Visting the Big Apple and the Big Cheese, for the Holidays! December 2010

[disneybarbie]

Thursday 16th December 2010

Today we were returning to Hollywood Studios, hoping that the rides wouldn’t be closed down like yesterday!

The weather was definitely turning, it felt much warmer & the forecast was mid 60s.

We made it to the park in time for the opening ceremony again, and quickly walked to Toy Story Mania with the crowd (I always find it funny that despite being told to walk, there are still so many people that try & run – then cast members tell them to slow down!)

Tinsel in tinsel town…

Pixar Place

Tangled!

And something I think is rarely seen…

5 minute wait posted at TSMM!

We were among the first people on the ride for the day.. the car we got into had no one exiting!

I liked how the games had been updated to include Toy Story 3 characters.
Steve won, as usual!

We saw the green army men outside, I really like how they interact with guests.

Next we headed up Sunset Boulevard to check in to the Hollywood Tower Hotel.

We both adore this ride! There was minimal wait time too.

As we walked around to Rock n Roller Coaster – we noticed how many people were now streaming into the park, so glad we always try to make it for rope drop.

RnRC had a 20 minute wait posted, but again we walked straight through to the pre-show..

Hidden mickey..

I’m always terrified at the start of this roller coaster, but enjoy it!

We’d done the ‘big three’ and it was only 9.45am… time for breakfast! We stopped at sunset ranch on Sunset Boulevard for pastries, juice & coffee.

Unfortunately, once again I hadn’t charged my camera.. so pictures are a bit sparse for the next part of the day!

We went on the Great Movie Ride – the wait was about 15 minutes and we saw the movie clips two times before it was our time.. never mind, I love how it’s themed in there! We had a good tour guide but the gangster wasn’t great… I’ve only ever seen the cowboy scene ‘come to life’ once – maybe they only do that one in the peak season?

Next up was Muppets 3D, I like this more & more each time we see it! It’s even better now it’s been put into HD and ‘cleaned’ up.

Steve suggested we went to see the Indiana Jones Stunt show… we bought two bottles of diet coke & got there quite early, but got really good seats in the middle, just behind where the show producers/sound people sit. We both enjoyed the show a lot, I’d forgotten a lot of it.

We stopped for lunch at the ABC Commissary – I had a chicken curry with rice (really tasty & such an usual dish for a ‘fast food’ restaurant!), Steve had a double cheese burger which he said was okay but wished he’d ordered the curry too after trying it.

Next we went to the Animation Courtyard – I wasn’t too worried about seeing the film, but we did want to catch a glimpse of..

Lotso! The line was pretty long so we didn’t meet him, and to be honest he’s a pretty mean bear, not sure I want to hug him

We also saw Mickey, Mr Incredible & Frozone there .. we had a go on the ‘what disney character are you’ game, Steve was Scar!!

We wandered back towards Tower of Terror, the wait time was only 20 minutes so we went on it again… this time, when the elevator doors opened at the top.. a workmen/engineer was walking across a ladder on the building!! Everyone laughed… he froze, not knowing what to do.. then waved & smiled before we plummeted down again!

Stopping for a Photo Pass

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[disneybarbie]

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It was about 2pm so we decided to wander back to the Boardwalk, making the most of the warm weather – we went in Seashore Sweets & got an icecream (yes.. the weather was definitely warming up!)

We sat there for nearly an hour, it’s one of my favourite spots in the whole of Disney World – we decided to get a drink from the Kouzzina window, I had a glass of sangria & steve had a beer… it was fun to people watch. I noticed a lot of people stopping to look at the menu for Kouzzina & saying “look, it’s Kat Kora’s restaurant!”

We headed back to the room to shower and… start packing.

Another beautiful view from the balcony!

We decided to head into Epcot a couple of hours before our dining reservation, it was a nice warm evening & we wanted to maximise our park time as it was our last night!

We walked through the UK and Canada..

Stopping for a photo at the Christmas tree

The photographer took a few pictures, and then said “what relation are you?” .. we said “um... soon to be husband & wife!” – she said “oh ok then.. do you wanna kiss?!” … I’m not sure if you can tell, but we were both giggling so much in this photo!

Kissing in public, in Disney World?! It made us giggle for some reason


As we walked around to Mexico, I pointed out the Duffy the Bear meet & greet… Steve had taken a dislike to this bear as it seemed to be in every shop, and he didn’t know who he was! So a full-size Duffy was a little scary for him to see. I’m not sure how I feel about Duffy, I know it’s popular in Disneyland Tokyo, so maybe it’ll work in the US parks as well.

We went to Norway next to ride Maelstrom.

As we boarded our boat, the group of guests behind us were stopped – as they all had cups of beer with them!! They were trying to tell the Cast Member that they’d been on other attractions with drinks, but she was having none of it.. and made them leave the queue til they’d finished their drinks. Good decision! They looked like college age kids, maybe just turned 21?

