed. The Forbidden Journey blew our minds, but we also loved the Dragon Challenge. Pretty much, the entirety of the Wizarding World was our favorite part outside of Disney. Olivander's was crazy crowded when it let out into the shop....phew! Claustraphobic people should avoid this. P.S. getting a Krusty Burger and riding the Simpsons ride is a Must-Do over there (not in that order though )
The crowds were much more bearable at Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. No one shoved, hit, or were sassy to us. I got so grouchy whenever that happened, I know I shouldn't have. But, when people shove me, it happens. Or while standing in a sea of unmoving people, others stare at everyone around them like it's their fault. All I could think during that time was, "hey lady/guy, NO ONE is moving, calm it down and don't ruin it for the rest of us." I felt like there was always a group of people that thought that they were more important than the hundreds of others around them, so it was ok to shove or be sassy. No one lets people through, I wasn't even going in the same direction of the crowd, I wasn't cutting, I was trying to leave the park. And as I walked around someone, they stared me down...it was a senior citizen and I was taught to respect my elders.....I was torn. Also, one thing that bugged me, is that people just cut in line ALL THE TIME! We were standing in line to get into the (Universal) park (it was a very defined line, not like a mass of people) and someone had the nerve to stand next to me, cutting in front of everyone behind me. When it came to the turnstile, they tried to step in front of me, which absolutely wasn't happening. We got there early, we've been waiting....just, no. So when I stepped forward and didn't let them cut, I got mean looks from the couple.....SERIOUSLY?!? Is this a thing now? It happened at the Haunted Mansion too, we were walking down the queue (in a line!) and hadn't reached inside of the building yet and one family decided that they were more important and just walked on the side of everyone and cut in front. What is happening?!? Honestly, I became more aggressive than I'd like and felt protective of us. We had to learn to stand strategically in line, to take up just enough space so that no one would cut in front or separate us. People would edge on the sides of us and we'd have to move to block them so that they wouldn't cut. Disney was an amazing experience, but it also made me a tad more aggressive in public. I'd have to stand my ground against shoving strollers and adult men (I'm 5'3 and didn't think that grown men would try to bully a woman out of her spot). They'd nudge me, and if I didn't move, they'd just nudge or lean on me harder....what?!? Eventually, my husband would have to block me so that it would stop. Since when do people use strollers with children inside as battering rams against crowds?!? After this vacation, we decided that we will not be bringing our children (once we have them) to Disney World until they are strong enough to walk long distances. Honestly, it was just the two of us, I can't imagine how upset I'd be if someone shoved my kid. I saw a man drive/jump his scooter off the curb and into a family of four (with small kids)...he didn't even apologize! It was right after the Halloween parade and it was crazy crowded. A lady even lost it on the bus at night, she started yelling at the transportation worker for not being allowed to sit on the floor. Her husband even started yelling that no one was giving his wife a seat, calling out specific passengers. No one wanted to help someone who was being so rude. After a while, I just didn't want the hassle of getting a seat on the bus, I preferred standing. A lot of times, people were upset that they had to stand and gave those seated mean looks. Of course the pregnant, elderly and children were always offered a seat, but adults were still angry. People pay a lot of money to go there, and c'mon...it's DISNEY! Cheer up, truck on, and have a magical time. Something happens at Disney....I mean, I love it there and we plan on going back again next year, but sheesh! There was only that one time where people tried to cut in front of us at Universal, but for the most part, the crowds were way more courteous there. Everyone was relaxed and having a great time, which is what a vacation should be. Sorry for my long rant guys 
Overall, it was a dream vacation. I will definitely try to get almost all of the same reservations again. There were just some bumps along the way. My husband had the best time there, and it was his first time visiting as well. Pop Century was a great resort, our bus line was always long, but at least it only went to our resort, which I was very thankful for. The parks were great, we LOVED the fastpass+! I think the best one was for Toy Story Mania, we just went right in, zero wait, while the stand by time was 100+ mins. Also, we loved the app! It was so useful, we could plan out our days way in advance, or change it on the go. Lol, oh, and we loved the Magic Bands. Our first experience with them wasn't great though. When we tried to get into our room it didn't work, we couldn't tell if the number the cm wrote down was a 3 or an 8...we tried both, lol. Haha, turns out it was a 5.....I sure hope someone wasn't in those rooms, it probably looked like we were trying to break in 
