Taryn Travels

Tag: Florida

• 50th Birthday Trip to Disney with Friends! Part 2–Epcot morning!

  Posted at 4:28 pm by taryngirl, on March 17, 2026

  2/22/26

  This was our first day in the parks! We started out in Epcot so we could get around all of the countries for the Festival of the Arts. Most of us had lists of the food and drinks we wanted to try. We were planning on starting our VIP Tour in Epcot the next day, so we were saving the big rides for that.

  

  One bonus to this time, was they were also preparing for the Flower and Garden Show! We were able to see some topiary displays and they were beautiful. One side note…it was chilly at points during our trip, and they actually had to cover up some plants!

  

  Some of the group did go on Soarin’ and Living with the Land. The Land was pretty bustling!

  It was close to 11:00 a.m., when the World Showcase opened, so we headed directly to Mexico. We wanted to get a table at La Cava del Tequila so we could get some chips and queso and drinks. I just love the Mexico Pavilion! I love the ambiance inside.

  

  We got in line around 10:40 a.m. and it was all the way up the ramp already. Here’s a Tik Tok I made poking some fun:

  @taryntravels

  We decided to rope drop La Cava del Tequila in EPCOT along with all of these other fine people! #queso #lacavadeltequila #epcot #mexicopavilion #margarita

  ♬ Fiesta Mexicana – Musica Mexicana

  

  

  Besides all of the beverages available here, they have the best chips and queso! We waited about an hour for a table for 5 people. It’s a super small area inside, however, if you are just coming for a drink, you can order at the bar and leave right away. That wait is not long at all.

  Just before we left, I mobile ordered one of my favorite snacks, the cookie from Karamell-Kuche in Germany, so I could pick it up on my way through the countries!

  

  

  I saved it for later in the day and it was 10/10 as usual!

  I only had one special food stand I realllllly wanted to try this year. This is probably good, because I was full from the chips and queso. This was located in the America Pavilion:

  

  It was actually really good! I loved all 3 things…steak, potatoes, asparagus. The lines for all of the food stands were long, but moved quickly.

  Another of my favorite pavilions is Japan. I love the shop here and the views!

  

  We slowly made our way around and got back to the front of the park to catch the monorail. We had 3:45 p.m. reservations at The Beak and Barrel in the Magic Kingdom!

  Up next…Magic Kingdom!

  Posted in Disney, Epcot, Uncategorized, Walt Disney World Resort | 0 Comments | Tagged Disney, disney-world, Epcot, Florida, travel, Walt Disney World, World Showcase

• 50th Birthday Trip to Disney With Friends!–Part 1

  Posted at 2:17 pm by taryngirl, on March 6, 2026

  2/21/26

  I was supposed to be at Beaches Turks and Caicos for a long weekend with some friends. Sadly, that was canceled, and we had to pivot quickly to decide what we wanted to do. Disney World was the perfect answer! Three of us celebrate birthdays in March, and I turn 50.

  We booked a 2 bedroom villa at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, and the rest was history!

  I had a super early morning flight from Newark. (Also let me say, a surprise snowstorm was supposed to hit the east coast on 2/22-2/23.). The flight was fine and we were on the ground in Orlando by 11:00 a.m. We took a Lyft and were to the resort by noon. Some of our group were already there, as they had flown in the night before. We met them in the main lobby building. To my surprise, our room was ready! I got the text while in the Lyft on the way to the resort.

  I have stayed at Saratoga Springs numerous times. I love the 2 bedroom villas here! They are super spacious and clean. One drawback is the resort is HUGE! There are multiple bus stops and transportation times can be longer, so plan that in your travels.

  

  Our section was the Grandstand. This section is right next to the lobby area, about a 10 minute walk to our room. It also has a nice pool and pool bar. I ordered lunch on the mobile app and took it with me to the room.

  This was a fun surprise:

  

  This is the living room area looking into the kitchen. In this room there is a pull down twin bed, and a pull down queen bed, sleeping 3 total people. Both are comfortable and NOT sofa beds. Having the fridge was nice because we placed a small grocery order.

