Abby and Estelle's Birthday Wish: A Food-Centered Disney Trip!

[cbg1027]

Hello DISers!
I've decided to try this whole trip report thing, so without further adieu, I present...

Abby and Estelle's Birthday Wish: A Food-Centered Disney Trip!

I'm Abby. I'm a 24 year old college student who has always had a love of all things Disney. It's just gotten a little worse recently - I blame the DIS Boards in part! :rotfl:

Estelle is my maternal Grandmother. She's 80, but she doesn't act like it - and I'm so glad. She wouldn't be caught dead baking cookies, and she doesn't really cook at all. Not your typical grandma and I like it that way! I'll be referring to her as Gram.

I tried to convince Gram to let me take her to Europe last year. She used to go once a year...until she ran out of money. She said she didn't plan to live this long so she spent all her retirement money already! Well, Gram is pretty stubborn about things, and wasn't liking the idea of me paying her way in Europe since that would be big bucks. She's always lamenting how she wishes she was rich so she could "be a better a Grandma". :rolleyes:

Well, I came up with a trip to Disney as an alternative. It wasn't nearly as expensive because we live in Florida and Disney is an easy 4 hour drive. So we ended up going in March/April earlier this year, and yes, she let me pay. I got really sick towards the end of our trip though, so we missed a lot.

I came up with the idea of going for our birthdays. Mine is Oct 27 and hers is Nov 2. I'm not paying for her this time, but we're taking advantage of the free Birthday promotion. They have an even sweeter deal for FL Residents - get a 3 day pass for $55 bucks when one of those days falls on your actual birthday! Pair that with my 40% room discount PIN, and even my frugal Jewish Gram couldn't say no!

Neither one of us like to pose for photos, but I caught a few on last trip, so you can put some faces with the trip report.
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/disney78.jpg

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/disney2.jpg

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/disney11.jpg


We both love food and love to eat. Part of our love of traveling the globe. So it couldn't be more perfect that our trip coincides with the Epcot Food and Wine Festival!

We have a reservation for a standard room at POP Century. We've stayed at ASMo twice so we kind of know what to expect, but I'm excited about a different theme and location. I called today and requested a room in the 50's buildings because I think that will appeal to Gram the most.

The plan is to drive down to Disney after I get out of class at 2:15 on Friday Oct 30. Since we're getting a late start and don't want to be rushed, I skipped making a dinner ADR for that day. My plan to check in at POP and then head to DTD. I bought a FL Resident Seasonal Pass that I need to pick up and want to buy TIW. I'm hoping we will be able to go to Wolfgang Puck Express for dinner. We went there once in 2000, so I don't really remember it, but the menu sounds good, and we don't need an ADR there, so it seemed like a good dinner option.

I'll fill you in our planned itinerary in the next post!

[Brave teacher]

I'm in! It's pretty cool that you travel wiith your grandmother. I can't wait to hear about your plans.

[cbg1027]

I've already been planning this trip for 6 weeks, so a lot of stuff is decided on and set up.

It's funny how traits are passed from one generation to another yet skip some. My grandmother is a pretty flexible and easy to please person. She likes to plan things, but she's no where near as OCD about things as my mother (her daughter) and me. So Gram makes a wonderful travel companion for me since she's happy to just sit back and let be tour director! :thumbsup2

Since I have so many details already worked out, I think I will post my itinerary 1 day per post.

So for Friday Oct 30 -
I get out of class at 2:15. I'll pick Gram up and we'll hopefully get on the road by 3:30. It's 4.5 hours to Disney if Gram drives, but only 4 if I drive. :rotfl2: So guess who does the driving on the way there. Funny thing is, she always tells me how great of a driver I am and how she can't stand riding with my mother or sister. Maybe she just can't see the speedometer in my car from the passenger seat. ;)

Gram has a serious addiction to Diet Coke, and it's a lot cheaper when we bring our own. We don't carry it in to the parks, but we will both drink it with breakfast or anytime we need a pick-me-up. There's a running joke in my family that advil and a coke can cure any ailment. Last time, we brought a cooler and just kept replenishing it with ice from the machine in the hall. So I was happy when I joined the DIS and learned about fridge swaps and was able to find one with dates open for our stay. Many thanks to the Under-POP-ulated Fridge Swap!

So once we check in and get our fridge set up, we'll probably take the car to DTD.
I purchased a FL Resident Seasonal Pass, but just have the exchange certificate. So I want to go to Guest Services at DTD and get my pass and purchase TIW. We'll also pick up Gram's 3 day pass then. I wanted to do this on Friday so we don't waste time at the park doing it the next morning.

I didn't make a dinner ADR for this day because we don't want to feel rushed about getting there. Plus, we're trying to keep this trip on the cheap side, so eating at mostly CS places is going to work better for that.

I was originally thinking we'd eat at the POP food court for dinner. But since we're going to DTD anyways, I decided we need to try Wolfgang Puck Express for dinner! The menu sounds really yummy, and I like the prices. Let me know if you've eaten there and what you thought of it! I think we actually ate there in 2000 on a family trip, but I dont really remember it, so it will be pretty new to us.

Oh this would be a good time to tell you about Gram's dietary restrictions and our eating habits in general.

So as for me, I am extremely adventurous when it comes to food and will try almost anything once. I have not come across any menus for a place at Disney with something I wouldn't be willing to sample. My favorite cuisines are French, Italian, Thai, and Middle Eastern. Compared to most people, I have eaten some strange things. My mother is a really fabulous cook, so I was exposed to a lot of "different" foods at a young age and have always been a pretty daring eater.
The only stuff I've ever come across that I just plain don't like is Japanese. And it's not the raw aspect of it - I love carpaccios, tartares, and a nice rare steak. But something with Japanese flavors just doesn't do anything for me.

