The Trip With An Abundance of Steven, A WDW Jan '23 TR ***Completed 8/8***

[DisneyyDaydream]

OK how old does soda have to be to have expired?! Did it taste weird? Did you get your $12 back?

The sodas were only a couple days expired- like maybe a week max but they tasted really flat. Like you know how fizzy a freshly cracked open coke is? Not these bad boys. We just accepted defeat and didn't try to get our money back. I actually didn't even think about doing that!

​

This is going to sound weird and may be totally untrue, but I think I remember they put the "Born On" date on soda, as opposed to the expiration date? I could be totally crazy and making this up. Did it taste weird?




I have looked for Baby Yoda merch myself and have found the selection sorely lacking. Seems weird when I'm sure they'd clean up if they just put out cute merch.



I went on years ago with my then 4 year old son (who is 21 now) and I said never again! But the ride is so cool so I started reading up on it and learned that when you "drop," you're not really dropping. Instead a huge mechanical arm is PULLING you down. The feeling is the same, but for me that made all the difference! I ride it all the time now and even go by myself since my DH won't ride!

If that was the soda's birthday, those detonators have a short shelf life because they were definitely off. They were super flat. Idk if maybe the round shape of the detonator doesn't hold carbonation well? I am no soda scientist.

I'm glad it wasn't just me that couldn't find any Baby Yoda merch! I thought I was missing something and I was too embarrassed to ask a cast member in Star Wars Land because I knew they would instantly know I am a Star Wars fraud. I found some things in the Star Wars Trading Post over in Disney Springs but even that didn't have as much as I thought it would.

You are a brave, brave soul. I could tell myself every minute of every day that we're not really dropping and I will still need to change my pants the minute I get off the ride.

​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

All caught up so far! I must tell you that I am loving this report and am so glad that I found it!! Your writing is great at keeping the reader engaged! BTW, great choice on your MB+, Haunted Manion is my favorite too!! Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

Thank you so much! I'm having a really great time writing this report, almost as great of a time as I had living it! I actually almost got the Coco MB+ instead of the Haunted Mansion but I knew I had to stay true to my roots- and the fact that its themed around the Stretching Portraits? Sold!

​

Can't wait until I can see the Updated Fantasmic Show.

I hope you love it! I mean, I loved it and I'm a very tough critic of Disney Park entertainment so hopefully you like it too!
​

Oh my goodness. You are one talented writer! I don't often comment on trip reports, but this one is a must-do. To echo the poster above, I am so glad I found it. You really draw the reader in!!!! Makes me want to go back to the World (I was there in August). Keep the great report coming, I already know I'll be sad when it's done...also, can I join you on a trip sometime? You really are so fun!! Mel always looks like a great trip companion

Oh wow, thank you so much!

I really like writing, and I tend to write like how I speak in person so I think it comes kinda natural.
A lot of the jokes I make in my trip reports are actually jokes that I (and Mel too) made in that moment and I put them in my notes because they made me laugh.
I will also be sad when this report is done (even though we still have 5 or so days to go lol) but that just means Mel and I gotta pack our bags and head back to the World. I got to keep the reports comin', after all.
Of course you can come on a trip sometime! The more the merrier. Just be prepared for a lot of snacks, a lot of park crossing, and a lot of bad Dad jokes (my specialty).
Mel is a great trip companion! She's the one who plans everything out and decides what we do next, but that absolutely works for me. I'm just happy to be included- laughing at my own jokes along the way.​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Day 3
January 24, 2023
"One On The Sacrificial Alter"



I was up with my alarm the next morning at 6:15 and got right to getting ready.



Mel on the other hand?

Our goal was to be out the door and on our way to Magic Kingdom by 8:15 for a 9am parking open.

And were we?

Well, well, well. Wouldn’t you know it, both Mel and myself were ready to go by 8:10 and were being whisked away by our Lyft driver Louis a few minutes later.

Little did we know, we were in for a treat when a couple of moments into our trip, Louis began to serenade us with a touch of Kid Laroi. How do you give anything less than 5 stars after that?

You don’t. 5 stars for you, Louis! You’re going to Hollywood!

Louis pulled up to the TTC at 8:37 and was kind enough to slow to a roll before pushing us out of his car. If only Caroline had been so lucky.

The security line moved quickly and Mel only had to have 3 full body pat downs instead of her usual 4. A truly lucky day for Mel.



A ferry boat was already loading by the time Mel was finally cleared of smuggling jelly beans in her sneakers and I took my usual spot by the railing to keep a watchful eye out for any other potential gators Florida had to offer me.





Spoiler alert: there were none.