  

  This is the king bedroom that sleeps two.

  

  This is the queen bedroom that sleeps 4.

  

  There are two full bathrooms which was also nice, as well as a washer and dryer, and multiple closets.

  This was my lunch. It got jostled a little bit while I was carrying it back to the room, but it was really good! (Mobile order at The Artist’s Palette in advance of when you would like your food! Hit I’m here before you actually get there. I found it to be super slow each time I used it. Also go check for it to be ready before you get pinged on the app. One time they forgot to ping me!)

  Grilled Chicken and Rice Bowl–$13.49

  

  After doing a little bit of work in the room, we headed down to the pool to get some sun and warmth while waiting for everyone else to arrive. I was actually surprised at how many people were at the pool in the middle of the day and not at a theme park!

  

  It was nice to get out of freezing cold Pennsylvania!

  We had dinner reservations at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ at 6:00 p.m. We decided to leave the room at 5:00 p.m. and take the boat. The boat goes directly from Saratoga Springs to Disney Springs. This was a longgggg process! We walked to the boat dock, which took probably 10 minutes or so. The line was super long. We weren’t sure we were going to make it on the next boat. However, we were the last ones to make it on and we were a party of 8! One of us had to stand. I haven’t been on the boat post-Covid since they started using them again. There used to be multiple stops at Disney Springs. Now there is only one! And it drops you wayyyyyyy over at the end near the Rainforest Cafe side. Once it drops you, everyone is funneled through security. Then we had to walk allll the way over to Homecomin’ on the clear other side. We got there right at 6:00 p.m.!

  

  Homecomin’ is my favorite restaurant at Disney Springs. They have so many things on the menu that I like and I can never decide what I want!

  

  

  I opted for the Fried Chicken Salad and split this with a friend so that we could order something else.

  

  This was so good and the perfect amount splitting it with someone. They served it on two separate plates that you can see below which was super nice and I didn’t even ask for them to do that. I just told him we were sharing.

  They have some of the best side dishes, and they used to have something on the menu were you could order 3 of them as a sampler. I didn’t see it on the menu but I asked and he said yes! We could still order it. We went with the Momma’s Mac and Cheese, Broccolini, and Creamy Mashed Potatoes.

  

  All of this was SO GOOD! I loved the Broccolini the most. It had the best flavor! The Mac and Cheese was delicious and Mashed Potatoes were super good too. I would order all three again!

  Of course we had to order some dessert! It was hard to decide but we got the Hummingbird Cake and it was massive. Definitely big enough to share with multiple people.

  

  

  This frosting is AMAZING! And the cake was super moist. Delicious dessert that I would definitely get again.

  After dinner, we took the bus from Disney Springs to the Polynesian Resort to check out Trader Sam’s. Since we were a large group, the wait was too long, so we sat outside on the deck and had a drink there. A musician was playing some tropical music for us and that was a nice touch. We got to see the Electrical Water Pageant, and the Happily Ever After Fireworks. They pipe the music in. It was the perfect end for our night!

  

  We decided to monorail over to the Grand Floridian and check out the new bar in the lobby.

  

  Sadly it was closed! So we decided to go to the Enchanted Rose. I haven’t had a chance to go here yet, so this was perfect. We were seated outside on the patio. I actually ordered a hot tea because I was starting to lose my voice. This place was packed!

  

  We ended up taking a Lyft back to Saratoga Springs.

  

  I came back to the room to it being decorated! Thank you to my wonderful friends!

  

  That wrapped up our long day. I was super tired. I had been up since 3:00 a.m.

  Up next…Disney Part 2!

