"Why the Face?!" - our Aug/Sept 2011 TR! (updated 11/28 Last Day - MK)

[kdka421]

Hello all! Welcome to my first Trip Report!! Thanks in advance to all those who start reading along... :thumbsup2

I did a pre-trip report, which you can find here: Celebrating a combined 34 years of marriage! (http://www.www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2759789) This trip was a gift from me and my husband to my parents to celebrate their upcoming 30th anniversary! We love them so much, and this was a wonderful way to celebrate!

Why the title of my trip report?
First of all, it comes from an episode of Modern Family, where Phil (the "cool" dad) is explaining how he knows all about the computer lingo kids are using...like "LOL = laughing out loud", and "w.t.f. = Why the Face?" :rotfl:
Anyway, "Why the face" became somewhat of our catch phrase this trip...whenever something ridiculous would happen, or if we'd get frustrated, one of us would chime in with "Why the Face?!" [For example, when my dad got trapped behind some slow moving electric scooters :lmao:]

Our trip details:
August 29 - September 4 2011
Port Orleans French Quarter

Who we are:
Kate (myself) and Aaron (my husband)
and Mike and Peg (my parents)

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff437/kdka421/Trip%20Report/029.jpg

I'm so excited to share with you all the details of my trip. I took good notes about everything we did, and between the 4 of us we came back with about 2500 photos, so everything is well documented! I'll be discussing our travel plans (and how we were sandwiched between hurricanes), our daily plans (including our Keys to the Kingdom tour), and a lot of good food (Victoria & Albert's!).

Stay tuned for updates! :woohoo:


Table of Contents:
Day 0:
Traveling to Florida (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42629857&postcount=5)
Random traveling pictures (http://www.www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42647050&postcount=6)

Day 1:
Port Orleans French Quarter (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42653463&postcount=9)
Magic Kingdom (lunch until 3pm) (http://www.www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42664736&postcount=12)
Magic Kingdom (3pm through dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern) (http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/316925_10100186154970745_400399_47708231_200179848 7_n.jpg)
Magic Kingdom (rest of evening) (http://www.www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42688399&postcount=26)

Day 2:
EPCOT (morning) (http://www.www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42700492&postcount=29)
EPCOT (lunch at Chefs de France) (http://www.www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42711931&postcount=32)
EPCOT (afternoon through evening, including dinner at Rose & Crown) (http://www.www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42733817&postcount=33)

Day 3:
Animal Kingdom (morning through lunch) (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42741671&postcount=35)
Animal Kingdom (afternoon through park close) (http://www.www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42786099&postcount=41)
Dinner at Victoria & Albert's! (part 1) (http://www.www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42835730&postcount=46)
Dinner at Victoria & Albert's! (part 2) (http://www.www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42857835&postcount=49)
Mom and Dad's dinner at Rainforest Cafe (http://www.www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42884442&postcount=58)

Day 4:
Hollywood Studios (morning) (http://www.www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42905676&postcount=59)
Hollywood Studios (afternoon and evening) (http://www.www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42917528&postcount=62)

Day 5:
Epcot (morning) + a trip to first aid (http://www.www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42949906&postcount=65)
Epcot (afternoon in World Showcase, including lunch at Le Cellier) (http://www.www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43024397&postcount=71)
Epcot (evening, extra magic hours) (http://www.www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43069851&postcount=73)

Day 6:
Magic Kingdom (morning), Halloween decorations + Keys to the Kingdom part 1 (http://www.www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43135473&postcount=76)
Magic Kingdom (morning), Keys to the Kingdom part 2 (http://www.www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43171711&postcount=77)
Magic Kingdom (afternoon - evening, including dinner at California Grill) (http://www.www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43264816&postcount=89)

Day 7:
Magic Kingdom (morning) - last day! (http://www.www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43356882&postcount=96)

[BTDTGB]

I was one of the last to check in with your PTR, but I am the first on the TR. We can totally relate to your Dad's feelings about the scooters. It used to drive us crazy when they line up next to each other and sweep the roads, as we called it. But, now we just line up behind them, slow down, and soak everything in. It is nice to slow down and see all the details. Can't wait to hear about you guys trip.

[vicceja]

Can't wait to read more. We were at POR Riverside on Aug 28 - Sept 5 :thumbsup2

[kdka421]

:welcome:

I was one of the last to check in with your PTR, but I am the first on the TR. We can totally relate to your Dad's feelings about the scooters. It used to drive us crazy when they line up next to each other and sweep the roads, as we called it. But, now we just line up behind them, slow down, and soak everything in. It is nice to slow down and see all the details. Can't wait to hear about you guys trip.

Thanks for making the jump from my PTR to my TR! :thumbsup2
Haha I definitely agree with your point about slowing down sometimes...but sometimes also you need to get where you're going quickly!

Can't wait to read more. We were at POR Riverside on Aug 28 - Sept 5 :thumbsup2

Hi there! :wave2: Wow cool, you were our neighbor...Wonder if we saw you on the bus one of those days? :)

[kdka421]

Okay, let's get started with the trip report!

TRAVELING TO FLORIDA:
Our travel arrangements to/from Florida were probably the most difficult decision involved in planning our trip, even though our options were relatively limited. My mom has a fear of flying, so that was ruled out immediately. My folks live up in NY, and we live in VA, so logistically there was some stuff to figure out there. We finally had determined that my parents would drive from NY to VA on Saturday, then on Sunday we'd all take the Amtrak AutoTrain.

The AutoTrain sounded pretty neat to us all...you put your car on it, and it goes directly from Lorton VA (only about 20 minutes from where we live) to Sanford FL (about 45 minutes from WDW). How convenient! It includes dinner and breakfast, and it allows you to sleep while you're traveling. Our other alternative was driving, which realistically would take two days. The other benefit to the train is that you don't need to navigate/etc, and it gives us all time to be together, so it seemed sort of like starting the vacation a day early.

Well...at the beginning of the week we were supposed to leave, is when Hurricane Irene started to threaten. And wouldn't you know, on Wednesday we got a call from Amtrak that they had canceled the AutoTrain from Friday to Sunday at that point (we found out at the end of our vacation that they actually ended up canceling the trains through Wednesday). There was no chance they would change their mind, we simply couldn't take the train anymore.

We thought long and hard, but couldn't come up with an alternative other than driving, even though none of us wanted to make that long trek. And of course, we still had the hurricane weather to think about. So we decided to drive, but had to make most of our decisions last minute, as it would be so dependent upon the storm.

My parents ended up driving down on Friday, instead of Saturday, in order to beat the storm, and give them a day to rest. Saturday was the day that Irene was supposed to "hit" our area, and my mom was especially concerned. However, we ended up not really getting anything more than a mild to moderate rainfall. We were very lucky.

So, Sunday we set off as we desired - we left around 8am, and drove about 9 hours, getting into Pooler GA (just outside of Savannah) around dinnertime. We saw quite a few fallen trees, especially as we were driving through North Carolina, and at one of our pit stops in NC the town's electricity was out, but otherwise did not encounter any issues due to Irene. We had dinner and spent the night in Pooler.

[The only hiccup of our drive was when we were about an hour or so away from home, and I realized I had forgotten our digital camera, and it was too late to return home! We ended up calling our cat/house sitter, and on Monday he overnighted the camera to us, and we got it the afternoon of our second day...not bad!]

We got up early the next morning, and left the hotel a little after 7am. We had about a 4.5 hour trip ahead of us, and got into Port Orleans French Quarter around 11:30am. That's just a little later than when we would have gotten there on the train, so we were basically right on schedule!

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/308661_10100186152021655_400399_47708164_244633663 _n.jpg
Dad driving, me navigating

Coming up next - check in/our resort!

[kdka421]

A few random pictures from the drive down (I promise, the pictures get better! :rotfl:)

Mom taking a rest in the car:
http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff437/kdka421/Trip%20Report/IMG_0754.jpg

Dad goofing off outside our dinner stop in Georgia:
http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff437/kdka421/Trip%20Report/IMG_0753.jpg

Some Spanish moss:
http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff437/kdka421/Trip%20Report/026.jpg

Yes, we document the trip so well we even take pictures at the gas station :lmao:
http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff437/kdka421/Trip%20Report/022.jpg

Enjoy :thumbsup2

[sstewart]

So excited to hear about your trip!

[kdka421]

So excited to hear about your trip!

Thanks and welcome to my TR!!


:headache: Argh it's one of those mornings, I had just about finished typing up my next installment, and accidentally hit something (who knows what), and the post is gone. :sad2: So frustrating. So now I've got to see if I can recreate all the brilliant things I said. :lmao: I'll hopefully post that later this morning.

[kdka421]

Port Orleans French Quarter:

[Okay, take 2...let's see if I can keep Firefox from deciding to delete this post on me a second time!]

This trip, we decided to stay at Port Orleans French Quarter. On our last trip 2 years ago, Aaron and I stayed at PO Riverside, and on one of our family trips, we actually stayed at POR as well, back when it was Dixie Landings! We all loved POR, but were interested to try something new. We'd heard good things about the size of POFQ, and we all thought it looked beautiful, so that's how we decided to stay at POFQ.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/310802_10100186152061575_400399_47708165_151832170 1_n.jpg

We drove up around 11:30am, and were greeted by the CM at the security gate, who gave us that friendly welcome that made us so excited to be back! We parked the car and went into the lobby. Outside the lobby, they had a CM handing out Mardi Gras beads, and another CM dressed as a jester, handing out Mardi Gras coins. Now throughout the week I saw them there on and off, they weren't always out there, but it was a nice touch that they seemed to be there during peak times to welcome the guests.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/320912_10100186152375945_400399_47708173_185390105 5_n.jpg

Aaron and I went off to do check-in while my parents explored and stretched their legs. Check in was simple, I had done online check in when it became available. Before that I had called in a room request (building 4, first floor) and I reiterated that when I did online check in - and I got exactly my request. The location of building 4 was great, and we were right down the sidewalk from the bus stop, couldn't be any more convenient. We were also pretty near the pool and food court.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100186152111475&set=a.10100186151981735.2559435.400399&type=1&theater

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/296951_10100186152101495_400399_47708166_131891330 0_n.jpg

Our room was great. It was across from the parking lot, but we couldn't really care less - we're the family that doesn't really open the blinds at all while we're there. There was a row of shrubs between the room and the parking lot though, so even if we had, the view wouldn't have been that bad. The room itself was very pretty, I was excited about the recent renovations, and I loved the furnishings. It was an added bonus when I had learned that we'd be getting 2 Queen size beds - sweet! Being able to pull the curtain to separate the sink area from the bedroom was quite helpful for a part of 4 adults, particularly when changing clothes, after taking showers, etc. As my Mom commented after the trip, "None of us accidentally saw each other naked, so that's a success" :rotfl:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/296799_10100186152166365_400399_47708168_204491214 3_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/315966_10100186152201295_400399_47708169_550835175 _n.jpg

I was a little surprised at a few things that weren't quite right with the room, particularly since they had just done a renovation. They weren't big things by any means, but since my husband works at a fancy Inn/restaurant, they are things that he is basically trained to notice (it's a blessing and a curse). For example - there was a long tear in one of the bedskirts, which housekeeping did their best to tuck in and hide, but it was still pretty visible. Also, the curtain that separates the bathroom area from the bedroom area, a large part of it was off the track, which made it difficult to fully pull the curtain closed. But all in all, we didn't let any of that bug us.

Speaking of "bugs" and other critters...the only unexpected surprise in our room was when one night, as we were all getting ready for bed, Aaron pulled back the comforter to find....

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/320225_10100186961030395_400399_47720782_112723846 7_n.jpg

...this lizard, between the comforter and the sheet! :eek: The lizard was as stunned as we were! He was frozen in place, so Aaron scooped him up, and (after pretending to give him a kiss for the ever-present camera), just brought him outside. No big deal, and we all got a good laugh...although I think Mom was a little concerned for the rest of the trip what she might find in her bed!

We ate at the food court twice - I'll talk about the food when I discuss those days. But here are a few pictures for now:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/318628_10100186152286125_400399_47708171_865203831 _n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/302360_10100186152346005_400399_47708172_133175254 3_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/301465_10100186152465765_400399_47708177_133723985 8_n.jpg

We would 100% stay at POFQ again. Especially building 4. My parents kept reminiscing about the times we stayed at the All Stars, and would have this L-O-N-G walk each night back to our room, and how much better this was.


Come back soon to hear about how we spent our first afternoon and evening!

[Deemarch]

More...More!!:rotfl2:

[kdka421]

More...More!!:rotfl2:

:woohoo: Thank you, glad you're enjoying it so far! LOTS more to come!

[kdka421]

Day 1 (afternoon): Magic Kingdom

Moving on to the good stuff! :thumbsup2

As I said before, we got to the hotel around 11:30am, check in was very quick, no lines. Our room was ready, so we quickly unloaded the car, and then headed to the bus stop. First stop - Magic Kingdom!

The bus arrived shortly after we got to the stop (we had pretty decent luck with buses most of the trip, except once or twice...). We were the only people getting on the bus, and it didn't stop at POR, so we had it all to ourselves...providing opportunity for more pictures!

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/296558_10100186152954785_400399_47708187_117128834 5_n.jpg

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/317037_10100186153049595_400399_47708189_162142629 _n.jpg

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/315326_10100186153264165_400399_47708195_145188276 5_n.jpg

When we got off the bus, we were all pretty excited, and in a rush to get into the park. Plus, we were hungry, and our first stop was going to be to get some lunch and make a game plan for the next few hours.

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/309146_10100186155878925_400399_47708249_50299181_ n.jpg

But of course, we had to stop first for the obligatory photo opportunity outside the train station:

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/320900_10100186155918845_400399_47708251_648216287 _n.jpg

But after that, we were all starving, so we made a beeline to Pecos Bill, one of our favorite lunch stops. Although in the past we all typically enjoyed their delicious burgers and toppings bar, this time we all ended up with salads - Taco salads for my parents, and Chicken Caesar salads for Aaron and I.
(Unfortunately since Aaron and I didn't have our camera the first day, we neglected to get pictures of food on Day 1...don't worry, that changed starting Day 2!).

I personally felt a little bit thrown off, starting our first day in the parks at mid-day...I'm used to getting in either the night before or very early the first morning, in order to spend a full day there. We also weren't sure what time we were going to get in, so we didn't have a very specific plan laid out. So we decided we'd just try to hit a few rides, then go see the afternoon parade. As we were eating lunch though, it started to pour, so we decided to get a little more specific.

When Aaron finished eating (and the rest of us - well, mostly Mom - were still finishing up), he ran off to get FPs for Splash, although he came back with FPs for Big Thunder since Splash was down at the time due to the rain and lightning. When we were finally done eating, we decided to hit a few things in Adventureland since we were nearby, so for our first ride of the trip, we ended up on....

Pirates of the Caribbean! Always a classic. After the ride, my Mom (a serious dog lover), decided on her souvenir of the trip:

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/296132_10100186153763165_400399_47708205_168348996 3_n.jpg

I believe he was temporarily named Ringo, I'm not sure if the name became permanent or not. Ringo enjoyed his day at the Magic Kingdom:

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff437/kdka421/Trip%20Report/169.jpg

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff437/kdka421/Trip%20Report/229.jpg

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff437/kdka421/Trip%20Report/244.jpg

And as you might have been able to tell from the first photo, our next stop to get out of the rain was the Tiki Room - one of my Dad's favorites. During our past trips, we'd seen both the original Tiki Room and the Under New Management (definitely favoring the original), so we were excited to see how they had changed it with the recent renovations. We were quite pleased to see that it was basically back to the original version.

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/294332_10100186153902885_400399_47708207_131512781 9_n.jpg

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After the Tiki Room, the rain had let up, and it was about time for the afternoon parade to begin. We headed to Main Street, got seats for the parade, and got some photopass pictures taken while we were waiting.

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/299381_10100186154192305_400399_47708213_209066529 5_n.jpg

I think I'll pause here for now, and pick up next time with the parade and the rest of our day at the Magic Kingdom. :goodvibes Thanks to all who have stopped by my TR so far!!

[kirrrby]

Latecomer here. In december we're going to basically be driving the same route as you did (I-95). Stopping in the outskirts of Savannah and staying at the gateway area, which is sort of our.."halfway" point. Good to see that you got to Disney about 11:30, we'll probably do the same thing except we're staying in All star sports.

Keep the updates coming.

[kdka421]

Latecomer here. In december we're going to basically be driving the same route as you did (I-95). Stopping in the outskirts of Savannah and staying at the gateway area, which is sort of our.."halfway" point. Good to see that you got to Disney about 11:30, we'll probably do the same thing except we're staying in All star sports.

Keep the updates coming.

