You're going back to Disney? Again?!? A July, 2018 TR - Updated 11-15 - THE END

Great updates!

I don't mind the All Star Resorts at all, except the food courts during peak times. They are just TOO much for me. So if half of it was under construction that would be worse!

Glad you ended up having a nice dinner at Chef Mickey's- the photos definitely seem like he was having a good time!

Are you able to tell me more about the parking being free at the resort due to a handicap placard? We are going to be bringing my MIL who has a handicap placard and were thinking about renting a car to get her from place to place easier, but weren't sure if it was worth it with the additional fees adding up (we'd be going for 10 nights).

The food court was way too much for me. We ate lunch there later in the trip and it was just not great. I would assume that once the remodeling is done it will be easier to manage.

We have a handicapped parking tag that we hang from the rear view mirror. I took a picture of it and had it on my hand to provide as proof if needed when I checked in. But the cast member just asked me if we had one and I said yes and that was it. But if your MIL is using an ECV, you can utilize the regular transportation and not need a vehicle. I like not having to drive to each park. Even if we didn't have the ECV's, I still would take the Disney transportation.


Great first day!

Thanks! It was a great way to start things off.

Love Tony's smile in the picture with Goofy! He looks so happy! I think he really does enjoy character meals!!:)

Too bad about the delay with the fireworks! You had a wonderful 4th though!! :thumbsup2

He would never, ever, ever admit he likes taking character pictures and eating at character meals. But I think I can get away with one a trip and still be able to maintain his "I'm a tough man" status!
 
We have a handicapped parking tag that we hang from the rear view mirror. I took a picture of it and had it on my hand to provide as proof if needed when I checked in. But the cast member just asked me if we had one and I said yes and that was it. But if your MIL is using an ECV, you can utilize the regular transportation and not need a vehicle. I like not having to drive to each park. Even if we didn't have the ECV's, I still would take the Disney transportation.

She has the tag for rear view mirror, but she won't be using an EVC/wheelchair. So we are trying to minimize walking as much as possible! Thanks for the information!
 
They stopped the moving walk way for us both getting on and off the ride and they had no problem letting us use the specific ride vehicle. I know that some people are nervous to ask for something special to make the rides easier. Don't be that person - just ask - the cast members are always willing to help.

Question- did they fully stop the walkway? I took my elderly mom there last year and while she can walk she goes very slow. They only offered to slow it down. She got on and off, but I was hoping that they could fully stop it. I know every time we ride, we stop a few times for just that purpose.

He would absolutely kill me if he knew I was putting this picture up on these boards. It will be our secret.

I won't tell!;) He looks cute:)

Up next - alcohol and 80's music!

I'm in!! :thumbsup2
 


July 5th - EPCOT - World Showcase

After our adventures in Future World, we were ready to mosey over to the world showcase. Our plan was to spend a good amount of time in each country to be able to see everything. When we were here in January, we started to the right and only got as far as the Japan/China area before we ran out of time. So this time we started to the left for a little bit of Mexico!


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I love how everything is so dark and mysterious in here. It amazes me how immersive everything is. We spent some time looking thru the shops and listening to the music being played. I pondered riding the boat ride, but we decided to pass because I was still a little bit worried about the big step down into the boat. However, I wish I had done a bit more research before going because they have a boat that is wheelchair friendly that we could have stepped onto without the big step down. Oh well - something to do next time!

After leaving Mexico and stepping outside, we realized that it had rained a bit and the humidity and mugginess had come out. There was only one thing to do about that - get a margarita!!! Fortunately for us, there was a margarita stand right there with little waiting. I got a regular margarita with extra salt on the rim. And two straws because I like to share and I knew that this would not be the first drink we would be having today (and I was correct).

No picture - but you've all seen margaritas - and it hit the spot on what was becoming a hot afternoon.

Our next stop in touring the world was Norway. We had fast passes for Frozen Ever After for our next day in EPCOT, so we didn't get anywhere near that. But I did drag Tony for some photo pass shots!


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Tony's face - he cracks me up. Any time a photo pass photographer says "make a surprised face" we both look a little cray-cray.

And then of course there is the obligatory picture of the huge troll.


