Flying 2 days for 3 days at WDW is a SNAP! Final Thoughts 01/02

[stephielela]

I had the butterfinger cupcake on our trip and it was very good, but very hard to eat. On our next trip I am going to try the peanut butter one!

[shushh]

Princess, would love to meet up for lunch. However, I am not sure what time I will get to Santa Monica. I've heard reports of the port of LA being horrendous with regards to customs and immigration. I would hate to make plans and then have me be late! I don't want you to go out of your way just to end up having to wait for us.

[PrincessInOz]

Originally Posted by stephielela

I had the butterfinger cupcake on our trip and it was very good, but very hard to eat. On our next trip I am going to try the peanut butter one!

YUM! I hope you'll take a picture and post it on your TR!

Originally Posted by shushh

Princess, would love to meet up for lunch. However, I am not sure what time I will get to Santa Monica. I've heard reports of the port of LA being horrendous with regards to customs and immigration. I would hate to make plans and then have me be late! I don't want you to go out of your way just to end up having to wait for us.

Let's play it by ear. We're not sure what we are doing on the Friday. I'll PM you my US cell phone number. If not, we can try for another DisMeet either in Sydney or Melbourne....
Although; it might be any easier to coordinate

[PrincessInOz]

Lucky for me, Firefly had chosen to eat at one of those places that I had wanted to try for quite a while. So, it wasn't any hardship on my part to accept the invitation to lunch and forego a visit to Animal Kingdom.

As always, dining establishments have their fair share of positives and negatives at WDW and this one was no exception. But there was one indisputable fact about this place – the ambience was fantastic; especially if you are a geek like me!

Yes, Firefly had chosen to eat at SciFi Diner.





This is one place where you definitely cannot get an ADR for one as both Front and Back seats are for a minimum of 2 people! So, we had no qualms about checking in as a party of 2.

We waited all of 5 minutes before a CM rolled on by to show us to our parking spot.





We really had to get our skates on to keep up with him; but we managed to catch up with him….eventually.
This was the view from our car.




And food is served and eaten from the ‘dashboard’.





Mini Pooh and mini Eeyore found a spot to park.





They were also tired and collapsed in a heap.





SciFi Diner has a big movie screen to the front of the room. They screen the previews of all the old B-grade science fiction movies from the Black and White age of Hollywood. Just perfect for a geek like me. For the record, I love the Classic SciFi movies – they are so bad that they’re good. After all, who can resist watching The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Attack of the 50-Foot Woman, The Giant Gila Monster, The Mysterious Mr Wong, The Crawling Hand and various incarnations of Flash Gordon.





Turns out that we were not the only geeky people in the diner. All the diners were glued to the screen.








The kitchen is located at the back of the room away from the big screen.





Tony, our server, came to take our order. I was relieved to see that he was walking and not on roller blades. I was in no mood to eat off the floor today or for any food accidentally being tipped on me.

Our drinks got delivered first. I decided on pink pomegranate lemonade.





Firefly got the Strawberry MilkShake.





Mini Pooh and mini Eeyore were just relieved to be able to cool down.





And then our meals arrived.

We both ordered the Hamburger. Firefly had hers straight up with fries.





I decided on the mushrooms and swiss cheese options; and the cucumber salad as my side.





For anyone that has read my May TR, you would know that (surprisingly) I did not enjoy any of the 3 burgers that I had ordered during that vacation. The reason was simple – the various 3 kitchens could not cook a burger medium rare, even when ordered rare! All 3 burgers in May were too overcooked for my tastes.

Imagine my surprise when I bit into this burger. I had ordered it medium rare and it WAS medium rare! YUM!
Finally found a cook who understands that the best way to cook a burger is to cook it the way the customer orders it!
To cap it all off, that cucumber salad was just delicious. Thin slices of cucumber marinated in vinegar, salt, pepper and a little bit of sugar. I have since come home to replicate that salad and I add thinly sliced ginger to the mix. It is just delicious and a perfect accompaniment to any meal. Even DS loves it.