Welcome!! You aren't that late, I've only just started Day 1!

Yup, we took I-95 all the way down, and that's about where we stopped for the night, we hadn't stopped there before but it ended up being a good area to stop. Our goal was to leave the Savannah area by 7am, if I remember right we left a little late, maybe 7:15 or so, but were still at POFQ by 11:30am. I don't know if you're planning to go to the park that day, but if you are, we were able to check in, stretch our legs, unload the car, and get the bus to the MK in less than an hour. You should do great on time.

Thanks again for stopping by!

[kirrrby]

Welcome!! You aren't that late, I've only just started Day 1!

Yup, we took I-95 all the way down, and that's about where we stopped for the night, we hadn't stopped there before but it ended up being a good area to stop. Our goal was to leave the Savannah area by 7am, if I remember right we left a little late, maybe 7:15 or so, but were still at POFQ by 11:30am. I don't know if you're planning to go to the park that day, but if you are, we were able to check in, stretch our legs, unload the car, and get the bus to the MK in less than an hour. You should do great on time.

Thanks again for stopping by!

We will probably leave earlier, knowing my father. He's a stickler for time. We plan to get to Savannah around 6-7 pm the night before (I get to get my Guavatini at Houlihan's! :goodvibes) and leave around 6 am. Stop in Palm Coast at Publix. Then head to our resort. We decided to leave the night before instead of the day of so that we're on time to go get our tickets at Shades of Green. We might make MK the first day, just because it's the go to park.

[kdka421]

We will probably leave earlier, knowing my father. He's a stickler for time. We plan to get to Savannah around 6-7 pm the night before (I get to get my Guavatini at Houlihan's! :goodvibes) and leave around 6 am. Stop in Palm Coast at Publix. Then head to our resort. We decided to leave the night before instead of the day of so that we're on time to go get our tickets at Shades of Green. We might make MK the first day, just because it's the go to park.

Sounds great! We slept real well that night we arrived in GA (9-10 hours in the car will do that to you), so it wasn't that bad to get up early the next morning. We were tentatively going to drive even further into GA that first day, try to make it to the southern border, but I think we were all glad we decided to stop when we did. Your plan sounds pretty good! :thumbsup2

[kirrrby]

Sounds great! We slept real well that night we arrived in GA (9-10 hours in the car will do that to you), so it wasn't that bad to get up early the next morning. We were tentatively going to drive even further into GA that first day, try to make it to the southern border, but I think we were all glad we decided to stop when we did. Your plan sounds pretty good! :thumbsup2

It's usually what we plan to do. Especially on days that we actually have to be somewhere. But it's just hoping the other party gets from Va Beach at a good time the day we leave! It's about 5 hours to Savannah from here. Do you know if they still have the camera speed trap? It was right before the GA border on 95 in Ridgeway, SC.

[kdka421]

Do you know if they still have the camera speed trap? It was right before the GA border on 95 in Ridgeway, SC.

Sorry, I didn't happen to notice!

[kirrrby]

Shoot. I know they had it back in April. They were catching people left and right. We're going to be in a minivan this year though. So probably not a big problem for us. It just bottlenecked there for a bit when people noticed there was a speed camera.

[kdka421]

Day 1 (afternoon continued) - Magic Kingdom

I left off with us waiting for the afternoon parade. The rain had stopped and the ground was pretty much dried; a typical Florida rain shower. The weather was beautiful - all day it was extremely comfortable, not too hot at all - which we were NOT expecting, for August!

The parade was fine - I'm not a huge parade person, and I feel like all of the MK afternoon parades are always the same, year after year. My family still goes around singing "Remember the Magic...." and doing all the hand motions :rotfl:

Nice number of characters in the parade though, and some you don't see too often, including my Dad's favorite, Jiminey Cricket.

Some parade photos for you:

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/310569_10100186154297095_400399_47708215_578115462 _n.jpg

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/313570_10100186154346995_400399_47708216_379012367 _n.jpg

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff437/kdka421/Trip%20Report/149.jpg

Ariel was totally blowing Aaron a kiss here:

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/294766_10100186154361965_400399_47708217_130742354 0_n.jpg

Actually, there were a few really neat touches on some of the different parade floats. Look closely at the first picture and you'll see a miniature Partners statue, and in the second picture you'll see Walt himself.

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff437/kdka421/Trip%20Report/124.jpg

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff437/kdka421/Trip%20Report/141.jpg

After the parade, it was finally time to go do those classic rides, the Mountains. So we headed back to Frontierland, and used our FPs to ride Big Thunder (just me, Aaron, and Dad - Mom is not a thrill ride person).

Mom went to grab us FPs for Splash Mountain while we were on the ride. Now, she told us that she'd meet us back in that main area between Splash and Big Thunder when we were done - but when we got out she was nowhere to be seen! We checked the whole area, the benches, and even the Splash Mtn. gift shops, but we had a missing Mom! Now we all carry cell phones, so you think we would have been able to just call her and locate her...but Mom has a tendency not to hear her phone when it rings. Bit of a problem. I think it took about half a dozen calls before she finally heard her phone ring - turns out she was over by the Frontierland Trading Post. When we met up, I instituted 2 new rules - if you say you're going to meet up somewhere, 1) make sure you are there, and 2) carry your phone in a place where you can hear it ring. I don't think we lost Mom again :lmao:

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/316663_10100186154751185_400399_47708226_776547165 _n.jpg

Quick Hidden Mickey in the Frontierland gift shop:

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After we finally were all caught up with each other, we had a little bit of time left before we could use the Splash Mtn fast passes, which we wanted to get in before dinner. So we all headed over to the Haunted Mansion! We got to see the new interactive queue for the first time!

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The queue was pretty cool, and the ride was wonderful as ever. There had been a few changes since the last time my parents had ridden it, so they enjoyed seeing the new parts of the ride. After the Haunted Mansion, we headed back across Frontierland to use our Splash Mtn FPs, and Mom was instructed where to wait for us this time! Splash is definitely one of my favorite rides, the theming is just fantastic. Before our trip I had shown Aaron "Song of the South" for the first time, so he enjoyed seeing the ride in a slightly different light.

After Splash, we headed back across Frontierland (we did a lot of back and forth walking this afternoon) to Liberty Square, to have dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern. This was Aaron's first time dining there, and our first time since our very first trip in 1996, back when it was a character meal. We were all looking forward to it.

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About the meal - the menu is extremely simple, but the food was fantastic in all of our opinions. Very traditional, very much comfort food, and it was all very well done. The meal is served family style, but the portions they brought out were pretty perfect for 4 people, I think it was just about the right amount of food, but they would have gladly bought more if we needed anything. The salad was great, and I think we all preferred a different one of the meats (turkey, pork, or beef), and the green beans were a huge hit. The stuffing and potatoes were both delicious as well, and the macaroni and cheese was the only item that fell a little short in my opinion. Our waiter was also fantastic, the restaurant was pretty busy, but he was very attentive with our drinks, asking if we wanted more items, etc.

After dinner, we hadn't really left the Adventureland/Frontierland/Liberty Square area, so we decided it was off to see something else! Any thoughts on what ride we hit next?? It is another one of my Dad's favorite rides...
...I'll tell you next time!

[BTDTGB]

After dinner, we hadn't really left the Adventureland/Frontierland/Liberty Square area, so we decided it was off to see something else! Any thoughts on what ride we hit next?? It is another one of my Dad's favorite rides...
...I'll tell you next time!

Is it the Jungle Cruise.

[kdka421]

Is it the Jungle Cruise.

Oops, I guess I phrased that poorly. What I meant to say was, that we had spent all afternoon in that area, so it was time to go somewhere ELSE in the MK! Any other guesses?! That was a good guess though, Jungle Cruise is a fan favorite with my Mom :thumbsup2

[kirrrby]

Hmm. My guess is Buzz Lightyear. :goodvibes

[BTDTGB]

Oops, I guess I phrased that poorly. What I meant to say was, that we had spent all afternoon in that area, so it was time to go somewhere ELSE in the MK! Any other guesses?! That was a good guess though, Jungle Cruise is a fan favorite with my Mom :thumbsup2

I thought you were trying to be tricky with the wording. :rotfl2: Then I would guess Carousel of Progress.

[kdka421]

Hmm. My guess is Buzz Lightyear. :goodvibes

Good guess, but nope! We like the ride, but weirdly we missed that one this trip. We did hit Toy Story Mania a couple of times, so we were okay with passing up Buzz this trip I guess.

I thought you were trying to be tricky with the wording. :rotfl2: Then I would guess Carousel of Progress.

:woohoo: You got it!! I'll pick up there with my next sesgment! :thumbsup2

[kdka421]

Day 1 (evening): Magic Kingdom

As BTDTGB correctly guessed, after dinner we decided to head over to Tomorrowland to ride the Carousel of Progress. On our way there, though, we stopped for multiple different picture opportunities...

Crossing the bridge towards the hub:

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At the hub:

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Heading into Tomorrowland:

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After all those photo breaks, we finally made it to Tomorrowland! We took a quick detour by way of Space Mountain to pick up FPs for later that evening, then we all took a ride on one of my Dad's favorites, the Carousel of Progress. And no ride on the CoP is complete without some good-natured teasing of Mom...who one of the last times she went on the ride, snuck on a large cup of soda, and promptly ended up spilling it all over the floor. Oops! :rotfl:

After a rousing rendition of "It's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow," we decided to split up for a little bit; Aaron and I needed to use our Space Mtn FPs (not a ride either of my parents will do, my Dad finds it too jerky). We still had a short wait before we could use those, so we rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (still fondly called the PeopleMover in our household). I think the TTA was closed on our last trip, so this was Aaron's first time on it - not a thrilling ride by any means, but a nice break. We had a nice view as the sun was setting, and got a little view from above into the Fantasyland Expansion area at one point. After, we headed over to Space Mtn - this was probably one of Aaron's favorite rides/memories from his first/only trip as a child, and he was SO upset on our last trip when the ride was closed for renovations. He was very excited to get to go on it this trip! We both really enjoyed it, as always. :thumbsup2

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While Aaron and I were doing this, my parents took a stroll through Fantasyland (weirdly, Aaron and I went this whole first day without stepping foot in Fantasyland, I was stunned!) and walked right onto Small World (I don't care for the ride one way or the other, but Aaron was certainly thrilled to get out of having to go on it this time!).

Once they were done, they went to get a seat for the Main Street Electrical Parade. Now if you ask my Dad, he will maintain that SpectroMagic is a million times better than MSEP, but (don't tell him) I personally don't see much difference between the two parades. :confused3 I enjoy them both. When Aaron and I were done on Space Mtn, we headed to meet up with them for the parade and fireworks.

Some MSEP photos, although the parade is quite hard to photograph:

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After the parade, we wandered through the gift shops for a little, until it was time for the Magic, Memories, and You castle show (our first time seeing this). We were pretty far back on Main Street, so we couldn't tell much detail in the various pictures - but the different lighting effects/etc were FANTASTIC. :thumbsup2 The show was very cool!!

Then of course we stuck around for Wishes as well. I think Wishes is a wonderful show as well. This night the music/fireworks seemed particularly well coordinated (it doesn't always work out that way it seems).

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After, we left leisurely, taking some time to walk through the gift shop and trade some pins with the CMs. As we were in the Emporium I received my first and only comment on my lime-green Mickey head (I hadn't joined the Dis before this trip, so this was my first time wearing one)...one of the CMs noticed it and asked if I was a member of the DisBoards, she said she was very familiar with the site. Nice to have it noticed even just once!

IIRC, we caught a bus back to POFQ very quickly, I think a bus was pulling up right as we were walking up to the stop. We decompressed a little bit, and went to bed pretty promptly, because our alarms were set the next morning for 6:15am.

Who can guess where we spent Day 2 (Bonus points if you guess our first ride of the day)?! No fair looking back at my PTR! :rotfl:

[kirrrby]

Good update, love the pictures of Wishes. My guess is Epcot or AK possibly Soarin if Epcot, EE if AK (since that's where everyone goes) Lol.

[kdka421]

Good update, love the pictures of Wishes. My guess is Epcot or AK possibly Soarin if Epcot, EE if AK (since that's where everyone goes) Lol.

Thanks! :goodvibes
Well, I guess we aren't too original :lmao: One of your guesses is spot on, the other though is NOT what we did first on the day we did go to that park. At least we fooled you once :rotfl:

I hope to post an update this evening with the beginning of Day 2 - you'll see then which of your guesses was correct!

[kdka421]

Day 2 (morning) - EPCOT

kirrrby guessed correctly that our plan for Day 2 was EPCOT! Epcot had early magic hours that morning, opening at 8am...so we set the alarm for 6:15, got ready, and caught a bus by 7:15am. Not bad! We were at Epcot by 7:35, and were close to the front of the line at the turnstiles.

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I don't remember exactly what time they started letting us through the turnstiles, it was either just before 8 or right at 8 - but we got in quickly, and headed straight to Soarin. We all walked together to The Land, and walked right on, I think we were on the first ride of the morning. Aaron and I rode Soarin for the first time on our last trip, and this was Dad's first time on it...we all loved it. IIRC, the pine scent was either new or not working last time, so that was a nice new effect.

Mom walked over with us to the Land, but didn't go on the ride, and instead wandered around outside for a while. When we met up with her in between Innoventions and the Fountain, and asked her what she'd been doing, she replied "Taking pictures of a bird". Indeed she had (see next pic), and a number of bird pictures were taken throughout the day.

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Together we walked to the other side of Future World, and took my Dad on his 2nd new ride of the day:

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Mission Space! Aaron and I had done both sides of the ride on our last trip, and I remembered the non-intense version as being relatively uneventful. I knew Dad wouldn't want to go on the intense version, so we all did the less-intense version together...and strangely, it was more intense than I remembered. It didn't bother me, but for some reason I guess I just didn't remember it well. I think I enjoyed it more this trip. I don't think Dad liked Mission Space as much as Soarin though. Win some, you lose some. Not sure what Mom did while we were on the ride, but there weren't any pictures of birds from that time period! :rotfl:

Future World felt weirdly empty all morning. Some of the rides still built up substantial lines, but others, like Mission Space, seemed to max out at about a 20 minute wait most of the morning. After Mission Space, we decided to split up for a little bit so Aaron and I could go do Test Track. We were going to go through the Single Rider line, but it wasn't open yet, and the regular line had already backed up to about 45 minutes. So instead we grabbed FPs, and called my parents to see where they had gone off to.

Mom and Dad had just got in line to see the characters, so we ran over to join them. They were near the front of the line, because it had just opened up, and we got in to see the characters very quickly. The photographers were great, and there was a CM plus a Photopass photographer at each character, who willingly took photos on their camera and our camera too. Very nice.

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Mom loves seeing the characters, and Dad would do anything Mom wanted. I was excited to see some characters because Aaron and I didn't really do that on our last trip - because Aaron's not really all that into characters. But he gladly went along - and of course he flirted with Minnie, Goofy and he joked about who was taller, and he told a joke to Donald ("What do you get if you cross a cow and a duck?" "Milk and quackers" :lmao: Donald got a kick out of that.)

After the characters, we headed over to The Seas.

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We went on the ride, which I don't think my parents have been on since our first trip, when it was completely different (with the "elevator" that took you down to the ocean floor, etc). The ride was just as bad as I remembered from the last trip, lol :rotfl: Gosh, they really need to do something better with that. After the ride, we wandered around the various exhibits, saw one of the feeding exhibitions, and a little bit of the manatees (which are only exciting for so long). We also stopped in to see Turtle Talk with Crush, which Mom was dying to see, and I don't think my Dad knew much about it. If you haven't seen it - the show is a lot of fun. My dad talked about it afterwards for the rest of the day, puzzling over how they accomplish it from a technical perspective. It's pretty cool. :thumbsup2

After The Seas, we all walked back across Future World (just like Day 1, we did a lot of back and forth walking) so Aaron and I could use our Test Track FPs. I think this is another one of Aaron's favorite rides. Even with our FPs there was probably about a 15-20 minute wait, which always seems to be the case with Test Track. My parents waited for us outside, and when we were done, we headed over together to the World Showcase for lunch!

Here's another bird we saw along the way:

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Okay - who (without rereading my PTR) can guess where we had lunch?! One hint - we had a reservation, it wasn't counter service.

[kirrrby]

Okay, I only guess mainly because there are sooooo many choices in WS possibly one of the Italian restaurants? or Mexico. Ugh so many choices there! But the taking pictures of birds is my moms thing to do also. That..and squirrels.

[kdka421]

Okay, I only guess mainly because there are sooooo many choices in WS possibly one of the Italian restaurants? or Mexico. Ugh so many choices there! But the taking pictures of birds is my moms thing to do also. That..and squirrels.

