How A Trip Goes From Relaxing To Lets Do Everything? 2 Week Pic Report From Mar '11

[skidisney]

first...i am loving this trip report. the pictures are great!

second...oh. my. goodness. you did SO MUCH on day one. that's an entire vacation's worth of stuff for me! i'm beyond impressed!

third...i hate the muppets, too.

fourth...this numbering thing is getting old!

when i was at DHS in early march, they still did do the thing on backlot tour where they had people act in the opening show.

in reply to your DTD boat experience, i think that disney boats are painfully slow. i took a boat from MK to wilderness lodge for dinner. i left the park an hour before my reservation, and was twenty minutes late. i am quite confident that i could have swam there in less time! i'm not sure why this is--but i'm glad i know that the DTD boats from POR are not great. the 'proximity' to DTD is the one reason i want to stay at POR; i will now change my mind and resume my love of the beach club.

i think getting to DTD is always annoying. when we visited DTD from BC, it took FOREVER to get back--we had a driver change, too, but it took WAY more than 10 minutes.

and in reply to your 'we will eat here some day' comment on fulton's--it's not great. your meal at paradisio (spelling?) looked great. i love sharing lots of apps! great idea!

have i mentioned that i'm loving this trip report??? can't wait for more!!!

Thank you so much for the great comments. I am glad you are enjoying our adventures. Paradiso was a really fun place to hang out and have a drink or a meal. A singer/guitarist came in half was through and was playing some great songs while people were singing along.

I thought the boats would be a major perk of staying at Riverside, but it just turned out to be something pretty to look at. As I said before though, I think the bus system has been the best so far of all the resorts I have been too. Thanks again for reading!!

Hey there...my sister and I were there for some of the same time as you guys were. Yes, we were there for all that rain too. I'm with you, never seen anything like that!

Wow, the MK sure was dead that late! We were there that night too, though we were looong gone (we left after Wishes). But we were there for early opening that morning and crowds were not bad then either.

Looking forward to more of your adventures!

LOL!! I have been reading your TR too. I like the fact that there is someone else on here who can verify how much water fell from the sky that week, haha. Thanks for reading and as I progress, I think you will find our trips will get even more similar.

 

[skidisney]

Following lunch, we ran over to the Imagination Pavilion. We had meant to see Captain EO when we came down in October, but missed it. We finally caught up with it now, since it was a good place to hide out of the rain.

We came out into a rain storm that was even harder than before so we rode Imagination and fooled around in the ImageWorks for a bit, just trying to wait till the rain lightened up enough to walk someplace else. It didn't.

People were heading out en masse

Boy did it rain

I actually don't mind the rain too much. I seem to find a way to keep my feet somewhat dry. My shorts were soaked considering I was wearing a jacket but not a poncho. We got to the parking tram and tried to find the driest spot to sit and I thought I had found a good one, until the tram started moving. That's when water poured from the overhead speaker and finished what the rain couldn't. We left at 5:30 PM. And got back to the room at

Actually, the picture was taken because of the new towel bunny on top of the clock, but hey, you get the point.

Sunset was about 8 PM but at 6 PM, it was very dark around the resort.

Just in case you wanted to know what the vending area looked like at Riverside. I know you do.

Next: Now that it's raining, what should be do for dinner?

 

[linnell]

I'm a UVA grad too! Enjoying your trip report - I can't believe how much you got done in the first day! Actually the first night I couldn't believe you went mini-golfing! I would have been in bed already.

I'm subbing, thanks for sharing!

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Splash Mountain is my all-time favorite too!!!

Your pics are great and I am loving this TR!!!

 

[skidisney]

Well now, since it was still pouring and the Braves game was cancelled, we had to make a differnt decision than ballpark food for dinner . So instead, we decided to try out the free valet parking option on our Tables In Wonderland card and head over to the

We wanted to see how Beaches And Cream was and, hard to believe, I had never actually been in the Yacht or Beach Clubs.

Here is a look at the lobby of the Beach Club

And the Yacht Club

And then the walk beside Stormalong Bay towards the restaurant.

So we make it to Beaches And Cream and we got the standard "it's gonna be 45 minutes" so we walked over to the Yacht Club to look around. Then we decided to go back and put our names on the list and risk the "45 minutes." It was not 45 minutes, it was about 10. Now I have heard this restaurant is small, but I had never seen a picture of it before. It is really small.

