YES, touring Cinderella’s Dream Suite was Amazing!+14 Other Magical Days* Dismeet & Wrap

Sunday August 25, 2013: Day 10, Part 1

This was day 10 of 15 so you would think that those late nights would lend themselves to sleeping in at this point. Nope! My internal alarm clock went off before 7am. However, the advantage to waking up at 6:53am meant that I could watch the sunrise from the balcony. And a beautiful one it was. I think by now anyone reading my TRs know that my mornings usually start off with some time on the balcony and a sunrise.

Considering this was our first morning at Bay Lake Tower, it was a nice start to our stay to be able to view the quiet of the morning and the sun rising.

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We had an early breakfast ADR at 8:15am. We were up and on the monorail by 8am. Our destination, Grand Floridian Café.

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Apparently no one decided to join us in our train car. I love empty monorail cars since it is usually an excuse for me to act a little sillier than normal. I may have busted out singing 'It's a great big beautiful tomorrow...'
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Grand Flo in her morning glory!
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Since this is segueing into a dining review you can click here to see photos with our favorite GFC server and what new and less than exciting breakfast item Em ordered when she wished she would have stuck with an old favorite like me.

We were headed to Epcot for the day so we took the monorail to the TTC where we transferred to the Epcot-o-rail.

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How often do you see a boat sailing over the road? I am fascinated with the man-made part of the lake and how they have the bridge for the boats to go over the roadway.
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MBs worked. All's well!
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We posed with our Disney princess tees in front of Earth.

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We headed to the fast and exciting rides to the left. Securing FPs for Mission Space, which was a 30 minute stand-by wait, we then went to Ellen’s Universe of Energy.

A relic of days gone by. You're not going to see these any longer at WDW
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We made it through the pre-show and saw that Judy was still a know it all, Einstein was still mute, and Ellen still had no clue how energy was formed in the universe. We entered the auditorium and followed everyone in front of us making a left turn right back out the doors. What? The ride had just gone down. Darn!

We were watching this.....
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And next thing you know we were headed here....
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We still had FP for Mission Space so that worked out ok. I was the Engineer and clearly had been trained well enough to put us into hyper sleep and extended the wings on cue. Who needs years of astronaut training when you have Gary Sinise telling you how to do it? And speaking of being the Engineer....I think I've been assigned the engineer position more than any other job. When can I be the commander??

Does anyone else randomly press different buttons and flip the switches during the mission? I make it a point to say 'firing torpedoes now! ' at least once during the mission. When Gary implores us to use the manual controls and shift left or right to navigate our out of control space ship for a successful landing I go the opposite. It's the rebel in me for sure!

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My control station.
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Em was Ms. Commander
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Not sure I understood all the schematics. I must have missed that part of the instructions.
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The spinny thingy
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Someone please tell me what freeze-dried ice-cream tastes like. I just can't imagine. I should try it next time so I can report back.

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Another curious food item that I may have to explore.
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We decided to then go to WS and check out the Gran Fiesta Tour or better known as the small world of Mexico.

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That was followed by a casual stroll over to Canada. We arrived early but those Canadians are so nice that they seated us nearly an hour early for our ADR. You can read my dining review here and see the hilarious but embarrassing moment when Em tumbled out of her chair because I was telling her to move out of the way of my photo. Mother of the year step forward! Not so fast Brenda! Em is still talking to me so I believe all is forgiven.

Continued next post....
 
I can't believe that was your first time to Stormalong Bay! I've heard such awesome things about that resorts pool! Thats probably as close as I will ever be to a hotel gym lol.

I've not dined at Sci-Fi.. I guess I love Fried Chicken more than corny film clips and so so burgers!

Thank goodness you missed that rain! It looks like it did in DL a few weeks ago!!

Your room at BLT looks really nice!

I've never dined at CRT.. Someday... maybe...

I have no good excuse for waiting so long to swim in SAB. It was a nice way to enjoy some time away from the parks.

I think you are probably making a better choice with 50's. At least the last time we ate there in December we entertained our server more than he did our group.