As for Gram, she's not quite as adventurous as me. She's by no means picky, but she isn't a fan of any Asian cuisines, and doesn't like spicy food. Her favorite cuisine is definitely Italian - she even went so far as to marry an Italian (my Grandfather, he died before I was born).
Gram has somewhat of a lactose intolerance. She can't have milk, cream, or soft, young cheeses (like ricotta) or items made with them. But she is fine with butter, medium (cheddar) or hard cheeses (parmesan, pecorino and the like). She can have goat or sheep milk products because they don't contain lactose.

We'll go back to POP after dinner and try to get a lot of sleep before our first day the parks!

[cbg1027]

For Oct 31 we're going to Epcot.

Since I like the thrill rides and Gram doesn't, I will probably take the bus to arrive for 9am rope drop. Gram will probably take the bus and meet me around 10 or so.

I plan to go ride Soarin', Test Track, and Mission Space first thing and then I'll meet her for a couple more rides in Future World. As soon as World Showcase opens at 11 we plan to begin our "glutton's tour of the world".:rotfl: We'll hit up the food kiosks along the front edge of the lagoon and "graze" until it's time for a very special occasion.

What could this occasion be you ask?
One of the culinary demostrations - featuring Andrew Zimmern of the Travel Channel shows "Bizarre Foods" and "Bizarre Worlds".
I am a HUGE fan of his and always watch the shows. He is a super adventerous guy. As the name of "Bizarre Foods" might imply, this guy will eat ANTHING. He recently had his first book published. My copy just arrived yesterday and I wanted to read it before the demo, but I also ordered a Walt Disney Biography, and decided to go with that first. I think Mr. Zimmern will still be willing to sign my book though.;)

I am sort of mad that Disney is now charging for the demos, but at the same time, $8 to see Andrew Zimmern and taste something he cooks seems more than worth it to me. I keep wondering what he's going to cook though...will it be "normal" food? I told my Gram that I hope she likes crispy fried ants. :rotfl2:

Depending on how tired we are after the demo, we may or may not go back to POP for a nap. If we don't, we plan to do more "grazing" at the F&W kiosks.

For dinner this night, I've booked us an 8:20 ADR at Kouzzina. As soon as I heard about it I wanted to try it. I love Greek food and the menu items sound delicious. I've been a little nervous about because of the mixed reviews on the boards, but like any place, I'm not going to knock it til I've tried it for myself.

Gram is looking forward to it as well. Usually, Greek cuisine doesn't use many cow milk products - their cheeses are made from sheep or goat milk. So she's hoping they use real Greek cheeses here so she can get a cheese fix!

[cbg1027]

On Sun Nov 1, we plan to hit AK. We've both been twice before and absolutely love this park. One of the reasons Gram likes it so much is the landscaping and use of plants. She's really in to plants, but especially tropicals (bromeliads mostly) - she has a greenhouse full of them. Going to AK is like visiting a botanical garden...but better!!!!!

It's also a great park for us to do together since there are fewer rides she won't do. We usually skip Kali Rapids bc neither one of us ever feels like getting that soaked. I won't ride Dinosaur anymore because it scared the living daylights out of me last time. So EE is the only thing there that I want to see that Gram won't.

When we went in March/April, we saw Flights of Wonder and ITTBAB, so this time we're hoping to see Nemo and FOTLK.

Last time we ate at Pizzafari for lunch. It was ok...nothing special, but no complaints. I've already decided we're going to try Flame Tree BBQ for lunch. As I mentioned, Gram doesn't like Asian, so Yak and Yeti is out and I don't think Restaurantosaurus appeals to either one of us.

We don't have any particular dinner plans for this day. One of my ideas for trying to keep this as an inexpensive (for Disney) trip. We'll probably end up at the POP food court...any suggestions?

If I'm feeling up to it, I might hit DHS EMH this evening without Gram. I can hop with my pass, and I haven't been to DHS in soooo long, and I really want to try TOT, RnRC, and TSM!

[cbg1027]

For Monday November 2, we plan to head back to Epcot for more F&W!
Again, I'll probably head over early for Rope Drop and have Gram join me around 10.

We'll try to hit some of the rides in Future World we didn't get to on Saturday. Maybe go on some twice - we love Living with the Land! Makes my garden look like a sad mess. :rotfl:

Once WS opens at 11 we will continue our F&W sampling trek, and try to hit the booths we didn't get to on Saturday. There are so many drinks I want to try....but I'm such a lightweight when it comes to alcohol (not that it's usually a bad thing!). I'll probably have to pick 1 to try each day if I want be able to enjoy the rest of the day. Any suggestions? I was looking at the The Parisian Cosmo Slush.

I'm so glad we're taking this trip. Last time, as I mentioned, our trip got cut short since I got sick :sick: in the middle of it. I also didn't know when I would be coming back to Disney, so I had this rush-around-and-ride-everything mentality. This time I plan to be a lot more relaxed! We have two days to devote to Epcot, and I have another trip in December coming up. Plus, I've got my Seasonal Pass, so hopefully I will be going several more times in 2010! :yay:
I'm hoping since this should be a more leisurely trip, we won't need to nap on this day. We can just take our time exploring the WS. Go to a booth, get some food, sit down, (take photos for the Post Report!) sample, and relax until we feel the urge to move on.

That evening at 7, we have an ADR for our birthday celebration dinner at Citricos! We tried it for the first time on our last trip and both feel in love with it! :love: If you'd like to hear about our superb experience, check out my review - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2287273
Hopefully we won't be TOO stuffed to enjoy dinner. But I think they're good about letting people linger without feeling rushed so we'll probably order our courses one at a time. I really hope the same servers we had time are still working there and will be on duty this night! They mad eour meal so special, and we weren't evening celebrating anything (other than being at Disney!) last time.

