It's About Time - Return to Walt Disney World with Well Needed Sunshine - 4/12-4/20/19

[mainelyj]

Welcome to my journal. I am calling this trip report my journal, because I wanted to document my 2019 trip to Florida. At the same time, I have probably spent more time on Disboards, than the entire length of my trip and I wanted to give something back. While this is not an exclusive Disney trip, I feel my experience will help someone plan for their future trip. I would also like to give a shout out other websites which helped me plan this trip: Touring Plans, Undercover Tourist, and Mousesavers. There may be more and I will add them as I remember them.

Let's start from the beginning:

My trip planning began in the Fall, 2018 - I believe September, 2018 or whenever Southwest opened up their April 2019 flights. I said to myself, if I was able to get tickets from Manchester, NH or Portland, ME to MCO for under $400, I will go to Florida during Maine's spring break time. Thanks to the Disboards, I knew when this magical date was... Not only did I get my tickets from MHT to MCO - but at a much lower amount than I budgeted for. Originally I was going to leave on 4/12 arrive at MCO around 11pm - but managed to get the whole day off from work. Southwest will change your flights once for no charge as a courtesy for frequent flyer members. You just need to ask and get the right agent on the phone. I ended up changing my flight to a non-stop flight on the same day, arriving at MCO at 10:30am; gaining a whole day in Florida.

Next was arranging for my timeshare - I own at Marriott Grande Vista in Orlando. There is a lot to be said for us legacy weeks owners vs the Marriott points owners - but this forum is not the place for this discussion. It took about 3 weeks, but I was able to get the week I wanted through II, for a 2 bedroom villa.

For the longest time, I was planning to use Uber or Lyft for my transportation needs, due to the extreme high cost of car rentals. I ended renting a car through Hertz for a total of $247 for my 8 days. I decided this based on the huge independence I would gain. In the end, it proved to be an economic decision too.

I must note, at this time, I was planning this vacation without any company... I was going to go on vacation - with or without people. I miss Florida and my last visit was 5 years. I used to visit Florida 1-2 times a year since 1993.

Our Group:


Left to right:
Lisa - 40 y/a something - friend of my sister.
Myself - Donna - 50 y/a something
Michel - just turned 50- y/a something - my sister
Ryan - my son - 26 y/a
Rikki - my niece - 24 y/a
Nathan - 12 - Lisa's son

Our Itinerary:
4/12/19 - Friday - Arrival Day (Post #2 and Post #3)
Me: I traveled by plane.
Rest of our group: Drove from Maine - they left 4/10/19 with 24 hour stop in Myrtle Beach.
Check into Marriott Grande Vista; Disney Springs; California Grill for dinner
4/13/19 - Saturday - Pool Day; Disney Springs; House of Blues for dinner (Post #4)
4/14/19 - Sunday - Our group splits up: Lisa, Michel, Ryan, Nathan and Rikki head to Sanibel Island (Post #8)
Me - Magic Kingdom - Solo: Early Morning Magic; BOG for lunch; Disney After
Fireworks Dessert Party (Posts #6 & 7)
4/15/19 - Monday - Me: Free Day. No plans - pool side. (Post #9)
4/16/19 - Tuesday - Me: Animal Kingdom - Solo: Yak and Yeti for dinner. Meet up with an old friend. (Post #10)
4/17/19 - Wednesday - Me and Ryan: Epcot: Rose and Crown for dinner and Illuminations
4/18/19 - Thursday - Entire Group: Blizzard Beach. Reserved private area on Shell Island area.
4/19/19 - Since the weather was not going to be that great, my family decided to start their drive home - bummer - everyone wanted to stay, except for my sister ((((
4/20/19 - Saturday - Me: Home bound at 3:45pm direct to MHT.