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After Norway, we jumped ahead to the American Pavilion. I wanted to see the Guardian of the Galaxy show. Now I've never seen the movie and have no idea who any of the characters are, but thanks to the wonderful trip reporting of @chunkymonkey I knew that this show featured 80's music.

Yup, that's my kind of show for sure! Tony and I decided that a snack would be in order before getting settled in for the show, so we went over to the quick serve and got a couple of beers and shared a pretzel. They were also kind enough to stock us up in some cups of ice. It was really warm that afternoon, so the cold beer and then the ice water hit the spot. We got settled into the show area and enjoyed some pre-music (yes, I was singing loud and proud). We waited for maybe 15 or 20 minutes before the show started. It was a bit slow at first, but once it got going, it was so much fun to watch and sing along with. And even though I had no idea of the story line of the movie, it didn't matter.


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We had really good seats.

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And one quick scenery shot!

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After getting our fill of 80's music (and maybe hurting the ears of those sitting around me), we wandered around the China and Morocco area. I didn't seem to take any pictures, but I know we did our normal looking around every nook and cranny and just enjoying the culture of each area.

Up next - dinner!
 
Hilarious! Enjoying your report and I will have to check out your previous one!

Thanks for reading along!

She has the tag for rear view mirror, but she won't be using an EVC/wheelchair. So we are trying to minimize walking as much as possible! Thanks for the information!

I think you'll be fine.

Question- did they fully stop the walkway? I took my elderly mom there last year and while she can walk she goes very slow. They only offered to slow it down. She got on and off, but I was hoping that they could fully stop it. I know every time we ride, we stop a few times for just that purpose.



I won't tell!;) He looks cute:)



I'm in!! :thumbsup2

They did fully stop the walkway for us after we specifically asked for that. It took maybe 20 seconds for the walkway to come to a complete stop, so just wait for it to stop. The cast members were so nice about it both getting on and off the ride.

I must admit, I married a pretty cute guy. I am a very very lucky person.
 
They did fully stop the walkway for us after we specifically asked for that. It took maybe 20 seconds for the walkway to come to a complete stop, so just wait for it to stop. The cast members were so nice about it both getting on and off the ride.

Thanks! Good to know this! :thumbsup2 I think they'd rather just slow it down, but my mom still had a hard time getting in. I will definitely insist it fully stops for her next time!

I must admit, I married a pretty cute guy. I am a very very lucky person.

:thumbsup2 Yes it's so nice to have a DH that shares your love of travel and Disney! I have one, too!:)
 


July 5th - Yacht Club dinner . . .

Our tummies were beginning to rumble, so it was clearly time to eat another meal. Our evening meal was at Ale and Compass at the Yacht Club. We had visited that area last time eating at Cape May Café. I was so enchanted by the Beach and Yacht Club area and was very excited to go back over there. Since we were at EPCOT that day, we took the International Gateway over to the Boardwalk area. This was also another first for us. The Friendship Boats were running, but we had plenty of time for a stroll.


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Can someone rent me a pontoon boat for my birthday? May 6th.

We wandered around for quite some time. This is completely my dream destination if we ever had the opportunity to stay at a deluxe resort. I literally felt like we were no longer in Orlando, but hanging out on the Jersey shore (the nicer part). We went into the Yacht Club and once again had a jaw dropping moment.


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I could live here.

Ale and Compass is a new to us restaurant. A little bit fancier than we usually do, but the menu looked really yummy. And when you're on the dining plan, you can try new things that would normally be out of our price range. And even though an appetizer was not on the plan, we saw another table order this and well, hello carbs!!


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Parker House Rolls and Spreads - Bacon Jam, Pub Cheese, Citrus Butter

The waiter suggested that we combine the bacon jam and the pub cheese together on the warm salty rolls. It was a little bit of heaven on a plate. I didn't care for the citrus butter, but Tony liked it. This was a good choice.

