Exclusive Baby Gorilla Photos! (plus bonus Trip Report) - June '15 - completed 10/23 - Page 31

[kadrachb]

, Pecos Bill's Fall Off Your Chair Cafe:

With the new menu, I really want to try eating here our next trip!

Yep, just because it's the last park day for us doesn't mean we can't head back to CBR. Especially if it's for lunch!

We actually prefered going back to the QS at our resort because it was mostly empty!

 

[nilla]

With the new menu, I really want to try eating here our next trip!

I can't wait to see the menu for the Jungle Cruise place.

We actually prefered going back to the QS at our resort because it was mostly empty!

That was nice, too!

Ok, here are the latest updates:

 

[nilla]

WRITER'S NOTE: I had an unfortunate accident with an apple peeler before I started typing this, so I'm typing with about 6 Band-Aid brand bandages wrapped around my finger. They want you to call it that, you know: "Band-Aid brand bandages". Not "Band-Aids". Just like Lego wants you to say "Lego Bricks" or "Lego Blocks". It's so they don't lose the trademark.

Anyway, typos should be both excused and anticipated.

So where were we? Oh, yeah.

We slept a little, but not too much. Let's be serious here.

Recharged, we got ready to go.

This isn't our first time eating at Narcoossee's. Of course, you'd never know that, because the only other time we've dined there was 2013, and my 2013 Trip Report was...well, you know.

To sum up our 2013 meal briefly, we loved it! One of the best dining experiences on any of our trips. The food was fantastic, and we had the best server we've had anywhere, including outside of Disney. His name started with an "A", but I don't remember the rest. He was from Germany, and was absolutely HYSTERICAL. For example, when Emily ordered the Make-Your-Own-S'mores dessert, he replied with, "ohhh, that is a sticky proposition. Last time someone ordered that, I went home with three kids stuck to my pants." Dylan, who was taking German at the time in school, greeted him with a "guten tag", to which he rattled off something in German that Dylan didn't understand a word of. At the end of the meal, he came out holding a handful of Mickey's Magical Straws (aka "Mickey Straws"), and said, "I am sorry to tell you, but we are completely out of Mickey Straws." He was great. And the food was sensational.

Tonight, we're going back. And we didn't even realize it before last week. As you recall, Raglan Road fell victim to a 12-alarm kitchen fire, and Firemen Mickey, Goofy, and Donald had to come screaming over from Main Street, USA to put it out.

To be honest, I truly believe, to this day, that's how fires get put out at Magic Kingdom. I've never seen anyone else put out fires in MK, so it's probably true.

Anyway, Kristin tried for California Grill (where we've never been), but couldn't get it. Amazingly, Narcoossee's had an opening. And we grabbed it.

Of course, Narcoossee's has a dress code, so Kristin had to change out of the ripped shorts and fishnets; Emily had to put on a non-racist, non misogynistic t-shirt; and I was forced, against my beliefs, to defy the 11th Commandment ("Sun's out, guns out") and ditch the tank top (for males).

Alright, whatever. Is this better?



We clean up nice. Especially the girls.

No photo of the boys, but we had on shirts with buttons. IRONED shirts with buttons.

I actually iron every morning in Disney, which is hilarious since I only iron for special occassions at home. I guess this qualifies

Our path to the Grand Floridian tonight consists of a park bus to MK at 4:15, followed by a Monorail ride to the resort.

...

We're at the Grand Floridian!

 

[nilla]

Wow!





For some reason, we didn't get a lot of pictures of the lobby itself, but Kristin and Emily did request "coming down the stairs" pictures:





Out we went now, where we DID take photos:





That's Em's pose for this dress, if you haven't noticed. Here it is again:



And I guess I only had SOME buttons. But at least I had a collar:



Looks like we were staring right into the sun on that one.

Two more shots of the resort:





This place is beautiful, but it gives off a bit of a Stepford Wives vibe to it. As in, I think everyone here, besides us, is a robot. And maybe even some of us. You can never be too sure.