Other than the downpour that started once we got on the tram we were lucky that we missed most of the morning rain a few weeks back. I thought the park would be more deserted but we weren't that lucky. :)

I know CRT is not an option in April/May! ;) Although the guys would have a lot of fun with their swords and the wishing star ceremony.
 
Awwww that is so sweet that you gave some of your bling away. I'll bet those little princesses were thrilled pixiedust:

I love sunrises even more than sunsets. I've pulled my car over on my way into work more than once to try to get a good picture!

"The spinny thing" would be reason #1 that I have never even considered riding Mission: Space. I've had freeze-dried ice cream before. It tastes pretty good with a consistency that I would describe as being sort of like a much larger Lucky Charm marshmallow.
 
I love your pictures of the MSEP from the castle. What a great way to view the parade! I would love to be able to walk through MK when it is as empty it was that night, but I just can't stay up that late anymore. Does the three hour time difference help?

I've been following your other posts and enjoying all your different restaurant reports. We are leaving for the BC this Wednesday and the number one restaurant food I am most looking forward to is the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake at LTT. :lovestruc

Have you ever taken the bus to Downtown Disney from the BC/YC? We are planning to check out DTD for the first time in about 15 years and we worried about the bus ride.
 


I love your pictures of the parade. Very neat perspective!

I also love the empty breezeway picture. Wow! An empty breezeway is definitely an anomaly. Glad you were able to capture it because it looks so cool!

Empty Main Street looks really cool!

You guys were up bright and early the next morning. Beautiful view from your room. And cute T's.
 
I understand where you're coming from in terms of the difficulty in finding that "perfect family." Alex and I used to give away at least one set of FPs a day, and it always turned into a scavenger hunt through the park to find people meeting our criteria. You'd think with as many people that are in the parks that the job would be easier. It's as if Disney went, "They're looking for 2 little girls...everyone, scatter!":rotfl:



Oh, that sunrise from the balcony looks and sounds divine! Can't start off your day much better than that.
 
Really neat view of MSEP ... especially the first one with the partners statue with the light floats behind it ...

... and then the less "classic" view in the next pic of someone's iPad capturing the parade :rotfl:

That was super nice of you to find the family with 2 little girls to give the wands too ... I am sure that is something they will remember for a long time!

Freeze Dried Ice Cream is pretty good ... it's kinda like dippin' dots except not cold and starts off feeling a bit, well, dry as the moisture in your mouth is used to turn it into a more creamy substance. Kinda hard to describe but definitely worth a try
 


I think it is great you made two little girls nights by giving them you wands and wishing stars. The castle pictures were great.

I love sunrises at Disney World. It is fun at BLT to also watch the birds on the island in the middle of Bay Lake.:goodvibes
 
I often say that there is just something so beautiful about Disney morning sunrises. The calmness...the wonderful scent of morning...I just love it. It's my absolute favorite part of my Disney vacation. ::yes::
 
awwww, I love it when people spread the magic around!!! that was a very sweet good deed. I'm sure you made their night......

while reading this my 4 yo was on my lap saying...."I WANT THAT!!!!" Soooooo, can you get those wands somewhere in the park or only at CRT? Maybe she will forget about it by September....;)
 
Whoa! I HAVE SOMEHOW MISSED SO MUCH!! I AM SORRY!!

That room is gorgeous!!! I have been spoiled once now by renting dvc points at OKW and absolutely loved it and seriously never want to go back to anything else! THE AMOUNT OF SPACE!!! Hence why we’re probably doing it again in Sept, there’s going to be 5 of us, 4 girls, 3 halloween parties with different costumes….we’re gonna need the space!! Lol.

I spy hidden mickey’s in the coasters!! Ah the walkway from the contemp, I have made good friends with it these past few trips! So lovely! Darn msep getting in the way of your timing! AH! It’s so weird to see fairytale hall not open!!

