1st time F&W, MNSSHP, Africa Trek & no kids! (Updated 5/11/14)

A quick trip to Tomorrowland to ride Buzz Lightyear



Hey…I take fighting evil serious!!!


It’s getting time for us to leave. We need to make it back to EPCOT to meet someone. Back on Main Street...





Notice the fireworks in the background? Last week this resulted in a small fire on the roof of Journey of the Little Mermaid. Nobody was hurt but it did shut the ride down for a while.

As I said earlier, we had to get to EPCOT to meet my favorite princess. A certain twin of hers had let me know what time she was appearing that day. Anyone wish to guess who it might be?
 
Your trip report is making me laugh. The response to the photographer was priceless, I can imagine the look on the person's face. The picture on Splash is perfect, Id frame that and put it on the wall..
I have to admit Im not a fan of Columbia House in MK. Ive eaten there a couple of times and its never been good. Some days it was downright horrible. I avoid it now, especially since my kiddos have gotten old enough to voice their opinions and will tell me what they want to eat.
 
Your trip report is making me laugh. The response to the photographer was priceless, I can imagine the look on the person's face. The picture on Splash is perfect, Id frame that and put it on the wall..
I have to admit Im not a fan of Columbia House in MK. Ive eaten there a couple of times and its never been good. Some days it was downright horrible. I avoid it now, especially since my kiddos have gotten old enough to voice their opinions and will tell me what they want to eat.

Thanks so much for the kind words. I'm glad you are enjoying the TR so far. We have never tried Columbia House and that is why we were considering it that day. Glad we didn't now!
 
I actually logged into Trip Reports rather than clicking on e-mail links and I see this TR! I have been missing out! So...I am subbing and will be back to catch-up! :goodvibes
 


I actually logged into Trip Reports rather than clicking on e-mail links and I see this TR! I have been missing out! So...I am subbing and will be back to catch-up! :goodvibes

Yea Tinks!! I wondered where you were. Glad you found this TR. I think it's time for a Mississippi DIS-meet! :cool1:
 
Back to the TR...where were we...oh yeah, we left MK and made a quick trip to the room to freshen up and we walked over to EPCOT. We went to the area where my favorite Princess was to appear and we were too late. As we were walking up, the CM told us that no more visitors would be accepted for this set. Okay, we can find something to do until the next time. It was our first time at F&W so why not try something at



Spicy hand roll and a Green Tea Colada





The sushi roll was one of the best kiosk offerings we had all week and the green tea colada was very refreshing.

We hoped the Candy Lady would be performing but alas no. The rumor is that she is leaving soon with no plans to return. I wonder if Japan will try to replace her?

As we were walking thru Italy, we saw the Ziti Sisters performing.





Any volunteers?



We have one and she was enjoying herself








Any male volunteers? Don’t look at me!



Here are the male guinea pigs....er....volunteers





I’m glad we stopped because it was recently announced that the Ziti Sisters will soon disappear from Italy. Another reason to go to WDW more often so you don't miss something between trips!

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A quick check at my watch and it’s almost time to make it back to the Princess greet. I don’t want to be late this time. Can anyone guess who it will be? As were waiting in line, there was a couple ahead of us that told the CM attendant that they had these characters on their wedding cake and I thought the woman was going to pee all over herself she was so excited waiting! It was hilarious. This woman could not be still. She was squirming and fidgeting as if she had an itch she could not scratch. When the characters did arrive, the woman squealed like a little girl and she had to have been at least 50 years old. There is some of that Disney magic!

So who is this fair maiden that delights both men and women?

The lovely, the beautiful, the exotic Princess Jasmine!


Some of you may recognize Jasmine or maybe her twin from here on the DISboards. Maybe you recognize her other twin Pocahontas?