We set sail for the high (Seven) seas (Lagoon) and about 5 minutes later we were docking at MK and tapping into the park shortly after.



The time? 9:04. Mel and I missed a true park opening by 4 minutes. Dang. Lightning truly does not strike twice.

Our first matter of business was to rent what would become my arch nemesis of the day, Mel’s ECV.

“Make sure you take the key and don’t leave anything behind in the basket when you park your ECV. Or else, we can’t promise you will leave the park with all 10 fingers,” the cast member at the ECV rental strongly hinted.

Please keep that in mind. We were told to make sure we take the elusive magical key and not to leave anything behind in the ECV, just in case. We were distinctly told both of those things. Keep that in mind.














Just put a little band aid on ya, fix ya right up. You'll feel alive again.



Our first ride at MK is always Pirates, which is usually a smarter choice than our other park first choices (like Nemo at Epcot). The standby wait was posted at 20 minutes- and we all know that time is mostly spent weaving around the line itself.

We were on the ride about 15 minutes later and greeted by a slightly soggy bench in our rowboat. Which is never a great sign for how wet Pirates may or may not get you.




The "Show 'em your flock" part gives me the ick. They couldn't come up with anything better?

I haaaate getting wet. I hate water rides for this main reason and will go out of my way to avoid getting wet on such rides. I am one of those people who wore a poncho on Splash Mountain. So seeing a damp seat waving up at me like a bad dream was not my idea of a great time. But I pressed on.

I’m not sure what happened to the first couple of cycles our boat had, but the only time any ounce of water got into the boat was from a rogue splash by a faux cannonball hitting the water.


Look at us, forgetting about the on ride photo like a couple of rookies. Mel looks thrilled to be there.

We also weren’t forced into playing bumper boats as Johnny Depp taunted us with diamonds and rubies and the exit ramp was actually working.

Things were truly going well.

I looked around the Dump Shop while Mel went off to get her scoot.

“The ECV is gone.”

“Wait, what?”

“I parked the ECV to the left of Pirates and I don’t know if someone moved it or not, but the ECV is gone.”

Slight panic setting in, Mel waddled over to one of the cast members at the entrance of Pirates and shakily told her about the missing scooter.

“Oh, we move them to the right of the entrance, I’m sure it’s over there. Let me look for you guys,” the bubbly cast member informed us and off she went to look for the missing scoot.

She was back in a few moments empty handed.

The ECV was gone.

***Coming up: Karen, at your service***​

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Ahhh cliffhanger! Can’t wait to hear what’s next!

 

[buzzrelly]

If that was the soda's birthday, those detonators have a short shelf life because they were definitely off. They were super flat. Idk if maybe the round shape of the detonator doesn't hold carbonation well? I am no soda scientist.

Lol, fair enough! And, ew

Please keep that in mind. We were told to make sure we take the elusive magical key and not to leave anything behind in the ECV, just in case. We were distinctly told both of those things. Keep that in mind.

Oh goodness! I knew you were foreshadowing but I thought it might take longer than one ride to lose it!

“The ECV is gone.”

Yikes!

 

[SEAGULL59]

Oh no! Quite an interesting start!

 

[footballmouse]

Seriously, a cliffhanger on a trip report!

 

[Noreen411]

Hi. Your review is great. I’m thoroughly enjoying it.

I feel the same about rides that you get wet on - why? Who wants to get wet when they are dressed? It’s not a water park.

Can’t wait to read more

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Ahhh cliffhanger! Can’t wait to hear what’s next!

​

Lol, fair enough! And, ew



Oh goodness! I knew you were foreshadowing but I thought it might take longer than one ride to lose it!



Yikes!

You would've thought we could've made it at least half way through the day before we lost it, but nope. Not even a full hour.

​

Oh no! Quite an interesting start!

​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Seriously, a cliffhanger on a trip report!

​

Hi. Your review is great. I’m thoroughly enjoying it.

I feel the same about rides that you get wet on - why? Who wants to get wet when they are dressed? It’s not a water park.

Can’t wait to read more

Thank you!
Exactly! If I wanted to get wet, I would stay by the pool! And also, walking around with wet pants all day in the Magic Kingdom sounds like I'm gonna start chafing instantly.

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Day 3, Part 2
January 24, 2023
"One On The Sacrificial Alter"

The cast member at Pirates called someone from the ECV rental and let us know they would be by momentarily to solve all of our woes.

Except, when they finally showed up, solve our woes they did not.

2 cast members from the ECV rental meandered on up about 5 or so minutes later and my level of patience with these 2 were nonexistent.

“Did you take the key with you?”

“Yes, it’s literally right here,” Mel told them, waving the key in front of her.

