Newlyweds in the Caribbean: Curse of the DLXDDP - Day 10 - Check into POFQ, DS & MK

[Scruffette]

Newlyweds in the Caribbean: Curse of the DLXDDP - Day 10

Index

Saturday 8th September

Disembarkation, check into Port Orleans French Quarter, Disney Springs & Magic Kingdom

Lunch at Frontera Cocina, Dinner at Skipper Canteen

We woke up early this morning, to pack up the last few bits before breakfast at 7.15am. My notes say we got up at 6.35am, but that doesn’t seem long enough for me to get ready and organised!

I was a little sad to be saying goodbye to our stateroom and verandah. The verandah felt like such a luxury and I loved staring out to sea. However, the view wasn’t quite as interesting this morning…





We headed into breakfast and Ana was waiting outside for us. No one from either sitting was turning up to breakfast, so she was glad to see us!













Obviously, we started with pastries.



For breakfast, Ollie had the Almost Home - Corn Beef Hash, Fried Eggs, and Bacon Skillet topped with Fried Onions



As is standard, he added a hash brown. This looked really tasty and he enjoyed it.

Continuing my tradition of having pudding for breakfast, I had For A Sweet Journey - Buttermilk Pancakes, Blueberry Pancakes, Whole Wheat Pancakes, Belgium Waffles (All served with Honey or Breakfast Syrup)



We had a long chat with Ana about her work on the cruise line. She had been approved for a promotion to guest services, but just had to wait for an opening. I really hope she gets moved soon, as she completely deserves it. I’m really glad we mentioned her on her feedback form.

Before we got off the ship we did a quick run to the toilets. Of course, we used the ones outside Palo which were empty. The nicest toilets on board!

We then collected our rum that we bought in Jamaica, which only took about 5 minutes.



Sadly, it was then time to disembark

It wasn’t too bad getting of the ship knowing that our next cruise was already booked (7 night Disney cruise to Alaska). And the next 12 nights in Florida really helped too!

The queue after disembarking looked really long, but they were holding the queue and then letting lots of people through at once.

We found our cases and walked through the immigration queue, which only took about 15 minutes. The immigration office was disappointed we weren’t from Northern Ireland, as he hadn’t met anyone from there before! He was friendly and the queue was moving efficiently.

Once out the terminal we boarded a 2/3 full motor coach and bumped into one set of our tablemates. We sat in the row in front of them and chatted the whole way. They were staying at Riverside for the night and spending the day in Magic Kingdom before flying home.

The coach played Moana and then switched to a Disney marketing and cartoon video once it set off.





We stopped at Pop Century, Caribbean Beach, then French Quarter.

It was a really lovely feeling walking through those doors and being welcomed home

On our last trip 3 years ago we stayed at Saratoga Springs and the hotel just didn’t have the Disney magic for me. I love POFQ and think it is just beautiful. I also really like the small size.

Somehow, I don’t think I have a single photo of the lobby!

We were at the check in desk for 10.30am, which I thought was pretty good time wise. The lady checking us in was really friendly. She was very ‘Disney’.

We were assigned a room in building 7, but asked to move. I know it’s only a small hotel, but building 7 just seemed a bit far away from everything. I’d attempted to send a fax online to request building 5, but I got an error email saying this hadn’t sent.

She managed to get us a different room in building 4 – 4243. It wouldn’t be ready yet, so we left our luggage with bell services.

We were given our magic bands – red for me and blue for Ollie. We ordered stickers from Magic Your Band again. I think they are great value. Ollie went for Coco and I chose the Beauty and the Beast stained glass window.



She explained these were loaded with all our dining credits. As we were on the deluxe plan, we had plenty of credits on there! Expect a LOT of food over the next 11 nights.

The cast member also said we could opt out of mousekeeping. This would give us a $100 gift card ($10 for each night, except the first night). This was emailed through electronically.

Our next stop of the day was Disney Springs. We had our $200 gift card to collect and a lunch reservation at Frontera Cocina.

We took the boat over, which is a lovely relaxed trip. It also doesn’t take too long compared with the bus.





Since our last trip, the boat docks in a different place. They also have separate boats operating for French Quarter and Riverside.





We had a quick look in some of the shops and starting eyeing up some potential purchases, including Art of Disney, 12 Days of Christmas, TrenD and Ghiradelli (for free samples).

