A Not So Scary Very Merry Wine and Dine Dashing TR *updated 12/27

[dancingtodisney]

Part 1 - You got a problem, buddy? DO YA?

Ye so we went to Busch Gardens today. That's not Disney. It's actually quite far away from Disney. BUT Grumpy wanted to go because he was a bit 'Disney'd Out'

Our friends were heading to Busch Gardens today and as it was their last full day so we decided to head there too. Grumpy was really looking forward to this day. Every other morning myself and Rachel were up and ready super early and WAITING on Grumpy because he much prefers sleeping to getting up... :cautious:

This morning I didn't set an alarm and left it to Grumpy to get us up for once.. I don't think he was impressed

We made it to Busch Gardens around 11ish and it was SO EMPTY... it was actually a really nice change of pace. It was cool getting to wander through the park and feel like we had it to ourselves.

Our first stop of the day was Shekra

The drop on this is pretty cool

We rode about 3 times with no queue

Next up was the new ride... the 90 degree tower drop...

I have to say I was a little bit scared :cyclops:

But nowhere near as scared as Rachel was... I didn't think she was going to do it but she did! The whole way up she just kept saying 'why am I doing this to myself?' hehehe It kinda distracted me from the fact that I was scared too!

The bit when you get to the top and it pulls you to 90 degress so you're facing the floor is pretty SCARY!

Then DROP!!! Except you only drop really fast for a little bit and then it catches you.. not as thrilling as I was expecting but still good.

We met our friends at the animal show

It was a good show... fun to watch!

We grabbed food at Zambia Smokehouse. Grumpy was impressed with the food but myself and Rachel thought it was only alright.

We hopped on the Cheetah which was a new ride for me... yah for new rides!

It was actually quite cool, I liked how it mimicked the movement of a cheetah and how it accelerated before inclines, that was fun!

Our next stop was the train.. We saw some Elephants along the way though.. I love how random these parks are with animal themes... just coming across an Elephant

At this time our friends left as they had to catch their bus.

Choo Choo

About this time the park starting getting busy as people arrived for the Halloween night.. I actually think this could've been really good as it didn't have the horrible crowds we'd experienced at Universal but on the other hand I'd say Universals night was far more impressive.

Time for one more ride

It seems like we didn't do all that much this day but we spent the majority of it on rollarcoasters!! It was nice to have no queues and just not have to worry about that side of it...

We were practically escorted from the park as it was well past closing by the time we walked from the rollarcoaster (via the toilets) to the exit.

Final pic of Sheikra from the carpark

We drove back to All Stars and grabbed something to eat at the food court

This was mine.. some sort of chicken pasta dish.. I wasn't that impressed and it was pretty expensive for what it was

Rachel went for a kids pizza

And we got an early(ish) night...
​

 

[dancingtodisney]

Part 1 - 'YAWN'

We were pretty tired this morning so we had a lazy one! We drove to the parking lot and hopped on the tram into Epcot. I took a photo so we'd know where to find our car which is handy tip I picked up!

We had a lunch reservation at Biergarten so we took a leisurely stroll over to World Showcase and checked in, we had a bit of a wait so explore the area

which of course meant stopping into...

How cute

Everything looked SO YUMMY!!!!!

Nice photo outside

Our buzzer went off so we went inside, met our server and were taken to our shared table to meet the rest of guests that would be dining with us.

The Oomph band were just finishing off a set, they sounded great

I have to admit I wasn't too fussed on the idea of sharing a table with strangers, I thought it could be... you know... awkward :cautious:

We introduced ourselves to the rest of the table, there was an older couple from New York and another couple with their son. Our server was really friendly and we asked for a drinks recommendation because we had no idea what beer to choose. She recommended the beer flight so we can try a few different ones between us and then we could order what we liked best.

Grumpy ordered some sort of coke fanta drink...

We got four beers Radeberger Pilsner, Altenmünster Oktoberfest, Schöfferhofer Weizen, and Hövels (totally just googled that OBVIOUSLY) which I thought was quite good value for just over $10 .

None of us really liked the dark beer but the other three was nice!

BUFFET TIME

The food all looked so good!

Here's my first plate (you can see in the background that I'd taken a liking to one of the beers)

Also I'd already started eating when I realised we'd never taken a photo... Oooops!

It was around this time we got chatting to the couple from New York. We were sat facing them three in a row facing two of them so it was quite social. They were really nice and had some interesting stories to tell us like apparently the year previous they had been to the Not So Scary Halloween Party and gotten lots of candy that they put in their check in bag AND when they got their bags back on the way home lots of the candy had been taken with even some wrappers left in the case. It sounds really hard to believe but they definitely sounded sincere CANDY STEALERS ​

 

[TXMNie]

Great updates! How did you like the food at Biergarten? The beers look yummy!

