Mr. and Mrs. Weak Sauce Go the Distance (a completed Disneymoon TR!)

[RachelNinja]

I am sorry to hear that your area was hit so hard by Sandy.

Great update!

The AKL has some really unique stuff in their shop!
The pressed pennies really are a great cheap souvenir! My son is obsessed with them!

Now back to check out that Cropped Picture and make a guess!

Yeah, it's going to take a lot of time for my borough to recover. I think we may have been the hardest hit borough in NYC even though we're often "forgotten." A lot of people have been stepping up to help out and donate and volunteer, so that is very encouraging!

The AKL really does have a ton of unique things! I was happy to see the resort specific merchandise too because I remember reading before the trip that Disney might have been getting rid of it? I'm glad they didn't! I like the gift shops, but I didn't want them all to have the same generic items.

I'm really not sure where the cropped picture was taken! So, I'm going to go with Rafiki's Planet Watch in Animal Kingdom.

Good guess, but it's not at Rafiki's.

So glad to hear that you guys are ok. I can't imagine what its like for those that lost their homes.

**Cropped photo guess** I know this one! Its from Journey into Imagination with Figment!

A lot of people overlook all the details at AK but it really is an amazing park. Howard took some great photos!

I'll be honest, I don't understand how Disney can "sell" the pressed pennies when they are allowing people to destroy US currency which is illegal. Oh well.

It's hard to imagine how life is just going to keep moving on. School starts again on Monday (except for those schools that are shelters right now; that includes my younger brother's high school). It'll be strange teaching again and driving again.

YES, you are correct! You've earned yourself a weak sauce point!

I can't wait to see the photos Howard takes in December! I think he gets better each trip. He doesn't really have opportunity to practice with his DSLR except for our Disney trips!

Oh, I didn't even think about that with the currency!

Glad guys are OK and all you lost was your food. That stinks but atleast it's replaceable.

I remember seeing on Twitter you had gotten the Chimpanzee DVD. It is such a good movie. If you liked it and haven't seen the other Disneynature movies you should check those out too! I love them all!

Oooh, so are you guys staying at Pop Century in December?

Man, I wish I was at the AK bus stop right now...

Jennifer beat me to it but that cropped picture is definitely from Journey Into Imagination.

Yeah, I'm glad it was just food. We haven't made it to the grocery store yet because we wanted to make sure everything was stocked first, but it's so easy to just go and pick stuff up. Others don't have the luxury to do that with all that they lost.

It really was such a great movie! I got so tied up in it and didn't like when the bad things happened to Oscar!

Yup, we're staying at Pop Century! Trying to save money, of course, haha.

Yup, it was Journey Into Imagination!

So glad you all made it through the hurricane all right!

Fortunately Bloomberg came to his senses and is postponing the marathon.

Thanks! I'm so happy we didn't suffer any damages personally. I'm also thrilled that the marathon was cancelled. Everyone was speaking out about it including our local politicians. Everyone was signing a petition on change.org too because they were outraged.

Ugh this hurricane was horrible, wasn't it? I can't believe how bad NJ and NY were hit. CT was hit pretty badly too, but not like NJ and NY. I've been seeing all of your updates on FB, about having no power, I can't even imagine! We didn't lose power, but we did have a tree fall on our house...not fun! Luckily, there was no damage! (Speaking of FB, I followed you on twitter, I'm minnie_ears, I don't know if you were wondering who I was or something!)

That gift shop you are in looks really cute, is that the one that is kind of near where you exit the safari? I love that one, they have lots of cool things to look at in there! I love those keychains you were looking at, I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for those...in 5 DAYS when I'm in Disney World!

The damages were pretty horrible in my borough. I had to stop reading all the updates because I was making myself feel sick.

Thanks for letting me know about your Twitter name, haha. I don't always check the followers often because I look at it/update it on my phone. I'm not on it as often as others, but during vacation time, I tweet a lot more often so as not to bother everyone on FB!

I'm not sure where the gift shop is, but it's closer to the front of the park. I just know that we needed a break from the heat as we were walking out.

I don't think I ever saw Luno, but I did watch Wishbone... it was one of my favorite after school shows in elementary school.

I loved Wishbone! I learned so much about literature. I wish shows like that were still popular with kids. And you guessed the Cropped picture correctly!