For Tony's entrée, he had Costal Clambake - Whole Maine Lobster, Clams, Corn, and Potatoes


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Tony loves lobster and basically all things seafood. But we didn't think this choice thru very well. In 2007 Tony had a stroke which impacts his entire right side of his body. So much so that he went from being right handed to left handed after the stroke. His right hand shakes a lot, and it makes it difficult to do things like take seafood out of the shell. I always offer to help, but I know he absolutely hates it and is embarrassed. So when the bowl of yumminess was brought to the table, he was irritated when he saw that everything was still in the shell. I guess we could have guessed that this was the case prior to ordering, but we didn't and I had to prepare his food for him. So disclaimer, this meal requires work before eating. However, once the labor is done, it was well worth it.

I'll continue more in the next post - I'm out of room for pictures!
 
July 5th continued from previous post . . .

For me, I ordered the 16 oz. T-bone Steak with maitre d'hotel Butter, Truffle Fries, house-steak sauce and Watercress Salad.


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Ordered medium well and it was cooked to perfection. The garlic butter was so good. I do wish that there was a different option for sides. It seems, well, not very fancy to have French fries with such a nice steak in a nice setting. But I did enjoy the steak. Yummy! And although we were sufficiently full from all that food, we managed to find room for some dessert. Shocking, I know.

Tony had the apple tart with Blackberry Sauce and Apple Cider Sorbet


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He asked for it without the blackberry sauce, and that was no problem. It was warm and the ice cream was slightly melted when brought to the table. A total win in the dessert category.

As for me, I got Trio of Puddings - Chocolate, Blackberry, and Butterscotch with Mix-ins


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This was a huge dessert and about half of it was left behind because I was just stuffed. It was fun to dump the different cookies into the pudding flavors. I can see kids enjoying this dessert.

After settling up the bill, or saying scan my magic band, we gathered up our things and began to head back over to EPCOT and to the busses. While we were eating, the clouds had been rolling in pretty significantly.


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So instead of a leisurely stroll back over the gateway, we picked up the pace in an attempt to avoid the rain.

Epic failure.

We made it close to EPCOT before we had to pull the ponchos out. These are a must-have for any Disney trip. What started as a little drizzle ended up being a full on rain storm by the time we got back to Spaceship Earth. We were able to stay mostly dry with the ponchos, but it was a pretty drippy situation. The crowds were pretty heavy heading back to the buses, so we had to wait a bit before being able to head back to the resort. I was very glad to get back to our room and completely dry off. I did show Tony the clothes line in the bathroom, which he didn't realize was there. It was a perfect place to dry off the ponchos.

On the way back to the room, we noticed Tony's ECV was losing charge. We had completely charged it the night before, so I was concerned it wasn't working properly or the rain had gotten it (we were careful to cover the top part). We plugged it in and hoped that it would be fine in the morning.

Up next - will we ever get to Animal Kingdom?
 
I'm really enjoying your trip report. It looks like you both had such a good trip. Looking forward to more.
 
On the way back to the room, we noticed Tony's ECV was losing charge. We had completely charged it the night before, so I was concerned it wasn't working properly or the rain had gotten it (we were careful to cover the top part). We plugged it in and hoped that it would be fine in the morning.

Up next - will we ever get to Animal Kingdom?

Oh no!! I read a lot of TR's, so I could be wrong on which one it was in, but didn't you have some ECV issues on another trip?
 
Oh no!! I read a lot of TR's, so I could be wrong on which one it was in, but didn't you have some ECV issues on another trip?

And now that I think about it some more, I DO think it was in a different TR! oh well, I hope you don't end up with issues!!
 
I love how everything is so dark and mysterious in here. It amazes me how immersive everything is. We spent some time looking thru the shops and listening to the music being played. I pondered riding the boat ride, but we decided to pass because I was still a little bit worried about the big step down into the boat. However, I wish I had done a bit more research before going because they have a boat that is wheelchair friendly that we could have stepped onto without the big step down. Oh well - something to do next time!

I do love the darkness of the Mexico Pavilion too, especially when it's bright and hot outside, just stepping inside is like a different fantasy world. So fun! Hope you're able to ride

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Tony's face - he cracks me up. Any time a photo pass photographer says "make a surprised face" we both look a little cray-cray.

Aw cute, no cray cray at all!