:lmao: LOL, so funny that your mom takes pictures of birds as well. Oooh, squirrels - we have a hilarious squirrel picture coming later in the report! :thumbsup2

Good guesses, but nope! We did have a meal at Tutto Italia scheduled, because we had never eaten in Italy, but that got canceled when I rearranged our ADRs when I snagged something last minute. Not Mexico either. You are thinking of the wrong side of the World Showcase. :) Actually, both of our meals on Day 2 were on the other half of the WS... (yum it was a delicious day of food!)

Not sure if I'll get a chance to post an update tonight or not, hope I can, but we'll see!

[kdka421]

Day 2 (lunch) - EPCOT:

I have a few minutes for an update, so I think I'll just try to write about lunch...
Last I left off, we were taking pictures of birds :lmao: No seriously, we were on our way to the World Showcase for lunch. We headed off to the right, going counterclockwise around the lagoon. We had a little bit of time before our reservation, so we explored a little in the UK. Aaron called a person or two in the phone booths :rotfl:, and then we posed for a picture:

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Next stop - FRANCE for lunch at Chefs de France!

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My parents had never eaten at Chefs de France, so this was a completely new experience for them. Aaron and I had dinner reservations here during our last trip (also on Day 2 of that trip!), but that day I hadn't stayed well hydrated, got overheated, and although we stayed for our dinner reservation, I was feeling pretty ill and definitely was not able to fully enjoy the meal. So we were ready to give the restaurant another try!

We had reservations for 12:15 I think, but we got there around noon, the CM was just putting out the podium and getting ready to check everyone in. We put our name on the list (note: I did notice many people walking up without reservations, and they were accommodating them all, so it obviously wasn't that busy, even being free dining), waited for a few minutes, and then we were seated.

We had a nice table in the smaller side room that looks out towards the fountain. The menu options all looked great - and with the dining plan we were given the option of a standard entree plus dessert, or ordering from the 3-course prix fixe menu. Me, Aaron and Dad all ordered from the 3 course menu, while Mom stuck with the regular menu. Our waiter (I believe it was Julien) was very attentive and friendly.

To start we were presented with a baguette, and then our 3 soups - Aaron and I had Lobster Bisque, while Dad had French Onion. Both soups were wonderful. Then, for entrees: I chose Quiche Lorraine, Dad and Aaron both chose the Croque monsieur (Ham & Cheese) sandwich (all 3 of these entrees came with a green salad), and Mom chose the Crepe Florentine.

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All of the entrees got rave reviews! Personally, I liked my quiche, but I think the winner was the sandwich...it was dripping with cheese, and extremely rich! The salads balanced out the cheesy entrees quite nicely.

While we were eating....we were treated to a visit from Remy! He came around to all the tables, although it was obviously difficult for him to navigate in the small seating area. The interaction with each table was brief, but very fun.

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And finally, we finished off with desserts. I chose the creme brule, while the rest of the family opted for the profiteroles.

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We left the meal delighted with the experience! We loved lunch there, and would 100% go back again.

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Well that's all the time I have for today...I'll continue our EPCOT adventure next time!

[kdka421]

Day 2 (afternoon-evening) - EPCOT

We had just finished with an amazing lunch at Chefs de France. Since we were in France, the obvious next choice was to see the Impressions de France film, yet another random thing that my Dad seems to love. :goodvibes The film is definitely beautiful, even though it is so outdated.

One of the big things for us to see both in MK and Epcot is the performances/bands/etc. I had made a list of the showtimes before we left, and carefully noted the things that we could only see one day or the other. For this day in Epcot, it was our only chance to see the World Showcase Players! We always love seeing them, so this was a must-see. They had a show starting shortly, so we hightailed it one country over to the UK, and arrived just as they were beginning their act. I had heard that they had recently been doing Romeo and Juliet, which got me excited since I've never seen them do that one, but alas they were performing King Arthur and The Holy Grail, which I've seen them do a number of times before. However, it's always quite entertaining, and as always the audience participants were hilarious :rotfl:

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At this point we were winding down, and ready for an afternoon break. The days of traveling and a hectic first day caught up to us, and we headed out of the park to go back to POFQ. But not without first taking some more bird pictures!

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We got back to POFQ around 3:30. Aaron went off to relax in the hot tub, my parents fell asleep instantly, and I relaxed for a little, wrote up some notes, and then fell asleep as well. We slept longer than we wanted, for about 2 hours or so. We had dinner reservations for 6:35, so we wanted to be back at Epcot by about 6.

We made it back to Epcot just around 6, and just as we were getting into Epcot, it starting POURING. Not a nice light Florida afternoon shower, but a downpour. We took temporary cover over by the Edys ice cream shop across from the fountain (and joked somewhat seriously about abandoning our dinner plans in favor of ice cream :thumbsup2 ). There were a few people scurrying about in ponchos, mostly heading out of the park, but it's always interesting to see how empty the park can look during a rainstorm.

Our dinner reservations were at Rose & Crown, so we only had to get 2 countries into the World Showcase, but there's also quite a trek from Future World into the WS. We tried to wait it out, but by about 6:25 we knew the rain wasn't going to let up anytime soon. When it lightened up a little, we took off speed walking towards the UK.

We got to the Rose & Crown just about at our reservation time - however, the rain put a kink in their operations. The bar was packed, the restaurant was busy, because everyone wanted to stay out of the rain. So we checked in, and waited for a table to open up - we managed to snag a table at the bar, and enjoyed some tasty beverages:

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About 7:15 or so, we finally got called to a table. We got a seat out in the patio area (which is covered), so that wasn't as loud or busy as being inside, which was nice. The restaurant was moving kind of slow, but we didn't really mind. We also had a waitress who was in training, which we didn't know until her supervisor came over to tell us he was only hovering around to observe how she was doing. Unfortunately again I didn't get pictures of the food...but this is what we got:
Aaron and Dad both got the Shepherd's Pie, I got the fish and chips, and Mom got the Sunday Roast platter. The Shepherd's pie was the table favorite, although I give honorable mention to my fish and chips...the chips were especially tasty! Because of the way our dining credits worked, we were doing half of this meal on dining plan, and half out of pocket - so we just got 2 desserts to share. Aaron and Dad shared the chocolate scotch cake, and Mom and I shared the sticky toffee pudding. Both were very rich and delicious.

Since dinner and service was taking so long, it was probably around 8:30 when we were finishing up dessert. Since we were right at the front of the patio, we asked if they minded if we stayed their for Illuminations, and they said that was absolutely fine. It was still raining on and off, and continued to for the rest of the evening, so it was absolutely ideal to end up with a covered place to watch the show. The view was perfect. The only negative was the rain caused it to be very misty, so we didn't get any good pictures of the show that night (we did later in the trip though). But we got to enjoy our drinks, stay dry, and LOVED the show as always.

It was still raining when the show was over, so we basically just booked it out of Epcot and headed back to the resort. Despite our naps we had no trouble falling asleep, which is good because we had another early morning and long day ahead of us.

Day 3 held some very interesting stuff in store! Find out why my parents didn't head to the park with Aaron and I first thing in the morning...and why we spent the evening apart as well! Talk to you all soon!

[Deemarch]

These cliffhangers are so tough!!!!:lmao:

Waiting...:surfweb:

[kdka421]

Day 3 (morning) - Animal Kingdom

[Glad my cliffhangers are keeping it interesting :rotfl: and glad you're enjoying my TR!]

So, Day 3 was our one and only day at Animal Kingdom. It was our second early magic hour morning in a row, the park opened at 8am and we planned to be there for opening. However, the day before, during our time at Epcot, my Mom received a call from her publisher....my Mom is an author, and her first book was being released in the United Kingdom while were in Disney. My Mom's publisher was calling to see if she would be willing to do a radio interview the next morning! Of course my mom was torn because she was at WDW and wanted to spend her time in the parks, but on the other hand the interview and press is a very important part of her book release.

So she agreed to do the interview; the interview was around 8:30, which meant she and Dad decided to just stay at POFQ, do the interview from her cell phone in the hotel room, and then would meet us at the park when she was finished.

(Her interview went great. Here she is, prepping up notes before the interview started.)

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff437/kdka421/Trip%20Report/004.jpg

So that day, Aaron and I got up at 6:15, and were out at the bus stop by 7:15 (the park was scheduled to open at 8). We either must have JUST missed a bus, or they were just not scheduled well that morning - because we saw 3 MK buses, and at least 1 HS and EP bus each, before we finally got a AK bus 30 minutes later at 7:45. I was really surprised that there weren't more frequent AK buses since it was an early hours morning, but I guess that happens occasionally.

We got to AK just at 8am. Our original plans, when we were going to be with my parents, was to all go to the Safari first. However, since it was just the two of us, we changed plans, and went straight to Everest. We walked right on, and LOVED the ride as much as we did our last trip. What an intense but amazing ride!

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When we got off, the line was still short, so we walked right on and did it again! After that, we thought about going on for a third time in a row...but instead, we headed over to the safari. We grabbed FPs for my parents to use when they arrived, took a quick snack break, then got on the Safari. I love that the ride is always a little bit different. Here are some of the animals we saw:

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While we were "on safari", I got a call from my parents that they had just gotten on the bus and were on their way to AK. So after we were done, we headed back to the main hub/entrance area to meet up with them. We gave them the Safari FPs and they went off to do that, while we headed to the Nemo theater where we were all planning to meet up to see the 10:30am showing of Nemo. Our plan was for us to go in and save seats for them when they met up with us....however, we had forgotten that they don't allow that. So instead, we just waited for them at the entrance, and hoped that they would show up on time.

So while we were waiting, my parents took their safari, and got these shots:

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They called us as soon as they were off the Safari, we told them to HURRY over, and they walked all the way across the park, getting to the theater with maybe 2 minutes to spare. We all walked in together, and were seated basically at the top of the theater. Not great seats by any means, but good enough. Unfortunately not good enough to get any good photos though, so I don't have any from the show. I loved seeing it again, the songs always get stuck in my head the rest of the day. My parents both enjoyed seeing it for the first time.

After Nemo, we headed to an early lunch at Flame Tree BBQ. Aaron and I discovered this place on our last trip, loved it, and knew my parents would love it too. It was a HUGE hit. Aaron and I got the combo ribs and chicken platters, Dad got just the ribs, and Mom got a turkey sandwich. I think everyone thought their own meal was the best! Of course Aaron and Mom both kept feeding the ducks...and I wasn't that surprised when one of them nipped Aaron's hand!
Here's the photos of our food:

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I would highly recommend Flame Tree BBQ to anyone! YUM!

I'll finish off the rest of our Animal Kingdom afternoon in the next segment...and if you're lucky, maybe you'll get another hint at why we separated again that evening! Stay tuned! :goodvibes

[kirrrby]

We loved flame tree. But were skipping it this december because one of our people in our party doesnt like bbq. Also what was the green and white thing? Looks somewhat like key lime gelatin? And I should have waited to read after dinner, because now I'm hungry! :goodvibes

[saintstickets]

We LOVE Flame Tree BBQ!! It is definately in our top 5 for CS restaurants. Just beware of the animals! You start feeding them and they get greedy and come in bunches! :scared1:

Great TR. Keep it coming!

[cp'ersmom]

Just joined your TR. We were there the week before and stayed at POFQ too! I love that place. I enjoyed getting up really early and walking the grounds with a cup of coffee. So peaceful and atmospheric. We also had a downpour on our way to Rose and Crown for dinner. It messed up our reservation but in the end everything worked out really well. Our waiter even got us into the little private viewing area the R & C has for Illuminations. It was lovely.

So I have to ask...what books has your mother written and did you go to R & C to celebrate her UK launch?

[kdka421]

Hello everyone! Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!! :goodvibes

We loved flame tree. But were skipping it this december because one of our people in our party doesnt like bbq. Also what was the green and white thing? Looks somewhat like key lime gelatin? And I should have waited to read after dinner, because now I'm hungry! :goodvibes

There are people who don't like bbq?!?! :lmao: The green and white thing was a key lime pie mousse, or something like that. They also have salads and sandwiches too, I think you should convince them to give it a try!

We LOVE Flame Tree BBQ!! It is definately in our top 5 for CS restaurants. Just beware of the animals! You start feeding them and they get greedy and come in bunches! :scared1:

Great TR. Keep it coming!

Yes indeed, those birds are crazy! Thanks for visiting my TR! :goodvibes

Just joined your TR. We were there the week before and stayed at POFQ too! I love that place. I enjoyed getting up really early and walking the grounds with a cup of coffee. So peaceful and atmospheric. We also had a downpour on our way to Rose and Crown for dinner. It messed up our reservation but in the end everything worked out really well. Our waiter even got us into the little private viewing area the R & C has for Illuminations. It was lovely.

So I have to ask...what books has your mother written and did you go to R & C to celebrate her UK launch?

Welcome to my TR! :wave2: We agree about the peacefulness of POFQ, I would definitely stay there again. Maybe it was partially due to the location of our room and/or the timing of our trip, but the hotel felt very quiet, we never saw all that many people around the resort.

Thanks for asking about my mom's book! :goodvibes Yes, our R&C meal was definitely a celebration of her UK launch, the dates weren't exactly right but it was still a great celebration! The book she wrote is called "Dieting with my Dog (http://www.amazon.com/Dieting-My-Dog-Figures-Unconditional/dp/1845844068/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1295758203&sr=8-1)" and it will be available in the US next month :) SO proud of her!! (This is her first book, but she has been published in a few different magazines, plus some compilation books like Chicken Soup, for the last 5 years or so) :woohoo:

[kdka421]

Hi all! :wave2:

It's been a busy few days! I should get back into my regular routine and be able to write another update tomorrow, I hope. But for now - my Mom sent me a few comments that she wanted to include in my Trip Report. So here are a few notes from Mom (I have few more as well, but they are about things I haven't written about yet, so I'll save those for later):

Port Orleans: French Quarter is not as pretty as Riverside, and the food court does not have as much selection as Riverside (in addition, I found the food court’s huge Mardi Gras décor rather gaudy.) But the rooms were perfect, and I’d still select FQ over Riverside again, due to the convenience of the bus stops. We were only a few steps away from our room after a long day of walking around the parks.

Rose and Crown: Although the Sunday Roast sounds like an authentic British meal, I would recommend one of the other options instead. The meat was just average, if a bit tough, and lacking in flavor. However, I really wanted to try Yorkshire pudding, and I did, and I enjoyed that. But I sampled the shepherd’s pie, and wished I’d ordered that. Although we felt the serving size was too small. Maybe you’d better order two!

Flame Tree BBQ: We were trying to eat healthy, and at last! We found the perfect spot! I got a wonderful turkey sandwich on the best, grainy, oaty bread I ever ate. Served with a big slice of melon. This was my favorite quick service meal anywhere!

Hope you're all having a good week so far!

[kdka421]

Day 3 (afternoon) - Animal Kingdom

After we finished our lunch at Flame Tree BBQ, the 4 of us headed back towards Everest. We had 2 FPs for Everest, so Dad and I decided to go on it - me, for the third time that day, and Dad for his first time ever! We walked right on with the FPs. Dad has been willing to try most of the new rides, with a few exceptions, and I'm glad he decided to try Everest. However, I don't think he'll ever go on it again. :rotfl: I think he probably won't ride it again for the same reason he won't ride Space Mtn anymore - too jerky and just a little too intense.

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While we were on Everest, Mom and Aaron headed over to see the tigers, so Dad and I headed that way to catch up with them. By that point we were getting pretty warm and exhausted - this was the hottest day of our trip up to that point, plus Animal Kingdom just has a way of making it feel even hotter. Both of us enjoy seeing the animals, but not nearly as much as Mom, so when we caught up to them at the tigers, we didn't stick around much longer. Mom and Aaron had gotten some good pictures though:

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I can't remember all which animals were on which trails - but I know that next we walked through the bird sanctuary area.

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After the birds, we headed out of the trail, and back into the main pathways, where the monkey area is. One of the CMs was there answering questions about them, and it was interesting to learn about their family, which were the adults and which were the kids, etc. If I remember right - the first photo is Dad, the next is Mom and their son, and the last one is their daughter.

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We then headed over to the Gorillas. But before reaching the gorillas, we saw these animals:

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And finally,

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There was a cute baby gorilla running around, but he was too far away, and hidden behind the various trees and plants, to get a good picture of him.

After we were done seeing the gorillas, most of us were ready for some time out of the heat, so we wandered in and out of the various gift shops for a while. Aaron decided that he really wanted to try Dinosaur, which none of us have ever ridden before, but I just didn't think I'd enjoy the ride. So he went himself to check out the line, found it was relatively long, and just grabbed a Fastpass. While we were waiting for him to be able to use his FP, Aaron and I decided to go ride Everest one more time! I was pretty proud of getting 4 rides in that day! :thumbsup2 After Everest, Aaron went to ride Dinosaur by himself - but he loved the ride, so I'm really glad that he decided to give it a try.