**********

Weak Sauce Points Scoreboard​

Round 19: Cropped was the JOURNEY INTO IMAGINATION - yay to Jennifer48!

Here's the current scoreboard for weak sauce points. I promise I'll TRY to post more rounds of the game over the next few weeks! I have 2 rounds of Cropped already set up. I'm getting excited about our December trip, so I have more Disney on the brain! Plus, as I said in an earlier update, the devastation of Hurricane Sandy is really depressing (although the fact that so many people in my borough are helping each other out is so uplifting ... even my 10-year HS reunion next week has been changed to a fundraiser event), so I am focusing more on Disney for a respite.

Curiouser&curiouser! - 5
Self_resqing_princz - 4
Jennifer48 - 3
NeverlandClub23 - 3
shan23877 - 3
jane2073 - 3
kschafer - 3
wdwgirl03 - 2
marDgreen88 - 1
therussells08 - 1
Happy Duck - 1

 

[ariel1025]

I somehow just now stumbled upon your report and have spent my "lazy day" reading through it. I love how incredibly detailed you are - makes me feel like I'm back at my favorite place

I'm sure I'm going to miss lots of things I wanted to comment on, but here I go:

Your wedding was absolutely stunning - your hair, the centerpieces, the gardens - everything!

I'm sorry you had such a delay in the flight, resulting in time to become more anxious.

Yay for AKL!! We are DVC and AKL is our home resort - we've now stayed at both Jambo and Kidani and I agree wholeheartedly on your viewpoint between the two.

Loved your report of Sanaa, the menu doesn't appeal to me at all, but after reading your (and many others) reviews, I just might be swayed to trying it on our next trip

I have to say I agree completely about your review of Yak & Yeti. We tried it while we were on the dining plan and I was completely disappointed (and slightly agitated) that the special drinks weren't free refills and not included as the drink on the dining plan. But they were still oh so good!

So sorry to hear about your health situation and so glad that Howard was there when you passed out. How scary!

Glad to hear that you are ok from the hurricane - such a horrible, horrible tragedy.

Can't wait to read more!

 

[MeMom]

First of all, I send my thoughts and prayers to/for your area as you regroup and rebuild. Nashville had a huge flood a few years ago, and we have our share of tornadoes, so I do know firsthand how something like that destroys lives and property and how much it weighs on a city to see its residents in great need.

I enjoyed the video of the dancers. Thanks for letting me spend some time on the streets of AK this morning.

Too funny about you discovering the bus system. It is an amazing thing. When we tell first-timers about how it works, they are just in awe that they can be taken wherever they want to go for free!

Zawadi is one of my favorite places to shop! We always go into AKL through that door so that we can browse. There are some unique gifts there.

 

[RachelNinja]

I somehow just now stumbled upon your report and have spent my "lazy day" reading through it. I love how incredibly detailed you are - makes me feel like I'm back at my favorite place

I'm sure I'm going to miss lots of things I wanted to comment on, but here I go:

Your wedding was absolutely stunning - your hair, the centerpieces, the gardens - everything!

I'm sorry you had such a delay in the flight, resulting in time to become more anxious.

Yay for AKL!! We are DVC and AKL is our home resort - we've now stayed at both Jambo and Kidani and I agree wholeheartedly on your viewpoint between the two.

Loved your report of Sanaa, the menu doesn't appeal to me at all, but after reading your (and many others) reviews, I just might be swayed to trying it on our next trip

I have to say I agree completely about your review of Yak & Yeti. We tried it while we were on the dining plan and I was completely disappointed (and slightly agitated) that the special drinks weren't free refills and not included as the drink on the dining plan. But they were still oh so good!

So sorry to hear about your health situation and so glad that Howard was there when you passed out. How scary!

Glad to hear that you are ok from the hurricane - such a horrible, horrible tragedy.

Can't wait to read more!

Yay, so glad you're here! I just clicked on your latest TR and saw that you and Candi had a baby! Congrats!

I love looking at our wedding pictures now that we're so far away from it, haha. It's easier to forget the stress of the day.

Ooo, how fantastic it must be to have DVC! Howard and I took a look at it just the other day online, but it doesn't make sense for us since my parents have a timeshare in Kissimmee just a few minutes off Disney property. That's where we went during my 2011 trip report with my cousins. Paying them for the year that we use it for the 5-6 of us is a lot cheaper than what it would cost for us to buy into DVC. I still really love staying on property though when it's just my husband and me. Love it!

