View Full Version : Best Week Ever: Disney Edition (My Sept. 6-13 Trip Report)
Well kids I just got back from "the most magical place on Earth" and I'm here to tell you all about my little travels. We left at the butt-crack of morning on Saturday, Sept. 6th and sadly had to leave on Saturday, Sept. 13th. Well this will be my first trip report, so strap yourselves in and bare w/ me. The trip was filled w/ laughter, happiness, and maybe even a little unecessary drama for good measure. Here we go!
First of all let me introduce myself and the rest of the "cast":
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David (Me)- Yup that's me ya'll. I'm 24 and a major Disney dork. I haven't been to the "world" in 4 years and when my mom asked me to "tag along" on their upcoming trip she didn't have to convince me twice to go along. They really had to twist my arm to go...**
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Dad- He's a 47 y/o baby who happens to look like a grown man. He may look big and mean, but he's a big softie at heart. Remember the drama I mentioned? Well it was probably started by him. He's a type-A Disney commando who takes no prisoners. If you happened to see us you would see him 5 miles ahead and me yelling to "slow down".
Mom- She's 45 and a total blonde if you know what I'm saying. I shouldn't say anything because we are practically the same and we were always trying to go the wrong way to exit rides and the whole mess. Fun times! Anyways she was the type who wanted to stop and see the parades, but of course "you know who" wanted to go, go, GO!
Well anywho, that was my "short" little introduction to bring everyone up to speed on who you are dealing w/ on this TR. See you all soon for more.
The Itinerary:
I thought I would give a preview of all of the parks we visited and restaraunts we ate at on the various days.
Day 1 (Sept. 6th)-
Went to the Magic Kingdom, ate at Chef Mickey's
Day 2 (7th)-
Went to the Magic Kingdom, ate at the Columbia Harbor House, and Narcoosee's
Day 3 (8th)-
Went to Animal Kingdom, then Disney Studios at night. Ate at Yak and Yeti for CS, then Boma.
Day 4 (9th)-
Went to Epcot, ate at AS Music, then Coral Reef.
Day 5 (10th)-
Went to Disney Studios and Downtown Disney, ate at Earl of Sandwich and AS Music.
Day 6 (11th)-
Went to Magic Kingdom, visited Fort Wildnerness, Epcot, and then back to the MK again. Ate at Cosmic Ray's and then O'Hana.
Day 7 (12th)-
Went to Magic Kingdom, then Epcot, and then briefly back to Magic Kingdom. Ate at Sunshine Seasons, and then Whispering Canyon at WL.
We were on the Free Dining promo, which was awesome. I'll go into more detail on what I ate and give my reviews, although sadly I have no "food porn" pics.
rosiep
09-15-2008, 01:13 PM
More please!
I'm here too!!:wave2:
Can't wait to hear all about your trip!
jslbjc
09-15-2008, 01:52 PM
Can't wait to hear about your trip.
jeanigor
09-15-2008, 02:46 PM
popcorn:: I can't wait to hear about your dining experiences and whatnot either!
I do have to say that you are kinda lucky though. I could barely drag my mom into the parks when she came to visit me when I was a CP.:confused3
ConcKahuna
09-15-2008, 04:20 PM
LOL I love Disney too, but I'm very mellow about the parks. I get to the stuff...eventually :rotfl:
And it was really cool to run into you on the monorail :thumbsup2 Shame I was wokring :rotfl2:
DWJoshua
09-15-2008, 05:26 PM
Well that was a huge tease! Let's hear more!
Day 1- Sept. 6th
Well it's that time again, time for me to make you all jealous of my awesome time at WDW. Let me start off by telling you that me and gettin up at 3am to catch a plane do not mix. It leads to extreme giddy-ness and then later . I won't bore you w/ the deets on my flight because that was boring as heck. Let's start this off w/ something you all like, DRAMA!
The first "incident" of my lovely trip happened when my dad went up to get the tickets to get on the Magical Express. Well anywho, it was crowded and they only let one person wait in line, so my mom and I stood back. When he gets out of the line he's looking like a deer in headlights trying to find us, except we see him immediately and start walking up to him. Long story short big baby has his first meltdown and freaks out that he couldn't find us, although he was only looking for us for like 2 seconds! So yay what a way to start the trip! Now that that's over we boarded the "Magic School Bus" aka Magical Express.
I wanted to take a picture of myself so badly, but since I was seated too far for the rents to take a picture I didn't want to look like a big Disney freak snapping pics of myself on a bus full of people. So after a short little excursion I saw the best sight you could ever see, the welcome to Walt Disney World sign! When we walked into the All Star Music lobby a man w/ a funky Mickey hat and gloves "welcomed us home". At that moment is when I truly felt the Disney "magic". After a short check in we arrived at the farthest room EVER in the Rock N' Roll section.
Here's me showcasing our room number!