 

[nilla]

Inside we go, and right past the front door is this beauty:



Nice! And the best part? It was made of white chocolate. So it's probably best it was under glass. I would have needed an intervention, because Bruce's name would have become "Half Bruce".

The restaurant isn't open for a few more minutes, so we head outside to wait. Look at that view!



Soon after, we're called in - time to eat! We're seated dockside, right by a window:





I saw a picture of Dylan from 2013 the other day, and it didn't even look like him. He looked like a little boy. HUGE change in two years!

Our server arrives, and while she's not as amazing as the guy we had on our first go-around (who is?), she was still extremely nice, and very good at her job. She even got a picture of us!



Sort of. But don't blame her for the lighting. We never put the flash on. We discussed our favorite topic with her, which is "exactly how much do you love living in Florida?"

In sharp contrast to our meals the last two nights, service was spectacular. Within minutes, Emily had some kind of a shake:



I had some kind of a beer:



And we all had some kinds of butter and bread:





As you can see, Emily got fruit, too. We placed our food orders when we placed our drink orders, as we usually do. We're quick and decisive. Usually. Ok, sometimes. So now, all we have to do is wait for our meals...

 

[nilla]

...but not long! As I said before, the service was top-notch tonight. As for the food...



Kristin and I both got the Filet and Lobster Tail, only we subbed in scallops for the tails. We like lobster, but don't love it. Much bigger fans of crabs. And shrimp. And scallops.

It was a great move, IMO, since the scallops were unbelievable. Soooo good. Best I've ever had. And the meat was out of this world, too. Cooked to perfection. Quite possibly my favorite meal of the trip, but I'm having a hard time putting anything about the steak I got at Shutters. Yes, Shutters.

Dylan went for the "Snake River Farms Kurobuta Pork Rib Chop", and actually ate it:



Emily got...



Are you surprised?

There's always at least a bit of anxiety with these kids at the nicer restaurants, because you NEVER know. Last year at Artist Point was a disaster. But tonight, they were wonderful. Unlike the last two nights, the quick service helped curb any silliness, but they did really well on their own. Not perfect...



...but really well.



I decided fruity beer was the way to go tonight, following up the peach starter with a Frambois (rasperry) Lambic.



Lindemann isn't quite Liefmans when it comes to lambics, but it's a great beer nonetheless. And perfect today, with this meal.

Dessert was next. Dylan got the Almond-crusted Cheesecake:



He loves cheesecake, and this was no exception.

Against past advice, Emily took part in a sticky proposition:



Since it's Disney, and you are legally under contract to eat Creme Brulee here, Kristin and I marched in lockstep with our hosts and got the Coconut and Chocolate Crème Brûlée.



Mmmmm. Great desserts!

Overall, the meal was probably the best dining experience of the trip. Simply wonderful. We're going back next year, and would recommend it for anyone. Five stars!

 

[nilla]

We head outside, snapping some photos on the way:







Ooh, sky's not looking very nice, is it?



We thought we saw some lightning around MK during dinner, and I don't think we were imagining it.

Back inside, where we do manage to get ONE photo of the lobby. Or the chandelier, at least:



This place is absolutely gorgeous, but I really think I was born "Mod Trash", and it's pointless to try to change at this point. We'll probably stay here one day, to try it, but my heart will always be at the moderates.

...until we stay at the Polynesian, of course. But never mind that. Let's go back to MK!

 

[nilla]

We reach the Magic Kingdom, and I hear a bag check agent telling another he thinks the storm will pass. Let's hope!

The storm hasn't passed yet, however, so the train isn't running. Oh, well - we missed that this year. Not a huge deal.

Photos up top now:





We went back down the stairs, walking past the Town Square Theater. 50 minute wait for Mickey. Darn. We haven't heard him talk yet this year, and it's not looking good for that.

Kristin walks up to the CM at the door, and learns that the wait is never going to be anywhere near 50 minutes. Awesome! In we go, before the storm starts (if it doesn't pass) and this place fills up!

Another CM sort of hinted to us that Mickey was, indeed, speaking today, so we're happy about that. It's just not the same when he doesn't.

All-in-all, we waited about 20 minutes to get in.

