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

[ariane37]

Every time we're close to heading down to the World, I say I'm going to try the Nutella waffle. And every time a trip is over, I leave having not tried it, again I did suggest it to the family last week but they were already looking forward to cinnamon rolls at Gastons, and what kind of mom/wife would I be if I deprived them of those??
Ah, the blissfulness of sleeping kids in the car While maybe not what you want when your spouse isn't with you and you're in Disney, I do remember feeling peace when both of mine would fall asleep at the same time!

 

[caitlinnf]

I love the Nutella waffles. We usually split them with the whole family, so only get a couple of bites. One of these days I'm going to make a meal out of one for myself.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I've heard nothing but great things about those Nutella Waffles at Sleepy Hollow. I'm allergic to strawberries, and while I could ask them to hold them on one, I don't want to risk the cross contamination and thus have never ordered one. And now that I'm in Germany and nutella crepes are EVERYWHERE, I'm pretty nutella'd out. But, I still love seeing DISers order one and hearing what they thought of it. I'm glad that one filled everyone up, a little bit of savings there.

I can see how BTMRR could have frightened Peter with the lap bar situation. But I'm happy to hear he gave it another shot and enjoyed it more.

Love all the pictures from the start of the podcast taping. So, so cool that you were there!
And poor Judi, trapped in the car because of sleeping kids. That's parents' lot in life, though. I guess the silver lining was that she had air conditioning to keep her cool in that FL heat and some Chick Fil A to munch on.

Oh, and I should have been more clear as the waffle is advertized to have a "chocolate Hazelnut spread" - not Nutella (even though it is clearly nuttella)

.... it is definitely just one big prep area so I'd be worried about cross contamination

She wasn't too upset about being stuck in the car - as the kids were asleep she got some quiet time. She was glad she was able to find something with drive through though

Really love that you're writing up this fabulous report! Thank you!! It's fun to read back through and remember the event through your eyes and words!

Thanks Jackie! and more of you coming up next post

I'm impressed that you got Peter on BTMRR twice! We still haven't managed to get DS to ride once, and I sure wouldn't have gotten him on again had he disliked it the first time. Every trip, he assures me he will ride it when he is x years old, usually several years into the future.

I gotta agree with Alicia, Chick Fil A is not a bad consolation prize for 3 sleeping kids in the car! lol

Nice shot of DH & I at the podcast taping! It was our first live event for the show, and we really enjoyed ourselves!

I was a little surprised too but I guess he was feeling better and Olivia encouraged him - we figured we could fit 3 in the seat (myself, he, and Olivia) so I think that helped.

I think Judi was definitely fine with quiet time and Chick-fil-a in the car

Glad you saw that as a "nice shot" and not me stalking you

Yay for Peter's first ride on Big Thunder Mountain! I get how lap bar issues can kinda ruin your ride experience, so I'm glad he had a better experience later in the trip!

I love the "no canonballing onto the saw blade sign" ... I've never seen that one before! It makes sense, though ... that's gotta hurt.

The pictures from the podcast taping are awesome! So cool that you saw some "celebrities" and got to be there to experience the podcast in person.
Also - I've seen that Bob Dole Whip video. It's funny. Crisco instead of soft serve...

The second time I held on to Peter so he felt much more secure so I think that helped.

Yeah, the part that concerns me with that sign is that clearly someone must have cannonballed into the saw blade so that they felt they needed to put the sign up. I mean, that sort of think will ruin your vacation!

I am a fairly new viewer to the podcast so really missed the Bob days - so it was fun to see a number of videos of him that they played beforehand

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Love BTMRR it is my favorite mountain! Wish the WDW version would get the DL ending.

Still jealous of those who got to go to the taping. Lots of Dis celebrities! Great pictures of the event.

I love that Bob video.

Can't wait to hear about the rest of the show! (I was glad to take part of it in a long distance sort of way).

Totally agree about wanting the DL ending on WDW's BTMRR ... or actually, i am ok with not copying Disneyland but woudl like something as cool but different

Well, you may recognize at least one celebrity in the next update

I haven't seen many of the Bob videos so it was a nice treat while we waited for the show to start

rest of the show coming up!

Bummer about that traffic. Glad you were able to try the waffle and get on BTMRR! Emma's faces are so funny in these pics!