 

[mainelyj]

4/12/19 - Friday - Arrival Day

I do not know about you, when I am traveling on vacation, I can never sleep. I am too excited. I drove from Southern Maine to Manchester, NH on Thursday evening. I had a quiet dinner at hotel I stayed at. Rechecked my packing - I am an over packer. I took out about a canvas shoulder bag full of stuff. Mostly shoes. I was still over by about 6 lbs at the airport. But my "cosmetic" bag with my shampoos, etc ended up traveling on it's own - this was close to the 6 lbs I needed to adjust for once at the airport. I took the 4:15am airport shuttle from the Courtyard to the airport. My flight left promptly at 7:35am and arrived at MCO on time. I love direct flights.

My AMEX reimburses me $100 per year on a designated airline of my choice-which I chose Southwest. I paid $50 to upgrade my flight to early bird check in. Due to the AMEX reimbursement, I did not pay anything. I ended up with A boarding on a full flight. I was able to get a seat in the front of the plane along the window. Plus, I had extra leg room to stretch out. I did not know Southwest has free wifi on board. I was planning to sleep a bit on the plane. However, I was able to catch up on email and watch the Today show. Time flew by and I never slept.


Getting ready to land at MCO - somewhere on the Florida coast.

Once I got to MCO, I picked up my bags and then my car. I did a quick stop at airport Disney store to get my Magic Bands for my son and I (I read this advice from the Disboards. Thanks to the Disboards, too, I signed up for Gold level for free with Hertz. I was in line at Hertz waiting to get my car. Because I was Gold, I was told to just go to Hertz and check the board to see where I can pick up my car. Hertz rental is pretty easy. Your last name is on a large board and it tells you which aisle to go to and pick out your car. Then you proceed to the exit booth where you show your ID and get the rental agreement. Easy yes - for me no. I am very picky about my car rental. I had a bad experience once. So I proceed to the compact and sub-compact area (this is grade of car I rented). There were plenty of cars to pick from, but I wanted one with Florida plates and a newer model. Most of the "compact" and "mid-size" cars in this section had over 40,000 miles, out of State plates or smelled. I decided on a Ford Fiesta with only 600 miles on it. Boy is this car small... but it met all my needs. This process took me about 20 minutes. The other think about Hertz, is they put an additional $200 hold (they say) on my credit card - I guess I do not remember this from past rentals.


On the MCO monorail to get my luggage and car rental.

My check in time at Marriott Grande Vista is 4pm. Since this is my home resort - I am very picky about my room location. I call the hotel and my room is not ready, but my preferences will be honored. So, what to do??? I decided to stop by Disney Springs to have some lunch, check old Disney tickets, link new Disney passes for this trip and old hoppers with water park options to my son's and my Magic Bands. Again, easy - not for me. The last time I was "Downtown Disney" was 5 years. I have read about all changes and was prepared. Yes, it was easy - again thanks to Disboards.



I parked at the Lime garage and went to Guest Services. Everything worked great. I did buy 3 day park tickets and a 1 day park ticket through Undercover Tourist. Following advise here - I got "real" tickets, just in case something went wrong with the Magic Bands. I had already linked our tickets to MDE for my son and I in order get our fast passes. I was in and out very quickly.

I decided to have lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe. The walk from Guest Services was amazing, as I was taking in all the changes - while trying to orient myself to this familiar eatery. Thanks again to Disboards, I signed up for Landry's Club. It did cost $25, but I got $25 put onto my account right away and another $25 for having a birthday in April. You can only use 1 $25 bonus at a time. I then purchased $90 of Landry's gift cards from Sam's Club online, which cost me $67. I ordered the crab dip, which came with chips. And a side order of chicken tenders. I ate outside on the patio. Remember, I came from Maine - where winter seems to still exist in the month of April. It was about 92 degrees when I arrived - and I was loving every moment of this weather. The crab dip was amazing - full of lump crab. The chicken tenders hit the spot. I did not care for the chips, as I dipped the chicken into the crab dip. Thanks to my credit - lunch was about $1.00, plus tip. With left over chicken to take with me.



My sister was due to arrive about 5:30pm. So, I headed to Publix and picked up some groceries and a couple of cases of water. I checked in the Grande Vista about 3pm. Unpacked and had me some pool time.



I will continue our dinner story on the next post due to limits on posting pictures.

