I'm going to find adventure in the evening air! An August '18 solo trip report! New PTR link 01/04

Ah! Is there anything better than a refreshing beverage enjoyed poolside?
Uhm maybe if it's being served by a hunky pool boy.:lmao:
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OK, so I had a TR reader fail...I thought I had clicked "watch" on your thread but obviously not because you've been updating this whole time and I've missed it. Oh well, I'm here now again!

But first a slight soggy end of the night picture decked out in my Canadian Mickey gear.
Awesome Canadian Mickey gear. I would have never thought to look at Walmart!

Yes, it's time for 4 parks in one day!
If I ever do a solo trip, I want to do this!

Then I veered to the right with the hopes of seeing Devine in the Oasis area.
I've seen Devine before, but didn't notice her on this last trip. Nice to see she is still around.

Still i was determined to fit Pirates as I wanted to check out the new redhead scene. You know, I didn't hate it. It's not great but not horrible either.
That's how I felt about it. I expected to hate it, but it wasn't too bad.

After a spectacularly fun day yesterday, it was time to relax and put my feet up!
I always try to make sure relaxing time is factored in to any trip. It's needed after a busy day!
 
I arrived at the Lava pool shortly after 9 am and snagged a sweet little spot right under a shady umbrella.
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I settled in happily and enjoyed my coffee and book. It was such a perfect morning and I thoroughly enjoyed taking in this lovely view! I may have even snuck in a poolside nap!

poolside server bringing around menus and taking orders. Juicy chicken, creamy avocado, crisp celery and peppers made for the perfect lunch. The citrus slaw was a nice, light accompaniment. This was a huge wrap and very filling.

Upon arriving in my room, I found two delightful surprises! I love the creative design my Mousekeeper had left for me today! And she had pixie dusted me with some of the gorgeous H20 foot rub!

Character Warehouse at the Vineland outlets.

I decided to hop to Disney Springs.

so happy to be back in the bubble, lol! I am an onsite Disney girl to the core. It feels weird to me to be out in the real world.

!

Just another day in paradise. :cloud9:

Love your shady spot beside the pool! My family loves the Poly pool. The volcano slide was the first “thrill ride” for my children in 2010.

I have wanted to try that avocado chicken wrap. Now I REALLY want to try it after seeing yours.

What fun mousekeeping surprises! I didn’t even know there was a foot tub in the H2O line.

You had some marvelous finds/bargains at the warehouse. Love the Orange Bird Bag. How exciting! I just discovered Basin on a stop at Grand Floridian in Sept. Looks like you got some bath bombs at the shop in DS. :yay:

We stayed in the bubble on our first few WDW trips and preferred that when our kids were small. I wasn’t sure how I would feel venturing outside....but after a couple of lengthier offsite trips I find I like having time inside and out of the bubble as well.

I continue to enjoy reading about your adventures. :goodvibes
 
Thank you for writing your TR. I am thinking of doing a solo trip next year. I too am a Disney bubble girl and never leave it on vacation but this trip I want to try the Character Warehouse. I have been trying to figure out how to get there. Either taxi or uber/lyft, glad you had a good experience.
 


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I settled in happily and enjoyed my coffee and book. It was such a perfect morning and I thoroughly enjoyed taking in this lovely view!
As much as I love Disney and the parks, its those chill and just take it all in days that seem to be my favorite.

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Ah! Is there anything better than a refreshing beverage enjoyed poolside?
No. Indeed there is not :drinking1

Next up was my awesome grilled chicken wrap. Juicy chicken, creamy avocado, crisp celery and peppers made for the perfect lunch. The citrus slaw was a nice, light accompaniment. This was a huge wrap and very filling.
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Yum that does look good! I didn't know they had servers poolside. That could get very dangerous for me!

