Flowers, Segways & DIS Meets, Oh My! - Updated 10/26, Final Thoughts-FINALLY!

I honestly don't care much for fish either, it has to be a very mild tasting fish for me to eat it. I discovered Mahi Mahi about a year ago and actually really like it. The restaurant really does have a great atmosphere, and the food is good. If you don't mind a long leisurely meal then give it a try. The do have a chicken dish and steak on the menu too :thumbsup2

Maybe someday when Henry is old enough to SIT STILL :laughing: or in the dream just "Joe & I" trip. Which might be when Henry is finally old enough to sit still....;)

I'll have to keep the Mahi Mahi in mind though for other restaurants! It's worth a shot - I just recently discovered that I like tuna, so who knows!
 
Great update.:thumbsup2

I loved the Mahi- Mahi also. I am sorry you had to wait so long to be served. I guess Coral Reef is really a hit and miss type of restaurants. They are good but not consistent. :confused3

And tell me about the freezing buses! My husband even asked the driver once if he could put the temperature up and he said:"nope"! From the on I started breaking a small jacket to wear in the bus. Crazy, I know. But I just did not want to end up :sick:.

Have a great week!
Q
 
Hi Michelle! I am all caught up now! I loved all of your photos!! It makes me miss Disney in May. We just got back last Sunday and August is certainly a different story! :cool2: It was HOT but we had pretty good weather, hardly any rain, just some downpours while eating so we missed them.
I wanted to tell you that I broke down and got the colorful Mickey D&B purse with the tassels! I am waiting until fall to use it. :)
Your CR experience sounds like our Brown Derby experience... we were there 2 1/2 hours! :scared1: It wasn't so bad being in there because of the major thunderstorm going on at the time but that was a looooong dinner.
I wish I had seen the animation sketch book! What a great idea to have to bring home and create some magic!
 
That is exactly what Charles does, too! :laughing:

Too funny! I guess his transformation hasn't come that far, huh?

I really enjoyed seeing all your topiary pictures; they are all so pretty!

Wow, this could be a painting or a postcard! :worship:

I saw this in December and really debated about getting it for Maggie (she loves to draw). I wish now I had gotten it. :rolleyes1

The drawing book is a fun souvie! You'll have to put it on your list for next time :thumbsup2

Thanks for the comment on the sky picture - it's one of my favorites from the whole trip!

Great Beauty & the Beast show pics despite the stinky feet next to you.:confused3

I got to see lots of those topiaries up close on my backstage magic tour. :teeth:

At least the food at Coral Reef was good......I have heard that it was not good. We went years ago, but haven't been back recently. A nice leisurely dinner is one thing elsewhere but inside a theme park it doesn't wok so well sometimes because people have places to go & things to see.

Can't believe it's almost over. :sad2:

How cool that you got to see the topiaries up close on the tour! Can't wait to read about it in your report!

Yes, the food at Coral Reef was really good, has been both times we've been there - I have zero complaints there :thumbsup2 There are times when I enjoy a leisurely meal, usually when we go out with a group and all want to have a few drinks and chat, but you're right, at a theme park not so much.

Maybe someday when Henry is old enough to SIT STILL :laughing: or in the dream just "Joe & I" trip. Which might be when Henry is finally old enough to sit still....;)

I'll have to keep the Mahi Mahi in mind though for other restaurants! It's worth a shot - I just recently discovered that I like tuna, so who knows!


Yeah, a leisurely meal is not a good thing with a toddler!

Isn't it funny when you think you've disliked something for so long and you finally try and discover that it's not so bad. I was totally shocked that I liked the Mahi Mahi and probably never would have tried it if I hadn't been guilted into it! Sometimes you just have to go out on a limb a bit :laughing:

Great update.:thumbsup2

I loved the Mahi- Mahi also. I am sorry you had to wait so long to be served. I guess Coral Reef is really a hit and miss type of restaurants. They are good but not consistent. :confused3

And tell me about the freezing buses! My husband even asked the driver once if he could put the temperature up and he said:"nope"! From the on I started breaking a small jacket to wear in the bus. Crazy, I know. But I just did not want to end up :sick:.

Have a great week!
Q

It's too bad Coral Reef can't get their act together on a nightly basis. Glad you liked the Mahi Mahi too, I thought it was delish!

The temperature range on the Disney buses is crazy, sometimes I'm freezing, sometimes it's warm - guess it just depends upon the preferences of the driver!

