Our Disney Trip to Sara-topia! Sept/Oct MNSSHP & F&W trip(link to dining review 11/1)

[jecskc]

Sunday was nice huh? The weather had really cooled down and the humidity was low. AAHHHH My favorite time.


I looked back at my pictures and I was at DHS from about 10 :20 - 12:20. I was hitting all four parks that day, taking care of the things I didn't get to do.

I went in and hit TSM- Ed was working and I got some Pixie dust. Then OMD and the IJ show and then I was out and over to EPCOT.

Sunday was a gorgeous day. It figures that the weather would be so nice at the end of our trip. My BFF enjoyed good weather that whole week after we left.

It is so funny that we were in the same place at the same time a lot. I can't wait to read about your 4 park day.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Booo last day!!! That is pretty cool that DD got a crown! Very cute!

It stinks how long the lines for TSM get! We actually haven't even ridden it ever, just because we never wanted to wait in the line that long!

 

[jecskc]

Booo last day!!! That is pretty cool that DD got a crown! Very cute!

It stinks how long the lines for TSM get! We actually haven't even ridden it ever, just because we never wanted to wait in the line that long!

It was cool. That CM was so nice. He really made a difference in our trip, I think.

I love TSM, but not enough to wait an hour. Hopefully, you guys will get to ride in January. If you get there early enough of course, you can get a fast pass and the return time won't be so bad. Or you can come back for Fantasmic and ride it later in the day. The good news for you is that Wingnut won't have to push around in the wheelchair all day. Wait, maybe that is better news for Wingnut.

 

[jecskc]

Day 9 – Part Three

We decided to ride The Great Movie Ride next.

This is the first time I really looked at the handprints in the pavement.

Some costumes

The ride was actually pretty crowded and we had to wait about 15 minutes or so. AND we got the Cowboy scene. DH looked and me and said “that was different”. We liked it though.

The kids wanted to look at pins under the Hat. And DH ended up buying them some pins. DD got a Scamp pin

And DS got a Stitch Tower of Terror pin.

The kids wanted to go over to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground. So we headed that way. I just love the Streets of America. I can’t wait to see the Christmas Lights when we go for Thanksgiving.

I found a bench outside to rest on while DH went in with the kids and took some photos.

DH came out to rest with me and said that it was crazy with kids in there. He went back in to look for them and didn’t come out for a while. He came out and said he couldn’t find them and asked if I saw them come out. I said no that I was right there at the exit and hadn’t seen them. He goes back in to look for them. He comes out later and says he still can’t find them. I went in and looked and I couldn’t find them. DH was in full on panic mode by now and I had to get him calmed down. I said that they would come out eventually. We waited some more and then I went back in to look …. And I found them, finally. They had made friends with some other kids and they had a game of hide and seek going.

DH was very relieved and so we then headed over to the Muppets which we had never seen.

I used to love the Muppets and we had to wait a fair amount of time. About 15-20 minutes.

Silly DS !!!

I thought the Muppet Show was pretty cute but DD said she thought it was stupid. But I saw her laughing. I think she was just tired and hungry, so we headed over to Pizza Planet to get some lunch.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

I love TSM, but not enough to wait an hour. Hopefully, you guys will get to ride in January. If you get there early enough of course, you can get a fast pass and the return time won't be so bad. Or you can come back for Fantasmic and ride it later in the day. The good news for you is that Wingnut won't have to push around in the wheelchair all day. Wait, maybe that is better news for Wingnut.

I think it is definitely better news for DBF! I felt SO bad having to have him push me around! But it's also good news for me too! I'm excited to not have all of my pictures come out slightly blurry and really low to the ground .

Awww hopefully your DD gave the Muppets another chance when she was less hungry! I totally get the grumpys when I'm hungry too lol.

 

[Poolrat]

We must have been dancing around each other that day.

I do the GMR once in a while. I think I have had both the cowboy and the gangster but more gangster than cowboy.

I like the muppets, but I do think it needs to be "refreshed". If I was hungry, I would probably like it less too.

Looks like you are having a great last day ...even though it was your last day.

 

[jecskc]

I think it is definitely better news for DBF! I felt SO bad having to have him push me around! But it's also good news for me too! I'm excited to not have all of my pictures come out slightly blurry and really low to the ground .

Awww hopefully your DD gave the Muppets another chance when she was less hungry! I totally get the grumpys when I'm hungry too lol.

