Posted at 6:04 pm by taryngirl, on February 11, 2020
November 2018
On our arrival day, we only had dinner planned and no parks. Since the trip was planned well within 180 days, we had slim pickings for a dinner reservation! We didn’t want to use a park day, so were limited to resorts or Disney Springs.
Ale & Compass was available and since we were staying at the Boardwalk, it was very convenient. To get to the Yacht Club, you can either take a short walk, or take the boat. Either way, it’s super easy!
All of the Christmas decorations were up, and it was really beautiful at night!
We arrived and checked in at the podium and they informed us they were running about an hour behind. WE WERE STARVING! So this was not good news for us. But we stuck it out. We walked around the lobby and to the store.
A quick stop at the Market to check out the menu. This is the Yacht Club’s quick service option. Just a note the menu is super limited and there are limited tables to sit here to eat!
Some of the holiday items at the store:
They finally buzzed us and our waiter was apologetic about the wait. They had an extensive wine list:
I had read so much about the Parker House Rolls and Spreads, so I had to order them!
They were reallllyyyy good, and all of the spreads were good in their own way too!
Megan ordered the Catch of the Day:
The rest of us ordered the Bacon and Vermont Cheddar Burger. This was also really good!
I would definitely eat here again!
After dinner, we walked over to the Beach Club lobby to look at the gingerbread display. It really is amazing! It’s carousel that actually moves. There are hidden Mickey’s on it also, so you can look for them!
And Megan wasn’t really leaving until she found them all…
Posted at 2:51 pm by taryngirl, on December 11, 2019
August 2018
On our departure day, we had some time to kill, so we hopped on the monorail and made a stop at the Polynesian and the Grand Floridian. The Grand Floridian is so…..GRAND! I absolutely love the lobby. At any given time there may be live music, it smells so good, and the decor is amazing. I had been wanting to try the quick service option, Gasparilla Island Grill, so that was our choice for a meal. To get to the restaurant, you actually walk through the lobby and exit the back doors.
The “food area” is u-shaped. On the left you can get pastries and order specialty coffees.
Straight ahead is the “hot” section. Sandwiches, pizzas, etc.
And then on the right you can get cold sandwiches or salads.
This is Kinsey’s kid pizza, and not pictured is the Artisan Burger. I forgot to get a picture! Everything was really good and I would definitely return here to eat again for lunch or dinner.
One other note…there is both indoor and outdoor seating here. It was way too hot to sit outside, but it would be very pleasant if the weather was normal. The scenery is really nice!
Arrival at this resort was very easy. There is a guard to enter the parking lot. We parked at lobby area to unload and to check in. Parking spots for those staying in the Inn building are underneath this building.
Here is the check-in desk. (I was able to get pictures of a nearly deserted lobby when my daughter and I woke up super early to walk on the beach.)
These are the doors to exit out the back of the property. This can lead to the pool or beach, or the Villa buildings. Above the doors you can see the Green Cabin Room where they serve cocktails and lighter snacks. This was closed for a private event the night that we were here.
More of the waiting area and Island Grove Packing Company, which is the shop. They also have DVD movies here that you can borrow, which we did because it rained during the afternoon!
This is a fun area for the kids! There are video games, tablets, tv, and smaller chairs.
This little area dedicated to Disney Vacation Club (we are members) is nice!
Inside the glass containers are shells past guests have found on the beach. You can write on them and stick them in the jars!
Looking up from the lobby.
From the 3rd floor balcony.
They have this fun photo opp. near the entrance to the restaurant. (I told my kids to act like they were on the beach…apparently this is what they do??!!)
This sign was also posted in the lobby. And it is in fact true! We ended up with a few bites from our morning walk on the beach but didn’t see them until the next day.
Another thing I LOVE about this resort, is how it caters to families! This area is through the lobby and on the way to the spa. It has a lending library, where you can take/leave a book, puzzles, and tables with game boards on them. To play the games, just visit the front desk for the pieces!
I worked on a puzzle, while my family played Jenga and made some new friends. There were several other families hanging out in this area.
