Ever since my first grandchild was born, I had dreams of introducing her to a place that is very special to her Nana. And I’m happy to report that my dreams came true this year when the Jabead Party accompanied Lucy on her first trip to Disney World.
If you read my previous trip report from 2024 you are already familiar with our group. There were again 7 of us, but this time Emily and Bryan were replaced by my daughter, Allison, and Lucy, her daughter. So while last year’s trip was more of an adult-style trip, this one was all about Lucy and what we thought would be fun for her.
My husband, Don, and I drove down to Disney World, arriving on March 19th. We spent 4 nights there on our own, spending our time at Disney Springs, Epcot, and a morning at Hollywood Studios. During this time we stayed at the Dolphin for our first night before transferring to the Beach Club Villas for the next 3 nights. When the rest of the group flew in to join us on March 23rd, we then stayed at the Contemporary Resort for the rest of the trip. We had Park Hopper tickets so visited two parks on a couple of our days. Also Becca again qualified for a DAS pass so she and 3 others of our group were able to use that to schedule Lightening Lanes (one at a time) once we entered a park, which was a huge help. Don and I then purchased Lightening Lane Multi Passes and tried to match up some of our Lightening Lane choices and times to the others. This made our trip during the crowded Spring Break season much more enjoyable.
Ok, hopefully that gives you an idea of what this trip was about. I would love to have you join us for all the details. And so with that, here is…
OUR LINEUP OF REVIEWS
Resort/Room Reviews
- Dolphin Resort Room #3199 (West Wing) – COMPLETE
- Beach Club Villas Deluxe Studio (Resort View) Room #325 – COMPLETE
- Contemporary Resort Garden Wing (Water View) Room #5244 & Connecting Room #5245
Table Service Restaurants
- Rosa Mexicano Breakfast (Dolphin Resort) – COMPLETE
- Raglan Road Dinner (Disney Springs) – COMPLETE
- San Angel Inn Dinner (Epcot, Mexico)
- The Cake Bake Shop Breakfast (Boardwalk)
- Spice Road Table Fireworks Dining Package (Epcot, Morocco)
- Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ Lunch (Disney Springs)
- Chef Mickey’s Character Buffet Dinner (Contemporary Resort)
- Biergarten Buffet Dinner (Epcot, Germany)
- Akershus Royal Banquet Hall Character Breakfast (Epcot, Norway)
- Roundup Rodeo BBQ Dinner (Hollywood Studios)
- Liberty Tree Tavern Lunch (Magic Kingdom)
- Crystal Palace Character Buffet Breakfast (Magic Kingdom)
- Narcoossee’s Dinner (Grand Floridian)
Quick Service Restaurants
- Satu’li Canteen Breakfast (Animal Kingdom)
- Yak & Yeti Local Foods Cafe Lunch (Animal Kingdom)
- The Friar’s Nook Breakfast (Magic Kingdom)
- Sleepy Hollow Breakfast (Magic Kingdom)
- Contempo Cafe Lunch (Contemporary Resort)
- Contempo Cafe Breakfast (Contemporary Resort)
Bars, Lounges & Restaurant Happy Hours
- Bluezoo Lounge Happy Hour (Dolphin Resort) – COMPLETE
- Crew’s Cup Lounge Dinner (Yacht Club) – COMPLETE
- Jaleo Happy Hour (Disney Springs) – COMPLETE
- STK Steakhouse Happy Hour (Disney Springs) – COMPLETE
- Space 220 Lounge (Epcot, World Discovery)
- Wailulu Bar & Grill (Polynesian Villas Island Tower)
Miscellaneous Food
- Beaches & Cream Walk-up Window Ice Cream – COMPLETE
- Epcot Flower & Garden Festival Booths
- Magic Kingdom Pre-Fireworks Dessert Party
NOTE: All 6 adults of our group (Jake, Andrew, Becca, Allison, Don and myself) participated in the food reviews. Ratings of between 1 – 5 were given as follows:
1 – Really Bad , 2 – Not Good, 3 – Okay, 4 – Good, 5 – Excellent
Wednesday, March 19 – Arrival Day (Dolphin, Yacht & Beach Club)
Our drive actually began on Tuesday, the 18th, but we stopped overnight just south of Atlanta. So we reached the Florida state line just before noon the next day. A little perk of driving to Florida instead of flying is that you can stop at their Welcome Center soon after entering the state on Interstate 75 South. It is here that you can get a free cup of orange juice, as long as you are there during their Operating Hours of 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
That refreshing taste of Florida orange juice was just the “pick me up” we needed to get us through the final stretch of our drive.