Things got a little testy at first between me and this dude she was with. I think his name was Alan or Aladdin or something like that. He wanted to know how I knew Jasmine



She convinced him that I was a harmless dirty old man so it was all good after that. Here we are with me in my “I Dream Of Jeannie” pose with DW going, "there, there"


Now it was time to hurry back to our room to get ready for our 6:30…yes, I said 6:30 reservations (ADR # 431121866911) at Cape May Café. Why do I repeat myself? Read on…

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It had been a hot day today and we were tired. I had sweated more than a prostitute at an evangelical tent revival in August (How’s that for a little Southern colloquialism?) We were looking forward to a new experience at Cape May Café. We arrived about 10 minutes before our 6:30 reservations.

CM: Welcome to Cape May Café, can I help you?
Me: Good evening. We have reservations for 6:30, 2 adults, last name Browning.
CM: William Browning?
Me: That’s us.
CM: Which resort are you staying?
Me: Beach Club Villas (why did she need that?)
CM: Here’s your pager. It will be just a few minutes.
Me: Thank you


So DW and I find a seat. There is a woman breast feeding her newborn next to the entrance to Cape May Café so we moved on down a little further. I won’t get into this relatively new phenomenon of publicly breast feeding for fear of being flamed by the female readers here. My first experience with this was in my grandparent’s house some 40+ years ago. My aunt, their daughter-in-law, was in the living room breast feeding. Needless to say, this embarrassed my grandparents immensely but they would never have said anything. I was about 15 and had gone to visit my grandparents and to play chess with my grandfather. I had forgotten my uncle, aunt and their newborn were staying with them. I walked into the living room and saw my aunt holding the newborn. I don’t recall ever being around a newborn and I liked my aunt so I walked up to her, full of spirit and said, “Oh, it’s the new baby. Let me see him!”…..and she did…along with much more than I bargained for!! In addition to being my first newborn to see, I think it was my first time to see something else as well....up close, live and in person!! :blush:

Back to Cape May Café. We waited and waited and waited. Several persons that arrived after us were already seated. A CM came by and asked for the “insert name you cannot understand here” party. It is VERY loud at Cape May Café and I am a bit deaf so I asked him to repeat it. It wasn’t Browning so we waited some more. It is now 7:00…30 minutes past our 6:30 reservation. I go back to the check in and tell the CM that I might have not heard correctly the other CM calling out a name. Was it Browning? We have (had) 6:30 dinner reservations.

CM: What’s your name?
Me: Browning, William. We had reservations for 2 at 6:30
CM: Where are you staying? (again with this? What difference does it make?)
Me: Beach Club Villas. Is our pager working?
CM: Have you checked in already?
Me: Yes, you gave us this pager
CM: I don’t see a ticket printed out. I see your name on the computer screen.
Me: Okay, how long will it be?
CM: About 5 minutes.


So I trudge back to DW and repeat my conversation with the CM. The family sitting next to us asked how long we had been waiting (not the breast feeder, the baby got its fill and they left. We thought they were waiting to be called as well but apparently it was just a BPS…Baby Pit Stop) We told them we had been there over 30 minutes now and they were beginning to get worried about how long it would take them.

Another 10 minutes go by and nothing. Now DW usually never gets upset about these things. Usually I get there before her and have it taken care of before she gets to that point. Not this time. She decides to see what’s going on.

DW: Excuse me, but could you tell me how long it will be? We had 6:30 reservations and it is now 7:15. The name is Browning for 2 adults.
CM: Where are you staying? (Does anyone have any idea why she kept asking this?)
DW: We are staying at the Beach Club Villas
CM: Have you already checked in?
DW: This is the pager you gave us
CM: I see your name on the screen. It’ll be a few minutes.
DW: How long is a few minutes, we’ve been here 55 so far?
CM: About 10 minutes. Do you have your reservation number? (You see our name on the screen. Why do you need the reservation number?!?!)
DW: No, not with me
CM: Can you go to your room and get it?
DW: NO! I want to see your manager.