I enjoyed this tshirt –



The World of Disney was under construction still, so the shop was smaller than usual. It did make it a bit easier to navigate. A very friendly cast member went to get our gift card for us - I often wonder how many people make it out of that shop with their gift card in tact!



I had my heart set on this mug, after seeing it in a few Disney hauls.



Ollie liked the look of these metal earth figures which could be built (pfft, engineers!)





It was then time for lunch at Frontera Cocina. It took me a while to get my bearing at Disney Springs, as none of this was open on our last trip. I got the hang of it eventually!





Our server was very friendly and talked us through our options. His eyes lit up a bit when we said we were on the deluxe dining plan - clearly he could see a big tip in his future! In fairness, he was really friendly and explained clearly what was included in our dining plan (which was pretty much everything).

Now that the dining plan includes alcohol, we thought it would be rude not to indulge! Our server said we could have any of the cocktails on the menu. Other places told us we could have any drink up to $16. This adds a lot more value to the dining plan!



I went for the La Cava Avocado - Casa Noble blanco tequila, melon liqueur, avocado, fresh lime juice and hibiscus salt rim - $15.00



This is the same one they serve over in the Mexico pavilion in Epcot and I know it has a fan following! It looks a bit weird, but it is partly frozen. It was actually really delicious. I did post picture of this one on Instagram, and lots of people commented that it looked a bit weird.

The other drink was the special, and something fruity with a bit of spice. The server said this wasn’t his favourite, but we went against his advice and ordered it anyway.



The avocado drink was much better and I wasn’t too keen on the other drink. We were supposed to be sharing the two drinks, but I ended up having most of the avocado drink and not wanting to share! Oops.

At most of our meals, we picked appetisers to share and today was no exception.

We had the Chipotle Chicken Tostada - Crispy chipotle chicken tortilla “flutes,” roasted tomatillo avocado salsa, crema, Cotija cheese, fresh herbs (contains dairy and gluten) - $13.00



This was beautifully presented. There were three tostadas and I insisted that we shared them evenly!

We also had the Queso Fundido - Queso Chihuahua melted with roasted poblanos and caramelized onions, warm corn tortillas (contains dairy). Add Gunthrop Farms Chorizo +2 - $12.00



Obviously we added chorizo. This was served with salsa and tortillas.



This was so good. Very rich, but not too overpowering considering it is a bowl of melted cheese.

For mains, I went for the Carne Asada for making Soft Tacos - Grilled steak, poblano rajas, black beans refritos with queso fresco, salsa verde, guacamole, served with corn tortillas (contains dairy) - $23.00



I always like the diy element of Mexican food. I made a complete mess assembling these, but they were delicious. It could have just done with a bit more guacamole.

Ollie has the Red Chile Chicken Enchiladas - Just-made corn tortillas, chipotle chicken filling, guajillo chile sauce, Queso Chihuahua, crispy onions, black beans (contains dairy, gluten) - $22.00



Although he liked this, I think he wished he had ordered my dish instead.

During the meal I picked up an email to say that our room was ready.



For dessert, Ollie had the Coconut-Lime Cuatro Leches - sponge cake soaked with four milks topped with whipped cream, toasted coconut, fresh blackberries, and lime zest (contains gluten, dairy, seeds) - $9.00



This was a fairly light dessert, which was probably good after a big meal. He loves anything coconut flavoured, so this was ideal for him.

I had the Pecan Pie Bar - with Mexican vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce



A little bit more chocolate and it would have been perfect!

On the deluxe dining plan, most of our one credit meals were above $100. The tips really do add up quickly! Although we did have alcohol at most meals and did opt for all 3 courses.

Ollie settled up, while I popped into Francesca’s opposite for a quick browse.

It was absolutely pouring, typical Florida afternoon style. We decided to get the bus back, as the boats probably wouldn’t be running anyway.

Fortunately, the rain had pretty much stopped by the time we got back to French Quarter. We stopped by bell services to pick up our luggage and went to find our room.

It was room 4243, on the middle floor of building 4. It was a corner room, so nice to have the extra window. However, it wasn’t the best view, one of the windows looked over a cleaning storage area.



Two beds – one used to put our various purchases on. I do miss the bed runners, as I think the beds look a bit bare without them.

I do really like having ‘his’ and ‘hers’ sinks.