We already have an ADR to eat there in December! We love it that much. It's different tastes without being TOO adventurous.

Yeah, Yak & Yeti has a lot of hype. I can see why though for people who don't get those types of things on a regular basis. Our church is in NYC's Chinatown, so we can technically some of those flavors there for a lot cheaper! The drinks thing really bothered me though. I mean, it wasn't alcoholic so it was just giving us some more Sprite with a shot of cherry or something!

It's been a rather interesting past 3 weeks with the illness and hurricane! We are still in recovery mode for the latter. We also have a Nor'easter heading our way tomorrow into Thursday, so we're worried that those people who were already flooded will have more trouble. Plus, they're afraid more trees might fall down and knock out power lines again.

I'm in the process of reading your TR

First of all, I send my thoughts and prayers to/for your area as you regroup and rebuild. Nashville had a huge flood a few years ago, and we have our share of tornadoes, so I do know firsthand how something like that destroys lives and property and how much it weighs on a city to see its residents in great need.

I enjoyed the video of the dancers. Thanks for letting me spend some time on the streets of AK this morning.

Too funny about you discovering the bus system. It is an amazing thing. When we tell first-timers about how it works, they are just in awe that they can be taken wherever they want to go for free!

Zawadi is one of my favorite places to shop! We always go into AKL through that door so that we can browse. There are some unique gifts there.

Thank you, MeMom! I remember when you posted all those pictures of the flood and the pictures of the mall. I think that this hurricane, even though it was only category 1, really shook us up. NYC is not prepared to deal with something like that, which is why the subway system and the bridges had to be closed the night before in preparation. NY basically had to shut down. The storm surges really destroyed so many areas. Getting gas is still an issue. I forgot there was a station on my drive to work, so I was sitting in traffic for a while thinking I might be late, but thankfully, I was okay. Howard and I are so thankful every day in our prayers that we have been safe. I now understand what it's like when such terrible storms hit other places. I mean, we see the devastation on the news, but eventually, the coverage is not as incessant, and I admit, we begin to forget. We dealt with 9/11, but natural disasters didn't seem as "serious" in my mind, if that makes sense. Now I know just how difficult it is and, as you said, how it "weighs on a city."

You're welcome! I love the atmosphere videos. I told myself I have to keep taking more and more! I find that when I need a Disney fix, I watch the videos I took more so than just looking at the pictures. I love hearing and seeing.

Haha, seriously! The bus system just baffles my mind! All the times prior, we have ALWAYS stayed OFF-property and had a car. I know people warned me that sometimes the bus takes a while, but I think it's pretty reliable considering we're used to NYC transportation and that commute. Plus, we'd be waiting in DISNEY! December will probably be the last time we enjoy the Disney transportation though. The only reason we're going back is because we have our APs.

Zawadi really is amazing. I kept looking at their resort clothes and mugs and such over and over again because I really wanted to get something to remind me of AKL.

**********

Weak Sauce Points​

Round 20: Cropped

Where was this picture taken? Remember, only guess per person, and no editing posts! Good luck!

 

[marDgreen88]

My guess is Spaceship Earth? That seems too easy, and it's probably wrong, but... I'm going with it!

 

[RachelNinja]

Going to Epcot!

The next day, we decided we would head to Epcot. It was interesting that we'd go there next considering we hadn't yet been to Magic Kingdom! I know that to many, seeing MK really means it's the official start to a vacation. It's partially true for me too, but there's something Epcot has that Magic Kingdom does not. And on that morning, its pull was much stronger than the pull of the castle.

We decided to each have a Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwich because they're supposed to stay frozen, and we wanted to eat it sooner rather than later. They were only supposed to stay in the fridge to defrost, so we didn't want to leave it in there too long. It was quite yummy! It was about $8 for the box of 4, which is a lot considering I make my own sausage, scrambled egg, and cheese muffins at home (cheaper and "healthier"). However, in comparison to the $6 cost of just ONE croissant breakfast sandwich at Mara, we were definitely ahead in terms of saving money. Thank goodness for that microwave in the room!

