Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Trip Report Tuesday: Throwback Edition // 20th Wedding Anniversary WDW Trip Day 8 (Final Full Day)


Happy Trip Report Tuesday, friends!  Today I'll be recapping the final full & fabulous day of this terrific trip.  Let's get right to those Disney deets!

Day 8 - Friday, November 16, 2018

On this fantastic final Friday of vacay we gave ourselves the gift of a leisurely, laid back start to the day.  How did I spend that marvelous morning?  Savoring a few of my favorite things - spending time with my hubby, looking over the thingamabobs  I'd picked up throughout our adventures and snapping pics to preserve the Disney haul of it all.  Last, but certainly not least,  gazing out at that glorious savanna view.  Now I can share a bit of that all with you too!


Here's a peek at my Disney vacay haul!




Buttery and cute, these cookies make my tastebuds and heart happy!



Rice Krispy Mickey Pops for home


Aren't these sweet Mickey gingerbread straws the cutest?!



I'm a big fan of souvenirs that are both cute and useful.  These very merry coasters add a fun festive touch to our Christmasy coffee table and a reminder of an extra special trip.  What a wonderful win!

I simply couldn't wait until we got home to put these babies to use.  My favorite oh so merry coaster went to work serving me well right there in our Disney Vacation Club home first! 


One of our kitchen cupboards is filled with a collection of Tervis tumblers and this is still one of my favorites!  Does anyone else immediately start singing "One little spark of inspiration..." at the sight of fun little Figment?



I love when the Parks have tote bags as the "spend (a certain amount of money) and you can purchase this (way too cute to resist) tote at a lower (actually reasonable) price" deal.  This one has since held gifts, road trip essentials, and made me smile at the mere sight of it in my closet.  If you were here for the last trip report you've already heard enough of my swooning over this perfect-for-me Disney Dooney.  Love.

Side note:  The sweet sleigh riding Mickey and Minnie hand sanitizer was from a previous trip.  It matches my Christmas Disney Dooney.  These are a few of my favorite things. :D 



I love running this resort channel throughout our stay!  Happy sigh!


Buttons and a Mickey anniversary card totally belong in a Disney haul, right?  While "freebies" are few and far between when Disney is involved, sometimes the things that don't cost a dime can be every bit as special as pricy souvenirs.  Since any surface is sweeter with a dash of foil Mickey confetti, I couldn't resist sprinkling a few from our anniversary dinner table in our hotel room too.  

I started counting down to Christmas from our hotel room immediately. :)


Our Animal Kingdom "20" magnet and ornament - 20th Anniversary trip souvenir perfection!



I think I enjoy looking at the zebra chairs on the savanna view balconies almost as much as sitting upon them to look out at actual zebras.  They're perfect.



It was to be a wonderfully cool and sweetly sunny day ahead!

As lunchtime drew near we made our way to Magic Kingdom for the remainder of the morning.
















The progression of selfies snapped as we waited to disembark our ferryboat . . .







Me, unsure that we got any that weren't super squinty in the bright sunlight.  Jason, wondering how many selfies can one snap in a single setting.  Haha!  

We entered to find the Main Street Trolley Show stepping in time.  I can't think of a sweeter way to start time at Magic Kingdom than this.  Dressed in their Christmas finest, they stirred my heart with every note and twirl!




























Lunch at The Plaza




A couple smiley selfies with the castle as we awaited our buzzer notifying us that a table was prepared for Platt party of two.




We started with the shared scrumptiousness of Plaza Loaded Fries.  To be honest, these fab fries were what drew me here for our first meal at the Plaza the trip prior.  They're basically a cheesy BLT in fry form.  Yum!


I followed those up with their baked honey-barbecued macaroni and cheese.  Jason opted for a cheesesteak sandwich.  I took a peek at their current menu to help jog my memory about what exactly these were called.  It appears that neither of these items are among their current offerings.  Jason and I happened to order these exact entrees when we visited a few months earlier so I nabbed the names from that trip report. (Yet another way documenting Disney deets in TRT form has come in handy. :))




Their signature chocolate cake is a Plaza must (for me).


In all honesty our experience at this meal wasn't the best.  The cast member who served us, we'll just say wasn't having his finest day.  The tables in the section where we were seated during this visit were incredibly close (a little too close for comfort really) making it all but impossible not to overhear problems happening at a table just a few feet away.  He wasn't the kindest to us either.  I think he attempted to hide how disgruntled he was feeling, but his displeasure with every little thing seemed to show through in tone even when he'd try to mask it with words that said otherwise.  It was a bit of an uncomfortable meal, due to that and other guests' unhappiness dining around us.  However, I was seated just across the table from my man and having some cheese and chocolate (my two favorite food groups ;)), so it definitely could've been worse.  I only mention this out of a desire to paint an honest picture of things.  Sometimes pretty pics can hide what was actually happening all around that camera (or phone)'s lens.  It was an okay meal, but it left me less than eager to return.  We really could've talked to a manager and I'm sure they would've done something to compensate for the experience, but it was our last Magic Kingdom day and we really just wanted to move on.  That we did.

Something that never fails to make my heart happy is a ride on Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress!  For anyone who doesn't know about this ride, it was created by Walt Disney himself and originally made its debut at the 1964 New York World's Fair.  It called Disneyland home from '67 - '73 and then moved to Magic Kingdom in 1975.  There have been changes made to this attraction in the years since its creation, yet the concept came straight from Walt himself which is one reason this attraction earned a special place in my heart years ago.  It's a forever favorite for me!  


