Making New Friends - One Coffee Crisp At A Time! EPIC trip May 2019 Update 2/24

[Pumpkin1172]

following along. Can't wait to read more about your trip report. Fellow northern Alberta Girl here as well. Living vicariously through your trip report. Hoping that maybe in 2020 we can swing a trip to Disney and the dark side ( my boys are big potter heads )

 

[KathyM2]

Walmart! So exciting, right?! We love browsing and seeing what is different than in Canada,

This made me laugh. As a fellow Canadian I totally get it! Surprised you went to Walmart and not Target though lol. I always have like half a suitcase full of candy and junk food when returning from the US lol. You got a good haul! Love your MU shirt too!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Our other luggage had arrived with the Magical Express tags, so one of the cast members from Bell Services drove us to our room in a golf cart with all of our luggage and Walmart purchases. Of course, once we arrived our Magicbands wouldn’t work – but he was able to open the door with his master key so we could at least drop off all our stuff (I showed him the My Disney Experience app to confirm we were at the correct room that had been assigned to us). He then drove us back to the main building so we could figure out our Magicband issue. Since we were there, we also took some time to walk around the main pool area since we’d never really checked it out before (all of our previous stays at OKW have been in January when it’s too cold for us to go swimming). We started walking the 7-8 minutes back to our building when the same bell services saw us and pulled over, motioning for us to hop back in his golf cart. I guess it was worth it to tip him generously when he dropped us off the first time!

Thats really nice of the bell services guy! Especially for a spread-out resort!

 

[pkondz]

Hi Fallon!
Just place holding. I'll be back to read later!

 

[kastoney]

You'll be shocked to know that while I found your dining report with no problem, it took me longer to find that one that wasn't all about food But I'm all caught up and ready for more!

 

[pkondz]

For those of you who have read my reports before - maybe I'll actually finish this one?

Good luck!

(Also - can you see the pictures below? They look to be working on my laptop but not on mobile? Just me?)

Probably already been confirmed/fixed/whatever... but yes. I can see them.

Also joining me on this trip was my husband, Luke!

Say hi to Luke for me!

I reached out to a few of the ladies I knew from here on the Disboards who I was Facebook friends with, and the Epic Trip was born!

I remember when you were here, visiting, and I mentioned "Su-Lynn's" trip... whoops! Sorry! Yes, it was your idea!

Hotels: Old Key West (May 1-6),

You. Are. Kidding. Me...........

We were in Old Key West from April 30th - May 4th!!!!!!!!!
We could have said hi!!!

Just because I think they are adorable, here's pictures of them…

They are adorable. Thanks for the pics! I just posted some of my pups over on my TR.

Magoo always has to grab something when it’s time to go for a walk…on this particular night, it was a hand towel from the pile of clean laundry I was folding…

Awwwww! Too cute!

On April 30th, Luke and I both had to work for the full day. The hours dragged,

I bet! Longest hours are the last hours before a vacation.

I’m the type of person who is late for everything – except flights. I’d rather sit at my gate early than have to run to catch my flight

Early to the gate. Yep!

The lady checking my bag told me I “should have been more responsible and been there earlier” despite the fact I was over 90 minutes early for a domestic flight *facepalm*).

“Could you tell me how early you arrive for a domestic flight, please?”
"90 minutes."
"Oh? You should be more responsible and be there earlier."

<say that after you get all checked in and everything... >

I always think it’s hilarious when you’re sitting in an airport and you see an entire herd of people changing gates, and now I was one of those people .

Have you seen the movie "Airplane"? There's a hilarious scene where people are running from gate to gate to gate as it keeps getting changed.

We landed in Toronto, and they made an announcement that anyone not connecting to Orlando was to remain seated, and anyone heading to Orlando – head straight to customs.

Really! They didn't do that on mine... and we barely made it.

We were cutting it close, but we made it through security and customs quickly, and made it to our gate while they were still pre-boarding!

We got there and boarding was already under way.

Since we’re Canadian, Disney won’t mail us our Magicbands before a trip.