 

[dancingtodisney]

Part 2 - My own personal flury

After the shock of hearing about the candy stealers we decided it was time for more food! This time I managed to get a photo before digging in! See that pretzel looking bread there? DELICIOUS!

In fact all of the food was delicious! ​

As we were stuffing our faces the entertainment started and the oompah band took to the stage
Apologies for the blurry pics...​

The band were great my only complaint was that the atmosphere was a bit lacking due to the restaurant being pretty empty, if I was to go again I would make an evening reservation at a more peak time.
Last but of course not least was the deserts​

So it looks like I'd also attacked the deserts plate before remembering to take a photo :in pain:​

We continued to chat away to the couple from New York but the other party at our table kinda kept to themselves. They left before us as we stayed chatting and enjoyed our beers.
Our server took a group photo for us:​

We finished up and decided to take a little wander around the world
We came across these guys who I think are the jeweled dragon acrobats?! They were really good, we only watched for a little bit and moved on.. ​

It was a beautiful day today, the sun was out and the sky was blue, the lagoon looked so pretty ​

It was nice to stroll around without much of an agenda just getting some photos along the way

We strolled back out towards futureworld and the exit grabbing a few more snaps along the way ​

Such a beautiful day! I would love to be back here right now ​

We took a quick look in here​

But didn't get anything, I was still full up from dinner and couldn't face another beer just yet!
We went back to the room to chill for and bit and then out for a spot of shopping..
Later that night we made our way over to the boardwalk, I'd heard that there was some Halloween stuff happening but we didn't really see all that much (we also didn't look too hard either). ​

Luckily there was also another reason for a visit​

ICE CREAM ​

Last year we had the kitchen sink which was pretty awesome but there were an extra three people then and we still didn't finish it!
We went for some smaller choices this time​

I wanted to get the 'No Way Jose' but nobody would share with me and it seemed like a waste when I wasn't all that hungry :arghh:​

I was still tempted though and then I saw that they had grilled banana bread with peanut butter, I was thinking that sounded amazing and not too heavy.
Then THIS came out ​

It was MASSIVE! :jawdrop:
For anyone looking to go here you do have to make an ADR but they also have a takeaway counter service and I think you can use the seats out front for that. ​

This whole area is beautiful at night, I would love to stay in this area sometime... one day!

We walked back via the Beach Club lobby

So pretty...

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That concludes our day! Off to bed in preparation for EMH tomorrow at HS!​

 

[dancingtodisney]

Part 1 - Cold cold cold cold cold cold

This morning just myself and Rachel got up out of bed early and headed to the bus stop for EMH at Hollywood Studios

As you can see from the photo above it was pretty dull this morning, it was quite chilling leaving the room in our shorts and tank tops but it had been like that most mornings and then gotten really warm just after 9am so we took no notice.


We arrived at HS just after the 8am opening and as we were walking from the bus to the main entrance we noticed that pretty much everyone was wearing jeans and long sleeve tops. We got to the turnstyle and the CM said "you guys obviously didn't check the weather today" UH OH!! Turns out it was due to be overcast all day with really cool temperatures... Ooooops!


Well of course in these situations at DisneyWorld it's the perfect excuse to go shopping!! We wandering into a few stores along Hollywood Boulevard and both picked up a light zippy top to keep us warm. We both got the same one, I got red and Rachel got grey, I really liked the one we chose as they both had a small mickey mouse on the front and were quite subtly so I've actually gotten lots of wear out of it at home too.


Our next stop for was one of our second favorite ride in HS

The ride photos were down but we managed two quick rides with barely any wait.

Next up was an important fuel stop...

Staring Rolls is AWESOME... their cupcakes are insanely good! We both got hot chocolate as well, as if we didn't have enough for our sweet tooth already.

Red velvet cheesecake cupcake... NOM NOM NOM

We had booked a fast pass for the Frozen Sing Along so that was our next stop.
We'd left it quite late so the show was almost full, we got two seats towards the back of the theater

I wasn't too sure what to expect from this show but I LOVED IT!

.

The narrators were really funny! I definitely recommend going to see it...

Here comes the snow

After singing our hearts out we decided to have a bit of wander around the park. Look who we ran into along the way

Not too sure what they're going for here..

Next for us it was time to meet some characters! We made our way back across to the Animation Academy area to meet Mickey and Minnie.

First stop was Mickey!

High five for Rachel

And a hug too!

SISTERS SHOT!

I remember Mickey being really fun to meet this time, he was giving lots of hugs and high fives!

Gotta get the foot right..

We made our way over to Minnie's area next, there are some cool posters on the wall as you wait to meet her.

HEY MINNIE!

Rachel is always getting the hug shots :cautious:

We had a little browse around the art store afterwards.. I would love to own a Disney painting like these, I'm thinking maybe on our next trip I will buy myself one...

