"Did we spend $977 on beer?!"

[MichiganDVC]

This is the Lisa and Katie adventure....our 8th trip together to WDW since 2009.

This was the first in what hopes to be many free trips to WDW this year. And by free, I mean as a DVC owner staying on points and a Premium AP already paid for. So not technically free, but nothing out of pocket.

Until we get the room charge bill on the last night at it was already up to $977! For two people in four days! What the heck did we buy?! More on that later&

The flight from Detroit to MCO was great. Apparently, no one is flying anywhere on Wednesday afternoons? Security lines were non-existent. Unfortunately, my pre-flight routine was disrupted when we sat down at our favorite DTW restaurant, Diego's Mexican Grill,

and they informed us that they were out of Captain Morgans. I urgently stood up, grabbed my carry-on and said, "We gotta go!" So we headed to WaterWorks Bar and Grill way at the end. It turned out better this way, as it is right next to our other pre-flight requirement: PB&Js. If you've not heard of it, its a store that makes all types of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The nice thing about these sandwiches is that you don't wonder if, two hours into a flight, they've gone bad. We usually eat them on the Magical Express!

Again, flight was great. Our usual iPad in-flight entertainment:

So we arrived at MCO and went straight to the Magical Express. Well, that's a lie. We always stop at Starbucks and the bathroom & then straight to the ME. Our one checked bag will meet us at the Beach Club later on. This checked bag was entirely filled with items to be transferred to our brand new Owners Locker!! So it contained plastic half-gallons of rum, Diet Vernors, and all the other typical liquids for kitchen and bath.

We arrived at the Beach Club and checked in with no wait. I was nervous about the type of view we would have. Beach Club Villas have no good views, but a few bad ones. A couple of years ago, we had a 1-BR that faced Epcot and Epcot Resorts Blvd. Those buses can really make a lot of noise! I really just wanted an okay view with a large balcony and that's what we got. We faced the DVC pool, which did get loud w/ kids during the afternoons, but not a big deal with the door closed. And our balcony stretched from bedroom to living room, so plenty of space.

We did a quick change of clothes and were off to Downtown Disney. We had an 8:00pm reservation at Fulton's and wanted to get some shopping in beforehand.
The DTD bus came right away and perhaps made one stop at Boardwalk before being on its way. We're not used to taking buses as we almost always stay at Epcot resorts or on the monorail loop and try to take boats/monorail everywhere we can't walk. I've heard many horror stories about the buses to DTD, and ride back from DTD was supposed to be a real hassle. Oh well, we've got all night...

 

[MichiganDVC]

I would like to take this moment to admit that I was never a huge fan of DTD. I went to lunch with my mom and sister during a F&W girls weekend and once for a late-night snack with my sister, her husband, and Lisa. I previously saw it as an over-glorified outdoor mall with restaurants. After this evening, I am prepare to fully admit it: I was wrong.

We arrived at DTD early enough to go to World of Disney. Of course it was chilly now, so I just HAD to buy a WDW sweatshirt.

In my defense, I have WDW jackets, but no sweatshirt, so I was going to buy one regardless. We also bought several magnets to put on our cabin door for the cruise we’re taking in a month. And other items were purchased as well, but all of the merchandise is a bit of a blur right now. You’d think we go to WDW once every 5 years rather than 3 times a year. Every time we go, we feel compelled to spend $200 on t-shirts and such.

When we got to Fulton’s, the wait was 80 minutes for a table.

With our ADR, the wait was 10 minutes. We were seated in a cozy corner upstairs and our server was pretty good. We’re not too high maintenance and don’t require much other than correct orders and fresh beers. We ordered the crab cake and shrimp cocktail for appetizers.

Lisa had the Maine Lobster

and I had the filet.