Let's look at a menu of this soda shop.

Didn't try this, but you can if you've got the guts, literally.

I had a vanilla shake $4.99.

And Britt had a Root Beer $2.69.

For dinner, I had the Cheeseburger - A juicy beef patty served on a fresh baked bun. Single $8.99.

I heard they were really good and it turns out it was a pretty tasty burger.

Britt had the Chicken Noodle Soup $6.49

Brittany also had an ice cream cone $3.19. No picture of that. In fact, the camera must have disappeared after that, sorry.

Total TIW discount at Beaches And Cream was a whopping $5.27.

Total for the meal after the discount and with tip was $27.20. Downright affordable and fun. You had in the $12 valet that we got for free and wowwee, what a bargain.

Back to the hotel, and an early night to bed while escaping from the rain.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Wow, Beaches and Cream looks really good. I keep saying how I want to eat there but we never get around to it.

 

[Disneyfreak616]

I am definitely stopping by B&C in August for a No Way Jose!

 

[skidisney]

We woke up on day 5 at 9 AM and looked out the window and whataya know. Blue sky!!!! So where are we heading today?

We bought our water park annual passes with the Disney Quest option. The reason we bought it seperately as opposed to the Premium Annual Pass when we bought our AP's originally was that we went for a weekend and only park touring in October. We knew we would go by the water parks this trip but now our water park passes are good until March of next year. Disney will not pro-rate a Premium Annual Pass upgrade to match the end date of our passes so we thought this was the best way to go about it. It was a big debate at the time.

Funny thing, I got Minnie for my AP and for my water parks pass I got

That's right. Same design. Makes me look like a Minnie lover whenever I pull the cards out of my wallet.

Back to the Lagoon. We got there, bought the passes and lined up about 10 minutes before opening at 10. Typhoon Lagoon was completely empty that morning.

Miss Tilly

Castaway Creek

Crush 'N' Gusher, rode this twice with no wait

Look how empty before 11 it is

I thought this was creative.

Rode Humunga Cowabunga with no wait

Little update on what is happening in the rest of the world

We left around noon, but even then, there were very little waits for anything and tons of availability of everything.

Next: Time for another lunch ADR

 

[momoflizandains]

Love your trip report (especially the pics). Looking forward to more.

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Love the TL pics! I haven't been there in years!

That's crazy that everything had no wait! What a treat!

Can't wait for more!!

 

[Queenofallthings]

Came across your TR tonight and am thoroughly enjoying it!! You have some great pics...looking forward to hearing more about your adventures

 

[ronnmel]

Wow! Typhoon Lagoon was really empty! I like no wait, but this is almost scary, like "is it really open???"

 

[skidisney]

Thank you everyone for your kind comments. I am so glad you are enjoying the TR and the pictures. I really tried to get great pics of stuff you don't normally see. And to answer your question, yes Typhoon Lagoon was open to everybody, haha. We visited Blizzard Beach later in the trip, hoping for the same results. You will have to see how that turned out. Thank you again and I hope you keep reading, I am having a great time writing the TR!!!

 

[skidisney]

So why did we leave Typhoon Lagoon when we had the whole water park to ourselves? Why, we had a lunch ADR of course.

Where at?

The check-in desk is past the Dawa Bar and around back. Really a hidden little gem of a place with a lot of details back there.

http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee473/dougfantasyleague/DisneyDays4-6061.jpg[/IMG

As you enter the doors, you enter the main buffet area.

[IMG]http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee473/dougfantasyleague/DisneyDays4-6064.jpg

Some of the details in the seating area.

The chair backs

Let's look at some food. To many items to list here, check out the menu here.

Some desserts perhaps.

My dessert was rather small , after two or three trips to the buffet, I guess you'll have that.

And the exit with the bakery window.

The TIW discount on this buffet was $8.80.
Total for two of us was $45.39.

Also, for eating at Tusker House during a certain time we got priority seating to Finding Nemo: The Musical.

Next: Looks empty from that last pic, think it stays that way?

 

[skidisney]

So we came out of Tusker House and Harambe was packed. So where did we head to to escape?

Even the train station was packed.

Here comes the train!

Let's enjoy all the sights from the train ride laughing: ok so there is not much to see here, you think they might have tried to do something about that.)

Look, a dumpster!

Finally, coming to the station.