  Posted in Disney, Uncategorized, Walt Disney World Resort | 0 Comments | Tagged Chef Art Smith's Homecomin', Dining Review, Disney, Disney Resort, disney-world, Florida, Saratoga Springs Resort, Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, Table Service, travel, Vacation, Walt Disney World

• Whirlwind Universal Orlando Trip–Day 1 Checking In To Bay Lake Tower, Lunch at Contempo Cafe, Monorail Resort Tour

  Posted at 8:42 am by taryngirl, on January 23, 2025

  12/14/24

  This trip came about as a birthday celebration for my youngest daughter. We decided to let her pick a friend to join us. The night before we were flying to Florida, her friend suffered an injury in her high school basketball game. She arrived to our house in the morning on crutches and with ice packs! Ackkkkk! Since we were flying Southwest Airlines, I went into her confirmation and added a wheelchair to it. I had NO idea the extent of the injury, but I knew I wanted her to walk the least amount necessary!

  Southwest was great! We checked in like normal and then went to a “wheelchair assistance” desk. They scanned her boarding pass and we were off to head through security. We went through a special entrance and there was no line. They also wheeled her to the gate and upon boarding, we all were permitted to preboard with her. Our flight was not full.

  

  Once on the plane, she did have to get up every 20 minutes and take a stroll down the aisle to avoid blood clots. (Her crutches fit in the overhead bin.)

  Now, let me do a preview…

  We are Disney Vacation Club members. We had 3 day tickets for Universal Studios Orlando. So for our arrival day, we took a Lyft to Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, which I booked with our DVC points. My plan was to take the monorail around to the resorts and look at the Christmas decorations and gingerbread houses, wake up the next morning and Lyft to Universal.

  Our Lyft from the airport to Bay Lake Tower was $50 plus tip.

  

  We landed around noon and were at our resort by 1:00 p.m. Our room was not ready yet, so we checked our luggage with Bell Services, and went to get something to eat.

  

  

  It was a beautiful day!

  

  Bay Lake Tower is connected to the main Contemporary Resort by a Skybridge walkway. This is located on the 5th floor of BLT. The gingerbread display was located directly inside the Contemporary once crossing the Skybridge walkway.

  

  I loved seeing this:

  

  

  

  It was amazing in person! There also was a little stand set up where they were selling gingerbread goodies.

  For lunch we went to Contempo Cafe, which is one of my FAVORITE quick service locations.

  

  We mobile ordered. The menu:

  

  

  

  

  

  

  If you do not mobile order, you can order at the cashier and then they will deliver the food to your table.

  I ordered the Vegetable Flatbread–Zucchini, Red Onion, Roasted Red Pepper, Roasted Tomato, Asparagus, Mozzarella, Parmesan, and Pistou finished with Balsamic Glaze and Chives $13.29

  

  This was actually amazing! The taste was so good, and it was a good serving size. I could not eat it all.

  Chicago Style Italian Beef Sub–shaved Italian Beef, Mozzarella, Giardiniera, and Seasoned Au Jus $13.99

  

  This was also really good! He ate the whole thing.

  Kids Chicken Strips–Served with 2 sides and a drink $8.49

  

  Fun fact, anyone can really order a kid’s meal at a quick service location. It’s a good portion size and comes with choice of 2 sides and a drink. Both girls got double fries and a water. They loved these!

  Chili-Cheese Fries $6.99

  

  We also ordered a side of the Chili Cheese Fries. These were also really good!

  Here are some of the desserts that were available:

  

  

  Overall, 10/10 meal here! It was super busy and tables were limited.

  From here, we hopped on the monorail and headed out to check out the Polynesian and Grand Floridian. We all four had a backpack because we weren’t able to check into our room yet. So I had my laptop, others had ipads, etc. Security was crazy. All 4 of us were flagged and they had to go through our bags at every single checkpoint during this journey.

  Our first stop was the Polynesian. This is one of my favorite Disney resorts! I love the vibe here!

  

  This is the view walking in from the monorail:

  

  

  The decorations were so pretty!

  

  

  We looked in the shops and then got back on the monorail to go to the Grand Floridian.

  This is the view when walking in from the monorail:

  

  It was bustling with activity in here! The gingerbread house was up and there was a longgggg line waiting to buy some gingerbread goodies.

  

  

  The cast members actually stand INSIDE the gingerbread house to serve the customers. It’s huge!