Both were pretty good, but neither of us was trying to be adventurous after a day of travel. I went safe with the filet even though I probably should have had the salmon and clam chowder. Our bill for the whole meal was $0. Sort of. We purchased a $100 gift card last December and through their promotion we received an additional $25. So that covered our bill. We were quite pleased with ourselves.

We cancelled our ADR for Raglan Road for 10pm (drinks-dessert) because frankly we were too tired to commit to another stop. On our way back toward the bus, however, we saw a cute little outdoor bar and thought, “lets stop here for just one beer…its so nice out.” Turns out, it WAS Raglan Road after all.

We really enjoyed that little patio and will probably return on our next visit.

Now for the dreaded bus from DTD. We waited for maybe 5 minutes and the bus was there. I can’t remember if we stopped at the Swolphin first, but definitely Yacht Club. It was a fairly quick ride back and was without incident.

We returned with our bag delivered to the room, but no Owner’s Locker. (The CM at check-in noted that it was delivered, but admitted he had no idea what it was, so we were not surprised that it was not brought up.) We called Bell Services and they brought it up immediately. I was very excited to see exactly what this purple box looked like, but was too tired to play with it much tonight. Tomorrow, we get our very first APs and head to the parks!

 

[StitchsGurl]

I'm joining in!~

I love your TR title, I can already tell this is going to be a good trip report!

I also love that hoodie you bought - SO cute! And oooh Fultons, I've always wanted to go there, and those pictures look really good, that I just might have to go eventually!

 

[Tiggeye]

We love our purple locker! Did you give it a name yet? Did you go and meet John, he is such a nice guy!

 

[MichiganDVC]

Day 2. Woke up early (for us) and actually made it to rope drop...sort of.

We arrived at the International Gateway to Epcot at 9:00am and watched as everyone else scampered through UK towards Test Track and Soarin’, I assume. We veered right toward France and Les Halles Boulangerie & Pâtisserie. You don’t stay at BCV and have annual passes and then ignore the “new” bakery in France for breakfast! We had the place to ourselves for quite some time.

Lisa got the chocolate croissant, I got the Croque Monsieur.

We were both VERY pleased. I thought I would have a few bites and just try it out. Holy cow was it good!! Lisa forced us to get the Parfait Aux Fruits and it, too, was delicious.
The best part was sitting basically alone in the France Pavilion. What a gorgeous day and wonderful start to our trip!

We wanted to go back again later in the trip, but we bought eggs and such to make breakfast in the room. Gotta take advantage of the full kitchen in the villa, right?

We left Epcot immediately after breakfast and got ready for the pool. I wanted to be at Stormalong Bay by 10am to make sure we got chairs in a good spot. Who knew that it wasn’t close to being crowded until 12:30 or so, when all the rope-droppers return? By then, we’re ready to head up for a shower/nap.

We had a 3:10 ADR at Via Napoli, so we got to Epcot at 2:30 to grab a quick beer at UK.

I find that in the hotter months (it was in the 80s while we were there in late February) it is best to get an ADR for between 2-4pm. These are the hotter times, yet non-traditional eating times. Everyone else must be swimming or napping, so ADRs are easier to get than at 5-7pm. By then it’s cooling off and we’d rather be walking around the park. Back to Via Napoli… We were seated within minutes while walk-ups were looking hot, sweaty, tired, and disappointed. During the meal, one family sat down at the table next to us, only to be escorted back to the waiting area by the hostess. We laughed as we watched them continuously try to sit at different tables around the restaurant, apparently to avoid waiting for a table the right way? The grandma in the group reminded me of the grandma in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
Back to the food… We ordered the individual size Margherita pizza, as usual. It is always so delicious.

I ordered the arancini for myself. I really don’t want to eat all of it, but Lisa doesn’t eat beef or pork, so I’m on my own. We also ordered the pitcher of Moretti. I mean, $9 for a glass of beer or $22 for a pitcher? We’re making a good financial decision here!

Now THAT's a hidden Mickey!