We then got some photopass pictures taken in front of the tree before we left:

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After that, my parents stuck around Animal Kingdom to view the parade, which in our many trips we'd never bothered to see before. After the parade, they also managed to squeeze in the last showing of Lion King (I know many people love the show, but I personally don't find it that exciting!).

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Aaron and I, instead, headed back to POFQ, because the 2 couples were doing dinner separately that night. I won't torture you all with a cliffhanger this time...my parents were staying at AK to have dinner at Rainforest Cafe, while Aaron and I were headed back to POFQ to shower and get changed before our dinner at Victoria & Albert's!!! We were SO excited about this dinner, and I can't wait to tell you all about it. :woohoo: That's coming up next time!

[kirrrby]

I remember When my mom and I went to Disney back in April, we saw a Baby Gorilla. It was following it's dad. We had the unfortunate timing to see the gorilla while another family was sitting there making noises, and making animal sounds. The CM comes over and tells them to please stop. They didn't, and finally the Dad Gorilla got so mad that it comes running down the hill towards the rope bridge and it charged us beating on it's chest.

Also, i'm not a fan of Dinosaur. I could even go far enough to say I absolutely HATE that ride. Scares the heck out of me.

And Yay! to V&A, my parents went there for their 10th anniversary. I was dropped off at Cub's Den and they got to have their own Anniversary dinner. They still have the menu.

[saintstickets]

...while Aaron and I were headed back to POFQ to shower and get changed before our dinner at Victoria & Albert's!!! We were SO excited about this dinner, and I can't wait to tell you all about it. :woohoo: That's coming up next time!

Really looking forward to your review about V&A. DW and I went there for the first time during our last trip. I hope you had the same experience we had.

[coltsfanatic]

Oooh...this trip report sounds so exciting!!

You sound so much like our family. I'm the planner and love traveling, mom's the writer and traveler (I guess I like animals too-I'm a vegan!), dad's the goof off and we all love the comfort of a good Disney resort!!

Can't wait to hear more! :cloud9:

[kdka421]

I remember When my mom and I went to Disney back in April, we saw a Baby Gorilla. It was following it's dad. We had the unfortunate timing to see the gorilla while another family was sitting there making noises, and making animal sounds. The CM comes over and tells them to please stop. They didn't, and finally the Dad Gorilla got so mad that it comes running down the hill towards the rope bridge and it charged us beating on it's chest.

Also, i'm not a fan of Dinosaur. I could even go far enough to say I absolutely HATE that ride. Scares the heck out of me.

And Yay! to V&A, my parents went there for their 10th anniversary. I was dropped off at Cub's Den and they got to have their own Anniversary dinner. They still have the menu.

:scared1: What a gorilla story!! Can't decide it that would have been scary or cool :)

Glad to hear you say that about Dinosaur - I've heard lots of people say it's awful, although my best friend came back from her first trip recently saying that was one of her favorite rides, so I just was so conflicted.

Really looking forward to your review about V&A. DW and I went there for the first time during our last trip. I hope you had the same experience we had.

I can't wait to share with you all our V&A experience! My hubby and I LOVE dining experiences like that! I hope to get it all typed up this evening.

Oooh...this trip report sounds so exciting!!

You sound so much like our family. I'm the planner and love traveling, mom's the writer and traveler (I guess I like animals too-I'm a vegan!), dad's the goof off and we all love the comfort of a good Disney resort!!

Can't wait to hear more! :cloud9:

:goodvibes Hello! Thanks for jumping in to my TR! I love meeting people who have similar interests and traits and stuff. I'm such a planner, haha. :thumbsup2 It was so fun to do a trip with my parents with us all as adults, what a different experience than my childhood trips! Do you guys have any trips coming up?

[kdka421]

Day 3 (evening) - dinner at Victoria & Albert's (part 1)!

Aaron and I left the Animal Kingdom a little before 4pm, as planned, and took a bus back to the hotel. When we got back to POFQ, we were right on schedule, and had enough time to shower and change before dinner. Our dinner reservation was for 6pm, so our goal was to leave POFQ around 5pm, take the bus to the Magic Kingdom, then take the monorail over to the Grand Floridian. Here we are, waiting for the bus all dressed up :)

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A bus came quickly, and we were on our way to the Magic Kingdom. When we got there, we headed toward the monorail terminal...and were stopped by a CM who asked where we were headed. He told us that the monorails weren't running - they were having some technical difficulties - and the ONLY way to get to the Grand Floridian was by boat.

Argh! :scared1: That was not what I wanted to hear. We were all dressed up, and now had to wait outside in the muggy heat. And we definitely did not have enough time to make our reservation on time. I HATE being late, it's a major pet peeve of mine. There were quite a few people waiting for the boat (everyone was being pretty polite, although obviously everyone was pretty frustrated), and when the first boat came (taking people to the GF and Poly), we didn't make it on...the boats aren't that large, they probably fit about 40 people or so.

So we waited and waited. As far as I could tell they only had one or maybe two boats running this circuit. I don't remember exactly what time we got on the boat, it was probably around 6:15, so we were already late for our reservation. While we had been waiting, we called over to the GF front desk, who told us that it was only their policy to hold the reservation something like 10 or 15 minutes. Yikes! However - as I've said before, my husband works at a 5-diamond restaurant, similar to V&As, and we both know that a restaurant of that quality would NOT turn someone away if they could help it, so we were pretty sure it wouldn't be an issue. (Plus - it was unavoidable, it was not our fault we were going to be late).

Luckily the GF was the first stop for the boat, and I'd say we made it to the restaurant around 6:30pm. A little late, a little warm, but we made it! The restaurant was completely understanding.

A quick note overall - we were treated very warmly and friendly the whole evening. I believe we may have gotten slightly more attention than the average patrons, because when V&A called to confirm our reservation, I had mentioned to them that we'd love a kitchen tour if possible, particularly because my husband loves seeing and learning about other restaurants. They asked me about where he works - and when we got there, one employee (Melissa: who I believe was the front of house manager) spent a lot of time with us, comparing notes with my husband (she actually mentioned that she checked out the website of the Inn where he works), answering all of his questions, and giving us just a little extra attention. It made it even more special - however, even knowing that we might have gotten something a little "extra", I just want to say even without that, I think the experience would have been wonderful.

This is obviously the restaurant in Disney with the highest level of service. When we got in, they "checked" our umbrella, and brought over a small stool to use as a table for my purse and camera. We were introduced to both our main waiter and assistant waiter (we learned later that internally, these positions are referred to as the "Victoria" or the "Albert" - Victoria being the main waiter, and Albert being the assistant.) I'll have to ask my husband later if he remembers their names - but our main waiter was knowledgeable, but slightly distant, while our assistant waiter was much more attentive and more friendly. They worked well as a team though.

Shortly after we were seated:

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A standard place setting, before the meal begins:

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The customized menu and the flowers on the table:

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The harpist, who started playing probably around 7, and played all through the course of dinner - very soft and beautiful:

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The assistant waiter came over, and she stepped us through all the options on the menu (Aaron's pet peeve - she really didn't tell us much new about each dish, she sort of read the description from the menu). We picked out our courses pretty easily, actually, and also decided to go all the way and get the wine parings as well....why not, it's a special occasion!

The restaurant was pretty quiet - Aaron again will remember more of the details, but Melissa told us this was a pretty average night in terms of busyness. There were maybe about 8 tables seated in our dining room that evening, and I believe there were a couple more in the Queen Victoria room, as well as one at the Chef's Table.

Note: I think I'll make a separate post after this one with pictures of each and every dish we ordered, and I'll leave this post for talking about the experience as a whole. (Otherwise this post will get ridiculously longer than it already will turn out to be!)

In between the hot appetizers and the meat entree course, Melissa came over and asked us if we wanted to use that time to see the kitchen. The Chef's table had already left for the evening, so it was a perfect opportunity for them to show us around. We of course were excited to do this!

She led us through the waiter's station, then into the kitchen. We first passed by the dessert area:

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We then stopped to get introduced to Chef Scott, who also made some small talk with Aaron about the Inn where he works, I believe he had visited there in the past. We were then brought over to the Chef's table area:

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We spent a lot of time here talking about the restaurant and how it functions. While we were there, Aaron asked about where they store their wine. The CM went to check with someone to see if she could bring us back there, and got permission; so we headed further back into their storage areas, and got a peek into their wine coolers. They have a separate one for whites and for reds.

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After our kitchen tour, we returned to finish up our dining experience! At the end of the meal, we received a loaf of bread to take home with us, and I was given a beautiful red rose. Interesting note: this was Day 3 of our trip - the rose survived all through our vacation, survived a train ride back where it was stored in a hot car, it arrived in VA wilted, but perked back up and lasted about another week. That was one strong rose! :flower3:

By the end of the meal - we had had a lot more to drink than we were used to! The wine parings are MORE than generous, I believe they call them 2-3 ounces, but many pours were probably closer to 4 ounces each. In our opinion, the wines paired well with the dishes, and it was definitely worth the extra expense. The monorail was back up and running by the time we left (which was probably around 10:30pm). We took the monorail back to the MK, then a bus back to POFQ, and arrived back at the hotel, still a little tipsy, extremely full, and VERY very happy.

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And to end this on a humorous note - do you remember me posting this picture at the beginning of the TR? This is the evening this occurred! We were already in a silly mood, joking around with my parents, and this was a hilarious way to end the evening...with a lizard in the bed!

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Hope you all enjoyed! Stay tuned for a separate post with pictures and details of all the food!! It's worth waiting for. :goodvibes

[saintstickets]

I'm jealous that y'all got to tour the kitchen and wine cellar. Love your V&A review and can't wait to see the pics.

By the end of the meal - we had had a lot more to drink than we were used to! The wine parings are MORE than generous, I believe they call them 2-3 ounces, but many pours were probably closer to 4 ounces each. In our opinion, the wines paired well with the dishes, and it was definitely worth the extra expense. The monorail was back up and running by the time we left (which was probably around 10:30pm). We took the monorail back to the MK, then a bus back to POFQ, and arrived back at the hotel, still a little tipsy, extremely full, and VERY very happy.

DW and I were leery about getting the wine pairing. A full glass of wine with each course is more than we are used to. We were able to split one wine pairing and get a short glass of the appropriate wine with each course. It was just enough to accent the course but not so much that we were "knee-walking" after the meal! :lmao:

Keep the TR coming!

[Tink rules]

About the meal - the menu is extremely simple, but the food was fantastic in all of our opinions. Very traditional, very much comfort food, and it was all very well done. The meal is served family style, but the portions they brought out were pretty perfect for 4 people, I think it was just about the right amount of food, but they would have gladly bought more if we needed anything. The salad was great, and I think we all preferred a different one of the meats (turkey, pork, or beef), and the green beans were a huge hit. The stuffing and potatoes were both delicious as well, and the macaroni and cheese was the only item that fell a little short in my opinion. Our waiter was also fantastic, the restaurant was pretty busy, but he was very attentive with our drinks, asking if we wanted more items, etc.

After dinner, we hadn't really left the Adventureland/Frontierland/Liberty Square area, so we decided it was off to see something else! Any thoughts on what ride we hit next?? It is another one of my Dad's favorite rides...
...I'll tell you next time!


the Mac and cheese is Stouffers... they sponsor the restaurant...


Nice job at V&A's... Was Jack or Sheri one of your servers?

[kdka421]

Day 3 (evening) - Dinner at Victoria & Albert's (part 2)!

And now, a series of pictures that should make your mouth water :thumbsup2

Amuse-Bouche:
(From bottom left, clockwise: Shrimp, tuna, a soft poached quail egg, and something stuffed with crab).

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The first bread course:

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Cold appetizers:
1. Applewood-smoked Buffalo Waldorf salad (mine: and it was fantastic)
2. Heirloom Tomatoes, Octopus and Burrata Cheese with Yellow Tomato Gazpacho (Aaron's: and I think the only one I didn't have a taste of)

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Seafood course:
1. Diver scallop with braised fennel and blood orange gastrique (this entire dish was great, and I don't always love scallops, but these were cooked perfectly)
2. Roasted Alaskan Sablefish with Arugula Pudding (Aaron's)
3. Each of these dishes came with a side of something, that for the life of us, neither of us can remember...but it was good!

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Second bread course:
(If I remember right there was also a third bread course - but it looks like we didn't get a picture of that. Darn!)

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Hot appetizers:
1. Duck breast, duck sausage, and confit with strawberry-rhubarb puree (mine: amazing! I love duck, and this trio was melt in your mouth)
2. Roasted quail with asian pears and serrano ham jus (Aaron's - it may not have been the most visually appealing, at least not in the picture, but this was wonderful as well)

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Surprise course:
When choosing our main courses, out of the 3 options the one we eliminated was a delicious chicken with truffle gnocchi and chanterelle mushrooms. It sounded wonderful, but we just chose the other two. Well, they sent us each out an extra course of this dish, with an additional wine pairing as well!

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Main course:
1. Kurobuta pork tenderloin and belly with verjus-bacon vinaigrette (mine: now, typically pork is not one of my favorite meats. However this might have been my favorite dish of the evening. It was very savory, the flavors were just amazing together. All of the little touches here were so fun, including a few pieces of popcorn for texture!)
2. Niman Ranch lamb with candied marble potatoes and English peas (Aaron's: maybe his favorite dish as well. He loves lamb. This may have been the most beautiful dish of the evening (until desserts!))

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Cheese/gelato course:
1. White chocolate gelato with tableside shavings and micro orchids (mine: I loved that they gave an alternative to the cheese course. The gelato was perfect. Light and beautiful)
2. Quartet of cheeses (Aaron's: I guess this is the second thing I didn't try. I'm not very adventurous yet when it comes to cheeses...not sure why.)

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Dessert:
1. Aaron's coffee contraption
2. Grand Marnier Souffle (Aaron's: perfectly done souffle, which they cracked open at the table and poured sauce inside of it)
3. Caramelized banana gateau (mine: this picture does not do it justice. It's covered with this sheet of spun sugar, and underneath it's similar to banana's foster, but better!)
4. Some post-dessert candies (these came back to the room with us)

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Up next - the last few thoughts on Day 3, then on to Day 4 - Hollywood Studios.

[kirrrby]

Honestly the portions, except the dessert look sooooo tiny. Maybe it's the pictures. I know you get multiple courses, but why's the price so high? Are you paying for the Ambiance?

[kdka421]

Honestly the portions, except the dessert look sooooo tiny. Maybe it's the pictures. I know you get multiple courses, but why's the price so high? Are you paying for the Ambiance?

It's a fair question - a few years ago I would have asked the same thing as well. I've learned a lot both from my husband's job, and just going out to places like this. I still get sticker shock sometimes, but at least I have a better understanding...

First, these portions actually aren't quite as small as the pictures make them seem. The plates and bowls were all extra large, actually. So that's a little deceiving.
Part of the price is the overall experience, yes - you're treated to a level of service above and beyond anything else. For this restaurant to be rated 5-diamonds, they have to show and maintain certain standards and qualities that you won't get at many other restaurants.
You're also paying for much higher quality ingredients. You can get some pretty good food at some of Disney's regular restaurants, but the bar here is much higher. It also really is a much larger quantity of food too.

The cost of $125 per person is certainly not cheap. But compare the quality and quantity of food you're getting here to dinner one of the signature restaurant, where you might pay $40 for the entree alone, and here you receive at least 6 courses...I'd consider it a very good value for what you receive.

I hope I explained that well :goodvibes

[kdka421]

I'm jealous that y'all got to tour the kitchen and wine cellar. Love your V&A review and can't wait to see the pics.

DW and I were leery about getting the wine pairing. A full glass of wine with each course is more than we are used to. We were able to split one wine pairing and get a short glass of the appropriate wine with each course. It was just enough to accent the course but not so much that we were "knee-walking" after the meal! :lmao:

Keep the TR coming!

Well, you'll just have to go again so that you can have a tour :rotfl:

Yeah, I went back and forth about the wine pairing - I'd heard a few people mention that you can split it, so I knew that was an option. It definitely would have been enough...we may have overindulged just a little :lmao: In all honesty though, I would say we were tipsy by the end of the meal, but since it was spread out over almost 4 hours, it wasn't any worse than that.

the Mac and cheese is Stouffers... they sponsor the restaurant...

Nice job at V&A's... Was Jack or Sheri one of your servers?

Ah, interesting about the mac and cheese...I actually think the sponsorship has changed, it's now Ocean Spray (a few menu items featured Ocean Spray craisins), but I would bet they might have just kept using that mac and cheese.

