3,298 miles, 10 breweries, and 1 Mega Meet - a July '16 Trip Report *New 6/5/17 - Link to new TR!*

[amazingact21]

Sounds like a fun night! I don't know too much about the Star Wars dessert party, so I had no idea the food was served in the Launch Bay. Pretty neat, especially since they kept the Jawas out. I laughed when you said one came up and "traded" an apple for a cupcake.
Those drinks sound really sweet. I'm sure a couple servings would be okay, but on top off all the sweets I imagine it would become sugar overload very quickly.

I think it's great they had an area for children roped off. DL Paris should take note of that tip...

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Sounds like a fun night! I don't know too much about the Star Wars dessert party, so I had no idea the food was served in the Launch Bay. Pretty neat, especially since they kept the Jawas out. I laughed when you said one came up and "traded" an apple for a cupcake.
Those drinks sound really sweet. I'm sure a couple servings would be okay, but on top off all the sweets I imagine it would become sugar overload very quickly.

I think it's great they had an area for children roped off. DL Paris should take note of that tip...

it is relatively new that they moved the food from being outside within the roped off area to being inside the Launch Bay - I think they did this so they could shrink the size of the ropped off area and also because people were lining up for 1hour + to get into the roped off area to get a "good" table ... and also, I think with it being summer to get it out of the heat

To be fair the Jawa did trade back my cupcake ... I was a bit caught off guard though!

Yeah, the drinks were a little sweet - probably why I liked the swamp milk one as it really wasn't sweet.

The separate roped off area for kids/people in wheelchairs is new with the new set up. I know some people got nervous about it afraid they wouldn't be near their kids, etc. - which is another reason i wanted to head out a little early so we would have a spot right at the front rope of the back section and the kids could be right in front of us

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 30: At Disney - Day 3: Monorail Resorts
Breakfast at Kona
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After the relatively late night we had to get going fairly early - it was a big day as we were doing our big Mega Meet event as we would be participating in the Monorail Resort Scavenger Hunt. The idea was this would be our "day off from the parks" so we had some good meals planned at different resorts

First up was Kona Breakfast at the Polynesian Village resort .... since it had been around 36 hours since we had been there, figured we would head back. I love the new resort map art work they have in the lobby - I love that retro style

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We started to notice more people around with Mega Meet lanyards on. We went to check in at Kona and saw Kevin and John from the Podcast team walk in as they were eating there that morning as well - along with some other DISers ... definitely made it seem like the MegaMeet was "real" and this was happening

As soon as the waitress came by we put in our order for a pressed pot coffee since that was ~87.34% of the reason I wanted to eat breakfast there - we have eaten dinner at Kona before but never breakfast. It was definitely really good - though perhaps one of those things that I had elevated in my mind up to unrealistic expectations.

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The kids each got something different from the kids menu. Peter had the Goofy's Toast, which was an egg cooked within a hollowed out piece of toast, Olivia had Minnie's French Toast, and Emma go Donald's Choice which was scrambled eggs with a piece of cinnamon toast. They were all pretty solid - good breakfast for kids. The cinnamon toast was surprisingly tasty

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Judi and I decided to share our meals. I got the Big Kahuna which came with a little bit of everything - French Toast, Pancakes topped with Pineapple Sauce and Macadamia Nut Butter, Eggs, Home-fried Potatoes, Ham, Bacon, and Sausage. Judi got the Tonga Toast: Banana-stuffed Sourdough French Toast rolled in Cinnamon Sugar and served with a Strawberry Compote and your choice of Ham, Bacon, or Sausage. I loved mine as the pancakes with the topping were great, but I don't think I could finish a full stack of them. The French Toast, while nothing fancy, was really good! Judi's was definitely good as well but just too sweet and rich for me. It worked out sharing them though as we each got enough of everything

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One thing Olivia liked with the kids meal menus was they had a word scramble puzzle and if you solved it you got a code to unlock a character in Disney Infinity - I thought it was a neat little cross-promotion ... of course R.I.P. Disney Infinity now

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At one Point Kevin from the Podcast came over to say high which was fun - I think the kids were still a little confused about this whole thing, but they did remember meeting him at the registration.

Overall breakfast was really good foodwise but we didn't have the best service. She wasn't bad - just absent a lot and I think this was amplified by the fact we had to get to check-in for the scavenger hunt so I was a little antsy about getting through the meal in a reasonable amount of time. I wound up having to ask another service to find our server so I could pay the bill. This was honestly the only time we had anything other than very good service ... and of course it was the time that time was a bit of a concern.

