"I choose to be Amused!"-An Epic Trip to DL with a side of Oz(3/17-4 NEW POSTS pg17)

[skier_pete]

It was now coming up on 12:30 PM, we were now getting pretty hungry, and DD was starting to get hot and tired and cranky. I continued to try and “choose to be amused”, so I suggested since I wanted to grab FP for Splash Mountain that we lunch at the “Hungry Bear” down at that end of the park.
By this point, we had walked through or by every land in the park, and I have to give DL a lot of credit. While I realize it is about 50 % smaller than Magic Kingdom, they’ve managed to somehow make it “feel” larger. There is a LOT of stuff in this park to do – way more than MK, and yet it somehow doesn’t feel overcrowded with the attractions right on top of each other. (Now, it DOES feel pretty darn crowded with people.) Really impressed by that!
So, lunch at the Hungry Bear – was REALLY GOOD! I had the “Fried Green tomato Sandwich - cornmeal crusted fried green tomatoes layered with two slices of freash heirloom tomatoes, topped with havarti, romoulade, jicama mango slaw and served on a multi grain roll”

Holy crow was this a good sandwhich! I loved it! And the sweet potato fries were also great. Of course I love sweet potato fries as there is a place down by the river here in Buffalo that serves them with honey….yummm so good. DW had the “Turkey and Provolone Sandwich - With lettuce, tomato and basil mayo on a multigrain roll. served with roasted slaw”

This is the same slaw that came on my sandwhich, and it was also delicious. Both meals were very large as well. DD had a “Kid's Power pack - String cheese, nonfat yogurt, sliced apples with wholegrain Goldfish crackers” Once the lunch was done, we decided we were all in need for a break and wanted to go back to the hotel, we decided to take the DL Railroad from New Orleans Square. DD wanted a frozen Minute Maid Lemonade.
The train was a very slow way to get back to the front. It stopped twice, once in Toontown/FL, and again in Tomorrowland. What was really unexpected about this ride, was that after Tomorrowland, the ride went through this Diorama area where they had a bunch of anamatronics of the grand canyon and then Jurassic Park (OK, not really) - actually the dinosaur scenes looked very similar to what you see in “Ellen’s Energy Adventure” at Epcot. (Sorry, no pictures) A neat little surprise.
Also, on the very back of the train we were on was the “Lily Belle”, the private train car that’s named after Walt’s wife Lilian. I only noticed this because I know as part of the Backstage Magic trip we are taking next June you actually get to RIDE on that car!
Anyways, back to THIS trip. By the time we got back around to the front of the park it was about 1:30 PM, and we were ready for a rest. (In case you are not keeping track – that’s 17 rides that we have done already!) But not before getting a photopass photographer to give us a snap:

…and then another one of DD by a bench she thought was pretty cool.

Once we got back to the hotel, we took about 40 minutes to go for a swim, which felt really good, and then returned to the room for about an hour long nap.

[PrincessInOz]

Lunch looks great....and you've succeeded in making me hungry.

Lovely pictures of the family.

[Aussie Wendy]

Wow-what a lot you covered in just the am! I never knew they had embedded Disney characters in IASW-must watch out for that next time I am at DL-is it only the DL version that has done this? Laughed at Indiana Jones -our first time on it was in the parks with our daughter who had just turned 6. We didn't know about swop and ride (if they even did it then). She was just tall enough to ride and we begged her to come on with us so we could both ride - so she did. Terrified she kept her eyes shut the whole time! and at the end of the day when it was a walk straight on she came with us a second time-still eyes firmly shut hanging on like grim death. She also remembers being terrified of Matterhorn-actually terrified of nearly everything we took her on-lol! Cut to next visit when she was 20 and she couldn't wait as IJ is amongst her all time fave movies and she could remember snippets of how much like the movies this ride was. Couldn't get her on Matterhorn again -she still hates any sort of roller coaster and won't even give this mild slope a go.

[Aussie Wendy]

and even at 20 she still always needs to find something to eat just when I am packing in all the rides while its quiet..and if you don't feed her she gets whiny or feels motion sick on anything she goes on......but who else will drool in the shops with me or get excited about a great TS meal!

[skier_pete]

Originally Posted by PrincessInOz

Lunch looks great....and you've succeeded in making me hungry.

Lovely pictures of the family.