The ride was good except we stopped for about 3 minutes at the top!! I tried to take a photo over the back of the boat..

We walked through the video at the end, they’d left all the doors open; I guess Disney knows that the movie isn’t all that popular!


We had about 45 minutes before dinner, so we stopped at the ‘Joy of Tea’ stand for a drink.

In front of us was one of the college kids.. he ordered a drink, that turned out not to contain alcohol – he tried to change it, but the cast member wouldn’t because she said that they weren’t allowed to serve drunk guests!! I was so pleased about this, Disney is a place for families after all. Eventually he wandered off with his iced tea.. we ordered our drinks, and the guy came back – with a custodial Cast Member! He was clearly drunk.. the CMs had a discussion about it but the China pavilion cast member stuck by what she’d said & that she couldn’t serve someone who was clearly inebriated. The guy then said sorry & tried to hug the cast member, she just walked away.. it was a bizarre situation to witness, but nice to see in a way!

We walked around to Germany & sat on a bench, taking in the beautiful views around the lake.


We went to Japan, ready for dinner!

This was the one restaurant that Steve had requested – Teppan Edo, I’ve eaten here four times now but love it too!
We waited about 5 minutes for our table, then the buzzer went off – we met our fellow table mates & were lead to the dining room.

Our server noticed on our ADR that we had ‘engagement’ on it.. but she said “congratulations – happy honeymoon!” .. so everyone else on our table was saying congratulations, it was so funny!!

We had a really fantastic meal – steve had sushi to start & I had a sashimi tuna & wasabi cocktail.

I also had a green tea cocktail, it is so unusual but delicious!

For main course – steve had steak & shrimp, and I had scallops (I order this every time but can’t help it, the scallops are amazing! I’ve even learnt the Japanese for it now.. ‘hotate’)

At the end of the meal, our server brought over a little surprise for our ‘happy honeymoon’ … a chocolate ginger cake!
I’d never think to order this, but it was delicious!

This meal was the only one not included on the Tables in Wonderland card, but we didn’t mind paying full price, it’s really excellent.

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[disneybarbie]

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After the meal, we went to find a spot to watch Illuminations – and found a great place in Morocco, right up against the wall.

The fireworks were once again breath-taking, especially the holiday tag.

We walked back to the Boardwalk, thought about stopping in the ESPN bar, but decided to get back in the room & finish packing.. we still had half a day to enjoy tomorrow!

Some other guests had decorated their doors on our corridor..

This was the view out the windows opposite our room, out to the pool (sorry, bit blurry!)

And that was our day! Another fantastic day in the World.

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

What a great day! I'm so glad DHS was fully functioning again! And I can't believe TSM only had a 5 minute wait! When we went in November the wait time was up to 60 minutes by 9:08.

There's a window on the boardwalk where you can get a glass of sangria?! I must check that out!

 

[disneybarbie]

What a great day! I'm so glad DHS was fully functioning again! And I can't believe TSM only had a 5 minute wait! When we went in November the wait time was up to 60 minutes by 9:08.

There's a window on the boardwalk where you can get a glass of sangria?! I must check that out!

I was so shocked they had TSMM at 5 minutes! .. in 2009 when we got there for rope drop, they'd start at 40 minutes.. even though it was really 5/10 minutes!

Yup the window on the Boardwalk used to be called 'Spoodles Pizza window' I think - they serve slices of pizza, salad & drinks... I highly recommend the sangria!

Emma x

 

[Dugette]

I got way behind; just caught up! More overlapping in our trips. We went to Kona that same night you did for dinner, but must have just missed you (we had a 6:40pm ADR). We also were at rope drop at DHS on your successful day and rode TSM right away too. Funny!

Bummer that the castle stage show was cancelled during your MVMCP night. Sounds like you had a good time anyway, though. And crazy about the big three at DHS all being down that one morning! I'm glad we didn't go there that day.

Looking forward to hearing about your last day!

PS: I just watched the video of our sleigh ride. And our horse's name was Ralph! So, I'm thinking that we may have ridden in the same sleigh, but right before you, since we showed up early. Did you have a pregnant female driver? How funny, maybe we had pre-warmed the blanket for you guys!

 

[klacey1]

What a great day! LOL at the PP photographer-- she probably wanted to make sure you weren't just friends or brother and sister before she asked you to kiss! The story about the drunk guy is great-- I'm glad that Disney tries to keep a lid on people getting too ridiculous. Good for them!
Your firework pics are great!

 

[disneybarbie]

I got way behind; just caught up! More overlapping in our trips. We went to Kona that same night you did for dinner, but must have just missed you (we had a 6:40pm ADR). We also were at rope drop at DHS on your successful day and rode TSM right away too. Funny!

Bummer that the castle stage show was cancelled during your MVMCP night. Sounds like you had a good time anyway, though. And crazy about the big three at DHS all being down that one morning! I'm glad we didn't go there that day.

Looking forward to hearing about your last day!

