16 Day Spring Break! I'm An Adult, I Do What I Want ;) *Update 8/17 Complete!

[2xcited2sleep]

I'm definitely going to have to check out Jock's next time - those drinks look great! So many fun places now in Disney Springs... It's hard to choose. Although on vacation, with Disney transportation, I guess we don't need to!!

 

[Belle's Castle]

I got so excited when I saw page 4 and thought you updated. I am starting to feel like a stalker because I look for your threads! So excited to follow along!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

That tonga toast looks amazing! So does the cheesecake at Riverside. I'll definitely be trying that!

The tonga toast is sooooo good. I must admit, I was a little jealous of his cheesecake once I saw it.

Love your report so far! We stay at POR in a Royal Room as well and love it (this year we are going to split stay so we can try YC CL also). This is getting me very excited for our trip coming up!

The Royal Room definitely exceeded my expectations, as did POR as a whole. Your split stay sounds fantastic. I have never stayed at YC before, but really hope to one day.

Joining in as well! Love all the pictures so far!!

Thanks for joining in!

Is the Hangar Bar adults only or do they serve food too? My kids would love the theming (14 and 18 not little ones)

The Hangar Bar is not adults only. They do have a few appetizers available as well as some really great non-alcoholic 'mocktail' options. It would definitely be a fun place you could take your teens.

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Enjoying the start to your DR! Jock Lindsey's seems really cool! Will have to check it out on our next trip!

Thanks! Jock Lindsey's was definitely a lot of fun. Hope you get to check it out next time you're in WDW!

Loving your DR so far! I can't imagine being able to take a 16 day trip. Sounds like heaven!

Thanks so much! I am so lucky that my job gives me a lot of vacation time and allows me to take that much time off all at once. Being down there for 2+ weeks is amazing.

Just now saw this! I loved following your long trip on Instagram

Glad that the food you had from the Flower & Garden Festival tasted so great!

The Hanger is such a great bar! Looks like you really enjoyed yourselves there Their glasses are so awesome!

I am glad you followed along with me on IG and now on here as well! We didn't have too many misses with the Outdoor Kitchens this year. The food and drinks were on point. The Hanger was definitely a good time. The glasses are too cool and I am a sucker for a good souvenir glass.

Hopping on! enjoying your report so far!

Thanks so much for joining in!

Wow, your meal at POR looks really good, especially that pasta. Can't believe you got that much for $10. I certainly don't do counter service as much as we should cause there is a lot we are missing.

Ahh, Kona!!!! We'll be there a week from today as Jason has requested it as his post marathon meal. I'm secretly hoping I can convince him to order 2 meals (with one being the tonga toast) so I can finally try it.

Jock Lindsey's looks like so much fun. And what delicious drinks!!!! Most of those sound better than trader sam's to me. I don't think we're going to get it in this trip, but definitely plan to hit it up on the next one.

The more we go to WDW the more we move away from Signatures and throw some counter service in the mix. I would actually take WPE over any Signature (food wise anyway) any day. Hope you had an awesome meal at Kona! Can't wait to read about it. I preferred the drinks at Jock Lindsey's to the ones at Trader Sam's. Defnitely some more interesting options IMO.

Joining in! I am impressed you make that drive the way you do. Glad you got to sleep it off and start your trip on such a high note!

Phew, that drive is something else. It always feels so good to get a shower and a nap after that long drive and then hit the park.

We will be staying at the POR RR for the first time this summer. How were the beds and the staff?
Thanks for the reviews.

You will have an awesome time this summer! The staff was great. Other than he first girl getting the MagicBands wrong everyone the encountered was awesome. Mousekeeping was good here also. The beds were super comfy. We slept so soundly our whole stay.

Joining in! Enjoyed following along on IG!

Thanks for joining in with me on IG and for my DR!

Jock Lindsays looks like a lot of fun! Great way to start your vacation.......I am so jealous over 16 days!!! Did you leave the bubble at all during that time? I'm always tempted to check out some of the other Orlando area attractions but can never bring myself to leave the Disney bubble!

