Brief insights from May 6-10 trip

[aemery1]

Hi everyone,

This won’t be a full trip report as I don’t track enough details for that, but I hope some of this might be helpful to you. Happy to answer questions.

Us: me (mid-50s) DH (mid-50s) DS (early 20s) GF (his girlfriend early 20s). We have been to DW many times. She came once or twice as a child to only MK and didn’t have a good experience.

Swan Resort May 6-10, 2 rooms without views.

3 day tix, no PH. Ep, DHS, MK. DS on departure day.

Summary: fantastic trip, didn’t rain on us at all, crowds were low to medium and manageable, it was quite hot.

Highlights: riding all of our favorites, including multiple rides (LLs and ILLs for all parks), Minnie Van service (a dangerous new discovery,) Le Cellier, Polite Pig, Gideon’s cold brew.

Lowlights, if any: tent by pool at hotel, a bit of obnoxious behavior going on in the parks. Also, cost of snacks/coffee was high. Very high. Plan to spend even more than you expect!

The Swan: suited our purpose for walking to Ep and DHS, a more deluxe stay without the deluxe price tag for 2 rooms at an onsite resort. We booked late so we missed any May discounts, so that took YC or BW off the table. The rooms were nice, the beds extremely comfortable. Everyone noticed that. Even without paying for a view, we had a waterway view and could see the ToT. We grabbed Java coffee shop items every day, sometimes multiple times per day. Very expensive, but great coffee drinks, gluten free muffins for GF, and some decent food options. Definitely served our early morning needs. I found the staff to be super helpful and kind. They actually knew me after 2 or 3 visits.

Swan pool: we briefly enjoyed the more adult type Swan pool and hot tub. Quiet, pleasant. Did not have time to use the grotto pools unfortunately. Downside: huge tents with generators up for an event, blocking any views from the pool. The noise from the generators was annoying right by hot tub. Took away from the resort feel, not being able to look out onto the lake area and grotto pool. These tents seem to be up on a lot of our trips to this area, so they seem to be the norm. For this reason I almost would have preferred the Dolphin. Would consider that next time.

Housekeeping: very nice workers. A couple of times I just tipped them and grabbed items off the carts when we were resting in the room, etc, and they could not have been nicer. Gladly gave me some extra water bottles which was wonderful.

I would not hesitate to stay Swan/Dolphin again, although I would choose Disney resorts with a heavy discount next time if an option. For us, walking to parks is something we really enjoy, even in the heat so that always keeps this resort on the table.

Boardwalk Deli: grabbed food here a couple of times and enjoyed it. Very helpful with GF gluten free diet. Enjoyed the turkey sandwich!

Arrival night, me and DH: we walked over and had dinner at Ale and Compass Lounge. We love it there. Split the French onion flatbread (yummy if you like that flavor profile, had some shaved beef on it too) and wings, also good. He had a pineapple mule and enjoyed it. Service a bit slow but we were not in a hurry.

Bought GF a magicband in Ale and Compass Market and the front desk set it up for her. For some reason she was not showing on my MDE for that purpose so I couldn’t do it. They were incredibly nice and helpful. We watched the fireworks from near the swan/dolphin and went to bed before DS and GF arrived at hotel after a delay around midnight.

Epcot notes: May 7 CL 3. We were a little delayed in the am because my son’s late flight was delayed the night before. Quick coffee run at Java, arrived around 8:30, walked to Soarin and rode with about 15-20 minute wait. Used burner at Pixar at 9:05 and grabbed Frozen for early evening, so that was a success. Had an easy morning doing LWTL, Seas, SE, etc. GOTG with LL. Everyone loved it. My favorite ride in DW. One Way or Another was our song. Took a snack break when booths opened at 11:30. Grabbed a few things and brought them to Connections to eat in AC. This is the play in the heat. Water and restrooms available, very comfortable, not too crowded at 11:30. Got the chips and dips from Yacht Grub, the corn from the Beach Grub, a bowl from honey bistro, GF chicken tenders from connections. Then cold brews from Starbucks.

