Delicious Indeed!

[Jennifer48]

I love Fruit Stripe gum! I remember it lasting much longer than other gums.

Sorry to hear about your dinner mix-up especially since you were all looking forward to it! I hope you did go back to redeem the entree that CB was going to give you.

Epcot, I see you!

 

[klacey1]

Your dinner was VERY messed up! How did that happen?? I'm glad the manager made it right, though!

 

[RunningGirl]

Sorry your dinner was such a mess! When I read your title I thought you were messed up and missed your dinner.

Can't wait to see what the next day brings!

 

[Cat0727]

I love Cracker Barrel's country store! It's so cute. I always end up buying something there.

Wow they really messed up your dinners. Good thing you didn't have to leave a tip. Hope the food still tasted good

 

[Nermel9]

Wow, I can't believe all of your dinners were messed up! Can't wait to read about your first park day!!!

 

[therussells08]

I loved looking at your Cracker Barrel pics! We have a CB about a mile from our apartment, so John and I eat there all the time. However, I'm so used to it I never stop and look at all of the cool little things they have, so your pictures made me want to do that the next time I go there!

WOW, did they get any of your orders right?! Everything was so mixed up! I hate it when places mess up orders and you aren't really in a position to go back. Last weekend John went to Bojangles to get breakfast for us and they gave me a chicken biscuit instead of a sausage biscuit. We didn't realize this until he got home, so it really wasn't worth the gas for him to go back out, and I was really disappointed in my chicken biscuit.

YAY! Epcot is next! I can't wait!

 

[RachelNinja]

I hate when you order food and its all messed up. I almost always check it before I leave the parking lot because I've had so many of those experiences. The catfish looked yummy though and I'm sorry it didn't turn out as great as you expected. Lastly, I really like Despicable Me.. its very cute and the voices in the film crack me up.

Yeah, I usually always check orders, but because I wasn't the one who charged it, I didn't have the bag. If only we knew! The catfish was still good although I would've liked tartar sauce. I can't watch Despicable Me without seeing Michael Scott from The Office!

I love walking around the Craacker barrel store. There is so much to play with and it's so much fun to see all the stuff. for the grape soda!

Yeah, there was no getting out of the chinese banquet or the tea ceremony. or the outfit changes - I managed to limit that a bit though. I'll look around for food pics for you. As for attendants, I had 4 - my sister, my cousin, and 2 best friends. Plus DH's neice was a flower girl since his nephew was the ring bearer. I'll see what I can send over to you to view!

There are a lot of weird things in Cracker Barrel stores too!

Thanks for sending those pics! If I have to wear a different dress (which I don't believe I'll have to because it is a very short reception), I'm not paying for it! No way! I already paid for my own dress, and I want to wear that for as long as possible.

I love Fruit Stripe gum! I remember it lasting much longer than other gums.

Sorry to hear about your dinner mix-up especially since you were all looking forward to it! I hope you did go back to redeem the entree that CB was going to give you.

Epcot, I see you!

I liked Fruit Stripe gum and Bubbllicious for the flavors. Once the flavor was gone, I'd spit it out though. Haha. I never really got into gum chewing.

Yup, we definitely made sure we fit it into our schedule to get that missing meal and sides!

Your dinner was VERY messed up! How did that happen?? I'm glad the manager made it right, though!

If it were one mistake, we would've understood and not cared. However, it was a great big mistake! I know CB is inexpensive, but even so, we paid for an entree and 3 sides. Don't take that away from us!

Sorry your dinner was such a mess! When I read your title I thought you were messed up and missed your dinner.

Can't wait to see what the next day brings!

Missing the 2 ADRs we made was something I was worried about the whole time! I wrote it down and kept checking it. I got a little OCD about that!

I love Cracker Barrel's country store! It's so cute. I always end up buying something there.

Wow they really messed up your dinners. Good thing you didn't have to leave a tip. Hope the food still tasted good

I don't think I can ever go into a CB and NOT buy something!

Other than the corn, everything tasted good! It wasn't as hot as it could've been, of course, since it was sitting on the counter. I mean, we knew it wouldn't be hot-hot because we'd have to bring it back to the place and unload groceries and all that. But that extra time sitting there couldn't have helped.

Wow, I can't believe all of your dinners were messed up! Can't wait to read about your first park day!!!

It's about time I got to my first park day, haha!!!

I loved looking at your Cracker Barrel pics! We have a CB about a mile from our apartment, so John and I eat there all the time. However, I'm so used to it I never stop and look at all of the cool little things they have, so your pictures made me want to do that the next time I go there!