Thanks. I was even thinking when eating there..."Oh PiO could come here with here DH - this is a vegitarian choice!" I've actually never had fried green tomatoes until this sandwhich (it's really a southern US thing) but if they are always this good I would try them again.

Originally Posted by Aussie Wendy

Wow-what a lot you covered in just the am! I never knew they had embedded Disney characters in IASW-must watch out for that next time I am at DL-is it only the DL version that has done this? Laughed at Indiana Jones -our first time on it was in the parks with our daughter who had just turned 6. We didn't know about swop and ride (if they even did it then). She was just tall enough to ride and we begged her to come on with us so we could both ride - so she did. Terrified she kept her eyes shut the whole time! and at the end of the day when it was a walk straight on she came with us a second time-still eyes firmly shut hanging on like grim death. She also remembers being terrified of Matterhorn-actually terrified of nearly everything we took her on-lol! Cut to next visit when she was 20 and she couldn't wait as IJ is amongst her all time fave movies and she could remember snippets of how much like the movies this ride was. Couldn't get her on Matterhorn again -she still hates any sort of roller coaster and won't even give this mild slope a go.

Yes, only DL added the Disney characters. I hope it stays that way, not because I didn't like it, but to keep the two rides unqiue from eachother.

I think our DDs fear stems from her very first WDW trip at age 3.5. We took her on Winnie the Pooh, thinking OK...mild ride no problems. Well, the ride scared the bejeesus out of her. And since that day, any new (indoor) rides it is always a total throwdown to get her to try it. She really was doing pretty well at DL - she resisted many of the Fantasyland rides, but did them and didn't mind them too much (she didn't like Mr. Toad though). Until we got to Indiana Jones. Though she rode that voluntarily, it freaked her out so bad that I think it affected the whole rest of the trip. Too bad really.

The good thing is there are really only a few rides at WDW she won't do, and I think next trip when she's 10 we may even be able to get her on Space Mountain. Some good friends just got back from a WDW trip, and their DD (our God-daughter) whose 6 rode Space Mountain AND Expedition Everest, and when DD heard that she got very thoughtful. I am not sure she likes being outdone by a 6 year-old.

[khertz]

Too bad your DD didn't want to meet Mickey, especially with there not being a line! After walking through Mickey's house, which is usually the line, I would hate to be at the end of that thing if it reached the door. It felt like it went on forever!

Love your pics on IASW. I totally agree about Ariel. I think they incorporated the other characters in well, but Ariel felt SO out of place since she is not really from "country" but from the ocean. Maybe if they had her in her human form, although I'm not really sure what country Eric is the prince of anyway.

While I realize it is about 50 % smaller than Magic Kingdom, they’ve managed to somehow make it “feel” larger. There is a LOT of stuff in this park to do – way more than MK, and yet it somehow doesn’t feel overcrowded with the attractions right on top of each other. (Now, it DOES feel pretty darn crowded with people.)

Truth!

[skier_pete]

Originally Posted by khertz

Too bad your DD didn't want to meet Mickey, especially with there not being a line! After walking through Mickey's house, which is usually the line, I would hate to be at the end of that thing if it reached the door. It felt like it went on forever!

Love your pics on IASW. I totally agree about Ariel. I think they incorporated the other characters in well, but Ariel felt SO out of place since she is not really from "country" but from the ocean. Maybe if they had her in her human form, although I'm not really sure what country Eric is the prince of anyway.

Actually, Mickey was standing at the very front of the house, like you could see him just inside the doorway. So I assume when the lines are shorter he hangs out here, and then you walk through the house. Really the only character meet we were mad that we didn't do.

Where is Eric from? I guess I never thought about it. He's got an American accent, but a british man-servant. He's a sailor (of sorts) but also has a castle on the shoreline. He also apparently has no parents, because they don't even show up for his wedding (TWICE!). At least he gets a name, unlike many of the other princes. (Belle, Cinderella and Snow White's are all pretty nameless...though I think Snow's is Prince Charming, right?)

[khertz]

Originally Posted by skier_pete

Actually, Mickey was standing at the very front of the house, like you could see him just inside the doorway. So I assume when the lines are shorter he hangs out here, and then you walk through the house. Really the only character meet we were mad that we didn't do.