“Did you leave any personal items in the basket so someone would be able to tell that the ECV was in use to another party?”

“No, we were told not to.”

“Well, you should’ve.”

I had no words. We were distinctly told not to leave any personal belongings in the basket while we left the ECV unattended and now we’re being told the exact opposite.

And this is when I legally changed my name to Karen.

“We took the key, we parked the ECV in an area that had other ECVs, we didn’t leave anything in the basket for someone to take. We did everything we were supposed to. And yet, we still somehow come up short!”

“Someone probably took the wrong ECV by mistake, the keys are universal.”

“So what’s the point of having a key, if anyone can just use whatever Disney-issued ECV they can stumble upon? The rental system doesn’t really matter then, does it?”

“We can have someone bring you a new ECV- they should be here within an hour.”

“Do you know how expensive an hour is in relation to the price of a ticket to Disney World? And we are now supposed to just wait around, wasting time and (essentially) money, for someone to decide to finally pity us and drag on over a replacement ECV as a solution for a problem that we didn’t even cause?! A problem that we did everything YOU told us to do originally so we wouldn’t have this problem?!”

“Yeah. We can give you a free LL to make up for the lost time.”

“I’m going to get a snack!” I huffed away, over the situation and knowing that if I stayed around, I wasn’t going to get anywhere but on some random TikTok page having a full on meltdown.

I left Mel to wait around for the ECV and to see about that free extra LL while I headed to Frontierland to poke around at the morning offerings.

I originally waited in line at Westward Ho, where I was going to pick up a couple of Bear Claws but the line moved painstakingly slow and I was still a bit too cranky to wait any longer.

I dipped after about 15 minutes of no movement and popped on over next door to a pretzel cart. I picked up a pretzel (with plastic cheese) for me and a churro for Mel.


Mickey Pretzel: “Served with cheese sauce.” $7.49


Churro: “Served with chocolate sauce.” $6.39

By the grace of the Disgods, Mel was zipping towards me on her scoot by the time I finished up shilling out whatever seashells and buttons I could find to cover the costs of our snacks. “Guess what?”

“What?” I asked, handing her her churro and shoveling a Mickey pretzel ear into my mouth.

“Someone returned the ECV. This is my original one!”

Well, well, well. Welcome back ECV. Try not to stray too far away this time. We learned our lesson and for the rest of the trip, we kept lots of water bottles and napkins in the front basket so no one would be tempted by our ECV’s clean beauty anymore.

We headed over to Big Thun Thun next for a DAS reservation Mel had booked sometime earlier (probably while I was shouting about universal keys).


The standby line was posted as a 40 minute wait but we were on the ride in under 10.

Big Thun Thun is one of my absolute favorite rides, in both WDW and DLR. Even if Mel and I decided to sit in separate rows this time, and ultimately ended up in different cars completely.

There’s something very freeing and also lonely about riding in the first row of BTMR by yourself.









“That ride was wild.”

“Yeah, it was.”

“Would you say it was the wildest?”

“I hope you get stuck in the mine next time.”

Not everyone enjoys my humor.

After we relocated Mel’s ECV, much easier this time I might add, we headed down Frontierland towards Fantasyland. One of my friends and former coworkers moved down to Orlando last summer and is “friends” with one of the Country Bears. He told me that the bear and him would be out and about Tuesday and I should swing by to say hello.

As we moseyed out of Frontierland, I glanced up at Country Bears, but didn’t see my friend’s bear.

Dang. Maybe next time.

And then out of the corner of my eye, I saw my friend standing off to the side, waving me over. We caught up for a little bit and spent a little bit of time chit chatting. I was the first person from back home that he got to see since moving down to Florida.

This was the only time for the rest of the week our paths crossed and I had a couple of other friends that work in WDW that I had meant to meet up with, but this is the only time it actually happened. It’s hard to plan meetups in WDW! There’s never any free time!

But Mel and I had a LL to use, so I said a quick goodbye to my friend and off to Fantasyland we headed.

Peter Pan had a standby wait posted at 70 minutes because of course it did, but thanks to LL we only waited about 8.



Mel chose yellow, I chose blue and red.


Double dang.

Once our pixie dust wore off, we made our way over to Haunted Mansion to use a DAS reservation. The line was posted at 55 minutes, but we only had to wait about 10.






You guys missed a spot dusting







A couple of hours later, Mel was looking through the ride photos on the WDW App and hit me with, “Since when has there been an on-ride photo at Haunted Mansion?”

“You’re the one that told me about it years ago,” I told her, giving her the ultimate confused side eye.

“What?”

“What?”

