englishrose47
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2007
All caught up with Epcot and DHA+S. That Salad at Turf Club does look great!! Question why is your sister "BUCKY"!!???
Wow! Early December, huh? I need to write this down...
Actually, my daughter's birthday is in early February. I wonder if the crowds would be similarly light then.
I am so sorry that your father was so poorly, especially during the holiday season. I hope he is better now.
Aulani sounds like a plan. I cannot think of a place I would rather visit.
I missed that talk unfortunately.
This looks amazing.
Both dishes look delicious.
Looks like you had a really chilled out day. I love the holiday storytellers. What a shame that it was so cold though.
At home I would potentially agree with Michael, but not at Disney or on vacation!
I can't wait to see this for myself! So exciting!
I hope that this means it is less "thrilling" than Forbidden Journey, I hope that I can ride Gringott's without any ill effects.
This area looks really cool!
I had problems with the Simpson's ride too, but not as much as FJ.
I did OK on Spiderman, but it was a little squirrely. I enjoyed what I've seen of the Transformer movies, but I have never "sat down and watched them". We often have movies going on in the background while I'm online or cooking and they were amusing enough for situations like that.
This area looks so cool! I can't imagine how cool the train part must be!
That sounds cool. I've always liked the Grinch.
They had a walk through show there that I've heard has closed down, but I kind of enjoyed that. It's a neatly themed area, just not a lot going on.
Hmmm, maybe I should try it again, but when we are planning to go back to the room, not when it will take two hours to get my stomach back out of my throat.
Hey! I just posted the same thing from the other coast!
I do enjoy the hot tub when it is cool out, but sometimes have to draw the line.
I can tell you that after I rode Forbidden Journey, I felt ill for almost two hours after riding. There is no ride at Disney that could prepare you for this and the "bench" shifts this way and that in every conceivable direction with no warning or indication of where you might move.
:roftl2: I would be happy to take some of the Gingerbread cones from the stand in your pictures!
I'll go with Michael's choice on this one.
Fran would want this.
I'll keep this in mind when packing for my December trip.
This looks very yummy!
Menus at Disney are often seasonal and at that time of the year pumpkin would have been very popular at WDW.
Fun updates! A tour through EPCOT is always welcome, thank you!
My favorite photo was the Mexico Pav one with the Senorita spreading her pretty dress. Super picturesque.
YOu know, I never really think to consider the resort restaurants very much, and I'm not even sure why. Maybe my perception that they lack the over-the-top theming I want? Maybe I need to look more carefully at those options.... because the food looks really amazing.
If it just were not half way across the world from here... And since it is so far, I really want to make a trip to Hawaii really count and see the other islands as well. And then we are starting to talk about a pricey trip! But I think once we are back from California, I will start drawing up a tentative schedule and make a budget to see how bad it really is.
We headed over to Asia next and somehow started talking to the lady at the DVC kiosk there. It is definitely one of the best themed DVC kiosks!
There's a wrong way to spell/say uh, Fuddruckers???I love Fuddruckers! You just have to be careful about how you spell/say it.
I guess I missed something there about you being captured!! But I am glad that I could provide some entertainment!
Aha - you were detaining him!! Well done, I got a really nice long response from him out of it!
Somebody had to work and I was house-sitting while new carpet was being installed. Since they were having to move everything around and with so much disruption, there wasn't much else to do but sit at the computer and catch up on the DIS...........Hey!!! You don't want to falsely accuse me of being a liar!
I know nothing about Harry Potter as this is something I just have never gotten interested in. I really want to make it to US soon, but it will be purely for the rides. For the most part, the theming will just be something "nice."In case you know nothing about Harry Potter, Goblins are creatures in that book that play a role in the wizard banking industry. And this was where we were headed today: To go to the Gringotts Bank at Diagon Alley.
That definitely looks like a cool addition.One of the Christmas things they have there, is that they have some of the balloons from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on display throughout the park. I loved that, especially since I had so much fun watching that parade on Thanksgiving morning for the first time ever.
Hey, something that looks familiar.............And then it was time for dessert – you might have already noticed the ice cream cone in the previous picture.
This is what I got:
Ouch!I sometimes get the impression that this slogan is the one that Disney uses internally to determine their pricing structure:
I love the bakery in France, but I have a hard time deciding what to get. Everything looks too artistic to eat it if I ordered it.We headed straight to the bakery where I got some pictures of the desserts:
My favorite.............and it has nothing to do with Julenissen holding that wooden spoon............Here we heard the story of the julenissen:
Oh Katharina, I wish you had told me you wanted to try Yak & Yeti when we were there! I love that place and would have easily took the time to go enjoy it with you!A few days later I told Katharina about it and she was really upset that I would go there after I supposedly had told her that it would not be worth our time when we were at WDW together. It appears that she was far more interested in eating there than I had been in the past… So, that’s why today’s title is “Sorry Katharina!” – she will have to endure me writing about an experience that I prevented her from having!
Mark, I talked to Michael about this and he says early February should be pretty good for crowds as well. The later it gets the more the crowds are going to built, especially for Presidents Day.
I'm a morning person in my own way ... like two in the morning and three in the morning!
A few days later I told Katharina about it and she was really upset that I would go there after I supposedly had told her that it would not be worth our time when we were at WDW together. It appears that she was far more interested in eating there than I had been in the past… So, that’s why today’s title is “Sorry Katharina!” – she will have to endure me writing about an experience that I prevented her from having!