Wishes is at 8 that night, so I doubt we'll be out in time to watch, but no biggie...we saw it from the Cali Grill in its entirety last trip.

[cbg1027]

OK, so you know how I said we we're going to get Gram the 3 day pass for $55 because of the birthday promotion? Well, someone posted a question asking about that deal. I assumed we could get there on Oct 30 and buy that pass for Gram, who has her birthday Nov 2. Turns out you can't buy a pass with that deal until your actual birthday. So we have 2 days of park going planned before her birthday. Grrrrrreeeaaat.

So looks like we will have to buy Gram the regular 3 day pass, which is about $150 for FL residents. Since we are still going on her birthday, I think I will just buy her the pass now and not tell her about it. Then when we get there, go with the birthday fun card option. I'll 'buy' the card from her and only let her pay me back for the $60 I originally quoted her. I wasn't planning on doing a lot of shopping this trip since I kind of went overboard last time.:rolleyes1
Guess I'll just have to make more merchandise purchases than I intended. I was planning to look for my niece and nephew's holiday gifts so I guess it's so I won't be having to spend too much more than I was expecting.
I'd love that special FP, but none of the rides Gram likes even have FP, so it would be pretty crappy to get that and then then leave Gram alone all day while I ride stuff she doesn't like!

I'm pretty sure I'm not going to tell her about this mishap now, just let her find out once we're already there so she can't have any reason not to come!

[Brave teacher]

Sorry to have neglected you this week. I has been a very rough time at work this week. That sucks about the ticket situation. I wouldn't have told my grandmother either. All your plans look great. AK is my family's favorite park. We love it so much, part of the reason is because of all of the foliage. I can't wait to hear about all the food at the festival. As a school teacher in a district without a fall break, I can't experience the F&W Festival until I retire, and that isn't happening for about another 20 years. Therefore, I must live vicariously through others.

[cbg1027]

Sorry to have neglected you this week. I has been a very rough time at work this week. That sucks about the ticket situation. I wouldn't have told my grandmother either. All your plans look great. AK is my family's favorite park. We love it so much, part of the reason is because of all of the foliage. I can't wait to hear about all the food at the festival. As a school teacher in a district without a fall break, I can't experience the F&W Festival until I retire, and that isn't happening for about another 20 years. Therefore, I must live vicariously through others.

It's ok, I don't feel neglected! Glad someone is reading when they can!

Yeah, we don't have a fall break here either, but since I'm in college and only have class MWF, I will only miss 1 day. When I was little we used to go over the long weekend around Veteran's Day - but of course, we're only 4 hours from WDW so it's a lot easier for us to pop down there for a weekend than most people.

This will be my second time at F&W, and I'm not sure how many times my Gram has been. But we looove food so I will be sure to take lots of photos and write really descriptive reviews so you will want to lick the computer screen!

My mom let it slip that everyone in the family pitched in and bought me a really nice camera for my birthday - she even got it out to show me! :rotfl: It's a Nikon, 12 megapixels, and 5x wide angle zoom! I'm so happy, I was expecting something not so...fancy! So you can expect wonderful pictures!

Thanks for tuning in! 18 days to go!!!!! :yay:

[cbg1027]

Alas, this will be a short trip to Disney, but a short trip to Disney is better than no trip at all!!

After we check out of POP, we'll head over to the BC resort for a 10:35 ADR at Cape May Cafe. I decided I wanted to do a character breakfast, and this was what I went with for a few reasons:
The DISers report that this is the most low-key character meal.
Me and Gram both like all the characters - Minnie, Goofy and Donald I think it was?
I saw they have bagels and lox at this buffet - and since we're Jewish, it's our favorite breakfast item, of course. :rotfl:
I also have never set foot inside the BC resort, so any chance to to take a look sounds good to me!

I was originally planning to keep this ADR a secret from Gram and tell her the day before that we had a breakfast date with some 'old friends'. Well in a combination of my excitement and inability to keep surprises an actual surprise, I told her about it. She said "Aren't we both a little old for a character meal?" Umm no Gram, it's Disney! This way we can get character interaction without the lines (like we used to on our early trips in the late 80's!) and not have to interrupt our touring plans for character time.

After breakfast, depending on how exhausted we are from stuffing our faces all weekend, we might make a stop at the IKEA in Orlando before heading home. Neither one of us needs or plans to make any furniture purchases, but I love going in the store - there's plenty of odds and ends to purchase that I don't know I need until I see them!

I just now purchased Gram's 3 Day Play Pass, so theres another check off the list.

I have to call the restaurants directlyto discuss Gram'd dietary concerns. When I called WDW-DINE they only have basic options to note on the reservation like "dairy free".... so they gave me the restaurant phone numbers to call them directly. I was planning to do it today, but now it's 6pm so I'm guessing it would not be good to call now!

[wdwgirl03]

Hi Abby! I followed you on over from another PTR and thought I'd join in. DISing definitely does seem to make a Disney obsession worse. :rotfl:

Sounds like you have a fun trip planned. I'm jealous you get to go for your birthday!

[Brave teacher]

We tried Cape May this summer, and I just about burst from eating the bagels and lox. OMG, it was so good, and the lox was soooooo cold. GOsh, it was great!

Congrats on the camera!

The trip sounds great no matter how long it is!:thumbsup2

[cbg1027]

Hi Abby! I followed you on over from another PTR and thought I'd join in. DISing definitely does seem to make a Disney obsession worse. :rotfl:

Sounds like you have a fun trip planned. I'm jealous you get to go for your birthday!

