First Visit - Halloween 2013 - VelcroPooh's Trip Report

Yay!! I'm glad you had a great time!! I'm sorry that AK was a let down for you!

Days 1 - 4, Orange Beach - I will condense Orange Beach into one post, since I know you want me to move on to Disney! We were supposed to leave early Wednesday morning, Oct. 23rd. My hubby had taken the 22nd off and I was supposed to work to 5:00, and then home to pack. Didn't work out that way. He pestered me to death! All day, texting me, calling me....ha ha ha. He was trying to talk me into coming home and packing and heading out, driving half-way and stopping for the night and that way we would only have about a 3 to 3 1/2 hour drive the next morning. I reminded him we couldn't check in until 3:00 pm the next day. Finally, after I was accomplishing nothing at work, I ended up leaving work around 2:00. I came in and told him to call the hotel and see if we could get a room for tonight, and if I could get packed (he was done) and out of the house by 4:00, we could actually be there by 11 to 12.

Well he did, and they did so whirlwind packing and out of the house by 4:15! The drive was around 7 hours, so we literally just grabbed some fast food while driving and drove straight there. We gained an hour in time zone change, so we ended up arriving around 10:30 their time. The room was great. We had a balcony where we could see the ocean to our right (side of building) and everything was clean. It was the Hilton Garden Inn, directly on the beach. The college had negotiated a great rate for their graduates.

I just now noticed, I took no pictures of the hotel or room! And I also missed some great food porn...sorry.

We went to bed and I was up by 6:30 am. I got dressed and headed down to the beach, to let hubby sleep. It was so beautiful. There was literally only 2-3 other people on the beach. It was chilly, as the nights there were dropping into the high 40's and low 50's, but climbed quickly into the 70's every day we were there. I came back up after an hour or walking around and taking pics and hubby was just getting up. We both then headed back down, put our towels on a couple of pool chairs and took off walking down the beach, hunting for shells. It was so calm and peaceful. This became our routine. Up early, walk the beach, then lay down by the pool around 10. About 11:30 or 12:00 we would go up and shower, change and go play. Wednesday was the only day we had to actually play all day. Thursday and Friday were full of College grad stuff.

This little bird followed me all over the place that morning.

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Beach
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We decided to drive down to Pensacola and look for the restaurant that we had saw on the show "American Pickers". My hubby loves that show. So we drove about 30 minutes and found it. It's called "The Fish House". Oh it was really good.

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Appetizer - Seafood Flatbread. Shrimp, bay scallops, roma tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fire-roasted peppers and corn with ya-ya sauce.
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I had the seafood platter - Fried Oysters, fresh blackened tilapia and pecan crusted gulf shrimp. Hubs had the Grits A Ya Ya (their signature dish) - Spiced gulf shrimp, saute'd spinach, protobello mushrooms, applewood smoked bacon, garlic, shallots and cream over a bed of smoked gouda cheese grits.

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We came back, changed and walked the beach again at sunset.

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We spent a relaxing evening out by the pool and then went to bed around 10:00. The next morning, beach, pool, shower and change and we went to lunch at Lambert's. There are famous for their throwed rolls. Yes, they throw them at you! I forgot the food porn, but it is country cooking and tons of it. I had chicken and dumplings, with mashed potatoes and green beans. Hubs had ribs with slaw and fries. They also bring around to everyone pass-a-rounds every few minutes. Fried okra, black-eyed peas, cooked cabbage and fried potatoes. There was so much food I was dying!

We then attended his College open house and took a tour. They had refreshments and goodies for everyone. We spent until 5:00 there and then they hosted a reception on the beach for all those graduating and the alumni. We were there until about 8:00, with appetizers and drinks. The appetizers were ok, so we didn't eat much, so when we left, we went to a local bar/restaurant called Cottons. We both had crab cakes. The sauce was awesomeness.

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Friday morning we went to the beach and pool until 11:00 and then showered and dressed for his graduation at 2:00. It was held at the Orange Beach Center and was done really well. And here he is....my college grad!

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I took him for a graduation dinner at "Cosmos". This is the seafood restaurant everyone at the college recommended. Oh, it was to die for! I am a huge seafood fan, and this was the best seafood I have ever eaten. A little pricey, but we were dressed up and well worth it.

I had appetizers for dinner. Firecracker shrimp, crab cakes and fried shrimp sushi with cream cheese and asparagus. Hubby had the Pecan Redfish and shrimp, with Japanese breadcrumbs and topped with a Meuniere sauce, served over "dirty" risotto.

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We were there late, took a quick stroll on the beach and then had to pack. We were getting up early to drive to Disney!

Thanks! It wasn't really so much of a let-down as I just thought I would love it so much that I would want to go back another day. I really enjoyed the safari, and we got lucky and saw just about every animal. Everest? Umm....yeah...LOVED IT!