Now's probably a good time for the disclaimer. There's going to be a lot of beer drinking and general silliness from here on out.

By the time we’re done with our late lunch, it’s already 4pm. Perfect time to start walking around Epcot and drinking some international beers. We usually have absolutely no plans at Epcot, just a handful of “let’s try to get to this.” We try to hit Spaceship Earth at least once a trip, hopefully The Land, too. Then we just walk around World Showcase and look around. So after Via Napoli we headed right toward Germany and bought more beer.

We finally remembered to bring back a set of our numerous souvenir steins to walk around with instead of buying a fresh set. Look how handy they become…

Then we went to the shopping area of the African Outpost. This has always been one of our favorite stops. Lisa seems to really like their selection of earthy, “green” t-shirts. This time we found the jackpot: a t-shirt for each country in WS. I jumped at Morocco and Lisa and I played tug-of-war over Norway. I was nearly in tears but I let her have it. I found an okay replacement, Mexico, and Lisa got China.

So after we bought the T-shirts up at the African outpost, we purchased some beers in Norway and then sat in the garden area in the China Pavilion.
We like to sit down in what is usually a quiet spot although it appears lately that more and more people have found out about this little nook off to the right there.

We stopped at Mouse Gears, because apparently we hadn’t spent enough money on WDW swag. Moving forward we continued into Future World where we decided to head over to Spaceship Earth because of a nonexistent line. We have a later flight on our last day and since we have APs, we’ll pop back over to Epcot and do more rides then. Meanwhile, back to WS to find some more snacks (and beer)...

 

[MichiganDVC]

I'm joining in!~

I love your TR title, I can already tell this is going to be a good trip report!

I also love that hoodie you bought - SO cute! And oooh Fultons, I've always wanted to go there, and those pictures look really good, that I just might have to go eventually!

Hi there! Thanks for joining along. Fulton's was really good...and I had heard so many terrible stories beforehand. I guess if you go in with expectations low enough...

 

[MichiganDVC]

We love our purple locker! Did you give it a name yet? Did you go and meet John, he is such a nice guy!

Hello!

I didn't even think to name it! Hmmm.... Lisa and I will have to discuss our options.

I have not met John. I understand he has get togethers on Tuesdays at Epcot? I am rarely in Epcot on Tuesdays...mainly a long weekend visitor.

 

[wvgoofyfan]

Wow, I'm in at the very beginning of a trippie! Looking forward to more....

 

[wiigirl]

I'm in....great TR so far!

 

[stink]

Count me in....Lov the beer on the Bolso Hanger....classic !

 

[sammykster]

Joining in! Looking forward to the rest

 

[MichiganDVC]

More to come soon.

 

[MichiganDVC]

We went back the Mexico route clockwise and were horrified to discover that they no longer serve Dos Equis. Now it's only Corona Light. You read that right… not even regular Corona but Corona light only. It's not that they’re overly concerned that people are getting too drunk off of the full-flavored Dos Equis seeing as there is a margarita stand right around the corner and a tequila bar right inside the pavilion. In fact this'll probably keep us from stopping at the Mexico pavilion for food from here on out. Although we do like the nachos a lot, the Dos Equis is what brings us in most of the time.

This is what 10:59am looks like on a normal trip:

And then at 11:00am:

But not anymore.

So we headed back to the Norway cart. At our first stop at the Norway cart, the CM not only poured the beer directly into our steins from the tap, (usually they have to pour the beer into a cup and we pour it into the steins), but she filled the steins to the top! They're only supposed to fill the steins to the brim the first time you buy the stein, not on refills. So we were actually quite happy to pass Mexico and hope our new favorite CM was still working the cart. She was. Again, she filled our steins to the brim. We’ve never been happier.

We passed the African Outpost and gazed wistfully at the World Showcase country shirts that we didn’t choose.