Now you have to understand something here. DW avoids a confrontation like the plague. But when she has had enough, SHE HAS HAD ENOUGH! I know this because usually it is me that causes her to “have enough!

A manager arrived and DW explains what is going on. The CM is cowering behind her podium trying to avoid eye contact. The manager asks DW to let him check and he goes to the CM. I have not heard the conversation but I can see from where I am sitting that DW is upset. I go up to her and she tells me what has happened. I ask her if she wants to leave. We discuss it and then the manager approaches and asks us to follow him to a table. We do so and he didn’t apologize, say kiss my foot or anything. A new CM, Eric, arrives to take our drink order and asks how we are tonight.

What would you do at this point?
A) Leave and walk to EPCOT to sample F&W offerings?
B) Stay and TRY to enjoy the meal considering what has transpired thus far?
C) Take out your frustrations on CM Eric when he returns with our drinks?

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(Continued from previous post - 3)

We decided to stay. We were tired and did not want to wait somewhere else without reservations. The meal was okay. I say this without considering the pre-meal events. It is a buffet and for a buffet, it was okay. Here are some pics of the various items we tried












Before you think we are pigs eating so much, we share most everything without duplicating most items unless an item was particularly good. The boiled shrimp & the salmon were good enough to go back. Everything else was okay…not bad at all, just okay. The rating…..

C+ for decent food, not great but we probably will not go back. It’s worth a try if you haven’t been but there are too many other places at WDW to justify repeating an “okay” meal.

After the meal, we walked over to the Dolphin to get an idea where DW would get her massage in the morning. The Mandara Spa is on the second floor of the Dolphin.

Afterwards, we make the circle around the lake stopping to watch the Boardwalk performers.



This guy was amazing. Not only was he a pretty good magician, he completed a Rubic’s Cube, blindfolded in less than a minute!

This guy was pretty good too. He was corny as could be and he would get right up to the edge of being more than PG rated without going over. Maybe it was jokes only a dirty old man would get?




After that it was time to call it a night. On our walk from in front of Flying Fish to the BCV, Illuminations started and we could see the tops of the fireworks. There were a fair amount of people watching Illuminations on the bridge over the canal that connects the lake and EPCOT. Not us…we called it a night.
 
Sorry about your dinner experience! I am never asked where I am staying when checking in for an ADR. I of course would not of taken it out on my server, but would of just eaten my feelings with trips to the dessert bar.
 
Enjoying your trip report! We love the Epcot resorts. It's always fun watching the performers on the Boardwalk
 
Sorry about your dinner experience! I am never asked where I am staying when checking in for an ADR. I of course would not of taken it out on my server, but would of just eaten my feelings with trips to the dessert bar.
We have never experienced anything like this at WDW so it was a shock to us. I guess the law of averages caught up with us. I agree about not taking it out on the server. I've witnessed others do just that and I understand to a point because you are upset and they are the next person in your line of sight....but we didn't. It's not their fault and besides, I refuse to let something like this ruin our vacation!!

Enjoying your trip report! We love the Epcot resorts. It's always fun watching the performers on the Boardwalk
I'm glad you are enjoying the TR. We too love the EPCOT resort area and the BW performers are a nice way to end the day.
 
Joining in!! I got some pretty good laughs over your Splash Mountain picture and the response to the PhotoPass photographer who had you kiss. :lmao:

That's so awesome you got to meet one of Alicia's friends! I was looking for her friend Pocahontas on our trip, but we didn't see her around. :confused3

Looking forward to more updates!
 
Joining in!! I got some pretty good laughs over your Splash Mountain picture and the response to the PhotoPass photographer who had you kiss. :lmao:

That's so awesome you got to meet one of Alicia's friends! I was looking for her friend Pocahontas on our trip, but we didn't see her around. :confused3

Looking forward to more updates!