Glad you enjoyed the V&A review. We should have written down our servers names because now we can't remember them - but I don't think either of those are who we had, no.

[kirrrby]

It's a fair question - a few years ago I would have asked the same thing as well. I've learned a lot both from my husband's job, and just going out to places like this. I still get sticker shock sometimes, but at least I have a better understanding...

First, these portions actually aren't quite as small as the pictures make them seem. The plates and bowls were all extra large, actually. So that's a little deceiving.
Part of the price is the overall experience, yes - you're treated to a level of service above and beyond anything else. For this restaurant to be rated 5-diamonds, they have to show and maintain certain standards and qualities that you won't get at many other restaurants.
You're also paying for much higher quality ingredients. You can get some pretty good food at some of Disney's regular restaurants, but the bar here is much higher. It also really is a much larger quantity of food too.

The cost of $125 per person is certainly not cheap. But compare the quality and quantity of food you're getting here to dinner one of the signature restaurant, where you might pay $40 for the entree alone, and here you receive at least 6 courses...I'd consider it a very good value for what you receive.

I hope I explained that well :goodvibes

Yes, it explained it very well. Honestly it looks a lot of it is the ambiance and the service. BUT i'm the type of person that I can't see spending more than 20 bucks a person on a meal, unless it's at Disney (where the prices are exorbitant regardless). So I still get sticker shock.

[kokotg]

Just stumbled across your trip report and read the whole thing! Really enjoying it...you got some great pictures!

I hope that my kids still want to do Disney trips with us when they grow up (I also wish my mom would want to do a Disney trip with me, but I know THAT'S not going to happen--not her thing).

DH and I both think you look really familiar, but I can't think where we would know you from.

Anyway! Looking forward to reading more :)

[engle]

We love V&A...heading there in January for the 5th time. And my husband, who NEVER orders nor eats a dessert ANYWHERE....craves the banana gateau!!! LOVE IT!!!

[kdka421]

Yes, it explained it very well. Honestly it looks a lot of it is the ambiance and the service. BUT i'm the type of person that I can't see spending more than 20 bucks a person on a meal, unless it's at Disney (where the prices are exorbitant regardless). So I still get sticker shock.

I get sticker shock all the time :rotfl:

Just stumbled across your trip report and read the whole thing! Really enjoying it...you got some great pictures!

I hope that my kids still want to do Disney trips with us when they grow up (I also wish my mom would want to do a Disney trip with me, but I know THAT'S not going to happen--not her thing).

DH and I both think you look really familiar, but I can't think where we would know you from.

Anyway! Looking forward to reading more :)

Thanks for joining my TR!! :goodvibes My hubby gives me a hard time, because when we first started dating (and before that, back when I was in high school and college) I used to say that the last thing I wanted to do was go back to Disney, because that was the only vacation we took as a family growing up. But I've changed my tune greatly :lmao: It was such a blessing and so much fun to take this trip with my parents.

Hmmm - I checked out some of your pictures, and I don't recognize you off hand...my first obvious guess was maybe we were both at WDW the same time, but it doesn't look like our trips overlapped. Who knows!

We love V&A...heading there in January for the 5th time. And my husband, who NEVER orders nor eats a dessert ANYWHERE....craves the banana gateau!!! LOVE IT!!!

Yummmm....that was definitely delicious! Have so much fun when you are there in January! I have a strong suspicion that V&A will now be a must-do for us as well on any future trips...

[kirrrby]

Interesting fact.

Nestle has subsidiaries, which Stouffers being one of them. When Nestle got replaced as a sponsor their stuff went out and Liberty Tree (Who was sponsored by Stouffers) changed their menus. Same thing with McDonald's.. You used to see their fries everywhere.

Disney basically lives on sponsors. Alamo is for their fleet cars and major car rentals. General Motors (test track and AKA "The official motor vehicle company of WDW"). Coke being the major Sponsor of all of WDW also.

So it just depends on who makes the contract that year, or term.

[kdka421]

Day 3 (evening): Animal Kingdom / Rainforest Cafe

Before I can move on to Day 4 at Hollywood Studios, I need to finish my parents part of Day 3!
After Aaron and I left the Animal Kingdom, they stayed to watch the afternoon parade (pretty unmemorable was the consensus, even for Mom who loves parades), then the Lion King show.

After that, they headed over to the Rainforest Cafe. Mom chose this as their date night restaurant, we had gone there once as a family on one of our previous trips. They each ordered salads:

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Here are Mom's notes on their dining experience:
Rainforest Café: Two takes on this here. My husband found it noisy and crowded. I found the theme fun and exciting. The food, was good with many fun options (such as a myriad of unique mixed alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and a huge ice cream dessert with sparklers) We each ordered salads, which were huge, fresh and well-prepared. I think it’s fun. If you’re not looking for a dark space with loud animated monkeys and frequent simulated thunderstorms, maybe you’d best look elsewhere.

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Once they were done with dinner, we weren't 100% sure how the bus situation would work, since it was well after park closing. However, they reported that this was extremely simply - they walked out, and there were cast members asking where they needed to go, and they simply put them on one of the waiting buses and took them back to POFQ. Easy as pie.

They spent the rest of the evening relaxing and wandering around the resort, taking some pictures of the pool area, and things like that.

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Okay, that's finally the end of Day 3! Next up will now be Hollywood Studios!

[kdka421]

Day 4 (morning) - Hollywood Studios

With Day 4, we hit our 3rd early morning in a row, with yet another morning Extra Magic Hours. The park opened at 8am, so we were on the bus at 7:15am and on our way to MGM :lmao: - I mean HS! We were at the park by 7:35am, so we had some time to wait, both outside the terminals and then inside at rope drop. Since we had gotten there so early, we were pretty close to the front of the crowd.

Aaron had nudged his way a little closer to the front of the crowd than the rest of us - so when they started letting the crowds through, he headed forwards, but not in the right direction! He couldn't hear us yelling to him, but luckily he turned around and headed over and caught up with us! Oops.

Now I had a very clear plan for HS rope drop, although it didn't quite work out as planned, as you'll soon see. Mom headed off on her own, towards Toy Story Mania, to grab Fastpasses. Meanwhile, Dad, Aaron, and myself were headed over for a quick ride on Tower of Terror, and then Aaron and I were going to ride Rock 'n Roller Coaster (for my first time!). So Mom went off on her way, and we headed to ToT:

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We weren't in too much of a rush, so we stopped to get Photopass pictures taken of the 3 of us outside of ToT. We then walked right on to the ride - fabulous as ever! It's definitely one of my top 5 rides at WDW, the whole experience is just absolutely amazing.

When we were done, Dad left to go meet up with Mom, and Aaron and I went around the corner to check out what we hoped would be a short wait still for RnRC. There didn't appear to be much of a wait - but when we got closer, the reason for that was apparent - the ride was closed down. UGH. Technical difficulties or whatever, but they hadn't opened up the ride yet for the morning. Couldn't even get FPs for it. So we called Mom and Dad to meet up with them (how did groups travel around WDW before cell phones?! Seriously...).

With our plans thrown off, we didn't really know what to do next. So, we decided to go to Muppets 3-D. Here's Aaron with Statler and Waldorf (especially meaningful to Aaron, since the main building for his college program was Statler Hall):

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We loved the show as always, and then decided just to wander around for a while, we had some time to kill before we could use our TSMM FPs. So we wandered around the Streets of America, went into the shops (got some snacks/drinks at the Writers Stop), took some pictures:

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We STILL had time to kill (yes, we had planned for this to be a pretty low-key day), so we decided to check out Star Tours. My Dad and my brother had gone on this ride during our previous family trips, but for whatever reason it was never something that caught my eye, so I had never ridden it before. So Aaron and I also hadn't gone on it during our last trip either. So the 3 of us decided to ride on it, with only Dad being able to compare this newly updated version to the old version. (Mom went over to wait for us by Toy Story). The line took about 15-20 minutes or so, and it was one of the longer lines we waited in at all, can't complain about that. I really knew nothing about the ride. But it was extremely well done - didn't become one of my favorites, but I wouldn't hesitate to ride it again - the effects were really quite awesome. Dad said it was a pretty big, and positive, upgrade from the previous version. He also mentioned that apparently there are different versions of the ride, so your experience can be different, but we never got to ride it again to check that out. But we all had a good time.
When we got out, we waited for a moment to see if we could get Aaron's picture with a Stormtrooper, but they weren't cooperating, so we settled for this instead:

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Finally it was time for Toy Story! We met up with Mom, and headed in. Even the Fastpass line took a while for us to get through, but that wasn't a surprise. Mom wasn't sure what to expect from the ride - spinning and dark jerky rides aren't exactly her cup of tea, but I was sure she'd like it, so she was convinced to give it a try. We got into our car, started and got through about 1 set of games, when the ride stopped. Technical difficulties, unloading/loading a passenger, I don't know what the reason was - but it gave me a chance to see what Mom thought (trying to yell around the seats wasn't the easiest, but we managed), and she was definitely enjoying herself. The ride picked up again, and we enjoyed the rest of our games. The winner of the 4 of us: Aaron! As Mom made clear to us the rest of the day - TSMM was now one of her favorite Disney rides, as is evident from this picture from when we picked up more FPs to use later on:

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At that point, we found out that Rock n Roller Coaster was up and running again - so we split up, with Aaron and I headed to RnRC, and Mom and Dad went off to wander around. And where do you think 2 grown adults headed off to? That's right, the Winnie the Pooh meet & greet. :rotfl:

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They also walked by a few other character Meet & Greets, and managed to capture this hilarious and quite unfortunate (for her) picture of Mrs. Incredible which they delightedly showed us later:

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So as they were having quite the entertaining time with the characters, Aaron and I headed over to RnRC. The regular wait time was 40 minutes I think, so we decided to go through the Single Rider line, which was a toss up since they don't have wait times posted for that. All in all I think we ended up probably waiting about the same amount of time - we got inside a lot quicker, but then the single rider queue after the video segment moved very slowly. I was quite nervous, I think this was only the second upside-down coaster I've done, but Aaron kept assuring me I'd love it (he did it on our last trip). We weren't on the same coaster since we did single rider, not that it really matters since you don't sit next to each other anyway. But once the ride started - I absolutely loved it!! Everyone who says that the ride is so smooth you don't even really realize you're going upside down - they are totally right. I loved the way it was all done using black lights, I didn't know that. The only negative of the ride is that it goes so fast, the wind makes my eyes teary, and I couldn't wipe away my tears! In my personal opinion, the ride is much less scary and intense than Space Mountain.

Aaron and I met up in the gift shop, and went off to meet my parents. Coming up next - the rest of our evening at Hollywood Studios, including a really special Cast Member encounter.

[kokotg]

Nice updates! I'm on your Dad's side about Rainforest Cafe being noisy and crowded. Yet I still have an inexplicable desire to try out T-Rex sometime, even though I know it will be the same thing. Poor Mrs. Incredible; I bet that happens to her a lot :laughing:

[kdka421]

Nice updates! I'm on your Dad's side about Rainforest Cafe being noisy and crowded. Yet I still have an inexplicable desire to try out T-Rex sometime, even though I know it will be the same thing. Poor Mrs. Incredible; I bet that happens to her a lot :laughing:

Thanks :goodvibes

LOL, we got such a kick out of Mrs. Incredible, haha - there is another picture of her later too. :rotfl:

Working on my next update now, will post either later tonight or sometime tomorrow...

Can't believe we've been home for over 5 weeks already! :eek: Geez the time has flown by.

[kdka421]

Day 4 (afternoon and evening) - Hollywood Studios

When we last left off, we were all meeting up for lunch. Our plan for this day was to have lunch at Studio Catering Company, a place Aaron and I "discovered" on our last trip, and enjoyed a pretty healthy and tasty lunch there. We all met up there - and then my parents announced that for whatever reason, they heard "Studio Catering Company" during our planning talks, and thought "The Commissary". Not sure why, but they were both thinking we were eating lunch at the Commissary. We looked at the Studio Catering Company menu, but since they both had the Commissary in mind, we decided to just head over there and do that, we were flexible.

I'm not really sure why they were so keen on the Commissary - and when we were done with lunch, I think we all thought we should have stuck with our original lunch plans. Aaron and I got burgers, and my parents got salads, but neither of them were really thrilled with them. Oh well, I know we hadn't been thrilled with the Commissary in the past either. Live and learn, maybe next time they'll remember and we'll finally end up at Studio Catering Company again.

After our less than satisfactory lunch, we decided to head to the Beauty and the Beast show. Aaron and I had missed this on our last visit, but I'd seen it before with my family. This certainly isn't our favorite Disney stage show by any means (side note - does anyone else desperately miss the Hunchback show? We do!), but we had a special reason for seeing it this time. First, here are some pictures from the show, but it'll be followed up with a special story...

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Back story - our family trips when we were kids, we took 6 trips over a span of less than 10 years...and one of my father's favorite acts, as I think I've already mentioned, is the Main Street Dapper Dans. So as we went over the years, he struck up a friendship with a number of the Dans, there were a couple who he exchanged contact info with, wrote emails from time to time, etc. One in particular, his name was Aaron (only slightly confusing since that's my now husband's name, but during this story, Aaron will refer to this CM). He and my dad were close over the years, and one of our last trips there as a family, the Dans told us he was over auditioning for the role of Gaston in the Beauty and the Beast show. So, when my husband and I were there last year, we of course saw the Dans, and made sure to ask about Aaron - and the Dans confirmed that he was playing as Gaston. Unfortunately this was after our day at HS.

SO, to get back to the present day...even though this was a few years later, we were wondering if Aaron was still playing as Gaston, that was our main motivation for seeing the show. My dad recognized him hands down! So, after the show, we asked some of the CMs who were around if they could confirm that was Aaron - they said yes - and we asked if they could give him a message. We said that our family was here, and could he come say hi for a minute? All the while though, my Dad was wondering if he'd remember us after all these years...we probably hadn't seen him in person in over 10 years. The CMs told us he'd be out in a few minutes, he was getting changed.

A few minutes later, Aaron came out, with a big smile on his face. "I was JUST thinking about you guys yesterday!!" he said. I kid you not. He proceeded to tell us that he was at his parents house, and his mom had out a copy of Guideposts magazine (which my mother writes for), and that got him thinking of us! Aaron also proceeded to retell the story of the last time our family was at the park (7 years ago), remembered it was Christmastime and how we called him while we were there (we had called him to let him know that my dad had left him a Christmas CD with one of the Dans). My dad was floored. They had a great time catching up, Aaron spent about 15 minutes or so chatting with us. We then made sure to get his new contact info, took some pictures, and then he went off with some of his coworkers to take a run (this was his lunch break, and he gladly spent the time with us). He is such a sweet guy, and it was one of the highlights of our trip.
My dad and Aaron:

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After this, we headed out to go get a seat for the Pixar Parade, which we hadn't seen before. On our way out to the main street, we noticed 2 Toy Story FPs which someone had left on top of a trashcan - sweet! We debated a little who would go use them, but since Mom wanted to be sure to see the parade, us ladies staked out seats, and sent the guys off to Toy Story. Mom and I people watched - it's probably in bad etiquette to post the photos, so I won't - but our favorites were a husky gentleman in a t-shirt which read "Blink if you Want Me", and a lanky CM selling balloons who was walking around with a look of utter boredom on his face.

The parade was actually delayed a little bit due to some passing rain and thunder, so the guys actually made it back before the parade started. We all enjoyed our first viewing of the Pixar Parade:

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After the parade, we had decided to head back to POFQ for a break, and dinner. We were walking down towards the exit, when we had yet another fun CM encounter. This story comes courtesy of Mom, she wrote this up:

I have such fun memories of the streetmosphere characters here (who yelled out to Kate the last time we went "Hey, look, it's Molly Ringwald!") . I couldn't wait to find them. Suddenly I saw a car with two elaborately-dressed people inside. When it stopped nearby, I said hello and asked "Where's Mel Rose?" The last time we were at HS, he was a talent agent. He'd come up to my mom and I, and said "Oh you must be sisters!" which of course delighted my mother. Then he led all the other characters in a glee club rehearsal. Anyway, the woman in the car thought about it for a minute and said "OH, Mel Rose, we did that like, 10 years ago!" Which makes sense because that was about the last time I'd been there. Anyway, she told me that she was Paige Turner. We joked around for a bit, then she told me that Mel Rose was now over judging the American Idol Show. I thought that was funny that she broke character a bit.

We went back to POFQ, took a short break, and enjoyed dinner at the Food Court. The food was pretty decent, a fair number of options, although nothing close to Riverside in my opinion. We happened to get mischarged for an extra meal, which we noticed the next morning at breakfast. We enjoyed being able to get our meal, and then go up and get our dessert (ice cream cones) when we were finished.

