Our Spectacular FIRST Disney Vacation! August 2011 UK TR- OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY Mini TR

[meggiebeth]

Subscribing! I love your fresh view on the Disney vacation experience. Most of my friends, myself included, have been so many times that we forget how magical Disney truly is. Thanks for sharing your holiday with us

Thanks for reading! And haha, thanks- I guess we've never been somewhere like WDW, where everything is well maintained, friendly and... magical! That is actually what makes it feel so 'out of this world'.

 

[meggiebeth]

Hallo again! Well, we left off at the end of our day at Epcot... exhausted but happy. Of course, we just had to go to bed near to midnight... knowing us... which made getting to DHS for EMHs in the morning very hard to do. Did we make it? In one word- no. We got there for 9am, standard opening time. I was annoyed... but I couldn't really get mad- after all it is a holiday!

So- as soon as we got through the turnstiles, I suggested we headed straight over to get a FP for TSM. I had read many trip reports saying how early the FPs run out. William and Rory moaned at this of course, because they were determined to try out Tower of Terror first. I had shown Rory the list of rides in WDW on the Disney website- and his two musts were Haunted Mansion and ToT. He loves the video for ToT... and how spooky it seems. However, my parents agreed that we should head over to TSM first, because a CM at SSR had told them that this ride is VERY popular. When Rory heard, he got annoyed and grouchy because Toy Story is stupid according to him (despite the fact he watches the movies and loves them ) but... we dragged him over anyway. Our FastPasses were for about 4pm! And we got to the machines at 9:10am... we were very surprised. So after getting FPs we headed over to ToT, and there was a 10 minute queue I think. So we all went in and joined the short queue. The theming in ToT is awesome, and it was so cute to see Rory's reaction to everything. When we got to the loading bit, my dad was thinking about getting off. He didn't like Mission:Space in Epcot the day before because the safety bar thing squashed him and he couldn't breathe properly. He got off when a CM came to check on him, and as I was scared too I leapt off with him. So William was left all on his own in the pod. (My mother and Rory were on the tamer version together.)
However, the CM at ToT said that it wasn't claustraphobic like Mission:Space and all you did was move forwards and to the side and then go up and down a few times. So my dad eventually did try it. We eventually got in the elevator, me sitting next to Mummy and Rory next to her. Willum and Daddy were behind us. It was magical- the beginning bit anyway. When we went up and down- I was TERRIFIED. This was the one ride in WDW I was too scared to go back on. My legs were shaking as we fell down the tower. And it didn't go down once, more like 10 times! You know that feeling you get when you go down a ride fast- like... your stomach jumps up? I had that- but ToT was so fast that it was just unpleasant for me.
Naturally, everyone else in my family loved it and went on again... while I had to wait in the gift shop. When they finally got off again, Rory wanted to buy a ToT keyring... and took forever to persuade my parents to get it for him. Eventually, we were done and we headed up towards Sci Fi Dine In, where we had an ADR for lunch. We made it up there and seeing as we still had a while to go until lunch, we hopped in the Star Tours line, only 20 minutes long. We all loved this ride, it was great! And very realistic. We were surprised it wasn't as popular as the other big rides in WDW. The waiting area is cool too.

When we got off, we got a FP to ride it again, which was around 1:30pm. Then we headed back over to Sci Fi Dine In. We had to wait for about 15 minutes after checking in... one of the longer waits in our holiday.
Unfortunately, we did have photos but they were deleted. Let's just say that the food was bad... to us anyway. The onion rings were the best part of the meal. Rory had a chocolate milkshake which was gross- you couldn't even drink it- it was like a lump of hardened jelly or something. We tried to let it soften but then it started overflowing and making a huge mess on the table. The food was average to bad. We didn't want desserts, so we just left. It was a disaster because we went in expecting average food but a good experience. We chose it because we thought Rory would enjoy it. However after seeing a clip from Frankenstein, he had nightmares for a while after eating there. It was for me probably one of the worst restaurants of our trip, next to the Rose and Crown in Epcot.

We went out and headed over to Star Tours for our second ride. Then we went over to Indiana Jones Stunt Show which was good. We went down to Rock n' Roller Coaster to try and get FPs but the return time was too late. (We were planning to leave and go swimming straight after dinner.) Here are some photographs of DHS I randomly took:

Me and my Mum went to see the Beauty and the Beast show and Willum, Rory and my Dad went to ride Tower of Terror again. The Beauty and the Beast show was really good- I wish it showed the whole story though. The boys rode ToT 6 times I believe, and they walked on each time with little to no queue. Good luck, eh?

Then it was time for Toy Story Mania, and we headed into the FP queue. We ended up waiting 20 minutes anyway. We got on the ride and while it was fun and a cute little ride, I didn't get why the queue was so terribly long or why the FPs run out so early. IMHO, rides like Soarin' and Star Tours were a little better. Rory loved TSM and got cross when we couldn't ride it again. He said 'Just get another FastPass! For goodnesses sake!'
We were unwilling to wait in the 70 minute queue though!