After snacks, did a few photos, Figment, Soarin with FP, Test Track. Ladies, put your hair up for TT! I never remember and I am Cousin It in every ride photo.

Then, Le Cellier at 2:45 for late lunch/early dinner. This was a huge hit! Our first time, as we are longtime Yachtsman Steakhouse fans, but wanted an in the park option this trip. The timing was great for a cool sit-down. Lots of GF options including warm rolls for the GF. This made me feel less guilty about chowing down on our bread offerings.

My husband and I split the land salad and the strip steak with brussel sprouts, and added a side of Mac and cheese. All were delicious, and we even had enough to share some salad with the kids. DS had the strip steak with mashed potatoes and GF had the filet with fries. She absolutely loved the mashed potatoes and wished she got those although the fries were good. I highly recommend the mashed potatoes and the Mac and cheese. All of the steaks were perfect as well. I would have skipped dessert in favor of something in the park, but we decided to take advantage of the GF options. Got the modified kids’ chocolate “moose” (adorable) for GF (no oreo crumbs) and the GF maple creme brulee. Enjoyed both. Service was good. Obviously not a cheap meal but we were only able to do 2 sit downs this trip, so I didn’t mind the splurge. We were all very glad we did it and I would call it a highlight of the trip. Disney rewards visa discount.

It was hot as heck after the meal. We should have taken a break like 5-7, but we decided to instead head to the countries with our Frozen and Remy LLs, and leave early before park close. Everyone decided to skip the nighttime show. My husband and I did not make it very long. We saw the Garden Rocks show for a bit, rode Frozen and tried to do Remy on the way out but it was down. On Frozen, guy behind us was saying loud, lewd things about Elsa. Not a young guy. With his family. Bizarre. We left when Remy was down. DS and GF did their own thing, got a drink, stayed too long, and came home and crashed early after planning to watch the fireworks from the bridge but not making it back out for it. Customer Experience team nicely moved our Remy to a LL for the next day at DHS. I swam a bit to cool down and relax in the evening.

Will be back to continue…this is actually more detailed/more of a trip report than I expected!

[Cinderandi]

Very informative! Looking forward to hearing more about your trip. I was in the World May 3-6.

[aemery1]

Great! Yes, I am following along with your posts too!

[NTEI]

@aemery1

fantastic trip

Glad to hear it was a success!

[aemery1]

DHS day, Friday 5/8, CL 3: DS had requested late LLs for this day because he loves riding ToT and SDD at night. So, we had all of our LLs booked for 4pm-10pm. The original plan was to do the F! at 10:30pm (spoiler alert: that plan changed.) At lunch the day before, we discussed the option to come early and do a few rides, come back to hotel for brunch at 11 and break, and head back for the late afternoon OR just sleep in, brunch/swim and then head to park. Everyone chose option B.

Unfortunately, work came up for DH on Friday so he was out for the morning plans. I decided to bag the brunch plan and let the kids do their own thing. They slept in and got an early lunch at Boardwalk Deli and wen to the pool. I had coffee early, went to pool for a bit, and then my husband and I ate a sandwich and salad (ham and cheese croissant and Greek salad) from Java when he finished his meetings. We checked on the kids at the pool to make a plan. They went in the hot tub and had a drink at the bar. This will come back to bite us a bit later, I think.

They said they weren’t that interested in shows as I was determining our start time at DHS. I moved our first LL a little later, and we arrived around 4 and ate an early dinner at ABC Commissary. We have always had success here and it did not disappoint this time. GF got gluten free chicken club sandwich and fries and she was happy (she was thrilled to get sandwiches everywhere–I guess a lot of places don’t serve GF bread.) We split the shrimp tacos (excellent) with rice and beans, pork tacos with rice and beans (DH liked, I didn’t try), buffalo grilled cheese sandwich (rich and delish, good for sharing) with fries, and for some reason I panic-ordered a kids’ farro salad with chicken thinking we needed something healthy. We didn’t need it. It was a good portion but very little greens, mostly farro.

