Balancing Parks, Rest and Birthdays! A July 2023 Trip Report

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Enjoy it while you can. It does go by too fast.

I know!!! We need to start looking at colleges for Morgan next year!?! Eek!

Ronto Wrap is my go to.

Now I want to make them at home...

I feel like the kids can be really chatty during those drives, and I'm pretty sure I've learned some things about their social lives that they wouldn't have thought to share otherwise.

It is so true. Something about being in the car lets them feel free to say anything. I can have a more meantinful converstation in a 5 minute drive than an hour at home.

Oh boy, I'm glad you managed to get the Wumpa before park close! That had to be a little stressful when you're allll the way over on RNRC and see the time ticking down.

It was! Morgan got her heart set on it. And we would be back but it would have been a pain to carry it around.

Looks like you had an awesome day!!

It was a good day. And I think Gwen had a good day. Which was my goal.

We moved from Texas to the Midwest last year so this is my first winter in a really long time. January felt like it would never end!

I can imagine that it is a HUGE difference! Don't worry March can sometimes feel like an eternity as well.

Nice job stacking! That has to be really nice going into a park in the evening with multiple LLs ready to go.

I love the rewards of stacking but hate having to think about it when I am trying to relax. You know? It's a love hate things now.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Rest Day #2

Today was our second full rest day. We had a big day planned for the next day. So the goal today was DEF to relax!
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We had no alarm and slept in.

WiFi was being very wonky this morning. Gwen had been watching Miraclous when it was on the Disney Channel. Morgan wanted to download the last season. But it wasn’t working in the room. So, around 10:30 she came with me to use the wifi in the lobby.

Daisy

Daisy
We found some friends hanging out in the lobby.

Daisy & Morgan not caring
Morgan was more conserned about her mission than Miss Daisy. She did say they came over and she said "hi" to her...

Morgan sat in the lobby while I went into the store. I got 2 orange juices for tomorrow, 2 bags of cheddar popcorn to bring home. Nail clippers (what I was looking for) and a Happy to Be Here Coffee mug.

Dale

Dale's Tail

During our walk, Morgan and I talked about the meals we still have planned. And we talked about what we wanted to do the day after my birthday. I had a reservation for the Biergarten but sausage just didn’t sound appealing at this point in the trip. We talked about switching to Via Napoli or something for dinner, so we could rest in the morning.

So, back in the room, I canceled Beirgarten. And booked Via Napoli at 5:00 PM. I was surprised that I was able to so easily. But it sounds like a better plan.

Andy went for a walk while me and Morgan were gone, he walked around the resort and saw Riveria. We really hadn't gone to it yet.

We all showered, watched shows and just relaxed.

Finally, Morgan and Gwen FINALLY checked out the Tinkerbell gifts before we left for lunch.
Checking Out Tinkerbell Gifts

Towels!
Today was beach towels... I HAD thought we would swim today....

We decided to go to Riveria for lunch.
Leaving Room
So, we headed to the skyliner to use that instead of walking.

Skyliner Station
We were so close to the station that this was soo easy!

Skyliner

Riveria
10 Minutes and we were already here.

Fountain at Riveria

Riveria Fountain
Andy's sister loves this resort, so we wanted to check it out!

Riveria Peter Pan Mosaic
We of course checked out the beautiful mosaics.

Riviera Rapuzel Mosiac

Riveria Rapunzel Mosaic

Rapuzel's Tower

We headed to the Primo Piatto for lunch. You order your food when you walk in, they give you a number and then they will bring the food to you. So, it is a little nicer than a food court.

So, we ordered our food and found a table by the windows.

Gwen ordered the Kids Pizza and double grapes and a bottle of water
Kids Pizza double grapes
This was a bit hard to get her to choose as she was Hangry when we ordered. But it hit the spot for her once she got food in her belly.