 

[mainelyj]

4/12/19 - Dinner - California Grill (arrival day continue):

My sister and crew arrived as expected. They unpacked and we changed to head to our ADRs at California Grill for 7:20pm. We decided a few weeks ago to schedule dinner at California Grill for 6 of us. However, they were sold out. Thanks to Touring Plans and again, Disboards, I used the free reservation finder service to obtain our reservations. It took about 5 days, but I got them for the perfect time. When we checked in, we asked for a table with a view. Dinner was certainly expensive, but the most amazing meal I have had in a long time. This place is certain a must have for extra special dining. The one comment I have is - 50% of the people in the restaurant did not seem to care where they were. It might be just me or call me old fashion, but if you are going to spend the money to experience a top notch place like California Grill, you should dress for the occasion! I saw way to many people in t-shirts and some ladies in short-shorts. For the most part - everyone got something different, so we were able to try a variety of foods. For my son and I we had - ravioli, a couple of signature drinks, shashimi, bison, kazan sushi and smores. I took home 1/2 of the kazan. Our bill was $185, plus $35 for tip (again this was just the 2 of us). I have been picking up Disney gift cards with my grocery pick ups for the past 6 months, so everything was paid for with a gift card, except cash for the tip.

But our view was amazing - we had a corner location, right next to the door going out to the balcony for the fireworks view. We stayed at our table and had no need to go outside with the crowd of people. A great way to start our first night in Orlando. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. We then went to Disney Springs to walk off all the food we ate. Total steps for the day: 15,862.

 

[mainelyj]

4/13/19 - Pool Day - Dinner at House of Blues

Our first full day in Orlando. My sister and company were going to head to Aquatica for the day, but decided to enjoy our resort and saving a ton of money. The Marriott Grande Vista offers a lot of fun activities - some are free and some cost. We started our day with kayak races with mid day pool side Bingo. Oh yes, this is after my niece and son made us breakfast, which we enjoyed from our top floor patio, of pancakes, eggs and bacon. Yes, we also had morning adult beverages - we are on vacation!!!



We were meeting Lisa's uncle and 2 other family members for dinner at House of Blues at 6pm and enjoyed Disney Springs until about midnight. I purchased a $50 HOB voucher for myself a while back for $30. But this month they had a special where you got $100 and paid only $50. You have to use the entire amount in one sitting. My son and I got a salad, bacon burger with mac and cheese, coffee, and another burger for $48 (used my voucher) and cash for $10 tip. My sister used her $100 voucher with Lisa and the rest of the group. As long as you have separate checks - they took both vouchers. The food was very good and plentiful. Since, we once again tried each other's food, I ended up taking my entire burger and 1/2 of my mac and cheese home. The only issue I had with HOB is our table was in the center of the room and very, very narrow. There was not enough room for all our plates.





There was entertainment everywhere outside.


Bryan Malpass - a very good regular Disney Springs entertainer.

And, the crowds were massive - except where the high end stores were located...... Still a lot of fun. As far as the World of Disney goes - it appears their selection is very limited. I am looking for something to put in my office - but just could not find anything other than snow globes. Perhaps, I might purchase some art work. Time will tell. We left about midnight or so (I do not remember).

My plan was to get to bed early, because I needed to be at MK for 7:45am - but hey - I am on vacation and sleep is over rated..... And, my sister and crew were leaving for Sanibel for a couple of days.

Total steps: 14,351.

 

[chocolateMinnie]

Fantastic (almost) live report. I loved HOB and yet we have never managed to return.
I’m with you about dress codes. Happy with theme park attire in cheap venues but not signature restaurants.
Looking forward to more.
Enjoy the rest of your trip.

 

[mainelyj]

Sunday - April 14, 2019

This is my day for solo at Magic Kingdom, while the rest of the group planned to spend 4/14-4/16 at Sanibel Island and the Everglades park.

When I planned this trip - I was not sure who would join me. I did plan to do 3 days at the Disney parks - MK, AK and Epcot (my son and I). Once all of us we in Florida - some of the group wanted Disney time too - but it just did not work out.