I wound up having Judi take the kids and start walking over to the check-in spot - which was at the TTC - while I finished up with the bill, etc. Eventually I did get that taken care of and walked over to the meeting spot - taking one picture along the way to prove it

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[TheMaxRebo]

Part 31: At Disney - Day 3: Monorail Resorts
Mega Meet Scavenger Hunt​

After leaving the Poly we headed towards the TTC as we were to check-in for the scavenger hunt near the EPCOT line terminal. We saw the large group gathered and headed over. They put us with some other people as they were trying to have 8-10 people in each team. We didn't know them before this but we got along fine and it was fun to just be at Disney hanging out with other people that love Disney. I guess the only challenging thing was not knowing ahead of time how seriously we all wanted to take this (wound up that some of us were more into it than others) but it was still fun.

We decided to call our team "Kitty-COT" as we had some kids on the team, there were several fans of felines on the team, and we all loved EPCOT. Oh, and we had worn our matching shirts for the contest (they are actually the ones we made for our Disneyland trip - thus the 60th anniversary blue theme - but they still fit)

They used an app for the scavenger hunt so a good chunk of time was making sure everyone had everything squared away from a technology standpoint - and then we were off! It was pretty cool as it had a variety of types of questions - some needed an answer, some needed a photo or a video of us doing something at a specific point, some we needed to find a particular person, etc. - definitely a lot of fun.

I'll share a few pictures we took - though trying to minimize how many faces of people not in my family are shown just as I don't know if they want their faces on the internet

We started out focusing on the Poly as we saw quite a few questions that were in that area so figured we would head there first. Each picture we had to hold up the sign for our team, so you will see that in each picture (and of course, who got to hold the picture was a big deal for each picture). First we had to find monorail support 145 which happened to be on the way to the Poly:

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We got one outfront of a closed Trader Sam's:

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A picture or someone taking a picture of us holding the sign:

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A lot of them were utilizing the monorail - so we had to get as many different monorails (by their color) in the background, and also one was to get a photo with a monorail pilot:

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Had to get one with a CM and you gazing at a Douney and Bourke Bag (I think that was the brand)

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And then just at various specific spots in the different resorts - such as the sculpture at the Contemporary:

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This is just a fraction of what we did and pictures we got - we had a blast! (though it was really hot so something that was timed and thus encouraged running was probably not the best for July in Florida, but still - we had a lot of fun) A number of them required us to talk to different CMs and stuff so that was definitely a fun element.

We finished up at the lounge in the Contemporary - which was a good excuse to get a refreshing drink ... a justifiable reward I think

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While there I also got to spend a bit more time talking to Kevin who is just super friendly and a great guy. He chatted with Olivia for a while too which was nice. I tried to sneak a picture of them talking - Kevin noticed and was like "Olivia, I think your dad wants to get a picture, how about turning around and we take a nice one?"

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One of the highlights though was when it was time to go (or at least Kevin felt it was time to go) he asked Olivia to go over and tell John that Kevin says it is time to go ... which of course she did and Kevin thought was hilarious

All in all we had a great time and was definitely something different to do and got us to really notice a lot of the "Disney Details" and explore the resorts more than we had in the past. We wound upcoming in 5th place (out of 13 teams) - which I think is pretty good. The team that won definitely deserved it as we saw them really running around like a well oiled machine out there.

Coming up next - we decide to forego the whole "no park day"

TTFN

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a solid breakfast, glad you enjoyed it!

The scavenger hunt sounds like a lot of fun! And coming in 5th is not too shabby at all!

 

[caitlinnf]

That scavenger hunt looks so fun. I keep telling myself I will create one for one of our adults only trips with friends...but then I get too busy planning my food!

 

[Volunteer]

This is the greatest Disney photo of all time!

And then the show started. WOW! Just really hard to put into words how great this show is.

I loved this dessert party and show when I went for a long weekend in August. I wouldn't do it ever trip, but it was great for a splurge on a weekend when I didn't really have the time to wait!

Scavenger Hunt sounds like a lot of fun!

 

[annie170]

That dessert party and fireworks looked like it was a blast! It's good to hear that you thought it was worth it. I'm not a big Star Wars fan, but who doesn't love Chewie!?

I have a huge sweet tooth, but I also find the Tonga Toast a bit too sweet. The Macadamia Pineapple Pancakes are my favorite for breakfast at Kona Cafe.

The scavenger hunt was a fun idea.