Thanks for joining in! I'm not sure I'm going to have much more to post on this since we're only 18 days away and everything is pretty much squared up. I can't believe I'm going to Disney THREE times in one year!!! The fact that I get to go back so soon after this trip is over will sure make leaving easier!

We tried Cape May this summer, and I just about burst from eating the bagels and lox. OMG, it was so good, and the lox was soooooo cold. GOsh, it was great!

Congrats on the camera!

The trip sounds great no matter how long it is!:thumbsup2

Oooh glad to hear the lox was good at Cape May! :thumbsup2 I've spent so much time looking at all the food porn in the restaurant forums....it makes me sooo hungry and eager to leave already!

Yeah, I'm so eager to get my hands on the camera so I can play around with a bit before we leave and learn how it works. We may do a family birthday celebration on the weekend of the 23, so hopefully that happens and I can start practicing my photography skills!

[wdwgirl03]

Thanks for joining in! I'm not sure I'm going to have much more to post on this since we're only 18 days away and everything is pretty much squared up. I can't believe I'm going to Disney THREE times in one year!!! The fact that I get to go back so soon after this trip is over will sure make leaving easier!

3 times in one year?! Awesome! We went three times last year, but that was only because on our trip in Dec. '07/Jan. '08 our flight got cancelled so we got free flight vouchers! That's definitely not the norm for us but hey, I didn't complain at all! hehe

[cbg1027]

Ugh I feel so bad for all you guys who have to fly to reach WDW. Flying sucks these days!!! At least you have something great waiting on the other end.

I told my Gram about the boo-boo with the admission today. She handled it better thn I thought she would - took the same attitude as me about with the 'well its already planned we're doing it anyways so we'll go and have fun!". Whew! So almost everything is good to go. Just need to remember to call the restaurants during business hours to talk about Gram's dietary concerns!

16 days!!!!! :banana:

[cbg1027]

I just did online check in! We're at the 10 day mark!:yay:

I called Special Diets on Friday and they e-mailed me tons of helpful info and a request form. I filled out the form and sent it back and got a very prompt response that they have notified the restaurants we have our ADR's at.

I'm sooo anxious! I want to leave NOW!

[Brave teacher]

OOOOO! How exciting. I was thinking about doing the online check in for the next trip. Let me know how it works out for you.

[cbg1027]

We did online check in last trip, back in March/April and it saved us a LOT of time. We stayed at ASMo, and when we got there, the line for regular check in had at least 50 people in it, and more and more coming in every minute. The online check in line, however, had maybe 5 people. I don't know if it's gotten more popular now, and maybe more people are using it, but I'm hoping for a speedy check in like last time. Especially since we won't be getting in til 7:30 or 8, and still want to hit DTD for dinner.

[cbg1027]

We got back late Tuesday night. We had an amazing trip! :wizard:

I've asked the Moderator to move this thread because this will now be my Trip Report, so look for it over there!

[wdwgirl03]

Welcome back! Glad to hear you had a great trip.

[Brave teacher]

I'm glad to hear you had such an amazing trip Abby. I look forward to hearing all about it!

[cbg1027]

Originally, I had class from 12:20 - 2:15 this day and we were going to leave when I finished. Well, lucky me, my 2nd class got cancelled, so we got to leave an hour earlier than planned!

I pretty much know the way, but depending on which resort you're going to, the shortest way in can differ. So I printed out directions from Google Maps, the same place I got directions from when we went 7 months ago. These directions called for turning off I-75 on to "FL 91". So I passed the Turnpike - which is what I thought we would normally use. I have a good sense a direction, and the farther we got away from the turnpike the more and more I was beginning to doubt where I was going. Twenty minutes and a few exits later, I pulled off the highway and bought a map. Well turns out FL-91 is apparently another name for Florida's Turnpike. Seems like Google would have mentioned the turnpike name somewhere in there....I swear they did 7 months ago! I also remember I had a FL road map in the car...after I spent six bucks buying another one. Oh well. :rolleyes:
So we get back on 75 going North and I have this feeling that there isn't an exit on the the Turnpike from 75 North, since the Turnpike basically goes North/South. I was right....so we had to drive to the next exit and then turn around and get back on 75 South before we could finally get on the Turnpike! :laundy: So by then I had wasted an hour.....so much for leaving early! There are NO signs for the Turnpike that mention the name FL-91. It's all just "Florida's Turnpike". So fyi for anyone driving!

We decided to just head straight to DTD and pulled in around 8pm. Boy was that place hoppin'! I was surprised we found a parking spot! The weather was absolutely gorgeous then - 75 degrees and breezy. They were hosting a trick-or-treat event so it was cute seeing all the kids (and some adults!) in Halloween costumes. We parked over on the West Side because we were planning to go to Guest Services to exchange our ticket vouchers. Well another fyi - Guest Services has moved. They used to have their own little kiosk, but that location is now the ticket booth for Characters In Flight, the hot air balloon. Luckily, they didn't move far and are now located in the Disney Quest building. There are windows on the outside of the building that you can walk up to. So we went there and exchanged our vouchers and I bought a Tables in Wonderland card for $75 since I am now the proud owner of a Seasonal Pass, good through February 1, 2011 with the 15 month deal! :yay:

After we picked up our tickets, we walked right across the way to Wolfgang Puck Express for dinner. Review here - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34209996#post34209996

We sat outside and it was cute watching all the costumed people go by. My award for best costumes of the night went to a family that had 3 kids dressed as the Cheshire Cat, White Rabbit, and Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. I thought that was creative and original!