Sadly we did not leave the bubble. We rarely do. I have been trying to get DH to do Universal since we haven't been there in 6 years, but he's not feeling it. I also wanted to go "off campus" as he refers to it, and check out the Character Warehouse for some discount Disney merch, but he fought me on that too. He hates leaving the bubble. He didn't even want to go to the spring training game at WWoS until I convinced him it was really on Disney property.

I don't drink, but those drinks at Jock Lindsays look awesome and yummy !

They have some yummy sounding non-alcoholic 'mocktail' options as well, so you could definitely still enjoy the atmosphere and the glasses without alcohol.

Great pics on IG, looking forward to your report!

Thanks so much for joining in!

Those drinks look great and I am a sucker for a souvenir glass, that monkey one is so cool!

I love the monkey one! I was super excited to get it. I drink my coffee from him on some mornings.

Great review so far! Following along...

Thanks so much for following!

Joining in. Love your trip reports

Thank you so much!

Thanks so much for reviewing the little food kiosks -- one can find restaurant reviews everywhere, but I'm eager to try the grouper next month.

Some more Outdoor Kitchen reviews still to come. They were awesome this year! The grouper was so incredibly flavorful.

Hi there!

I'm on board for this one! Your DRs have been among my favorite for years so I'm happy to see you and Rob back with more foodie insight.

I love POR's food options, honestly. I've had three great meals at Boatwright's, and the food court is such a nice backup when you're tired or need a quick fix. Glad you liked the pasta and the chips! As for Kona, can you believe in ten visits, I've never done breakfast there? I really need to get moving because it's a DIS rite of passage.

Looking forward to more. Also, I deleted IG and your food pics are making me want to get back on there!

Thanks so much! That means a lot!

We haven't had Boatwright's in quite awhile and almost went there one night but decided against it. Maybe next time we will. I could have had that pasta station a few more times. Their food court was definitely great for the nights you don't feel like making the trek to another Disney Dining location. Oh my gosh, you have to do Kona for breakfast! We tend to get there early and then take the monorail over to MK for rope drop. It's always a great start to the day. I am obsessed with IG! I could to without Facebook and Twitter at this point, but I love IG.

Yay for flower and garden reviews. I can't wait to get that smokehouse hash! And that drink Rob got with the honey and beer sounds so interesting but I would never get it because of the mixed reviews.

You will love the Outdoor Kitchens this year! The hash was so delicious as was the pulled pork sandwich from Smokehouse. That drink was so weird. Rob was glad he got to try it, but he was not liking it. Must be some type of acquired taste I suppose.

Glad your back, love your reviews..

Thanks so much! More reviews coming up!

LOVE your food reviews and your Instagram! Keep it up! More reviews more reviews!!

Thanks so much! More reviews coming right up!

Joining in! I love reading your perspective - what's funny is that we love the brisket burnt ends hash also but I am going to ask for MORE jalapeños next time!

Love the Tonga toast also and agree about the portion - we usually split a Tonga toast and a Samoan.

Can't wait to hear more!

That's too funny about the jalapenos. Different strokes for different folks.

Splitting the Tonga Toast and the Samoan is definitely the way to go! Best of both worlds.

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

I'm definitely going to have to check out Jock's next time - those drinks look great! So many fun places now in Disney Springs... It's hard to choose. Although on vacation, with Disney transportation, I guess we don't need to!!

Jock Lindsey's is definitely worth a visit. And at least it doesn't have crazy wait times like Trader Sam's. There is so much to do in Disney Springs now, it's crazy! That's why we like staying at SSR because we are close to the Springs and can spend more time there checking everything out.

I got so excited when I saw page 4 and thought you updated. I am starting to feel like a stalker because I look for your threads! So excited to follow along!

Oh my gosh, so many replies happened this week. Glad I was now able to catch up with everyone and post some more reviews! Coming right up!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

After Jock Lindsey's we headed to our favorite spot in all of WDW. AMC Theaters!

Now I know what you're thinking. You come all the way to WDW to go to the movies. We get a lot of grief about this from friends and family. But we LOVE going to the movies. I will go see just about anything. I am a total movie buff. And while we go fairly often at home, we don't go as often as we would like to. Down here we've got nothing but time. And we've been on all the rides a zillion times, so we don't feel the need to spend every second of our trip in the parks. This trip we shattered our previous record of 8 movies in one trip. It was awesome. Just wait until you see how many movies we saw this trip.