We returned to HS after dinner, with only 2 things left to do: use our FPs to do Toy Story 1 more time, and see Fantasmic. So we first headed back to Toy Story. Here's another comment from my Mom about her thoughts on Toy Story:

Toy Story Mania: I was sent to get Fast Passes, and even first thing in the morning, the line for FP was huge! Never having ridden it before, I asked the guy behind me why this ride was so popular and he replied, “I don’t know. The kids like it.” Well of course, that answers it. (sigh). I was skeptical, but everyone convinced me to try. Well, it only took about 1 minute on the ride to know exactly why people love it! 1. You can actually do something while riding and 2. People are competitive and want to beat their friends’ scores! And yes, when we got off the ride, I did say, “Again! Again!”

:thumbsup2 So glad she loved it! So we rode Toy Story for a 2nd time (3rd for the guys), and I think Aaron won again! What a champ. It was then getting close to the time for Fantasmic, so we all headed over together - although since it's right next door, Aaron and I took a detour to ride Tower of Terror one last time. That ride is truly spectacular in the evening we think! We walked right on, rode quickly, then met up with my parents in the Fantasmic arena. We all loved Fantasmic, I think it's very well done, and something quite unique. Hard to photograph, but here are a few of the better shots:

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And that was the end of our night! We battled through the large crowd of people all heading out the same way, made it to the exit, and caught the bus back to POFQ.

Up next - Day 5, and why, for the second trip in a row, did we have to make a lovely visit to the Epcot First Aid station!! :scared1:

[TinkerBelle_325]

[B]
3. Each of these dishes came with a side of something, that for the life of us, neither of us can remember...but it was good!

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Wow!! The "side" was a small portion of abalone! It is one of the upcharge items on the menu and I had it as my fish course on Oct 7th. It's to die for isn't it? Looks like it was compliments of the chef for you :goodvibes

[kdka421]

Wow!! The "side" was a small portion of abalone! It is one of the upcharge items on the menu and I had it as my fish course on Oct 7th. It's to die for isn't it? Looks like it was compliments of the chef for you :goodvibes

Aha! Thank you, that's exactly what it was! And yes, it was delicious.

Yes...the chef (and the restaurant) took very good care of us. With this extra fish dish, plus the extra main course plus wine pairing...they were more than generous! :thumbsup2

[kdka421]

Day 5 (morning) - Epcot

After a string of early morning wake ups, we were ready for a (slightly) more leisurely start to the day (although....the day would not be quite as uneventful as we thought! You'll see...). So we slept in! We got up at 9, and had a relaxing breakfast at the POFQ food court. They had all your typical breakfast foods, plus we got to try some beignets - yum! When purchasing breakfast, we noticed the snag with our counter service credits, that we were one short due to being double-charged for one meal the night before, so we lost some time trying to straighten that out with the front desk, but eventually they gave us our credit back. We left POFQ around 11am to head to Epcot.

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We did not have any major plans for the day - we had a few different music/entertainment acts that we wanted to be sure to catch, and we mostly wanted to spend time in the World Showcase. When we arrived, we got their just in time to catch a performance by the JAMmitors:

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We then stopped to get some Photopass pictures taken in front of the fountain, with Spaceship Earth behind us. These ended up being some of my favorite Photopass pictures, although the ones we got on our cameras weren't that great. So instead of sharing those, here are a few from just inside the Epcot gates first thing that morning:

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After getting our pictures done, one of the musical groups my parents wanted to be sure to see was the Mariachi Cobre in Mexico, and they were about to start shortly; but Aaron and I weren't that interested. We had wanted to go see Captain EO which none of us had ever seen, but my parents had ZERO interest in seeing. So it made sense to split up, my parents headed to Mexico, and Aaron and I headed to the Imagination Pavilion. We headed towards the theater, and I stopped to trade a pin with the CM standing there, while Aaron continued and stopped to look at the backwards fountain. I caught up with him, and we looked at the fountain for a second - and as we turned to head to the theater......that's when what became known as my "EPCOT INJURY" occurred. [Long story to follow - it's not gruesome, but if you don't like to read about an injury, skip to the end!]

Here's what happened - we were standing right here:

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If you can picture it, we were on the far left side of this picture, right where that triangular wall comes down, to the left of that, looking at the fountain. We turned around to walk away, and I basically fell right into/flew over that triangular wall. OUCH. I landed on my right knee, and scraped it up nasty. Of course, the first thing that goes through my mind, when I gather my thoughts briefly, is to make sure my camera is okay, and that's the first thing I say to Aaron :rotfl: He keeps asking me if I'm okay, which in that situation was a little irritating - NO I wasn't okay! lol. I just stayed there on the ground for a minute, totally crying and trying to pull myself together. My knee was bleeding pretty badly, but I was able to walk well enough. Still crying, half from pain, half from shock, we walked over to First Aid.

Side note: We were familiar with Epcot first aid - this was our second trip in a row where I needed to go to first aid at Epcot! During our last trip, we were at Epcot on the second day of our trip. Mistake #1: I wore new shoes that I hadn't walked in very much. Mistake #2: I hadn't gotten used to the heat yet, and just hadn't drank enough water that day. By dinner time, I was overheated, and had to go to first aid before we left, to rest, drink some energy drink they gave me, and recover before heading back to the hotel.

The weird part to this story, is that both when I fell, and during our walk across the park to first aid - we didn't have any CMs ask me if I was okay. We walked past quite a few, including one who came right at us on a Segway. I had a huge cut on my knee, was bleeding, and crying, it was pretty obvious...and I was just perplexed that no one said anything. :confused3

We made it to first aid fine, and the ladies there were very sweet and took good care of me. Cleaned out my knee and a scrape on my arm, bandaged me up, and made me ice my knee for a while. I definitely am glad I iced it for a little while, but it also gave me a chance to collect myself. They gave me a stack of bandages for later, and they let me sit there as long as I needed to.

The aftermath of my injury: that day it was really awkward to walk, because I had three huge bandages on my knee (picture below). I needed the bandages to stay on because the scrape was still bleeding, but it was so hot out and I was sweating and the bandages had a hard time staying on. I am stunned that I was able to walk around as well as I was that day - however, I think I pushed myself way more than I should have, because the injury took a long time to heal. The next few days it was extremely swollen (yuck), mostly because I didn't get the opportunity to ice it like I would have at home. For the next week or two, it really affected all my movements - I traditionally lead with my right leg (stepping, climbing, getting into rides), and I just wasn't able to bend my knee almost at all for at least a good week or so, and I limped for at least a week or two because I couldn't fully straighten my leg. It took at least 3 weeks before I could fully put pressure on my knee again. It's been over 5 weeks, and I still have a deep red mark (about the size and shape of a pressed penny, lol) on my knee - I'm sure there will be a permanent scar. I'm totally fine, and I'm glad it didn't affect my trip any more than it did - but I was very surprised at how much damage I did do, and how long it took to heal.

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Injury story over!

Needless to say, that's not how we expected to spend our morning! We went and met up with my parents, who had just finished watching the Mariachi Cobre and also took the boat ride through Mexico (I believe this is the first time they had taken it since they introduced the Three Caballeros into the ride...ugh). We then regaled them with the story of how we had spent the last hour or so! But I was in good spirits by then, and just didn't let it affect my day.

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Okay, I think that's all I have time for now. Up next time: more musical entertainment, a gift from Aaron to make me feel better, and an AMAZING lunch!

[kirrrby]

I'm sorry for your injury. And sometimes the CM's just don't pay attention. It sucks sometimes. BUT the First Aid/Baby Care center is a lifesaver.

We also love beignets. Theres a place in Savannah, Ga that has amazing ones called Hueys. It's on River Street. Pain to get to, but always good.

[kokotg]

Oh no! I'm sorry you got hurt :(

That's strange that no CMs paid attention to you; glad they were nice at First Aid at least. We had our first Epcot first aid encounter on our trip this year...well, DH and DS did; they said everyone there was very friendly.

And I love your mom's Mexico ears--those are hilarious!

[kdka421]

I'm sorry for your injury. And sometimes the CM's just don't pay attention. It sucks sometimes. BUT the First Aid/Baby Care center is a lifesaver.

We also love beignets. Theres a place in Savannah, Ga that has amazing ones called Hueys. It's on River Street. Pain to get to, but always good.

Oh no! I'm sorry you got hurt :(

That's strange that no CMs paid attention to you; glad they were nice at First Aid at least. We had our first Epcot first aid encounter on our trip this year...well, DH and DS did; they said everyone there was very friendly.

And I love your mom's Mexico ears--those are hilarious!

Thanks to you both :goodvibes I was just a little surprised at the CMs, because we've had the total opposite situations in past trips, where the CMs were there in a heartbeat. Not a big deal though.
Yes, both times I've been very happy with the staff at the epcot first aid center!


I'm home visiting my parents this weekend, through tomorrow, to help celebrate my mom's book, which had it's US release on Saturday! :thumbsup2 So hopefully I'll post my next update Wednesday or so, once I'm back in VA. Hope everyone is doing well!

[kdka421]

Oh, I forgot to add - we received our Photobooks in the mail last week. They came out great, I'm really pleased with the quality of them! The discount that came with the free dining package worked out perfectly, the first book and the shipping charge was free, and then we were able to order a second book at the discounted price that you get when you order 2+ books, and only pay like $2 extra shipping charge. It arrived in time for me to bring it with me when I came up to see my parents this weekend, so that worked out well too!

[ChefDisneyLu]

thanks for sharing your tr and pics! Cant wait for more

Lisa

[kdka421]

Hello everyone! :wave2:

I'm so sorry it's been so long since I last updated! I was home in NY for 4 days, celebrating with my Mom the US release of her book! We had a book signing, a launch party, lots of fun events! Got to see lots of friends and family who I hadn't seen in a long time. Here's a pic of Mom, signing some books!

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Now, back to the trip report!

I had just gotten my EPCOT injury, and we had all met up in Mexico. We still had a couple of hours before lunch (it was a late lunch), so we decided to just slowly work our way across the World Showcase. Our first stop was China, where we got a nice picture of Mulan:

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But while we were exploring around China, we separated a bit, and next thing I knew, Aaron was coming over with a gift to make me feel better. He presented it to me on bended knee, like a soldier coming back from battle:

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I carried it around the rest of the day, it definitely gave me a nice break from the sun. And it was very sweet of him :goodvibes

We next spent a lot of time in Germany, just browsing the beautiful shops, my Mom was also looking for a gift for her mom (my grandma) and her husband, who is German. We also peeked into the caramel store, which somehow we had never seen before...not sure how we've missed that. YUM!

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Next stop, America - where we caught a performance by the Voices of Liberty. They are a beautiful singing group, unfortunately it's so hard to get a good picture of them in the room where they perform.

Next, we walked briefly through Morocco, catching a glimpse of Aladdin and Jasmine, and getting a few photos of this beautiful pepper garden:

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We then wanted to catch a glimpse of Off Kilter before our lunch reservation, so we walked quickly through the UK, stopping just to get a picture of Mary Poppins:

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We then watched the first few songs by Off Kilter in Canada...

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...before having to go check in for our late-lunch reservation, at Le Cellier!
This was a first for all of us, none of us had eaten here before. When I made my original dining reservations, I wasn't able to get one here. But every few days, I kept checking back, and then one day, this reservation appeared! It was for a pretty awkward time, 2:50pm or something like that, but it worked out to be at the tail end of lunch, but late enough that we counted it as a lunch/dinner combo. We knew it'd be enough food to count as our main meal for the day.

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Aaron and I started with one of their non-alcoholic smoothie drinks, while my folks stuck to their standard Diet Coke. Then, each couple shared a bowl of the Cheddar Cheese soup, with lots of their yummy breads.

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Mom, Aaron and I all decided to get the filet mignon with risotto (my mom was especially excited to try risotto - simply because of how often they make it on Gordon Ramsey's television shows!), while Dad opted for the NY Strip with potatoes.

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The presentation of the food isn't the most elegant I've ever seen - but the food was melt in your mouth delicious. The soup was overly salty, but still pretty good. The main courses were all delicious. My parents have called this their best meal ever, literally. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Aaron's expectations were a little too high, I think; plus he has a hard time trying not to compare everything to the place where he works.

Here's my mom's short write up on lunch:
Le Celier: Easily this was my favorite meal! I ordered the filet and mushroom risotto, and every bite melted in my mouth. I’m actually not a big fan of beef, but if it all tasted like this every time, I would love it! The risotto was amazingly flavorful and creamy. For dessert I had maple crème brule which surprised me by tasting lighter than I expected. Delicious. I will remember that meal for a long time.

Here's what we got for dessert:

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I had the chocolate moose (a little disappointing, but still cute!), Aaron and Mom each had the maple creme brule, and Dad had the bumbleberry cobbler.

After lunch, we had a few more stops in the WS: First, we headed quickly over to France in order to catch the performances of the Serveur Amusant. (Didn't get any good pics of this). While in France, we stopped for some Photopass pictures:

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Next we spent some time taking some pictures around the UK, then caught the O Canada! film for the first time - Martin Short is pretty funny!

That was the end of our time in the World Showcase that afternoon, although we headed back there later that evening. Coming up next time: attempt #2 to see Captain EO, Illuminations not in a rainstorm, and evening Extra Magic Hours in the World Showcase.

[saintstickets]

The risotto was amazingly flavorful and creamy.

We ate at Le Cellier for the first time during our May, 2010 trip and I too had the filet with mushroom risotto. The filet was real good but, like your husband, I've had steak at other places that was better. IMO, the mushroom risotto made the meal. It was fantastic. We liked it so much, DW makes it at home now!

Enjoying your TR. Keep it coming.

[kdka421]

Day 5 (evening) - Epcot

Hello as always :goodvibes

Jumping right back in to my trip report - it was the evening of Day 5, and we had just about wound down our time in the World Showcase. We then headed back to Future World because we had a few things to still cross off our to-do list.

1. The Land
2. Captain EO
3. Journey Into Imagination

Aaron and my Mom both have a weird fascination with the Land. My Dad and I get a good kick out of making fun of it :lmao: So anyway, we walked right on, and enjoyed our boat ride.

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Hidden Mickey:

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Before we got on the Land, we had checked to see if there were FPs left for Soarin - unfortunately they were gone for the day, and the line was probably about 90 minutes. Oh well. I was hoping to go on it again, but we just didn't get a chance this time.

After that....

My parents didn't want to see Captain EO (none of us had ever seen it before, but they just knew they weren't interested), so Aaron and I headed to that, while my parents headed to Journey into Imagination.

We actually made it to the show without me falling and injuring myself this time (success!); we got into the theater just as the preshow had finished and everyone was already being escorted into the theater, we made it just in time.

There was a pretty good size crowd seeing the show with us. I didn't really know what to expect, I just knew it was some show from the 80s, 3-D, with Michael Jackson. I don't love or hate the man, I just think he was kinda strange! Anyway - the crowd really got into it, they were clapping and cheering before and after the show...I thought that was pretty strange. The show itself was BIZARRE...it wasn't just dated, it just didn't make any sense! I don't mind seeing it the 1 time - but I'd certainly never care to see it again if there were anything better I could be doing. Aaron enjoyed it well enough (he was more of a MJ fan than I was growing up).

While Aaron and I were seeing Captain EO, my parents had ridden Journey into Imagination. And weirdly, they enjoyed it (I'm pretty sure they had seen this new version before, and we all miss the Dreamfinder), and were getting ready to go on it again when we called to see where they were. So we joined them to go on the ride again. Sometimes it's fun to go on rides even if you don't really enjoy them that much.

After this, we had accomplished everything on our Future World to-do list, so we headed to stake out seats for Illuminations. We found a nice spot to camp out in between Norway and China, just along the railing with a nice view of everything. My parents stayed there for a little bit, while Aaron and I went to get some drinks and snacks...I picked up a few yummy treats from the caramel store in Germany. We tried the caramel popcorn, and the chocolate covered rice krispie treat (side note: this is HUGE, and they actually cut this into pieces for us, which is pretty nice).

We enjoyed this view of Illuminations, and it was a much better showing than the previous night in the rain.

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After enjoying a spectacular showing of Illuminations - it was evening Extra Magic Hours! Our first stop was because Aaron had gotten hungry again! So he stopped at Lotus Blossom cafe for some Chinese food (shrimp fried rice). After that - the guys had one main thing they wanted to see, which was the American Adventure show (they both really enjoy things like that, and the Hall of Presidents, both of which Mom and I were more than happy to skip). So they headed off to see that, unfortunately there was a weird wait until the next showing, so they spent some time just waiting around.