I have to say I also really like eating in the room too. We can turn the TV on and slowly get ready as opposed to moving quickly just to get to the food court. After we ate and got dressed, we headed to the bus stop. I was very happy that the bus stop at Jambo House were VERY well covered. It was also nice that there were benches. On most occasions, we always had a spot to sit.

As you see, the main park buses stop at Kidani first and then come to Jambo House (the sign says to take the Downtown Disney bus to get to Kidani). We could've easily just hopped on one of the Disney buses to get to and from our Sanaa reservation, but we decided to walk instead. There's not much to see during the walk, so it's not really something I'd strongly suggest, but it is definitely a nice way to leisurely walk off all the food you eat!

It was fun seeing each bus come through. Very different than waiting for your own bus to get home or to the ferry in Manhattan! These are way more fun!

I was still fascinated with the buses, so I had to take this picture about the rules. It basically says that you have to stay behind the yellow line, enter through the front door, have strollers folded, and move when someone with a disability needs the designated seats.

Look at how CLEAN these buses were! Haha, again, it's so unlike some of the older NYC buses I've been on! The ones that I used to take from my HS to my house were always grosser too. I don't know if they just cleaned them before picking us up, but the velvet-like seats were damp. We had to sit on the edge or put a foot down first to sit on our legs, which would then defeat part of the purpose of cleaning the buses!

We were excited to be able to go to the park without relying on anyone else. In the past, we had to herd a group of people out the door OR if my dad was dropping us off at the park, we still had to rely on him. I really enjoyed just going whenever we felt like it without having to determine an exact time. It worked out a lot better for my stomach too with all my issues. Anxiety makes me feel even sicker, so I was all for an easygoing honeymoon!

There it is! I didn't record any of the travel times because it really didn't feel that long. Staying off-property would take about the same amount of time and there was also parking and walking involved too. At least I knew that with the buses, we were dropped off at the front. I do have to say, however, that I have been missing the trams!

When we arrived at Epcot, our cameras continued to do their thing! Howard was taking pictures, and of course, I had to take some video!

In this picture, you can see the two women to my right. There's a lady with a walker and another one in a scooter. We kept seeing them all day long! They also sat next to us in Sunshine Seasons as they enjoyed their desserts. We didn't know we walked in with them until we watched the video later on and recognized them!

VIDEO: Arrival at Epcot

If you watched the video, you saw the long line for Spaceship Earth and also know the reason why we decided to head to Epcot instead of MK. We were heading here!

VIDEO: Climbing Up to The Land

Were we here to admire the building structure? Um, not this time.

Were we here to admire the brightness of the pavilion? Not really.

Were we here just to get a brief respite from the heat? Well, a little bit, haha.

Were we here to go on Soarin'? Haha, not exactly.

That didn't stop us from getting some fastpasses, of course. But that's not why we showed up at The Land.

Haha, it's not really a secret because of the videos, but we were here to EAT! YUM!

 

[Curiouser&curiouser!]

I did not read the update yet. But my Cropped Guess is the Great Movie Ride!

Now, back to read . . .

 

[Curiouser&curiouser!]

I haven't used the Disney buses really in my past trips. We have always rented a car. It's good to see that they are so well kept up. I'll have to keep it in mind if I have to trim the budget somewhere.

You're in the Land to eat? Didn't you just eat breakfast? (Just teasing- Calories don't count on vacation after all. I've had breakfast, then second breakfast, then elevensies, then luncheon, then tea, then snack, then afternoonsies, then supper, then dinner, then midnight snack, . . . well, you get the point!)

 

[Mom&RN]

This is the first cropped picture of yours that I have ever recognized! Inside Spaceship Earth! I hope I'm right

Also, isn't it funny how you can keep bumping into the same people over and over again in a park? One year I went to a conference that was right next to Disneyland and a friend and I went to DL for the afternoon and evening. We kept bumping into the same group of three people, two adult men and the teenage son of one of them. We got to chatting with the son in a line the first time we bumped into them and then it seemed like we saw them everywhere. My friend felt like one of the guys was hitting on her (she's married and certainly wasn't interested) so I kept teasing her that he was following her. He wasn't, it was too random when we'd bump into them but it was fun to tease her about her admirer

 

[IheartDDuck]

I'm so glad you guys made it through Sandy okay!

Your Round 20 is Spaceship Earth. That's the Pharoah's hat.

Breakfast in the room is really a great way to relax in the morning. Sadly, I never do that myself, but it's a good thing.