We headed over to Mama Melrose's for dinner. We got seated in about 10 minutes. Our waitress was nice and friendly and the food was good too. Rory lost his Stitch pin in the restrooms and was very upset. The waitress gave us one of her manager's ones. We were given a Fantasmic Dining Package Pass but we weren't going to use it so we ended up giving it to another family when we were leaving the park. Now, the suggested tip for Mama Melrose's was around $33 I believe, but my dad refused to give that amount. Towards the beginning of the vacation he found it hard giving the 18% gratuity, but he decided to just give in after the first few days.

Our waitress got really annoyed with us because we only gave her a $20 tip. I felt guilty, but I didn't think it was fair that she got upset because of it. In England we only give a tip when someone really deserves it, so it WAS difficult giving tips to people who didn't deserve them. In this case, she did, but probably in half the restaurants, the service wasn't nearly good enough to actually deserve a tip. I know that they receive less than the minimum wage... and are taxed in accordance to tips and all that... but I just don't get why you should reward someone when they haven't even tried.

So... we left the park and headed back to SSR for an evening swim. We headed to the Springs pool which had a lovely atmosphere at night. Rory, who was almost asleep when we got there, burst with energy when he started swimming. He loved swimming in Florida, in the heat. We never tried out the Paddocks Pool which was new, much to my disappointment! My parents couldn't be bothered to go and find it... they were tired.

That's it for now! I'm so sorry about the lack of pictures, there will be a lot more in the next update, I promise! Thanks for reading!

 

[joy13]

Joining in - sounds like a great trip! I'm glad you liked the food at Mama Melrose's, we are eating there on our trip. Sorry the waitress was rude about the tip - that's pretty bad form

 

[broadwaybookworm]

Totally agreeing with you about TOT: that was the one ride I would not go on!

 

[RDP]

Looking forward to the next instalment! Sorry to hear about the 'tip' thing. there is a lot of pressure to tip well and it seems to be expected regardless of the level of service in some cases!

 

[RDP]

Joining in - sounds like a great trip! I'm glad you liked the food at Mama Melrose's, we are eating there on our trip. Sorry the waitress was rude about the tip - that's pretty bad form

We also had a great meal there last year, although we had a long wait to get seated.

 

[meggiebeth]

Joining in - sounds like a great trip! I'm glad you liked the food at Mama Melrose's, we are eating there on our trip. Sorry the waitress was rude about the tip - that's pretty bad form

I'm sure you'll like Mama Melrose's... it has a lovely atmosphere! Just be sure to tip! Thank you for joining in too

Totally agreeing with you about TOT: that was the one ride I would not go on!

Thank goodness I'm not the only one! No one ever said how fast and scary it was... never setting foot in it again!

Looking forward to the next instalment! Sorry to hear about the 'tip' thing. there is a lot of pressure to tip well and it seems to be expected regardless of the level of service in some cases!

It's good to hear other people think that too. Most of our servers were very polite, but only the one we had at California Grill really stood out. We were happy to tip her... and servers at other restaurants that tried hard. We found it weird to have to tip at buffets where all they do is literally get your drinks and hand you your bill.

We also had a great meal there last year, although we had a long wait to get seated.

We also waited quite a while... was a very popular restaurant.

 

[meggiebeth]

Welcome back to my TR! Now finally, I have more pictures to share with you... we took lots at MK. This was probably one of the two best days of the trip. So without further ado, let's get started!

Breakfast at Chef Mickeys!

We left our hotel at about 7:00am Exhausted... hungry and grouchy... a great combination! We were up at about 6:00am in order to get to the CR on time. We left our lovely hotel, and were on our way! I was very excited, and so was Rory!

And soon... we reached...

We excitedly walked (or ran!!!) through the restaurant to check in. We were given a buzzer and sent to have our photo taken. Our buzzer went off just as we were about to have our photo taken... so we posed and then went straight over to get our table.

My dad really enjoyed this restaurant... and yet I thought this would be one of his least favourites! He said it was 'buzzing' and had a great atmosphere. I also think he enjoyed meeting his childhood Disney friends.

This is my first plate. The pancake was nice, the potato bite things were okay, (they would've been nicer if they weren't just lukewarm) the hash brown was gross and a bit burnt and dry. I didn't eat the peaches... I found something much more delicious...

MICKEY WAFFLES! They were delicious! Better than the pancakes because they were crisp on the outside, yet spongy and soft on the inside. And the syrup just made them taste... (Well- let's just say Mickey Waffles are one of my favourite foods now!) I'm heartbroken that they don't sell Mickey Waffle Makers... well not ones that make the waffles like they serve in WDW.