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*cough*FREAKSHOW*cough*
...and here's the rents w/ some of the themeing in the background.
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We got towel animals! *I don't think my parents realized what a Disney freak I truly was because this was the first thing I wanted to take a pic of. *
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Ok if you're still w/ me, run away now...j/k It's time for a short intermission and soon I'll tell you all about our visit to my fave. park, the Magic Kingdom.
Love the towel animals...it's all those little things that I wish I'd taken pictures of when we went. Next time I'll be the obsessive one taking pictures of towel animals, food, signs, flowers...
...and we're back! I think I'll start this one out with BACK SWEAT. Yes back sweat pouring down like a waterfall. I think I forgot that Florida is 200 degrees hotter while you are waiting for your bus to arrive, yes its a little known fact. But of course I didn't care because I was going to the Magic Kingdom! *happy dance!!!111*
When we got there I was excited to see that they "kingdom" was fully decked out in Halloween garb. I LOVE Halloween. We had to take a picture w/ the pumpkins, and this really awesome lady volunteered to take our photo w/out anyone even asking. That's Disney magic right there.
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So I decided that our first ride should of course be my fave. Pirates, even though my Dad wanted it to be Jungle Cruise. JC? Are you kidding me? Before we got to the entrance I spotted that Capt. Hook and Mr. Smee had just came out and my mother and I wanted to get a picture. Well guess what? My dad was like 5 miles ahead stampeding to get in line for Pirates. This was the typical behavior of him throughout the entire trip because, like I said he's a Disney commando. I even have a picture that we took of him running ahead of us, but I'll show that one later.
Anywho, Pirates was of course awesome and I loved the addition of the Capt. Jack AA's. Pirates to me is the epitome of WDW, it's such a classic and I could NEVER get tired of it. After the ride we decided to hurry up and see if Hook and Smee were still there. There were and we rushed into the short line, and before we got to meet them, they announced that they had to leave. I was not a happy camper and we teased dear old dad that he had already ruined the trip for us!
After that ordeal, we hit our other faves BTMR and SM. If I had my way I would have rode SM over and over...and OVER, although there really wasn't much time seeing as we had to make our ressies at Chef Mickey's. Next we hit up my other fave Haunted Mansion. I loved the new renovations they made to the ride. If you ever rode w/ me on this ride you must know that I'm singing along in the graveyard scene each and every time... Don't judge!
On our way out we stopped to see the end of the 3pm parade. I hate taking pics of parades because I find them boring, but my dad insisted. I'm really bad at taking them as evidenced. You can't see anyone...
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Ok after that we made our way to the monorail and we were off to the Contemporary for Chef Mickey's. Remember when I said I started out giddy and then turned . Yeah this is about the time that transformation happend. But we'll leave that part for the next installment.
Let me leave you all w/ the obligatory castle shot:
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freedogshampoo
09-15-2008, 11:12 PM
The pic with the pumpkins got me all excited about my MNSSHP trip coming up on Oct 4th!
ILuvCrush
09-16-2008, 08:22 AM
popcorn:: popcorn:: popcorn:: popcorn::
jslbjc
09-16-2008, 10:33 AM
Wow a Commando dad!!
Leoscrp27
09-17-2008, 02:03 PM
I'm Loving your TR. It's definately helping to pass the time before our own trip in November. Can't wait to hear your Dining Reviews, and your dad is cracking me up :rotfl2: Those pictures you took of the parade were Amazing, It looks like you had the park to yourself!:thumbsup2
Day 1 Cont.-
Ok sorry for the lack of updates, but this is taking me longer than anticipated. Well when I last left off I was about to tell you about my dinner at Chef Mickey's.
When we arrived we were an hour early, so we browsed the shops a little. By this time I was completely spent for the day and was not in a good mood in the least. We sat in the lobby by the resteraunt for about 30 mins while they were playing Corey in the House. I would rather have tootpicks shoved under my fingernails than to have to endure watching that show again...
So after what seemed like an eternity they let us into the main lobby to sit. I was so crabby by this point that even the Disney music blaring was putting me into a grumpy mood. Oh and let's just say there were kids EVERYWHERE running around knocking over the ropes, touching the food....ugh and it was sooo LOUD! Yes I know this is Chef Mickey's and there are definately going to be kids, but the parents were so oblivious! Sheesh.
So yeah after we were seaten and I had my caffeine I was feeling mucho better! I started off w/ some cheese and rolls, and decided to skip the salad. For my "main food" I had the prime rib, ribs, chicken, and mashed potatoes. I think I even had some of the chicken strips from the kids part. Everything was good, but honestly the food was no different than what you'd find in your local buffet. For dessert I had ice cream and those AWESOME Oreo Mickey ear things. Those were so good. Overall I would rate the food a B-. I don't think I would go back again since the food wasn't all the impressive in comparison to other resteraunts around the world and like I said it was just too LOUD for my tastes.