Of course you head straight into the Land to get Soarin' fastpasses and then to eat.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Hi Rachel! Congratulations on your marriage! I'm really late to the party but, thanks to your handy dandy links, I'm all caught up. There's simply way too much for me to comment on thus far so I'll just post my comments next time you write an installment.

 

[disneybarbie]

Hi Rachel!

Not sure how I missed this TR - but I'm all caught up now and subscribed

Congratulations on your marriage! Your wedding day looked so happy

Sounds like a great trip to WDW so far - we stayed at AKL for the first night of our honeymoon and absolutely loved the resort!


Looking forward to reading more,

Emma princess :x

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Hey Rachel,

Sorry you weren't pleased with your food at Yak & Yeti... I can see where it might not be your favorite since you have access to good Chinese food in New York and just through your family... So where is the best place to go for Dim Sum in New York... My family likes it and my son adores it... we have some places in Philadelphia and we had awesome Dim Sum in San Francisco but I have no idea where to go in New York and we're in the city at least every 3-4 month or so... I'd love an idea or two if you have anything...

Where is that gift store in AK... with the key chains?.. it looks nice and I don't remember ever being in there...

I'm catching a theme here... eat first... attractions after...


I hope that recovery comes quickly to New York... it's really awful... so many people were impacted... I was without my power for a week and it drove me nuts... I can't imagine... Sending thoughts and prayers...

 

[livsmom04]

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your dinner at Yak & yeti. We did but the one thing I don't like about the drinks there or any place in Animal Kingdom is the paper straws. They seem to taste funny and bug me when I drink out of them so I always bring my own straws in with me.

Glad you made it safely through the hurricane. We live in NC and we weathered out good. But I'm sure if we lived closer to the coast we would have been a direct hit.

 

[RachelNinja]

Weak Sauce Points Scoreboard​

Round 20: Cropped was SPACESHIP EARTH - yay to marDgreen88!

That is by far the SCARIEST part of the ride! Haha, the pharaoh just seems WAY too close. At some points, it even looks like he's about to stand up!

Here's the current scoreboard for weak sauce points.

Curiouser&curiouser! - 5
Self_resqing_princz - 4
Jennifer48 - 3
NeverlandClub23 - 3
shan23877 - 3
jane2073 - 3
kschafer - 3
marDgreen88 - 2
wdwgirl03 - 2
therussells08 - 1
Happy Duck - 1

Weak Sauce Points ​

Since it's the Thanksgiving holiday and not everyone will be online, I'm going to make these next two EASY rounds of Cropped available to all for some weak sauce points by requesting that the answers be sent to me by PRIVATE MESSAGE ONLY.

Round 21

Round 22

Where were these pictures taken? Remember, only guess per person, so once you send the PM, those will be your final answers. I'll leave these rounds open for one week so you'll have until 11/29! Good luck!

 

[RachelNinja]

My guess is Spaceship Earth? That seems too easy, and it's probably wrong, but... I'm going with it!

Nope, you're completely right! A weak sauce point for you!

I did not read the update yet. But my Cropped Guess is the Great Movie Ride!

Now, back to read . . .

Good guess! It would make sense for it to be there.

I haven't used the Disney buses really in my past trips. We have always rented a car. It's good to see that they are so well kept up. I'll have to keep it in mind if I have to trim the budget somewhere.

You're in the Land to eat? Didn't you just eat breakfast? (Just teasing- Calories don't count on vacation after all. I've had breakfast, then second breakfast, then elevensies, then luncheon, then tea, then snack, then afternoonsies, then supper, then dinner, then midnight snack, . . . well, you get the point!)

I think that it'd be nice to have both options available, but of course, we want to save as much money as possible. I like that if we stay off property and save money, we can have extra for the car rental. Staying on property for just the two of us and spending more just means we have to deal with buses. But like I've said in an earlier post, we live in NYC so dealing with public transportation and commutes is a normal thing for us. Even though I drive to work, I remember all my high school, college, and grad school days! I used to commute to the city too, and that'd take 2 hours!

Haha, that breakfast didn't REALLY count. It also took us a while to get out the door and actually get to Epcot. And you're right; calories don't count, woohoo! The reason we could eat also was because we didn't order heavy meals; we ordered our FAVORITES!