Firefly was on the Dining Plan; so she finished up with this super sundae!





Tony, our server, checked on us a number of times during the course of the meal. He had just the right touch – always friendly, never pushy and managed to anticipate our needs just a little bit after we had worked out what we wanted.

It must have been our lucky day that day because when he brought us the bill, he also gave us this gift.





I know mini Pooh and mini Eeyore were very happy with the present; but no more so that Firefly and I. It was a lovely way to walk out of the Diner.

And the caramel popcorn was delicious!





Up Next: Ticking a few attractions off my 'NOT' list

[DisneyFirefly]

I think Sci Fi is my favorite restaurant, to be honest. I love the ambience But I couldn't finish that sundae I was way too full I ended up dumping the caramel corn and will be sending the cup to my niece. Did you know it glows in the dark? I found that out about a week after I got home, since it was sitting on my desk and I turned my light off and it was glowing

[franandaj]

Fran and I ate there back in 1997, I don't think she could get into the cars any more, but we had a really great time...I'm glad we did it back then, maybe in the future, but we'll see...

[DisneyFirefly]

Originally Posted by franandaj

Fran and I ate there back in 1997, I don't think she could get into the cars any more, but we had a really great time...I'm glad we did it back then, maybe in the future, but we'll see...

They also have picnic tables in the back and some HA seating I've seen pictures of those tables on another site, but I forget which one. I think it was AllEars.

[skier_pete]

Love the Sci-Fi! I only wish the "loop" they show was a little longer, every time we go, we end up seeing much of it twice. WE don't go every time because DD7 doesn't like the "scary" movie trailers. Can't say I blame her, because I hated that stuff at that age. I'd probably go there every trip if I could, especially since it's the only food worth eating at DHS! Can't walk out without ordering a Oreo Cookie Shake....yum!

Also, its possible you have a hard time finding a medium rare burger in the states because a lot of restaurants are discouraged from allowing burgers to be cooked rare or medium rare. In fact, some restaurants will NOT give you a burger less than medium. It's a health thing - actually it's a lawyer thing - the ground beef is supposed to be cooked to X degrees before it can be considered to have all the bacteria killed...and with worries of law-suits many restaurants just won't risk it. It's possible many Disney restaurants are under orders that "even if the burger is ordered rare - cook it to medium".

[manntra]

Sci-Fi is such a fun restaurant......I love the BLT soup with a real cherry coke Mmmm mmmm!!
In 2009 I took one of my nieces in January....we ate at Sci-Fi....then I took another niece (her younger sister) and we also ate at Sci-Fi....in the same EXACT car and in the same EXACT row!!! What are the odds of that?!! I was sitting there thinking...wow this all looks familiar from this area...so I got out my camera and still had the images from January on there and it really was the same!!
I will try and find a recipe of my mothers for cucumber salad....I really like it even though it has onions in it....they are needed for the flavor I guess She makes it often in the summer because I tend to grow more cucumbers than I can eat

Tracy

[PrincessInOz]

Originally Posted by DisneyFirefly

I think Sci Fi is my favorite restaurant, to be honest. I love the ambience But I couldn't finish that sundae I was way too full I ended up dumping the caramel corn and will be sending the cup to my niece. Did you know it glows in the dark? I found that out about a week after I got home, since it was sitting on my desk and I turned my light off and it was glowing

I did not know that the cup was glow in the dark. I'm going to have to check this out tonight!!

Originally Posted by franandaj

Fran and I ate there back in 1997, I don't think she could get into the cars any more, but we had a really great time...I'm glad we did it back then, maybe in the future, but we'll see...

Maybe, you'll have to go BACK TO THE FUTURE!

Originally Posted by DisneyFirefly

They also have picnic tables in the back and some HA seating I've seen pictures of those tables on another site, but I forget which one. I think it was AllEars.

Yup. Most definitely...back to the future.