Mom and I spent the whole time walking around the WS and taking some nice pictures while the guys were seeing the show. I wandered into Morocco, which I actually had never really done before, and found some pretty stuff there. Here are a few of my pictures, from Italy, Morocco, and France.

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When the American Adventure show was over, we were all pretty exhausted, Mom and I had basically collapsed on the benches next to that fountain in France. The men walked over to meet us, and we walked out together. When we got to the park exit, there were still some photopass photographers there, so we took the opportunity to get some nice evening pictures before we left.

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We left the park around 11, and went back to go to sleep...because once again, we had another early morning coming up!

Up next, in our last full park day: our Keys to the Kingdom tour! Can't wait to tell you all about it.

[a pirate's mama]

What a great report so far! I am enjoying your stories, aside from the EPCOT Injury. I am happy it seems to finally be healing.

I am looking forward to reading more.

[kokotg]

I love all the tiles in Morocco...I'm not sure I've ever seen them at night before, though--pretty! I'm thinking we need to do our World Showcase touring during EMH next time...it was so hot every time we tried this past trip that we couldn't make it very far.

Looking forward to the Keys to the Kingdom installment!

[kdka421]

Day 6 (morning) - Magic Kingdom

WOW - I can't believe I'm already up to the last full day of our vacation!

And, this was the day of our Keys to the Kingdom tour! None of us had ever done any of the backstage tours at Disney before. It was totally right up our alley; I love behind the scenes stuff, Aaron loves learning about Disney history, and my parents love everything WDW. I'm really glad we decided to give this a try. We booked the first tour of the morning, 8:30, on a 9am park opening day.

Let me jump back a few days, to day 3 when Aaron and I were headed over to Victoria & Albert's for dinner, via MK. When we were at MK, we noticed that in between day 1 and day 3 they had put up the Halloween decorations at MK! We were so excited...and we didn't breathe a word of it to my parents! We told them that we had a surprise for them, and that they'd get the surprise the morning of day 6. :thumbsup2

This morning we made sure to get an early start, to be sure we were early enough for our tour, and we also wanted to make sure we had time to get some photos in MK with a nearly empty park. I also wanted to leave time because I knew we'd want to spend extra time seeing the Halloween decorations. So we got on the bus around 7:30, and were at the park just before 8. When we walked up and saw the Halloween decorations, my parents were definitely surprised. None of us had expected to see them!

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We went through bag check, then went to the special early entrance, told them our names and that we were there for the tour, and they let us right in. We went and checked in for our tour, and then we had about 15-20 minutes or so to take some quick pictures. We took some pictures of the buildings, and also got some photopass pictures of ourselves - both at the flagpole by the pumpkins, and then up closer to the castle.

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I wish I had access to the photopass pictures we got taken by the castle that morning - they came out fantastic! The lighting was great, we were wearing our matching shirts, and the group pics just looked awesome. The photopass photographer, when she finished with the family before us, turned around and before we moved in front of the castle, just told us to stay where we were and took close ups (head & shoulders) of each of us individually. They were spontaneous and came out GREAT. I definitely included those in our Photobook. The group shot in front of the castle was perfect.

After that, we had to go to our tour!!

KEYS TO THE KINGDOM:

We met up with our tour guide, Stacey, and she gave us a little introduction speech right there where we met up.

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We all introduced ourselves (there were roughly 20 or so of us on the tour), and she told us about her history with Disney, she's worked primarily in Guest Relations, as well as worked with the castle suite guests. We were all given special pins with our names on them, and a headset so that we could hear her better when we were walking or more spread out.

The first part of our tour was spent on Main Street, where she explained the analogy of how entering WDW was like entering a movie theater: the sidewalks are red, like the red carpet. The names on the windows (which are all important names in WDW history) are like the opening credits of a film. You have popcorn carts when you enter the hub. She talked a lot of history about all the people whose names were on the windows and what they contributed to WDW.

We then moved into the little side street on Main Street, where they do the silhouettes. We stopped to talk there for a while, and got a quick surprise visit from Chip and Dale as they exited into backstage:

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The main thing we talked about here were what WDW calls the "Four Keys" that are critical to the WDW experience: Safety, Efficiency, Show, and Courtesy. Those things are really present in all the experiences around Disney.

We next walked over to Adventureland, and along the way, we talked about the history of Disneyland and Disney World. One of my favorite stories that I heard was how rushed they were in the opening of Disneyland, that they were actually pouring cement the day before opening, and how it was still soft on opening day, and you can still see in some areas the indentations left by the ladies' high heels :goodvibes

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All along the tour we found places to stop, we weren't walking all the time, sometimes there were areas to sit, we often found shade...it was pretty exhausting, but she was very careful to give us as much rest as possible.

Next we went on our first ride of the tour - the Jungle Cruise. We walked over to the handicap entrance, and they pulled aside a boat just for our tour. The skipper stayed on the boat, but gave the mic to Stacey; so instead of the traditional jokes and stories, we got to learn a lot of trivia and history of the Jungle Cruise ride. She pointed out audioanimatronics that are used in other attractions, special sound effects to listen for, and stories of how the cast members like to play tricks on one another and change the timing of the elephants spray to get the skippers wet.

After the Jungle Cruise, we walked right over to Pirates, for ride #2! This time we went through the regular entrance, and again we got a boat all to ourselves. Again, Stacey talked to us through the ride, telling us lots of trivia about the attraction.

Up next came my favorite part of the tour.....so I think that's a good place to stop for the night :rotfl: Sorry guys, it's getting late! I'll continue with the rest of our tour next time. :goodvibes

[kdka421]

Day 6 (morning, continued) - Magic Kingdom

Keys to the Kingdom tour, continued
Caution: this entry gives away some backstage magic. Some of the things discussed below the tour guide would only discuss while we were backstage, not in front of guests, in particular children, so the magic would not be spoiled for them.

We were in the middle of our Keys to the Kingdom tour when I last wrote. We had just finished riding Pirates, and we walked over towards Frontierland, along the far left side of the park, approaching towards Splash Mountain. You probably can't picture it, but there's a little exit way just before Splash Mtn, which is the beginning and/or end of the parade route. We paused here, as the tour was about to take us backstage. As we started walking towards the backstage area, Stacey pointed out a line on the ground - that is the official marking of the line of sight. Once you pass that line into the backstage area, no one in the park can see you any more. Before you cross it, you must keep in character, but once you cross it you can break character.

So we crossed into the backstage area, and walked down the road, towards the area where they keep the parade floats. But first, we paused on some benches, to talk about backstage magic in general. This was our first chance to ask questions about things like the audition process for becoming a character, and questions like that. While we were talking, though, we were in for a special, unexpected treat, and one of my favorite memories from our trip.

In the street area, there happened to be one parade float out, with characters practicing for the upcoming Boo to You Halloween parade! The float was there, with the music going for that one particular segment, and the characters were practicing their dance movements. There were characters in street clothing, in full costume, and (the most hilarious), half in costume. And of course, this was one of the first things pointed out - that the Queen of Hearts, who was only dressed in the bottom half of her costume, since the top half was not in costume, was very clearly a tall, lanky male. :rotfl: This was a perfect lead in to how costumed characters are cast not on gender, but on physical attributes (size/weight/etc). Seeing them practice this parade was so unexpected, and so much fun (and, even though none of us had ever seen the Boo to You parade before, we all got that short segment of the song stuck in our head for the rest of the day).

We crossed over to the parade float area, which was a lot SMALLER than I would anticipated. Man, can they cram the floats in their tight. All the floats for the afternoon and evening parades were in there. We learned a little about parade security, and how all floats have a button on them, which if a cast member pushes it, will stop the float instantly (say, if a kid runs out in front of the float)...that's the primary reason you will often see non-costumed cast members walking alongside the parade floats.

We then walked back, with a quick stop to look at the Splash Mountain reservoir. Then we walked back the way we came in, back into Frontierland. We then headed over to Columbia Harbor House for lunch (included as part of the tour). The food was waiting for us in the upstairs eating area, they had a private section roped off for us. Along with our food, this is where we were given our special commemorative Keys to the Kingdom trading pin.

Our next stop was the our 3rd and final ride - the Haunted Mansion. This wouldn't be a ride where Stacey could chat with us during it, so first we paused outside of the gates, and she told us where to look for a handful of Hidden Mickeys during the ride. Also, she told us a little about the creation of the ride. In particular, I loved this story - one of the designers of the attraction, had a model of the ride as they were working on designing it. Some of his team decided to play a trick on him, so they glued his chess pieces to the top of the model. The designer saw it, and decided he liked the way it looked - so he kept it that way. I can't tell you how many times I've looked at the Haunted Mansion and never noticed this, but after hearing that story, the chess pieces are painstakingly obvious:

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The cool thing here, is they took us in the "back" entrance - which is actually, the "fraidy cat exit"...if you get into the ride, and your kid (or you!) starts getting scared, this is how they would escort you out. So we waited in a little corridor until they were ready, then we entered into the lobby area, then into the ride.

We took the ride individually, and all met up outside the ride. Our last and final stop of the tour was the Utilidors. Now, I have heard that the Utilidors aspect of the tour used to be much more involved about 10 years ago or so. It's changed a lot since then, and you don't see nearly as much...but it's still cool to say you've been there. So, we walked back to Main Street, and into the Emporium, where we took a cast member exit towards the backstage area. They use a double door system, where you go through one door, let it fully close, then you can open the next door which takes you directly into the backstage area again. (It's pretty cool to think that just behind each side of main street is this area that you're completely oblivious to as a guest).

We went through the doors, and again were in another backstage area. We walked towards the entrance to the utilidors, down some steps, and voila, we were on the "first floor", below the Magic Kingdom. The area where you spend the most time in the Utilidors is right when you enter, there are 2 hallways of photographs/maps/etc, and we heard a lot more history of the park. We walked around just a little, and also saw a video which gave an illustration of how complicated the laundry facilities are for the cast members. We learned about trash, and how there are cast members who literally go through all the trash to pull out any recycling that didn't make it into the proper bins. We did see a few cast members walking around the Utilidors (including the Dapper Dans heading into the break room), but no costumed characters or face characters either. We walked back upstairs, and ended up behind the other side of Main Street.

One other fun piece of trivia we learned at this point, was about the cast member who plays Tinker Bell who flies down during Wishes (we were over near the wire where she comes down, landing on top one of the buildings backstage). Apart from the obvious height/weight requirements that she must meet for safety reasons, she 1) has to be able to do 100 pull ups, in case the wind/weather creates difficulty, and she has to pull herself down the rope, and 2) she is actually, physically kicked out of the window by 2 people, in order to give herself enough speed to make it down.

We came out into the area right where we started, the side street where they make the silhouettes, and were back onto Main Street. Our tour ended here. We walked back to return our headsets, and we were done. The tour lasted just about 5 hours.


I'll end this segment here, I just wanted to finish up our story of the tour. Please let me know if you have any questions about the Keys to the Kingdom tour. I'd highly recommend it to anyone, it was well worth it, a great experience.

I'll finish up Day 6 in the next segment. :thumbsup2

[kirrrby]

Wow. That tour seems amazing. Theres another completed trip report where she told readers a few other secrets besides the ones you told. I think it might be a cool thing to do one day, but it's just not in the budget right now. Do you know if they have any discounts, such as Military, AAA, AARP for the tours like Behind the Seeds does?

[kdka421]

Wow. That tour seems amazing. Theres another completed trip report where she told readers a few other secrets besides the ones you told. I think it might be a cool thing to do one day, but it's just not in the budget right now. Do you know if they have any discounts, such as Military, AAA, AARP for the tours like Behind the Seeds does?

The tour was pretty fantastic :thumbsup2

I'm not sure about the discounts - I did ask about a AAA discount when I booked it, and they said no; I think that others might have said there is a discount if you've booked your vacation directly through AAA, which we did not. I'm not sure about the other discounts since we didn't qualify for any of those.

Wow your trip is coming up soon, I bet you're getting excited!

[kirrrby]

The tour was pretty fantastic :thumbsup2

I'm not sure about the discounts - I did ask about a AAA discount when I booked it, and they said no; I think that others might have said there is a discount if you've booked your vacation directly through AAA, which we did not. I'm not sure about the other discounts since we didn't qualify for any of those.

Wow your trip is coming up soon, I bet you're getting excited!

I am very excited! Ive got a countdown on my phone, and it's marked on my calendar. This will be Dbf's first trip sort of, since last time he went was when he was 3. So he was too short to ride anything. But this will be my 30th trip so it's a mile marker for both of us. Haven't decided if i'm going to write a TR yet, I don't do PTR's because my life is pretty boring to be able to rope anyone into reading about how I planned or booked.

[kdka421]

I am very excited! Ive got a countdown on my phone, and it's marked on my calendar. This will be Dbf's first trip sort of, since last time he went was when he was 3. So he was too short to ride anything. But this will be my 30th trip so it's a mile marker for both of us. Haven't decided if i'm going to write a TR yet, I don't do PTR's because my life is pretty boring to be able to rope anyone into reading about how I planned or booked.

That's exciting! I was in the same situation, our last trip, just my husband and I, it was his "first trip sort of" also - he had spent 1 day at MK when he was young, maybe 7 or 8, and only remembered bits and pieces, and hadn't been to any of the other parks.

I'll read your TR if you do one :) This was my first one, and I really enjoyed doing it, just for myself and my family; it was a nice perk that some people like you read it as well! :thumbsup2

Enjoy your countdown...the anticipation and planning is a great part of the fun!

[kirrrby]

That's exciting! I was in the same situation, our last trip, just my husband and I, it was his "first trip sort of" also - he had spent 1 day at MK when he was young, maybe 7 or 8, and only remembered bits and pieces, and hadn't been to any of the other parks.

I'll read your TR if you do one :) This was my first one, and I really enjoyed doing it, just for myself and my family; it was a nice perk that some people like you read it as well! :thumbsup2

Enjoy your countdown...the anticipation and planning is a great part of the fun!

Hahah, I love reading TR's mainly because it lets me re-live my Disney obsession by really paying attention to the pictures and stuff, especially if I get juicy secrets about Disney via TR's. Kinda like a preface to a tour that I have on my bucket list. That's why if I were to write one, it'd be with lots of pictures. :goodvibes

[Cour10eB]

Great photos!

[kdka421]

Great photos!

Thank you very much!!

[Grumpy's Wife]

What an awesome update. Thanks for sharing your experience. I've always wanted to take that tour and hope to be able to one day. Two of my kids are old enough but one is still to young.

[kdka421]

What an awesome update. Thanks for sharing your experience. I've always wanted to take that tour and hope to be able to one day. Two of my kids are old enough but one is still to young.

Thank you very much! I am glad to share the details. I really hope that you're able to take the tour as well! I think just about anyone would enjoy the tour. It was a very special part of our trip. :goodvibes

[ZehnJahren]

Just found your TR and read the whole thing tonight! Very nice TR all the way through; sorry to hear you hurt yourself, it's weird that the CMs would just kind of ignore you. But everything else sounds great, including that tour! I wish DBF had been a few times so I could schedule us a tour, but I hate to put him behind the scenes before he's really been in front of them!! ;)

Such a cool trip!

[kdka421]

Just found your TR and read the whole thing tonight! Very nice TR all the way through; sorry to hear you hurt yourself, it's weird that the CMs would just kind of ignore you. But everything else sounds great, including that tour! I wish DBF had been a few times so I could schedule us a tour, but I hate to put him behind the scenes before he's really been in front of them!! ;)

Such a cool trip!

Thank you!! :goodvibes I'm so glad you've enjoyed my TR so far, stay tuned, I'll have a few more segments to come. I haven't been writing as frequently as I'd like lately, because I've been really busy with lots of different stuff.

The trip was fantastic all around. The injury was too bad (and I think I've finally convinced my husband that I'm going to have a permanent scar from it, he didn't believe me at first), but not a huge deal. I'm glad it didn't detract from the trip any more than it did.

Yeah, I'd suggest that someone had been to WDW at least once before taking a tour - you could probably appreciate it even without having experience much of WDW, but you would definitely get a lot more out of it having at least 1 trip under your belt. I hope you and your DBF get to take the tour sometime!

[kdka421]

Day 6 (evening) - Magic Kingdom

Hi everyone!! So sorry it's been so long since I've updated! Life has been really busy, but I'm glad to have some time to sit down and write my next segment of my report!

So, last I left off, it was just before 2pm on Day 6 of our trip, and we had just finished our Keys to the Kingdom tour. We were a little exhausted from an early wake-up and a busy morning, and we didn't have a plan set in place for the rest of the afternoon.

So we wandered up Main Street. We heard the Casey's piano player out, who we hadn't gotten a chance to see yet, and spent a little bit of time enjoying his music. Then after that, the Dapper Dans went by, so we spent some time listening to them again as well. We then decided it was time for a snack, and grabbed some ice cream cones from the Main St. ice cream parlor. Delicious use of some snack credits!