I'm all about elevensies though! I must have been a hobbit in a former life. My lunch period at school starts at 11:45, which is 5th period. I'm usually extremely hungry by 3rd period. Any time I'm not in school, I don't know how to handle waiting until early afternoon to eat!

This is the first cropped picture of yours that I have ever recognized! Inside Spaceship Earth! I hope I'm right

Also, isn't it funny how you can keep bumping into the same people over and over again in a park? One year I went to a conference that was right next to Disneyland and a friend and I went to DL for the afternoon and evening. We kept bumping into the same group of three people, two adult men and the teenage son of one of them. We got to chatting with the son in a line the first time we bumped into them and then it seemed like we saw them everywhere. My friend felt like one of the guys was hitting on her (she's married and certainly wasn't interested) so I kept teasing her that he was following her. He wasn't, it was too random when we'd bump into them but it was fun to tease her about her admirer

Yes, you ARE right! Congrats for knowing it! Unfortunately, someone did post before you did (between the cropped post and the latest update). Try the next two rounds though; anyone who sends me a private message will get the points!

Haha, it really is hilarious when you keep bumping into the same people! I think it was extra funny that we didn't even know that we saw them in the morning until we looked at the pictures/video! I like how you chatted with them. I wish we had an opportunity to strike up a conversation with the two ladies. They just seemed to really enjoy being together and taking it easy!

I'm so glad you guys made it through Sandy okay!

Your Round 20 is Spaceship Earth. That's the Pharoah's hat.

Breakfast in the room is really a great way to relax in the morning. Sadly, I never do that myself, but it's a good thing.

Of course you head straight into the Land to get Soarin' fastpasses and then to eat.

Thanks! I'm relieved it's over even though the recovery process is still going on for those around us.

Yup, it is definitely the pharaoh's hat, haha. SO CREEPY!

I'm excited to have one breakfast outside of the room during the next trip though. We're going to see if we can make it to Cape May and have some delicious biscuits and gravy and such. YUM.

Haha, why else be in Disney World? Oh wait, there are rides too ... the stomach comes first!

Hi Rachel! Congratulations on your marriage! I'm really late to the party but, thanks to your handy dandy links, I'm all caught up. There's simply way too much for me to comment on thus far so I'll just post my comments next time you write an installment.

Thank you! I'm so happy you're here! I loved Lacey's wedding stuff. I wish I could have done it that way!

Hi Rachel!

Not sure how I missed this TR - but I'm all caught up now and subscribed

Congratulations on your marriage! Your wedding day looked so happy

Sounds like a great trip to WDW so far - we stayed at AKL for the first night of our honeymoon and absolutely loved the resort!

Looking forward to reading more,

Emma princess :x

Oh yay! So glad you're here! Yeah, it's so easy to miss starts of TRs when they're not right after another trip. It probably doesn't help that I don't post as often since work keeps me busy.

I'm so happy that the wedding is done and over with! Getting to AKL was such a reward. GORGEOUS place.

Hey Rachel,

Sorry you weren't pleased with your food at Yak & Yeti... I can see where it might not be your favorite since you have access to good Chinese food in New York and just through your family... So where is the best place to go for Dim Sum in New York... My family likes it and my son adores it... we have some places in Philadelphia and we had awesome Dim Sum in San Francisco but I have no idea where to go in New York and we're in the city at least every 3-4 month or so... I'd love an idea or two if you have anything...

Where is that gift store in AK... with the key chains?.. it looks nice and I don't remember ever being in there...

I'm catching a theme here... eat first... attractions after...

I hope that recovery comes quickly to New York... it's really awful... so many people were impacted... I was without my power for a week and it drove me nuts... I can't imagine... Sending thoughts and prayers...

We don't really eat dim sum often because I can get sick with too much of the MSG/grease, but boy, do I love it! The only one I know of is Jing Fong on Elizabeth Street because it's always SO crowded with people waiting to get in. There are supposedly really good places in Flushing, Queens though. That's what the hubs said. Flushing Chinatown is supposed to be really good!

The gift shop with the keychains in AK is on the right side kind of when you first enter the park and pass by all the greenery and trees in the Oasis. It'd be before you reach Flame Tree BBQ.

Haha, yes, it is a very common theme for us. Food just makes more sense!