Food looks so yummy!! Did he graduate with any honors?

He did graduate with a 4.0 (Summa Cum Laude) but ran off and left his gold tassels in the room! The red, white and blue one is for being in Law Enforcement.

Great trip report so far! The food looks fantastic, especially the sushi and the grits...yummy! Congrats to your husband and I'm eagerly awaiting Disney TR!

Wow! What an awesome start! You must drive to Disney on an absolute high!!!!

Oh we did! Although the 8 hour drive seemed to take FOREVER because I was so anxious to be there!

Day 5 - Drive and arrival at Disney!

Ok, so I will probably drive ya'll nuts with this post, but I can't help it. I can only say that my husband outdid himself and started off my trip with a bang! Today, the only plan was to check in and then catch the boat over to DTD for the evening. We knew we wouldn't get there until late afternoon, so were not starting off the tickets until the next day.

We left around 7:00 am and at exactly 5:39 (due to stopping for lunch and losing the hour back to the time change), this was what I saw! OH OH...I AM HERE!

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So we found the resort very easily, thanks to my Tom-Tom-Sue-Sue and the signs, and within a few minutes, THIS!

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We stopped at the gate with the security, he looked at his little clipboard and said, "Welcome Home." I get it....I so get it now. Parked and in registration in a few minutes. No line and they processed us straight in and gave us our room number, KTTW cards, brochures and a map. We ended up in the Alligator Bayou, which I know some of you don't like, but I so wanted to be in that area. I know the mansions are nice, but I liked the trees and covered pathways versus the openness of the mansion landscaping. We were in 1716, first floor and I have to say, it was perfect. Right next to the pool, corner room and central between the South and West bus stop. We could be at either one in about 3 minutes.

Now, here's where I'm going to drive you bonkers with pictures. We get out first load of luggage out, and when we find the room...this is what I see:

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He opens the door and I could not believe all the surprises! I had roses and a framed declaration from Tinker Bell that I was officially a Princess. A tiara, a scepter, a sash, a tiara necklace, a compact mirror and perfume bottle, all from the Fairy Godmother. The tiara was nestled on a silk pillow and all three were in beautiful hat boxes! Oh he got MAJOR MAJOR brownie points for the rest of the week! Oh who am I kidding, he's still getting them!

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what a great surpise to walk into. can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip.

Of course the big question is.... when are you going back?

Those surprises are AWESOME

What a thoughtful husband!

He gets Husband of the YEAR Award!

!!! W O W !!!

Wow! I had no idea of what Disney is capable of until I joined this forum. That is amazing and so thoughtful of your husband. Can't wait to read more.

OMG CHILLS!! How freaking amazing to walk into your room with all of that! Just magical

LOVE this! I need to make my fiance read this before our Honeymoon to get a little *hint hint* I can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip!

Love it!! Everything is so pretty!! What an exciting thing to find!!

Your hubby is a keeper. What a super surprise for you, Princess Angela.

Somebody gets some Major brownie points for that ! Im surprised they did that the day you checked in though, they say they won't because they can never guarantee your room is ready or what room you are getting. Good job though to the Hubby!

Thanks! It was a wonderful surprise and now I've decided I'm going to have to make my spare bedroom into a Princess room so I can display all of it!

Mrhub, he said they told him that it was possible they could do it upon arrival since he told them we wouldn't be there until 5 or after. They said they would check and if POR could assign it by then, they would. Guess it worked out!

The check out time is 11 am and check in time is 3 pm. It depends if the person who is checking out, leaves before or right at 11 am so housekeeping can get in and get it cleaned. Sometimes they do stay longer then 11 am which it makes more of a challenge to get it cleaned by 3.

Day 5 Continued - After we unpacked, we changed clothes and donned some sweatshirts (it was the only night that was chilly) and went to catch the boat to DTD. I loved having the boat right there. I took a couple of pics of the pool and our room on the way.

This was our room, on the right side corner.

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The mansion area across the river.

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We only had to wait about 10 minutes to get on a boat. I guess since we had hit right at dinner time, it was pretty crowded tonight. The rest of the time, we walked right on. I loved the ride over and then it came into sight!

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First order of business....FOOD! I was starving and I told DH we had to eat at the Earl because you guys said it was so good. We did and you were right. Those sandwiches were so good. I had the regular roast beef and hubs got a Caribbean jerk one.

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We spent the rest of the evening walking from one side of DTD to the other side and then back. We stopped in the stores and hubs bought a new pair of Oakley's, which he was so excited about. He owns about 5 pairs already, but found so new orange ones he "had to have". After the Princess stuff, he could have whatever he wanted.