We had hit most of our must-sees in the Magic Kingdom, so we kind of wandered without a plan for a little bit. We headed towards Tomorrowland to pick up FPs for Space Mountain, and on our way there, ran into PUSH (the talking trashcan). We'd followed PUSH around many times on our family trips, and although Aaron and I tried many times on our last trip, we never ran into it. We got lucky, and spent a few times watching some children interacting with PUSH, and seeing how quickly we could find the operator in the crowd (answer: pretty quickly, once you know what to look for).

We then hit a few rides that we hadn't yet gotten a chance to do - walked over to Fantasyland to see Mickey's Philharmagic (and I believe we picked up FPs for Pooh for my folks), and then back to Tomorrowland for all of our first experience with Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. The show was fun, but we had bad luck with the people chosen for the audience participation. Two of the people chosen basically didn't speak English (one literally communicated through a translator)...it was a little awkward. But still enjoyable, I'd go again if there wasn't a wait (we must have caught it just as a show started, because it seemed like quite a long wait to get in to the auditorium).

After that, it was time for the two couples to split up once again. Aaron and I headed to use our FPs for Space Mtn, and Mom and Dad left to use their FPs for Pooh. After Aaron and I enjoyed one last adventure on his favorite ride from his childhood visit, we headed back to the hotel, to get changed before our dinner reservation. The two of us were dining that evening at California Grill, Aaron's favorite restaurant from our first trip. We got changed, took the bus back to the Magic Kingdom, then took the monorail (which WAS working this time) over to the Contemporary.

We checked in, and they escorted us up to the dining room. When they were about to bring us to our table, Aaron asked if they had any seating available in the side wine room, where we had sat last time. They didn't at the time, but allowed us to wait for a table to empty, and sat us in the wine room. We were thrilled, because it's simply so much quieter in that room.

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We were using our dining plan credits, but each ordered an extra appetizer to start - why not, right?! Our first three pictures here are: bread basket, Aaron's fried squash blossoms (AMAZING) and my ravioli (their signature appetizer, but weirdly it didn't thrill me).

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Next, our entrees. Mine was the snapper with risotto and corn (wonderful!!), and Aaron's was duck two-ways:

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff437/kdka421/Trip%20Report/IMG_1249.jpg

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff437/kdka421/Trip%20Report/IMG_1251.jpg

Finally, we came to dessert. I got a chocolate creme brule, while Aaron ordered their bananas/caramel dessert. But ADDITIONALLY - they told us that for our anniversary, they were giving us a huge slice of chocolate cake (which we had them put straight into a to-go box), and they also brought us out complementary glasses of champagne! On top of all that, Aaron and I also used our drink-credit from the meal to get some fun nontraditional options, so I got a virgin daiquiri and Aaron got some fancy coffee (cappuccino? Shows what I know about coffee.)

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff437/kdka421/Trip%20Report/IMG_1258.jpg

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff437/kdka421/Trip%20Report/IMG_1260.jpg

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff437/kdka421/Trip%20Report/IMG_1259.jpg

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff437/kdka421/Trip%20Report/IMG_1261.jpg


We truly enjoyed our dinner there once again. It was an earlier dinner, we were not planning to stay there for Wishes, although we did take a peek out on the balcony at the beautiful view.

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/295911_10100186156662355_400399_47708275_370008832 _n.jpg

After that, we headed out to take the monorail back to Magic Kingdom and meet up with my parents. But, guess what...it was broken again! We waited around for a while, then were told that they were sending buses to shuttle people over, or we could walk. We've never done the walk between the Contemporary and MK before, so we decided to just give that a try! The walk over was nice and easy.

To jump back a few hours, while Aaron and I were doing all this, here's what my parents were doing: First, they went to ride the Pooh ride (my Mom loves Pooh characters, especially Eeyore!). After that, before their dinner, they headed to the base of Main Street to watch the flag retreat, which really is a beautiful ceremony if you've never taken the time to see it before.

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/302193_10100186154042605_400399_47708210_800700187 _n.jpg

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/302264_10100186154077535_400399_47708211_477722545 _n.jpg

After that, my parents were right where they needed to be for their dinner, at Tony's Town Square. Dad had a steak, and Mom had the chicken parm - both said the entrees were good, but especially Dad commented that he felt spoiled after the wonderful steak at Le Cellier.

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/317755_10100186154242205_400399_47708214_426952521 _n.jpg

We all met up briefly, and checked in with my parents, who after dinner, staked out a parade spot at the top of the train station, one of their favorite spots they'd seen the parade from in the past. We met them there, but we didn't want to see the parade again, so we headed out. My parents stayed to watch the parade, then after, tired from a long day, they headed back to the hotel.

Aaron and I left to get in one more ride on each of the other two mountains. Since it was during the parade time, we basically walked right on to each of them. We first rode Big Thunder, then Splash. While we were on Splash, the ride stopped a few times, including once just after we went around the turn at the very front by the drop, and were waiting to go up that slight incline. While we were waiting there for a few moments, we couldn't hear the announcements, but at one point, they actually turned the lights on and clearly illuminated the stairs by the side of the ride. No CM ever came by, and then they just started up again. Not sure what was going on! Here's the best view I got of that:

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff437/kdka421/Trip%20Report/IMG_1285.jpg

Then, Aaron and I headed over for a last ride on Haunted Mansion (always fun at night), but made the poor decision to head over there right as the parade had gone by, so the crowds were jamming the walkways, and I got stuck behind the hugest double stroller, lol. We took our ride on the Haunted Mansion, then after we wanted to catch Wishes before heading home. We headed out towards the front of the park, but forgot that we'd have to take the long way due to the fireworks, so we basically got to Tomorrowland when the fireworks had started. We ended up pausing just at the end of the Tomorrowland bridge, to the right of the main hub. Not a great view, blocked by some trees, but it was fine.

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/293419_10100186156697285_400399_47708278_219272770 _n.jpg

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/298234_10100186156672335_400399_47708276_187738857 1_n.jpg

That was the end of Day 6 - we headed back to the hotel, and got ready for our last partial day in the parks, and our ride home. Coming up in my next few segments - our last few hours in the Magic Kingdom, and then our trip home on the Autotrain! Hope to catch up with you all soon!

[kirrrby]

Love the new update. You've pretty much helped make my mind on doing a TR when I get back. How did you remember everything? Did you do a journal or something at the end of each day? I have a pretty bad memory, so that's what I would have to do. Also we're making it a promise to ourselves to make the Flag Retreat sometime during our stay. Because my Dbf is in the Navy and he loves patriotic things. It looks like they do everything properly, but I've never seen it in person. More than likely it'll make me cry.

[kdka421]

Love the new update. You've pretty much helped make my mind on doing a TR when I get back. How did you remember everything? Did you do a journal or something at the end of each day? I have a pretty bad memory, so that's what I would have to do. Also we're making it a promise to ourselves to make the Flag Retreat sometime during our stay. Because my Dbf is in the Navy and he loves patriotic things. It looks like they do everything properly, but I've never seen it in person. More than likely it'll make me cry.

Thank you! :goodvibes

Glad you've decided to do a TR too! (PS - you've only got 1 month to go!!!!) Yes, usually whenever I was back at the hotel, either for a midday break, or at the end of the day, I noted down just a list of what we had done that day. [I kept a piece of paper with me each day, that had our reservation numbers, show times, etc, and that is what I also used to keep track of what we did.] Having that list to refer back to (plus also all the photos) helps me remember all the details. My memory isn't that great either.

Good choice to see the flag retreat. I apologize if I've posted this photo in this thread before, but this photo of the crowds watching the flag retreat, during our last trip, was one of my favorites from our entire trip. I think it's really sweet.

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff437/kdka421/IMG_2169.jpg

[ZehnJahren]

That IS a great photo - I think there are so many people that take our country for granted and almost dislike their own country and their freedoms... so I love to see so many people taking a moment out to show a bit of respect to our beautiful, honorable flag.

Thanks for posting it.

[Grumpy's Wife]

Great picture of the flag ceremony. We stumbled upon that one year and it was so touching. I'd highly recommend seeing that if you can.


Your meal looks fabulous!

[kdka421]

That IS a great photo - I think there are so many people that take our country for granted and almost dislike their own country and their freedoms... so I love to see so many people taking a moment out to show a bit of respect to our beautiful, honorable flag.

Thanks for posting it.

Great picture of the flag ceremony. We stumbled upon that one year and it was so touching. I'd highly recommend seeing that if you can.


Your meal looks fabulous!

Thanks to you both! :goodvibes

[kirrrby]

Thank you! :goodvibes


Good choice to see the flag retreat. I apologize if I've posted this photo in this thread before, but this photo of the crowds watching the flag retreat, during our last trip, was one of my favorites from our entire trip. I think it's really sweet.

http://i1235.photobucket.com/albums/ff437/kdka421/IMG_2169.jpg

Is it just me or does it look like the only people who are holding their hands to their hearts is the couple in front? They look military too. If only they let active duty participate, it would make Dbf's day.

[kdka421]

Day 7 (morning) - Magic Kingdom, last day!

I apologize once again for how long it's taken me to write this. Over the last few weeks, my hubby and I have finalized plans to move back home to NY, so we've been busy with finding a place to live, packing, etc. Life has been pretty hectic, but we're so excited to move back to our home state, and we'll be close to family once again. :thumbsup2

Day 7 was our last day in the parks, and at that, we only had a few hours. We were scheduled to leave on the AutoTrain at 4pm, and we knew we had to leave a few hours before that. So, our goal was to leave the park by noon.

We had packed up our stuff mostly the night before, and that morning before we left for the park, we packed everything into the car. I think we had one or two quick service meal credits left over, so Mom and Dad grabbed a hot breakfast over at the POFQ food court. If I remember right, they caused us to miss the bus we were waiting for.....but I won't hold it against them. :rotfl: We got to the park just after 9am, but weren't planning on rushing to anything at rope drop. The one attraction that we hadn't hit yet, that was still on the guys' to-do list, was the Hall of Presidents. Mom and I didn't care to see that again, but the guys both enjoy that patriotic historical stuff ;) So we sent them off to do that, while we just spent some time around Main Street and in the shops. I think realized that I still hardly at stepped foot into Fantasyland, so we wandered that way, eventually meeting up with the guys, and I took some pictures around the castle. Basically, we just enjoyed some relaxing time at MK, not really doing anything.

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/307644_10100186156837005_400399_47708285_162674863 7_n.jpg

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/316387_10100186156866945_400399_47708286_213073137 3_n.jpg

Around 10:30 or so we had brunch reservations at Crystal Palace - a must-do for my parents, my dad loves the restaurant (especially brunch) and my mom loves the Pooh characters! So we went in and enjoyed a big meal, and took lots of pictures with the characters:

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/303733_10100186153623445_400399_47708203_198141353 7_n.jpg

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/294425_10100186153329035_400399_47708196_205591317 6_n.jpg

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/302292_10100186156926825_400399_47708289_394925660 _n.jpg

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http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/320756_10100186153578535_400399_47708202_143763446 _n.jpg

After brunch, we had a few more minutes - who'd want to leave before we had to - so again we just spent time around Main Street, and caught a final performance of the Dapper Dans. We spent a little time chatting with them after their set, and paused for a photo of them with Dad. But then after that, they led Dad and Aaron in a song to serenade Mom and I. I forget exactly how it went (although my dad left his videocamera running, so we have it recorded somewhere), but the Dans sang the verses, and then lead Dad/Aaron in a chorus of "I Love You" or something along those lines. :goodvibes It was totally adorable.

http://hphotos-iad1.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/309710_10100186153828035_400399_47708206_437134901 _n.jpg

After that, at 12:05, we left the park for good, and took the bus back to POFQ one last time.

I'll end this segment here, and my final write-up will be about our experience on the AutoTrain (it was an experience to remember, to say the least).

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! :woohoo:

[kdka421]

Sorry everyone that it's been 3 weeks since I've stopped in here to update.

And unfortunately, today's not the day for my next update either. Life has been so crazy with our upcoming move (last week we drove the moving truck to our new place, so right now we're living in a near-empty apartment until we move for good) and of course Christmas.

However, tomorrow is my last day of work at my current job, then I have all next week off before starting my new job - so I think I should have time sometime then to write up my last installment.

Hope you all are having a Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas!

[tarheelmjfan]

Thanks for the link to your TR. V & A looks delicious. I think we're going to go ahead & try it. We'll just do as suggested & try to pace ourselves. I'm not sure what we'll do about the wine pairing. It sounds like the way to go, but I'm afraid it will be even more filling. Decisions, decisions.... :laughing:

[kdka421]

Thanks for the link to your TR. V & A looks delicious. I think we're going to go ahead & try it. We'll just do as suggested & try to pace ourselves. I'm not sure what we'll do about the wine pairing. It sounds like the way to go, but I'm afraid it will be even more filling. Decisions, decisions.... :laughing:

Hey there! I'm glad you are probably going to do it! It's such an amazing experience. They are willing to work with you, so if you want to wait a little longer between courses, get up and take a walk at some point, or anything like that, you just need to let them know.

Regarding the wine - it's definitely a LOT of wine, way much more than I'd typically drink (but SO worth it, yum!). Even paced out over 4 hours, we definitely left tipsy. I've heard lots of people say that they gladly let you SPLIT a wine pairing, so maybe you would want to consider that.

I wish I could go back right now!! :thumbsup2

[tarheelmjfan]

Hey there! I'm glad you are probably going to do it! It's such an amazing experience. They are willing to work with you, so if you want to wait a little longer between courses, get up and take a walk at some point, or anything like that, you just need to let them know.

Regarding the wine - it's definitely a LOT of wine, way much more than I'd typically drink (but SO worth it, yum!). Even paced out over 4 hours, we definitely left tipsy. I've heard lots of people say that they gladly let you SPLIT a wine pairing, so maybe you would want to consider that.

I wish I could go back right now!! :thumbsup2

That's good to know about the wine pairing. We may share. We normally share a bottle, & that about maxes us out. :laughing:

We're also going to California Grill & Le Cellier. It sounds like we have similar taste in restaurants. I hope you get to go again soon. :)

[kdka421]

That's good to know about the wine pairing. We may share. We normally share a bottle, & that about maxes us out. :laughing:

We're also going to California Grill & Le Cellier. It sounds like we have similar taste in restaurants. I hope you get to go again soon. :)

Fun! Have you been to either of those before? Both of those are fantastic, in different ways. I love that Disney has so many restaurants which really offer above-par food and service.

How long until your trip?

PS - love your quote "Proud Redhead" :thumbsup2 Hubby and I are both redheads too.

[tarheelmjfan]

Fun! Have you been to either of those before? Both of those are fantastic, in different ways. I love that Disney has so many restaurants which really offer above-par food and service.

How long until your trip?

PS - love your quote "Proud Redhead" :thumbsup2 Hubby and I are both redheads too.

We've been to LC several times, but it's been a long time. It was on a decline, so we finally stopped going. We thought it was time to give it another try. We haven't been to CG. I'm acrophobic, & have been afraid to try it. After hearing it was closing for awhile, I booked it anyway. I don't want it to disappear & not experience it. I'll just ask for a table away from the windows. The wine room sounds like a better fit for us anyway, if they'll let us wait for a table. We prefer a quieter dining experience.

We go again the first of May. We live an hour away, so we take long weekend trips every few months.

I'm guessing my redhead status is different from years. Mine was give by the tag fairy for being a Universal Orlando fan. Many people call UO the red headed step child of WDW. :p I do have a red undertone, but my hair is blond. It has random red streaks, especially in the summer. My dad & most of his siblings were redheads.

[kdka421]

We've been to LC several times, but it's been a long time. It was on a decline, so we finally stopped going. We thought it was time to give it another try. We haven't been to CG. I'm acrophobic, & have been afraid to try it. After hearing it was closing for awhile, I booked it anyway. I don't want it to disappear & not experience it. I'll just ask for a table away from the windows. The wine room sounds like a better fit for us anyway, if they'll let us wait for a table. We prefer a quieter dining experience.

We go again the first of May. We live an hour away, so we take long weekend trips every few months.

I'm guessing my redhead status is different from years. Mine was give by the tag fairy for being a Universal Orlando fan. Many people call UO the red headed step child of WDW. :p I do have a red undertone, but my hair is blond. It has random red streaks, especially in the summer. My dad & most of his siblings were redheads.

I'm glad you're giving California Grill a try! The wine room is absolutely fantastic - we've been twice, and our first time we were seated in the wine room by luck. The second time we were there we requested the wine room when we got there, and they let us wait until a table opened up, they didn't have any problem with that. The food there is delicious :thumbsup2