On to Germany to get our treats from the Karamell-Kuche. I selected my old faithful: the chewy caramel bar (caramel shortbread). Lisa got the caramel apple. We both loved our items eventually, but not quite yet. We like to take them back to the villa and slowly nibble on them for days…
Since it had been a few hours and several beers since our last meal, it was time to hunker down at our favorite QS in Epcot…Tangierine Café.

We shared the Chicken Shawarma platter and it was once again an exceptional meal. And wouldn’t you know it? Mo’Rockin had just started. We sat outside, ate our shawarma and had entertainment. Its times like these that remind me what WDW is all about.

We headed from there toward UK and got one last beer for illuminations and then decided that we had a long day and we had a big day coming up, so it was best to just head back to the room rather than spending time on the Boardwalk or at Beach Club.

Tomorrow: Spring Training Baseball game and a beer discount!!

 

[daisymomof4]

Hi there, great TR so far!

I was just talking to my DH earlier about beer in WS, and now I've stumbled upon your TR! It must be the planets, or maybe the beer fairies, lining up. He asked me what kind of beer is on offer in Mexico. He won't be thrilled with Corona Light, haha. I don't think I'll tell him just yet. It's a long way to October

Looking forward to reading more!

 

[MichiganDVC]

Hi there, great TR so far!

I was just talking to my DH earlier about beer in WS, and now I've stumbled upon your TR! It must be the planets, or maybe the beer fairies, lining up. He asked me what kind of beer is on offer in Mexico. He won't be thrilled with Corona Light, haha. I don't think I'll tell him just yet. It's a long way to October

Looking forward to reading more!

Apparently they have the whole selection of Mexican beers inside at La Cava, but just not La Cantina...

 

[MichiganDVC]

Day 3: This day was a special treat for us. We had made our plans for the February trip months before but on a whim I decided to look at the Detroit Tigers spring-training schedule. My original intent was to maybe possibly rent a car and drive over to Lakeland to catch a game. Much to our surprise, the Tigers were actually playing their very first spring training game at Disney World against the Atlanta Braves at the ESPN Wide World of Sports. So we discussed whether or not that would be something we want to do, and as Tigers season-ticket holders, clearly this is something we want to do.

So I went ahead and got gouged on Stub Hub to get second row seats behind the On-deck circle right next to the Tigers dugout. It was really awesome to see our favorite players, and the young guys, so close to us and being able to call out their names and have them look at us.

Our first baseman

Our third baseman...and Your 2012 AL MVP!

Skipper sitting right in front of us

The boys hanging out in the dugout

Another great thing about the game was that the stadium had a beer special where your first beer was $8 and every time you return for beer thereafter it's only $4. Four dollar beers? At a baseball game? On Disney property??? Too good to be true but it was true in fact. It was also true that we were less than sober when we left.

We had hoped to get some autographs but unfortunately I don't think we arrived early enough and would probably have to go to Lakeland for that, so maybe that'll be a plan for next year. We did have an absolutely gorgeous day…perhaps a little too hot and sunny as it was about 85° at game time but we were saved by some clouds that rolled through.

Speaking of 85°, is this cruel to send to my friends and family back home in Michigan while I'm there?

After the game, we took a cab back to the Boardwalk, which is easily our favorite resort.

If you're wondering why we look more disheveled than usual, please refer back to the paragraph about the BEER SPECIAL at the ballgame!

We decided not to buy DVC points there and chose Beach Club instead because we find the Boardwalk has so many more rooms and it's really not that hard to get a villa there. However, it's almost impossible to get in at Beach Club at certain times of year. The Boardwalk is where we stayed the first couple of times we came here and it's always been our favorites probably for that reason.

We finally, having stayed at Boardwalk so many times, were able to eat at the Big River Grill and Brewing Works or whatever it's called.
We had the chicken nachos which we're still very tasty. I tried the beer sampler but honestly after so many four dollar Bud Lights at the game, all the beers tasted the same at that point.