Then we did the Little Mermaid show as GF is a LM fan. She had been very focused on thrillers versus “kids’ rides” so I didn’t know what she would think. She exclaimed that she LOVED it when it finished. That made me happy, like maybe she is catching on to the Disney magic. It was really good–my husband said it was hard not to believe the actress wasn’t actually a cartoon character.

Then TSM (GF loved that too), SDD with our Remy LL from the night before, then first epic fail of the trip. Had like 10 minutes to kill, and app said 5 min for ASS. Sent the kids on (DH doesn’t ride.) They were nowhere to be found for a long time. Line had jumped to 25 min. When they made it to the front, one side went down. Ugh. They enjoyed it but I think that was a bit of a killer for the GF. It became apparent that her stamina was not there today, and I think the hot tub and drink in the afternoon heat right before the park were the culprit.

As we headed to RoTR, I shared my observation about flagging energy and offered to pivot the plans. It would require some tweaking but we agreed to do F! at 9, ToT right after and then leave. Everyone agreed that getting up early for MK would be way more valuable than staying for the late F! show. Everyone was happy with new plan and I think GF was relieved because she was already tired.

RoTR was great. Love it! GF never saw Star Wars but had fun.

The kids did MMFR after RoTR. We never did it before and expectations were low. DS thought it was ok, she loved it. They were pilots; he gets stressed by such things.

It was probably 8:10 or something at this point. They rode Slinky with LL and we grabbed ice cream for everyone at Hollywood Scoops for F!. GF had a GF brownie sundae and they took great care to prepare it. Son had brownie sundae, I had hot fudge sundae which was giant and husband had chocolate shake. We should have shared something instead. Everything was great though, but we threw a lot out.

We made it into the show right before 9 so our seat options were non-existent but it was fine. We sat at the top, all the way across, so had a bit of a side view. I enjoyed the show, but I guess I thought it would be way better or different than when I saw it many years ago. I don’t remember it that well from then, but thought is was pretty similar. Glad we did it, and it is pretty awesome, but will probably only do it once in a while.

I did not feel like doing ToT although I kind of regretted that decision. I was just being lazy and I guess I wanted to stay until the end of the show. Anyway the 3 of them scooted out right before the show ended and did ToT with LL. GF said it was scary but I think she liked it! DH’s favorite of the trip.

I moseyed out with the crowd which isn’t fun and waited for them at the Trolley Car Cafe tables. We walked back to DHS.

On the walk back, we had a candid convo about the next day. I strongly advocated for an early morning if they could do it, assuring him a bit of discomfort would pay off. They were all in on that, and were grateful we shortened this night to be able to get up early. We talked about the evening entertainment plan with dessert party. The consensus was, nobody needed the dessert party, nobody cared about the parade, and they wanted to prioritize rides. This was all a bit of a switch as originally they were excited about the fireworks, but I totally got it since we prioritized F! on this night. I was able to cancel the dessert party and still get the refund so I did that as we walked. They assured me they wanted to get there for early entry at 7:30am, then we would take a break and return in the evening. I also offered for them to stay for a half park day and then have a nice dinner with or without us and a more peaceful evening out of the parks. They don’t live near each other and I really wanted them to have the time together if they wanted. They wanted to spend the evening in the parks.

Spoiler: we followed the plan exactly and it was amazing. If it were up to me, every park day would follow this plan, so I am glad we at least applied it to our most important day, our MK day.

[jab300]

@aemery1

GF never saw Star Wars but had fun.

[aemery1]

Ha! I know! I wish I could have seen this trip through her eyes. I am not sure if any of it made sense to her, but she was a good sport!