Originally Posted by skier_pete

Love the Sci-Fi! I only wish the "loop" they show was a little longer, every time we go, we end up seeing much of it twice. WE don't go every time because DD7 doesn't like the "scary" movie trailers. Can't say I blame her, because I hated that stuff at that age. I'd probably go there every trip if I could, especially since it's the only food worth eating at DHS! Can't walk out without ordering a Oreo Cookie Shake....yum!

Also, its possible you have a hard time finding a medium rare burger in the states because a lot of restaurants are discouraged from allowing burgers to be cooked rare or medium rare. In fact, some restaurants will NOT give you a burger less than medium. It's a health thing - actually it's a lawyer thing - the ground beef is supposed to be cooked to X degrees before it can be considered to have all the bacteria killed...and with worries of law-suits many restaurants just won't risk it. It's possible many Disney restaurants are under orders that "even if the burger is ordered rare - cook it to medium".

I wished the 'loop' was also longer. There is so much material on the internet to choose from these days that it is possible to almost loop for 2 hours and not see the same clips in the one dining session.

I did not know that litigation had to this degree of food rareness in the US. The burgers I ordered in May were not all at a Disney restaurant. I think I had one at a CS in DHS (completely charcoal but cold!! Wonder how the lawyers deal with that one) and a couple in California.

Originally Posted by manntra

Sci-Fi is such a fun restaurant......I love the BLT soup with a real cherry coke Mmmm mmmm!!
In 2009 I took one of my nieces in January....we ate at Sci-Fi....then I took another niece (her younger sister) and we also ate at Sci-Fi....in the same EXACT car and in the same EXACT row!!! What are the odds of that?!! I was sitting there thinking...wow this all looks familiar from this area...so I got out my camera and still had the images from January on there and it really was the same!!
I will try and find a recipe of my mothers for cucumber salad....I really like it even though it has onions in it....they are needed for the flavor I guess She makes it often in the summer because I tend to grow more cucumbers than I can eat

Tracy

If you find that recipe, can I have it?

OMG - Exact car position!! What are the odds? Thanks for warming the seat up for us.

[PrincessInOz]

The Plan

..I realised that there are some rides at WDW that I have NOT been on. In my life, I have spent a grand total of 20 days at WDW so far; and sad to say, I have NOT managed to complete the grand sweep of riding or seeing all attractions! So, here is my revisited....

Rides at WDW that I have NOT been on (yet)


Animal Kingdom
Maharajah Jungle Trek
TriceraTop Spin

Magic Kingdom
Magic Carpets of Aladdin
Country Bear Jamboree
Halls of President
Many adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Epcot
Ellen's Energy Adventure
The Seas with Nemo and Friends (*This was the Living Seas in 2005, Turtle Talk had been opened and we did NOT go back to see this in May!)
Reflections of China
American Adventure
O Canada

Hollywood Studios
Sounds Dangerous
Great Movie Ride (I can NOT believe this one either!)
Journey into Narnia
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Magic of Disney Animation


I am hoping to be able to remove some of the above attractions from this NOT done list!


The reality

After lunch, we figured it was time to use those fastpasses for TSM and went back to see what sort of score we could achieve this time. I’m glad that I managed to snap my photos earlier in the day…the fastpass line headed straight up the stairs and we were on the ride within 10 minutes.

Yes – I got whooped again by Firefly. But I came close to breaking the 100K mark! Thanks to Firefly, I had learnt some tricks on how to score on this game….maybe next time!


I knew that I needed to head back to pack; but there were a number of attractions that I had yet to get on at DHS. I was keen to try and mark a few more off my list; having already marked off a couple at MK and at Epcot.

On the way out, we peeked in to the Great Movie Ride and as the queue wasn’t bad, we decided to go for a ride.





It was nice to see a couple of my favourite movies being featured. I am a big fan of musicals (I've already claimed to be a geek) and Gene Kelly is on my top 10 list of best dancers!





And who can resist Mary Poppins and Bert on the chimney tops!





He might no longer be the mayor of Carmel; but he’s still a ruggedly good looking hunk.





And there’s always the man that helps me remember how to spell Indiana correctly!