That's the one thing I've learned about Disney World, especially at Epcot and especially in the hotter days: you're drinking light beer and you're drinking a lot of it. You're not trying to play around with any craft beers that are way too heavy.
Time to cool off at the pool....

 

[MichiganDVC]

So we decided that after a hot day out at the baseball game that we should take a brief dip in the DVC pool. The pool was a little chilly so we rotated back and forth between there and the hot tub. We were able to make it to Epcot around 7:00pm and with EMH that night, we had 4 hours of park time. It was tonight that I finally gave in to the flashing light necklaces!

Lisa tried her best to distract me, but after the sun goes down those carts are all you can see! And no, that’s not the first $15 light-up necklace I’ve purchased. I get at least one each trip, much to the chagrin of my family and others I forced to wear the ones I buy them. You can find each other more easily at F&W!! Some women like jewelry…I like light-up necklaces.

Yes, we even bought those ridiculous things a couple of years ago...

As we walked around the World, we got to try a few new items and a couple old favorites. We split the curry chicken pocket from Joy of Tea in China for a quick snack and the chicken teriyaki at the Katsura grill in Japan. I keep forgetting how good this is. The chicken is tender and tasty, there is a whole mess of white rice, and plenty of fresh veggies. It’s a great healthy meal that is big enough to share.
A quick side note about Katsura Grill. No one is ever up there. It is so pretty and tranquil, and has great views. Shhh...don't tell anyone!

After reviewing our invoice for the room charge, it appears that we only got beers in three different places that night and none after Katsura. So it appears that we watched Illuminations, again, and went back to the BC.

We were definitely tired. Plus, having APs really makes a difference in one’s approach to the parks. We were perfectly ok with spending only 2-3 hours in Epcot at all that night and it didn’t feel like a “waste of a day,” park ticket-wise.
Our plan for tomorrow is to get up early and head to the Magic Kingdom. We’ve been trying to get that darn Chicken and Waffle sandwich from Sleepy Hollow since they made them, yet we never get there before 5pm!

 

[MichiganDVC]

Day 4. I woke up and said to Lisa, “Ok, we can do one of two things. We can either:
A. get up right now, get ready and head to Magic Kingdom....or

B. sleep in, make breakfast in the room, go to the pool around 10:30, and head to MK at night.”

She easily chose the latter option. No waffle sandwich for us this trip…again.
On our first night, we bought eggs, cheese and English muffins from the Marketplace at BC. So for the second morning in a row, I made egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches. Croque Monsieur it was not…nor did it cost $8.75! As part of our new owner’s locker we brought down Pam, black pepper, and a little bottle of hot sauce for the expressed purpose of making eggs in the villa in the mornings. We are toying with the idea of taking another trip this July, but we’d be staying in a studio instead of one bedroom. How will I make my morning eggs?! Apparently, you can make them in the microwave using a coffee mug. We might spend $400 on t-shirts, but darn it if I’ll pay $6.00 for a breakfast sandwich....

We headed down to Stormalong Bay and it was a little busier today than it had been the other day. We still found a great spot and spend the late morning in the lazy river and tanning.

Speaking of the lazy river…it is anything but lazy. Where we got in, it is already 6 feet. And unless you’re clinging to the sides, you have to swim around the whole thing. It goes up to 7 and 8 feet, then down to 5. That 5 foot area is just a tease because once you can finally touch, a strong current pushes you forward into the next 6 foot part! We considered these laps our cardio for the day.