WOW, did they get any of your orders right?! Everything was so mixed up! I hate it when places mess up orders and you aren't really in a position to go back. Last weekend John went to Bojangles to get breakfast for us and they gave me a chicken biscuit instead of a sausage biscuit. We didn't realize this until he got home, so it really wasn't worth the gas for him to go back out, and I was really disappointed in my chicken biscuit.

YAY! Epcot is next! I can't wait!

Ahhh, lucky you! That would be great if Howard and I could go all the time. We go to Chili's rather often because we're kinda addicted, haha. CB would be there for some variety. And boo to the chicken biscuit! It's totally different! I would've been so disappointed as well. Oh, and one day, I will try Bojangles ... haha. We see it on the way down to Florida, and my cousins and other friends who went on a short term missions trip in North Carolina tried Bojangles and LOVED it, so I've always wanted to go!

 

[YukiPhnx]

Aww, it's too bad they mixed up your dinners like that! It was proabably hard for them to remember which dinner had what sides and she just listed them instead of split them up.

Good thing you called them! It's a pretty big thing to just let go.

 

[RachelNinja]

Aww, it's too bad they mixed up your dinners like that! It was proabably hard for them to remember which dinner had what sides and she just listed them instead of split them up.

Good thing you called them! It's a pretty big thing to just let go.

Yeah, if they just mixed up who had what side, it would've been better because we would've just swapped everything. I was able to get my corn from Howard, and I gave half of the fries to Ray. The bad thing was that it wasn't all correct and a lot of it was just missing!

I'm happy Dani called and that we were able to get stuff later that week!

 

[YukiPhnx]

Yeah, if they just mixed up who had what side, it would've been better because we would've just swapped everything. I was able to get my corn from Howard, and I gave half of the fries to Ray. The bad thing was that it wasn't all correct and a lot of it was just missing!

I'm happy Dani called and that we were able to get stuff later that week!

I hate getting take-out and then finding out they got it wrong. I once got a mango sticky rice dessert with no mango in it! It didn't take me until I was half done with it that I figured out why it tasted so funny...

 

[RachelNinja]

I hate getting take-out and then finding out they got it wrong. I once got a mango sticky rice dessert with no mango in it! It didn't take me until I was half done with it that I figured out why it tasted so funny...

I know mistakes can happen, which is why it's very important for the managers or whoever it is to do their best to rectify the situation. It's so important to do that because otherwise that bad experience would keep us from going back again in the future!

 

[RachelNinja]

Monday, February 21: How Far Is It To Disney World?

I was the first one awake that next morning because I was eager to get to Epcot! Plus, I like being able to use the bathroom in the morning before everyone else without feeling rushed. I wasn’t feeling that tired, and I think I actually woke up a bit before my alarm since I was used to getting up at that time for work. After I brushed my teeth and put my contacts in and all that, I went to wake up Howard. It’s fun being able to wake him up because I like seeing him all content as he’s sleeping. Plus, I poke his face until he wakes up, hehe.

I went on Nik’s netbook since hers was the only one that was on (Howard had put his into the drawer next to his bed, and I didn’t know where it was), and I checked my email and Facebook and all that as I waited for everyone else to get ready. Howard and I then had our breakfast of Honey Bunches of Oats and made sure we knew how to get to the park! This was the first time we’d be driving by ourselves, and we actually decided to take the 429 highway, which is a toll road for only $1. If it was going to save us the stop-and-go of the traffic lights on the regular route, we were all for it! The year I fainted while waiting for the monorail, I felt really sick in the car. Every time we stopped at a light, it made me feel even worse. Part of me always remembers that and gets slightly nervous when taking that route anyway, so I was glad to go a new way!

When everyone finished getting ready, it was finally time to go, and boy, was I excited! I was headed back to my favorite place on this entire planet! I was also excited to get there early! It took some nudging since the 3 of them were dragging a little, but we didn't leave that much later than our intended time. I think it was only like 15 minutes off? They didn't get to eat breakfast though and had granola bars in the car.

Anyway, we turned on to the road that led us to the highway. When we got to this old man at the toll booth, Howard asked, “How far is it to Disney World?” The man said, “Disney World?” in such a way that it made us think that we were headed in the wrong direction, as if he’d never heard of it before! Haha. He told it was the first exit. It was actually visible from where we were at the toll booth! We joked about it for the rest of the trip, saying that that guy was probably wondering what was wrong with us and wanting to say, “Sonny, can you not read? The sign is right there?” Haha.

We got on Disney property and drove under a welcome sign just like the main one on the "other side." Of course, I wasn't prepared with the camera, so this is what I got.

I turned around to at least get the back of it, and I was able to get these silly folk in the picture too!

Nik was very excited! Here you can see she's finishing up her "breakfast" drink.

YAY! Epcot!!! I was happy that we chose Epcot as our first park. I personally think there's less stress going to this park. MK requires a lot of planning and criss crossing and crowds!