Inside the shop, and in the quick service food area, they had boards like this for pin trading like you can do in the parks!
Also snapped a quick pic of the Little Mermaid Dooney & Bourke that were available here.
Onto the beach! There are chair/umbrella rentals, as well as some water sport rentals.
We spent most of our time during this trip at the pool.
It has a really fun slide that is the same as the one at Old Key West!
I’ll say it again…WE LOVE IT HERE! And I can’t wait to get back with some family and friends!
Back during our August trip, my oldest could not go along with us due to her soccer schedule. I felt terrible about it! Sooooo, we had some DVC points left and I scheduled a quick Friday through Monday trip with her best friend for her 13th birthday in November. It was a total surprise! Here is the reveal:
I should have kept taping, they were crying tears of joy!
11/23/18
Our flight was the day after Thanksgiving. We were staying at the Boardwalk Villas in a Studio the first night, and then a 1 Bedroom for the next two nights. A quick trip on the Magical Express…
We arrived around 6:30 p.m. to our resort. We had dinner reservations at Ale & Compass, so the plan was to drop things off in the room and freshen up some.
I have a subscription to Touring Plans, and through that had requested a specific room. I requested 4055 and we got:
All Studio Villas have a small kitchenette area that includes a coffee maker, microwave, small fridge, toaster and sink. This is super convenient for quick breakfasts in the room.
One Queen bed with a pull out sofa.
And a twin size bed pulls down underneath the t.v. The table collapses. This is big enough for a small adult to sleep on!
Here’s a quick video of the view from our balcony!
I love this view! This is considered a Garden/Pool View, but as you can see, we can see the boardwalk and the lake. We also could see the fireworks perfectly from here which you will see in a future post!
Posted at 12:00 pm by taryngirl, on April 12, 2019
2/27/19
Because we were near the front of Epcot, we opted for the bus to take us to Hollywood Studios vs. walking to the back of Epcot and getting on the boat to DHS. So we waited, and waited, and waited. A bus finally came! It was also raining at this point. BUT…we were headed to ride Slinky Dog!
Here you can see the Disney Skyliner system that is under construction. It is scheduled to open this fall!
Once inside we headed directly to Slinky Dog Dash to use our FP+. From there, we stood in line for 20-30 minutes so I could do Toy Story Midway Mania! On the way out of Toy Story Land, we stopped to check out The Incredibles at Pixar Place. This is set to be in place on Pixar Place until September 30th. There’s a dance party, character meet and greets including Edna Mode, and some special treats for purchase. They also have a really awesome “Wall of Disney!”
You can see they do have some items that are snacks on the Dining Plan.
Chrissy was getting hungry, so we made our way to Baseline Tap House. Neither of us had ever been here!
(The currently closed ride.)
They have a limited food menu here. But all options that pair nicely with beer!
Chrissy ordered a beer flight. And I ordered the Black Cherry Soda, which apparently I forgot to take a picture of!
This was all REALLY GOOD! And I would definitely come here for a quick snack and drink. The outdoor seating is really nice and the atmosphere cozy.
There was one more show for the Frozen Sing Along, and we decided to hit it on the way out! We were almost in the front row and the show was less than half full. Our favorite actor was there so that definitely made it fun!
After breakfast at All Star Movies, we headed to Epcot. We got there around 11:30 a.m. We were in no rush. We had some FP+ scheduled and were really having a leisurely day.
We noticed that Spaceship Earth had been down all morning, but when we walked through the gates they must have just opened up. So we hopped right on it with no wait! It was my most unusual ride this time. Our car was very jerky and squeaky, and our little interactive screen on the way down wasn’t working correctly.
From there we needed to head to our Frozen Ever After FP+. We cut through the walkway to the left and got some good views of the scenery being set up for the Flower & Garden Festival.
It really was a perfect day weather wise!
We didn’t eat here, but I snapped a quick picture of the current Quick Service Menu at La Cantina de San Angel. This is located right on the water outside of the Mexico pavilion.