If you've never met Talking Mickey, he is THEE GREATEST. Although he did blink in this picture:



And this one:



But did you know he's a magician?



It's true! But he's not a very good one. Last year, he had Emily pick a card and hold it, then pulled card after card out of the deck, asking, "is this your card?" After multiple failures, he said, "let's trade", and took Emily's card, handing her the deck. "Is THIS your card?"

Wow, man. I mean, Mouse. Impressive.

This year, his malarkey involved a deck consisting of nothing but the Queen of Hearts (Minnie, of course). He would have the kids pick a card, then guess, "the Queen of Hearts?" AMAZING.

Alright, just pose with the fraud already:



We abandoned autograph books several years ago, after Kristin created books that we'll probably never top. So we don't try. Just photos for us now.

Except for tonight. Emily's meeting Elsa and Anna later, and she wants signatures.

After some debate about what to use, the decision was made to let Emily get the hat she just bought the other day signed. Um....ok.



Dylan's apparently getting a kick out of the Mouse. Some family shots with him now...



...and we're done. All joking insults aside, Talking Mickey really is an amazing experience. Some people ask, "how do they do it?" To which I reply, "Mickey Mouse can talk." There's really no smoke nor mirrors to it.

 

[nilla]

Back outside now, where it looks like the storm did pass! Ok, then...Castle shot!



I then got a tattoo shot:



And this shot:



And this, for some reason:



Kristin, of course, wanted these shots:





We still have some time before our first FPs, so we do some shoppin':



And then, some wishin':



Then, some admirin':



The clouds, that is. Kristin, of course, wanted this shot:



Alright, let's go meet the Royal Family!

 

[nilla]

Well, one of them, at least. We reach the queue, but to get inside, you have to play a real-life version of the 1993 video game "Doom":



FastPasses mean fast entry, and there's the Queen!



And there's the hat!





One last pose:



...and we're moving on. Elsa was really nice! No flipping out, breaking down, and freezing anyone today. Thank goodness.

LOVE this, btw:



LIKE these:





And now, it's time to meet the Princess!



And there's that hat again!



No idea what she's saying here, but it was funny. Everything she said was funny.



One last pose:



..and we're moving on. Anna was fantastic! Like in the movie, she was the far superior sister. No slight on anyone who may ever portray Queen Elsa, of course, because Anna's just better in every way. And by "portray", I mean elsewhere, since this is CLEARLY the one-and-only, 100% authentic Queen of Arendelle here.

 

[nilla]

Now that we met the royals, what should we do next? How about...meet more royals!

Dylan: "What????"

Yeah, we're going to meet more Princesses. Sorry, kid.

We're in the queue for about 20 minutes, then it's our turn.

Rapunzel LOVES Emily's hair wraps:



Now, it's her turn with the hat:



And the posing:



And a hug:



Rapunzel's always fun.

Cinderella is less fun, but she's not supposed to be as nutty as Rapunzel or Anna.

She does sign the hat, though:



And poses:



And poses:



The hat is filling up! One Mouse, one Queen, three Princesses...what's next?

How about...a Princess/mermaid?

 

[nilla]

Dylan: "WHAT????"

Yes, Dylan. I know. But the hat is wearing us right now. It's telling us it needs more ink. And the odd part is we don't have any ink. We didn't bring a single Sharpie.

But the hat does not care. The hat will conjure one up and have it appear in the Character Bodyguard CM's pocket. And in a different color than the last CM had. And in colors appropriate for the specific characters. Whoa.

One shot of the "other castle"...



...and it's off to meet the Mermaid.

In Mermaid form.

The line is fairly long tonight, and we end up waiting at least a half hour.

The queue was not boring, though. Now, there's nothing interactive, but we got live action drama a few people in front of us when two young sisters decided to throw down, right there in the queue.

I don't know what they were arguing about, but the older of the two (maybe 6?) blasted the other one (maybe 5?) with a right cross to the nose. The smaller girl took her Disney Princess book and smashed the other girl over the head with it. Both were bawling. What a disaster!

The mom steps in, and eventually, they settle down. I'm surprised she stayed in line.