My first dilemma was do I purchase a Memory Maker? My rationale was to obtain all the great photos and not worry about anything. I would max out opportunities with my son, our entire group and our time a Blizzard Beach. I sought advise from the boards and was ready to pull the punch several times to get the $169 pricing. In the end, I did not get it. And, that was a perfect decision. Being solo - there were plenty of selfies taken by myself; I used my cell phone for ride photos; there was NO photopass opportunities on the water rides at Blizzard Beach - there used to be photographers everywhere; the photos linked to my DME - were great and I may buy 1 or 2 only - otherwise, I was able to screen shot some; less stress with trying to get group photopass shots; $169 in my pocket. Now, if I was with my entire family or spent most of our time at Disney, then it would certainly be worth it.

I purchased Magic Bands for myself and my son - these are great - even if you are not staying on Disney property. Having fast passes and tickets on them was much better than having to pull tickets in and out of my wallet. Also, being able to scan them for pictures and extra passes when the situation warranted was great.

I decided to purchase Early Morning Magic Hour and Happily Every After Desert Party tickets. I justified this cost, since I did not chose the Memory Maker.
I am a Disney veteran with over 20 trips under my belt. The time I was at any Disney park was 5 years ago. So much has changed! I wanted to not be stressed with going from ride to ride and show to show.

I thoroughly enjoyed EMMH and felt it was worth it with the exception of the food they offered for breakfast. This event was not sold out on my day. I managed to arrive at the parking booth by 6:40am - there was no attendant, but the light was green and I went in. I was directed to a parking area, which happened to be the Priority parking area. Guests were stopped at the security line - which opened up at 650am. There was no boat running at this time, but a monorail train showed up right away. I was amazed at how many people where already at the MK gate. About 7:16am, they started letting people in. There was a group with the EMMH who needed to get wrist bands and another group who were going to breakfast. Names were checked for each group, before allowing you in through the turnstiles. I got my wrist band. All people were then corralled just past the turnstiles until exactly 7:45am.



There were cast members with signs directing people to their locations. The EMMH group turned right at the beginning to Tomorrow land. I even stopped to get some castle photos without people in the background.


While I was a bit disoriented - I thought I had a plan. But this is what I did: 7DMT-3 times; Peter Pan-twice; Winnie the Pooh-once; Tea Cups-once (lost about 10 minutes in the restroom-too much coffee and I did stop for the castle photo- about 5 minutes lost. At about 8:50am, I got some salami and cheese and a cup of coffee to go from the food options. Then hit up the following attractions at 9am - Space Mountain; Buzz Lightyear; Astro Orbiter. Then it was 9:45am - I went back to Cosmic Rays for breakfast. They were obvious picking up things, but there was plenty of food. However, the food was below sub par - in my opinion. I decided to ask for gluten free food, hoping my items would be made fresh. But I got the same dry eggs and potatoes and an ego style waffle. Other than the fruit, cheese and sliced meats - the hot breakfast was totally unacceptable in my book. Some my find it ok - but I would not purchase this package for the food. The coffee and juice were good. I packed up some extra cheese and meats - then went on the people mover.




My next rides were - Under the Sea; Hall of Presidents; Haunted Mansion with FP for 11:40am. Splash Mountain with FP for 12:40pm - it started to rain the moment I got on SM - and it down poured while on the entire ride - so much for staying dry on this ride. Then Thunder Mountain with FP for 1:40pm - though this broke down just before I loaded, so I was given an anytime and ride FP to use later in the day. I got myself together - I actually carried a dry shirt in my back pack - walked through some stores and people walked as I headed to BOG.

I took my time the entire time I was in Fantasy Land, Tomorrow Land and Adventure Land. I even had the chance for a photo op with Peter Pan. Next up - 2:45 reservations for BOG. But before I went to lunch, I managed to walk on to Under the Sea ride - as it had just opened up around 2pm.