“I thought that was the photo they used at the end with the hitch-hiking ghosts.”

“Mel, those aren’t photos.”

“I knew that.”

Oh, did you really? Hmmm.





I popped into Memento Mori after, on the search for fun earrings but came up empty-eared. Another store I found lots of things to buy, but ended up putting everything back.

I told ya, self-growth!






One of the fake flowers from the top of the Plaza Restaurant floated down like a little beacon of hope and landed right in the basket of Mel's ECV. Like a little apology from the Magic Kingdom themselves. You are forgiven. But Roxy from the ECV Rental, you are not!

We still had a bit of time until our 12:40 lunch reservation at the Plaza and knew the Festival of Fantasy parade was set to start relatively soon so we booked it to Main Street. Mel parked herself at a spot that offered a pretty decent view while I wandered in and out of the shops before ultimately finding a little pocket of space to watch the parade.


I've literally never noticed this inside Main Street Cinema- but I just googled it and I think it's fairly new!


My favorite spoon would be a fork.

Yes, yes you read that right. I actually watched a parade. Willingly.










The sass!








Who let the potted plant in the parade?!



I know you all wanted 45324 pictures of the same parade everyone has seen for years. I know. You're welcome.

***Coming up: I eat the Magic Kingdom out of house and home.***​

 

[buzzrelly]

“Did you leave any personal items in the basket so someone would be able to tell that the ECV was in use to another party?”

“No, we were told not to.”

“Well, you should’ve.”

Oh, goodness

“Someone probably took the wrong ECV by mistake, the keys are universal.”

“So what’s the point of having a key, if anyone can just use whatever Disney-issued ECV they can stumble upon?

Yeah, that is very odd.

Well, well, well. Welcome back ECV. Try not to stray too far away this time. We learned our lesson and for the rest of the trip, we kept lots of water bottles and napkins in the front basket so no one would be tempted by our ECV’s clean beauty anymore.

That's what we do too with my mom's scooter and luckily we haven't had any issues.

One of my friends and former coworkers moved down to Orlando last summer and is “friends” with one of the Country Bears. He told me that the bear and him would be out and about Tuesday and I should swing by to say hello.

How fun! I'm imagining the strange looks I'd get if I told my family I'm moving to FL to be a Country Bear but I love it!

Oh, did you really? Hmmm.

We have too many of these photos!

to watch the parade.


I've literally never noticed this inside Main Street Cinema- but I just googled it and I think it's fairly new!

So cool! I'm going to have to check that out!

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Yeah, that is very odd.

That's what we do too with my mom's scooter and luckily we haven't had any issues.

The whole thing really points out the flaws in the ECV rental system and the 2 cast members that they sent to "help us" contradicted all the rules you get told when you rent the stupid thing. At one point I was like, "Well if all the keys are universal, what's stopping me from just taking someone else's ECV instead of waiting an hour for you guys to finally bring a new one here?" And they were just like "....well nothing really."

Like the whole thing is just a free for all at the end of the day with the hope that you are honest and stick with the same one all day.
​

How fun! I'm imagining the strange looks I'd get if I told my family I'm moving to FL to be a Country Bear but I love it!

Right! He's actually "friends" with a couple characters- Shaker Bear from the Country Bears, Tigger at the Crystal Palace, and one of the Hyenas in the Halloween Parade. I didn't know you could be multiple characters in any given week until he moved down there. Blew my mind lol He loves it though and is honestly having the time of his life.​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Day 3, Part 3
January 24, 2023
"One On The Sacrificial Alter"

We checked in for our 12:40 Plaza Restaurant reservation at 12:30 after the parade and a mere 2 minutes later, I received our table ready text.

They knew better than to let the hunger demons wait for too long.

Mel got right down to business (to defeat the Huns) and ordered a Mint Chocolate Chip Milkshake, a BLT salad sans tomatoes, and a side of fries. I opted for a Reuben (with green beans instead of fries) and a diet coke.

I am, historically, known for not liking french fries. Well, I should clarify. I don’t HATE fries, but they’re not my favorite side choice. So I usually opt to swap out fries for a different side.

And green beans sounded very tasty at this particular moment in Theme Park Calorie World, even though I’m sure they were slathered in butter. Much like me on any random Tuesday.