I had seen the Orange Bird D and B bags at the outlets on a Vlog and was hoping they would still be available. Luckily, they had several to choose from and I was able to pick my perfect placement. I also snagged some other goodies; including a Minnie top, a cute Bambi infinity scarf and Up bandits.
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Awesome haul!!! I'll have to get over there sometime. I can only fathom the damage Casey could do :-)
 
I love your finds from the character warehouse! I love the Disney bubble, I have left for the dark side and Seaworld a couple times, haha!

Your pool time looked very relaxing. I think I will enjoy the pool in May when pool phobia Andi is still in school!:rotfl2:
Yes, May will be great for pool time. I was super happy with my outlet deals too!

Well it took me long enough but I have caught up!


You know, I send the Hidden Mickey books to clients but don't have one for us! I think I'll get one for our Nov trip because I know Ricky will enjoy looking for them (Chris enjoys nothing lol) and I'm always on the lookout but never have much luck!


My favorite :love:


A snack I've never had which is surprising given my love for macarons. Also on my Nov list now :thumbsup2


Perfect on a hot day!

Your 4 park day went so well and sounds like so much fun! I had one planned for Steve our last trip but all our days got switched around and it didn't happen, which was ok. So I stand at 1- 4 park day in the books so far and will eventually do another!
Nothing better than a 4 parks day, it's just so fun! You will LOVE that macaron ice cream sandwich!

Uhm maybe if it's being served by a hunky pool boy.:lmao:
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sure, could you arrange for that at the Poly please?

If I ever do a solo trip, I want to do this!
It is great!

I always try to make sure relaxing time is factored in to any trip. It's needed after a busy day!
Nothing like a little down time after going full tilt!

I have wanted to try that avocado chicken wrap. Now I REALLY want to try it after seeing yours.
So good!

I continue to enjoy reading about your adventures. :goodvibes
I'm so happy to have you reading along! :)

Thank you for writing your TR. I am thinking of doing a solo trip next year. I too am a Disney bubble girl and never leave it on vacation but this trip I want to try the Character Warehouse. I have been trying to figure out how to get there. Either taxi or uber/lyft, glad you had a good experience.
Lyft is super easy to use. I was presently surprised.

As much as I love Disney and the parks, its those chill and just take it all in days that seem to be my favorite.
Chill days are awesome!

That could get very dangerous for me!
Very dangerous indeed!

Awesome haul!!! I'll have to get over there sometime. I can only fathom the damage Casey could do :-)
She would have a blast!!
 
Big news!!!!!!

Yes, the biggest and the best!

I am going back to Disney in 56 days!!!
I have been dying to see the Disney Christmas decor so I have been obsessively checking for resort availability since I returned. There was nothing in the price range I was hoping for and I almost gave up. Then I got an alert from Hopper telling me that flights from Toronto to Orlando were $317 for the dates I was interested in. That was way too good to pass up. Plus that pesky AP was burning a hole in my pocket. I decided I would take a look offsite and checked out Air BnB and found a super cute tiny house just on the other side of Disney Springs for $77 CDN a night!! It has great reviews and I decided I would be brave and experience life outside the bubble. I am so excited!!

Bring on ALL the Christmas stuff Disney has to offer!!
 


Big news!!!!!!

Yes, the biggest and the best!

I am going back to Disney in 56 days!!!
I have been dying to see the Disney Christmas decor so I have been obsessively checking for resort availability since I returned. There was nothing in the price range I was hoping for and I almost gave up. Then I got an alert from Hopper telling me that flights from Toronto to Orlando were $317 for the dates I was interested in. That was way too good to pass up. Plus that pesky AP was burning a hole in my pocket. I decided I would take a look offsite and checked out Air BnB and found a super cute tiny house just on the other side of Disney Springs for $77 CDN a night!! It has great reviews and I decided I would be brave and experience life outside the bubble. I am so excited!!

Bring on ALL the Christmas stuff Disney has to offer!!


So exciting!! :jumping1:
I love WDW at Christmas time!! We are planning our next trip to be early next December, possibly going down at Thanksgiving. Will be nice to see all the Christmas décor!!