The toiletries in the bathroom has be replaced with the pumps.



In need of a drink, we went to pick up our refillable mugs. Somehow, I managed not to get a picture of them at all! We also ended up having to ditch them and not bring them home with us as we didn’t have space.

I went for purple and Ollie chose green. He really made the most of the coke freestyle machines and mixed all sorts of random flavours. I think his favourite was pibb zero cherry (a bit like doctor pepper). I was boring and mostly stuck with a vanilla coke zero.

Ollie then went to the front desk to pick up a package that he had ordered. He really likes the quirky tshirts from Tilly’s and looked online before we left and decided to put in a small order. 12 tshirts later…. In fairness, they were all very good value.



However, they arrived in 3 separate packages (2 of which had 1 tshirt in). Disney now charge $5 per package, and they had already charged $15 to our room. Ollie explained that it was part of one order, and they credited our account with $10. We don’t normally charge to our room account, so now had to spend $10 to even out!

A former employee of Tilly’s was behind Ollie at the front desk, and was singing their praises, saying ‘they carry some great product, don’t they sir’. I wonder if he knew he wasn’t on commission at that point!

We did a small bit of unpacking in the room and then got ready as it was Magic Kingdom time!

I attempted to check bus wait times on the app. This is when we realised how rubbish the app was, as neither of us could get anything to load. I’m not sure it was the wifi, as everything else would load fine and I found the app would crash even when testing it back home. We were really looking forward to booking fastpasses on the app, but this wasn’t possible most of the time.

Ollie had a bit more success on his phone, but it wasn’t great. I was on an older IOS on an iphone 5, so that might have been the issue. Ollie was on an iphone 6. I did clear almost everything off my phone before I left home to try and help, but no luck.

[Scruffette]

Anyway, we headed to the bus stop and clocked the wait time on the screen. The times were pretty inaccurate! Soon enough, we were on our way to the Magic Kingdom!

Security, as expected, was much tighter than our last trip in 2015. It didn’t take too long before we were heading into the park.



Walking into the Magic Kingdom is one of the best feelings in the world. It makes me feel like a child every time.

The Halloween decorations were all up (after all, September does mean Halloween!). I was worried it would be a bit over the top, but it all looked cute and not too much.





I then got the first glimpse of my castle…





There it is! Even if it is slightly blocked by the dance party!



Obviously we had to stop for a photopass. Any excuse for a photo in front of the castle.

Our fastpasses looked like this –







Our first stop was Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. The ride had gone down for a bit due to weather and I got sent an email about an anytime fastpass. The fastpass also went straight onto MDE (although it took a while to load).

Fortunately, Mine Train was back up and running. The fastpass line on this ride always seems quicker than other rides.

I know it’s a kiddie coaster, but I really like this ride!







The park was feeling really busy, but it was a Saturday so that’s to be expected. Also, Halloween parties were on three nights a week, so it limits when people can see the fireworks.

Our next stop was Voyage of the Little Mermaid The wait time was 20 minutes, which is a little longer than I’d usually wait for this ride, but we had some time before our next fastpass.









The ride stopped a few times, I assumed they were just loading guests. Then, during the Under the Sea scene, we stopped for quite a while. There was then an announcement saying we were going to be evacuated.









You think being still a lot would mean I could get better photos than these!





We were walked out backwards towards the start of the ride. I guess we’ll have to wait and see if Ariel gets a happy ending!

We did however receive an anytime fastpass after we were evacuated.



Our Space Mountain fastpass was open, so we headed over to Tomorrowland. This ride is one of Ollie’s absolute favourites.





I think it seemed lighter in here than last time, but I still really enjoy it.

There was a temporary exit to the ride, so it was a bit of walk and across the railroad track to get back to tommorrowland.

Walking out of the ride, I realised I lost my customised Eve and Wall-e just married badge! I bought these for Ollie as it’s one of his favourite films. Ollie still had his, but I was sad we wouldn’t match for the rest of the trip.

Good job I also got a ‘just hitched’ badge with the Hitchhiking Ghosts on!

We took a stroll over to Adventureland and picked up some iced water from Tortuga Tavern.



It was then time for Pirates of the Carribbean. This was shut for refurb in 2015, so it had been 5 years since we’d ridden it. I enjoyed all the (new to us) updates. I’m certain we got a bit soggy in this ride, which I don’t remember from before.



