Another Last Minute Trip to WDW!

One of the nice things about being a doctoral student and graduate research assistant is that my schedule is much more flexible than it ever was when I was a teacher.  So when I received an email last Wednesday about super cheap flights, I immediately checked to see if flights to Orlando were part of the sale.  And given that I am writing this post, it is clear that they were.  I went to campus and double checked that it would be ok for me to not go in to the office on Tuesday or Wednesday, and after getting an enthusiastic go-ahead from my professor, I booked a quick trip for my mom and me.

As you probably know, she is living with an ever-worsening lung disease, so I never want to pass up the chance to get away and just have fun.  We flew to Florida on Sunday at dinner time and got home very late on Wednesday night and we stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter.  We packed a lot of good memories into just three days!

Sunday, September 6

We arrived in to Orlando around 7:45, rented our car, and checked in at POFQ about 9:00.  Since this was a last-minute trip, we used Magic Bands we already had from one of our trips last year - Merida and Elinor.

Before we even went to our room, we hopped back in the car and drove over to Art of Animation (it is my very favorite food court) to grab some dinner.  Afterwards, we went back to POFQ, unpacked, and relaxed while I did some reading for school.

Monday, September 7

We were out the door by 9:45 for a breakfast reservation at Chef Mickey's, which is over at the Contemporary.  We were really trying to think back over the past few decades, but neither of us ever recalls eating there (and if we did, it apparently wasn't memorable).  So it was fun to experience a new restaurant and have Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto come over to our table.  My love for Pluto is well documented, so I was most excited to see him!  Breakfast was also delicious and where we sat at the window gave us a nice quiet area away from some of the boisterous behavior of our fellow diners.  We spent some time shopping and wandering before heading back to our room for some quiet/work time.

We each had a nap and then went to the food court for some beignets before heading to Downtown Disney.  Excuse me – Disney Springs.  Yes, that's its new name and that's the name on many of the signs around the property (although the buses still read Downtown Disney).  I have written before about what a mess Downtown Disney is right now as well as my extreme dislike of the buses.  In this case, the headache involved with driving to and parking at Downtown Disney trumped my typical avoidance of the buses, so we took the bus over there to do some shopping.  The most exciting find of the evening was a new pen – it's Zero from The Nightmare Before Christmas!  That is far from my favorite movie, but I love the character for very obvious reasons.

After DD, we went over to Wilderness Lodge for a drink at Territory Lounge.  While this has quickly become one of my favorite spots at WDW, I was pretty disappointed to learn they no longer have truffle fries.  What is happening?  Why, Territory Lounge?  WHY?  They were soooooooooooo delicious!  Now they have truffle popcorn.  I guess it was fine, but after truffle fries, truffle popcorn really didn't stand a chance.  Not an improvement.  I felt like Delores Umbridge from Harry Potter…"progress for progress's sake must be discouraged."  Nonetheless, I still love it there and will definitely go back in spite of the now gaping hole in their menu.

King Arthur?

Thumper?

Tuesday, September 8

We found ourselves back at Wilderness Lodge on Tuesday morning because we had breakfast at Whispering Canyon Café.  Not only was the food amazing, but the service was outstanding.  The other nice thing was that it was abundantly clear that Labor Day weekend was over, because the restaurant was almost empty and the resort itself seemed fairly deserted.

We spent the day at Magic Kingdom and it was not very crowded at all, which made for a very relaxing day.  The Halloween decorations are up, which is super awesome because I love fall and the decorations just make the park even more beautiful than usual.  We had such a lovely time together, snacking and wandering around all day.  We had lunch at Pinocchio's Village Haus, and every other time I've been in there, it has always seemed like a madhouse where everyone is desperately trying to find a table.  Not this time!  I would estimate that the restaurant was only about one-fourth full, which allowed me to roam around and take photos of the adorable decorations around the restaurant, and I was able to make a wish in the Blue Fairy's book, which is something I've never done before.  So cute.

The Aristocats

Wednesday, September 9

Unfortunately, we had to pack and check out before our breakfast reservation, but our flight wasn't until 9:15 pm, so we had the entire day for fun.  We started off with breakfast at the Polynesian, at Kona Café because my mom had never had Tonga Toast before.  The food was awesome, but the service was atrocious.  Seriously, it was some of the worst service I've experienced at Disney World.  Sadly, this seems to be a problem at Kona Café, because C and I have had terrible service there on several different occasions.  I am really not impressed with this place and don't think I'll return there, since you can get Tonga Toast at Captain Cook's.  Nonetheless, the Polynesian is gorgeous and I loved my company, so really what more can I ask for?

We took the monorail to Epcot and had a great day.  One exception, and we experienced this at both MK and at Epcot, was enduring the rudeness of other guests who use their flash on dark rides.  TURN OFF YOUR FLASH!  YOU ARE RUINING THE RIDE FOR EVERYONE ELSE!  So incredibly inconsiderate.  This is not a new phenomenon, but oh my word, it aggravates me.  However, it was still a fabulous day with very short wait times and lots of sunshine!

Our last stop was back at the Polynesian for Dole Whip Floats before heading to the airport.  Yum!

Tangled

Final Thoughts

I was UNpleasantly surprised to have several interactions with cast members who were less than stellar:

- There was a trivia question I was trying to answer (What three Disney animated classics do NOT feature humans?) and I had come up with two of the answers (Bambi, The Lion King).  I was looking for a hint for the third movie, so I asked if the third movie was released before or after The Lion King, and the cast member's response was, "Well, if I know my Disney movie history, I think it might have come out before The Lion King."  As she was talking, I realized what the third movie was, so I said, "Robin Hood?" and she said, "That's right!"  Ummmmmmm…HELLO?!?  The Lion King came out in 1994 and Robin Hood came out in 1973.  There's no "might" about it.  Sorry, but NO, you do NOT know your Disney movie history.

- When we checked into POFQ, the cast member was not friendly and was somewhat argumentative with my mom and me.  One, that is unprofessional.  Two, that does not set a positive tone for our stay.  Three, we are not uninformed ding-dongs; we are very frequent visitors and we know what we are talking about and you are new to your job.  Don't argue!  If you're not sure, please go and check with your supervisor, but don't argue!  Not happy with that exchange.  Sorry, but we were right and you were wrong.

- Sometimes the Starbucks employees are so awesome and take their time to write the names I request on the cups very neatly.  That did not happen this time as you can see in the photos above.  I was most annoyed with the Tinker Bell cup because I had just purchased a Tinker Bell bracelet and wanted a cute picture and you can see how the name was written.  Not magical!

- I purchased a bag at Wilderness Lodge, but when I got back to POFQ, I realized the cast member had failed to remove the security tag from it for me.  I decided to go over to the shop at POFQ to explain what had happened and ask them to remove the tag so I wouldn't have to go back over to WL.  When I started talking, the cast member at POFQ asked me if Wilderness Lodge was at Animal Kingdom.  When I told her no, she asked if it was in Animal Kingdom Lodge.  I said no, that WL was its own resort and she said, "Oh, so it's not a Disney resort?"  WHAT on Earth.  How do you work at a resort and not at least know the names of the other resorts?!?  I told her it was a resort near Magic Kingdom and she just took me at my word and removed the security tag without further discussion.

Despite these few irritating events, the overwhelming majority of the cast members were fantastic and my mom and I had a wonderful time together!  I've said it before, but when you have the chance to do something fun and spontaneous, just go for it!  Life is short!

Happy Tails to you!