Yay upcoming trip!!:goodvibes
 
Big news!!!!!!

Yes, the biggest and the best!

I am going back to Disney in 56 days!!!
I have been dying to see the Disney Christmas decor so I have been obsessively checking for resort availability since I returned. There was nothing in the price range I was hoping for and I almost gave up. Then I got an alert from Hopper telling me that flights from Toronto to Orlando were $317 for the dates I was interested in. That was way too good to pass up. Plus that pesky AP was burning a hole in my pocket. I decided I would take a look offsite and checked out Air BnB and found a super cute tiny house just on the other side of Disney Springs for $77 CDN a night!! It has great reviews and I decided I would be brave and experience life outside the bubble. I am so excited!!

Bring on ALL the Christmas stuff Disney has to offer!!

:santa: party::santa:

That IS big news! I hope you do another trip report so we can see all things Disney Christmas, too! What a magical time you will have....and that is an unbelievable deal on lodging. Happy for you. :goodvibes
 
I am going back to Disney in 56 days!!!
I have been dying to see the Disney Christmas decor so I have been obsessively checking for resort availability since I returned
Great news! I would love to see Disney all decked out for Christmas too. Great prices on the flight and house! I've rented a house before during non-Disney time, but the cheaper price compared to Disney resorts makes it tempting to do all the time.
 
Yay upcoming trip!!:goodvibes
Thank you!

How exciting!! Christmas time at Disneyis so awesome.
I am beyond excited!

That IS big news! I hope you do another trip report so we can see all things Disney Christmas, too! What a magical time you will have....and that is an unbelievable deal on lodging. Happy for you. :goodvibes
Thank you so much! I can't wait!

Pretty much sums up how I am feeling!

Great news! I would love to see Disney all decked out for Christmas too. Great prices on the flight and house! I've rented a house before during non-Disney time, but the cheaper price compared to Disney resorts makes it tempting to do all the time.
I am so excited! I had never thought I'd be able to go at Christmas but we get two float days a year with the school board so I decided to use them when I found the great ticket price. I had been looking at Air bnb and when I found the house at that price (it normally goes for $112-$130/n) and it had such great reviews, it just felt meant to be!
 
Back to regularly scheduled programming
AKA
Dinner at Geyser Point!!
After spending a little time relaxing on my patio with a glass of wine, it was time to get ready for the evening's adventure! I was so excited to finally have the opportunity to check out Geyser Point! I strolled up to the monorail and headed over to the Contemporary. I took a little time here to browse through the gift shop and admire the lovely Mary Blair mural once more before heading down to the boat dock to board the launch over to the Wilderness Lodge. I finally had a chance to see the iconic metal Mickey Ears at the back of the Contemporary.
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The sky was very gray and heavy with thunder and lightening in the distance. Due to this, the launch was not running and we had to wait for one of the larger covered boats to make it's way over. While I was waiting I had a great chat with the launch captain who was also a DVC member and longtime Disney addict. He was just wonderful and I was sure to stop in and fill out a cast compliment card for him later in the trip.

I enjoyed the ride over in the boat and soon happily strolling along the path to Geyser Point. I had hoped for a table but it was packed there this evening. I decided to settle in at the bar and ordered a delicious cocktail...the Cascadia Sangria Cocktail (black cherry vodka, fresh lime and orange juice, topped with Columbia Crest H3 Merlot). This was absolutely perfect.
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Originally I had thought I might order the portobello salad but as soon as I saw the crab cake sandwich at the bar I knew I had to have it. I chose to have it without the peameal (Canadian) bacon as I do not enjoy it at all. I went for the quinoa salad as my side which was so good!! The crabcake sandwich was full of flaky crab meat with very little filler while the cabbage carrot slaw and mayo complimented it perfectly. I was so happy with my choice!!
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After finishing my meal, I took a walk around and enjoyed the view. What a perfect evening!
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As I walked up to the boat dock, the boat for the Contemporary was just pulling up. I hopped on board as I was on a mission to grab dessert from Contempo Cafe. I had heard reports on the all round yumminess of the Confetti Cake and knew I had to try it. This was the perfect dessert to enjoy while watching Happily Ever After from the Poly beach. A perfect ending to a very relaxing day!
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Day 3 food totals:
Poly Pool bar ~ chicken wrap and Schofferhofer $21.83
Starbucks at Disney Springs ~ Strawberry Acai refresher $4.74
Geyser Point Bar and Grill ~ Crab cake sandwich and sangria cocktail $27.95
Contempo Cafe ~ Confetti cake $5.64
Total: $60.16
Savings vs using DDP ~ $75.94 - $60.16 = $15.78
 