We also had no idea where the ride photo was on this ride, which was a novelty. I also like extra opportunities to add to the ride photo collection (We named our wedding tables after theme park rides and had a ride photo of us on each table)

In the line for pirates, we did manage to get the app to work on Ollie’s phone, after a lot of freezing, to book a fastpass for Jungle Cruise. This seemed like the obvious choice with a Skipper Canteen reservation later.

Luckily, the fastpass window opened almost straight away and we were soon off on our adventure. I love a good corny joke, so this is always up my street. I hoped our server at Skipper Canteen would be just as corny!







After the ride we struggled to get the app to work, and then remembered that there was a fastpass kiosk right next to Jungle Cruise.

There was an opening for Haunted Mansion which would work well after the fireworks.

We still hadn’t used our anytime fastpass yet, so decided to use this on Big Thunder.

I found a new appreciation for this ride this trip and this was the first of many rides. The sun was just starting to fade, so it was a really nice time to ride.

It was almost time for the fireworks. Ollie suggested a snack, but it wasn’t too long until dinner. The obvious answer was a Le Fous Brew.



While this is in no way a substitute for a frozen Butterbeer in my eyes, it is really nice. I think the foam on top is the best part.

It was really getting dark at this point, which meant it was almost time for Happily Ever After.



The fireworks were at 8.30pm, which is much earlier than I ever remember Wishes being. We got to the hub area about 15 minutes before and had a fairly central view. As there is just two of us it normally means we can fit in small spaces.

Like a lot of people, I was a bit heartbroken when they announced that Wishes was ending. It was so nostalgic for me and brings back so many memories. I still watch it occasionally on Youtube!

The music for Happily Ever After started, and all I can say is wow. The projections on the castle were amazing and completely transformed the castle. The soundtrack is also beautiful. I love that they’ve kept in ‘I can go the distance’ from Hercules, which is a moving yet under rated song.

Whilst I think that Wishes had more of a cohesive storyline and will always be special, you can’t deny how truly amazing Happily Ever After is.

I also think that any fireworks show like this that you watch on a Disney World trip will become sentimental.


.
After Happily Ever After, we made our way against the crowds over to Skipper Canteen. We had an 8.55pm reservation. Originally the park was going to close at 9pm, but this had been extended to 11pm prior to our trip.

Although the park now had a later opening time, we were the last reservation of the night.

This was maybe a mistake booking the reservation at that time, as they were keen to get us in and out of the restaurant, which was such a shame. Our server just seemed generally disinterested.

I had such high hopes for Skipper Canteen. It was fine, just not as great as I was expecting.





To drink, we both ordered the House-made Spiced Sangria - Zolo Red Wine blended with ruby grapefruit juice and a trio of fruit - $10.00



We did get ID’d here - I know lots of people say Disney ID everyone, but I actually find them to be really inconsistent (even at Food and Wine at Epcot). They also accepted just our driving licenses here. We’re always prepared, just in case.

The Sangria was nice, as sangria normally is.

It was pretty dark in our corner and it was a bit tricky to read the menus. The whole restaurant didn’t seem that dark, just the corners of the room.

We got two appetisers to share - Orinoco Ida's Cachapas - And you thought our jokes were corny! House-made Corn Pancakes, Mojo-braised Pork, Black Bean Salad, and Avocado Cream



And S.E.A. Shu Mai - A legendary blend of Pork, Shrimp, Edamame Beans, and Spices wrapped in Gyoza Skin then steamed - $12.00



Both were nice I preferred the cachapas and Ollie’s preferred the shu mai.

For mains, I went for the "Tastes like Chicken" Because it is! - Crispy-fried Chicken served with Jasmine Rice, Chili Glaze, and Seasonal Vegetables - $24.00, which I had read lots of good reviews about.



Ollie had the "Hardy Har Char" Siu Pork - Char Siu-marinated Pork served with Seasonal Vegetables and Jasmine Rice - $24.00



The sauce for the chicken was served on the side which was good, as it was quite sweet and a little bit went a long way. I tend to find these kind of sauces in America are a bit sweeter than we would have in the UK. Ollie’s meal was also a bit sweet as well.