Our next stop of the day was for the little mermaid show..

I haven't been to see this show in YEARS and I really enjoyed it! I think how the work the pupets is really clever

We had a fastpass for tower of terror so we made our way over to sunset boulevard. For some reason I've no ride photos this morning from either this or Rockin' Rollarcoaster...

Tower of Terror was fantastic as always!

We had a little photoshoot outside afterwards

And look who came to join us! HEY CHIP!

Our final fastpass of the day was for Toy Story Mania, Grumpy was almost at the park so we decided to meet over by the ride.

Grumpy brought us jeans to wear, I think this was the first time I've ever warn jeans in a park!
We had a ride on Toy Story Mania (this ride KILLS my right arm!) and then made our way to sci-fi dine-in theater for our reservation.


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[dancingtodisney]

Part 2 - First, we've to create the mood.

It was time for our reservation at Sci-Fi, we've eaten here before and I really enjoyed the atmosphere so wanted to give it another shot. This time we were seated at the tables were only two people fit so Grumpy was sat by himself behind us. I can imagine that being a right pain with kids but it does look more like you're in the car than the larger tables.

It's so difficult to get photos here but I tried...

The milkshake was yummy but disappeared in like a minute!

Chicken wings were AWESOME

I went for wings with chips... such a good choice

The movie sequence they had repeated a lot while we were there, it would be good if they played an actual movie...

Car photo

Our two person tables do make for a good photo..

I really do love the theming here, the food is nice, maybe a bit expensive but you are paying for the experience here.

Quick photoshoot on our way back to the car

The photopass photographer was very excited about posing us for this one

We went back to the room to chill out and watch some Stacey

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[dancingtodisney]

Part 3 - My tail's froze. And my nose is froze. And my ears are froze. And my toes are froze.

We made our way round and Goofy's Barnstomer had no wait! This was a new ride for us and for some reason all week there had been a really big queue for it anytime we checked so we were delighted to finally give it a go!

For anyone that hasn't been on it's a kiddy rollarcoaster but wow it lasts about 15secs!! I would be so dissappointed if I waited in the 40min queue we'd seen earlier in the week. It was fun though and we went round about 3times as there was little to no queue.

We got on Space Mountain next, again with little wait.
I've no idea what I was going for here

Might as well go again with no queue!

We had a little photoshoot afterwards... Just so you all know how cold it really was

And finally we decided to check out the mine train wait, it was 20mins so we hopped in line! It was good to go through the normal queue instead of the FP one

We made our way to the exit as the park was closing, evening magic hours was great this night, the park wasn't busy and we really enjoyed being able to stroll around at our leisure.

Our view back down mainstreet as we left

Back to our room to chill ahead of another Disney filled day tomorrow... Breakfast at the Polly and dinner at 50's Prime Time!​

 

[epcotmexicopavilion]

This picture is incredible!

Loving your Trip Report so far!

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Ye so we went to Busch Gardens today.

Oh cool! I don't think I've ever been, unless it was when I was really little. Looks fun!

WHY is this rollercoaster so steep everywhere!?!?! I would not like this

We met our friends at the animal show

This instantly sold Busch Gardens for me I love an animal show! The one at Universal is so funny

Final pic of Sheikra from the carpark

Great pic!

The Oomph band were just finishing off a set, they sounded great

Oh this is crazy. I don't know anything about Biergarten. So it looks like you're outside when you're actually inside?!

I thought was quite good value for just over $10 .

All four of these for $10?! That does look like good value

They were really nice and had some interesting stories to tell us like apparently the year previous they had been to the Not So Scary Halloween Party and gotten lots of candy that they put in their check in bag AND when they got their bags back on the way home lots of the candy had been taken with even some wrappers left in the case. It sounds really hard to believe but they definitely sounded sincere CANDY STEALERS

Take any of my belongings, but not the halloween candy!!!!

Wow they really do force you into a social situation in there! Good job you guys were all friendly

I need this right now.

For anyone looking to go here you do have to make an ADR but they also have a takeaway counter service and I think you can use the seats out front for that.

Do you know if you can order things like this ^^^ from the takeaway counter and sit outside with it, or is it just ice cream cones?

Yessssss

We had a little browse around the art store afterwards.. I would love to own a Disney painting like these, I'm thinking maybe on our next trip I will buy myself one...

Me too! I can spend so long in the Art of Disney store at Disney Springs I love this Aladdin one you posted

You guys look like you have your own show on the Disney Channel or something!! Love it.

For anyone that hasn't been on it's a kiddy rollarcoaster but wow it lasts about 15secs!! I would be so dissappointed if I waited in the 40min queue we'd seen earlier in the week. It was fun though and we went round about 3times as there was little to no queue.

Haha, it really is about 15 seconds long and the seats are so tiny!!!