Hi Michelle! I am all caught up now! I loved all of your photos!! It makes me miss Disney in May. We just got back last Sunday and August is certainly a different story! :cool2: It was HOT but we had pretty good weather, hardly any rain, just some downpours while eating so we missed them.
I wanted to tell you that I broke down and got the colorful Mickey D&B purse with the tassels! I am waiting until fall to use it. :)
Your CR experience sounds like our Brown Derby experience... we were there 2 1/2 hours! :scared1: It wasn't so bad being in there because of the major thunderstorm going on at the time but that was a looooong dinner.
I wish I had seen the animation sketch book! What a great idea to have to bring home and create some magic!

Hey there! How was your trip? Hope you guys had an amazing time.

Yay, for getting the D&B bag! :yay: I love both of mine and get compliments on them all the time. It makes me happy to carry them too, reminds me of my happy place :goodvibes

Oh my gosh, 2 1/2 hrs at Brown Derby?! :eek: That's way worse than our meal - that's insane! Good thing it helped you avoid a downpour though.
 


Day 7, Friday May 7th

Well, today was to be our final day in WDW, and I'll be honest, we had hit a wall. The week of temps much hotter than we had thought they would be, and crowds much bigger than we had anticipated had taken it's toll. We were in need of some down time, so today was a pretty leisurely day. We didn't do just a whole lot, but I do have lots of pictures to share which hopefully will make the update somewhat entertaining (provided you like flowers, that is!).

We started the day by sleeping in, we didn't even set the alarm, just got up when we woke up. We had a dinner ADR that night, but other than that the only thing on our list was to visit Garden Town in Epcot, which was only open on Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays.

We arrived at Epcot a little before 10am, and were faced with a HUGE line at bag check. This was by far the busiest day we experienced all week. We weren't in a hurry however, so we just rolled with it. We made our way back towards Garden Town, stopping to grab a FP for Test Track along the way.

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Inside we walked around and took pictures of flowers and checked out some of the displays.

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There was going to be a presentation that day on how to grow orchids, but since we don't have the climate for them and I'm not a greenhouse kind of girl, we just took a few pictures of them instead.

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They had a make & take class that you could sign up for, but since getting a live plant home wasn't really something we could do, we didn't participate. It looked like fun though! We did take the time to watch the 'Making of the Flower & Garden Festival' film. WOW! Talk about an impressive operation, you gain even more of an appreciation for what it takes to put on a production like the F&GF after watching that film.

We also did a bit of shopping. I debated between the Tink gazing ball

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The Tink birdfeeder

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Mickey gnome

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and the Mickey & Minnie garden statues

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I decided on the birdfeeder and the gnome. I wanted it all, but figured that was a bit of overkill and Don would have a fit, so I narrowed it down to just the two pieces. I had them shipped directly to my house to avoid having to try and make room for them in my suitcase. Which turned out to be a wise decision, because there is no way they would have fit!

We left Garden Town at this point and decided to use our TT FPs before heading over to WS for awhile. We ran into the last topiary that we hadn't seen yet as we walked past Mission: Space as well, Stitch

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Coming Up: World Showcase - again!
 
Beautiful pictures once again of the topiaries.

That photo you took of the sky is positively incredible!!!:worship:

So sorry to hear your service at Coral Reef was poor both times. We only went once, during our May trip, but our server was Excellent! Funny you got the Mahi-Mahi - I did too! But my MIL got the lobster raviolli...I tell you...without a doubt, that is the dish to order. All of our food was excellent there, but her dish was beyond incredible. It competes with LeCellier's mushroom fillet for me!;)

Love the book you got Jared - we have those as well. They are fun!

What a great idea with the Disney pad for grocery shopping - I will have to pick one up on my next trip!;)

Sorry to hear your trip is coming to an end. We were also feeling pretty wiped by the end of our trip as well, so I completely know what you mean!;)
 
Even for someone who does not have anywhere near a green thumb (ME!), Garden Town is a very cool place. We didn't make it over there on our May trip, so I loved seeing your pictures of all those beautiful flowers. It was so hot when we were there that we shorted our Epcot time. We have been to Garden Town in the past, so it was one of the things that got scratched. Hopefully, things will be better on our March spring break trip, and even if it is crazy hot again, we'll prioritize by what we missed this last time.

Jill thought about getting the Minnie and Mickey statues, but she never did follow through. You'll have to show us a picture of your purchases in your garden. The only garden I could do well with would be a rock garden!

I would love to see that movie about putting the F&G Festival together. I will definitely remember that for next year.
 


I can totally understand how you hit a wall by the last day -- I did, too, on our departure day when we were supposed to go to a park before heading out. I just couldn't face the idea.

Garden Town looks really neat -- I am not a gardening type girl AT ALL, but the orchids and displays are very pretty! I love the Tink birdbath and Mickey garden gnome. Too cute! I would love to see the film about how they do the F&G Festival. I bet it was fascinating!
 