After more waiting, Kristin saw them getting heated again, and decided to ask them if they've met any other Princesses. Distracted, they calmed down, and we ended up talking to them and their mom the rest of the time in line. Good job, Kristin! Conflict defused. Now, let's meet and greet!

First things first, the hat has needs:



Ariel is hilarious, as usual, asking Emily about swimming, making fish faces, talking about dinglehoppers...you know, the standard mermaid stuff.



And, of course, there was posing:



And hugs:



Emily still loves the Princesses. And why not? They're great!

Two more shots of Littlemermaidia...





Now let's get ready for Wishes!

 

[nilla]

Both with the advice for and in spite of the warnings against getting FastPasses for Wishes, we headed over to our dedicated Wishes viewing area. Nice!

Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of the area. Or of Wishes. Or the Celebrate the Magic show. But we did get a photo of the kids and their wand hijinx:



First off, Emily's hat turned out really cool! The Princesses and Mickey all have great signatures, and the hat looks great.

But back to the wands. As the kids were changing ears and changing wands, another little girl took notice and changed Emily's wand. Then, she asked if Em wanted to go over with her to play. Emily's in! Kids can make friends so easily.

You've seen the shows. Celebrate the Magic is unbelievably cool. I can't decide what scene is my favorite. Buzz? Pirates? Wreck-it-Ralph? Skeleton Dance?

And Wishes...well, is Wishes. Illuminations might be the best fireworks show in Disney, purely from a pyrotechnics standpoint, but Wishes has the Castle. And the music. Plus, Illuminations doesn't make me cry. Usually. Overall, Wishes takes the cake, if you ask me.

We ended up standing, in spite of the FPs, but we could have sat, if we really wanted to. And we weren't cramped in, which was wonderful. I'm a fan!

Wishes wrapped up right around our Space Mountain FP time, so we headed over to Tomorrowland for one last trip around the galaxy.

We always end up riding this one right around the end of our trip. The ride is great, as always. Afterwards, I look out at the merch one last time, hoping to find the Space Mountain shirt with the astronauts on the ride, in outer space, that I missed out on several years ago. Nope. They have a similar one with Mickey, but I liked the other one better.

After a quick stop into whatever the place is called by Cosmic Rays that has the ice cream and the slushies, we checked the time. Park closes in under an hour, but how about we take one last stab at the Mine Train?

 

[nilla]

As I said before, our camera must have been REALLY tired, because it didn't bother to come out for nearly the rest of the night.

We reached the 7DMT, and the posted wait was 50 minutes. Well, should we?

Yes. We should. It's our last night, and there's nothing else we feel the need to ride right now. So into the queue we go.

The wait was every bit of 50 minutes, but we had some good conversations about the trip, and there is enough in this queue to keep us at least somewhat busy.

Finally, we're on! Love love love this ride, and the fact that we didn't have FPs for it on this day didn't keep us from riding it. So, we had to wait. Not the end of the world.

This ride is really fun at night, by the way. We exit the ride, and the park is closing. What a way to cap it off.

We walk back down the middle of Main Street, USA (there's really no other way to recall that, is there?), stopping for our customary last shots, with Roy and Minnie:





And here it is...our last photo inside a Disney Park for 2015...



Strong finish, Em!

We exit the park, sob uncontrollably (me, mostly), board a bus, and arrive back at CBR around 12:30. It's quickly to bed, so we can get up and finish packing tomorrow. Our trip is coming to a close, but we have an afternoon flight, so we're not done yet. Downtown Disney, we'll see you tomorrow!


(up next, Downtown Disney and the end of our trip)

 

[AllysonL]

I would have needed an intervention, because Bruce's name would have become "Half Bruce".

Hahahaha!!!

Kristin and I both got the Filet and Lobster Tail, only we subbed in scallops for the tails. We like lobster, but don't love it. Much bigger fans of crabs. And shrimp. And scallops.

Great choice! My mouth is watering! That looks delish!

If you've never met Talking Mickey, he is THEE GREATEST

This is still on my list of Disney things I need to do!

This ride is really fun at night, by the way.