I've no idea what I was going for here

This. is. AMAZING.



Great updates!

 

[dancingtodisney]

Part 1 - It makes me who I am. It makes me Grumpy.

We felt we deserved a bit of a sleep in this morning after our late night at MK so that's exactly what we did. Of course it's Disney so I was still awake at like 9am wanting to go somewhere! Myself and Rachel decided that we should head to the Polynesian for breakfast, I really wanted to try Tonga Toast. We checked online and there were no reservations available for Kona but you could get Tonga Toast at Captain Cooks until 11am. It was almost 10am by the time we'd decided what to do and gotten ready and that was cutting it pretty close to use the Disney Transport. Grumpy was being pretty Grumpy this morning and unfortunately he was the driver for this holiday (which in hindsight was a error) after taking FOREVER to get ready we were finally on route and made it just as the menu was being changed over for lunch. Luckily they allowed us to order breakfast!

And here you have it, tonga toast with a side of bacon​

It's MASSIVE​

I think I was a little dissappointed with the Tonga Toast having read so much about it, maybe it's different at Kona but it did just seem a bit too fast food like or something. I might give it another try next time.
Here's a look at the inside... it was still really nice, that sugar with the banana was a great mix!​

Rachel is not a fan of banana so she went for the kids french sticks option (she was straight in before I could get a picture)​

That's something we actually did a bit on this trip, we were always able to order from the kids menu and it's great value if you're not in the mood for a bigger meal.
Grumpy decided to go for the bounty platter​

See the biscuit on his plate? He was saving that for the end and went to get himself some maple syrup to have it with the last bit of bacon and sausage... he comes back and says the maple syrup is pretty runny (which it was) and pours is over the entire plate... Then the smell hit us... He'd mistakenly gotten a little tub of coffee not maple syrup! His face was a picture... me and Rachel had a good giggle.​

I don't think we had the best Captain Cook's experience, there was a lot of construction going on so the outside area was closed over.
We strolled around the resort afterwards and got some more photos
Random staircase photo​

After breakfast we decided to head out to the mall for a bit, we had a reservation at 50's Prime Time later in the day which I was really looking forward to...




​

 

[dancingtodisney]

Part 2 - Look at this stuff, isn't it neat?

We parked up at HS and made our way into the park for our 5.30pm reservation at 50's Prime Time. We checked in and were asked to wait at the bar.

Just chilling at Disney

I was playing with Grump's camera and snapped a few pictures, the decor here is great, it's definitely worth popping in to just have a drink at the bar

We had just ordered drinks when we were called to our table and look how cool our table was

Our drinks had cool light up ice cubes in them

Food time!

We ordered fried herb and garlic cheese to start as our server recommended it

It was really delicious!

Myself and Rachel went for A Sampling of Mom's Favorite Recipes

and Grumpy chose Grandma's Chicken Pot Pie

The food was really good like a proper home cooked meal, comfort food at it's best I think!

Some fun with the ice cubes

Group shot

We were too full for desert :arghh:
There was a teenage kid and his mother at the table across from us and he sat the entire time on his ipad not speaking to his mother. The interaction during the meal was great and our server was sure to teach us some maners and give out to us for having our elbows on the table. She also told this kid off for sitting on his ipad the entire time but he just continued to play away

After our meal with our tummys full we took some more pics out at the bar as it was quiet now that most people were having their meals.

We basically claimed this place as our new sitting room

Best hiding place.... ever

We didn't fancy a ride with our tummy full up so we made our way over to the animation academy for our first shot at the drawing class ever!

The drawing class was lots of fun! We drew Tiger although for some reason I can't find the pictures of our drawings

THEN as we were leaving the strangest thing happened... a guy comes up to me and asks if I post on the forum, he said he'd read my trip report last year and even recognised Sleepy (now Grumpy) too!

The park was empty around the animation building so stopped for some photos.

We made our way to Sunset Boulevard for once last ride before calling it a night... of course it was on my favourite! TOWER OF TERROR... the CM's are always so much creepier at night!

We wanted to get some photopass photos and even though the park was still open there just wasn't any around, we noticed this a few times particularly during EMH.

We settled for a shot with our camera

Time to call it night... Bye Bye hat

Bye Bye water

Bye Bye fountain

​

 

[dancingtodisney]

Part 1 - He touched the butt

This morning we took a trip to Seaworld.

There is one thing that brings me to Seaworld....

MANTA

But... in all honesty... I wasn't that fussed on going this year. Grumpy was being rather anti all things Disney and wanted so wanted more time in the likes of Seaworld and Busch Gardens. For my next trip in January we won't be buying tickets for either of these parks.

I'm going to just photo a photo summary of our day at Seaworld for anyone interested

The new penguin ride is really strange... the viewing area afterwards it's pretty cool though.... also VERY cold..