Morgan ordered the Sausage and pepperoni pizza and a bottle of water

Sausage and Pepperoni​

Fresh Artisan Hearth-baked Pizza topped with Tomato Sauce, Italian Sausage, Pepperoni, Provolone, and Grated Parmesan
She said she was crazing pizza. So, she was happy with this.
Meat Pizza
I want to say that the sauce was a little sweet. Which I feel like Disney likes to do for some reason but us northerns don't really like. But it was a solid pizza.

Andy ordered the

Grilled Chicken Sandwich​

Balsamic-marinated Grilled Chicken with a Sun-dried Tomato Relish, Spinach-Artichoke Spread, and Mozzarella on Toasted Focaccia served with a choice of Side
Chicken Sandwich
His sandwich was really good. He liked it ALOT!

I ordered the

Spicy Italian Sandwich​

Sliced Capicola, Salami, Ham, Provolone, and Vegetable Giardiniera with a Garlic-Mayonnaise served with a choice of Side
Italian Sandwich
The photo doesn't do justice to this sandwich... This was REALLY good. It was good italian meats and there was some oil and vinegar on the sandwich as well.

We were all pleased with our lunch. It was all nothing special but all really good "regular" food. Which I think is what we were craving at this point in the trip. So, it was perfect.

Once we were done eating, we explored the resort a little more.

I made the girls pretend to play the giant chess.
Chess

Chess

We went inside and checked out the gift shop. It was smaller than I thought it was going to be.

Checked out some of the photos in the hallways.
Walt Photo

Walt with Penquins Photo

We liked the resort but it felt almost too fancy for us. I don't know, I guess Yacht Club is fancy too.

Either way, we had a good lunch, and headed back to relax in the room.

I don't think we bothered swimming today. Maybe Andy and I went to the quiet pool. But I think Morgan and Gwen just showered and did teen ager vegging. I typed up a “check list” for our goals for tomorrow.

At some point the WiFi wasn’t working this afternoon. Thankfully it was only like an hour before we had to leave. And didn’t come back till we came back from dinner. Not sure what was going on with the weifi that day, but we didn't have any issue after today.

Up next a Hoop Dee Doo Good Time! (with friends!)

 

[SEAGULL59]

Rest Day #2

Today was our second full rest day. We had a big day planned for the next day. So the goal today was DEF to relax!
Untitled

We had no alarm and slept in.

WiFi was being very wonky this morning. Gwen had been watching Miraclous when it was on the Disney Channel. Morgan wanted to download the last season. But it wasn’t working in the room. So, around 10:30 she came with me to use the wifi in the lobby.

Daisy

Daisy
We found some friends hanging out in the lobby.

Daisy & Morgan not caring
Morgan was more conserned about her mission than Miss Daisy. She did say they came over and she said "hi" to her...

Morgan sat in the lobby while I went into the store. I got 2 orange juices for tomorrow, 2 bags of cheddar popcorn to bring home. Nail clippers (what I was looking for) and a Happy to Be Here Coffee mug.

Dale

Dale's Tail

During our walk, Morgan and I talked about the meals we still have planned. And we talked about what we wanted to do the day after my birthday. I had a reservation for the Biergarten but sausage just didn’t sound appealing at this point in the trip. We talked about switching to Via Napoli or something for dinner, so we could rest in the morning.

So, back in the room, I canceled Beirgarten. And booked Via Napoli at 5:00 PM. I was surprised that I was able to so easily. But it sounds like a better plan.

Andy went for a walk while me and Morgan were gone, he walked around the resort and saw Riveria. We really hadn't gone to it yet.

We all showered, watched shows and just relaxed.

Finally, Morgan and Gwen FINALLY checked out the Tinkerbell gifts before we left for lunch.
Checking Out Tinkerbell Gifts

Towels!
Today was beach towels... I HAD thought we would swim today....

We decided to go to Riveria for lunch.
Leaving Room
So, we headed to the skyliner to use that instead of walking.

Skyliner Station
We were so close to the station that this was soo easy!