I don't know why not. I mean... it's not like we're on a different continent even. And even then... why not? Mailing costs, I presume.

To get on the Magical Express we typically have a letter that’s mailed out to us, but then I’m always struggling to get it out of my bag when we get there – so this time I was thinking ahead and brought one of my Magicbands from our December trip and it made things so much easier!

I'm always organized with that letter in the front pocket of my carry-on. I learned my lesson... once.

Of course I had to take a selfie to document the moment (with a Snapchat filter of course to hide the exhaustion)

We arrived at Old Key West, and headed in to the main lobby to pick up our new Magicbands – blue for me, red for Luke.

Love when I get those. I always pick green (except for once... and I regretted it.)

I’m not much of a shopper these days, but I do enjoy starting our vacation with a trip to the Disney Outlet there!

Gotta get your loot!

We had decent luck on this trip, and I found a single Monsters University spirit jersey in my exact size for $20! Luke also found the Wall-E zip-up hoody he’d been looking at last year in his size for $20, and a Dark Wing Duck mug for $5. I also picked up an Epcot 35 ornament for $5, a Pascal baseball hat for $8 and a Minnie Mouse baseball hat for $5.

Not bad!

Water is like $4/bottle in the parks, or a case of 40 bottles was $4 at Walmart.

Kind of a no-brainer, then.

(For comparison, that same bottle of wine is $12-$15 here).

How much was it there?

So I picked up these three kinds of Twizzlers that I’ve never seen up here for them (the orange ones are seriously amazing!

And "filled"??? I've never seen that!

when on vacation why not start your day with a Bailey’s and coffee!

Why not? You're on vacation!

Once we finished up our shopping, we called an Uber XL to get back to OKW.

Why an XL? (Just curious, not judging)

I love that Disney tries to keep it familiar when you do repeat stays at resorts, although I’m not sure if they just do that for DVC stays?

I haven't stayed at a resort where I haven't asked for a specific location or even room number, so I can't say.

Our other luggage had arrived with the Magical Express tags, so one of the cast members from Bell Services drove us to our room in a golf cart with all of our luggage and Walmart purchases.

Nice. That would not have been fun lugging all that.

Of course, once we arrived our Magicbands wouldn’t work

We started walking the 7-8 minutes back to our building when the same bell services saw us and pulled over, motioning for us to hop back in his golf cart. I guess it was worth it to tip him generously when he dropped us off the first time!

Nice of him.

the beds were new. I prefer the new style, it’s nice to be able to shove a suitcase underneath the bed out of the way.

Huh! I never thought of that. Not sure my bag would fit, though. It's narrower but taller/thicker.

the bathroom felt very big (although I know it's the same size as they've always been).

It's all in the placement, I guess.

It did now have the wall-attached shampoo/conditioner instead of the travel-sized ones from years past, but we don’t mind that.

I prefer that.
Sure you can't take it, but... once I opened a bottle of shampoo and... it wasn't shampoo inside. I suspect (hope) that it was just a kid that filled it with water, but... ew.

Nice view!

Our dining reservation was in Disney Springs, so we decided we wanted to take the boat (there is an option for a bus from OKW as well).

We never went to Springs (no time!), but I loved taking the boat from POR.

We had perfect timing, and the boat pulled up to the dock about 90 seconds after we arrived.

Nice!

Taking the boat from OKW to Disney Springs is such a nice, relaxing way to spend 20 minutes!

So much better than the bus.

We then headed off to our supper reservation at our favourite Disney restaurant – Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ (or Che Fartsmith if you're as cool as @pepperandchips and I ).

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Hi, Fallon! As you came up with the fantastic idea for the EPIC trip, of course I needed to follow along on your trip report!

Ooof, what a long night of flights! I'm impressed you weren't completely exhausted and actually managed to get some things done on your first day! Your room at OKW looks very nice although I don't think I'm a fan of the completely white bedding everywhere... where's the individual personality of the resorts?! Good job on some great finds at the outlet!

 

[Steppesister]

Using my free day to catch up!