Where is Eric from? I guess I never thought about it. He's got an American accent, but a british man-servant. He's a sailor (of sorts) but also has a castle on the shoreline. He also apparently has no parents, because they don't even show up for his wedding (TWICE!). At least he gets a name, unlike many of the other princes. (Belle, Cinderella and Snow White's are all pretty nameless...though I think Snow's is Prince Charming, right?)

I found this on Wikipedia!

The Beast is voiced in all of his movie and video appearances, as well as in the Kingdom Hearts series, by Robby Benson. While his true name is never mentioned in the media franchise, it has been confirmed by the CD-ROM tie-in game The D Show that his real name is Prince Adam.

[skier_pete]

Originally Posted by khertz

I found this on Wikipedia! The Beast is voiced in all of his movie and video appearances, as well as in the Kingdom Hearts series, by Robby Benson. While his true name is never mentioned in the media franchise, it has been confirmed by the CD-ROM tie-in game The D Show that his real name is Prince Adam.

Uh...OK. I guess since I've never heard of that before, I'll go along with it for now...but wonder if is the "official" line.

You inspired me to do some research on Eric, though I could not find anything about is family or Nationality, an interesting point was made - Ariel and Eric are the only Princess/Prince to have a child in the Disney movies/DTV sequels. I guess it never occurred to me...apparently happily ever after typically means "no kids"!

[skier_pete]

DD taking naps is always a bit of an iffy prospect, she usually struggles to wake from them and is usually short-tempered for the next several hours. We couldn’t sleep too long as I had made dinner reservations for Café Orleans @ 5:30, so by 4:45 PM we were on our way back to the parks, and again hopped on the train to get to Orleans Square.
Orleans Square is the one land the is unique to DL versus WDW. (OK, Critter Country is also technically a “land”, but in reality its not much different from the Splash Mountain area of MK. Orleans Square is small, but well themed towards the streets of New Orleans.

There are not a lot of TS restaurants in DL – but two of them are in Orleans Square. The more famous is Blue Bayou, which has a reputation for having a great location (with the PotC ride) but high-priced mediocre food, and Café Orleans, which has better food and a more outdoor New Orleans atmosphere.

(One other small note here about differences between DL and MK – I remember always hearing that DL and MK were designed so each themed land was well separated from the others. While this is for the most part the case (with Liberty Square and Frontierland being the exception) at DL, the whole Adventureland/Frontierland/Orleans Square/Critter Country are all sort of in a big jumble on the west side of the park and are not particularly separated very well at all.)
Back to our meal –we got DD excited to eat here by telling her this was Tiana’s place! She was really into the Princess & the Frog on this trip (listening to the soundtrack almost every night for falling asleep). I had very much wanted to try the fried Monte Cristo sandwich, and had originally planned on the traditional ham and cheese variety, but I was unable to resist the call of “Three-Cheese Monte Cristo - Swiss, mozzarella and Double Creme Brie fried in a light batter and served with Berry Puree dusted with Powdered Sugar”

Dude, you had me at Double Crème Brie!

I wish I could say I loved this sandwich. I did really enjoy the portion with the cheese in it, especially with the berry puree. The brie was so nice and sharp. But towards the end of each wedge all you got was a big wad of fried dough – and it was a little too much “fried” for me…so while I enjoyed it, it wasn’t quite “great”. DW on the other hand had the “Seafood Herb Crepe - Pan-seared Mahi Mahi, Shrimp, and Scallops in a Creamy Tomato-Fennel Sauce”.

This by her comments was fantastic. Commenting that it was very light but still rich, contained actual vegetables. (One of her pet peeves of dining out is that you never get vegetables.) DD had the “Chicken Breast - with Pasta and Marinara sauce, served with seasonal Fresh Fruit”

But we were all looking forward to the most were these babies!

"Mickey" shaped Beignets - Topped with Powdered Sugar served with Raspberry Coulis and vanilla Bean Creme Anglaise.

And I am going to say that Disney got these suckers spot-on. The two dipping sauces went super with them. I thought they were much closer to the real thing than what they serve you at Port Orleans French Quarter. Nice job Disney.

Dinner was done and we were hoping to still squeeze in some rides and maybe make it up until the fireworks. So, first up was Pirates of the Carribean – with DD starting out to hardcore resist riding anything. We told her this was the same Pirates (which she loves) and finally convinced her that it wouldn’t be scary.