Skyliner

Riveria
10 Minutes and we were already here.

Fountain at Riveria

Riveria Fountain
Andy's sister loves this resort, so we wanted to check it out!

Riveria Peter Pan Mosaic
We of course checked out the beautiful mosaics.

Riviera Rapuzel Mosiac

Riveria Rapunzel Mosaic

Rapuzel's Tower

We headed to the Primo Piatto for lunch. You order your food when you walk in, they give you a number and then they will bring the food to you. So, it is a little nicer than a food court.

So, we ordered our food and found a table by the windows.

Gwen ordered the Kids Pizza and double grapes and a bottle of water
Kids Pizza double grapes
This was a bit hard to get her to choose as she was Hangry when we ordered. But it hit the spot for her once she got food in her belly.

Morgan ordered the Sausage and pepperoni pizza and a bottle of water

Sausage and Pepperoni​

Fresh Artisan Hearth-baked Pizza topped with Tomato Sauce, Italian Sausage, Pepperoni, Provolone, and Grated Parmesan
She said she was crazing pizza. So, she was happy with this.
Meat Pizza
I want to say that the sauce was a little sweet. Which I feel like Disney likes to do for some reason but us northerns don't really like. But it was a solid pizza.

Andy ordered the

Grilled Chicken Sandwich​

Balsamic-marinated Grilled Chicken with a Sun-dried Tomato Relish, Spinach-Artichoke Spread, and Mozzarella on Toasted Focaccia served with a choice of Side
Chicken Sandwich
His sandwich was really good. He liked it ALOT!

I ordered the

Spicy Italian Sandwich​

Sliced Capicola, Salami, Ham, Provolone, and Vegetable Giardiniera with a Garlic-Mayonnaise served with a choice of Side
Italian Sandwich
The photo doesn't do justice to this sandwich... This was REALLY good. It was good italian meats and there was some oil and vinegar on the sandwich as well.

We were all pleased with our lunch. It was all nothing special but all really good "regular" food. Which I think is what we were craving at this point in the trip. So, it was perfect.

Once we were done eating, we explored the resort a little more.

I made the girls pretend to play the giant chess.
Chess

Chess

We went inside and checked out the gift shop. It was smaller than I thought it was going to be.

Checked out some of the photos in the hallways.
Walt Photo

Walt with Penquins Photo

We liked the resort but it felt almost too fancy for us. I don't know, I guess Yacht Club is fancy too.

Either way, we had a good lunch, and headed back to relax in the room.

I don't think we bothered swimming today. Maybe Andy and I went to the quiet pool. But I think Morgan and Gwen just showered and did teen ager vegging. I typed up a “check list” for our goals for tomorrow.

At some point the WiFi wasn’t working this afternoon. Thankfully it was only like an hour before we had to leave. And didn’t come back till we came back from dinner. Not sure what was going on with the weifi that day, but we didn't have any issue after today.

Up next a Hoop Dee Doo Good Time! (with friends!)

We also explored the Riviera during our summer trip and it is definitely beautiful but not a place I'd rush to stay at. I thought the store was very small and with a 9 year old kid with me, she likes to hit up all the stores. I like the gift shops in the values and moderates better for sure.
We are staying at Pop this May and I was looking for a place to eat on our arrival day. We might hit up Primo Piatto after your review. I was thinking either there or Beaches and Cream. Or we may go to Disney Springs. My husband and son are coming this trip so trying to make everyone happy!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We are staying at Pop this May and I was looking for a place to eat on our arrival day. We might hit up Primo Piatto after your review. I was thinking either there or Beaches and Cream. Or we may go to Disney Springs. My husband and son are coming this trip so trying to make everyone happy!

The pool bar had some options as well for food that we didn't try. But DH could get a nice drink from the bar! Plus the skyliner would make it super easy to get to either Primo Piatto or Beaches and Cream.

Disney Springs is always good, if you need to make a bunch of people happy soooo many choices!