On to the characters! I felt like our table was pretty much ignored, and I'm guessing it was because we were all "adults". I got pics w/ Donald, Goofy, Mickey, and Pluto, yet Minnie totally blew us off! She gave us a sign that she'd be right back and when she did come back she skipped right over us. She was probably just jealous that I hugged her b/f. mwahaha Anywho the characters really weren't that much into "character" at all and pretty much just stopped to take a pic and then ran off. Kind of disappointing to say the least. Also when Donald came I was alone at the table and he acted like he didnt' want to take a pic w/ me at all. Sadness!
Here's some pics:
I had to take this by myself, hence the EXTREME close-up!
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Uh yeah apparently my dad has not mastered the art of using a camera...
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No wonder Minnie blew us off!
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I don't know these people...
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We look so "Goofy".
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Ok so after Chef Mickey's was done, we headed back to the Magic Kingdom. We rose Space Mountain, Buzz, and then Monster's Inc. My dad got to be the "churro" guy which was so hilarious. Then we did Stitch where my chair's effects were broken. Um yeah I don't think I will ever be doing that one again. LAME!
We then did a few rides in Fantasyland and then more DRAMA! My dad wanted to see the Country Bears, but my mother and I wanted to pass. Well he threw another little hissy fit which was hilarious. I'm sorry, but I have to just laugh at him when this happens. I think I'll leave you w/ this picture of me and my mom on IaSW.
We're bringing sexyback.... Yeah I had to bring that cliche back.
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Ok well that will be today's installment! Let's just say I was dead tired and cranky that night and got like 1 hour of sleep due to loud snoring. Not a good night... Next time I will be talking about our 2nd day at the Magic Kingdom and the best dinner of my life. Stay tuned!
Day 2- Sept. 7th, 2008-
Previously on "Best Week Ever- Disney Edition": Early wake-up calls, family melt-downs, and Chef Mickey's.
Ok like I said in the previous post, I was once again dead tired because my dad was snoring LOUDLY the entire night. Um yeah so after having 1 hour or less of sleep I was ready to take on the Magic Kingdom...AGAIN! Going to the Magic Kingdom is the only thing that could energize me at dire times like these. After getting my morning coffee I was up and rarin' to go!
W/ my Mickey ears in tow we headed off to the Magic Kingdom where I got to see the opening ceramony for the first time ever. It was so magical when the train pulled up and my main man Mickey hopped off and waved to the crowd. After the gates opened it was a mad dash to Space Mountain. Although it's as old as the hills I still love this one. I love how jerky it is and it's so much fun to yell in the dark. Good times... After that we headed to Fantasyland to hit the rides we missed before.
I must let you all know that my family has to stop at every restroom the "world" has to offer. I got bored waiting so I decided to take a picture of my shadow...
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DUMBO! *Yes I know it only goes around in a cirlce, but it's a classic that I still love.*
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We also hit up Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, and Snow White. I love dark rides, no matter how cheesy they may be. My goofy grin will attest to it!
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Sadly I wasn't worthy enough to release the sword from the stone, no matter how ripped I may be.
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Me rockin' the coolest glasses ever at Philharmagic. I LOVE this show. It almost brings a tear to the eye...almost!
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Ok after Fantasyland we hit up my absolute fave. the peoplemo...I mean the TTA. I will never get used to calling it that. Then we saw the Carosel of Progress which I still actually enjoy. It reminds me of Walt.
After having a ton of fun times, we had to go back to our new room that we tranferred to at ASMusic. When we checked in the first day we had a brand new employee who didn't get our request for a closer room to the lobby and pool. Well anywho my dad got it all fixed and we were moved to the closer, "Jazz Inn."
Waiting for our bus I took a pic of these "hungry" duckies. They just walked right up to us w/ their sad eyes looking for food. Unfortch nobody had any to give. So sad.... Oh and some more drama happened on the trip when the lady in front of us started freaking out that the busses were too slow and that she was going to walk up to the nearby bus to yell at him. Um yeah what would that solve? I swear people need to realize that they are in the most magical place on Earth and chillax.
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My mom decided to mock me by taking a shot of our new room number...
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0142.jpg
"In the next installment I will tell you about our dinner at Narcoosee's. All I'm going to say is "BEST DINNER EVER!!!".
PS: I forgot to mention that we also at the Columbia Harbor House for our CS credit for the day. I got the Chicken and Fish basket w/ fries and the chocolate cake. We weren't that impressed and my mom said that Long John Silver's is better. Ouch... It's sad because I remember that the food used to be so good.
Ta Ta For Now!
ConcKahuna
09-20-2008, 07:31 AM
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I love this picture :thumbsup2
Day 2- Sept. 7th (Continued)
"The Narcoosee's Review"
After settling our stuff into our new room we decided to head over to the Grand Floridian early. When I say early, I meant EARLY. We were about 2 hours ahead of our reservations. We spent some time walking the grounds, the shops, and I took a few photos of the lobby.