​

​

 

[dancingtodisney]

Part 2 - What's this? What's this? There's color everywhere

We popped back to our room after Seaworld get ready for the meal I had been most excited about... Be... Our... Guest!!

We arrived at MK to a nice surprise... they had put up some of the Christmas decorations

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeek! I love all things Christmas!

We got a couple of photos on mainstreet as the main street philharmonic were coming down

Before dinner we had a very important meet and greet to attend

We had the highly in demand Anna and Elsa meet and greet fastpass to use this evening and I'm so glad we did...

Elsa was first up and she told us that she kept getting blamed for the cold weather but that it definitely wasn't her

Then came Anna which was probably the best interaction we had all trip

All was going well until Grumpy stepped in for a picture and Anna made a gap between herself and Rachel so he stood in there. She made it SO AWKWARD for him... she had him get his arms out to be linked and then awkwardly linked him and then she did the whole 'This is awkward. Not you’re awkward, but just ‘cause we’re–I’m awkward.'

It was hilarious... Grumpy went so red and she continued to play up on it. 'Oh you can change colour too?'

teheeeheee

It was time... I've said it before but Beauty and the Beast is my all time favourite Disney movie and tonight I was getting to meet the beast himself for the first time and have dinner in his castle....

Waiting nervously

Our view as we waited to enter

And then... finally... it was our turn...

We were handed our very own candlestick to guide us to our table

Eeeeeeek I was beyond excited at this point
This was one of those 'I can't believe I'm actually here' moments. You know when you've been planning a trip like this for ages and have a certain moment you keep thinking about and getting excited...​

 

[dancingtodisney]

Part 3 - Try the grey stuff, it's delicious. Don't believe me? As the dishes

We were seated in the west wing (WHOOP) so photos were particularly difficult but the atmosphere was perfect!​

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Our server Frankie was AMAZING! He was so knowledgeable about the menu, spent ages talking us through the options and really made this experience so much more special for all of us.​

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We got some Chimay Ale to start and our server brought us fresh bread and salted butter​

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Rachel got potato and leek soup to start (this is on the lunch menu)​

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This soup is AWESOME!​

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I got the mussels​

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WOW.. they were delicious!​

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Onto mains and Grumpy had the Pan-seared Salmon on Leek Fondue which Frankie had loads of info on from where it originated to how it was cooked etc​

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I had the Sautéed Shrimp and Scallops​

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And Rachel went for the Pan-seared Chicken Breast​

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Everything was delicious... This meal was everything I had hoped it would be​

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The desert trolley was brought over for us to choose from​

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We were so full at this point but I still wanted desert so I ordered a Lemon Meringue Cupcake​

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We chilled for a little bit afterwards just enjoying the atmosphere, we never felt rushed​

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Next it was time to meet the master of the castle.. EEeeeeeeeeeeek!​

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I think he took a bit of a shine to me​

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Back off Rachel he's MINE​

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Photopass shot​

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On our camera​

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One last photo as we left​

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I cannot recommend this experience enough, I know the reservations are hard to get it but it was totally worth it.​

​

 

[dancingtodisney]

Part 4 - A dream is a wish your heart makes, when you're fast asleep

After dinner I was feeling all happy and giddy! We decided to go on the Prince Charming Regal Carrousel which I hadn't been on since I was kid.

I took a video while we went around and you can just tell how giddy we were feeling. So we pick our horses and Rachel is on one beside me when we start moving around my horse goes up high and then back to the starting position and this repeats up and down as you go round in the carrousel. Rachel's on the other hand went down from where she started so she was really low and then just came back to where it started, it never went up. Well... we thought this was the funniest thing EVER and had a massive giggle about it! I'll share the video when I dig it out!
In our childish giddy mood we decided we'd have a go on the teacups next. We decided for whatever reason that we had to have a yellow cup so we darted towards that one when we were let in.​

Such a silly idea for someone like me who gets motion sickness! I kept trying to make them stop spinning it but of course that just encouraged them... luckily I didn't feel ill afterwards!
We had fastpasses for the Wishes tonight so we made our way to the viewing area. During our trip we got fastpasses for Wishes and Illuminations and I definitely think the Wishes one is far better. It was nice to be able to chill and not have your personal space invaded while enjoying the fireworks. Everyone in the area was sat down on the grass so that's something to keep in mind too.

Of course there is always one person who is inconsiderate and these guys left their stroller up despite their child being on grass​

END SCENE


We took our time exiting the park afterwards, strolling down main street and having a look around the difference stores

I really liked watching this guy working on the glass, so intricate and impressive. We spoke to him for a while as well.

Time to head home and get to bed, a fantastic evening with great food and amazing memories.
Tomorrow we were moving resort for my first ever stay at a Delux... Animal Kingdom Lodge here we come!​

 

[dancingtodisney]

Part 1 - Yes, hurry home, princess

Hurry home indeed... to our new home!! TODAY WE MOVE TO AKL!!!!