(note the Disney Dream Suite up there above the sign. It's not the Castle, but I wouldn't turn it down either!)

The line was pretty long, but also moved quickly, and we were loaded in about 20 minutes. Now, most say that this ride is “way” better than the WDW-MK version, but I am going to slightly differ from the majority. Yes, it is quite a bit longer than the MK version – but a lot of the early stuff seems to me to be kind of like filler scenes (caves, the bayou, more caves) and yes there are two drops instead of one – but I wouldn’t put this one as being way better than MK – but between the two, I would still give it to the DL version.

Next up....things go downhill...fast!

[skier_pete]

Next we tried to do Haunted Mansion, but DD refused (even though she likes the MK one). Now, I was still sitting with 4 sets of FP in my hand (Splash M., BTMRR, Space M., and Autotopia) and I said we have to at least get to some of these. She didn’t want to do Splash M, and we had to argue for a while to get her to do it (again, she first rode Splash at 4 years old, but the last few trips has resisted it even at WDW). We agreed to do Winnie the Pooh first. Again, the queue for the ride was outdoors, and there was absolutely no one in it, so we got right on the cars:



The ride was pretty similar to the WDW version – though if anything perhaps a little shorter.


I was surprised to find out it USED to be Country Bear Jamboree. I’ll take this bear over those bears any day of the week!


So, after this we got in line for Splash Mountain (the Stand-by line was showing 120 minutes – we waiting < 10) and this is where the day went all to hell. What happened? We got drenched on Splash Mountain. I mean frickin’ soaked. Not on the big drop, but on one of the little drops in the middle. I’m not sure what caused the timing, but we went down a hill, and the BIG wave washes over the one side of the boat. I am in the front, with DD second and DW third. I got soaked from my shirt down to my shoes. My pants were absolutely the worst, because they were not light. By bag which was in my lap fortunately did not get very wet, but oh gosh were we wet. Not too bad for a poorly shot redneck ride photo, though!

You can actually see in the photo how wet I am, only my right sleeve is dry, a different color from the rest of me!

So, we get off the ride and poor DD starts crying and sobbing about how much she hates the ride and how she wants to go home and she’s all wet. DW is also pissed off at me, but won’t tell me why. “Choose to be amused” is right out the window already! But really, I am in no mood to stay in the park, because it is starting to get dark, and a bit chilly, and I’m really wet. Well, DD cries as we’re walking out, but then we get to a certain point and she INSISTS we stop.


Yup, the Tiki Room. One of my all-time favorites, but honestly being so wet I really did not want to sit and watch this show (we left the seat wet behind us with no way to dry it!), but again she was crying and so we let her see stop.

So, anyone that’s been following me on the DIS awhile knows that I (a) LOVE the original Tropical Serenade in Florida – it was my all-time favorite attraction as a child – and honestly I could probably still recite most of the script from memory, (b) LOATHED the “Under New Management” version so much that for years I wished they had closed it, but eventually accepted that at least there were a few little pieces of the original, and I would go back just to see those little pieces, and (c) I was originally inspired to get to DL for the sole purpose to see The Enchanted Tiki Room original version. Well, they fixed the “Under New Management” at WDW and so that impetus went away, but I was excited to see the original. The WDW has been pared down ever so slightly (cutting out versus of “Let’s all sing like the birdies sing”) and so I enjoyed seeing the full version.

DD really liked the pre-show with all the Tiki gods in the outside area. We got there early enough to sit through the whole pre-show. Then they let us into the theatre. The first thing that surprised me was how SMALL it was…much smaller than the WDW one. (maybe half the size?) However, it mattered little to the show. It was simply a pure piece of pop culture pleasure.



You know, a lot of DISer people say when you go to Disneyland they can feel Walt’s presence as they go around the park, the fact that this was a place that he actually built and walked around in on a day-to-day basis. I can’t say I felt that at all, EXCEPT sitting there watching the Tiki Birds. Mostly because I’ve always thought of the Tiki Room as Walt’s baby, his first use of Audio Animatronics, one of the places (along with the train) where he loved to take celebrities and dignitaries. But sitting there I realized for the first time that Walt Disney never once set foot in “my” Tiki Room in Orlando. This one was “his” Tiki Room. The one that he handpicked “native” girls to open the show – they weren’t originally just any Cast Members, but actually Island girls. The birds that were inspired by that little mechanical bird he picked up in Germany. Sitting there all wet and cold it didn’t matter how uncomfortable I was, I was watching Walt Disney’s vision from 50+ years ago. A show that influenced my memories all the way back to my very first memories at 2 years old, and a show I can share with my child. That moment right there meant as much to me as any on the whole trip.