As we exited this ride something very sweet happened!  A gal approached and asked if it'd be okay to say, "Hello"?  It turned out that she and her mother who were there vacationing from England watch our family's Disney YouTube Channel Eat, Sleep, Dis, Repeat!  They looked around and asked where our girls were.  I explained that we were vacationing in celebration of our 20th anniversary, so they were back home with their grandparents.  We enjoyed a sweet little chat, snapped a photo with them, and parted ways smiling.  It was really fun timing.  You see, at lunch Jason and I had just been talking about how odd it was that we hadn't run into any YouTubers while there!  Usually we see several.  I'll link a couple of the many examples of that.  Here's a trip report from when we met Joe and Ashley from See Ya Reel Soon during our 2013 trip and The Tim (& Jenn) Tracker at the DVC party in 2017.  We've bumped into and enjoyed fantastic chats with several others over the years too, but this trip, none.  Then less than an hour later after saying how weird it was that we'd met no YouTubers this trip, we got to be the YouTubers that someone else met on their vacation.  I couldn't have been happier for that sweet and unexpected met up with subscribers from across the pond.  

Pirates is traditionally our last Magic Kingdom ride of the trip.  Yo ho! Yo ho!  This pic also makes me happy! :



I adore all things Mickey balloon and had never spotted these popcorn buckets in the Parks prior to this fantastic Friday morn.  I knew they were out there, but I'd always missed them.  It made my day to get this beauty filled with buttery freshly popped Disney popcorn on our way out of the park!  It was such a wonderful and magical morning!


Back to our home sweet vacation home for a bit.




Have I mentioned how much we enjoy that savanna view?


Time to head back out for an evening at Epcot!

The exit at our resort is a good reminder that Disney magic is in the details and theming. :)







The Epcot entrance looked so cute all decked at for Christmas with cutest lit'l critters donning caps and scarves admiring their own tiny tree!






Disney windows make me smile.



Love that Christmas glow!

The first ride of our final night also happens to be a personal fave, Soarin'!






Next up, Spaceship Earth.

















Eye spy my hubby and I!

Following a float through The Seas with Nemo and Friends I strolled with my all-things-underwater-loving hubby through the aquariums.






Shopping throughout World Showcase without my girls always leads to snapping pics of cute pieces to share with them.  These cuties that made me think of my own cuties were spotted in China.






Dinner at La Hacienda de San Angel

We made dinner reservations here for two reasons.  First, we saw the food featured in a YouTube video and thought it looked scrumptious and second, IllumiNations was coming to an end and we thought this would be a fun place to enjoy it one last time.
























We followed the complimentary chips and salsa with an appetizer we'd heard great things about, their Crema de  Elote soup.  This creamy corn soup was beyond delicious!  If I'd stopped eating following my final spoonful of this goodness I would've said it alone was worth the reservation!  




Jason ordered a house specialty, Pescado del Día.  It's a seared snapper with mole verde, poblano gratin potatoes, and roasted asparagus.  I paused to ask his thoughts on this dish as I prep this post, he said he doesn't remember it being bad, so he'd say it was decent.  I take that as it was unmemorable.  Ha!


I went with Costillas en Salsa de Chile (braised short ribs on pureed potatoes).  I remember loving it!  Sadly I no longer see the entree I enjoyed, nor the incredible soup, on their current menu.  Why do restaurants fix what's not broken and in the process break my heart? Ok, that's a bit overdramatic, but I was quite disappointed to see that my next meal there will be sans one of the best soups I've ever savored.


Dinner was delightful and the view. first at the table ;) ...then out the window, was spectacular!  This restaurant with the wonderful wall of gorgeous glass as the only barrier between us and the sparks flying over World Showcase Lagoon made for a fantastic final viewing of IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth.




















Looking back at this trip something has become apparent.  While in everyday life I don't take many selfies, on special days (anniversaries and endings) I take a lot.  Here's another batch just outside the restaurant, my hubby and I with wide smiles, full tummies, and happy hearts!












I love this not-so-snowy, yet super glowy, snowman!



Goofy & Donald

My favorite guy with a beautiful backdrop





This pixie dusted sidewalk always makes my heart light!


Thank you so much for visiting today!  I'll be back, Lord willing, sharing our final morning at the parks, and our travel tales this time next week!  I invite you to meet me here then!


4 comments:

  1. 60 degrees at Disney sounds amazing! When I see Figment, I sing Imagination. Great pictures of the Trolley show! And just seeing all the pictures made me smile this morning!

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    1. I'm so glad that this post made you smile, Dara! Your comment brightened my day too! Thank you! :D

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  2. Loved this recap! We ate at the Plaza on our first trip and had a similar experience. I think it's good to point out that Disney is awesome but it's not heaven. LOL. There are still things you have to push through and choose to move past in your day, otherwise you can get bent out of shape. :) You gave the perfect example of how to do just that!

    It's SO fun that someone recognized you and came up to chat! I've always been on the lookout for vloggers but haven't ever noticed any on our trips. Tim and Jenn are some of my favorite Disney YouTubers and were especially helpful before we went earlier this year.

    Can't wait for next week's post! :)

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    1. Well said, sweet friend! Even the most magical place on earth is still not heaven. :D It was so much fun being on the opposite end of that enjoyable and unexpected meet up! As for some of our mutual fave YouTubers, Tim and Jenn, after having watched them as a family for years it was such a treat to chat with them (a few years back) and see that they are every bit as genuine and nice in person as you'd expect from their videos. Thanks so much for the sweet comment, friend!

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