We had a bit of a lazy start to our morning, with moving resort we had to pack up our room, it’s amazing how much stuff you can have in all sorts of places after 10nights at Disney! We packed everything into the car and made our way to Animal Kingdom Lodge. I WAS SO EXCITED!! I remember a about 9years ago when I came to Orlando with my boyfriend at the time and I was looking around on different forums to plan our trip I came across Animal Kingdom Lodge and I thought it looked incredible. Since then I always thought of it as the hotel I would love to stay in one day but never thought I could afford to. Roll forward to now and having discovered renting vacation points I was actually going to be staying there! Unfortunately we were only able to get three nights due to availability but I was BEYOND excited.

We arrived at AKL and were greeted by our new WELCOME HOME sign

The service we received checking in was really nice, the atmosphere was far more relaxed and you could just FEEL the difference of the delux resort.

Our new Magic Bands

Our room was already available which was great and we made our way straight there to dump our stuff. It was about now that I realised that I had done something VERY VERY stupid.

Our tickets to Universal were in the paper pocket you get when you check into a Disney hotel back in our old room in All Star Sports which was most likely about to be cleaned. Had it been our Disney tickets it would have been fine but these paper tickets had been posted to us by our agent in Ireland and if they were gone they were gone! We dashed back down to guest services who phoned across to All Star Sports and advised them of our situation and if the room had not been cleaned to insure it wasn’t now and that our tickets weren’t thrown out.

We drove back to All Star Sports and headed straight into guest relations and here is where we had the most un-Disney experience I’ve ever encountered. First off nobody at the desk had any idea about the phone call made from AKL. The girl I was dealing with disappeared for about 10mins, I explained my situation to another CM and also the fact that it was time critical to avoid our tickets being dumped in the trash. We were left waiting another 10mins and I was getting more agitated. Nobody seemed to able to tell us whether or not our room had been cleaned they just kept disappeared and calling people on the radio and just looking rather confused the whole time. Three different CM’s came to speak to us and we had to keep explaining what happened, I kept asking them if we could just go to the room and eventually that’s what we did. We went with a CM to the room and a cleaner was just finishing in there and our paper packet with our tickets were right at the top of one of her bin bags. I was so relieved to get our tickets back, had we just missed the cleaner and that bag been mixed with all the other rubbish we might not have been so lucky.

Drama over with we drove back to AKL as we were meeting our friend there before heading to Epcot. We parked the car and hopped right in hers and she drove us to Boardwalk. It was nice coming into Epcot from a different entrance and the walk from Boardwalk is enjoyable too.

Helloooooo Epcot

Our plan was to focus on the world showcase today but we did wander into futureworld initially.
We took some snaps before starting our trip around the world...

Food and Wine Festival Time!!!

My first purchase was a Kalua Pork Slider slider from Hawaii kiosk.

O.....M....G
This was unreal
So delicious
NOM NOM NOM

Apparently we got some melon too... I don't remember this

We then made our way over to Mexico and it was time for a DRINK

But we got side-tracked... ride first... drink after

This place...

I mean look at this beauty

Shrimp taco from mexican F&W kiosk

Rachel went for the margarita from the F&W kiosk

Aaaaaaand we decided to get some tequila

We were really going for it in Mexico!

By the end of the trip we wanted to get to every country and have something and we had a little booklet with the details of each kiosk and where you could a stamp too to show that you'd had something from that kiosk. As we all had drinks we skipped a few and stopped at South Korea where I got a Bokbunjajoo which is a raspberry wine.

It was OK... not great...

I'm not really sure what this is... but she looks happy

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[dancingtodisney]

Part 2 - You're always scraping for food

This was me today....

I'm pretty sure I still have my F&W book at home so I'll have to check that for the names of the stuff we were eating!​

I think this could be Beef Tenderloin Tips from Africa

This is the South African Bobotie with Turkey and Mushrooms from Africa

And we also got The Wolftrap Red wine from Africa

And then we ate and drank so much that we grew into MASSIVE GIANTS and everything below us looked tiny

My sweet tooth was bugging me so it was on to Italy next for some Cannoli al cioccolato

We continued with our tour around the world... a birra moretti from Italy for Grumpy​

Some prosecco for our friend

I spotted this book in one of the stores and totally regret not buying it!

Next stop was Japan

This drink was very strange but I really liked it!

You had to shake it loads and then when you drank it the consistency went like jelly in your mouth.

Next up was Belgium

On the right is the Potato and Leek Waffle with Braised Beef and on the left is the Belgian Waffle with Warm Chocolate Ganache and Whipped Cream and both were delicious

Onto France next for a Crème brûlée caramel fleur de sel (Sea salt caramel crème brûlée topped with caramelized sugar).