We all do. We had to wait for the Muppets longer than I anticipated and we were all so tired and hungry.

We must have been dancing around each other that day.

I do the GMR once in a while. I think I have had both the cowboy and the gangster but more gangster than cowboy.

I like the muppets, but I do think it needs to be "refreshed". If I was hungry, I would probably like it less too.

Looks like you are having a great last day ...even though it was your last day.

The cowboy scene is a nice change for sure.

We had a good last day. The weather was amazing that day. But the last day is always a bummer and my feet are totally killing me by then. But I have lost ten pounds and I hope to lose 5 more before we go on our Thanksgiving trip, so maybe that will help them hurting so bad. It can't make it worse, that is for sure.

 

[jecskc]

Day 9 – Part Four

Lunch at Pizza Planet

Now it was about 2 PM at this time and we thought we might be beating the lunch crowd. Boy, were we wrong. This place was PACKED !! And the service was soooooo slow. I sent DH and the kids to find a table and they kept coming back to check on me to see how far I had gotten in line. We were so hungry. And it took forever to get our food. Something like 30 minutes. Finally, I had the food and I headed upstairs to the table they were saving. It was REALLY loud in there, too.

DS and DD got cheese pizza

They got a cookie for dessert.

Each of the pizzas came with a little Caesar salad. The kids won’t eat salad so DH and I had those.

And we shared a veggie pizza

And a cappuccino cupcake.

The pizza was just OK. The cupcake was really good though. I think we would not come back here unless it was convenient and we were really hungry. It wasn't awful, it just wasn't great. and there are so many more options to try. Also, the line for the ladies bathroom was really long and that took forever. Finally, we were done and we were ready to head for home.

The last photos ….

And this ends our September/October 2011 trip. My Facebook status for that day was, “We are now leaving the Disney bubble. I must now return to reality where I have to flush my own toilet and no one will wish me a magical day.” It was funny because a couple of my friends told me randomly to have a Magical Day for a few days after that post.

Up next .... closing thoughts

 

[Pixie Princess]

I'm back...showin' some love.

Artists Palett looks really cool. DD would love all the easles about on which to draw. We'll have to put this on the list of places to try. I'm so jealous of your parade pictures!!! Mine were horrible. I should have just held the camera up and clicked away. I think I'll just link people back over to your parade pics for my TR!

Okay..more reading now.

 

[Pixie Princess]

Did you notice that DS is just sitting back and letting the girls do all of the work ?? I can't do the spinny rides.

I don't think he had too much of a choice! They were pretty aggressive about the spinning. It is usually a fight when DD and ride together.

 

[Pixie Princess]

Mickey Bar...breakfast of champions. Love it!!

 

[Pixie Princess]

Flush your own toilet.

I was in the bubble. I totally missed that!

For the longest time all we ever got was the gangster on GMR. Then one day we got the cowboy, and that's all we seem to get now. Weird, huh? We skipped this ride this go around. Instead we went to the Ariel thing..something we have never done.

I'm no fan of Pizza Planet. Actually, I try to not eat at HS if it can be helped. Well except for Starring Rolls. That place I like. DD loves pizza, and she doesn't like the place either.

Since I'm talking about food, let me backtrack and say, YUM to Wolfgang Puck Express. I love that place. We eat there almost every trip.

Also, why didn't ya'll take the boat to DTD instead of drive? Was your room too far from the boat dock?

I can't wait to see the Streets of America all lit up at Thanksgiving either!!!

 

[jecskc]

Flush your own toilet.

I was in the bubble. I totally missed that!

For the longest time all we ever got was the gangster on GMR. Then one day we got the cowboy, and that's all we seem to get now. Weird, huh? We skipped this ride this go around. Instead we went to the Ariel thing..something we have never done.

I'm no fan of Pizza Planet. Actually, I try to not eat at HS if it can be helped. Well except for Starring Rolls. That place I like. DD loves pizza, and she doesn't like the place either.

Since I'm talking about food, let me backtrack and say, YUM to Wolfgang Puck Express. I love that place. We eat there almost every trip.

Also, why didn't ya'll take the boat to DTD instead of drive? Was your room too far from the boat dock?

I can't wait to see the Streets of America all lit up at Thanksgiving either!!!

The boat dock was too far ... at least I think it was. To tell the truth, I am not sure where it was. We should have just walked. But we were sooooo tired. Seriously, my feet were killing me !!