We were cutting it close, but we made it through security and customs quickly, and made it to our gate while they were still pre-boarding!

EEK! Close!

so this time I was thinking ahead and brought one of my Magicbands from our December trip and it made things so much easier!

Smart cookie!

Our other luggage had arrived with the Magical Express tags, so one of the cast members from Bell Services drove us to our room in a golf cart with all of our luggage and Walmart purchases. Of course, once we arrived our Magicbands wouldn’t work – but he was able to open the door with his master key so we could at least drop off all our stuff (I showed him the My Disney Experience app to confirm we were at the correct room that had been assigned to us). He then drove us back to the main building so we could figure out our Magicband issue.

YAY!! You had some excellent customer service!

I guess it was worth it to tip him generously when he dropped us off the first time!

It's always worth it to tip extra!

We were on the second floor, and I loved our view from our balcony!

Just absolutely lovely! Perfection!

 

[PadfootnProngs]

First time follower, but I am loving the slew of ladies trip posts! Sounds like everything is starting off well for you guys. I live in the US and have never even tried the fancy Twizzlers flavors, so there's definitely some taste testing that needs to happen ASAP.

Off to go catch up on your other TRs!

 

[Jabroniville]

Hey, this is great stuff! I was disappointed in the lack of posters on another Disney-related board, and found this one. And lo and behold, it's a detailed trip report from a fellow Edmontonian, who was there just before I was . I'll be looking forward to more of this!

I'll confess, I've never been anywhere else during a Florida visit that wasn't either Disney or Universal-owned. So visiting a Target/Walmart never occurred to me! I didn't even know there was a Disney Outlet near Disney Springs!

 

[goofygurly]

Joining for your trip report, First time reader,

 

[buzzrelly]

Hi Fallon! I thought I had already posted here, but I guess not! I can't keep up with all the EPIC reports

It was so nice to meet you and Luke! I brought your little bag of candy home to share with my kids and they loved it! Thanks again

I took this picture of the sign for hotel #1 – one of our favourite places to stay on Disney property!

On my first "real" WDW trip in 2006, we stayed at OKW so it will always have a special place in my heart. My son was just 4 years old at the time and he learned to swim underwater in that pool ❤

A trip to the Disney Outlet (I believe it’s actually called the Disney Character Warehouse) can be hit or miss – you never really know what you’ll find when you visit). We had decent luck on this trip, and I found a single Monsters University spirit jersey in my exact size for $20! Luke also found the Wall-E zip-up hoody he’d been looking at last year in his size for $20, and a Dark Wing Duck mug for $5. I also picked up an Epcot 35 ornament for $5, a Pascal baseball hat for $8 and a Minnie Mouse baseball hat for $5.
​

Nice haul. I can't believe I've never thought to go there when my DH have been down there. He loves a bargain

I'm definitely bringing him next March.

We arrived back there around 3:45, but our room still wasn’t ready so we passed the time by chatting to some of the bell services people (check in for a DVC room is 4pm). I kept refreshing my email and at 3:57 I finally found out our room number!

Gee, 4pm and not a minute sooner

Of course, once we arrived our Magicbands wouldn’t work –

Of course they didn't

Our room was 3526 and it had been recently renovated, so the beds were new. I prefer the new style, it’s nice to be able to shove a suitcase underneath the bed out of the way. The carpet looked like the same old stuff, but it was fine.

The room looks great, nice and spacious

We had perfect timing, and the boat pulled up to the dock about 90 seconds after we arrived.

I love that boat ride. We stayed at POFQ in April and took it and it's so nice and relaxing

 

[fallonkendra]

These beds look great! Definitely nice to have that storage space under them!

We always overpack for trips, so it's nice to have a little extra storage space haha.

This looks so tranquil. Love it!

It's such a relaxing hotel!

Boats are the best form of travel!

Agreed!

Thanks for the tag now I have to go back and catch up!!!

Hurray! You're here!

The room looks lovely! I think we will stay here in January! I did put a request in for the Riviera as first choice, it was only $200 more than OKW but not sure we will get that choice!