  

  

  From here we got back onto the monorail to head to our resort. I had received a text that our room was ready!

  Up next…Bay Lake Tour 1 Bedroom Villa, Dinner at Steakhouse 71.

  Posted in Disney, Uncategorized, Walt Disney World Resort | 0 Comments | Tagged Bay Lake Tower, Disney, Disney Resort, disney-world, Florida, travel, Walt Disney World

• Anna Maria Island–2 Days Pre-Hurricane

  Posted at 7:57 pm by taryngirl, on October 21, 2022

  9/24-26/22–Saturday, Sunday, Monday

  My cousin, and traveling partner, has a place in Anna Maria Island. A few months ago she asked me if I’d like to go down with her for a girl’s trip. YES, OF COURSE! I love this area. The beach is perfect with white sand and shells, and usually very calm, clear water.

  HOWEVER! Right before we were getting ready to go, a “tropical system” was developing. As our husbands were sending us off, one was all…”have a great adventure!” While the other was all…”you guys are nuts!” Haha!

  We usually fly from Lehigh Valley Airport on Allegiant. It’s a super small airport, and way better than Philly! It’s less crowded, usually reasonably priced and the flight is quick. I have the Allegiant credit card, so besides priority boarding, I get one free drink of any kind. They have these new, cute little mixers!

  

  At this point the Tropical Storm/Hurricane was supposed to be centered somewhere around Tampa on Wednesday, which is just north of our location.

  Our other cousin that lives in Bradenton picked us up from the airport and drove us to the condo. We had to take stock of the grocery situation and hit the store. Already there were signs for limits on water, and it was practically sold out, as well as toilet paper.

  

  We got Publix subs to have for dinner. (If you haven’t had one, I highly recommend!) We did want to check for water somewhere else, and luckily the CVS on the island had some! Here’s a gorgeous sky while crossing the bridge.

  

  This evening was pretty uneventful. We did see that Jim Cantore was going to be in Clearwater Beach which slightly panicked us since we were just south of there.

  

  Our plan for Sunday was a beach day! And it was perfect to say the least…

  

  

  

  

  

  

  It truly was the perfect beach day. We stayed until just before dinner time. The beach was actually pretty full of people considering a hurricane was on the way. We didn’t see anyone on the island really preparing their homes or businesses yet.

  We went home and showered and headed out to meet our other cousin for dinner at a new-to-us restaurant called Old Hamburg Schnitzelhaus.

  

  This place was SUPER CUTE inside! It was like we were sitting in someone’s kitchen.

  

  

  Here’s a peek at the menu along with some specials:

  

  

  

  I couldn’t pass this goodie up!

  

  There were so many good things on the menu, that I really couldn’t decide…

  I finally decided on the Beef Stroganoff! It was DELICIOUS!

  

  Someone else ordered the Italian Schnitzel:

  

  And someone else ordered one of the specials:

  

  There was also a side of the warm German potato salad. It was good!

  

  None of us were still hungry, but we saw a waitress carrying this past our table to another family and couldn’t resist ordering our own. This is the Apfelstrudel and it was AMAZING!

  

  We all really enjoyed this restaurant, and I would definitely eat there again!

  Monday we woke up and wanted to have one more beach day before we left. We still had perfect weather!

  

  

  As we were getting ready to leave, the clouds were rolling in. They were not even from the hurricane yet though! This was just a normal Florida afternoon rainstorm on the way.

  

  The beach was noticeably less crowded. Preparations were underway now on the island. We saw several businesses boarding up with the same supplies that they used for Hurricane Irma. We also saw people getting their sandbags to put at their houses.

  

  

  Once we were back, we showered, ate dinner, packed up and got ready to head to Orlando. I had booked Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort with my DVC points on Saturday when we arrived. We decided leaving Monday would be better to try and avoid a ton of traffic fleeing Tampa on Tuesday.

  Up next…Orlando Adventures–Hurricane Ian

  Posted in Anna Maria Island, Beach, Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged Anna Maria Island, Beach, Florida

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