Mint Chocolate Chip Milkshake: “Hand-dipped milkshake topped with whipped cream and a cherry. Choose from the following flavors: chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, mint chocolate chip.” $7


Diet Coke: “You know it, you love it.” Looking at the receipt, I don’t think we were actually charged for this $Free.99


BLT Salad: “Bacon, Iceberg Lettuce, Tomato, and Warm Bacon Dressing.” $10


Side of Fries: $5


The Plaza Reuben: “A traditional reuben featuring corned beef on marble rye bread with thousand island dressing, swiss, and sauerkraut.” $20

The table next to us was super rude and in a rush- the older woman at the table tried to bully Chef Ken into taking her order so they could make a tee time. They didn’t even let the rest of their party truly look at the menu before they flagged down our actual waiter to take their complete order.

Haven’t decided in the 15 seconds since you sat down? Too bad, stick with water and pocket fuzz.

On the less rushed side, aka our side, Mel thought her salad was absolutely delicious and I have to agree. I had it the last time we were at the Plaza and I think it’s a really solid salad order if you don’t want something super heavy to lug around in your gut all day.

My reuben (which is actually called the “Knickerbocker” according to our check) was pretty standard.

Once we settled the check and gave gentle cheek kisses to Chef Ken in apology to our nasty neighbors, we headed out the door and to our next order of business: Snack Time.

I know, I know. We literally just ate lunch. But! I saved a small pocket of stomach space just for this snack, and knew that now might be my only chance to pick them up since I’ve heard they can (and do) sell out.

What was this elusive snack?

Cheeseburger Egg Rolls!

In all my years of coming to MK, Mel and I have never sampled the fine fares at the Egg Roll Wagon. But today, dear friends, that was all about to change.

While Mel got herself and scoot settled, I headed on over to the Ol’ Wagon and placed an order for 2 cheeseburger egg rolls.

“It might be a little bit of a wait, we’re all out right now and waiting for a new delivery.”

“That’s ok, I’m in no---” I started but was stopped when the Egg Roll delivery cast member and his team of armed security rounded the corner and graced us with their greasy, egg rolly presence.

“Nevermind, it’s here.”


Cheeseburger Spring Rolls: “Two; House-made.” $9.50

We parked ourselves on a nearby planter (we love a good planter ledge) and dug into the spring rolls.

Side note: Are these spring rolls or egg rolls? The signs say spring rolls but the cart is called the Egg Roll Wagon. Does this matter? No. But I didn’t notice until just now that they’re actually spring rolls, not egg rolls.

These little logs of crispy, crunchy, cheesy, beefy, slightly pickle-y heaven are super, super hyped up; but I gotta say, they deserve the hype. These are so good! The Big Mac-esque sauce was the perfect edition and Mel and I vowed to come back another day.

Spoiler alert: We never did.

But man, oh man. You gotta try these bad boys! But bring napkins because they are greasy.

After our post lunch snack, we waddled on over to an advanced DAS reservation Mel had booked a few days prior for the Haunted Mansion.



The standby wait was posted as 55 minutes but we were on in less than 20.

Mel knew there was an on-ride photo this time.


At least I think she remembered this time.

Our next order of business was the Jungle Cruise. We had a DAS reservation that allowed us to only wait about 15 of the posted 70 minute wait.



Mel guessed Cobra Cody, I guessed Sheranda Sherindi.

Both of those aren’t actual Jungle Cruise boats; but this time my choice sounded more believable than my usual, Tortuga Tavern.

We boarded Wamba Wanda.



If I could have any job in all of Disney World, my choice would be to be a Skipper on the finest cruise that ever sailed. I am their ideal audience member- I genuinely laugh at almost all of their jokes and find new ones to love each time. I could be a Skipper.

Our Skipper this time was Skipper Shawn and he was *chef’s kiss* perfecto.

There was a family behind us wearing matching gray shirts. Skipper Shawn eyed them as they boarded the boat, “Awww man, I forgot my gray shirt today. I didn’t get the memo.”



And how did he end the journey? “Here’s one last joke for all of you mind readers. *silence*”

12/10 for you Skipper Shawn. I hope Skipper Mom is proud of you and all of your jokes.

Still chuckling to myself, Mel and I did what only made sense next.

Got another snack.

Shhh, this is vacation.

I placed a mobile order for Sunshine Tree Terrace and the minute I clicked “I’m here!”, the order was ready. We skurried on over- well I skurried, Mel dialed up the ECV to 3.75 mph and got in line for Mobile Pickup.

And then we waited.

Sunshine Tree Terrace plays a good trick. They tell you that your order is instantly ready but it’s not. They only start to make it when you pull on up to the Mobile Pickup Window.

At least your icy treats don’t get melty sitting out, waiting for you to show up.

I decided to try the I Lava You float while Mel went with the classic Citrus Swirl.