Michelle, the pictures of the flowers are stunning. I don't have a green thumb either (usually everything I plant does not last long). I love the Tinker feeder -- I may have to add that to my possibility list.

I'm sorry your trip is nearing an end...I've so enjoyed sharing you and your mom's trip. :)
 
Gardentown is something I completely missed, so I really enjoyed your pictures. The orchids are beautiful!

I can certainly understand you hitting the wall on your last day. Last June we had a 7 night trip. On departure day I told Denny we had to go somewhere that was completely air conditioned. And, I had to stay there until it was time to go to the airport.
 
Your pictures are definitely cementing in my brain that I "must" make a trip for F&G next year. Although I could do without the extreme heat and crowds. :upsidedow

Bet your gnome and bird feeder look great in the yard. Always fun to have a touch of Disney in our "real lives." :)
 
Oh! I have had my eye on 4 parks CD, is it worth getting? :confused3

After reading all the responses I believe YES was the answer. :rotfl: I don't think anyone said no.

I was irritated with the slow service, there really is no excuse for it. It's too bad too, because the food is really good :sad2:

That's how I felt about O'hana. It is basically a buffet, just served family style, why did it take 2 hours for us get through it? This trip is my tiebreaker for O'hana. I had a magical first time there with my DD. Prompt service, a table to watch fireworks right up by the window. :lovestruc
The second time, with the Dis hating DH of course, slow service, and no personality, table way in the back. I can't remember what made me upset the most but there was some issue with the towels and then the wings. I think she brought us towels to wash up while we were still eating the wings and then after she collected them she asked if wanted more wings. :confused3 I remember wondering why she did that, because I know she was not to bring more towels any time soon.

That CD gets worn out at my house too :thumbsup2

Oh, yes, my sunglasses fog up everytime I step out of the room or a bus while at WDW. Thankfully I can just take them off and still see ;)

I was in EPCOT looking for another CD and even the CM pointed me to the 4 parks CD.

As for the sunglasses, I started taking them off before I exited the bus. Everyone else would just stop when they could not see and well, I had to watch out for collisions. ;)

Yeah, I had hoped that our experience at Coral Reef with the slow service was a one time thing, but no such luck :sad2:
Put me down for a good experience at CR. I don't remember it being slow, just having a cranky DH (again ):sad2:

I almost hate using that notepad just because I know eventually it will be gone, and then I'll be sad :laughing:

Well then you know what you have to do.... go back to get another.:thumbsup2

Much to Don's dismay, I listen to it alot in the car too - he shuts it off as soon as he gets in there :sad2:

That is exactly what Charles does, too! :laughing:


I make my children play guess that attraction. :laughing: They humor me. My DH - not only does it get shut off, there are some choice words sprinkled with how much, obsessed, really? :headache: :sad2:

This is the man who took the kids out to get me a Mickey key. My house key is cut on a blank with Mickey on it. I think he is resisiting too much. I am hoping to convince to go on a F&W trip. I think some beverages may change his mind.
 
Glad you two weren't in a hurry that last day...it sure can be frustrating when you need/want to get somewhere and the park is so busy! I've "been there done that" several times with all of our New Year's visits! :eek:

Garden Town looks like it was really neat! :thumbsup2

Great purchases with the Tink birdfeeder and Mickey gnome. They both are very cute! :goodvibes
 
I'm glad to see that Garden Town is only open on Fri, Sat, Sun. That way I won't feel so bad for missing it! I would've liked to see the pavilion to see if I actually recognized anything.

WOW, some of those flowers are absolutely gorgeous! Great photography skills!
 
Gotta love a slow day, sometimes they are the best! Garden Town looks just beautiful. The film sounds really interesting too! I can only imagine what they do to put that sort of event on. :worship:

I love all the garden things! That Mickey Gnome has been calling to me for a couple years. I haven't bought him yet, and now we don't really own a yard! I could stick it in the garden there is in front of our apartment, I think the landlady would love it! :laughing:
 
Hi
I just finished reading your trip report!! It sounds like you and your mom had such a great time!! Thanks for sharing!!
 
The gardentown flowers were so pretty. I totally love the Mickey gnome!! I would love to have one of those in my yard.
 
Great choices for your purchases!!! I wanted them all too...ended up not getting any!!! :rotfl2: I love planting and growing my tomatoes, flowers etc but by this time of the season I just want to stop watering them and make them all go away!! :rotfl:

Love the picture of your Mom next to the green flower!!! :goodvibes

Tracy
 
Just joining in... better late than never! :rotfl: Great trip report, I really love how you went with your mom, it sounds like you two had a great time together. You went to a lot of the restaurants that are on my "to try" list and I appreciate your great descriptions and pictures! Ugh... last days! :sad2: Can't wait for the rest though! :thumbsup2
 

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