 

[Newsies]

Catching up on everything and you guys are having an awesome trip so far with a great balance of rest and fun in the parks! Sounds like Gwen had an awesome birthday. Can't wait to hear about HDDR!

 

[missjackiemcg]

What a nice relaxing morning! Staying at Pop, we've zipped by Riviera plenty of times, but have still never gotten off to check things out. Looks like the perfect little lunch, something different, but basic sounds perfect after a few days of disney restaurant meals!

 

[jrmint427]

Don't worry March can sometimes feel like an eternity as well.

Oh no!! At least we have an escape to Orlando to look forward to!

I love the rewards of stacking but hate having to think about it when I am trying to relax. You know? It's a love hate things now.

That makes complete sense. Do I want to stack or take a nap and disconnect?? I’m sure the payoff is always nice though.

Morgan was more conserned about her mission than Miss Daisy. She did say they came over and she said "hi" to her...

How cool to have characters approaching you!!

 

[Mollydolly334]

I order that balsamic grilled chicken sandwich every time I'm at the Riviera and it's always AMAZING!! Primo Piatto is one of my favorite QS restaurants at WDW!!

 

[vamassey1]

Sounds like a very relaxing start to your day. I think I've only ever done something so relaxing once and was before going to the Halloween Party. I'm finding I need more relaxing days as time goes on.

The food at Primo Piatto looks really good. I'm going to have to keep that in mind the next time we stay at a Skyliner Resort.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Rest Day #2 - Hoop Dee Doo Review Version!

I left us doing well.... nothing... We did more nothing but did finally head out of the evening.
Headed to Lunch

We were headed to Fort Wilderness and decided to go bus to MK to boat to FW. We left and headed to the busses by 4:45.
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And on a bus by 4:50.
We were all just zoned out chilling when all of a sudden I realized we weren't moving... Like at all...

Everyone starts looking around and trying to see what is going on. You really couldn't tell. Finally the driver fully parked and got out of his seat to stand. The guy never said ANYTHING!

No sorry for the delay, no hey there is an accident ahead, no we will be here awhile or we should be moving soon... nothing. It was weird. He just stood there.

The time was ticking away and I was starting to sweat the time! Hoop is not one you want to be late for.

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Finally around 5:30, we passed by the accident! It's hard to see in the picture, but the car was burnt to a crisp!

We high tailed it over to the boat, as there was one waiting to go.
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The security gods were on our side, and we got through fast enough to get on the boat around 5:50.
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The views! So nice...

Boat to Dinner
Morgan and Gwen decided to sit inside while Andy and I wanted to enjoy the view to it's fullest.

Welcome to Fort Wilderness
We made it to Fort Wilderness at 6:05! 10 minutes to spare!!!

Too close for my liking!!!

We wandered up to the main area and found our friends for dinner. Tonight we were meeting up with Kari and her family. We checked in and they had everyone line up pretty mush right after.

We headed in and had a seat right in the middle.
Gwen ready for the show

Didn't take long for the show to start.
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So, thing we did not realize... you need to eat while the show is happening... Don't wait for breaks. You won't get enough time.

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I didn't get any good photos of the food. It was mac and cheese, cole slaw, BBQ Ribs , chicken. It was all fine, food wise. Nothing amazing but nothing terrible. The show was what we were really there for.

At some point, they want you to wave your napkins... The teens at the table weren't into it...
Casey Embarrased

More teens embarrased

But the adults had fun with it.
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The teens did get into the very end of "music making"
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Washboard Playing

Well, kind of....
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The show was great. I think everyone enjoyed the show but we all agreed there could have been a little more time to eat. Especially since Kare and family had there backs to the stage.

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Since we didn't have chance, we snapped a group photo after dinner.

And we all decided to try and take the boats back to MK and busses as needed to our hotels. So, we waited together and chatted, which was nice.