After we ate we walked down by the water side to see Characters in Flight. They were just sending it up as we approached - it goes up really fast!
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0222.jpg

We wanted to get a good night's sleep so we didn't do any shopping then. We went back to the car and drove to POP. We did online check in and waited maybe 30 seconds. They had our package all ready and gave us our Birthday Pins. We were assigned room 2144 which was exactly what I had requested - a ground floor room in the 50's close to the parking lot. It was in building 2, the Jukebox building and we were right exactly in the middle between the bowling pin pool and the parking lot. This is a great location if you're bringing a car and want to use it to commute to the parks. It is pretty much as far as you can get from the Main Building, but even so, it's only a 5 minute walk, if that. Seems far at the end of the day though!

Noise wise we were ina good location. The bowling pin pool is supposed to be a "quiet" pool so it was pretty low-key. We lucked out and didn't get any noisy neighbors or people running by the room at 2am.

I saw a lot of rabbits at POP which I thought was unusual because I've never seen them at any of the other resorts. My Grandmother is convinced they were Audio-Anamatronics that Disney put there! :rotfl:

The bowling pin pool area:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0229.jpg

A Stairwell on Building 3:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0232.jpg

Sorry no photos of the room - it was pretty unexciting. It was clean and comfortable enough for the 2 of us. It's small so don't know if I would stay at a Value with more than 2 people in a room, but for just me and Gram it's perfect. We don't really use the resort for anything other than showering and sleeping so it's a good option for us while still being on property, which I much prefer.

Once we reached our room, I called Luggage Services to get the fridge I had signed up for on a swap here on the DIS Boards. After a few minutes they told me they had nothing with my name on it. :confused3 I was pretty disappointed because we were counting on having a fridge. I tried calling the swapper who was there before me to ask if she had any info, but she didn't answer and never called me back, even though I left a message. I thought that was very un-DISer like!:mad:

I tried calling Luggage Services again the next morning because I thought maybe a fresh pair of eyes might see something different. They still couldn't find anything with my name but they did tell me they had a random fridge that had been sitting there with no label for ages. So I had them bring it to me and they said I could use it, so we did! When I got home I discovered the fridge from my swap had gone missing...I'm not quite sure what the whole story was, I couldn't follow it, but we had a fridge for most of our stay, so no biggie. :upsidedow

Next up: Halloween at Epcot with F&W Festival Activities!

[wdwgirl03]

Sounds like a good start! I agree, those Alice in Wonderland costumes do sound very creative.

[cbg1027]

I got up before Gram this morning to make the 9am RD at Epcot. I decided to take the bus since I was closer to the bus stop than my car after eating breakfast at Everything POP (review here - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34212209#post34212209)

I walked out of Everything POP at 7:54 and there was a bus waiting for me! I was the first person to board, and after a few more people joined, we were off to Epcot! I got there a lot faster than I thought, I was literally waiting at the turnstiles by 8:15.

I was the second person in my line. About 30 seconds after I got there, a family got in line behind me and the Mom started asking me if I had been here before, and the fastest way to get to Soarin'. She saw my LGMH's and said "Ooooh I love the DISboards! I got so much great information off there!". So we talked while we were waiting and I told them what would happen once they let in us and that they could follow me (and everyone else! :laughing:) to Soarin'.

The CM's let started letting people in the turnstiles at 8:45. I was right up against that rope, wearing my Birthday pin, when a CM approached me and asked if I was with anyone else. I said "No, not right now", and she was like "Well you know what, it's your birthday so come on, you're my family of the day!". I was shocked and in awe that she picked a single person! :scared1:

I Call This the "Family of the Day View of RD" -
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0239.jpg

I then had my meet and greet with the characters....all to myself!!!!
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0241.jpg

Man I remember when all of these guys TOWERED over me....now Goofy is the only one taller!
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0244.jpg

The CM who picked me out (don't remember her name, she works at Mission Space) then gave me 3 special Fastpasses I could use to admit up to 4 people on ANY attraction. She also said I could have special priority seating in Italy to watch Illuminations but I had to say no thank you to that since my Grandma and I had a dinner ADR at 8:20.

Then my chauffer arrived: :thumbsup2
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0240.jpg

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0245.jpg

They drove me over to Test Track where I was the first person of the day to ride it! I had a car all to myself! After my first ride I was getting out when a CM told me I could stay on and ride again, so I went for round two! :woohoo:

Test Track about 2 hours later:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0249.jpg

Pretty amazing start to my day.....I was so disappointed my Gram missed it though!

After my double round on Test Track, I headed over to Mission Space.
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0248.jpg

I walked right on (Orange More Intense Training, of course!) and literally had no wait...unless you count the briefing room!
I saw the CM who picked me as Family of the Day working and said hello and thank you again.
After I got off, I called my Gram to see where she was and told her what happened. She had just gotten on the bus so I went for another round on Mission Space and had to wait a whole two minutes! :upsidedow

After I got out, Gram and I met up at the Fountain -
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0266.jpg

Then since it wasn't quite 11 yet, we decided to give The Universe of Energy a try:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0272.jpg

Neither one of us had ever been on this before, but we both liked it. Perfect attraction for a hot day since you get to spend 40 minutes inside the AC! Ellen was a great choice as a host and I loved the Jeopardy stuff.

After our Energy Adventure, we headed over to the WS and purchased one of those wrist band gift cards. We sampled foods from Greece and Canada for our lunch - more on that here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34260387#post34260387

I will continue this day in the next post!

[wdwgirl03]

Oooh, that is so cool you were picked to be "family" of the day! :banana: I remember when the characters were taller than me too. LOL!

Ellen is pretty good as host in Universe of Energy. Glad you enjoyed it.