This was UNREAL... It wouldn't be our last!

Grump got a La Passion Martini Slush from the F&W stand and I got the original orange slush from the permanent stand.

Next was Ireland... Whoop!
(seriously why is there not a permanent Ireland pavilion?!?!?! Also they sell IRISH stuff in the UK pavilion like Butlers chocolate and Guinness Grrrrrrr)

Rachel got the Warm chocolate pudding with Kerrygold Irish Cream Liqueur Custard

And I got the Lobster and seafood fisherman’s pie which also became one of our favourites!

We were about done with food and drink at that stage and I think we'd put a good dint in our goal to get something for every booth.

Highlights from F&W wine today were the pulled pork slider from Hawaii, the creme brulee from France and the fishermans pit from Ireland.​

 

[dancingtodisney]

Part 3 - Don't just fly, soar

We had booked fast passes for Soarin so we said goodbye to our friend and made our way there.

I hear this will be having a big refurbishment from January 2016 and in my opinion it does really need it. I do enjoy the enjoy the ride but personally I don't get the major fuss about it and prefer Test Track.

Next we went on living with the land​

Incredibly blurry photo

We had a bit of a wander around afterwards, looking in a few stores and enjoying a relaxed pace. It wasn't long before we felt our appetites come back and we decided to head to Canada for this beauty
“Le Cellier” Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon with Truffle Butter Sauce​

I forgot to mention earlier but we were now on the dining plan. This made a really good snack credit at just over $7.
We strolled around the world showcase again and I picked up a Grey Goose slush​

View of the lagoon as we walked around ​

SO MANY NICE THINGS TO EAT​

The world showcase is so pretty when it gets dark out​

Our next stop was at one of my favourite places (we like pointing at signs) ​

My mouth is watering right now ​

Mmmmmm marshmallow goodness ​

There is seriously too much to choose from in this store​

I wish I could buy a bag of this popcorn right now

We finally dragged ourselves out of the store and made our way towards the exit

I really like Mexico, I think it's favourite but that changes as I make my way around the world so you never know.

Pretty pretty Epcot

It took us a good while to get out of the park, it's nice to stroll out and soak up as much of the Disney magic possible.

I was so excited that our bus stop was for ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE

We were getting the bus back to our resort before heading out for the evening for dinner at Ohana.

Look at our new home... isn't it just so pretty

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[dancingtodisney]

Part 4 - 'Ohana means "family." "Family" means no one gets left behind

We had a quick change and went to get the bus to Magic Kingdom. We just missed one and an Epcot bus showed up so we hopped on that instead thinking we'd get the monorail from there.​

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Hello again....​

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Here's our ride​

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I was excited to be heading back to the Polynesian for dinner tonight...​

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This little photo set up is so cute​

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We just can't resist pointing at a sign​

We fooled around for a little bit getting some more photos as we were early for our reservation​

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We were still about 20mins early but we decided to check in anyway and grab a drink in the tambu lounge.​

There was one drink I'd heard so much about and SUPER excited to try​

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A Lapu Lapu of course!​

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It was SOOOOO GOOOOOD! Really strong though!​

I love the novelty of it being in a pineapple too...​

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We were called early to our seats.... perfect!​

Our reservation was really late this night, we had changed our minds about where to eat while on the dinning plan so this wasn't booked at the 180day mark and we could only get a 9.40PM time but we were seating around 9.20pm.​

We were HUNGRY... Ohana is served 'family style' which basically means a sharing platter for the table. We kinda demolished the first plate before I remembered to take a picture... Oooops!​

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I think this was like a mixed greens dish​

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Mmmmmm bread...​

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Next was the honey coriander chicken wings and pork dumplings.​

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SOOOOOOOOOOO GOOOD! Get in my BELLY!​

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Egg noodles (I steered clear of the evil greens)​

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Sweet and sour pork​

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Szechuan Sirloin Steak​

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Grilled shrimp​

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Apologies for the lack of food in my food photos we were just SO HUNGRY! We asked for seconds of a couple of things and they were more than willing to bring it out for us.​

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I saved just enough room for this awesome bread pudding desert​

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It was pretty empty when we were finishing up​

I was still cherishing my lovely drink​

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With our bellies awfully full we made our way back out to the monorail​

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We got to the Magic Kingdom and waited for a bus to AKL.​

About 3 buses for Coronado Springs came before ours... typical!​

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Welcome HOME​

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Off to bed in a our lovely new room Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz​

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Myself and Rachel decided that we should head to the Polynesian for breakfast

Great idea, You sound like my kind of travel partner I love to head to a resort spur of the moment to explore and grab a quick service meal

I think I was a little dissappointed with the Tonga Toast having read so much about it, maybe it's different at Kona but it did just seem a bit too fast food like or something. I might give it another try next time.