We finally arrived at the parking lot where we had an encounter with a grouchy cast member. We were being directed down a particular aisle in the parking lot so that when we got to the place to actually park, we were actually farther away from the intended spot. That meant that other cars were pulling in and there was no room for us. The CM on the segway down there put his hands up like, “What are you doing?!?” and he only slightly directed us where to go. Then he gave us even more attitude again when he told us to start parking in a new aisle even though there was a Disney vehicle there. Pshhh. First of all, we were told to go down that particular aisle, so it’s not like we did this on purpose. It was clearly an accident as evidenced by the fact that there were a few other cars also in our same position. We were just the first car to do it. The person at the beginning of the parking aisle was telling something different than what the person at the end wanted. Secondly, even if we did make the mistake of going down the wrong aisle, did you really have to give us attitude? It wasn’t the end of the world for you to just point to a different spot for us to park. In reality, it was bad for us since we were farther away. It didn’t affect him! Hello? You work at Disney World. Put a smile on your face. Even Nik was pointing that out because she had done a project on Disney World as a corporation and her professor used to be a CM, so she let Nik read the CM book! I wish I could read that!

Well, we got parked and situated, and that’s when I lost Howard’s lens cap. When I took a picture of the Epcot sign, I had the lens cap on my lap. Then I had to get more money out for parking, so I put the camera down on my lap. It must’ve fallen off when I was doing everything else. It wasn’t that big of a deal because Howard said he had more caps at home and that he had a filter on his lens to protect the actual lens. He also spends the day with it off anyway because it’s annoying to keep taking it off and putting it back on. Even so, I felt bad that I had lost it! It wasn't until the last day that I found it when I moved the passenger seat back!

I took a picture of our parking aisle so that we'd know where to go at the end of the day.

I can't believe we were there a half hour before park opening! Yay!

Here are the kiddies and Spaceship Earth!

I jumped into the pic because like I've said in the past, I'm not used to actually being in vacation photos! It was only when Howard joined us on our last trip were there pics of me!

First stop was bag check. Of course, Howard and I went on the line that took longer than the other 3. But that was fine since they had to stop by Will Call to pick up their tickets anyway. It was definitely “rewarding” though because another CM came by to say hi to the one checking my bag. She said that she was still trying to get over a cold, so she had a mixture of orange juice and whiskey and other things this morning! Haha, I just thought it was entertaining because it was so early in the morning and she was an older lady!

Howard and I lined up right away and got our tickets ready. Here's Howard's non-expiration ticket. I think at that point he still had 7 days left whereas I only had 3 or 4.

He got all excited about the Tronorail too!

I was so excited to be in WDW for the second time with my love! Last time it was as boyfriend and girlfriend. This time it was as fiance and fiancee! At that time, we thought that the next time it'd be as husband and wife, but I believe we'll have another fiance/fiancee trip in April 2012 with my parents since our wedding date is now in May instead of March!

This is how far back we were.

In reality, it wasn't that bad. We weren't THAT far from the turnstile.

However, I remembered reading that people don’t go all the way to the end and just start lining up at the one they see in front of them. So I sent Howard to go farther down just to check, and when he confirmed it was a line, I met up with him. Then the other 3 met up with us. When we saw some people going to another turnstile, we joined them in line as maybe the 4th group or so. Of course, that ended up being a stupid move because there was no cast member there, so one came over and said it wouldn’t be opened. We had to hop back onto the second line we were on.

Finally people were being let in! YAY! Here's Ray swiping his ticket.

We saw Daisy on the way in as well. I know that she's not as common of a character, so I asked them if they wanted to take a pic (the line wasn't long at all, just a few people), and Dani and Nik both quickly shook their heads no! Haha, that was fine by me. I'm not that big of a fan of character interactions either, especially the ones with masks!

As we were waiting and walking, I decided against getting the Guest Assistance Card at that point. I wanted to get the Fast Passes for Soarin’ and do the rides first. There aren’t many rides in Epcot that the GAC could be used for, or at least that’s what it seemed like last year with the CMs we encountered. I figured I could go the day without it or just get it later in the day when we got the big rides done. Would that be a good decision or a bad one?

Well, we were finally inside the park, but it still wasn't quite open. We still had more waitin' to do!

 

[LilAnn]

First, have to say, I love Nik's "breakfast" drink. Was it the lemon drink or the chrysanthemum tea? Yum.

Ugh, the parking at the parks can be so annoying. It's DH's biggest pet peeve, mostly because he hates it when you end up parking at the farthest spot in the aisle, even though you get to the parks so early. But I get the method, too, just a pain.

I think I've always been all about the characters, even before DD. Just a kid at heart, I guess.