Wolfgang Pucks is the best !! I was so happy the find the right one this time. I was so confused when we went in June and it seemed like they were only serving pizza. I was like ...what ?? Where is all of the good food I saw on the DIS ?? Now I know .....

 

[jecskc]

Closing thoughts.

• 
  Pop Century is a really great resort for staying one night. We have done this a couple of times now and we might do it when we go in April. We will get in late that first night and there’s no sense spending money or points on a place you are going to stay at for less than 16 hours. So Pop Century is a good resort for that.

• We LOVED Saratoga Springs or Sara-topia as DD called it. Very nice resort and since it is our home resort, we are looking forward to going back.

• The weather was surprisingly hot. We went last year about this time, and even though it was hot, it wasn’t as hot as this year was. The last two days were absolutely gorgeous however.

• Our absolute favorite meal this trip was dinner at the Grand Floridian Café. I have read people’s posts on this place and many say that it is a hidden gem. And I absolutely agree.

• I was glad we were at the Magic Kingdom for the 40th, but there really wasn’t much to it. I was very happy to have spent some time with my good friend and her daughter. But I didn’t get to see her the rest of the trip. We texted, but didn’t meet back up again. She and I need to get our schedules together so we can spend more time together at Disney. After all it is her fault that I love it so much.

• I love Food and Wine. I really do. And I want to go back and do it again. We weren’t hungry enough to really enjoy it this time. Plus it was at the end of our trip and we were pretty tired.

• And speaking of tired, my feet always just kill me at the end of a Disney trip. I wear good quality walking shoes and switch out with crocs, but I can’t avoid the inevitable achy feet. I am taking Epsom salts and some peppermint oil next time, but I would love some advice about how to not have achy feet. Because Disney would be so much more awesome if my feet didn’t hurt so much. I know that part of it is because of my weight and I am working really hard on that. I have lost 11 pounds so far. I hope to be down at least 15 pounds or more by the time we hit our Thanksgiving trip so I know that will have to help.

Thanks to everyone for reading and a special thanks to those who commented. I really like it when people stop in to say hello and give me their input. And it was so nice chatting with you and getting to know some of you better. I will most certainly be doing a TR for our Thanksgiving trip, so I hope you will join in for that one.

So as the lady says at the end of Star Tours “Thanks for reading, buh bye now.”

 

[Poolrat]

Thanks for sharing your trip.

I will be staying at Sara-topia at our NYE trip. We are splitting with AKL.

I have less than 2 months until I go back.

 

[marDgreen88]

Well I'm a little late to the party but I just got caught up and also JUST came out of lurker-ville. I really enjoyed your TR though! I would love to do MNSSHP and Food & Wine someday. Sounds amazing! How awesome that you're going back so soon, I'll look forward to reading (and actively commenting on) the next TR!

 

[jecskc]

Thanks for sharing your trip.

I will be staying at Sara-topia at our NYE trip. We are splitting with AKL.

I have less than 2 months until I go back.

We go back in 22 more days and we are staying at the Boardwalk Inn. We are super excited about it. If you have never stayed at Sara-topia, you will LOVE it. We are staying at AKL before our cruise in April. Can't wait for that either !! Thanks so much for stopping by to comment, Pat. I so enjoyed your posts and your company so to speak. I will continue to follow your TR.

 

[jecskc]

Well I'm a little late to the party but I just got caught up and also JUST came out of lurker-ville. I really enjoyed your TR though! I would love to do MNSSHP and Food & Wine someday. Sounds amazing! How awesome that you're going back so soon, I'll look forward to reading (and actively commenting on) the next TR!

Yes we are excited about our Thanksgiving trip. We usually rent a nice cabin in Gatlinburg, but since we just bought into DVC, DH suggested just going back to Disney. And I was very agreeable to do so. MNSSHP and F&W are amazing and I can't wait to do them again. And yes, next TR, less lurking and more commenting

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Boo, your TR is over! And now you have to flush your own toilet! Loved reading about your trip, can't wait to hear all about your Thanksgiving trip too!

 

[jecskc]

Boo, your TR is over! And now you have to flush your own toilet! Loved reading about your trip, can't wait to hear all about your Thanksgiving trip too!

I am sad, too. I really enjoy reliving my trips through the trip reports and getting to discuss Disney with everyone. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, Sara. I really enjoyed talking to you and I will continue to follow your PTR as you and Wingnut anticipate your trip. I may do a mini Dining Report just to keep me going for the next three weeks before we go back.