[jab300]

I’m sure she did. Dh has never seen Frozen and I used to feel bad about dragging him (and our 4 sons) to the Frozen sing-a-long show, but now it’s his favorite.

[Cinderandi]

I’m feeling too invested in GF’s opinion of WDW and looking forward to her assessment after. It sounds like she is having a great trip!

[aemery1]

MK day, Sat 5/9, CL 5

DH and I got up early and grabbed coffee for us, coffee and GF muffins and yogurts for the kids. We ordered a Minnie Van and it arrived at 6:53am I think. We had been shooting for a 7am departure, so I felt bad making him wait a few mins, but he was amazing and the kids showed up on time! I was very thrilled and relieved about that. First time with Minnie Van, but it was the perfect situation for it–7:30 early entry from the Swan. This saved us from going to the TTC or hoofing it to BW for their bus. Yes, it was a splurge, but I was playing with house money after cancelling the dessert party! I LOVED Minnie Van, which is very dangerous for the future.

A lovely 12 minute ride or so and we were dropped off right in front of MK. Was sure to give our kind driver a cast compliment. Just enough Disney chit chat to add to the magic, not too much for 7am! Great start to the day.

We got thru security and were asked to show a magic band for our party at the Tomorrowland bridge, and then we were off to SM. We were in line at 7:20, and the line started moving at 7:32. That’s about the extent of my detailed reporting, but those numbers stuck as I was very interested in how this early opening process would work for us. Rode, and the kids got right back on with a 10 min posted wait. I am not sure they stopped at all because the were off quickly.

GF loved SM. That’s good, because it is a family favorite.

Bathroom break, then on to new Buzz. We rode twice with no line, then tapped in to our LL at 8:15 and grabbed TBA for later. New Buzz is much better! I forgot to remind myself about the high scoring opps and still managed to trounce my DH . DS spilled all the secrets to his GF, and she ended up beating him 2 of 3 rounds, so safe to say she liked this ride too! She remembered it from her childhood visit and said she was terrible at it, so the new shooters suited her!

We tweaked the plans as the kids chose to get extra rides on TBA with no line versus staying in this neck of the woods to do teacups, etc. TBA had a 5 min wait posted. We barely stopped in line. BTMRR had like a 70 min wait at the same time! Luckily we had a LL for later that evening. We got soaked on TBA, and guess what, GF loved it! I thought she might not like getting soaked but she was fine with it. She had no idea when the drop was coming so she would scream periodically. It was entertaining. They got right back on for a 2nd ride. So, by say 9:15, we had done SM twice, Buzz 3x, and TBA 2x, with absolutely no wait besides SM pre-opening for 10 min. Definitely worth the early arrival!

On to HM with LL, great as always, then IASW. Kids were asking for a snack. Admittedly, this was a new experience. Typically with the 3 of us we don’t do much, if any snacking in the parks. However, this was an indulgent trip, and the snack requests were flowing. We had an 11:15 Skipper ADR, so I did not expect a snack break before lunch! They split a popcorn in Liberty Square, which is wonderfully GF.

I think we did Little Mermaid but I can’t quite remember when we fit that one in, honestly. Next up was PoC with no LL. We waited about 10 minutes. We could have stopped at Aladdin’s Carpets or the Treehouse, but everyone was glad to just check in early for lunch.

We arrived at 11 for 11:15 ADR and I asked nicely for a smaller room, particularly SEA if possible. Just a couple of minutes later, we were led to the butterfly table! We were thrilled about this comfortable, quiet, peaceful respite. This was our first visit, by the way.

We had the GF cheese bread which was a big treat for the GF. She and DS had the pork corn cakes for appetizer (forgot what they are called) and she had the tuna appetizer as her entree. He had the duck after much debate. DH and I split the salad, and again there was plenty for the table to share, as well as the catch of the day (swordfish) and the steak.