I Lava You Float: “Fanta ® Strawberry Soda and Passion Fruit flavor served with Dole Whip ® Orange and topped with Popping Candy.” $6.99


Citrus Swirl (now called the Orange Cream Soft-serve cup?): “Dole Whip ® Orange and vanilla swirl.” $5.29

Stop whatever you are doing, book a flight to Orlando, and get that I Lava You Float. It was so incredibly delicious. Every single flavor in the float worked well together. It was slightly sweet, slightly tart, and refreshing. It was everything all at once. It also caught a lot of attention, because a fair amount of guests paused to ask me what I was eating while Mel and I perched on our usual planter ledge.

Mel looked at me, I looked at her.

“The pineapple in mine tastes off.”

“Well, that’s because it’s orange, Mel.”

“Oh. Well, now that I know that, this is pretty good.”

Alrighty then.





Our 40,000th snack now finished we trudged on over to Fantasyland for our Winnie the Pooh LL Mel booked sometime earlier. The posted standby wait was 40 minutes but we only had to wait about 10.





Mel guessed purple, I guessed blue.

It was pink.





From heffalumps and woozles to pachyderms and screaming children, we made our way to our next LL, Dumbo. The standby was posted as 35 but 8 minutes later, we were taking flight on our own separate elephants.










That’s a woozle.





We couldn’t stop and enjoy the circus life too long as we had a DAS reservation to attend to and before too long, we were off towards the Mine Train.



Which was posted as a 95 minute standby wait.

For a 30 second ride.

Thanks to DAS, we only waited about 10 minutes and were soon stepping into row 4 and thanking the Phonecians shortly after.

Wait, wait. We were stepping into row 4 and watching some old men shove rhinestones in their socks, or whatever it is they do in those mines.




I am actually 100% sure I was in the middle of singing something during this photo.



In the mood for a little air freshener sniff sampling, we decided to pop into Philamarmagic (aka Philharmagic, but I honestly have never called it that once in my life) and got dusted, busted, and thrusted all over various Disney movies. Including Coco- which makes my soul happy.




2 ducks and a potted plant







By now, it was about an hour since our last snack and you know what that means.

More snacks.

It’s vacation!

***Coming up: I would love to say there’s only one snack left, but I can’t make promises***​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Day 3, Part 4
January 24, 2023
"One On The Sacrificial Alter"

I have a few must-haves when it comes to food at WDW. Actually, there are only 2 that I can think of: pizza from Via Napoli and an icy, sickly sweet Lefou’s Brew from Gaston’s.

So off to Gaston’s I went.






LeFou’s Brew: “Frozen apple juice with a hint of toasted marshmallow and topped with all-natural passion fruit mango foam.” $6.29

I also picked up a bottle of water for Mel, because she felt the need to actually hydrate herself. Like she’s an adult or something. Pfft.

Sugar levels back to a cripplingly high level, Mel and I headed towards my favorite drunken bumbling idiot in Magic Kingdom: Scuttle on the Little Mermaid ride.

He’s the true star of the ride.


Hair twins




The backside of waaaaaaater!

We had a DAS reservation and only had to wait about 5 minutes, compared to the posted 40 minute standby wait. I’m still convinced a good 20 or so minutes of that wait is just weaving in and out of the randomly freezing queue.


Look at him- probably already 7 bottles in.



“Does Scuttle call Ariel a pretzel neck?”

“I honestly wouldn’t put it past him.”

Scuttle please, put the bottle down!

Thoroughly satisfied with our time in Fantasyland for the day, Mel and I decided to finish up our day at the MK in Tomorrowland.

First up? A nice little DAS reservation with Space Mountain.



I know I say this every trip report, but for everyone new here, let me walk you down my Space Mountain memory lane.

Way, way back in 2006, I went to WDW for the first time ever with my aunt and uncle and I fell head over heels in love with Space Mountain. I rode it multiple times in a row, both with and without a paper fast pass (which I still have a leftover one tucked away in a memory box). I thought Space Mountain was perfect and you couldn’t tell me otherwise.

But then once I started visiting WDW regularly, my love for Space Mountain slowly faded as did my body’s tolerance for being bumped and bruised thanks to the ride. Lately, as in the past couple of visits, I have found myself beginning to re-find my love for good ol’ Spacey Space.

I will say Space Mountain in DLR, though, is far superior.

Even if Mel still doesn’t believe how much she loved that ride.



Anyway, a couple of space twists, turns, whirls, and hurls later, our space cruiser came to a screeching halt and we were tossed back into the throes of Tomorrowland.

Next on the list? Buzz.



My least favorite ride in all of Disney World.

Maybe in all of Orlando.

Except for TOT.

I honestly believe the level of enjoyment one has on Buzz is dependent on who controls the ride vehicle. Which is why now, I force Mel to get her own XP-37 Star Cruiser.