 

[Bridora]

Yay! You made it to Epcot!

I'm glad your "new route" worked out just fine.

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your day.

 

[Jennifer48]

Plus, I poke his face until he wakes up, hehe.

This made me laugh so hard! I'm sure he'll love that when you are married!

I hope you don't regret not getting the GAC card!

 

[Heffielump]

YAY! You made it to Epcot! Love the breakfast drink by the way! It's one of my favorites too!

I'm trying to make it to Epcot right now but it is pouring rain outside - my only free day in Orlando. Must ride Soarin'!

Can't wait to see what you do first.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Ugggg, nothing is more annoying than getting home with a restaurant order and finding out that it is wrong Glad the manager offered to make it up to you!

Yay, Epcot! Love that park

 

[YukiPhnx]

I love Epcot! It's defintely mine and Andrew's favourite park.

Wow, what a nice morning to start off with! Well, minus the parking guy with attitude. It's too early for him to be that grumpy.

I love the drink that that Nik's drinking. But my fave is the lemon tea. They make it in a larger size now!

I love your pictures of the little things like them walking or swiping a ticket. Makes me feel like I'm there with you!

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your day.

 

[PirateKate]

I hate parking in the theme parks. I guess it's necessary to direct traffic like that, but it always seems like it'd be better to just find your own spot.

We've actually never made it to rope drop before, but that is one of my goals for October. I've always wondered what you'd do if you got there thirty minutes early. Just stand around?

 

[RachelNinja]

First, have to say, I love Nik's "breakfast" drink. Was it the lemon drink or the chrysanthemum tea? Yum.

Ugh, the parking at the parks can be so annoying. It's DH's biggest pet peeve, mostly because he hates it when you end up parking at the farthest spot in the aisle, even though you get to the parks so early. But I get the method, too, just a pain.

I think I've always been all about the characters, even before DD. Just a kid at heart, I guess.

I'm not sure which one she had. I like that a bunch of people on DIS recognized it!

Yeah, I wish there were some way to avoid having to park all the way at the end. It's always luck! One time we parked all the way at the front when my dad asked since my mom was pregnant with Matt. Walking TO the park is always okay. It's walking back to the car that can get painful!

I really enjoy the characters from afar. I do get very excited seeing them around or reading stories about their interactions with others.

Yay! You made it to Epcot!

I'm glad your "new route" worked out just fine.

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your day.

I'm very excited about the new route! I'll have to convince my parents to take it too. Haha, I'll give them the dollar!

This made me laugh so hard! I'm sure he'll love that when you are married!

I hope you don't regret not getting the GAC card!

Hehe, I mean, I poke softly and very lovingly!

You'll have to wait to see if I regret not getting the GAC! Whether I regretted it or not, I really could've gotten it at the beginning of the day because I didn't realize we were going to still have to wait inside the park.

YAY! You made it to Epcot! Love the breakfast drink by the way! It's one of my favorites too!

I'm trying to make it to Epcot right now but it is pouring rain outside - my only free day in Orlando. Must ride Soarin'!

Can't wait to see what you do first.

Oh boo! I can deal with some sprinkles, but pouring rain gets to be really difficult to manage especially since there are such big gaps in Epcot. Can't duck from covering to covering like you can with MK. Hope you got to ride Soarin'!

Ugggg, nothing is more annoying than getting home with a restaurant order and finding out that it is wrong Glad the manager offered to make it up to you!

Yay, Epcot! Love that park

Yeah, that's why Howard and I usually check, but sometimes it's too difficult when there are too many things to go through. One time I checked my salad from Outback, and there were no bleu cheese crumbles (the reason why I love it, haha, and the reason why Howard hates it). We went back since we were just in the parking lot, and the guy was like, "It doesn't come with crumbles; it's in the dressing." I was like, "Um, are you sure? Because I always get this salad, and it always has crumbles ..." Good thing we checked that because that's a huge part of the bleu cheese chopped salad!

I love Epcot! It's defintely mine and Andrew's favourite park.

Wow, what a nice morning to start off with! Well, minus the parking guy with attitude. It's too early for him to be that grumpy.

I love the drink that that Nik's drinking. But my fave is the lemon tea. They make it in a larger size now!

I love your pictures of the little things like them walking or swiping a ticket. Makes me feel like I'm there with you!

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your day.

It's only in the past few years that I've really started LOVING Epcot! I had to get rid of the memories from my childhood when it was way too boring and hot going around World Showcase.

I agree. How can you have such an attitude that early in the morning when you work at Disney? We didn't give him any attitude at all, so I don't know where it came from! Maybe someone finished his cereal at home.

You can probably tell which pictures are Howard's and which are mine. Howard takes pics of a lot of things. I take pics to capture moments!