I'm happy to hear that you are okay! It really is such an inconvenience to not have power, but when I heard about students who had basements flooded and one other student who lost the whole first floor along with their cars that floated away, I was so grateful that our only loss was food and power. What an intense storm.

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your dinner at Yak & yeti. We did but the one thing I don't like about the drinks there or any place in Animal Kingdom is the paper straws. They seem to taste funny and bug me when I drink out of them so I always bring my own straws in with me.

Glad you made it safely through the hurricane. We live in NC and we weathered out good. But I'm sure if we lived closer to the coast we would have been a direct hit.

I've gotten used to the paper straws. I just miss being able to gnaw on the plastic ones, haha. I figure if it's for the animals' safety, I can manage.

It was a crazy storm for us! We don't normally get storms like that in NYC. We deal with blizzards and such. But this caused such devastation. Every time I checked the local news, there'd be a notification that someone else was found dead in the house. It was very tragic. Glad to hear that you survived it well!

 

[RachelNinja]

A Beety, Tuna-y Attraction

I hate having to throw real life updates in here because it usually means something terrible has happened! I'll start off with some good news though. Howard and I celebrated our 6-month anniversary this past Monday! By celebrated, I mean, we ordered from a local Italian place and had it delivered. We're not very big on going out to eat because of the waits and crowds. We really like staying in "home clothes." Even if we did want to eat out though, it would have been difficult. Why? Because this past Saturday, my whole family got into a car accident. An 18-year old who must not have been paying attention smashed into the back of my parents' car that held my parents, my two brothers, my older brother's fiance, my husband, and me. Most of us got whiplash, and I also hit my head against the headrest and immediately got a huge bump, a scalp laceration, and a massive headache to go along with it. On top of physical injuries, the mental toll it's taking is really draining. I was afraid to drive on Monday, but thankfully, God helped me through my fear and I drove again on Tuesday.

My family was in an accident when I was in college also not our fault. I was the only one hurt with a pinched nerve in my spine and required physical therapy for my bank. I took my driver's test when I was able to move my neck, but then I didn't drive for YEARS. I was too afraid to be in an accident or worse, cause an accident. I was terrified that this accident would cause that paralyzing fear once again, but thankfully, with God's help, I am working through it. I'm so grateful especially on this Thanksgiving day that we were not hurt worse than we were. The car is going to need at least 35 days to fix (it's a fairly new car, specifically purchased to fit the whole family and significant others for special occasions ... like this past Saturday when we were going out to eat to celebrate my MOM'S BIRTHDAY!), but the girl's parents' insurance will cover it. There's no doubt that it's her fault, and I get how accidents happen, but we're just extremely stunned that it happened. When we were in the hospital, my mom was saying that she couldn't believe that I JUST got better and now we had something else to do.

Isn't it just unbelievable that on October 18th, I had to take an ambulance to the hospital and that on November 17th, I had to take an abulance again to the hospital! Howard and I said that we should vow to stop with the ambulances and hospitals, haha. All within one month ... insane! But I guess people did say that the first year of marriage is an adventure! I guess we should be happy that the problems aren't with each other, haha. Besides, we'll be IN Disney in a MONTH! And we will DEFINITELY be celebrating our 6 month anniversary (technically 7 months by then)!

Okay, so now that I filled you in on real life things, let's jump back into the Disney part of this TR! It'll hopefully distract me from the fact that my tetanus shot injection site is huge, swollen, and itchy!

In my last installment, you read that we had just arrived at The Land to get Soarin' FP and to EAT! We were going to enjoy our usuals at Sunshine Seasons. We are really obsessed with these dishes! We headed on over to our chosen station. The Soups of the Day were chicken pot pie soup and vegetarian vegetable. It's kind of interesting that they make chicken pot pie soup. Haha, is it just filling?

We weren't there for those soups though. We wanted to be kids and get some macaroni and cheese! It's just like the Stouffer's mac and cheese. I think it's some of the best.

We scooted to the salads area, and I ordered my Roasted Beets and Goat Cheese Salad that is tossed with Honey Sherry dressing ($7.89). I was so eager to have some of this once again!

VIDEO: Putting Together the Beet Salad
Yes, I love this salad so much that I had to record the CM making my salad! She first tosses on some of the greens that have the dressing in it already, and then she adds the goat cheese, roasted beets, and yummy walnuts. I think it's walnuts ... hehe, I think I should go back and check it out again.