Thanks for subbing in! If nothing else it will be pic heavy and a bit jocular! This was our first time to really meet the Disney characters and I was impressed by how they incorporated what people said and stayed in character. When we met Jasmine and Aladdin, he asked where we were from and we told him south Mississippi. He asked if we were close to New Orleans and did we know their friend Princess Tiana. It kind of caught me off guard that they were so adept and quick to weave your story into theirs. Of course I gathered myself quickly and told him that we see her often at the Saints games! That's where the conversation tailed off...he obviously wasn't much of a sports fan! :rolleyes2 :lmao:
 
Monday – October 21, 2013

DW was up early to make her 8:00am massage. It’s a 15 minute walk from the room to the Spa at the Dolphin resort and they asked that you arrive 15 minutes early. Mandara Spa has a DVC discount offer on Monday – Thursday. They do NOT allow you to charge to your Magic Bands or use your non-Swan/Dolphin resort card either at the Spa or at the hotel. If you gave them a credit card to make your reservation, they will charge that card. I’m no expert on massages but DW has them often for her back. She said it was very good and worth the time & expense. It was not as good as the one she had at Aulani but still very good. There are no pictures of the spa as she was on a mission for her massage!

Before she returned to the room, I made a trip to the Beach Club Marketplace and returned to the room with a bacon, egg & cheese biscuit and an egg platter. Both were very good for a reasonable Disney price.

Rating B.

We had our first F&W seminar at noon. We signed up for the Italian Regional Luncheon. This is now held in the new Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar in the Italy pavilion. It is a two hour seminar that matches wines with a 5 course meal.

Here is a copy of the menu:



We were seated with 6 other persons. There was a couple from Iowa, another couple from Colorado and two ladies from Massachusetts. For those that are a bit uncomfortable eating with strangers, relax. The wine will soon take care of it for you but I couldn’t wait for that. In my younger years, I would have sat there and only spoken when someone asked a question. In my advanced years I have decided…what the hell…go for it. After about 10 minutes of hushed conversations with the person you arrived with, I announced, “Okay, since we are going to be with each other for the next 2 hours, I will break the ice and get this party started. My name is Bill, this is my wife Grace and we are from Mississippi and staying at the Beach Club.” That’s all it took. We went around the table introducing ourselves. Shortly the first wine arrived and we were off! The two ladies were nurses at Boston Mass. One of the couples lived near the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and the other couple was from near Des Moines - she was an IT nurse and he was a salesman. Four were staying at DVC resorts. We were the only first time F&Wers. We all LOVED WDW! The conversation was worth the price of admission but the luncheon was superb! Here is the table prior to the first course.



You think there are enough glasses? Oh yeah, there will be 5 glasses of wine!

Here are pics of some of the courses….I tried to remember to take a pic BEFORE I started but I wasn’t always successful and there are no pics of the paired wine because….well….a glass of wine looks like….a glass of wine!

1st course - Warm Cotechino (boiled meat similar to salami) with Lentil Vinagrette (self explanatory) and Fruit Mostarda (candied fruit but notice almost all the fruit is missing…I couldn’t wait!)




2nd course - Pumpkin Ravioli with butter, sage and an Amaretti cookie. Obviously the amaretti cookie was good because it’s not in the picture!!




3rd course - Braised short ribs with polenta and fontina cheese. This dish was not new to us. DW happens to make something similar to this at home but it was every bit as good as hers!




4th course - As is customary in Italian meals, a cheese course is in between the main course and the dessert. This was a Gorgonzola Dolce.




5th course - And for the dessert course we had a chocolate custard with amarena (dark Italian) cherries




Don’t ask me to explain the subtle nuances of each course and how this and that of the food was enhanced by the bouquet, aging or whatever type of barrel the adult beverage was aged. The host explained all of that before each course. All I know is if I like it or not and I LIKED IT! I am a typical male in that I love my steak, hamburger and hot dogs. However, I grew up with my mother trying different dishes and all she asked was for us to try one bite. If we didn’t like it, we did not have to eat it but at least we tried something new. To this day, I’ll try anything once and have been richly awarded with an abundance of new foods I love. It helps that DW loves to cook and can pretty much eat a meal at a restaurant and go home and replicate her version of that meal which quite often is better too!