Let's head to Rafiki's Planet Watch

We saw Pocahontas

We saw them doing surgery on the elusive Florida Pond Turtle

And some smaller creatures

And of course, The Affection Section, best rhyming name ever. Other than Conservation Station that is.

Awesome mural on the wall.

And the one thing Disney felt they needed to build to give people something to look at on the way back to the park.

Time to head back to civilization

Next: A Lot More Animal Kingdom To Enjoy

 

[Goofy442]

Great update! I have the TIW card and didn't know you got free valet parking. I guess I would have to read the fine print.

 

[heaven2dc]

What a great TR! Love all your pics and I agree with a previous post that your writing style makes this one of my all time fav TR's!

What a rainy day at Epcot! One great thing about Epcot is that they do have many things to do inside to keep you occupied until the rain stops (or even if it doesn't ). On our last trip the week after Thanksgiving 2010, it was my youngest 2 sons' first visit and I was surprised that they didn't interact with the video games and virtual roller coaster rides (they were 17 & 23 yrs old). We went to Epcot for our first day and they kept saying over and over "I can't believe this is only one part of Disneyworld!"

Coral Reef Restaurant is a fun place to eat - I have only been there once and that was with my daughter & grandson (who was 14 mos old when we went in Dec 2008). What I miss about the place is the personalized menu and the diver interaction with the personalized sign. It will be a memory I'll never forget! The food and service isn't 4 star but still enjoyable.

Can't wait to read more! (P.S. You are an adorable couple! Love all your pics )

 

[skidisney]

Great update! I have the TIW card and didn't know you got free valet parking. I guess I would have to read the fine print.

Haha. It was something we read and actually used a lot on this trip. You have to eat at the hotel and present your card with a receipt from that hotel on that trip. Worked out great!!! Saved us 12 bucks each time and we didn't have to park our car a long way away like most ofthe self parking lots were.

What a great TR! Love all your pics and I agree with a previous post that your writing style makes this one of my all time fav TR's!

What a rainy day at Epcot! One great thing about Epcot is that they do have many things to do inside to keep you occupied until the rain stops (or even if it doesn't ). On our last trip the week after Thanksgiving 2010, it was my youngest 2 sons' first visit and I was surprised that they didn't interact with the video games and virtual roller coaster rides (they were 17 & 23 yrs old). We went to Epcot for our first day and they kept saying over and over "I can't believe this is only one part of Disneyworld!"

Coral Reef Restaurant is a fun place to eat - I have only been there once and that was with my daughter & grandson (who was 14 mos old when we went in Dec 2008). What I miss about the place is the personalized menu and the diver interaction with the personalized sign. It will be a memory I'll never forget! The food and service isn't 4 star but still enjoyable.

Can't wait to read more! (P.S. You are an adorable couple! Love all your pics )

Thanks so much for the kind comments. I feel that Innoventions gets ignored a lot and there is a lot of stuff to explore in there. Every exhibit is way more imaginative and fun than it appears on the surface. Tons of interactivity here. Thank you again and please keep reading through all of our travels.

 

[skidisney]

So while it seemed like mayhem around Animal Kingdom, we decided to check out Pangani to see if we could escape the crowds and heat and see some more animals.

Let's see what animals are out in the afternoon.

What is that you ask? Why that is an

This is a hippo.

This was a hippo in a way I had never seen one before!!!

Gorillas

This is unfortunate, with no boats anymore and no fountains to move the water around, it provides the algae a place to grow and overtake the river.

Was Harambe still crowded?

Oh yeah

Another shot of Everest

Next: What's next? Well, it's jammin', and it's in the jungle. What do you think?

 

[skidisney]

Well, we started out of Harambe and found a spot on the bridge heading out on the right hand side. The reason I mention the side is because the left hand side was not available. This would be a benefit because the characters and performers only had one way to face to interact with guests. And it wasn't even crowded. Now granted, there was no escape while the parade was going by, but we made due. Let's check it out!!!

Here comes the parade!!

They got really close when there is not much room on the bridge.

Chip

Minnie and the Minnie-Mobile

Brer Bear

And Brer Rabbit

Time for the Goofster

Timon was there

And Turk

Donald!

Pluto

And the big man

Why twice you might ask? Well, we went the path behind the tree that we mentioned earlier in the TR thinking we could make it fast enough. We were wrong, so we were trapped and watched the parade again.

Did see this guy on the path though

Next: Can we go back in time?