Ahh this has happened to me before too, with funnel cakes.. I always think I'd really like Tonga Toast but I'll keep what you wrote in mind (Yes I stayed at the Poly for 2 weeks this year and never tried Tonga Toast )

Rachel is not a fan of banana

SHE CRAZY

he comes back and says the maple syrup is pretty runny (which it was) and pours is over the entire plate... Then the smell hit us... He'd mistakenly gotten a little tub of coffee not maple syrup!

I don't think we had the best Captain Cook's experience, there was a lot of construction going on so the outside area was closed over.

We visited the Poly in autumn 2014 to eat at Ohana and I agree, it was such a mess... I'd have been so mad if I was staying there during that time!

I was playing with Grump's camera and snapped a few pictures, the decor here is great, it's definitely worth popping in to just have a drink at the bar

So, you can just go get a drink at the bar without an ADR? I'd like to do that. I want to try the PB&J shake!

We had just ordered drinks when we were called to our table and look how cool our table was

You got a TV table!!!! Lucky

Myself and Rachel went for A Sampling of Mom's Favorite Recipes

This looks so good, there's so much food! Can you remember what everything was on that plate?!

he never looks Grumpy!

Best hiding place.... ever

This is amazing You look like a naughty child!!!

We didn't fancy a ride with our tummy full up so we made our way over to the animation academy for our first shot at the drawing class ever!

SO sad about this leaving what are they thinking?!?!

THEN as we were leaving the strangest thing happened... a guy comes up to me and asks if I post on the forum, he said he'd read my trip report last year and even recognised Sleepy (now Grumpy) too!

Amazing!!!

THANK YOU for getting this photo!! It's great, I love an empty photo. I'll miss this place so much.

Very professional Grumpy!

Bye Bye water

Bye Bye fountain

"Bye bye water.. Bye bye fountain.." You are me and I am you this is exactly what I do on my last night

Is this.... real?!?! I'm going to say no.. but only because of its eye..... Although the rest of it is very convincing!

OMG they're so cute. Seaworld looked fun!

This sounds hilarious, you all look like you're having a blast

I cannot recommend this experience enough, I know the reservations are hard to get it but it was totally worth it.

This is good to know! Your food looked really good. We love lunch there because we looooove the turkey sandwich, maybe next time I'll try to book a lunch AND a dinner. I'd love to meet the Beast too

Such a silly idea for someone like me who gets motion sickness! I kept trying to make them stop spinning it but of course that just encouraged them... luckily I didn't feel ill afterwards!

I've witnessed TWO different people vomit outside the teacups right in front of me ....I'm glad you weren't that guy

Hurry home indeed... to our new home!! TODAY WE MOVE TO AKL!!!!

So exciting! We're looking at AKL for a 2016 trip!!! Excited to hear what you thought and to see more of your pictures

Our tickets to Universal were in the paper pocket you get when you check into a Disney hotel back in our old room in All Star Sports which was most likely about to be cleaned.

OMG I would have a heart attack......

We went with a CM to the room and a cleaner was just finishing in there and our paper packet with our tickets were right at the top of one of her bin bags.

I'M SO GLAD YOU GOT THEM BACK. Seriously, Universal tickets are a nightmare, they're so tiny they can be discarded so easily.

My first purchase was a Kalua Pork Slider slider from Hawaii kiosk.

I. am. OBSESSED. with the pork slider. I bought an entire F&W cookbook JUST because it had the recipe in it

You had to shake it loads and then when you drank it the consistency went like jelly in your mouth.

Umm WHAT.

I hear this will be having a big refurbishment from January 2016 and in my opinion it does really need it. I do enjoy the enjoy the ride but personally I don't get the major fuss about it and prefer Test Track.

I agree, I love Soarin' so much, but it definitely needs an update... I like the film/music and everything, but the screen can be MUCH better quality with today's technology. When we rode the Simpsons ride at Universal which only opened like 3 years after Soarin, and we both commented on how much better quality the video/screen seemed to be. I'm excited to see the revamp!

Our next stop was at one of my favourite places (we like pointing at signs) ​

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Literally everything you write about I add to me list mainly my list of things to eat this place smells incredible, but I've never bought anything!!! What should I try?!

I'm in love with this picture you have some great photos!!!!

A Lapu Lapu of course!

Of course!!!

It was SOOOOO GOOOOOD! Really strong though!I love the novelty of it being in a pineapple too...​

When I had my Lapu Lapu in 2014, I remember thinking, this doesn't even taste of alcohol, I could down this in one!! Then I got another this year and took a big gulp thinking it was basically juice, and omg, it was SO strong!!!! I almost choked delicious though.

I saved just enough room for this awesome bread pudding desert

Great updates!!!! Can't wait for more