The tuna strangely came in a cold broth that GF wasn’t thrilled with. Other than that, she liked the dish. The broth wasn’t listed on the menu, I don’t think. DS liked the duck. I kinda tried to talk him out of it because he never had it before, but it turned out to be the mildest duck ever. “Tastes like chicken!” He liked it, and would have preferred more, but that’s how it goes with meat on the bone.

The steak and fish were both good. Steak was probably better, albeit a bit spicy for anyone who is wondering. Swordfish was very mild (dare I say, plain.).

Service was great. We all enjoyed the jokes. It was not over the top but fun nonetheless, even for those of us who don’t know much or anything about Jungle Cruise.

We passed on dessert.

If Le Cellier was an A, this was maybe a B, B+. Very nice respite, nice environment, solid service, good (but not amazing) food, and certainly more affordable than Le Cellier. Great with the GF options and accommodations, which of course was very important to us. No complaints at all, but may try something different in the future.

We debated about starting our break or doing a couple more things, and we went with leaving for break. In hindsight, probably could have banged out some easier things like Laugh Floor and People Mover, because with all of our stacked LLs, we actually ran out of time in the evening to do everything we wanted to do!

We took bus to BW which went very smoothly, and probably got back at like 1:15 but I forgot to check. I ended up taking a nap and not even making it to the pool. DH did some work I think. Kids rested and went to the pool for a bit.

For dinner, we debated heading to parks and doing pizza and GF pizza at Pinnochio Village Haus, or finding something nearby outside of the parks. Kids requested Boardwalk Deli again because there were more sandwiches they wanted to try. As I mentioned, GF GF seemed very excited to have so many sandwich options at DW that she could enjoy! So DH and I went and got the food while they finished at the pool and got ready. We met in the BW lobby to eat before getting the bus.

I had the turkey sandwich and coleslaw. Very good and great value, like 11.49?! DH got meatball sub and chips. We were gonna share but they were big, so I only had a bite of his, so half a sandwich was actually a nice portion! Best value of the trip maybe.

DS and GF ordered the same exact things as us, with hers being GF of course. She wanted the bread toasted, and the app didn’t offer that, so we ordered in person. They were extremely thorough in discussing the GF meal with us, wrapped it separately with an allergy stick, etc. Wonderful!

They were a little late getting to BW lobby, so we had already eaten. They shoved it in and we just missed a bus by like a minute which was a pain. I think we got on a bus at like 6:45. I mention this because I think this 30-45 minute delay caused us to not be able to do a few rides we had intended. No big deal, but I think we just left too much for the evening with our ambitious plans.

The evening was just a whirlwind of rides, including stacked LLs. We mostly stayed together but split up here and there, so I honestly can’t really list the order. It felt much, much busier than in the morning, but we had absolutely no trouble going from ride to ride with LLs and checking the app. We did PPF, TBA, BTMRR, 7DMT, Tron, People Mover. We skipped Laugh Floor which was a bummer for DS, but he survived. Honestly, the opted for another snack at 9:15 which kinda set us back, with that ride closing at 10, and wanting to see fireworks. Old me would have talked them out of it with ice cream coming up, but new me said yes to all the snacks. DS got favorite Lunching Pad cream cheese pretzel, GF got more popcorn. Since we are not typically snackers, I knew nothing of the popcorn bucket value. Would definitely get that day 1 next time for the refills (although I know I will get stuck carrying it around!)

We watched fireworks from Tomorrowland. Kids did Dumbo while DH and I grabbed everyone ice cream at the Plaza and we watched the 11pm parade from the Plaza tables. I got a single scoop chocolate cone, GF got mint chip in a cup, DH and DS continued the tradition of a mint chip cookie sandwich, but this time they split it instead of getting their own. Again, they were so thorough with the GF order–opening a new tub in the back, giving it to us separately, etc.

We enjoyed seeing PP and Wendy fly, and GF pointed out the Tangle float and lantern to me, as she knows I am a fan. Again, that made me happy that she was taking it in, even though everyone had declared they had no interest in the parade.