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After a while we decided that it was just too long of a time to just sit around so we all decided on a quick trip to the Magic Kingdom for a little Pirates!
We took a boat ride back to the Grand Floridian after our short stint at MK. It was nice, but really hot and humid on the ride over. The location of the resteraunt is in a really great spot. It's such a beautiful view of the lagoon and the castle. We were seated "sort-of" near a window. At least we were able to see out which was nice. We had the nicest waiter who was actually really funny. He was cracking jokes the entire night and was really attentive, even though he was busy w/ many other tables it seemed.
Being the alcholics we are, we decided to have our first drinks of the trip. (That was a joke people...ha, ha? ) Oh and I needed something to pick me up after lack of sleep for two nights....
I look THRILLED...
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I got the "Glow-tini" after seeing so many pics of people getting them in other trip reports. It was really good, but strong as well. You could def. taste the vodka. Oh and it came w/ an awesome glow-cube that you could take home. I would def. recommend this drink.
Happiness is the Glow-tini!
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The parents each got a margarita. I'm pretty sure they were mango or something, but I didn't try them so I'm not 100% sure. They said they were good so I'll take their word for it.
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As for the main course, let me tell you...BEST DINNER OF MY LIFE. We each got the whole Maine Lobster which came w/ au-gratin style potatoes and I think it was brocolli. The was the best lobster I have ever had. It was already cracked open and it was not rubbery at all. It was just perfect. For dessert we each had the almond crusted cheescake. This was heaven on a plate. I love cheesecake, and this was probably one of the best I've ever had the pleasure to eat. Yum!
Overall I would grade Narcoose's an A, and I would definately come back here next time. Great atomosphere, amazing food, and an attentive staff.
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After our amazing meal, we headed back to the MK to catch Wishes. I love Wishes and it def. didn't disappoint. After Wishes we hit up a few more rides during EMH, and then headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep. *Yes I finally got some sleep that night!*
In the next installment- Animal Kingdom, CS at Yak and Yeti, Dinner at Boma, and Hollywood Studios...
ILuvCrush
09-21-2008, 07:26 PM
Great update!! You are the 2nd TR I've read today that had the lobster AND almind cheesecake at narcoossee's... and with both of your raving reviews....I may have to add it to an upsoming trip!!!!
Paula
jslbjc
09-22-2008, 11:46 AM
I love cheesecake. Thanks to your review Narcoosse's will be added to my next trip. Keep the yummy reviews coming!
MousekaMaddi
09-22-2008, 12:30 PM
fun pix, looking forward to more........when my 6 yr old daughter saw the pix of u in mouse ears she asked me why I dont wear them when we visit, :lmao:
Leoscrp27
09-22-2008, 07:39 PM
great dining review, we were looking for something different to have on our Disney Date Night, and Narcoosse's sounds perfect. Can't wait to read more...popcorn::
fun pix, looking forward to more........when my 6 yr old daughter saw the pix of u in mouse ears she asked me why I dont wear them when we visit, :lmao:
Now you HAVE to wear them! :lmao: :thumbsup2
Day 3- Sept. 8th, 2008
Ah so this is what it feels like to be fully rested! Yes folks, I got my first good nights sleep of the trip the night before and I was rarin' to take on Animal Kingdom. But before that I wanted to take some random pics of the hotel.
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On the bus we got a little crazy....
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We were at AK way early so we browsed around the shop they have outside and then I got this pic of the entrance.
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After they let us in, they put on this really cute opening "show" w/ Mickey and the gang. First Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto came out on a truck and then they radio'ed Mickey who was climbing the Tree of Life. It was really neat.
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Of course we all headed to Everest, which none of us had done before. I thought it was awesome, although was a little disappointed w/ the Yeti scene because it went by WAY too fast and it was too dark to even make him out. My mom freaked the heck out, I'm not even kidding you. She was "shocked" that Disney would create a ride so "treacherous"... Uh yeah she said "treacherous"! I think the backward part threw her over the edge. Sooo I guess she won't be doing that one again.
Here I am in front of "the treachery"...
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Next we headed for Dinosaur which is one of my faves. Before though, we took some "interesting" photos.
We're going to eat your soul...
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I think I'm in love...
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Next we went to see "It's Tough to Be a Bug." This is probably my fave 3-D show at Disney.
It's Tough to Be This Fug...
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Up next was the safari. It was nice and relaxing, although the animals seemed to be hiding from the heat, but can you blame them? Our tour guide was really good too. I took some random pics here.
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...and the scariest ones of all!
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Next it was time for the Finding Nemo musical. I love, love, LOVED it. I was sceptical about Disney turning one of my fave. movies into a musical, but they really pulled this one off. The guy who sang for Crush was incredible. This one was a hit.
After that my mom and I did Kali River Rapids while my dad sat out. We got a raft w/ some really funny people and got soaked.