Around 1:00pm, we’d had enough of the sun and wanted lunch. One of our few “must-dos” for the trip was the No Way Jose, so we chose Beaches and Cream. There was a 40 minute wait, so I had the marvelous idea of spending those precious minutes in the arcade next door. (I know….light-up necklaces and pinball machines. I’m a giant child.) As usual, 10 minutes in an arcade turns into Bloodsport IV between Lisa and I. Skee-ball, air hockey, NASCAR racing game…it gets very competitive. We were just getting started for the night, though. Buzz Lightyear is where the gloves come off. (Have you even seen two people actually stretching while in line? That’s us…)

Well, now I’m winded and my bum shoulder is acting up (basketball shooting game and baseball throw). But our “table” is ready, so we head into B&C. I say “table” because we’re seated at the counter. We usually prefer this as it’s fun to watch the food being prepped and hear the servers interact. But then you do have to sit there and watch the entire process of the making of the Kitchen Sink. Unfortunately, we watched this after we had finished our meals. I was already feeling stuffed and that did not help.

Speaking of meals, I had the cheeseburger

Lisa had the club

(No picture because, well, who would take a picture of a club sandwich??)

and we split the onion rings. This was the second time I had that the burger here and it ranks among the best I’ve ever had. Oh, and those onion rings are nothing to sniff at either.

The No Way Jose was even better than I thought it would be. And I thought it would be good.

We both like peanut butter and chocolate-type ice cream flavors, so it was perfect. And we didn’t come close to finishing that monstrosity.
On our way out, we passed the table of teenagers wolfing down the Kitchen Sink. Ugh.

Today was the day we finally had to take a legitimate nap in the afternoon.

This is fine because we have a long last night as MK is open until midnight tonight.

Looks crowded, huh? Well, a parade had just finished.

And it was CRAZY crowded....

 

[MichiganDVC]

We arrived at the Magic Kingdom at a little after 6:00pm. We headed to Adventureland, got FP for Jungle Cruise and went to Pirates. First of all, MK was C-R-O-W-D-E-D! It was hard to get down Main Street at all, but a parade was just ending. The stand-by line for POTC was 30-40 minutes, so I checked my Disney app and Haunted Mansion was only 20 minutes. So we did that, then back to Jungle Cruise.

Finally, Pirates was only a 20 minute wait. So between 6:15 and 7:20, we rode 3 of our favorite rides and still had 4+hours to go.

A quick side note…a pet peeve if you will. I can stand the typical Disney guest behavior that many find annoying: stopping on a crowded walkway to examine your park map, letting your children be nearly destructive while you sit there and do nothing, etc… But I learned that there is one thing I cannot stand: when a family feels the need to loudly talk to each other through an entire ride! You are not the only people on the boat, there are songs and dialogue that are also a part of the ride, and no I do not care if this is your first and last time here. I did not stand behind the Clampetts for 20 minutes in line just to hear them talk nonsense or point out every animal and every Johnny Depp. It was bad.


Ok, enough about that. Off to Tomorrowland.

We were lucky enough to be inside Pirates while the MSEP went through Main Street. But of course everyone was still crowding in front of the castle waiting for Wishes. We had a nice combination of nearly getting run over by strollers and getting yelled at my CMs for not moving forward fast enough and finally we were through. (Those light-up necklaces came in handy, by the way. They always do.) We got FP for Buzz and rode the TTA.

Afterward, the fireworks were about to start, so we walked toward Fantasyland. Fantasyland is a great place to watch Wishes, even though you don’t get the same perspective that you do in front of the castle. Well, it was until the firework soot started to blow in our faces. Time to go to Dumbo.

We were on Dumbo just as Wishes was ending and headed to Goofy’s Barnstormer from there. Even though the line was pretty small, I just love it when the CM asks, “Who’s just two…we need two!” And there we are, just the two of us, not even stopping in line. Of course, Barnstormer is a whopping 30seconds long, but it was worth it.

Now time to discover New Fantasyland. We looked longingly at what will be the Seven Dwarf’s Mine Ride.

Who's excited?!?

Then we got lost trying to find Gaston’s Tavern… its really nice in there. Very cozy and fun. Lisa got Le Fou’s Brew and it was very kid-friendly, in a sugary kind of way.

Time to head back to Buzz and kick some butt!

 

[todzwife]

How do you even walk after all that beer?