For dessert, I ordered the - Kungaloosh! - An African-inspired Chocolate Cake with Caramelized Bananas served with Cashew-Caramel Ice Cream topped with Coffee Dust -$8.00



Except I ordered it without the coffee dust, as I can’t stand anything coffee flavoured. Ollie ordered exactly the same.

Oops, the photo came out really dark!

The cake was nice, but I couldn’t pick out the flavour in the ice cream.

Between sitting down and finishing and getting our bill was 50 minutes. That’s pretty quick for 3 courses!

We went for a little look around the restaurant afterwards, but felt a bit awkward as the restaurant was now empty and they were clearly waiting for us to leave.













Overall, the experience can be summed up as ‘fine’. We certainly had a lot better 1 credit meals in the trip. I do think the restaurant looks really interesting and I’m sure there are lots of quirky details. I just wished our server had pointed some of them out.

After dinner, we went to use our fastpass for Haunted Mansion. This is one of my favourite rides, particularly after doing the Keys to the Kingdom tour last trip. There is so much attention to detail, even if it is a bit creepy!

However, I was really struggling to stay awake on the ride and couldn’t fully appreciate it. I think I might have actually dosed off at one point. The slow omnimover motion is quite soothing!

After the ride, we decided it was time to head back to French Quarter. We didn’t have to wait too long for a bus, and I might have had a doze on the bus as well!

What a great day to start our time at Disney. Something about it always feels like home and I am truly in my element in the parks

Day 11 - Animal Kingdom & California Grill

[flo-tinka]

Always sad to be debarking but 🥳 woohoo you’ve got the rest of your hol to look forward too 😀 and all that food 😳🍩🍔🍕🥗
In the past we have done Universal after leaving the ship and another year hung out in Miami at Margaritaville 🍸🍹

[Palm trees]

What an action packed day, its no wonder you were dozing by the end of it! Sounds like you had a good time though.

[collybird]

Breakfast looks great, and so quiet.

We’re staying at French Quarter next year, the only moderate we haven’t stayed at, and I am so excited.

I like that mug too, but we have a ‘no more mugs’ rule, we’re only allowed one from whichever resort we stay in, and a Food & Wine one if we really like it.

Great to see a review of Frontera Cocina, I am desperate to eat there. You ordered exactly as we would!

I really dislike the look of all resort rooms since they removed the runners. They were such a small touch but made such a difference to the look of the rooms. I know Disney were concerned about hygiene but why not just start washing the runners with the rest of the bedding?! Once again, they’re cost cutting rather than thinking of the guests.

50 minutes for three courses is crazy, I know Disney are efficient but that takes the biscuit.

[Scruffette]

Originally Posted by flo-tinka

Always sad to be debarking but 🥳 woohoo you’ve got the rest of your hol to look forward too 😀 and all that food 😳🍩🍔🍕🥗
In the past we have done Universal after leaving the ship and another year hung out in Miami at Margaritaville 🍸🍹

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I know - I couldn't feel too disappointed about leaving the ship when we had so many exiting things to look forward to! Thanks for reading along

Originally Posted by Palm trees

What an action packed day, its no wonder you were dozing by the end of it! Sounds like you had a good time though.

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Napping on buses will be a frequent theme throughout this report! Thanks for reading along

[Scruffette]

Originally Posted by collybird

Breakfast looks great, and so quiet.

We’re staying at French Quarter next year, the only moderate we haven’t stayed at, and I am so excited.

I like that mug too, but we have a ‘no more mugs’ rule, we’re only allowed one from whichever resort we stay in, and a Food & Wine one if we really like it.

Great to see a review of Frontera Cocina, I am desperate to eat there. You ordered exactly as we would!

I really dislike the look of all resort rooms since they removed the runners. They were such a small touch but made such a difference to the look of the rooms. I know Disney were concerned about hygiene but why not just start washing the runners with the rest of the bedding?! Once again, they’re cost cutting rather than thinking of the guests.

50 minutes for three courses is crazy, I know Disney are efficient but that takes the biscuit.

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I hope you enjoy your stay at French Quarter, we love the resort. Make sure you try the beignets

We have a 'one mug per person per trip' rule, but I don't always stick to it!

Completely agree about the bed runners - made the room feel a bit more 'themed'.

Thanks for reading along

[yellowrose78]

What a full on day for you, loving all your photos

[Scruffette]

Originally Posted by yellowrose78

What a full on day for you, loving all your photos

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Thanks for reading