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Wow I look so hot as a drowned rat...
Next we used our CS credit for Yak and Yeti. They have a CS right outside of the main resterant. We all got the Shrimp Lo-Mein and I got the mango pie for the dessert. I thought the Lo-Mein was good overall. It was nice and hot and there were a lot of noodles so I was definately full. There weren't many shrimp in it which is probably to be expected. Overall it really hit the spot. The mango pie was pretty good as well. A nice change from chocolate cake.
After we ate I wanted to see the Lion King show, but we soon found out that it wasn't on for another 2 hours. I have missed this one for the last 2 trips and was determined to see it, so me and my mom stayed while my dad went back to the hotel for a nap.
While waiting for the showtime we headed to Camp Minnie, Mickey for some character pics.
First up was Minnie who was as sweet as ever.
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Ok next was Mickey and let's just say this wasn't a pleasant experience for me. You probably don't know this, but I have an unhealthy obsession w/ Mickey. He was so rude to me! When we got to the front he grabbed my mom's arm and lead her up to the picture taking area. When I got in the pic he put his arm in front of me and was like pushing me back. Then after the pic he pushed me out to take a solo one w/ my mom. I know this was part of the "act" but really it sort of ticked me off. I *heart* Mickey, how could he do this to me?
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Next we saw Goofy who wasn't that much into "character". I like my Goofy's to act crazy.
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After character fun-age we headed over to the Lion King. I LOVED it. I love the live singers. They were so talented and sent chills into me. The acrobats were really good too, although I could have lived w/out seeing all of the sking tight spandex. My mom said she was having an anxiety attack from all of the things going on in there.
Well after the show we headed back to the hotel where I relaxed for a bit by the piano pool. They say that AK is a half-day park and it proved to be true for us as well. We didn't re-visit AK for the rest of our trip.
In the next installment- Our dinner at Boma, and then our brief stop at Hollywood Studios. Thanks for reading!
Just to let you know I had this update done on Thursday night but before it posted it was deleted! Oh well moving on....
Day 3- Sept. 8th (Cont.)
So before I told ya'll about my trip to AK, and now I can tell you about our visit to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and our dinner at Boma. Let me tell you that the AKL is awesome! If I ever get rich I will definately be staying here. It kind of reminds me of the WL, but only w/ an African theme.
Here are a few pics I took of the Lodge:
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I love how the animals were on property. Very cool. I also loved the outdoor camp fire, and the huge window in the back of the hotel. So after looking around for a bit, we headed downstairs to Boma for dinner.
Let me start off by saying that Boma was the place I was most excited about eating at. It was pretty much the only place that I insisted that we eat at. BIG MISTAKE! I'm sorry, but I thought the food was disgusting. Oh and before anyone starts scoffing at me, I will say that I tried EVERYTHING that they had to offer. I started off w/ this soup that tasted like pure sugar. Then I had this watermelon rind salad stuff that was horrible. I also had some of that dip stuff w/ the pita bread, and only could really tolerate one of the 3 kinds I sampled. I also tried stuff like the folofal and cous cous which I'm sure I misspelled, but none of it was my cup of tea...at all. Even the prime rib and chicken they had tasted wierd. But then came the good part....THE DESERT! Wow, now we're talking. They had the best deserts there. I swear to you that the things called "Zebra Domes" are the best creation known to man. I didn't even know what was in them or what they were, but they were freakin' good. Anyways, my mom and I were NOT impressed w/ Boma although my dad claimed to have loved it. Well I guess 1 out 3 isn't too bad I suppose.
After an "interesting" meal we decided to head off to Hollywood Studios for the rest of the night. We first hit the RnR Coaster. Ok this was hilarious because my parents had never ridden this before and I convinced them that it was "tamer" than Space Mountain. Um yeah, so when my mom saw the take off she freaked the heck out and claimed she had to use the restroom and she proceded to take the chicken exit. My dad was so ticked and I could not stop laughing... Anyways after we rode my dad convinced my mom to give it a try, although he decided to sit this it out this time around. Anyways we had a blast, but after the ride it broke down right before the exit and we were stuck on for about 10 or more mintutes. Needless to say I never heard the end of it from them and how it was not "smoother" than SM...
After that we headed for Tower of Terror which a fave. of all 3 of us. This was the best "drop scenario" I think I have ever experienced. They gave us so many drops and then did a fake out where it seemed it was over and then headed back up and dropped again. Awesome!
After that I thought we were headed for Toy Story Mania, but my dad wanted to stop and see the Little Mermaid first? WHAT!? I was a little ticked because the park was closing soon and I had heard that TSM usually has long wait times. Oh well what could I do? After the show we headed over to TSM and yeah it was one of the longer lines we experienced on our trip, it wasn't THAT bad.
Well the ride was really good. I loved it, although my arm was hurting because I went nutso pulling that cord. It kind of reminded me of a mix between the Spiderman ride at IoA and Buzz Lightyear in the MK. Overall I would give it an A-.