 

[ariane37]

I thought the scavenger hunt sounded like a good idea and it really did look like lots of fun! Interested to see where you ended up next, it is hard to keep to those non-park days sometimes

 

[Dugette]

Do you mean leaving the stroller outside the Launch Bay for the show and then going back to get it? Honestly, not sure how that would work - I think you can leave it there. I think it would be ok for you with just Izzy. (we figured we would need it for Emma if/when she got tired - we also used the stroller to hold the giant bag of 5 Chew steins we got )

I guess the only thing to keep in mind is where you leave the stroller as if you leave it by the Launch Bay you will have to go a bit against the flow of traffic after the show to get from the viewing area back towards the Launch Bay and then back towards the exit. If you are ok with that and maybe taking you time, letting the crowds disperse a bit, etc. then I think it would work

Thanks for the advice. Of course, as you know, they are now doing the Holiday show/party in December instead of Star Wars, so not sure how much of this will still apply. We did reserve the party (Dug, Izzy, and I - on our arrival night prior to Imagineer5's arrival). Not sure if we'll actually do it, though - waiting to see reviews and such. Really bummed we won't be able to see the SW show, though.

Mmmmm, you are making me very hungry! Love Kona!

All in all we had a great time and was definitely something different to do and got us to really notice a lot of the "Disney Details" and explore the resorts more than we had in the past. We wound upcoming in 5th place (out of 13 teams) - which I think is pretty good. The team that won definitely deserved it as we saw them really running around like a well oiled machine out there.

Sounds like a fun activity and glad you had a good time!

Coming up next - we decide to forego the whole "no park day"

 

[Imagineer5]

First I wanted to say how nice it was that you planned in this time to do the scavenger hunt and what great details you were able to spend time doing. Glad the kids got to enjoy it too!

Judi got the Tonga Toast: Banana-stuffed Sourdough French Toast rolled in Cinnamon Sugar and served with a Strawberry Compot

Phew, I was wondering if the tonga toast would make an appearance! That plus the potatoes instead of meat, with sriracha = my favorite Disney breakfast! MMM

They used an app for the scavenger hunt so a good chunk of time was making sure everyone had everything squared away from a technology standpoint - and then we were off! It was pretty cool as it had a variety of types of questions

That's pretty cool, was it an app they made or is there a generic scavenger hunt app that people can personalize? I have no idea how any of that works!

Had to get one with a CM and you gazing at a Douney and Bourke Bag (I think that was the brand)

Wow, Judi hasn't gotten into D&B?! I only have a wristlet and wallet but I do salivate at some of the designs! :-D

All in all we had a great time and was definitely something different to do and got us to really notice a lot of the "Disney Details" and explore the resorts more than we had in the past

Really cool.

Had to laugh at the park-less day turning into a visit to a park. I always do that too! Hard to stay away!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Sounds like a solid breakfast, glad you enjoyed it!

The scavenger hunt sounds like a lot of fun! And coming in 5th is not too shabby at all!

I had heard very good things about the breakfast at Kona - I think we hadn't done it yet as we often plan for dinners at the Poly so we can see the fireworks after. The food was very good though - just wish I wasn't stressed about the time (I get very stressed about logistics and being places late, etc.)

The scavenger hunt was really fun - just wish it wasn't so hot. I think we did pretty well considering we were people that hadn't met before

That scavenger hunt looks so fun. I keep telling myself I will create one for one of our adults only trips with friends...but then I get too busy planning my food!

The scavenger hunt was a lot of fun. It used this app called GooseChase which seemed pretty easy to use. The actual hunt was pretty huge - I think there were more than 50 things to do ... but I am sure you could do something a bit simpler

This is the greatest Disney photo of all time!

I loved this dessert party and show when I went for a long weekend in August. I wouldn't do it ever trip, but it was great for a splurge on a weekend when I didn't really have the time to wait!

Scavenger Hunt sounds like a lot of fun!

Thanks! That was another photo that Judi got while I was note there - fun one to come across when I was going through all the photos

That is exactly how I viewed the party - not something I would do every trip but as a splurge I thought it was something that (at least by Disney standards) was worth the cost and just worth it in less stress for me worrying about securing a good spot for the show and having to wait in the heat, etc.

Definitely had fun with the scavenger hunt - and something different to do I thought

 

[TheMaxRebo]

That dessert party and fireworks looked like it was a blast! It's good to hear that you thought it was worth it. I'm not a big Star Wars fan, but who doesn't love Chewie!?