 

[mainelyj]

Sunday - April 14, 2019 (Part 2)

I did mobile order for my BOG late lunch. I ordered the french onion soup and cupcake with the grey stuff on it. The soup was amazing - probably more cheese than soup - but that is how I like it. The cupcake was delicious - but much tinier than expected. By mobile ordering, I bypassed the long line of those waiting to order. I sat in the rose room, which had plenty of seats. However, despite this place not being full and using mobile ordering, it took about 15 minutes for me to get my order. I did look at other people's meals around me, and the sandwiches I saw seemed to be fairly large. I did not want to eat too much, because of the desert party food I would have later today.



I continued to take my time throughout the rest of the day. I was taking in the sights and sounds of all MK had to offer. I used FP and the refresh method often to walk on to every ride for the rest of the afternoon. The only ride I could not get a FP for was POC - but this ended up being a 15 minute wait for me around dinner time. Between 3:30pm - 8:15pm I rode/explored: the shops on Main Street - got a Starbucks - this was the longest wait for me all day - it took 20 minutes to get my frappuccino. I was able to use my Starbucks app to pay and get points for my purchase, but could not use my rewards to get my drink for free; Dumbo; Mickey's Philharmonic; Met Tinker Bell; flag retreat ceremony; Swiss Family Tree house; Jungle Cruise; Tiki Birds; Aladdin Magic Carpet; and POC. At this point, I was quite tired and decided to check in for Happily Ever After Desert Party. Check in is at the Terrace Cafe area. I got my bracelet and was led to to "reserved" area in front the castle. I sat in the front, left hand side - which was perfect. I basically rested for the next 45 minutes using my back pack as my pillow. I did stand for the show.





I thoroughly enjoyed the desert party and it all it had to offer. I enjoyed having a private area to rest and just chill out at the end of this very long day. Remember, I arrived at the parking lot by 6:40am. As a solo visitor, I could go at my own pace. I had FP to basically everything, which made my time in lines non-existent (though the FP lines to HM and SM had about a 20 minute wait time vs the 120 or greater wait time for stand by lines).

As far as the food options at the desert party - there was a mixture of savory with cheeses, spinach dip and cheeseburger eggs rolls, with plenty of sweet foods. There also plenty of drink options - including coffee and teas. Myself and another party stayed for quite a while, because it started to rain while we were eating. We never felt rushed and was told to stay for as long as we wanted. The rain never stopped but did lesson. MK was opened until 12 midnight tonight. I decided to venture out about 10:15pm or so. I walked on to HM again, and Big Thunder. At this point it was about 11ish. I decided I had enough of this day and felt quite successful I accomplished everything I wanted to and had a fabulous time.

Highlights of the Day:
*26,156 steps
*completing Fantasy Land and Tomorrow Land by 11am
*EMMH is a great opportunity - I would highly advise this for family members of young children to do this at least once during a trip. I think the children would enjoy the breakfast options.
*fast pass system - I still can't believe people just do not use this - use the refresh system while waiting in line to get your next fast pass once you have used your 1st 3 FP
*private viewing area for Wishes with Happily Ever After Desert Party
*being able to do what I wanted
*lunch at BOG

Low lights of the Day:
*the food at Early Morning Magic Hour - call me a picky eater; but Disney could offer better tasting foods, at least for the adults
*missing my family (one thing I discovered during this trip, solo is just not for me)
*photo pass (while I see the benefits of this - as a solo traveler I had to take the initiative to ask photographers to take pictures of me; NONE of the photographers I encountered would take the time to "pose" me for those extra special photos, even when I followed a family/group who obviously were posed for those special photos)
*seeing many people NOT taking the time to "smell the roses"; people are in just too much of a rush these days - this was very evident during my visit to AK later this week
*cast members do not interact with guest like they used to - many were on their phones - even ride operators; I did still have a few encounters with perky cast members - but this was certainly a minority group

 

[mainelyj]

April 14 - April 16: What did my family do???

They had a great time at Sanibel Island and Everglades National Park. Here are some photo highlights of their adventure.

 

[mainelyj]

Monday - April 15, 2019


Today is my solo rest day!!