At least the building walls were much nicer here than at the MK!
I really liked how nicely themed these were, here they all had Asian proverbs on them:
I think I had a very exotic drink. Something called a Coke.
So, the good news for Katharina is: I would be very happy to eat there again on a future visit with her!
And I'd share some appetizers with her ... and we could tell stories about how funny the Americans are because they do crazy things like put mustard on a pretzel!
After having had a lovely meal in Asia, we decided to go for a nice stroll through the gardens of Anandapur where we came across some tigers:
I really love those trails in Africa and Asia as they let you just explore on your own speed. And I find something new every time.
Let's just say that since I have numerous CM friends that I may know where you can just pick up a Tell-A-Cast, which is the little info guide that every CM carries, and is updated weekly.
We also picked up some gifts for Michael’s parents in the Germany pavilion together. This was great fun and I got a nice bottle of German wine for them.
One day (think it was March) he just opened the bottle and I think he drank the entire thing himself (no, not in one sitting or even one week). I know I never managed to get a taste.
Aha - you were detaining him!! Well done, I got a really nice long response from him out of it!
To go to the Gringotts Bank at Diagon Alley.
We discussed getting a snack somewhere, but then thought we could get an early lunch instead, so we headed to the Leaky Cauldron, the restaurant in Diagon Alley. They have an interesting set up where there is one queue line in one room and then you get to the room with the cash registers and they call you up to one register at a time when it is free.
muggle London to wizard London to make our way over to Gringott’s:
I haven't had that type of lasting vertigo since maybe my first or second cruise. I'm still not entirely sure why it happened. But when you get off a ship Saturday morning and the ground is still moving Wednesday afternoon, it just isn't fun!
They have a poster in there which shows all the characters that ever played a role in the Simpsons:
There even is a legend to it to explain who is who.
Once we had enough of the water, we found out that the changing rooms there were still open and even heated, so we got out of the wet stuff before making our way back to our room.
I can't wait for you to get the chance to stay at Aulani!
That really is weird. Not sure what Christmas has to do with a fish-dog.
We don't see them outside in my hometown either, but they're everywhere indoors.
Looks great! I can hardly wait to see it for myself!
From now on, I will refer to them as beer mug mugs.
Well...that's one way to spend your money, I guess. I'd buy DVC points at Aulani!
Actually, most of our advent calendars end on the 24th as well. Since advent is supposed to be the countdown to Christmas, it doesn't usually include the actual day.
Lovely shot!
Cool. That's the first time I've seen these.
You don't hear much about it, but I remember my parents really liking their meal here.
Fat Tire is a good choice!
That looks really good.
Yeah, I'm sure the water is warm...but at some point, you have to get out!
All caught up again, Magdalene!
Took me some time to get through the UO/IOA part as I have not read ONE of the Harry Potter books, nor have I watched the movies. So it took a while to take it all in.
Your tour of Epcot sounds lovely, even though you are brave to listen to the German traditions part. (sorry, but we did the Christmas tour, whatever it is called when we went to WDW for Christmas and the guide started to tell us that ALL Germans hide a pickle in their tree and I had to bite my lip to not say anything.
Dinner at the Turf Club looked really nice, nothing was on the menu when we dined there a few years ago, but we found the food to be pretty nice and it was easy to get a table making an ADR only an hour earlier.
It seems to have become a nice tradition to end a successful day at Universal with a good meal amongst friends!
And I really want to go back there. And I stopped my nth rereading of the Harry Potter Books after The Half-Blood Prince. I guess something to do on vacation? Do you have it in your library?
I'm of course intrigued by your update. I'm afraid to make guesses, as this might reveal that I've forgotten what you already did on that vacation… But it could be mini golf or Kennedy Space Center...
I've always wanted to hear the storytellers in all the countries in EPCOT. Thanks so much for all the lovely pictures. One day I'll get there in December.
ETA- Oh and wonderful updates. You really lucked out with the lines at Universal.
Just loved your update on Universal, you have helped immensely with many questions I had about the new Harry Potter part. I can tell you that I LOVED Forbidden Journey, to me it was cross between Dinasaur and Soarin" Kyle and I were the only ones who loved it , the girls and Judy did NOT!!! I haven't done Spiderman , it was closed for renovation the first time I went and broke down as we were in the car the second time !! Now I do NOT like Rollercoasters , do you and Michael think I would be okay with Diagon Alley???
also have not done the Transformers but am thinking it may be like Star Tours in DHS only more intense ??? I can handle the Simpson Ride but the rollercoaster part is very iffy for me , so how would I handle Spiderman??? I am hoping for some good advice her !!!!
All caught up with Epcot and DHA+S. That Salad at Turf Club does look great!! Question why is your sister "BUCKY"!!???
That is a drawback. For us it is only marginally closer. We are planning to go back in 2018 and I think this is going to have to be a 4 week trip. We are intending to stop in New York in one direction and Los Angeles the other, spend some time at Aulani and do a cruise around the islands.
That is where our DVC journey started. We had a look around the kiosk to get out of the wind after we got drenched on Kali River Rapids. Little did we know that we would be DVC members by the end of that trip.
I really enjoyed all the photos. The restaurant looks spectacular. That is ridiculous that they were worried about the chocolate melting in the middle of winter.