I have a huge sweet tooth, but I also find the Tonga Toast a bit too sweet. The Macadamia Pineapple Pancakes are my favorite for breakfast at Kona Cafe.

The scavenger hunt was a fun idea.

Obviously nothing at Disney is cheap, but compared to other offerings I thought this party was definitely worth the cost - and helped me not have to stress about securing a good view for the show ... especially for this show where having a good angle at the projections is important

Of the two I definitely preferred the macadamia pineapple pancakes - but even for those I think having just a full stack of them would be too much for me. The Big Kahuna was perfect in the variety of food it had (though overall portion size was huge ... I think perfect for me would be a Moderate Kahuna or something)

I thought the scavenger hunt sounded like a good idea and it really did look like lots of fun! Interested to see where you ended up next, it is hard to keep to those non-park days sometimes

The scavenger hunt was a lot of fun and just something different and it got us to the different resorts and Peter loves the monorail so the fact we had to get photos with all the monorails and ride them a lot between locations, etc. - definitely a fun thing for us to do (just wish it wasn't so hot)

Yeah, it was good to know we had an extra ticket day if we wanted to use it (we got the 7 day tickets as there was a special going that made it cheaper than 6 day ones) and it is good we did that as we wound up getting a lot accomplished which helped balance out days we wound up not getting as much accomplished as we wanted

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Thanks for the advice. Of course, as you know, they are now doing the Holiday show/party in December instead of Star Wars, so not sure how much of this will still apply. We did reserve the party (Dug, Izzy, and I - on our arrival night prior to Imagineer5's arrival). Not sure if we'll actually do it, though - waiting to see reviews and such. Really bummed we won't be able to see the SW show, though.

I did see the new holiday show ... which, in a vacuum looks really cool and I like the idea of the party being near/in the Great Movie Ride ... BUT I feel bad for people with trips planned at this time that were wanting/expecting to see the Star Wars show. From what I have heard they will bring the Star Wars show back in January so hopefully they still have it going for a future trip of yours

Mmmmm, you are making me very hungry! Love Kona!

Sounds like a fun activity and glad you had a good time!

That Big Kahuna was really good - tons of flavors I like. Lot of food though, but hey, vacation - no calories is Disney Food, only Pixie Dust

we had a lot of fun doing the scavenger hunt and was just something different - plus tons of monorail related activity which made Peter happy

First I wanted to say how nice it was that you planned in this time to do the scavenger hunt and what great details you were able to spend time doing. Glad the kids got to enjoy it too!

Phew, I was wondering if the tonga toast would make an appearance! That plus the potatoes instead of meat, with sriracha = my favorite Disney breakfast! MMM

That's pretty cool, was it an app they made or is there a generic scavenger hunt app that people can personalize? I have no idea how any of that works!

Wow, Judi hasn't gotten into D&B?! I only have a wristlet and wallet but I do salivate at some of the designs! :-D

Really cool.

Had to laugh at the park-less day turning into a visit to a park. I always do that too! Hard to stay away!

I really wanted to do something that was special for it being the MegaMeet and a lot of the other events (beyond the main podcast) only go scheduled like a month out and it was just hard for us to make them .... so I thought the scavenger hunt sounded fun and something the whole family could do and just something different. Other than it being too hot (would have been better to do this in, say, January) it was great

I was glad I got to try the Tonga Toast but way too sweet for me to have just that - worked out well that both Judi and I were interested in trying that and the macadamia nut pineapple pancakes so we got to share ... too much food though, but hey, it's vacation

They used an app called GooseWatch which was pretty neat and worked out well for submitting photos and videos, etc. and then would keep track of standings and stuff.

Judi really isn't into designers and stuff and is pretty low maintenance (she doesn't wear any makeup and we both basically get all our clothes at Khols) ... she does like the Vera Bradley stuff and has a few of those, but that is about it. I have asked her about the D&B stuff as like a birthday/Christmas present or something and while she likes some of the designs she doesn't want me to spend that much on a bag for her so I wont' complain

I kinda figured we would at least pop into a park that day - but in the end we wound up spending way more time in the park than I thought we would ... although that turned out to be a good thing as the next day we weren't as productive as I wanted so it balanced out

 

[rteetz]

I love the Polynesian however I have never eaten at Kona. I have also never had Tonga Toast. I need to change that. Looks like a great breakfast and an added bonus that Kevin and John were there.