If you ever have the chance, riding this DURING Wishes is awesome! The first time we rode it was during MVMCP last year. We underestimated the wait time, and missed Wishes totally because we were waiting in line. But as we were riding the fireworks were going off all around us. It was awesome!

Great update!! I'm glad I'm not the only one that cries during Wishes. Keira is obsessed with fireworks, so we do a lot of YouTube Wishes and I cry every. single. time. It's the music that gets me right in the feels!

Love all the pictures of the family! Emily is so cute with her dress poses, and great idea to use the hat!

I'm so sad your trip report is coming to a close!

 

[BlvInMagic]

Great update! Cracking up over how the hat wants what it wants Dinner looked amazing .... definitely putting Narcoossee's on our future dining wish list. Talking Mickey is the best. We were in awe when we visited this summer and he was speaking Spanish to a family from South America. Mickey is a man of the world!

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

WRITER'S NOTE: I had an unfortunate accident with an apple peeler before I started typing this, so I'm typing with about 6 Band-Aid brand bandages wrapped around my finger.

Ouch! I hope your finger is healing!

This place is beautiful, but it gives off a bit of a Stepford Wives vibe to it. As in, I think everyone here, besides us, is a robot. And maybe even some of us. You can never be too sure.

ITA. We stayed at the Grand Floridian in 2014. It was nice but too fancy shmancy for my taste. I like the laid back vibe (and lack of robots) at the Polynesian.

Your meal at Narcoosee's looks awesome! We haven't eaten there in several years. Way back in the olden days they used to serve an alligator spread with the bread in addition to the butter. It was interesting!

LOVE this, btw:

This is awesome! Emily's learning German so she'd appreciate this. And it makes me laugh because when Emily was little she couldn't say "dwarfs". It came out as "Snow White and the Seven Dorks". HA!

I'm glad you got to ride SDMT again.

Poor Dylan - so many princess meet & greets! But the hat idea was cool.

We exit the park, sob uncontrollably (me, mostly), board a bus, and arrive back at CBR around 12:30. It's quickly to bed, so we can get up and finish packing tomorrow.

Oh man, that last time leaving the parks is torture......

 

[Clarf]

Poor Dylan. Though I can't believe he's not more interested in the princesses, now. He is a teenage boy, after all.

Um, that line you mentioned from Napoleon Dynamite about "Your Mom goes to college." I say that all the time. Like at least 2 times a week. It just pops up randomly in conversation.

Love that white chocolate Nemo sculpture! Cool!

Your dinner looked amazing! Glad the experience was better for your last day.

Talking Mickey can't be beat. We missed him this year and I regret it.

Um...I think Elsa might be related to Aurora who we met at Akershus this year. They look VERY much alike.

Glad you got on the Mine Train one last time. I'd wait 50 minutes to ride it. That's not too bad.

 

[kadrachb]

LOVE this, btw:



LIKE these:





And now, it's time to meet the Princess!



And there's that hat again!



No idea what she's saying here, but it was funny. Everything she said was funny.



One last pose:

I love the details in these rooms!

..and we're moving on. Anna was fantastic! Like in the movie, she was the far superior sister. No slight on anyone who may ever portray Queen Elsa, of course, because Anna's just better in every way. And by "portray", I mean elsewhere, since this is CLEARLY the one-and-only, 100% authentic Queen of Arendelle here.

I prefered it when they met together, because Elsa was much more talkative then and they played off each other. Meeting Elsa alone was just kind of awkward for us!

We walk back down the middle of Main Street, USA (there's really no other way to recall that, is there?), stopping for our customary last shots, with Roy and Minnie:





And here it is...our last photo inside a Disney Park for 2015...

Love these pictures!!

 

[toohappyerin]

Question about this... do you link your Disney Visa to your magic bands? Does it still give you the discount that way? I'm pretty sure we didn't get a discount on anything we bought because I just used the band - even though it was linked to our Disney Visa.

I'm pretty sure you have to actually show your disney visa and a also use it to make the purchase. This was my understanding last May so I carried one card with us as well as our I.d's in a little metal wallet. From what I've read recently it's still the case.