[stich626]

After reading this I think I need to go during the Food and Wine Festival. I probably shouldn't have looked at your food photos on an empty stomach. lol

[cbg1027]

After reading this I think I need to go during the Food and Wine Festival. I probably shouldn't have looked at your food photos on an empty stomach. lol

:rotfl:

Yeah I always make that mistake with food reviews. Then I go to look in my fridge and am so disappointed because I'll be craving Disney food!

[cbg1027]

So....I'm taking the shortcut on this entry and referring you over to another entry in my food review. Same exact thing I would put here...so read it!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34318891#post34318891

[Brave teacher]

HOW AWESOME FOR YOU!!!!! I am glad you were picked. I always wondered if they would pick solo travelers to be the family of the day. Too bad Gram couldn't be there with you to enjoy the moment. I still need to go check out all of your food reviews. I'll have to do it after lunch though. I am hungry right now and don't want to over eat.

[cbg1027]

HOW AWESOME FOR YOU!!!!! I am glad you were picked. I always wondered if they would pick solo travelers to be the family of the day. Too bad Gram couldn't be there with you to enjoy the moment. I still need to go check out all of your food reviews. I'll have to do it after lunch though. I am hungry right now and don't want to over eat.

I learned the hard way not to look at food reviews before meal times. It makes me hungry, but worse, it makes me so disappointed with whatever it is I have to eat then. :rotfl:

[Brave teacher]

I know what you mean. My food is never as good as some of my favorite Disney food.

[cbg1027]

After the demo was done, Zimmern and the crowd moved immediately over to the front of the pavilion where there was a book signing. I had to wait about 10 minutes, but got my little meet and greet! I had bought Zimmern's book before the trip since I knew it would be cheaper on Amazon.com than at WDW. It's a good thing I did because they were totally sold out at the Festival Center.

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0292.jpg

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0293.jpg

After I got my book signed, Gram and I headed over to the Land Pavilion. I still hadn't used any of my Family of the Day FP's yet, so I wanted to go ride Soarin'! This is another ride Gram can't do, but I'm glad of the location because she can sit at Sunshine Seasons, in the shade and AC, while she waits. She grabbed some sort of pastry to eat while she waited because she didn't really eat any of the quail at the demo since she's not a fan of Thai food.

Knowing my special FP's would admit up to 4 people, I stopped a family of 3 on their way in to the standby line and asked them if they wanted to come in the FP line with me. They said yes of course and thanked me profusely. I think they said they were from GA and the mom was a sometime lurker on the DIS Boards. They were really sweet and had a son who was probably 11 and he kept asking me "Have you ridden ___? Did you like it? Was it scary? How about ____?" He was funny and I enjoyed having people to chit chat with while in the line. Since it was mid-afternoon, even with a FP we had to wait about 15 minutes to ride Soarin'.

After the ride I said goodbye and met back up with Gram at Sunshine Seasons. We decided to go to one of her favorites, Living with the Land. I was thinking we could use one of my FP...but we didn't have to, we literally were able to just walk right on! My Gram has a greenhouse and is in to tropical plants mostly, but anything gardening related she loves. Lately I've been developing some of that green thumb so I like plants and gardening as well. I took a TON of photos on the ride, but I'll just share a few of my favs:

This plant has got to produce several thousand dollars worth of vanilla!
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0297.jpg

They said you can make a gallon of lemonade from one of these fruits:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0311.jpg

Oh I wish I could have a tomato tree! This is mainly what I *try* to grow at home. :rotfl:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0319.jpg

Mmmm, English Cucumbers....I wonder why they don't break off the vine...Disney magic in gardening!
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0321.jpg

After Living with the Land, we stopped in at Club Cool. I tried to pull the Beverly trick on my Gram and this was the height of her reaction:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0329.jpg

:confused3:confused:

She didn't make a face at all! I asked her "So what did you think of that?" And she took another sip and was like "That's not very good." Then poured the rest out like it was just a flat Diet Coke! :rotfl:

We headed towards the exit after our soda sampling and since there was no line, decided we could squeeze in a ride on Spaceship Earth. This was our first time on it since the recent refurbishment and we both loved it! Gram got a huge kick out of the photos we were able to email to my Aunt at the end.

As we left Epcot, I got the obligatory shot of the Sphere:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0330.jpg

We took the bus back to POP for a rest before heading out to dinner. Gram took a nap and I went for a dip in the Bowling Pin Pool. We got ready and left for dinner at Kouzzina.

We took the car to the Boardwalk and valet parked (first time in my life!) since you get it for free with TIW. We walked down to the actual Boardwalk area and they were having some Halloween festivities with a DJ and games for the kids.

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0336.jpg

We were a bit early so we strolled along the Boardwalk a bit and enjoyed the wonderful views of the other resorts.

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0341.jpg

I will now lead you over to my review of Kouzzina - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34349290#post34349290

There's a shop called Seashore Sweets next door to Kouzzina. WE stopped in to see if there was anything that rang Gram's bells for dessert. I saw these Marshmallow pops and thought they were too cute!

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0359.jpg

We headed towards the valet stand and while we were waiting ran in to some rock stars!

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0361.jpg

:lmao::rotfl2: It was Halloween after all! I wish this photo showed their shoes! They were all seriously wearing 6 inch high platforms!

[wdwgirl03]

LOL at Gram's reaction (or lack of reaction) to the Beverly.

I can kind of see the one guy's shoes in the last picture. Too funny! Some people go all out for their costumes.

[cbg1027]

Today I told Gram she had to join me for RD since were going to AK and I wanted to do Kilimanjaro Safaris first thing.

We got up and had breakfast at Everything POP and then took the bus to AK.