Yet another random 3-D glasses pic, a la Toy Story Mania...
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0184.jpg
After TSM we headed home to rest up for our trip to Epcot the next day.
Next time on "Best Week Ever- Disney Edition" Grey Goose slushies, Margaritas, and the trying on of hats... Thanks for reading!
ILuvCrush
09-27-2008, 02:13 AM
I thought I was the only one out there that wasn't impressed by Boma!!! It didn't do anything for me either. I'm trying Breakfast this time... can't mess up bfast, right???
Sounds like a fun day!!
paula
Day 4- (Sept. 9th, 2008)
On our schedule today was a visit to EPCOT.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/4.jpg
We were there for the morning EMH, and I had heard that the lines for Soarin' get long very early so we decided to do that one first.
My mom got to be the line length determiner person. She was uber-excited.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0186.jpg
This was our first time on Soarin' and it was just amazing. I love the feeling of the wind blowing at you and the beautiful scenery you "fly over". My fave part is the ending where you fly up to the fireworks over Disneyland. My mom hated it though seeing as she kept her eyes shut the entire time. She said she felt like she was going to fall off.
Next we did The Land boat ride which is one of my personal faves, although the others said they thought it was "boring". Whatev...
Scary mutant 'gators w/ glowing eyes!
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0187.jpg
I want a Mickey pumpkin for Halloween!
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0190.jpg
Next we headed for the Seas which I was very excited about seeing for the first time. Finding Nemo is one of my fave. movies ever. I loved the new clamshell ride they put in. A billion times better than the lame one they had back in the 80's. After that we looked around the tanks to wait for the next showing of Turtle Talk w/ Crush. I loved seeing the dolphin tank. There were about 3 of them playing w/ a ball. Pretty soon the time came for them to open up Turtle Talk and we headed on in. The show was really cute, although not as good as I had heard it was. Crush asked the little kids in the front to ask him questions, but none of them even asked any "real" questions. They just made comments like "you are funny." I think it would have been better if Crushed would have picked on some of the older kids in the audience. My mom and I enjoyed it, although my dad thought it was a complete waste of time. *sigh* Such is life...
Mine, Mine, MINE!
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0191.jpg
Hey look it the REAL Nemo and Dory!
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http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0193.jpg
People are friends...NOT food!
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0194.jpg
It's me and my best friend Nemo!
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0195.jpg
Next up was the Imagination Pavillion. We started by doing the Figment ride. Wow this place was DEAD. It was kind of sad actually. This ride has become so "sterile" and just not good. After the ride my mom and I did the picture taking thing where you can send it out to your email.
I...am...scary
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/Epcot.jpg
Then we saw "Honey I Shrunk the Audience." I remember that I used to love this one, but it was gotten soo dated and just OLD.
Yet another 3-D glasses shot. (Yeah I had to take one for each 3-D attraction.)
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Next we headed over to World Showcase to get what I was dieing to try. The Grey Goose Slushie in France. We started off at Canada where I saw a great "beer" T-shirt that my mom and I decided would be the perfect souvineer for my brother. Oh and this is where the crazy hat hijinks started...
*Sings* Daaavey, Davey Crocket! King of the Wild Frontier!
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Next we visited jolly ole' England.
I'm stuck!
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0199.jpg
I'm a police officer, no really...
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0200.jpg
We ran into Alice. I was excited to see my first "face character"!
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Up next was France!
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I am a true art-teast!
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My mom was getting hungry so we stopped at the bakery in France to grab a bite. They each had some sort of fruit tart thing and I got a chocolate donut thing. Mine was not that good seeing as it was practically frozen and tasteless. Then we got what I had been anticipating the whole trip, the Grey Goose slush! It was so good and definately put me in a much happier mood. My mom loved it as well, but my dad was not a fan. He said it was way too expensive for what little they gave us. Hello, this is DW, everything is overpriced. So yeah we thought it would be fun to piss him off for the rest of the trip by talking about the drink and randomly saying "GREEEEY GOOSE" for the rest of our trip. We still do it to this day.
Ok next up was Morocco. Hey look it's Aladdin!
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Next was Japan, where sadly I didn't find any crazy hats, just a bunch of demonic Hello Kitty merch.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0207.jpg
Next we visited the US of A. I wanted to see the show they had, but for some reason they had specific times and the next one was like an hour away. Bummer...
Gee how could you have shop represening America w/out selling guns?
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0209.jpg
I represent my country by looking like an A#!-hat.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0210.jpg
Well I know Italy was in there somewhere, but I didn't any pics there. No love for Italy, sorry! Next we visited Germany.
There is no beer in there, I swear!
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0212.jpg
Next up was China.
No comment...
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0213.jpg
Next we did the boat ride in Norway, Maelstrom. This is also another of my faves. It's really short, but I still enjoy it loads.