If you do end up staying at OKW, hopefully you like it!

Very cute MU jersey and leggings! The price was awesome.

Thanks! I have a slight addiction to Spirit jerseys... Thanks again for bringing my Iridescent one for me!

 

[fallonkendra]

Love Old Key West - such a relaxing resort. I hadn’t seen the updated rooms- they look great. And can’t beat the boat to Disney Springs. Homecomin’ is so yummy! So interesting to hear differences between Canada and US.

I thought the newly updated rooms were great!

We love Homecomin' so much!

I have never seen pictures of Old Key West! It looks really nice.

It was our favourite Disney resort until we stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge haha.

I'm here!

Yay! I'm so glad you're here!

Wow and I thought 5 animals was a lot!

4 cats makes for a pretty crazy house....

Awe they are cuties!

I think they're pretty great

I've only made it to the Outlets once. I need to do this more often.

It's very hit or miss, but we had great luck on this trip!

 

[fallonkendra]

Joining in for another one!
I'm really looking forward to reading all these Epic trip reports!
I would love to be able to meet up with everyone on another Epic trip. One can dream...

I'm so happy you're here to join in! I really need to catch up your report too!

It'd be great to have another Canadian along on the next Epic trip! We could probably confuse everyone by speaking Newfie/Maritimer to each other

following along. Can't wait to read more about your trip report. Fellow northern Alberta Girl here as well. Living vicariously through your trip report. Hoping that maybe in 2020 we can swing a trip to Disney and the dark side ( my boys are big potter heads )

Thanks for joining in! It's always nice to meet other Albertans!

This made me laugh. As a fellow Canadian I totally get it! Surprised you went to Walmart and not Target though lol. I always have like half a suitcase full of candy and junk food when returning from the US lol. You got a good haul! Love your MU shirt too!

I often find Walmart a bit cheaper than Target, and the junk food selection is a bit better. Plus, I spend way too much money at Target so it's just better to avoid that place

 

[fallonkendra]

Thats really nice of the bell services guy! Especially for a spread-out resort!

The bell services cast members were fantastic at OKW!

Hi Fallon!
Just place holding. I'll be back to read later!

I'm sad we didn't get to meet up! I also need to hop over to your new trip report and catch up!

You'll be shocked to know that while I found your dining report with no problem, it took me longer to find that one that wasn't all about food But I'm all caught up and ready for more!

Thanks for joining in! It wouldn't be a party unless you were here

 

[pkondz]

I'm sad we didn't get to meet up! I also need to hop over to your new trip report and catch up!

Come on over!
The water's fine.

 

[fallonkendra]

Good luck!

I'm already failing I guess working 6 days/week doesn't leave much free time...

Probably already been confirmed/fixed/whatever... but yes. I can see them.

Say hi to Luke for me!

He's actually on the Boards now too! @HeiChewChewChewsYou

I remember when you were here, visiting, and I mentioned "Su-Lynn's" trip... whoops! Sorry! Yes, it was your idea!

No apologies required! All I did was suggest the trip, Su-Lynn and Lesley took on all the planning for it and did all the actual work!

You. Are. Kidding. Me...........

We were in Old Key West from April 30th - May 4th!!!!!!!!!
We could have said hi!!!

No way! What building were you in?

They are adorable. Thanks for the pics! I just posted some of my pups over on my TR.

Ok, now I REALLY have to get over to your report!

Awwwww! Too cute!

He's such a goof!

I bet! Longest hours are the last hours before a vacation.

I swear, my 8 hour work day was actually 112.5 hours long

Have you seen the movie "Airplane"? There's a hilarious scene where people are running from gate to gate to gate as it keeps getting changed.

I haven't seen it, but I can imagine exactly how hilarious that scene would be

Really! They didn't do that on mine... and we barely made it.

Weird!

We got there and boarding was already under way.

As soon as we got off the plane, we pretty much ran to customs. I'm glad you guys made it in time!