We arrived at the gate around 8:20 so we didn't have to wait too long. They let us in at 8:45 and then did the opening ceremony. I think this is a really cute RD show. They even work in a sunscreen reminder! :rotfl:

Here are some photos:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0363.jpg

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0364.jpg

After they let us go at 9, Gram and I participated in the "Safari Sprint", along with several hundred other people. :rotfl:
We only waited like 10 minutes before boarding and then we were off! We did see more animals than the last time we went, which was in the early afternoon. I didn't get many good pictures though....I haven't figured out the right setting for motion on my camera...and we were going pretty fast for photos.

Our first sighting was the Hippo Pool....and they were all completely submerged!
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0372.jpg

There were lots of birds striking a pose for us though...
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0375.jpg

Then of course we saw the crocodiles....which all seemed to be out of the water! I'd prefer them IN the water! They just look super scary!
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0378.jpg

Then we came up to a pair of Cape Buffalo:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0381.jpg

The giraffes were busy with breakfast....who doesn't love a good tree?
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0383.jpg

Look, an Impala! No, not the car...
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0385.jpg

Thomson's Gazelle
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0388.jpg

The Baboons apparently had not applied their makeup yet...
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0389.jpg

Trusty old elephants, always good for a sighting:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0390.jpg

White Rhinos:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0395.jpg

Look hard and you can see some fuzzy cheetahs! I had never caught them out before so that was pretty cool.
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0398.jpg

King and Queen of the Jungle.....or maybe just a nice rock:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0401.jpg

So a nice safari, all in all.

After the safari we went right on to the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail for more animal viewing. I LOVE the way Disney designed these trails. They are so much more than a zoo.

Forget the name, some kind of Monkeys. They were funny. The adult was trying to groom the kid, and he just was NOT having it!
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0407.jpg

Dont recall the name of this but he wasn't around for long...
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0410.jpg

The Okapi
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0411.jpg

continued in next post....

[cbg1027]

I think this is a Kookaburra
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0415.jpg

I love this photo...
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0416.jpg
The bird look so perfect you'd think it was fake!

Mr. Ducky
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0418.jpg

Let your eyes adjust and you can see the Hippo:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0419.jpg

I love the Meercats! They are so cute. I used to have a pet rat, so they remind me of her and make me want to take them home!
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0426.jpg

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0425.jpg

The Gorillas rounded out the end of the trail for us.
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0431.jpg

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0432.jpg

After we finished Pangani, we were making perfect time to catch the 10:30 Flights of Wonder.

On the way over we ran in to something very peculiar:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0438.jpg

A walking vine!!! DeVine that is. ;)

This was the first time either one of us had seen her, and she is soooo cool! I took a video but I haven't uploaded it to photobucket.

When we got over to FOW they hadn't opened the theatre yet, but they had this guy out:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0446.jpg

He's a Great Horned Owl. They're very cool creatures - I do petsitting for a lady who keeps injured Birds of Prey that can't be released back in to the wild. She has one of these guys and he only has one wing. :sad1: Someone "accidentally" shot him and they had to amputate his wing. So obviously, he can't hunt anymore. So I like the FOW show since it educates people that these birds are not to be feared - they're an important part of ecosystem and we need to preserve them and their habitats!

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0462.jpg

After FOW, I ran and got myself some Fastpasses for EE. Gram waited for me on a bench by Yak and Yeti. It was 11 when I got back and I noticed the restaurant was empty. I like to eat lunch early at the parks in order to avoid the noon time rush so I asked Gram to take a look at the menu. It was still pretty hot out, so I was loving the idea of lunch in AC. We were originally planning to try Flame Tree BBQ....but I went it and asked if they could seat a walk up...and they did right away!
Here's my dining review - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34391662&posted=1#post34391662
In a nutshell, Yak and Yeti far exceeded our expectations. We really enjoyed it, and that's saying something, because Gram isn't even a fan of Asian cuisine!

After our wonderful lunch, my FP return had opened up for EE. So Gram found a shady bench nearby and I went for not one, but two rides!
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0476.jpg

I absolutely LOVE EE! It is one of my top 3 favorite rides in all of Disney. I've never seen the Yeti operating in "A" mode with the sweeping arm, but she still scares me.....so I'm ok with the "B" mode!

After I rode EE, we walked over to Dinoland for Finding Nemo: The Musical. We were quite early, but I didn't think we had time to go do something else and still come back and get seats. We sat on the benches outside for a little while and I saw this little guy:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0479.jpg

I loved our view:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0480.jpg

We finally got in line and they opened the theatre doors shortly afterward. We had really good seats since we were some of the first people in the theatre. We did have to wait a half hour, but hey, we were seated in the AC, and that was longest wait of our entire trip! :woohoo:

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0481.jpg

Neither one of us had ever seen this show before, so I was excited since people rave about it here on the DIS. Boy, were they correct! Gram and I both LOVED the show. If someone told me about it, and described how the actors are visible, in addition to the puppets, I would say that sounds stupid and it wouldn't work. But it does work.....really really well. I can't believe how talented these people are....to be acting, singing, dancing, operating a puppet, and flying through the air on a wire!!! Too cool!
I took some photos but they're all pretty blurry. I do have a video I will post at some point though. Again, still haven't uploaded it.

After Nemo got out, we went to see Festival of the Lion King. We were kind of early, but again, didn't have enough time to go do anything else and still make it back. We snacked on a Mickey Rice Crispie Treat while we waited. :)

continued in the next post....

[Brave teacher]

Abby, everything looks so much fuun and peaceful at the smae time. Keep it coming!