Once we paid and got our utensils, we walked over to the winter section. We seem to always sit here because it's a bit more secluded than the other sections. The only people that walk through that area are leaving The Circle of Life or standing on line for Living with the Land. I don't like being watched when I'm eating, haha, so being off to the side really makes it a much more enjoyable experience. We actually sat in the little area separated from the main part of the winter section. I really liked having a good amount of space to ourselves.

This is a gorgeous picture! At this point, I think it was the third time I had it in 2012, haha. The dressing is light and a bit tart, and it's not a typical taste that I normally have from dressings in bottles. I really appreciate different flavors. Even if I have ranch dressing out at restaurants, I only like it if it's a housemade ranch. Not to say I don't love Hidden Valley, but I want to try something new. But as much as I like the dressing, it'd be nothing if it didn't have all the goodies on top. Goat cheese and beets result in the perfect combination! The beets here are so "fresh" because before having roasted beets like this, I had really only ever had canned beets. I do NOT like canned ones anymore because they have the tin taste to them. I have been spoiled by these (and the ones from Wolfgang Puck Express). The goat cheese is creamy, and it's easy to smear just a little on each bite. It's a very mild cheese because I also love the extremes of bleu cheese! The sweetness of the glazed walnuts gives a great contrast. I love putting together perfect bites with a little bit of everything. The crispy cracker thing always seems as if it's stale even though I guess that's just how it's supposed to be based on the many times I've eaten it. For some strange reason, I like having it there anyway even though it's my least favorite part of the whole dish! I guess I've gotten used to it being there!

Would I suggest that anyone try this salad? If you don't like beets or goat cheese, then no! Haha, stay far away from this. I know there are things that I read about on TRs that make me curious, but I typically wouldn't think to try them myself. Howard, for example, does not like beets or goat cheese. He does not like this salad, haha.

Howard's regular dish is the Togarashi Seared Tuna Noodle Salad ($9.99). I tasted some from him during our April trip and agreed that it was definitely yummy! It does, however, have a bit of a kick to it. Normally the tuna is sliced nicely, but it wasn't done so great here. It is sliced though even though in the video below I say that it isn't. It's tossed in a light sauce that includes sesame oil. If I didn't love beets and goat cheese so much and could handle a bit more heat, I'd definitely order this too.

As strange as the combination seems, the macaroni and cheese was a great addition to our meal. Since we were eating cold items, it was nice to have something slightly warm to feel like we were eating more and getting fuller.

VIDEO: Lunch from Sunshine Seasons
I say "goat cheese" really strangely in this video. I was just that excited!

YUM! Don't you just LOVE that moment right before you're about to devour something delicious?

It makes it even better to be enjoying food with your one and only.

We took our time and relaxed. It's also a different way to experience Disney, I think. As a kid, I used to think that eating took up too much time and would want to get done with it as soon as possible. Now I think eating is so much a part of the Disney experience that you really need to set time aside to enjoy. Howard did and was sad to only have one piece of tuna left.

Here's a shot of a perfect bite as it has a little bit of everything! By the way, the golden beets do have a different taste than the red ones. I think they are more mellow in flavor. Howard couldn't taste a difference when he originally tried it. I, on the other hand, can remember the distinctions, and it makes me crave this salad even more!

This was my last morsel of food entirely. I cut my beets with a knife so that I can assemble these bites, and this reminded me a little bit of pie with ice cream on top! So sad it's gone, but so happy I will have some again soon! I really need to try roasting my own beets!

Did you really think you'd be reading an entire installment praising a salad? No? Well, you just did. Haha, until next time!

 

[Belle83]

I'm enjoying your TR, all of your food pictures are making me hungry!

 

[marDgreen88]

So sorry to hear about your family's accident. I'm so glad nobody got seriously injured. Thank God!

Hahaha, it's nice that you have something you love so much! I was that way with my Contempo cupcake. You love what you love and you want to share it with others!

 

[jane2073]

Oh my goodness!! I am glad you all are all right!!!
I have been rear ended before and I do understand the (at times crippling) trepidation about driving again.
I will pray for your complete healing.

I hate beets!! Hate them!! Not a fan of walnuts either. But I do appreciate good, creamy goat cheese.

We always sit in the winter section. It was only during our most recent visit did I realize they were sectioned into the four seasons!