I started my day of with some fruity adult beverages with my breakfast. Took a nap by the pool. Worked on my tan. Enjoyed a long walk around Marriott Grande Vista. Worked on my trip report on my deck to my villa. Dinner was my left overs from The California Grill and House of Blues. Only 6,606 steps today.

 

[mainelyj]

Tuesday - April 16, 2019

Animal Kingdom day. Meeting a friend - who happens to be a Disney employee for dinner at Yak and Yeti.

I once again got up early. I was at AK by 6:50am. There was an attendant at the parking booth, but he waved me on and I did not have to pay for parking. I parked again, in the Priority Parking area for no charge - I was the second car in this section. My morning goal was to do FOP and Navi River Ride.

Guests were let through the security line about 7:30am. Despite me being about the 5th family in front of this area, because I had a back pack, by time I got through and was stopped in front of the ticket turnstiles - I was no longer in the front. People had sent family members without bags and strollers through the security area. These people then got into the front of the line - then their large family members - with strollers, etc would show up and basically cut in front of the others. I am all for line saving - but it was quite interesting to observe. I am not sure exactly what time this was, but we soon allowed into the park - I am thinking this was about 8:05am. This is where the craziness began. People - old and young were running like crazy to Pandora. I walked briskly, but was not sure where I was going, so I followed the crowd. We were stopped on the bridge just before Pandora. People were packed in very tightly. As a solo traveler, I stayed to the side on the bridge. People in front of me were about 10-12 deep. I continued to notice - people "catching up" to their family members who were already on their bridge, again cutting in line. It would not have been so bad, but we were packed in like sardines. We were allowed past the bridge and was led by cast members to FOP at 8:27am. Again, people were crazy and pushing in front of others, running with strollers and very little kids. I even said out loud, "there is no reason to rush and run and hurt yourselves", because we are in the front group and will get there in due time.


What can I say about FOP - wow, wow and WOW!!! I rode FOP once and Navi River ride twice - all by 9am. When I got off of FOP, the posted wait time for stand by was 120 minutes.



I then enjoyed: Safari trip; Lion King show; Everest; Tough to be a Bug, some bird show. I took my time to observe my surroundings and take in the shops and wild life. I went to Dino Land I rode the mini coaster. The posted time for Dinosaur was too long and I could not get FP for this, because of my dinner with my friend, I decided not to wait the 30 minutes for this. I have been on it before and felt I could skip it. I am unimpressed with this land - though I remember my kids enjoyed this land when they were younger. I also felt there was not a lot of shade in this area - and it was very hot walking around there.



I met my friend at Yak and Yeti around 4:30pm. I used my Landry's gift cards and $25 "birthday" credit. The food is Asian flair. We enjoyed our meals. We left around 7pm. We had not seen each other in about 18 years, so we had a lot of catch up on. Also, thanks to my research on Disboards - I asked for a second floor, window seat and got it. I would have never known about this, if it was not for the boards. She then showed me walking trails around the Tree of Life - I never new these were here. It was nice just checking out the tree in detail.



After my friend left - I used an anytime FP for FOP. I arrived about 8:20pm. Interesting enough, I was the only person in the FP que - yet there were no more FP for FOP at this time.... Interesting. I think the posted stand by line was 55 minutes.

I had a FP for Everest - but got to the ride at 9:05pm - the ride was already closed and they would not let me on. I really wanted to ride this one in the dark. I then went to the Rivers of Light show - I was a bit unimpressed with it. I left it early to beat the crowds to the exit. Also, walking to Rivers of Light/Everest from Pandora was not easy for me - it was hard to find my way around in the dark. I guess I was also very tired and my feet hurt.

Highlights
*ignoring posted ride stand by times; most of the time these were off by 30-35 minutes - meaning the wait times were actually less than the posted times - yet I did use FP most of the day - again, schedule your FP for early in the day - so you can get more for the rest of your day. I also noticed if I had a FP for a certain time, for a certain ride, I could hit the modify and refresh option, to try to get an earlier time. This also saved me precious minutes.
*total steps for the day: 26,883.

Low Lights
*again people rushing around, running to get to FOP
*missed the Finding Nemo show - perhaps my next visit