Yeah, the traffic was annoying - especially when you know time is limited - I am glad we got to try the waffle as it was something on the "to do" list for the day

Emma is such a ham - even at home she just constantly gives funny random faces

That waffle looks really yummy! Excellent breakfast food! I'm really glad Peter conquered his fear of BTMRR later in the trip-- that's such an empowering feeling for kids. I love that ride-- glad you had fun! The taping looks super interesting-- eager to hear more about this!!

I was glad we got to try the waffle (we've had the chicken one from there but never the nutella one) - definitely a great breakfast!

At the time I think Peter got a bit intimidating by some of the big rides - but after the fact he was talking positively about most of them so I think he is ok overall

More podcast taping coming up!

Well, I finally caught up on TR's that I was following before this summer and made my way over. Looks like a really fun trip. I always enjoy a good road trip and the meet events look like a lot of fun too. I remember listening to that podcast so it is neat to see an audience member's pov after the fact.

I loved that picture. She partied hard for her second birthday!

thanks for joining! While it took a while and had its tough moments - we really enjoyed the road trip overall and we are glad we did it.

The meet was great (though at times I was wishing the podcast started in February not July

Thanks! One of my favorite pictures from the trip!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Every time we're close to heading down to the World, I say I'm going to try the Nutella waffle. And every time a trip is over, I leave having not tried it, again I did suggest it to the family last week but they were already looking forward to cinnamon rolls at Gastons, and what kind of mom/wife would I be if I deprived them of those??
Ah, the blissfulness of sleeping kids in the car While maybe not what you want when your spouse isn't with you and you're in Disney, I do remember feeling peace when both of mine would fall asleep at the same time!

We did the same! Always talked about trying the nutella waffle and then other things came up - so it was on my "must do" list for this trip and I am glad it is one thing we checked off

We may have done the cinnamon rolls on another day coming up

Judi was definitely not that upset about the whole sleeping kid situation. She was glad she found something with drive thru though!

I love the Nutella waffles. We usually split them with the whole family, so only get a couple of bites. One of these days I'm going to make a meal out of one for myself.

The nutella waffle was really good - I think we all go enough from splitting it ... but the kids didn't have too much. As they grow I am sure we will need more than one

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 42: At Disney - Day 4: Disney Springs
More of the Podcast Taping - and DIS meets​

I left off with Pete having come out on stage for the introductions. Below is a gif of a video I took that also pans to the audience so you can see the size of the size of the crowd:

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Then he introduced the rest of the team members 1 by 1 who all came out. Once all seated, here is the group on stage together

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They had the flatties on poster boards on either side and I was able to zoom in on one side and find the ones I had gotten for Olivia, Peter, and Emma - so that was pretty cool

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Micheal Bowling talked a bit for how he joined the team and the genesis behind Connecting with Walt .... I could listen to him recite the phone book and be entertained

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As some of you know - as was organized by @Accident a few DISers put together a video showing what the podcast means to them and to thank the team members. I tried to get pictures of everyone so they could see themselves "on stage" but for a few the pictures just came out not good at all - so apologies in advance if you don't see yourself!

But I did get ok shots of @SorcererHeidi, @rteetz, @disneysteve, and myself - gotta say, it was kinda neat to see myself on the screen like that. The team was definitely moved by the video so that was nice.

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I didn't take many more pictures during the show - just tried to enjoy it and listen to the stories. Definitely one of those shows where there wasn't a specific direction but time still went by very fast and before we knew it, it was over.

On the way out I did run into fellow DISer @MikeTaylor who also had be active on the prep thread for the show - so that was a nice bonus. I also made a point of tracking down @WebmasterJackie - and it was so nice to meet here and say hi and give her a hug - she's such a sweetheart!

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Coming up - I need to figure out what to do for lunch and then (slowly) make my way back to Magic Kingdom

 

[rteetz]

Love it! My flattie is somewhere on there too I couldn't spot it from the video though.

I could listen to Michael talk all day too! He is just an amazing person.

Hey! That's me! That was fun putting that video together even though I was nervous while doing it.

That's awesome that you got to meet Mike and Jackie too!

 

[disneysteve]

I love that you got pics of us on video. thanks for that.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 43: At Disney - Day 4: Disney Springs
Some Adventurer's Club Stories at Jock's​

As I needed to be at the podcast tappings by noon I didn't really have time for food beforehand, so I know I needed to get something to eat. So I decided to head back to Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar to try some of the food and some of the other drinks I didn't try on Friday night.