After Norway, we jumped ahead to the American Pavilion. I wanted to see the Guardian of the Galaxy show. Now I've never seen the movie and have no idea who any of the characters are, but thanks to the wonderful trip reporting of @chunkymonkey I knew that this show featured 80's music.

Yup, that's my kind of show for sure! Tony and I decided that a snack would be in order before getting settled in for the show, so we went over to the quick serve and got a couple of beers and shared a pretzel. They were also kind enough to stock us up in some cups of ice. It was really warm that afternoon, so the cold beer and then the ice water hit the spot. We got settled into the show area and enjoyed some pre-music (yes, I was singing loud and proud). We waited for maybe 15 or 20 minutes before the show started. It was a bit slow at first, but once it got going, it was so much fun to watch and sing along with. And even though I had no idea of the story line of the movie, it didn't matter.

Aw thank you, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I love my 80s music and it's definitely fun to sit and sing a long!

We wandered around for quite some time. This is completely my dream destination if we ever had the opportunity to stay at a deluxe resort. I literally felt like we were no longer in Orlando, but hanging out on the Jersey shore (the nicer part). We went into the Yacht Club and once again had a jaw dropping moment.

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It's gorgeous there! If you ever want a a good deal, go around labor day, it's like a fraction of what it usually costs to stay there, that's why we almost always go to Disney around that time. I'll deal with the heat because I get to stay at my favorite resorts for cheaper (still not like super cheap but the cheapest you'll see it all year).

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Parker House Rolls and Spreads - Bacon Jam, Pub Cheese, Citrus Butter

The waiter suggested that we combine the bacon jam and the pub cheese together on the warm salty rolls. It was a little bit of heaven on a plate. I didn't care for the citrus butter, but Tony liked it. This was a good choice.

OMG that looks amazing!

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Tony loves lobster and basically all things seafood. But we didn't think this choice thru very well. In 2007 Tony had a stroke which impacts his entire right side of his body. So much so that he went from being right handed to left handed after the stroke. His right hand shakes a lot, and it makes it difficult to do things like take seafood out of the shell. I always offer to help, but I know he absolutely hates it and is embarrassed. So when the bowl of yumminess was brought to the table, he was irritated when he saw that everything was still in the shell. I guess we could have guessed that this was the case prior to ordering, but we didn't and I had to prepare his food for him. So disclaimer, this meal requires work before eating. However, once the labor is done, it was well worth it.

That looks delicious! I would ask the server next time if they can at least de-shell the lobster. My sister would be all over that because lobster is her favorite food.

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Ordered medium well and it was cooked to perfection. The garlic butter was so good. I do wish that there was a different option for sides. It seems, well, not very fancy to have French fries with such a nice steak in a nice setting.

Wow that looks really good! It almost looks Yachtsman steakhouse good!
You really want to make me try Ale and Compass now! We're at the Beach Club so super convenient but we don't have room for any more meals! Hopefully another time!
 
The food at Ale and Compass looks super yummy. I haven't heard much at all about this place, but your experience has sold me. We need to make time for that place one day.

Great photos all around, too. I'm missing the Boardwalk area right now.
 
July 6th - Animal Kingdom

We woke up this morning to the warmest day of the trip. The weather peeps were predicting high 90's and high humidity. We had prepared for just such weather, bringing tons of bottled water, frozen wet washcloths, a hat for Tony and SPF 50 sunscreen. After getting ready for the day and loading up all of our belongings (all the previous mentioned things, phones, chargers, ponchos, camera, this list just goes on forever), we turned on Tony's ECV to find it had barely taken a charge throughout the night.

Good grief. I have a schedule to keep!

I called Buena Vista Scooters, and just like before, they said that they could bring out a replacement ECV, but it would take about an hour.

But I have fast passes (I was screaming in my head) but I sweetly said that was fine and we would meet them out front of the resort in an hour. It could have seriously been a lot worse. The ECV could have died on the bus or in the middle of the park and that would have been a huge hot mess to get a replacement. I got on MDE and wiggled around our fast passes and we made our way over to the food court for a quick bite while we waited.