I heard a lot of great things about the scavenger hunt and it looks like you guys had a great time doing it. Great picture of Olivia with Kevin, and I love that Kevin told her to go to John and tell him its time to go.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I love the Polynesian however I have never eaten at Kona. I have also never had Tonga Toast. I need to change that. Looks like a great breakfast and an added bonus that Kevin and John were there.

I heard a lot of great things about the scavenger hunt and it looks like you guys had a great time doing it. Great picture of Olivia with Kevin, and I love that Kevin told her to go to John and tell him its time to go.

We like Kona a lot - but had only done dinner there before. The bread you get with dinner is amazing and their wings are really good too. Plus if you ask nice you can get the bread pudding from 'Ohana for dessert

I am glad we did the scavenger hunt (though wish it wasn't so hot) - it was just something different to do and got us to explore the resorts more and it was nice to chat with people, including Kevin, at the end of it

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 32: At Disney - Day 3: Magic Kingdom
Ride the Rails​

As mentioned, the idea originally was for this to be a "no-park" day and just take it a little easier ... but with our schedule we didn't really have enough time to go back to the hotel and I was a Mega Meet event going on that we did not sign up for (as we would not have been able to stay for the whole thing) but I was hoping to see a few people.

So we made the call to take the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom and spend some time there. The Connecting with Walt Podcast (which is amazing by the way) was doing an event "strolling down Main St" and I was hoping to see the hosts, Micheal Bowling and Craig. We stopped by the meeting place, but didn't really get a chance to talk to Micheal or Craig. We did get to say hi to @khertz and her husband whose trip reports I follow which was great as we had never met in real life.

After that we decided to take advantage of being in matching outfits and get some photos on Main St. Emma does great at "cheesing" when you are just taking a picture of her - but she wasn't really into the whole group posing thing

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I did notice in another picture that Peter was making a wonderful face

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After that we had promised Peter we could take a ride on the train. First a photo from the Train Station looking down Main St. at the beautiful castle, and then getting through the turnstile (which is always a challenge with a stroller) to catch the train

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... and Pete making a face again

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I always love the tunnels on the train ride - firs the one that blocks your view of the Pirate's show building ...

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And then getting to Splash Mountain and then going through Splash Mountain where you can see the River Boat (love that you get to see this part while on the train - though I always struggle to get a great photo):

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Heading towards the Frontierland Station I got a picture of Emma doing her "cheesing" and then on of the line for Splash Mountain. I think with the heat that attraction always had a really long standby line

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Then past Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ....

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up next - spending some time at the Circus

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 33: At Disney - Day 3: Magic Kingdom
Running Away to Join the Circus​

Shortly, we were pulling into the Storybook Circus station ... not sure if I was fully keeping my arms and head in the train at this time, but at least I wasn't dancing

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When we got out we noticed a gate with this sign and a patch of grass on the other side ... I guess it is an area for guide dogs to do their business - never saw it before though

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We then let the kids play in the splash area and given how hot it was we really did care how wet they got.

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We then head towards Dumbo. The wait for the ride wasn't so bad so we decided to go right on the ride despite some please for the kids to play in the play area - but we didn't have that much time so we told them we would come back and play another time ... um, that plan did not go flawlessly

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After about 10 mins in total we were on board - Olivia with Judi and the other two kids with me

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We then wanted to make our way to the front of the park to head to dinner- first a couple pictures of the Castle as passing by:

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and then a balloon shot - as it is Disney law you have to take at least one balloon shot

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and then out of the park and to the boat launches - but I will leave it for there and not give away where we were headed completely.

TTFN

 

[missangelalexis]

SOunds like a great afternoon! I love the family pics, even if Emma wasn't cooperating! Peter's faces are too funny!

 

[Imagineer5]

We did get to say hi to @khertz and her husband whose trip reports I follow which was great as we had never met in real life.

Hey no photos?? Don't believe it happened!

I always love the tunnels on the train ride - firs the one that blocks your view of the Pirate's show building ...

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Love these parts of the train ride too!

And then getting to Splash Mountain and then going through Splash Mountain where you can see the River Boat (love that you get to see this part while on the train - though I always struggle to get a great photo):

Yes coolest part!!

When we got out we noticed a gate with this sign and a patch of grass on the other side ... I guess it is an area for guide dogs to do their business - never saw it before though

They have these in totally random spots. Poor guide dogs! THere's one near TT in EPCOT too.

Nice the kids got to play in the water and ride Dumbo! Playing in that play space is a must-do for the next trip -can't wait to see Maya playing in the toddler area and Aria & Izzy running around the big kid parts!