GF’s favorite ride all day was TBA, but then Tron swooped in and stole the prize. My favorite was the new BTMRR. So smooth! Loved it! Now it beats 7DMT by a mile, because it is much longer in particular. DH still loves SM the best. And, I can’t remember what my son’s favorite was! I will have to ask him.

We walked out as the parade ended. A year ago, my son and I were in MK in May, and he was on the phone with his GF of several months as we walked out, and I thought it was kind of wild that a year later, we were now all walking out together. What a difference a year makes!

We decided to splurge again on Minnie Van. I am honestly not sure how crowded the buses were, as the park had cleared out some for the last 45 minutes, but we were glad to be brought right to our door. We waited about 15 min for a van, and again had a gem of a driver. Disney knows what they are doing with these folks, because I would most definitely splurge on the MV again in the future. And it does absolutely bring Swan and Dolphin into the conversation since the main downside for me is the MK transportation. Next trip I would budget more for this type of transportation, especially for a short trip. Unfortunately someone blew threw a stop sign and almost t-boned us, but stopped short. Our driver handled it well!

We were back to the resort before midnight I think. We could all rest up for our last day, Mother’s Day at DS, and flights at 6pm.

[NTEI]

Sounds like a lovely MK day!

@aemery1

we were led to the butterfly table

Oh yay - so glad this worked out for you and it was a peaceful break!

[Amyspapers]

@aemery1

new me said yes to all the snacks

I feel this! I have found that going in with a more relaxed attitude helps everyone have a better time. (Old me rushed my family from ride to ride and skipped snacks and sometimes meals).

[aemery1]

Sun May 10, Disney Springs for a few hours before departure

Everyone slept in a bit, some more than others. We had a ballpark plan of leaving at 10am, but that turned into 11am. We took the Swan bus, which came every 20 minutes (we know this because DH and I let one go as we waited for the kids.) The Swan bus to DS stopped for us first, then Dolphin guests, then Swan Reserve. Not ideal. It took probably 25 minutes total to get there and we were dropped off on the West Side. Fortunately, we were not in a hurry so it didn’t really matter. Just posting in case it helps others plan.

DS and his GF are big brunchers, but DH and I wanted Polite Pig. We had decided not to make a reservation for this day and just do what we feel like. I offered, even encouraged the kids to do their own thing, such as Frontera Cucina as they enjoy brunch and Mexican. They insisted they wanted Polite Pig too. I honestly don’t know if that was true or if they felt like they should join me for Mother’s Day. I do know DS loves PP also, but I think if the GF wanted brunch, he would have gone elsewhere.

We got in a fairly long line at PP around 11:35am, and we had both regular and allergy menus to review in the line. It moved quickly. GF was very pleased with the many GF options here. They could modify almost everything on the menu. While we were in line, the manager came out and chatted with us about the GF menu and the care they would take. GF was planning on the roasted turkey sandwich, but made a last minute change. All 3 of them went with the Layla’s ribs and a variety of sides, including: beets and goat cheese, sweet potato tots, brussel sprouts, Mac and cheese, and maybe two veggies for GF. She was sitting a bit away from me at an L shaped table so I cannot remember what she had exactly as her sides. I had the chipotle Cobb salad. I ordered the salad itself gluten free so I could share it with everyone at the table, and got crispy chicken on the side. This salad is massive and could easily serve 3 people as entrees, fyi. I was gifted a rib from each of the men, and enjoyed them. GF had lemonade too. And cornbread came with the rib dinners. There is no gluten free corn bread.

While you order at the counter here, workers check on you and bring you what you need. They were super attentive and brought us water and sauces.

The food comes out very quickly. Everyone really loved it. They do the Disney visa rewards discount, fyi.

PP was our second favorite meal of the trip I believe, after Le Cellier. In reality, we only had 3 sit down meals, if you count this as a sit down!