We used a LL Mel had scheduled sometime earlier and only waited about 5 minutes- instead of the 40 posted standby wait. Even 5 minutes to wait for Buzz seems like 5 minutes too long.

Mel must’ve had the upgraded XP-37 Star Cruiser with the turbo launcher. That’s the only logical explanation of how she managed to max out her score and become a Galactic Hero by the 3rd room.



Mine must’ve been an older model.





Safely back on Earth, Mel and I decided to call it a day at the MK and off towards the monorail we went.









I’m not sure if this is normal or not, but for the first time in all of my monorail riding years, we were assigned a car. Usually they just unleash us peasants on the innocent unsuspecting monorail, but not this time.





Mel chose green; I picked coral.

We got peach.

We zipped, zapped, zooped our way along the monorail loop to our destination, the Polynesian.

If you have read any of my previous trip reports, you should know where we were headed.

If I had to pick a WDW restaurant that both Mel and I agree is absolutely, unequivocally, without a shadow of a doubt a must-do, we would pick Via Napoli. But if we were able to have 2 choices, our second would be Kona.

We were early to our Kona reservation, thanks to those pesky hunger demons, so we decided to take a glance at the Kona Island coffee bar for snacks. Because what else did we clearly need to add to this day of never ending snacks? Obviously more snacks.

At least this time we were going to save these for later.

I opted for a bacon and chocolate covered strawberry and a chocolate and chili coated bacon strip; Mel grabbed herself a 50th sprinkle chocolate strawberry and a chocolate strawberry covered in crispy pearls.




Assorted Chocolate-covered strawberries: $4.25


Assorted Chocolate-covered bacon: $4.25

I had remembered seeing the chocolate and chili coated bacon on DFB but it was instantly forgotten about until this moment when I decided it sounded so tasty and unique. And I needed to have it. It was going to be delicious.

I found out this was wrong a few days later when I finally took it out of the fridge to take a nibble and remembered I actually don’t like chocolate covered bacon. With or without added chili powder.

Pass.



Snacks secured for later, I checked into Kona for our 8:05 reservation at 7:25. The host let me know that we would be seated probably closer to our reservation time, which is fair. We were almost an hour early.

We scootched on over to that little waiting area between Kona and ‘Ohana and parked ourselves on a couple of padded wicker chairs.

I’m not sure what evil power wicker chairs have over people but there was family drama going on everywhere you looked in that little section.

To the left, a pending divorce.

To the right, an estranged father reuniting with his long lost son-in-law.

Ahead of us, little Johnny decided now was the best time to tell his parents he crashed his brand-new Tesla a week ago.

Behind us, well, let’s not even talk about that.

Those chairs are either cursed, or ‘Ohana is. You can’t blame that atmosphere on Kona.

Around 7:50, the wicker chairs released us from their evil grasp as I received our table ready text.

Everyone tells all of these long, detailed, flowery tales of Kona’s remodel- how a Kona tattoo artist used the design of the ceiling to take you from land to sea, how the light fixtures represent the baskets of fishermen that line the coast of Kona day in and day out, how the flowers on the wall represent the flora and fauna found along the lush and dense forests of Kona. But we got none of that.

We got plopped down at the very first table. Might as well have eaten at those darn wicker chairs.

We were given a couple of glorified King’s Hawaiian Rolls to share as we placed our order.


King’s Hawaiian Rolls were better than these, and I don’t even like King’s Hawaiian Rolls.

Mel decided on a spicy tuna roll with a side of mashed potatoes while I went with the Polly Lolly Roll, the Surf and Turf Roll, and a Keiki lemonade to wash it all down.


Spicy Tuna Roll: “Ahi Tuna, Spicy Mayonnaise, Cucumber.” $19


Creamy Mashed Potatoes: $8


Polly Lolly Roll: “Fried Soft-Shell Crab, Shrimp Tempura, Crawfish Tails, Grilled Asparagus, Chives, Spicy Mayonnaise.” $26


Surf and Turf: “Kona-spiced Filet, Lemon Ginger-poached Shrimp, Crab, Cucumber, Avocado, Sriracha, Yuzu Mayonnaise.” $28


Keiki Lemonade: “Odwalla ® Lemonade, Pineapple, Passion Fruit, and Citrus.” $5.49

Mel loves the spicy tuna roll from Kona and gave it another two solid thumbs up. I thought both of my sushi rolls were pretty tasty and were very, very fresh. I definitely preferred the Surf and Turf roll but wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the Polly Lolly Roll if it was something you were eyeing or if you didn’t want a steak topped sushi roll.