Before we left on our trip I used the Cashback Bonus I earned on my Discover card to get 2 $50 gift cards for AMC theaters ($100 totally free!) which also came with free small popcorn vouchers. Score! So, we used part of our gift cards to buy a Stubs membership for $12 which also got us a bunch more free movie tickets on the trip. We really maximized our savings here this trip. And when we purchased our tickets for the movie we also got free Zootopia pins for being Stubs members. Sweet!

Part of the fun of the theater here is the bar. We love MacGuffins!



Rob got a margarita on the rocks with salt.


And I got an Angry Orchard draft.


I also used the first of my free popcorn vouchers.

Our first movie was 10 Cloverfield Lane, which we both really enjoyed.

An awesome start to fun times at the movies this vacation!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

After the movie we decided we weren't quite hungry enough for a full meal, but wanted something to eat. Rob wanted drinks and apps at Raglan Road and I wanted the same thing, but at Morimoto. Since we have not been to Morimoto yet, that option won out.



We sat in the bar area at a high top table and got to take in the surroundings. The restaurant is stunning. We had reservations to come back during the trip and this was getting me very excited to come back for a full meal.

To drink Rob got the Manhattan East. Hiro sake, bourbon, canton liqueur, orange bitter.



The man loves a Manhattan, but he said this one was just okay.

I got the Sake Sangria. Asian pears, apple plum, tangerine juice, sake, light white wine, plum wine.



To me, this sounded and looked better than it tasted. It was a little too dry for my tastes. You could really taste the apple, which I liked, but other than that I wasn't thrilled with my choice.

For appetizers Rob and I shared the Kakuni Pork Bao. Steamed buns, braised pork belly, lettuce, spicy mayo.





These were almost insanely amazing. The flavors were incredible. And while I usually love pork belly, the fat on this was too much for me to handle. I couldn't even finish my whole bun. The hunks of fat on this were inedible for me. Rob ate his and felt the same way. He didn't care for the large amount of fat in it. While I know that's what pork belly is, when I've had it in the past it has been cooked differently so that the fat isn't just slimy and weird. Slight miss on the bun.

We also had the Crab Rangoon. Crab and cream cheese spring roll, apricot sweet chili sauce.



Now these were great!!! I absolutely loved these. So cheesy with a touch of sweetness. Heaven. I could eat just these as a meal.

The service was very quick here, but our server wasn't the warmest person ever.

Overall our first time here was sadly a little underwhelming. There was still so much I want to try, so I wasn't going to let it stop me from coming back for our reservations later in the trip.
I'll come back just for the Crab Rangoon!

 

[nco91590]

See, my husband thinks I'm crazy for cutting all the fat off of pork belly. I just can't imagine eating pork belly with all that gristle. I've had pieces too that trim the fat enough to where it is edible.

We had the "bacon and eggs" app at the Wave and I think they prepared it properly...or I just got a less fatty piece.

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

After Morimoto we went back to AMC. Double feature!

We got more Zootopia pins and Rob had a beer from Macguffins and we saw London Has Fallen. We love the first one, Olympus Has Fallen, but I didn't care too much for the sequel. Rob liked it and judging by the reaction from the audience in the packed theater they mostly enjoyed it as well.

By the time we left the theater DTD (It's easier to just call it that) was packed! We walked over to the Marketplace area to grab dinner from one of our favorite spots. You know it! It's time for WPE!

The line was well out the door but moved fairly quickly. After awhile we had our food packed to go and headed to the bus to get back to the resort and enjoy our dinner.

As luck would have it a Dateline Mystery was on (we LOVE Dateline) and we sat in bed and ate our dinner and watched Dateline. A perfect evening.

We both got pizza from WPE. Their pizza is the best!



I got the Chicken Meatball Pizza. Mushrooms, red onions, ricotta. Except I got mine minus the red onion.



AMAZING! The chicken meatballs are beyond delicious. Put them on a pizza and you have one happy girl right here. Sadly I was unable to eat it all because I was so full and two pieces went in the trash. I'm still sad about it.