Ahahaha, I have actually seen pictures of Merida being pulled into CRT. Man, your table is PERFECT!! I’ve never lucked out with seating at crt during wishes! AH! You lucked out with some of your princesses!! We’ve met the friend of Aurora (actually at CRT the day Steven & I met you lol_) and she’s lovely! And I happen to be friends with that friend of Snow’s! Lol. #smallworld

You know, some of this review is sounding SO familiar that I swear I’ve read it, but I don’t think I have…this is just weird…lol

WHY

THAT PICTURE

THE PARTNERS STATUE AND MSEP

…pardon me while I go cry now…

Awe! So glad you could give away your swag, and I definitely know about how its awkward to find the right family, gifting old fp’s was just as difficult

LOVE all the morning shots! I’m usually the one up first on vacation, but usually not that early lol! Not to mention I usually don’t have such a stunning view!

Okay, that smoked salmon sounds great, I would like it for breakfast now please! It’s so empty in there!!! I do really want to try breakfast there one day! It’ll happen soon, lol. I also love how you guys know so many servers all over the place, I find that really helps an experience!

UGH CLASSIC FAST PASS!! I just got a new phone case that’s a ToT fast pass and I was all “man, the day is going to come when some kid is all “what the heck is that”” AND I WILL BE SO SAD!

I have never been on mission space, and don’t plan on it, so props to you for doing it! Also I had no idea those snacks were in there! Those are super neat!

Us Canadians are pretty nice! THEY CHANGED THE SIZE OF THE FILET?!?! IT ALL MAKES SO MUCH SENSE NOW!!! Bahahahah

YOU CAN REQUEST JUST PRETZEL BREAD!?! EFFFFFF

Also yes, the service has always been stellar at Le Cellier! Lol, we’re a pretty nice bunch! Also I’m highly considering taking a job down in the Canada pavilion to just get my butt down there permanently for a bit lol!

The flash thing is a serious problem at Le Cellier, I never want to be “that person” and then pictures just don’t turn out! Aahaha oh man, the falling story is pretty funny, although embarrassing, but something I would probably do as a Mom.

The things I would do for that soup right now…

Lol, glad you enjoyed lunch even without the filet!
 
WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW is all I can say about the MSEP photos. What a unique vantage point. OMG!!!!

Oh Brenda, I love that you passed along your CRT swag. Those little ones must have been over the moon. I want to do more stuff like that.

I would imagine you would appreciate the calmness of the morning even more by day 10.

I never knew you could see the Epcot resort area (at least the Swolphin) from way back there.

RIP Fastpass. You will be missed. I'm so glad I have a few unused ones in my possession even more now.

Of course I HAVE to comment on the Le Cellier DR because of course, you had me at friendly Canadians. But truth be told, I just cannot justify (for me) to dine anywhere that charges $44 for a meal. :eek:

Ahh Moosehead Beer. Or as we locals call it, "beer", since it's brewed right here. :banana:

I have to admit, the Em in the chair story did make me giggle. :blush:
 
Great updates and dining reviews. We got to eat at Le Cellier right before they did away with the old lunch menu and the smaller Filet was a great meal. I am not a big fan of the new trend of doing combined lunch and dinner menus. I like the days when you could make lunch reservations and eat a meal that was just as good of quality, but a little smaller and cheaper than the dinner portion.

Looks like you all are having a great day!
 
Brenda, Thanks for the kind words on new grandson. I can't remember what I was going to comment on. Between having so much to read then kept stopping to get things done around house. My head is so scatter brain. I do know as I was reading your Le Cellier review I looked up the menu. Every time I look at the menu every thing seems changed. We were there back in 08. It was Chris's favorite place. They got rid of the dish he had and he no longer cares to go back. Then Anthony went during his disneymoon back in 12 and wishes he would have went somewhere else. This is all fine with me it takes one place of the list of places to eat. I don't see your salad or the pasta that Em got on the menu right now. Maybe it changes due to what foods are in season.
As for resort hopping, for Chirs it is a big can't do. I don't understand since he lives out of his suitcase.
Sorry for the ramble. Just letting you know I am still around.
 