Yet another classic scene from a classic movie. Play it Once, Sam. For old times sake.





And then we moved on to OZ!!!





Love those ruby red shoes.





My Oz sure doesn’t look like this.





But I did wonder if there was any resemblance to some of my old high school classmates….








Yes, time to hit that Yellow Brick Road!





Up Next: A mermaid and back to pack

[franandaj]

Originally Posted by PrincessInOz

I did not know that litigation had to this degree of food rareness in the US. The burgers I ordered in May were not all at a Disney restaurant. I think I had one at a CS in DHS (completely charcoal but cold!! Wonder how the lawyers deal with that one) and a couple in California.

I think that it is mandated in the US that all ground meat has to be cooked medium It has something to do with the whole e-coli thing, but they won't let burger places server medium rare or rare. I am amazed that places even ask (this is rare). Ha! I didnt realize the pun here!

[PrincessInOz]

Originally Posted by franandaj

I think that it is mandated in the US that all ground meat has to be cooked medium It has something to do with the whole e-coli thing, but they won't let burger places server medium rare or rare. I am amazed that places even ask (this is rare). Ha! I didnt realize the pun here!

"Well Done!"

[PrincessInOz]

I knew that I needed to head back to the resort to start packing; but couldn’t resist the opportunity to check out the Voyage of the Little Mermaid.

Back in 2005, this attraction was very popular and was strictly fastpass entry only. I managed to get fastpasses for an after 5 pm showing. Unfortunately, DS, who was then 5, decided to have a meltdown in the early afternoon. So, we had to depart the park and I missed out on seeing this show.

In May 2010, I was determined to catch it – but I was sick and left the park early because of a splitting headache.

So, Firefly graciously waited with me so that we could catch the show.





I’m glad that I can finally check this attraction off the list. And I’m also glad that DS wasn’t with me … he really doesn’t like princesses or anything remotely girlie!





I guess having a tail makes it difficult to sing AND dance around the stage; so the projects on the screen provides some colour and motion for the audience.








I haven’t seen this movie in a while; but you can definitely tell the vintage of this movie from the hairstyle of the Prince. The Prince in Tangled definitely won't be sporting a hairstyle this short!





Ursula makes a great Villian. She just seems to have her fingers…or tentacles….everywhere!





I thought that the contract-signing scene was rather well done. I love the way that the paper just seems to float to the right spot with the ‘cloud’.





And I wish that Sebastian featured more in the DHS condensed version.








The Happy Ever After ending!








It was now after 2 pm and, despite wishing that I could stay longer, I knew it was time to head out as I really had to pack. So, Firefly and I parted company and agreed to meet up for our second ADR dinner – she headed towards ToT and RnRC with fast passes in hand and I headed out the door.

I meandered down Hollywood Boulevard taking in the view.







And got to the bus stop. I didn’t have long to wait – the resort bus practically pitched up within 5 minutes.




I headed back to the resort and packed as best I could. Really, for some reason, my heart is never in packing up to go home – especially when I’m packing from anywhere within Disney.

I managed to get all my items packed and most of DH’s. I pretty much organized my clothes for the next day as we were traveling to San Francisco. All that was left was to pack away the toiletries and the clothes I was wearing today; but that was a tomorrow task.

So, with that chore done, I headed back to a bus stop to get back the Magic Kingdom.


Up Next: Day 3, Part 4 Conclusion

[PrincessInOz]

No matter how tired you think you are or how late a night you’ve had, it’s never too early to wake up to make Rope Drop at the World.


If you make Rope Drop at DHS, chances are, you’ll get to ride TSM twice (I still suck at this game!).


There is no dignified way to eat Butterfinger CupCakes from Starring Roles.


The Chefs at Sci Fi Diner really know how to cook a burger – exactly how the customer orders it! Tony, our Sci Fi server on the day, was OUT OF THIS WORLD!


I’m glad I’ve ticked off a couple more NOT rides from my DHS list.


Up Next – Day 3, Part 5 Back to the Magical Realm