Rob got their special limited time pizza which was a Proscuitto Pesto pizza. Pesto, goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes, kalamata olives and proscuitto.



He loved it! It was basically the same as the four cheese pesto pizza they always have but with olives and proscuitto.

With all the food and drinks we had today it was time for sleep. We were out! Our first full day was a success!

We still had a decent number of steps today considering we didn't go to a park. 11,697 steps. We saved a total of $16.80 with our TiW card today between Morimoto and Kona Cafe. Everything was free at the movie theater with our free gift cards and we saved $2.80 at the Lego Store with our AP discount and $2.85 at WPE with our AP discount.

 

[Adgie128]

It sounds funny, but I always think of your DRs when I walk by that AMC on my trips. I agree with you about not needing to be in the parks for all hours of the day. I love to spend time at the resorts or DS and it has become a huge part of how I vacation in WDW. Ditto for pool time! I can't believe I'm saying this as years ago the park commando in me would have laughed. I think we know better having gone so much!

I'm excited to hear what you thought of Morimoto when you went back later in the week. I'm bummed I missed it on our last trip, but time goes too fast in WDW for all the places you want to eat.

I'm waiting patiently for your Ghirardelli posts, too. I need to daydream about that ice cream and the smell of the store. Perfect.

 

[pagek83]

Joining in! I love your reports!

 

[pepperandchips]

Oh man, those buns look amazing! Disappointing to hear they were too fatty but I definitely want to put Morimoto's on a future itinerary. Fun tradition to do movies on your trip! Whatever makes you guys happy.... speaking of which, those pizzas would make me really happy! They look delicious. Great report!!

 

[Mainemama]

I have yet to try AMC theaters, though my DH and big kids got to see The Force Awakens there on Christmas Day. When my 3 year old is a little more movie ready, I plan to go, as it looks awesome! Looks like you made great use of your gift cards!

 

[Belle's Castle]

I soooo need to get my hubby to read your reports! I really want to try Wolfgang but can't reall convince him!
Thanks for the update!

 

[Jgeauxmo]

I thought the same thing about the pork buns! I have had pork belly multiple times before but the way it congealed on this dish was awful!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Jock Lindsey's is definitely worth a visit. And at least it doesn't have crazy wait times like Trader Sam's. There is so much to do in Disney Springs now, it's crazy! That's why we like staying at SSR because we are close to the Springs and can spend more time there checking everything out

Truth be told, I wasn't wowed by Trader Sam's. Blasphemy, I know. Do you suggest any particular room/location requests at SSR to be closest to Disney Springs and be able to walk over?

Sorry your initial Morimoto experience was underwhelming. I haven't visited yet but have heard similar comments about the service. I will be interested to see what you think about your full dinner.

Ok, I am totally out of it as I haven't even heard of the movies you saw.

Love WPE. Good to know they can pack it to-go.

 

[Avery&Todd]

I have to say, I saw you respond to another post the other day and I wondered to myself .."Wow, it's been a long time since they've been to the World and I wish they had a trip soon because Jeri writes the best food TRs!!"

and POOF! my wish was granted!!

and for the record, I love the *idea* of pork belly, but I do NOT do "wiggly" things in my meat so I think it's a NO-GO for me!

 

[vettegirl]

Well that is a shame Morimoto was a let down. For some reason it isn't on my must do list. Your drink pics look good!

 

[DisneyCoasters]

I've really enjoyed your past trip reports so I'm excited to be joining in here! How amazing that you guys got to do 16 days!!! Doing a two week trip is definitely on my Disney bucket list...it seems like it would be so relaxing and wonderful to have that much Disney time stretching out in front of you. I always do shorter trips so I feel like I have to GO GO GO to maximize my time.

My partner and I also love going to the movies, and I'm sure I could convince him to do a double feature at AMC when we finally do a longer trip. (BTW, I don't usually like to pay for membership cards, but I find the Stubs card is so worth it if you go to the movies a lot. I am usually the one to order tickets for our group of friends...that's a great way to rack up the points and freebies!)

 

[chocolateMinnie]

My DD is very keen to try out AMC during our treat as a belated birthday treat. Want to try some food delivered to the seat - such a novelty for us