I wanted to try the crab cake sandwich so much, we never did get back over to WL after we left. It sounds and looks yummy!

The cupcake looks good, glad you had a nice evening checking out some new items
 
Thanks for sharing your numbers on OOP v DDP costs. I am a numbers gal so I find all of that very interesting.

Sounds like a great excursion to Wilderness Lodge - loooove the look of the crab cake sandwich.....and the dessert stop at Contemporary. Yum! Did you notice if they had rose gold cupcakes when you were there? And how nice to get a chance to talk to the boat captain and swap stories. :) Little moments like that really make Disney special. We just stayed at Bay Lake Tower back in June, but most of our time was offsite....so only short time at BLT. I knew about the metal Mickey ears, but I didn’t even see them on our stay. So cute!

I bet you are busy planning all the sights you will see for Disney Christmas fun!!:yay:
 
I wanted to try the crab cake sandwich so much, we never did get back over to WL after we left. It sounds and looks yummy!

The cupcake looks good, glad you had a nice evening checking out some new items
It was so good, Caroline! I hope you get over there on your next trip. :)

I have read about the wonderful cupcakes at Contempo Cafe. Sadly I have never been able to get there. One of these days...
It's worth the trip over, Jeff! Lots of yummy options. They have a flourless mini chocolate torte that is calling my name......

Thanks for sharing your numbers on OOP v DDP costs. I am a numbers gal so I find all of that very interesting.

Sounds like a great excursion to Wilderness Lodge - loooove the look of the crab cake sandwich.....and the dessert stop at Contemporary. Yum! Did you notice if they had rose gold cupcakes when you were there? And how nice to get a chance to talk to the boat captain and swap stories. :) Little moments like that really make Disney special. We just stayed at Bay Lake Tower back in June, but most of our time was offsite....so only short time at BLT. I knew about the metal Mickey ears, but I didn’t even see them on our stay. So cute!

I bet you are busy planning all the sights you will see for Disney Christmas fun!!:yay:
I didn't see the Rose Gold cupcakes but I think they have those at Sunshine Seasons. There is a great bakery selection at Contempo Cafe, probably the best I've seen. I totally love those Disney magical moments too!

Where do you like to stay offsite? I was going to do an Air BnB but had second thoughts and ended up cancelling it and going with Townplace suites just at the west entrance to the parks. I just started a PTR for my December plans. :)
 
What a nice, relaxing day!
the Cascadia Sangria Cocktail (black cherry vodka, fresh lime and orange juice, topped with Columbia Crest H3 Merlot). This was absolutely perfect.
I tried this and thought it was good, but I loved the Black Cherry Lemonade they have since taken off the menu :( So last time we were there I had my share of a Blueberry Lemonade, I'll see what my go-to ends up being during our short stay there next month!

After finishing my meal, I took a walk around and enjoyed the view. What a perfect evening!
Ah, so beautiful there at night, you know I love it :love: And I too have always wanted to try dessert over at the Contempo Cafe but then forget when we're there! I need to write down these things because I also forgot to try something at AK last month and I don't want to forget next month. There's just too much to eat in Disney lol
 

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