We stayed playing so long, that we missed the last boat at 11:30 and ended up taking the bus back to the resort after stopping in at Ghirardelli for a hot chocolate...yums. We had planned on being back by 11, because we knew the next day would be a long one....but...we were having so much fun, we got back to the resort at 1 am! By the time we got to bed it was around 2 am and we knew we would pay for it the next day

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Third pic from the bottom, What in the world in attacking that guitar player???

Oh, it was an Australian Diggery Doo! Ha ha ha! I had never seen one before and he made amazing music out of it. This guy was really good at the guitar as well and I almost bought his CD. He even threw me a guitar pick.

Your trip is sounding sooo awsome! Cannot wait to hear more!

Sorry JoAnn, somehow I missed seeing this. Well, I don't really have an answer. We will be going back. We had so much fun and when I told hubs I wanted to come back his answer was, "Oh, we'll be back."

We also have a "bucket list" of places we want to go and since we only manage one vacation a year, I'd say next year we'll head to St. George's Island. We spent a few days there about 6 years ago and it has been one of our favorite vacations and we both want to go back and stay a week.

If I had to guess, I would say it will be 3 years.

Day 6 - My first time in Magic Kingdom!

The plan today was to visit MK because we were doing the MNSSHP that evening there anyway. So we had booked an ADR for Cinderella's Royal Table for lunch. We didn't make rope drop after our late evening and arrived about 9:00 (they had extra magic hours that morning).

I got my first taste of Main Street and seeing the castle (although on the bus when I had spotted it I had already squealed!)

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We headed straight into the Theatre so we could exchange our voucher for our Photopass + card and then wondered around the shops while I skipped up the RR tracks Our first FP was for 9:20-10:20 for Buzz Lightyear, so we headed towards Tomorrowland first. When we walked up, the CM told us there was no wait and asked if I had a smartphone. I told her we did, so she suggested we save the FP and we could rebook a different one for later. SCORE!

I loved Buzz and I whipped hubs!

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We left there and got on the People Mover. It was fun just riding around the area looking although I found out then that I don't do well with the moving sidewalks and moving rides trying to jump on. Just call me Grace.

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Then on to the Carousel of Progress and Tomorrowland Speedway. We literally were walking on to every ride.

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We had our ADR at 11:00, so we had to leave the area and head towards the castle...oh darn...

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We had to wait about 10 minutes after checking in, then they called our name and sent us in. You stop in the bottom part first, where Cinderella is there to take pictures. We had to wait in line about 10 more minutes to get our pic. Then they lead you towards the stairs and tell you to go up, that your table is ready. I loved the stairs. It has balcony's and winds up. You end up on the third floor (2nd floor landing has bathrooms). They sat us at a table for two, by the window and then brought us the menus, a scepter and sword.

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Our Waiter came over and brought us the "specialties of the castle" appetizer plate. It was Gouda cheese, two types of crackers, salad with blueberries, almonds and blue cheese (with a vinaigrette) and hummus. The hummus was delicious and I normally don't care for it much. He took our orders. I had the Major Domos Short Rib - Slow-cooked in a Pinto Noir Demi-glace on potato and parsnip puree with carrots. Hubs had the same thing. I didn't think it tasted like "rib". It tasted like pot roast! It was really good though.

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We ate and were so full. During dinner, the Princesses started coming out. We had Snow White, Aurora, Jasmine and Ariel. They were all really sweet and I didn't take any pictures because I was eating! Ha ha.

When we were done, they came around for our dessert order. We both ordered the "The Clock Strikes Twelve" - white and dark chocolate. It was almost too pretty to eat....almost. I was in chocolate heaven. While we were waiting, hubs was playing with his sword and they announced for everyone to wave their scepters and swords to create magic. The celling started sparkling like little fairies. It was very cute.

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All in all, the meal was wonderful and everything was very beautiful. I was glad we did it, but I probably wouldn't do it again at 2 table service credits. Everyone should do it once.

The next three hours, we spent walking around Fantasyland, rode "The Haunted Mansion", Liberty Square and went and rode "Big Thunder Mountain". I had a FP but we still waited for about 15 minutes. Considering standby was 90 minutes, I will not complain. I had fun playing with the stuff and blowing stuff up. Then we rode the "Jungle Cruise" and "Pirates of the Caribbean", which I also had a FP for both(walked right on). By the time we did all of that, we needed to leave and head to the resort to change for the MNSSHP!

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Sorry, I can't get the pictures to rotate. Photobucket keeps saying "error" and they are the right direction in my computer.

What a guy you've got there! I've never seen anything quite like that princess package!!

P.S. I love that you wore your tiara to the park!

I figured today was the day since I was eating in the castle! Although I didn't wear it the rest of the week. I kept having to grab it during rides and bent it once so I was afraid I would ruin it.

Well he did nice!