The show let out and back to reality. It was getting pretty close to dark, now probably after 8 PM. DW had decided that she would just stay back at the hotel with DD, and if I wanted to go back to see the fireworks show, then I could. In case you forgot, I still had three sets of Fastpasses sitting in my pocket as well. I actually first went over to DTD to exchange the PDA my DD had bought, which by this point wasn’t working at all. Then back to the hotel.

Stay tuned tomorrow for my night out alone!

[areweindisneyyet]

Loving it, my DD was the same on Indy but somehow but the end of the trip DH got her back on. I was just reading and nodding my head. Looking forward to more and getting your perception of Oz.

[PrincessInOz]

I'm not sure what it is about Splash but for some reason I never think that I'll get wet on that ride and am always surprised when I come out soaked. Sorry that the day went all to hell.

Looking forward to the rest of your day!

ps. I love eating at Cafe Orleans. We normally have the soup and salad combo. I might be tempted to try the crepe next time.

[Aussie Wendy]

Have to admit I was never a big fan of the Tiki room original but your account has inspired me to give it a go again next time and reflect on where I am and what I am seeing while there. Bummer about getting wet on Splash. I was relieved I didn't mid winter in WDW. New Orleans square is one of my all-time favourite spots in DL The 3 cheese Monte Christo has me shuddering every time I read someone eats it-so fatty and sickly-sounding..but that crepe looked mighty good as did the beignets. When is it dinner time??

[skier_pete]

Originally Posted by areweindisneyyet

Loving it, my DD was the same on Indy but somehow but the end of the trip DH got her back on. I was just reading and nodding my head. Looking forward to more and getting your perception of Oz.

I will eventually get to the Australian part - but this IS a Disney web-site, so I'm going into a lot more detail there! Suffice it to say we had a great time in Australia, and especially the people were just as friendly as I expected them to be!

Originally Posted by PrincessInOz

I'm not sure what it is about Splash but for some reason I never think that I'll get wet on that ride and am always surprised when I come out soaked. Sorry that the day went all to hell.

Looking forward to the rest of your day!

ps. I love eating at Cafe Orleans. We normally have the soup and salad combo. I might be tempted to try the crepe next time.

I always think on Splash - oh I'll get a little sprayed - which actually would have been fine. I normally try to do these water rides right before we are planning to go back to the room anyways.

I would (and probalby will) eat at Cafe Orleans again, but probably not get the Monte Cristo. I might try the crepes myself!

Originally Posted by Aussie Wendy

Have to admit I was never a big fan of the Tiki room original but your account has inspired me to give it a go again next time and reflect on where I am and what I am seeing while there. Bummer about getting wet on Splash. I was relieved I didn't mid winter in WDW. New Orleans square is one of my all-time favourite spots in DL The 3 cheese Monte Christo has me shuddering every time I read someone eats it-so fatty and sickly-sounding..but that crepe looked mighty good as did the beignets. When is it dinner time??

The Tiki room holds a special place in my memory...I was obsessed with it as a kid. I had the LP record which had the entire soundtrack. (Still have it, actually!) Most of my visits to WDW in childhood were when I was pretty young (< 10 years old) so I don't have a lot of strong memories - and sadly ZERO pictures - but this is one of them that is so strong to me. I can get why this attraction seems insigificant to most, but not to me.

I noticed that at both WDW and DL lately they have the water cannons toned way down on Splash - making it much less soaking than it used to be. This was I think just a freak timing wave, we actually hardly got wet at all from the big drop.

The 3-cheese Monte Cristo SOUNDS good, LOOKS awful, and is actually somewhere in between. I really enjoy a traditional Monte Cristo occasionally (not normally deep fried, but usually a "French Toast" style egg-dipped and grilled breads with ham, turkey and cheese), While I really enjoyed the taste of the cheese, the "fried" was too much for parts of it. I left a lot of the corners on the plate. It is unlikely I would eat it again.