I don't know why not. I mean... it's not like we're on a different continent even. And even then... why not? Mailing costs, I presume.

I know! I just wish they would mail us our Magicbands! They have no problem mailing us our Magical Express tags

I'm always organized with that letter in the front pocket of my carry-on. I learned my lesson... once.

I used an old one attached to my bookbag to carry another set of my ears, so it was win-win

Love when I get those. I always pick green (except for once... and I regretted it.)

I try to switch it up, but I usually come back to the purple bands.

Gotta get your loot!

And even better when it's at a fraction of the cost as the stuff in the park!

Kind of a no-brainer, then.

Yep! It ends up saving us so much money! I hate Florida water, so if we didn't buy water from Walmart I probably wouldn't drink any for the entire trip - which isn't good.

How much was it there?

$4.98!

And "filled"??? I've never seen that!

It was so weird! But those Orange Creamsicle ones were sooo good!

Why an XL? (Just curious, not judging)

Haha, because I buy a few too many snacks at Walmart so we need a larger vehicle to drive us back

Nice of him.

We've always had such fantastic experiences with the cast members at OKW!

I prefer that.
Sure you can't take it, but... once I opened a bottle of shampoo and... it wasn't shampoo inside. I suspect (hope) that it was just a kid that filled it with water, but... ew.

That's disturbing! I don't mind these wall-mounted ones either!

Nice view!

It was so nice! I definitely didn't spend enough time just enjoying the view though.

We never went to Springs (no time!), but I loved taking the boat from POR.

There's always time for Disney Springs!

So much better than the bus.

Agreed!

 

[fallonkendra]

Hi, Fallon! As you came up with the fantastic idea for the EPIC trip, of course I needed to follow along on your trip report!

Ooof, what a long night of flights! I'm impressed you weren't completely exhausted and actually managed to get some things done on your first day! Your room at OKW looks very nice although I don't think I'm a fan of the completely white bedding everywhere... where's the individual personality of the resorts?! Good job on some great finds at the outlet!

Thank you so much for joining in!

By the time we got back to OKW after our supper at Homecomin', I was so tired! I was able to sleep a little bit on the flight as well - not much, but an hour or two...

I agree, I don't love the all white bedding, but I like the idea of them just bleaching everything so I know it's clean.

It was a good outlet day!

Using my free day to catch up!

As of right now, I don't have to work this weekend so I'll be using that time to get caught up on everyone else's reports - including yours!

EEK! Close!

I know! I hate stressful travel days!

Smart cookie!

It doubled as a way to attach a pair of ears to my bag, so I could bring another pair

YAY!! You had some excellent customer service!

I have nothing but fantastic things to say about the cast members at OKW!

It's always worth it to tip extra!

Agreed!

Just absolutely lovely! Perfection!

I mean, it wasn't your pixie dusted room but it was pretty great!

 

[fallonkendra]

First time follower, but I am loving the slew of ladies trip posts! Sounds like everything is starting off well for you guys. I live in the US and have never even tried the fancy Twizzlers flavors, so there's definitely some taste testing that needs to happen ASAP.

Off to go catch up on your other TRs!

Thank you so much for joining in on my retelling of the Epic trip!

So, have you tried the crazy Twizzlers yet? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Hey, this is great stuff! I was disappointed in the lack of posters on another Disney-related board, and found this one. And lo and behold, it's a detailed trip report from a fellow Edmontonian, who was there just before I was . I'll be looking forward to more of this!

I'll confess, I've never been anywhere else during a Florida visit that wasn't either Disney or Universal-owned. So visiting a Target/Walmart never occurred to me! I didn't even know there was a Disney Outlet near Disney Springs!

Another Edmontonian! Welcome! And I'm so glad you've discovered the Disboards, it's a great place to make new friends who love Disney

As a Canadian - you NEED to visit a Walmart or Target next time you're in the States! Take your time walking down the junk food aisle - it's so much fun to see all the different snack options! But stay away from the chips - ours are so much better!

Joining for your trip report, First time reader,

Welcome! Thanks for joining in!