On the way I passed by the construction for The Edison - which sounds like a really cool place and looking forward to when it opens. (I think this and the Neverland Tunnels are the two coolest sounding parts of the Disney Springs Plans)

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When I got to Jock's I decided to just sit at the bar and people watch (and keep an eye out in case anyone else from the taping came by, but no such luck, at least while I was there). There was a couple at the bar and I noticed the woman had an Adventurer's club phone case - so clearly they were good people. We all struck up a conversation with the bartender (Jennifer) who it turns out worked at the Adventurer's Club (she also helped put together the redesigned drink menu at Carthay Circle) - she had some good stories.

But first a drink - her she is making my first drink which was a Scottish Professor's (That jug of Reggie's Revenge gurgles periodically)

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The drink was really good - that or the Monkey Head would be my favorite that I tried. I also ordered the calamari and it was honestly some of the best I have ever had. The batter was light but flavorful and it wasn't overly chewy. Pretty big portion too - definitely recommend!

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If you recall our first trip here, we were fascinated by the machine that made the ice spheres and I noticed on the menu a drink that featured one - so I felt called to order one of those as my next drink - which is called a Hail Mary and it is just straight bourbon. It was not cheap but was a huge portion so it was actually fairly priced. Oh, the glass is slanted, it's to just the picture

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The bartender told us one story from the Adventurer's Club where someone contacted them about proposing during one of the late night shows - so they had it all set up and she and other servers were set with confetti, etc. During the process the girl realized what was about to happen and started shaking her head no at the guy but he didn't pick up the signal and went forward with the proposal but the girl said no ... so the staff had to figure out how to move the show along, etc.

She also pointed out some of the artifacts that are in Jock's that are taken from the Adventurer's Club - including this large mask:

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After my meal it was time to head back to the Magic Kingdom - Judi had driven back there so I was going to bus it back to meet her. So I walked over to the bus stop, passing the construction on the Paddlefish which is another new/remodeled restaurant I am excited to see how it turns out

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I got to the bus stop just after 4pm and waited at the stop for the bus to the Contemporary

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and waited, and waited ... definitely relying on Disney transportation to Disney Springs requires allotting some time

Up next - a bit more time at the Magic Kingdom ... but just a bit

 

[rteetz]

The Edison does really seem like a cool concept. I am excited to see how it turns out. The Neverland tunnel project still seems to be iffy, we don't know if its going to be that or not yet.

Jock's looks really cool. Those ice spheres made by that machine is also really cool. I'll save that place until I am 21, I know they have non-alcoholic stuff but it doesn't seem worth it yet.

That sucks that you had to wait a long time for the bus.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 44: At Disney - Day 4: Magic Kingdom
A long wait to get back to the Magic Kingdom​

While I was waiting for the bus Judi was doing this with the kids ... a bit of a fuzzy picture but another classic "cheese" face from Peter

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I finally got on a but about 4:40 - so a bit of a wait.

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At least on the walk over to MK from the Contemporary I got in a few good shots of Space Mountain with the Monorail and track in front

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At this point Judi messaged me to let me know they were on the carousel - which Emma seemed to be enjoying. Judi also tried to take a panoramic picture which, if Olivia hadn't been scratching her nose, would have been a cool picture

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They then apparently tried to pull the sword out of the stone ... I still have my day job so obviously they were unsuccessful

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I got past security (was "randomly" stopped again to go thru the metal detectors but I assumed I would get picked as I was solo) and then stopped briefly to get a Main St picture done in my Podcast shirt .... and then a stop at Starbucks to refuel

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At this point Judi had taken the kids towards Splash Mountain as we had a FP for it (actually we had it originally for earlier in the afternoon but when I was running late I was able to push it back a bit, so at least that worked out - gotta love the app for that!). So I missed them by the Carousel, but did capture this on my way to meet them just to give you an idea of crowd levels.

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I met up with the rest of the family in the Splash Mountain Play area - and I watched Peter and Emma while Judi and Olivia rode the ride (and got a rider swap)

The kids loved this area - although Peter saw some other kids climb up top and proceeded to hang out there the entire time. To be honest I am not sure if that is allowed or not. There are no signs and no CMs that passed by said anything.

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And a ride Photo of Olivia and Judi:

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So given the heat Splash Mountain had one of the longest lines all trip and even the fast pass line took a while - so Olivia and Judi got to ride - and had a great time - but once they were done we had to head out to get to dinner. So for those of you keeping score at home (which, I mean, I really hop most of you have something better to do than keep score of this TR) I got on 1 ride so far - just BTMRR in the morning. At this point I was really glad we had been so productive the previous day!