Anyway- my plate: (I got a plate of waffles later)

I also got a photo of Rorsie's first plate too. He loved the bacon, and had a croissant too. He loved the pancakes but refused to try a Mickey Waffle.

Then along came Mickey!

At this point my parents got their Happy Anniversary Cupcakes. We were so excited about the characters, the candle burnt down till the cupcakes virtually caught on fire. Whoopsies!

Along came Goofy! We LOVE Goofy in our family. He's such good fun!

Of course William was being grumpy about meeting the characters, but Goofy sorted that out! He insisted that William should come up and get a boys only photo!

Over came Minnie. She didn't stay for as long as Mickey and Goofy, but she was still very sweet!

Then Donald came over.

A very kind family asked if we wanted our photo taken, as a family.

Awww, next up was Pluto! Me and Rory think Pluto is adorable... and very funny!

So, after a lovely and filling breakfast we headed right over to MK for our very first day there! We were offered a photo package for something ridiculous like $30 but we said no. After all- we got them for free from Akershus and were going to get more photos later in the holiday for free.

What did we think of Chef Mickeys?

Me (Megan)Rating- 9
"The food was good, especially the Mickey Waffles! The characters were so friendly and the atmosphere was very lively."

Will (Dad)
Rating- 9
"Loved the buzzy atmosphere with the characters walking round the tables- food was good too."

Tracey (Mum)
Rating- 8
"Really good fun- particularly the napkin twirling."

William
Rating- 7
"Goofy was very good fun and the food was good."

Rory
Rating-8
"The food was yummy and Pluto and Goofy were cute!"

So as you see, Chef Mickeys is one of our favourites. For breakfast, you can't go wrong. If you haven't tried it- do. It's a great experience.

That's it for now folks! Coming up next, our day at Magic Kingdom! Thanks for reading and see you real soon!

 

[broadwaybookworm]

Yay for Chef Mickey's breakfast!

 

[jelloarms]

I'm glad that Goofy was able to bring your brother out of his "too cool for Disney" funk! Gotta love that Disney magic.

 

[dismagiclover]

Chef Mickey's is so much fun! I'm glad that even William liked it. Those teenage boys can be tough to please.

 

[saintstickets]

So glad you enjoyed Chef Mickey and his waffles! You're TR is fantastic and we finally get to see you smile!!!

 

[meggiebeth]

Yay for Chef Mickey's breakfast!

I agree

I'm glad that Goofy was able to bring your brother out of his "too cool for Disney" funk! Gotta love that Disney magic.

That's what I love too. William liked posing with Goofy for photos after that- it's so good that the characters make that extra effort.

Chef Mickey's is so much fun! I'm glad that even William liked it. Those teenage boys can be tough to please.

LOL! Tell me about it! I guess Goofy is one of the 'cooler' characters in his eyes.

So glad you enjoyed Chef Mickey and his waffles! You're TR is fantastic and we finally get to see you smile!!!

Thanks! And haha, yeah! Chef Mickey's was something we really enjoyed as a family.

 

[joy13]

Great Chef Mickey's pictures and when I saw your broghter William in the pictures I thought "he looks like he's having a pretty good time" I think this "I don't like Disney" is all an act

 

[teekathepony]

Great update! Love the Chef Mickey's pictures!!

 

[meggiebeth]

Great Chef Mickey's pictures and when I saw your broghter William in the pictures I thought "he looks like he's having a pretty good time" I think this "I don't like Disney" is all an act

Thanks! And yes, I do too. I think he's just too embarrassed to admit Disney might just be fun! He was a bit 'Disney'ed out' at the end of our holiday though...

Great update! Love the Chef Mickey's pictures!!

Thanks!

 

[meggiebeth]

What Rory Thought of Our First Few Days

Rory was eager to tell everyone what he thought of the things I have covered so far. (And a chance to use the Smilies!) Sorry about the spelling mistakes... he is six after all!

epcot was y. sorin was grate it was real

tower of terer was the sci fi dine in was scery dont take your little boys ther. they will get night mares.

my favorrate resturent was chef mickys

Translation

Epcot was Stitchy*. Soarin' was great. It was real(istic). Tower of Terror was terrifying. The Sci Fi Dine In was scary. Don't take your little boys there- they will get nightmares. My favourite restaurant was Chef Mickey's.

*Stitch is Rory's favourite Disney character. He is complementing Epcot by calling it 'Stitchy'

 

[dinglefitzberry]

Your trip sounds lovely so far. Can't wait to hear about Discovery Cove. We want to go there in Feb 2012.

 

[meggiebeth]

Your trip sounds lovely so far. Can't wait to hear about Discovery Cove. We want to go there in Feb 2012.

You'll love Discovery Cove. Make sure to book the dolphin swim, that is what makes it worth the money. The swim is a totally unforgettable experience. Thanks for reading!

 

[vfalkner]

Your trip looked like so much fun! We are just planning ours for February and will definitely consider Sarasota Springs!