Enjoyed the updates and was reading ahead on the dining reviews.:blush:
I loved MSEP as a kid. When I returned to WDW in 1996 and again in 2004, I was disappointed to see Spectromagic in its' place. Imagine my excitement when, in 2005, MSEP appeared to me again at California Adventure! :cool1: I was happy to see it return to WDW when CA was undergoing the big remodel for World of Color.

Ahhhh, watching the sunrise in WDW off the balcony of your room! :lovestruc :cloud9:

Nothing better than watching the World come to life.

So you headed off to Epcot and Mission "Sick and Dizzy" for the day while my group went to the Magic Kingdom. No need to check these photos today. :goodvibes ;)

I love the Mexican Pavilion. Shopping in there is always so interesting.
 
Haha, that pic the security CM took is hysterical! I am not a great photographer, but I don't even think I'd try that lol.
Wow, FP really are relics! I think I threw away the last few I had saved for scrapbooks that never happened. Now I wish I had a few for history's sake!
 
Saturday August 24, 2013: Day 9, Part 5

Following dinner, MSEP was reprising its performance so we stopped to watch from the top of the castle platform area overlooking the hub.

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Hey, you! Tall guy with the cute kid wearing mouse ears. Down in front!

Wait.

Never mind!

GREAT MSEP pictures! :goodvibes


Apparently no one decided to join us in our train car. I love empty monorail cars since it is usually an excuse for me to act a little sillier than normal. I may have busted out singing 'It's a great big beautiful tomorrow...'

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Where's the video?



Does anyone else randomly press different buttons and flip the switches during the mission? I make it a point to say 'firing torpedoes now! ' at least once during the mission. When Gary implores us to use the manual controls and shift left or right to navigate our out of control space ship for a successful landing I go the opposite. It's the rebel in me for sure!


One of our favorite memories of Mission:Space from 2008. Ben pressed the wrong button, we ended up at the edge of a cliff and Ben exclaimed "My bad!"




We decided to then go to WS and check out the Gran Fiesta Tour or better known as the small world of Mexico.


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That is a phenomenal picture!

:worship:


I understand where you're coming from in terms of the difficulty in finding that "perfect family." Alex and I used to give away at least one set of FPs a day, and it always turned into a scavenger hunt through the park to find people meeting our criteria. You'd think with as many people that are in the parks that the job would be easier. It's as if Disney went, "They're looking for 2 little girls...everyone, scatter!":rotfl:

We have the same problem when we try to give away FP- you try to find the perfect group and either the families are not the size we thought because someone is missing, or they don't speak English/understand what we are offering or they think we are trying to scam them because who would do something nice like that?
 
So happy that you were able to spread some magic to those two little girls. You and Em sure do have the Disney spirit.
 
Dining Reviews-

Grand Floridian Cafe

Does Robert have a set schedule at the GF? Do you confirm before your trips that he will be working?

That vanilla French toast looks amazing!

Have either of you tried the citrus pancakes? They sound yummy, too!

Le Cellier

We have not been back since Le Cellier became a signature dining experience. That is funny that there is nary a spot of beef on your table at a steak place!

I tried to make the Cheddar Cheese Soup at home once, but I ended up being the only one in my family who would eat it. It was OK, but like you suspect, you just can't duplicate the creamy bowl of goodness served at Le Cellier. Plus, I didn't have any Moosehead Beer, so the final result was obviously not going to be acceptable.


Thanks for posting the dessert choices. Coconut Three Ways??? Are you freaking kidding me? I am Coo-Coo for Coconuts. I would so totally have to order this, even though one of the choices is coconut gelee.

Too funny about Emily falling out of her chair (sorry, Em) :( But whatever you have to do to get a good photo!

PS- it appears I will be runner up at this year's Mother of the Year Celebration as well.
 
That viewing location of MSEP was fantastic! You got some fantastic shots! Were there other people up there too?

I L-O-V-E an empty monorail car for many reasons... I will often break into a little song too AND no one cares if you take a million photos!

I cannot ride Mission Space... even the tame version!
 

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