Coming up - another "new to us" restaurant

TTFN

 

[rteetz]

Wow that was a wait for that bus!

Looks like your wife and kids were having a great time at MK though!

I am sure it would take someone to get hurt in order to enforce rules at the playground. It is strange that there is no rules or sign specifying what is alright to do and what is not.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Love it! My flattie is somewhere on there too I couldn't spot it from the video though.

I could listen to Michael talk all day too! He is just an amazing person.

Hey! That's me! That was fun putting that video together even though I was nervous while doing it.

That's awesome that you got to meet Mike and Jackie too!

I zoomed in on the original again and I found a "Ryan" - not sure if there was more than one though


I do wish I had time to talk to Micheal more and wish we would have been able to do the Connecting with Walt event ... oh well - something for the future

Oh, I was so nervous doing that video and gave me even more appreciation for how comfortable the team comes off doing the daily fix and stuff like that - just hard to stare at the camera and try to be natural!

I was glad to meet at least a few people - so nice to run into Mike and Jackie, definitely!

I love that you got pics of us on video. thanks for that.

NP - I do have a few of the others but the quality isn't that great ... I am happy to post what I have if others that were in the video are interested!

The Edison does really seem like a cool concept. I am excited to see how it turns out. The Neverland tunnel project still seems to be iffy, we don't know if its going to be that or not yet.

Jock's looks really cool. Those ice spheres made by that machine is also really cool. I'll save that place until I am 21, I know they have non-alcoholic stuff but it doesn't seem worth it yet.

That sucks that you had to wait a long time for the bus.

Guess I should have said that I am excited for the concept of what the Neverland Tunnels might be - fully agree who knows what they become in reality (or if they even actually get done)

I definitely would say to wait until you are 21 to seek out Jock's. They do have some fun non-alcoholic drinks so if other people are planning to go you can still have fun (so don't not go) but it wouldn't be my first choice if you aren't 21 as the cool drinks are part of the experience

Waiting for the bus did suck but did confirm that we made the right call to not rely on the buses to get me over to Disney Springs for the taping!

 

[disneysteve]

Love it! My flattie is somewhere on there too I couldn't spot it from the video though.

I have pics of all of the flatties that I took at registration. I don't have them with me now but I can post them next week.

 

[rteetz]

I have pics of all of the flatties that I took at registration. I don't have them with me now but I can post them next week.

Awesome!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Wow that was a wait for that bus!

Looks like your wife and kids were having a great time at MK though!

I am sure it would take someone to get hurt in order to enforce rules at the playground. It is strange that there is no rules or sign specifying what is alright to do and what is not.

Oops, missed this one

To be fair the queue was empty when I got there so I assume I just missed one but yeah, definitely was a bit frustrating just waiting for the bus

Yeah, the family was definitely having more fun than me

It seemed like they didn't want kids up too but nothing was blocking them and no signs etc - Peter definitely wasn't the only kid up there

 

[mousehappync]

How neat that y'all did a tribute video-- that sounds like a special day. And extra good that you'd gotten some bonus MK time in the day before--otherwise that one ride might have been dissapointing!

 

[ElenaJane]

Thanks for your photos of the Podcast! That was really cool to see it from your vantage point (as I watched it of course via youtube). I would have also been surveying the audience for "celebrities"!

 

[SarahDisney]

I love the pictures from the taping - it's so cool that you decided to try to get pictures of the video we made! And I'm super jealous that you got to meet Mike and Jackie!

I didn't get a chance to stop at Jock Lindsey's last trip. It's really cool that the bartender had worked at the Adventurer's Club. I can't imagine how awkward trying to recover from that failed proposal must have been.

That crowd at MK does not look like fun. Sorry to hear that you didn't get to ride Splash Mountain, but at least you got to see your kids having fun in the play area - that counts for something, right?

 

[annie170]

That's cool that you were able to get pictures of the videos. The taping sounded like it was a lot of fun.

That proposal story was really awkward. I once worked with someone whose boyfriend planned a big public proposal at a baseball game with the cameras on them. She said "yes" at the time because she didn't want to embarrass him, but later told him no.

The Edison sounds like it's going to be awesome. Disney Springs is shaping up to be a really cool place to visit!

Yikes, those July crowds!

My grandkids love that play area near Splash Mountain. It's funny to think about how much you spend on tickets and whatnot and they have a blast in that little play area!