This would be the very last time I decided to go to the food court. It was about 10:30 but the crowds were elbow to elbow and it was just so hard to navigate or snake thru the lines. I ended up just going back and getting a pre-made sandwich and chips for Tony and I to share and getting out of there. While we were eating, I had gotten a text from Buena Vista Scooters that they were about five minutes away, so we went out front and they arrived shortly thereafter. Tony's ECV was barely moving at this point. He was in front of me and I was literally pushing him with my ECV to keep him moving. We were a pitiful version of a train. We rounded the corner to wait for a bus. We had a bit of a wait, so a selfie was in order!


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Shortly thereafter, we were on our way to my favorite park!

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This was honestly never my favorite park before our last trip. I don't particularly enjoy going to the zoo, so AK held little interest for me. Boy was I wrong. After the last trip, I was hooked and was excited for seeing some different things at AK this time. No, not Pandora. There is no way in the world my fluffy self is fitting on Flight of Passage, so I don't even bother going in that direction.

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Our first stop was Kali River Rapids. At the last minute I decided not to ride KRR. Even though it was blazing hot outside, I just really didn't want to be soggy wet. And lets be honest, you will get wet on this ride, even with wearing a poncho. So I found a place to wait and sent Tony on the ride.

He got soaked. I worked on my tan. An even trade if you ask me. But I was really warm and needed a snack and something cool and refreshing to drink.


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Friends, this is a triple margarita - regular, berry and mango combined. Stop everything you are doing and go get one of these fabulous drinks. It was sooooooooo gooooooooood. I think we may have grabbed a snack. It was probably a Mickey pretzel with cheese dipping sauce, which is our favorite go-to snack. Crap, now I want one of these drinks and a pretzel.

After cooling off, we went to UP!


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Although this was an outdoor pavilion, there were tons of ceiling fans and a good breeze was coming thru. I was really looking forward to this show. I love the movie and was very hopeful that the show would be as great.

The show was - meh. But the birds were beautiful. I just wish there were more of them.


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Yes, the eagle is looking at me.

Up next - my broadway singing debut!
 
Thanks! Good to know this! :thumbsup2 I think they'd rather just slow it down, but my mom still had a hard time getting in. I will definitely insist it fully stops for her next time!



:thumbsup2 Yes it's so nice to have a DH that shares your love of travel and Disney! I have one, too!:)

Tony didn't initially love Disney like I do. But after these past two trips, he is on board with my obsession!

I'm really enjoying your trip report. It looks like you both had such a good trip. Looking forward to more.

Thanks for reading along!
LOL! Let's get a group together and celebrate!!:cheer2: We would have so much fun!!

Girl, we would have the best time. And might get kicked out of a few places!

Oh no!! I read a lot of TR's, so I could be wrong on which one it was in, but didn't you have some ECV issues on another trip?

And now that I think about it some more, I DO think it was in a different TR! oh well, I hope you don't end up with issues!!

It was this trip report on our arrival day.

I do love the darkness of the Mexico Pavilion too, especially when it's bright and hot outside, just stepping inside is like a different fantasy world. So fun! Hope you're able to ride



Aw cute, no cray cray at all!



Aw thank you, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I love my 80s music and it's definitely fun to sit and sing a long!



It's gorgeous there! If you ever want a a good deal, go around labor day, it's like a fraction of what it usually costs to stay there, that's why we almost always go to Disney around that time. I'll deal with the heat because I get to stay at my favorite resorts for cheaper (still not like super cheap but the cheapest you'll see it all year).



OMG that looks amazing!



That looks delicious! I would ask the server next time if they can at least de-shell the lobster. My sister would be all over that because lobster is her favorite food.



Wow that looks really good! It almost looks Yachtsman steakhouse good!
You really want to make me try Ale and Compass now! We're at the Beach Club so super convenient but we don't have room for any more meals! Hopefully another time!

Yachtsman is on my bucket list. You should go to Ale and Compass. It was really a good meal.

The food at Ale and Compass looks super yummy. I haven't heard much at all about this place, but your experience has sold me. We need to make time for that place one day.

Great photos all around, too. I'm missing the Boardwalk area right now.

I hope to do more exploring in the Boardwalk area next time we go. If the rain hadn't come down, we would have that night.

Loving your report so far! Going to read your last one now!

Thanks for reading along!
 

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