[cbg1027]

We got seats in the Lion section for FOTLK. We had seen this show back in 1999 and I didn't remember much, but I remembered liking it.
Took some photos, but they didn't come out too well:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0501.jpg

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0502.jpg

While the show was good, it was kind of a let down after the amazing-ness that is Nemo. Gram also thought it was waaaay too loud. It was a lot louder than Nemo, but I expect these things to be at an annoyingly high volume. I guess it bothered her more than me though.

After FOTLK, we decided we were done for the day. We slowly made our way out, making the obligatory stops in the gift shops on Discovery Island. I didn't get anything, but Gram FINALLY sprung for a package with Minnie and Mickey socks she had eyed on our last trip in April. :rotfl:

Au revior, Tree of Life!
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0506.jpg

We took our time exiting the Oasis, because we ran through it so fast in the morning. I think the Oasis is one of the best theme park entrances anywhere. It really sets the tone for AK - slow down, look in unusual places, and go off the beaten track. You can't just shoot straight back like you do at MK or HS. Of course, going at RD, I never do that in the morning! But it such a gorgeous area. My Gram and I both love tropical plants, so walking through there is like being at a Botanical Garden - but better because there's animals and it's Disney!

Cute little orchids:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0509.jpg

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0513.jpg

These Macaws were SO OBNOXIOUS! I guess there were bidding everyone farewell in bird.
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0515.jpg

My Gram has a greenhouse, and she'd like it to look something like this:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0519.jpg
I told her not to hold her breath. :laughing:

More Macaws:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0521.jpg

Roseate Spoonbills (native to FL) and their African cousins:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0524.jpg

I'd like to take home those Orchids please:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0527.jpg

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0528.jpg

We had originally planned to go to another resort for a CS dinner this evening, but we were so tried at this point we just took the bus straight back to POP. We stopped in at the food court before heading back to our room. DR here - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34489157#post34489157

After some food and a dip in the pool, I felt much rejuvenated and decided to hit up HS EMH. I had a little "research" to do! Gram stayed behind and relaxed at POP.

HS EMH Continued in next post.....

[cbg1027]

I had not set foot in HS in over 10 years, so there is sooooo much I had not experienced there. I mainly wanted to experience the thrill rides so I could report back on them to my friend Mark, who I'm going back to WDW with soon.

I arrived around 7:15 at walked to TOT. There were no FP's! EMH didn't start until 8, and I guess all the FP's were out for regular hours. But luckily, the crowds were low, and/or everyone was in line for Fantasmic, so the posted wait was only 20 minutes. I've been so spoiled on my last two trips with wait times that I was thinking "OMG, 20 minutes! That's forever!" :rotfl:

But I decided to "tough it out" and the actual wait was maybe only 15 minutes. I was pretty nervous going to the ride, but I wanted to try it since I usually love thrill rides. I got on to my freight elevator and thats when the panic began! There is NOTHING to hold on to! You're just on a bench with a lap belt - no bars or handrails or anything! But I was brave and stayed because my curiosity got the best of me. The ride starts out calmly enough....I loved the special effects but I kept getting more and more nervous because I had no idea when the drop(s) would come. I was sitting there with my hands clenched on my seat belt sweating like a pig! First, we shot up really fast, but not that far. Sometime shortly after that, the doors opened and I could see all of HS for about...ooh 1/4 of a second! Then we fell......:scared1: I'm sure it was only for about a 1.5 seconds but it felt like forever! The actual fall wasn't so bad to me. But after it, I knew there was a possibility of another one, and that really scared me. I get more worked up about something when I don't know it's coming. So I was just shot at this point and sooooo happy when our doors finally opened and we could exit! So TOT won't be a happening again for me anytime in foreseeable future! It's the terror of the unknown that really freaks me out. If TOT was like it used to be and only had one drop sequence, I might be willing to ride again since I know what's coming. But knowing that it's a random program now......no way!

However, I will say that TOT is one of the most excellently themed and executed ride at WDW. The building, the hotel lobby, the library, the boiler room loading area......so cool. Any old theme park has a shoot you up and drop you down ride, but they're just the ride....they're not an EXPERIENCE. This is why I love Disney - they put so much more thought, time, money, and effort in to things.

Hoping for an attraction more up my alley, I went over to RnRC.
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0540.jpg

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h70/cbg1027/Nov%20Disney/DSCN0536.jpg

They still didn't have FP's up and the standby wait was 30 minutes. But, they did have a single rider line, so I decided to take my chances with that. After 20 minutes, I got in to my "Limo". And shortly thereafter, shot out of the "parking garage" like a bat outta you know where!

Whoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Is my first reaction to RnRC. The takeoff is AMAZING! I don't own a Porsche, so I've never gone to 0-60 in 2.9 seconds. I bet it feels better on RnRC anyways since you get the wind and music! This ride was awesome. I love the theme, I love how fast it is, and I love a good coaster. Plus, Aerosmith is one of my favorite Rock and Roll bands.....so I think I was bound to love this ride form the beginning. My only complaint is that it's waaaaay too short!

After RnRC, I headed over to TSM. EMH has started by then, but they still didn't have the FP's machines running! I was so disappointed. The standby wait at TSM was posted at 30 minutes, and after much deliberation, I decided to skip it. I am now kicking myself, because I realize the actual wait probably wasn't even that long. :headache:

So instead I went over to check out the Great Movie Ride. I waited like 10 minutes for this. We had 2 really great CM hosts for this ride. I liked it enough, but I have no plans to do it again when I go back in 10 days. I think it's time the GMR had a rufurb!

I decided that was enough for me that evening and shopped my way out of the park. There was a shirt I really wanted to get, but it only came in a long sleeved version, and living in FL.......I only wear long sleeves maybe 10 days out of the year. So I decided to skip it. After I got back to POP that night and told Gram about it, she said to me "Well why don't you just hem the sleeves?" DUH Abby. Oh well!