Each course was excellent. The general consensus around the table was that the wines were ALL great and if one had to choose the least popular course, it would have been the gorgonzola cheese. It was a bit strong but I like strong cheese and a Gorgonzola Dolce is milder than other gorgonzolas. The wine paired with it cut the sharpness of the cheese enough for all to enjoy. As far as the best part, there were 8 at our table and each had their own favorite combo. IMO, the best food part was the pumpkin ravioli (never thought I would say that!) and the best wine was the Verduzzo. To me, this wine, paired with the dessert, was actually better than the dessert! I could sip a jug of this stuff for a while, well, a bottle then….I kind of doubt they sell it by the jug…but if they did!!!! :drinking1

The host made his way around the room throughout the meal speaking to each table. Afterwards, you could fill out a survey card and they will send you info on how to get the wine of your choice sent to you via UPS. This is not exactly legal in Mississippi because the State wants their alcohol tax so that might be the reason we never received anything. Over all, the seminar was well worth the time and expense. The only downfall was we were located near the entrance and there was noise spill over from the waiting area for Tutto Italia restaurant. Not all tables were that close and it didn’t deter from our table conversation but it did hinder us hearing the host explain each course occasionally.

Rating – a solid, solid A.

The only reason it was not an A+ was the noise from Tutto Italia. If we had been at another table further away from the entrance, it would have been an A+ without a doubt! :thumbsup2
 
The seminar took the full two hours plus a bit. We said our adieus to our table mates and headed to our FP+ at Soarin. A couple of pics on the way to Soarin..






It was a 70 minute wait in standby at Soarin and all the Fast Passes were gone for the day. It took us less than 15 minutes to board with our FP+ reservation. In previous times, I have been unable to smell the scents on Soarin. Not this time. I could easily smell the evergreens and the orange groves. Some say they can smell the salt air of the ocean but I could not.

After Soarin, there was a little bit of entertainment outside






Next up was our FP+ for Mission Space




A little background info on Mission Space. It opened in 2003 on the site of the old Horizons ride at an estimated cost to build of over $100,000,000! There have always been warning signs about the intensity of the estimated force of a sustained 2.5G on the ride to the body. There have actually been 2 deaths but both were due to pre-existing conditions where they should not have gone on this ride. With numerous complaints, especially from older riders (and I’m sure due to liability insurance premiums), in 2009, Mission Space made a change. They kept the original intense ride and labeled in the Orange side and added a less intense ride and labeled it the Green side. My last time to ride this was in May, 2010 and it was on the Orange side. We were due to eat at Morocco afterwards but I couldn’t. I grew up riding carnival rides for hours on end but on that night, in this instance, the ride won! :sad: No food for me. My stomach was topsy, turvy so I headed straight to the room. With that still fresh in my memory, even though it was over 3 years ago, this time I made sure it was the Green side. :sad2: Even though we had just finished the Italian Regional Luncheon less than 1 ½ hours ago, I survived the Green side!! Whew! :thumbsup2

Bolstered by my heroic feat of saving the first manned mission to Mars, we proceeded to another ride using our final FP+ selection for the day. And that ride was…




Yup…Test Track! This ride was refurbished to add the pre-ride queue that lets you design your own car. It reopened in Dec, 2012 and the previous pic was my design. I can’t remember the last time I rode this ride but I was prepared for the 65 mph burst of speed as evidenced in our ride pic




DW was on my left but you can’t see her. To alleviate the ride surge effects on my back, I’m holding on for dear life! :scared: I don’t know what to say about the man on my right. It’s as if he’s thinking, “What’s the big deal about this ride? Back home we go this fast on a hayride!” :rolleyes1

As we are leaving Future World, it was time for another PhotoPass moment.