This is the menu for the Mexico table service restaurant that is open for dinner, La Hacienda de San Angel. This is located outside of the Mexico pavilion on the water, and is only open for dinner.
Much to our delight, some of the topiaries were up! In Norway:
After riding Frozen Ever After, we were deciding what we wanted to eat for lunch. We planned to snack around at some quick service places, but we weren’t TOO hungry yet. We had eaten in China last time and I LOVED IT! So that was on my mind…
We took a quick jaunt through the shops here. It’s one of my favorite…maybe because I am part Chinese? Maybe because I love what they offer? I’m not sure!
When exiting out the back, we came across this neat find:
I was trying to ask the man questions, but he was taking pictures and trying to get people to purchase. I didn’t know if it was a temporary thing, part of Flower & Garden that would be starting, etc. Later on, he actually was carrying one through the Lotus Blossom and showing people who were eating there.
Of course I decided I wanted to eat at the Lotus Blossom Cafe. This was the current menu at the time. It had different things on it since we had eaten there in January!
I went with the Beef Noodle Mongolian Style. This has a little kick, so be aware! But it was so good!
After that, we continued through the countries until it was time to head to our Nemo FP+. We took the boat back to the other side.
We had time before our FP+ and wanted to shop, so we went to MouseGear first. This is one of my favorite shops anywhere! (I made a purchase but had absolutely NO room left to take anything back since I only had a backpack. I had it shipped directly to my house for somewhere around $7!)
After our Nemo FP+ we went over to the Land pavilion for a snack. On the way down to Sunshine Seasons, we stopped at this little counter area at the exit of the Living With the Land ride. They had these super cute plants!
If I had space in my luggage, I would have purchased one of these! It’s the perfect gift for my youngest daughter, and so neat to think we have a piece of “the Land” in our home!
We were in the dessert mood, and couldn’t decide between these two things:
A fabulous piece of Carrot Cake.
A Whoopie Pie.
The Carrot Cake was the for sure winner! It was SO GOOD. Moist and amazing frosting. The Whoopie Pie was just ehhhh. I doubt I would get it again.
We had one more FP+ to use here at Journey Into Imagination With Figment. As soon as we used it, Chrissy was on the app securing another FP+. We decided to head over to Hollywood Studios because she was able to get SLINKY DOG DASH!!!
In case you wondered…here are three different flavors of popcorn located near the entrance to Figment! To my knowledge, you can get the refills in your bucket with these flavors.
We stopped at Guest Services on the way to the bus to Hollywood Studios to see if they still had any Figment magnets for Annual Passholders…SCORE! They did. We did have to show our AP and he did look us up online.
I really try to eat Mickey waffles every time I go to Disney. This trip was no different! I checked the online menus before staying here and was super happy to see them listed!
We were heading to Epcot today and weren’t in a super hurry. We had some FP+, but they were for later and we weren’t planning on rope dropping anything.
We stopped at the food court on the way to the bus stop.
Here are the various menus for the different “windows.”
There really is something for everyone. They also have the grab and go cases available, cereal, bagels, pastries, etc.
Chrissy opted for one of the Breakfast Flatbread Pizzas and a side of Potato Barrels. I tried a bite and it was yummy!
This is my go-to meal. Mickey Waffles with Sausage (no bacon, so extra sausage) and Breakfast Potatoes. SO GOOD! I don’t know what it is about Disney sausage, but it’s my absolute favorite. Especially with the waffles.
I would also have this the next day for breakfast…
The V.I.Passholder Event is the entire reason we took this quick trip! It was advertised we could check in from 6:30 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. However, we noticed this set up in Fantasyland and had a chat with the Cast Members. They said we could check in starting at 5:00 p.m. So we did! There were a few different check in areas around the park so we didn’t have to go all the way out to the entrance to get our wristbands.
They actually were having technical difficulties with the iPads that were scanning our Annual Passes or MagicBands. She ended up having to manually input our numbers.
You can see the time of the even was 10:00 p.m. until midnight officially.
After we got our wristbands, we headed to use our next FP+ that Chrissy secured immediately after Winnie the Pooh. This would make FP+ #5 for the day. It’s a Small World!