There was a crazy storm that came through or was coming through so the sky had a cool coloring to it.
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Last time we saw Hoop to Doo Review..
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We made plans to see Kari and family again tomorrow and parted ways.

We were back in our room around 9:30. It was straight to bed. We had a BIG day tomorrow....

Up next... MY Birthday and we try to do 4 Parks in 1 Day. Can we do it?

 

[jrmint427]

We made it to Fort Wilderness at 6:05! 10 minutes to spare!!!

Just in time!! I’m so nervous about using Disney transport knowing how unpredictable it can be. Glad you made it!

Last time we saw Hoop to Doo Review..

Whoa!! I love comparing pics over the years, hope to have similar time jumps when my girls are teens!

 

[summerlvr]

Love your trip report! And oh my, I do miss Kari's dining reports! Glad to see she's still around!

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

I love the photo comparison. And how nice to see Kari and Jason and Casey! How is Kari? Haven’t seen her around here in forever.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Whoa!! I love comparing pics over the years, hope to have similar time jumps when my girls are teens!

I am sure you will. We really have watched them grow over the course of our trips!

And oh my, I do miss Kari's dining reports! Glad to see she's still around!

I know! Her dining reports were always so entertaining!

I love the photo comparison. And how nice to see Kari and Jason and Casey! How is Kari? Haven’t seen her around here in forever.

They are good! Kari is good! We chat everyone once in awhile. They were just back in Disney with her BBF for a 4 parks in 1 day! Casey and Gwen were best buds before covid, but they both became teens and didn't see each other for just long enough that it was akward a bit for them. But they started to warm back up to each other.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Hello Everyone!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope it's a good day for everyone. Valentine's day is nothing special for us. I do always get some thing small for the girls but nothing gib. This year was just chocolate and weird chips from the asian market here.

I am here to let you know that I started a pre-trip report. I caved... I needed to process some of the details of our trip, and writing the trip report has become the easiest way to do that. So, if you want to hear about my plans for our trip, come on over!!!

Spring Break - Last Minute Planning​

It is 42 Days away!!! And we need it!!! Andy is in California for work. He will be gone for a full week. So I am a single parent this week. Which isn't too different during the week but the weekend will be rough. The girls have lots going on, so of course they will keep me busy.

 

[disneyAndi14]

I love the picture comparison from Hoop!
It's always fun to meet up with Dis friends!
It looks like a good time!

 

[jelona]

Just started reading your report yesterday! We are taking a trip in july this year. Our last trip was July 2022 for my son's Birthday. This upcoming trip is for his birthday again!! He will be turning 11, so i know i'm coming up on his last few trips as a "kid". . This will be the first trip my daughter will really get to experience the magic, She will be 4. .
Hoping for an easy relaxing stay like yall! We have two rest days and 5 park days. Saturday thru the following sunday.
I'm also studying for a license i need for my career... so Your trip report was a reward after i finish a chapter of reading! I would test on my chapter... read a part of your report... and then go on to the next chapter!!

Looking forward to more and your Spring trip!!

 

[amazingact21]

Yikes, that accident that held up traffic had to be super stressful. Not the way you want to start off your big dinner. But I'm glad you made it in time and had a nice evening. Dinners show are always hard in that you want to watch, but you also have to eat!
Love the comparison photos.

 

[Newsies]

Oh no, that car I'm sure that traffic stop was stressful, but I'm happy to see that you guys had a nice time with your friends at HDDR!

 

[Woth2982]

Oh man. I can feel your anxiety rising just READING about the car accident! I have a major fear of being late to things (my mom was habitually late when I was a kid so I was late to everything, so I think it has scarred me), so I would have been on the edge of my seat pondering if I should get out to walk lol. So glad you made it with 10 minutes to spare! Still, takes longer than that to come down off the anxiety leading up to the arrival. Glad you enjoyed the show! Good point about the food though. I feel like in the past there were breaks where you could eat, maybe they changed it post covid?