I will admit the head-on shrimp that greeted you on the plate was a bit surprising, but weirder things have happened.

It was only around 8:30 by the time we finished up our meal at Kona and paid the fine sushi chefs with tiny emeralds Mel smuggled out of the Mine Train, so we decided to head down to Trader Sam’s to see about getting our names on the wait-list.

***Continued in next post***​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

“There’s no wait, you guys can come right in!” the host at the door greeted us.

Surely this was a trap.





We were led to a table with a couple of other parties and quickly perused the menu and began to take in all of our surroundings.

Mel and I have not only been to Trader Sam’s in WDW, but we’ve also been lucky enough to get a seat at the bar at Trader Sam’s in DLR.

WDW is better.

Mel, who usually gets the Zombie, decided to branch out with the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum while I went with the Spikey Pineapple.


Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum: “Pyrat XO Reserve Rum, Cream of Coconut, and Pineapple and Orange Juices dusted with Cinnamon and Nutmeg.” $16.50

Spikey Pineapple: “Cruzan Mango Rum blended with Dole Whip ® Pineapple.” $15.50

Oh what’s that? I didn’t include a picture of my drink?

Well, my dear friends, that’s because it never came. Everyone else at our table were happily sipping on their drinks and I waited, and waited, and waited some more. I kind of just chalked it up to having to search high and low for the dang Dole Whip.

“Care for a second round? How was everyone’s drink?” our bartender asked the table.

It now occurred to me that my drink was long forgotten about. But that was ok, I was actually ok with not having it at this point. I was getting a little tired and was just looking forward to heading back to SS and soaking my little feet.

“You didn’t order anything?” the girl next to me asked, just loud enough for the bartender to hear.

“No, I did. It just never came.”

Our bartender’s face dropped. “I’m so sorry, I am so so sorry. I’ll bring your drink right now!”

I proceeded to tell her it was completely ok, she didn’t need to worry about it. We were actually going to head out when Mel finished up her drink and to just bring us the check when she got a chance.

A few minutes later, our bartender brought us the check and a half of a Spikey Pineapple for me to try on the house.



It was super sweet of her to do that, and I had honestly meant it when I had said it was no worries, I didn’t need the drink anymore anyway. But now that I was sipping on it, I had to admit it was pretty good. Probably even better that it was free.

We wrapped up our time at Trader Sam’s, said goodbye to our tablemates, and thanked Trader Sam himself for letting us keep our heads…this time.



Mel ordered us a Lyft and by 10 were back at Saratoga.

By 10:01 (give or take, lol), my feet were soaking in a Pirate’s Treasure Basin bath bomb and I was biting into my terrible bacon-y strawberry.




Pirate Treasure: “Fresh Strawberry. Pirate Toy Inside.” $6.99

Mel on the other hand?

By 11:30, I was freshly showered, icy-hotted, and drifting off to sleep.

***Coming up: It’s Irish Coffee Day!

​

 

[Counting Stars]

I don't know what this is either but I want one.... Love your trip reports...

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

I just can’t get on board with a bacon covered strawberry. Just…why?

Sounds like some seriously interesting pre-dinner entertainment in the wicker chair section! LOL

 

[buzzrelly]

Oh what’s that? I didn’t include a picture of my drink?

Well, my dear friends, that’s because it never came. Everyone else at our table were happily sipping on their drinks and I waited, and waited, and waited some more. I kind of just chalked it up to having to search high and low for the dang Dole Whip.

Wow

A few minutes later, our bartender brought us the check and a half of a Spikey Pineapple for me to try on the house.



It was super sweet of her to do that, and I had honestly meant it when I had said it was no worries, I didn’t need the drink anymore anyway. But now that I was sipping on it, I had to admit it was pretty good. Probably even better that it was free.

Maybe I'm petty, but I think she could have given you a FULL drink on the house.

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

I don't know what this is either but I want one.... Love your trip reports...

Thank you, I really appreciate that!

​

I've tried looking up what that adorable fish-bird hybrid is, but I can't find anything. Kinda makes me feel like its existence is a fever dream lol I might have to work up the courage to ask next time!

I just can’t get on board with a bacon covered strawberry. Just…why?

Sounds like some seriously interesting pre-dinner entertainment in the wicker chair section! LOL

Lol If it makes you feel better, the bacon covered strawberry was absolutely awful! I really love trying anything weird and I've never seen a bacon covered strawberry before so I gave it a shot. But ohhh no. no no. no. Absolutely skip it in the future.

People were SO loud and just like...out in the open with their family drama. They weren't trying to save face at all. It felt like how I imagine the waiting room for a Dr. Phil episode is.​