I swear I see something different every time I ride this!
Right after we scanned in to the ride, my friend secured our 6th FP+…Pirates of the Caribbean.
We were getting hungry for dinner, and we had discussed previously that neither of us had ever eaten at Casey’s Corner! So that’s where we decided to go. It’s located on the corner at the end of Main Street, and you can definitely smell it when you walk past! We knew we were going to share something and decided on…
Buffalo Chicken Loaded Fries (These were AMAZING! I loved them!)
Footlong Chili Cheese Dog (Also AMAZING!)
The fries were so good. I can’t imagine Buffalo chicken on a hot dog though! I despise the yellow squeeze cheese. So was super happy that this was shredded cheese on the top! This was plenty of food for two of us. They did allow us to upgrade from regular fries that come with the meal, to the specialty fries for a slight uncharge.
From dinner we headed to Adventureland. We had a little bit of time to kill before our FP+ at Pirates, so we went into Tortuga Tavern to have a seat and do some work on our phones. It was starting to become a more regular rain so we had to poncho up! (I never take a Disney vacation without a poncho.)
After Pirates, we hit our 7th FP+ Splash Mountain. It had started raining and we were wet anyway, and we had ponchos to wear the entire time! So off we went.
After Splash Mountain, we headed towards the castle. We had reservations for the After Fireworks Dessert Party, so we had to check in first at Tomorrowland Terrace.
We received our wristbands and were escorted to one of the grassy areas.
Even though it was raining, the fireworks were still amazing!
After checking out the room, we headed to the bus stop. There were only 2 other people in the bus line for Magic Kingdom.
We arrived around 1:30 p.m. The weather was perfect! A little overcast, not raining yet!
We made our way towards Tomorrowland. We originally were going to ride the Peoplemover, but the line was ridiculously long! So we skipped it and hit Carousel of Progress instead.
Next we hit Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin with our first FP+.
We both hit some great targets! And got stuck in the Zurg room.
From there we decided to get a snack on the way to our next FP+. I had been eyeing some new ice cream cones that were announced!
They had just added a new cone here called the Hei Hei cone, which I just had to have. My friend opted for this masterpiece, which has also been on my snack list forever!
Pineapple Upside Down Cake with Dole Whip! You can pick vanilla, pineapple or swirl.
I had a bite and it was really delicious.
Hei Hei Cone–pineapple dole whip with raspberry soft serve in a blue cone.
This was good. It was a little more sour than I was expecting! But it was still good. We found a spot in Frontierland to watch the Festival of Fantasy Parade that was going on.
After the parade, we headed to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to use our FP+. Then, for the first time since the new presidency, we checked out the Hall of Presidents. My friend, who is a history lover had never seen it and she was excited!
Onto our third FP+…the Haunted Mansion.
Right after we scanned through with our FP+, we secured a 4th FP+.
We took a quick jaunt through Fantasyland and went straight for Pooh to use our 4th FP+.
I had to check out the shop that has tons of ears! I love these Small World ones!
We made our way to the room after lunch, so we could drop off some stuff from our backpacks, and to get good pictures and videos of the room! Prior to the trip, I had requested a specific room through Touring Plans. I really wanted a refurbished room and had read that they for sure were finished with the Love Bug section, so I chose one there facing the “garden” area vs. the parking lot.
This was the Love Bug section:
Our room was in this specific section, but not facing this courtyard area, rather we were facing the parking lot. It was no big deal at all though…WE GOT A REFURBED ROOM!
The sleeping area. The table folds down when you pull the queen sized Murphy bed down. It’s a regular mattress!
The beverage center.
That door slides closed to section off the bathroom sink area.
Separate toilet and shower area with another sliding door.
Property map
Some other pictures from around the resort.
The Fantasia section
The pool
The pool bar
The arcade
Overall I was very pleased with this resort! I’ve never stayed at any of the All Stars. I was expecting it to be completely crowded with people and noisy. It was the opposite! I wouldn’t hesitate to stay here again in the off season, or for a quick trip!
Taryn Travels 