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Passing by the “bog”




And we’re on our way to World Showcase to experience more F&W. First up was Scotland and their seared salmon with cauliflower puree, watercress and malt vinaigrette




As we were sitting down enjoying this very good Scottish treat, this fellow decides he wants to share




Nay, nay my feathered friend!

Up next we visited Ireland and tried the Lobster and Seafood Fisherman’s Pie




We sat down near this iconic landmark to sample our latest F&W excursion




The Irish fisherman’s pie was good, not great, but good.

We passed by this little lady on our way around the world



She's no Jasmine but still cute as a speckled pup under a red wagon and twice as cuddly (How's that for a Southern colloquialism? :lmao:)

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And next we were headed to




Yup…we’re in France to sample Crème Brulee and the sparkling Pomegranate Kir




Both were good and worth the visit.

Let me back up a bit here for those that have not experienced F&W festival. One of the things to do when sampling the multitude of offerings at each kiosk is to mark your visit to this land with a “passport stamp” from that country. EPCOT provides you with a Passport booklet.




When you visit each country, at checkout in the kiosk, you ask to have your Passport stamped. It’s a nice, free souvenir for all the food & adult beverages you experienced during F&W. For 2013, there were a total of 30 stamps obtainable. DW and I had our Passport booklet stamped 20 times. I don’t know if this is average or not so, you experienced F&W travelers, let me know. It helps if the CM at the kiosk knows which country they are in though. For some reason, when we visited France earlier, the CM thought he was in Italy as shown below




Maybe he was sampling the adult beverages a bit too much that were offered in France? :rotfl:

By this time, people were starting to gather for Illuminations so we headed back to our room at BCV. It was a great day today. The food at the Italy Regional Luncheon was fantastic, the food at the F&W kiosks was real good, we were entertained and I did not throw up after riding Mission Space and Test Track! Who could ask for more? :banana:

Tomorrow, it’s a tour of the new DVC rooms at the Grand Floridian, dinner at Be Our Guest, MNSSHP and more. And yes, we had costumes for MNSSHP! Yikes!!! :scared1:
 
Yea Tinks!! I wondered where you were. Glad you found this TR. I think it's time for a Mississippi DIS-meet! :cool1:

Whew! Caught up now! I wish I lived closer to Orlando so I could really enjoy Food and Wine (and the Flower and Garden Festival)! Reading your recaps makes me want to go back to F&W so bad!!

Bad experiences stink but at least you know how to roll with it!

Also...I would have guessed Country Bears! ;)

TR is great so far and can't wait to hear about the Wild Africa Trek...it is high on my list!! Maybe May 2015 if we get to go for real then!

We were down that way last weekend...we went to see the baseball game. Looks like baseball may be slightly better than football this year but at least Tyndall is rocking it!! :woohoo:
 
Whew! Caught up now! I wish I lived closer to Orlando so I could really enjoy Food and Wine (and the Flower and Garden Festival)! Reading your recaps makes me want to go back to F&W so bad!!

Bad experiences stink but at least you know how to roll with it!

Also...I would have guessed Country Bears! ;)

TR is great so far and can't wait to hear about the Wild Africa Trek...it is high on my list!! Maybe May 2015 if we get to go for real then!

We were down that way last weekend...we went to see the baseball game. Looks like baseball may be slightly better than football this year but at least Tyndall is rocking it!! :woohoo:

How great would that be to be able to go to WDW at will? Maybe after I win the lottery I'll buy a place at Golden Oaks! :cool1:

Both men & women BB are doing great this year at USM. Men are tied for 1st with one game to play and women are in 2nd with one more game. Should be a great CUSA tournament! :banana:

Glad you like the TR so far. Wild Africa Trek was definately worth the price of admission. We try to do one "big" think like that each trip. In June it will be Cirque du Soleil. But stay tuned for more in this TR...our trips are usually like riding a roller coaster...ups and downs and then repeat! :scared1:
 

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