Of course we coudn't pass up the obligatory troll pic (BTW the troll was wearing a yellow shirt today):
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0215.jpg
After that it was time for more drinking! I got the fiesta margarita and my parents didn't get anything this time. Um yeah, it was not good...at all. It tasted like water and pure tequilla. Don't get me wrong I like to taste the licquor in my drinks, but it had no flavor outside of watered down licquor. I was not impressed.
Crazy hats made it better though!
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0216.jpg
After our trek around the world, we headed off to Test Track. This was the longest line we had of our entire trip. I think it was like a 45 minute wait time. Well I had ridden this one before, but my parents had not. They didn't really enjoy it that much and said it wasn't worth that long of a wait and I agree. We all agreed that it's probably more a ride for people who have never driven a car before.
Our on ride photo:
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/3.jpg
After Test Track we headed back to ASM for something to eat. We all got the Taco Salad and I got the fruit cup for desert and a PowerAid to drink. The Taco Salad was really good and you get to pick out what all they put in it. The fruit cup was horrendous though. All it had was a ton of melon and like 3 grapes. It was really gross. After we ate I headed off to the piano pool once more while the parents took a nap. I'm not a nap taker at all.
Later on we headed back to Epcot to catch a few more rides, eat at Coral Reef, and then watch Illuminations. I had to make sure we visited Club Cool so I could torture my mom w/ the dreaded Beverly. mwahaha
Before:
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0217.jpg
...and After!
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0218.jpg
We also did the "new" Spaceship Earth. I really don't see what all the complaints are for? It seemed like the same old ride as before, and the ending wasn't THAT bad. Yeah it would get old after a few rides, but for people like me who only get to come to WDW every once in a while it's ok. Anyways my mom could not stop laughing at the video w/ the pictures. She was a lunatic...haha
This is dark, but here's what mine looked like:
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0221.jpg
To kill time we looked around Mice Gear before our ressies.
Once again I don't know who these people are.
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Oh I forgot to tell you about our little trip to Mission Space. So I had already ridden this one about 4 years ago and I got really sick for like 2 hours afterwards so I knew that I would only be doing the Green "less intense" version. Well my mother was freaking out thinking we were doing the intense version the whole time. I was like HELLO, there are like 4 old people getting on, do you really think that we are doing the other one? Anyways when we get they finally shut the doors on us my dad made some smart *** comment and my mom freaks out saying they better let her out NOW! This is bad, but I couldn't stop laughing and my dad is getting ticked the heck off and my mom is freaking out getting into a fetus like position. So yeah putting the 3 of us in a confined space is NEVER a good idea.
Coral Reef Review
So now it was time for the Coral Reef. This was another place that I did not enjoy. It was jam packed and it was LOUD. I don't mean it was slighly annoying loud, it was earth shattering, ear bleeding LOUD. Also they sat us like 2 inches from the next group of people.
I started off w/ a Bud Light to drink, along w/ a diet Coke and water. Hey I was THIRSTY! The 3 of us got the steak w/ the au-gratin style potatoes. Have you noticed we always seem to order the same thing? I got mine medium-well and it wasn't too over cooked at all. It was really good, had a great flavor and the potatoes were excellent as well. I had heard bad reviews of this place, but it wasn't bad at all. Our waitress was really attentive and nice as well. She did a great job. For dessert I got the Chocolate Mousse which was nothing but chocolate pudding in a mug, but it came w/ a this really good edible straw thingy. My mom got the sorbet and I think my dad got some kind of fruit tray or something, but I can't recall.
To sum it up I would NEVER come back here unless I came w/ someone who really wanted to go. It was just way too loud and obnoxious in there. You probably think I am exhaggerating, but it was just awful. The food was good, but not good enough for me to want to return.
After our dinner we headed off to catch Illuminations. My dad found this really bad spot in fron of a tree... So my mom and I decide we want a better spot, and he once again gets all p*#sy. Sheesh... Illuminations was "ok", but def. can't compete w/ my fave. Wishes. Well after that we called it a night and headed back to the hotel in anticipation for our next day at DHS and Downtown Disney.
Once again thank you for reading! See ya real soon...
ConcKahuna
10-01-2008, 08:09 AM
I've heard mixed reviews about the CR, and it's one of the reasons I havent eaten there yet.
For a similar atmosphere and GREAT food and service, I suggest Sharks Underwater Grill at SeaWorld. It was excellent!
Day 5- September 10th, 2008
So after a fun filled day at Epcot, it was now the day to visit Hollywood Studios and Downtown Disney.
We were ready and rarin' to go first thing in the morning!
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Everybody smile big!
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We made out way to the Tower of Terror, which wasn't as fun as our previous time, but still great none-the-less.
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Next we did RnRC. Remember last time my parents freaked out, so I was surprised to hear them wanting to ride this one again. Like I said before, this is one of my faves. I love the blasting music! After the ride we got our picture taken by the photo-pass lady. In one of the photos she told us to stick out our toungues and give the "rock-n-roll symbol".