So at about 3:30 p.m. we had arrived…
From here we were headed to the Dolphin Resort. Why the Dolphin you ask? Well, back in January when airfares remained incredibly high for our travel dates, Don and I decided to drive down to Florida instead of flying. Because we had more vacation time available than the rest of our group, I was able to tack on a few days to spend there on our own before their arrival on the 23rd. So initially I booked three nights starting March 20th at the Beach Club Villas. Then less than a week before our departure day I was able to talk my husband into leaving a day earlier. My ability to do this was greatly helped by the fact that I was able to get a free room at the Dolphin for that bonus night by using Marriott Rewards points that we had accumulated from staying at the Swan for a week last year. SCORE!
Review of Our Free One Night Stay at the Dolphin Resort
I rarely make dining reservations for our arrival day because you never know if your travel might be delayed, etc. So instead I usually have a loose plan to dine at places that don’t require reservations. For this trip, I decided that I wanted to do a progressive dinner on our first night. We began by having an appetizer and cocktails right there at our hotel.
Review of Happy Hour at bluezoo Lounge
For the main part of our progressive dinner we stayed in the Epcot resort area, walking next door to the Yacht Club Resort’s…
Review of Our Dinner at the Crew’s Cup Lounge
Since we were headed next door to the Beach Club for our dessert, we were walking around the Stormalong Bay, the pool complex shared by the Yacht & Beach Club Resorts. Stormalong Bay had been closed since January 2025 to undergo a major refurbishment.
It was interesting to see the progress they had made in the 2+ months that the pool area had been closed. The water had been drained from the entire pool complex and the sand had been removed from the part of the pool that had had a sandy bottom.
Resurfacing of areas surrounding the pool and of the pool floor was well underway…
This project was to continue through June 2025. This is now June but to my knowledge they have not yet announced a reopening date for Stormalong Bay.
Soon we reached the final stop of our progressive dinner…
Our Dessert from Beaches & Cream To Go
Having completed our progressive dinner and being tired after two long days of driving, we headed back to our hotel, the Dolphin. Walking from the Yacht & Beach Club we were treated to this lovely sight as we approached our hotel…
Though overall I’m partial to the Disney-owned resorts in the Epcot area, I must admit that the Dolphin is the prettiest one at night.
Thursday, March 20 – Dolphin, Beach Club Villas, Disney Springs
Before packing up and checking out of the Dolphin, we went down the escalator to the 1st floor to have breakfast at one of the Dolphin’s restaurants.
Our Breakfast at Rosa Mexicano
After breakfast we returned to our room there at the Dolphin. We had until 11:00 before having to check out so I had some time to catch up on my review notes while Don did a little work. Then it was time to pack up and move our luggage down to the hotel entrance, where I waited with it while Don walked to the Swan’s parking lot to retrieve our car.
Then it was on to Disney Springs, where we parked in the Orange lot (Yay for free parking garages!) and after going through Security we headed to our first destination…
Our First Sangria Hour at Jaleo
After walking around Disney Springs for awhile, in an attempt to kill some time and regain our hunger, we made our way to another restaurant there…
Our STK Steakhouse Happy Hour Review
While at STK I received a text notifying me that our room was ready so we left Disney Springs and headed to the Beach Club Villas…
Review of our 3 Night Stay at the Beach Club Villas
We soon left the Beach Club and drove back to Disney Springs for our 6:30 dinner reservation at…
A Birthday Celebration Dinner at Raglan Road
Next up: Eating Around the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival Booths
Taste of Disney 