After lunch, DH and I got in line for Gideon’s to get cold brew for everyone, and treats to bring home. DS and GF went to shop.

It took us about 25 minutes to get in the door, which I thought was not bad at all for Mother’s Day. We got 4 original cold brews and then we of course went a bit off the rails. I couldn’t decide between the kiwi lime cake and the cookie butter cake, so of course we got both. I got DS the special lemonade blueberry cookie and the original choc chip cookie to bring home and put in the freezer. We got the same 2, plus the pistachio choc chip cookie to bring home for the freezer. The cold brews there are amazing (and gluten free, at least some of them, depending on the syrup.) The originals are perfection to me, so I don’t mess with the flavors.

When we met up after Gideon’s to give the kids their coffees, my son had a Pandora bag. I politely ignored it but hoped it might be for me. Then they grabbed a donut from Erin McKenna’s for GF, and we opened the cakes and had a few bites. DS preferred the key lime, so we gave him that one to bring on the plane, and kept the rest of the other one (spoiler, it did not make it all the way home.)

We had an hour before it was time to go back to the Swan to get our luggage. We split up and DH and I shopped World of Disney, and they went to Uniqlo, Basin and I don’t know where else. Believe it or not, I didn’t buy anything!

Unfortunately, it was time to get going. We got an Uber XL and added a stop. We headed back to Swan, got our luggage, and we were on our way. There was some traffic but we made it in plenty of time for our flights. I have to point out, this was extremely expensive. I was not expecting that. Maybe it would have been cheaper to do 2 separate Ubers, or maybe it was the XL part that was new to me, but holy cow. I will plan better for that next time.

We sadly had to say goodbye (we don’t live near each other) and DS and GF gave me Disney Pandora beads and cards for mother’s day . I always tell my DS not to buy me things, and the cards would have been plenty, but it was a very kind gesture to show their appreciation for all of the effort that went into the trip. It was very touching that they appreciated it.

The trip flew by, but I think everyone had an amazing time. I am going to ask DS what the GF really thought of DW, but she wrote “woo Disney-here’s to many more” in the card, so I think it was a hit.

One key learning is: take more photos! I never want to harass anyone to take photos, and we did get a few nice ones, but I should have taken more photos even if they were not in them. I will remember that next time!

I don’t think the 4 of us will be back anytime soon because the young folks don’t get that much time off from work, but I will already start thinking about a return sometime in the future when more of the new stuff is ready.

Thanks for all of the help, and for reading this not so brief non-trip report!

Again, happy to answer any questions if I can be of assistance.

[ChallahMonster]

Great trip report! I love all the details. You did a great job showing your son’s girlfriend how great Disney can be!

[aemery1]

Thanks so much! I definitely prefer a longer trip with more time to stop and smell the roses, but I think we made the most of the time we had. She definitely wants to see AK someday, so that is something to look forward to.

[Cinderandi]

Success! I think this trip made GF a convert.

[mammaschouten]

lol same!

[mammaschouten]

Thanks for, what ended up being a great Trip report! Very helpful as well, it’s all in the small details. Hope you guys make it back soon, especially to give AK a go. (kinda teared up there with the thoughtful Mother’s Day gift…)

[dmallan]

Thanks for sharing! I’m glad the gluten free options worked out well for GF!
We have Polite Pig on our tentative itinerary for December. It’s actually been on before, but we’ve always ended up skipping it. Glad to know the portions are big, and that we could probably split a meal.

[aemery1]

Most definitely you could split a meal, especially if you have big dessert plans elsewhere like we did! We really enjoy a lot of the Disney Springs restaurants which makes it a tough decision. However, it is nice to have a high quality, genorous portion, good value meal during the trip, and that is what PP offers. And, the food comes out quickly, another positive when you don’t feel like building your entire visit around a sit down. I hope it works out for you! I do highly recommend the salad, as you can choose from a multitude of meats to add so you can get the full PP flavor profile. Have a great trip in December!