Um yeah my dad had no clue what that meant...
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/15.jpg
Next up we did the Great Movie Ride. The lady who was our tour guide was not really in "character"...at all. She was so monotone. We had a really great "gansta" guy though who was really into it. Also I just love the Wizard of Oz scene, it really emerses you into that world.
After that we did our last ride before going over to Downtown Disney for lunch, which was Toy Story Mania again. My dad challenged me to see who would get the most points, and of course I demolished his score. My arm was sore as heck though.
Mr. Potatoe Head!
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0232.jpg
Oh and ANOTHER 3-D glasses shot, but this time I was taking it by myself just as soon as a CM came up to put my seat bar down. I was kind of embarassed at that point...
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0233.jpg
Ok before we left I took my Mickey ears to the emroidery shop to have my name put on the back. When you do it you have to drop it off and pick it up later, and that was no problem w/ me. On our way to the busses we found out that they don't take you directly to DTD, so you have to take a bus to another hotel and then get on another to go to DTD. What a pain, but whatev.
So when we arrived at DTD we were all super hungry so we headed over to Earl of Sandwich for our CS lunch. We all three got the sandwich which I think was called the Full Montague. Anyhow, it was REALLY good, although I can't remember all that was in it. I also had a Powerade to drink and an AMAZING brownie w/ ice-cream in the middle. This was the best dessert ever. THe only problem was that they didn't count it as a dessert credit, which was really lame IMO. I will definately be eating here the next time I visit. It was so good.
After lunch we vistited all of the shops and looked around. I saw another shirt that I liked which I later purchased at Mouse Gear in Epcot.
A pirate's life for me!
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0235.jpg
More crazy hats...
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0237.jpg
After shopping, my parents wanted to go to Cap'n Jacks for their strawberry margaritas. I've never had them, but they were raving about them from their previous trips. When we got there the waitress seemed ticked that we were just eating there for drinks and an appetizer. Whatever... We all 3 got the strawberry margaritas and then some kind of chips and dip, which I thought was good, but my mom thought was disgusting. Anyways the margaritas were not good, they were really watery and tasteless and there wasn't any alchohol in them at all. Needless to say we were all very disappointed in Cap'n Jacks as a whole and we cancelled our reservations that we had there for Friday because of it.
Here we are at Cap'n Jacks:
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f266/IHeartMarco/HPIM0238.jpg
After that, there was yet another disagreement. Ok at the beginning of the day we all 3 said the top thing that we wanted to do, and for me it was to see the LMA Stunt show. Well my dad was saying that he was "tired" and wanted to go back to the hotel. Um yeah I wasn't really having that since we did everything that he wanted to do for the day, and the one thing that I wanted to see he wanted to pass up. Anyhow I had to go back to pick up my hat. So after much pouting from my dad, we headed back to DHS.
I picked up my hat, which looked awesome btw and then we headed for the Indiana Jones stunt show to see before we were going to head for the LMA show. So pretty much right after the "rolling ball" scene, a huge downpour started and they announced that the rest of the show was cancelled. So yeah at this point I was sure that the other show was going to be cancelled as well, and there wasn't going to be another chance to see it due to it being closed for refurb the next day.
So we headed over to the other show to ask if they were still going to do it. They said as long as it is a light sprinkle it would still go on. Yay! So we then headed to see the Muppets 3-D show. I love this show, although it definately is showing it's age. Also it was a nice attraction to avoid the downpour outside.
After that we went over to the resteraunt area near the back-lot tour to wait until the show opened up.
I told them to look sad because of the rain.
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So the time finally came when they opened up the line for the LMA show. When we sat down the bleachers were really wet and gross and it was really slippery. Oh and the funniest thing ever was going on during this time. They play this really bad techno music there and the older lady CM, who was directing the crowd, was like busting all these dance moves. It was so hilarious! People were cheering her on and this guy from the crowd ran down to show her some "moves". Let's just say that was the most entertaining part of this show. I'm sorry, but this show is just not worth it. It was really boring and long. It seemed like all they did was talk and there wasn't much action. We all vowed that we would not be seeing this one again.
So yeah, it was STILL raining, and we made our way back to the busses to go back. When we got to the hotel we decided to use another CS for dinner. I got a cheese pizza w/ an orange popsicle for dessert. It was good, but everyone knows what pizza is like at Disney so there really isn't anything else I can add to that one. After dinner I went to bed because it was raining and gross out and there was nothing at all to do. I think my parents tried going to the pool for a bit, but that didn't last long due to the rainy-ness.
In the next installment- I meet Mickey , more Magic Kingdom, more RAIN , a brief stop at Epcot, O'hana dinner, and MK again. Once again thanks for reading!
kristinnn
10-05-2008, 08:00 PM
I hope your next Mickey experience is better!
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