PS: I just watched the video of our sleigh ride. And our horse's name was Ralph! So, I'm thinking that we may have ridden in the same sleigh, but right before you, since we showed up early. Did you have a pregnant female driver? How funny, maybe we had pre-warmed the blanket for you guys!

Hi!
how funny that our trips over-lapped a few times ... hmm I didn't notice if our sleigh-ride driver was pregnant.. it was a lady though & she was singing along to all the Christmas songs being played on the sleigh!

What a great day! LOL at the PP photographer-- she probably wanted to make sure you weren't just friends or brother and sister before she asked you to kiss! The story about the drunk guy is great-- I'm glad that Disney tries to keep a lid on people getting too ridiculous. Good for them!
Your firework pics are great!

hehe I guess that's why she asked.. it would be awkward if a brother & sister were asked to kiss for a photopass! guess we need to get used to kissing in front of the camera for our wedding photos!

We were glad & impressed to see a CM refuse serving someone in Epcot; he definitely wasn't 'drinking responsibly'! ... we were almost waiting for Disney security to jump out of the bushes & drag him out the park!

I was really pleased with those photos of Illuminations.. I just left my camera in 'auto' and it did a great job!

 

[stephielela]

That's great that the Epcot CM stood by her decision! I am not surprised people get intoxicated in the World Showcase, but it would be nice if they would be more responsible!

Sounds like a wonderful day, I'm glad you had some decent weather!!

 

[Stefy]

So glad DHS the next day was alot better, you got lots done Never seen a 5min wait time for TSM cool that you got to be one of the first riders of the morning

Great dinner at Teppan, such a fun place to eat

 

[disneybarbie]

That's great that the Epcot CM stood by her decision! I am not surprised people get intoxicated in the World Showcase, but it would be nice if they would be more responsible!

Sounds like a wonderful day, I'm glad you had some decent weather!!

yup we were so pleased that the 'normal' Florida weather was returning! still can't quite believe I wore a coat & gloves in Disney

So glad DHS the next day was alot better, you got lots done Never seen a 5min wait time for TSM cool that you got to be one of the first riders of the morning

Great dinner at Teppan, such a fun place to eat

it was a really nice day in DHS.. it's Steve's favourite park too so I was glad that we didn't have a repeat of the day before & everything being closed!!

We were tempted to book Teppan Edo again for honeymoon but decided on Nine Dragons instead.. I have been to TE on all 4 of my last trips!





You might remember that Steve & I had planned to meet with my Dis friend Jenny in NYC during this vacation, but unfortunately she was ill on the day ... well, I'd made something for her new baby son but didn't get to give it to him... when we got home I mailed it to Jenny a few weeks later.. and a month later.. she's finally received it! (guess that terrible NYC snow has affected the mail!)

Here it is..

It's an alphabet sampler with Finding Nemo characters it took me a few months to make but it was so nice to do.. and I think Jen liked it! (she posted a pic of it on facebook anyway hehe)

Just thought I'd share!



Emma x

 

[Swalphin]

Emma,
Great day at Hollywood Studios. And finally some warm weather!
I love the top you have for your dinner at Teppan edo, really pretty.
I do not know how popular Duffy is here yet, I am kind of blah about him.
Not sure if he will take off or not.
Love the Tea Stand in China, my favorite is the Mango green tea w/o alcohol. It is so refreshing. The girls who work at that stand I think, are some of the best CM's in WS. Always so organized and professional and very sweet too. I always try and talk to them about their country and how hard it must be, being so far from home.

I hate public drunks, hate private ones too They just don't realize how rude and obnoxious they are being.

Your cross stitch, is beautiful. I envy people who are talented like that. It looks gorgeous and so special. Very sweet of you to take that much time, really thoughtful. I am sure she loved it!

Have a great week!
Brenda

 

[Stefy]

Aww thats so cute, very thoughtful gift

 

[exwdwcm]

Emma, great gift, i love it- especially Nemo themed!

so what was the wasabi cocktail at Teppan Edo? we are going there for our first time in October, and I can't wait! what dessert do you recommend there? i hate that you can't use TIW there, but like you said, it will be worth it anyways paying full price.

wow, score on hitting the 3 bigs one before 9:45!!! that's awesome!

 

[stephielela]

That's adorable!!!

 

[irishdancer86]

the big 3 before 9.45, can't be bad to that!

I like yout ToT experience about the waving maintenance man, never the same ride twice!

Teppan Edo looks so good! do you think it would be suitable for a pretty plain eater? I would love to try it but would be scared of maybe wasting money because I'm such a fussy eater!

last night...o dear, so funny that the photographer checked the relationship status before adviing you to go for the kiss!

 

[disneybarbie]

Thanks for reading aong everyone!

Emma, great gift, i love it- especially Nemo themed!

so what was the wasabi cocktail at Teppan Edo? we are going there for our first time in October, and I can't wait! what dessert do you recommend there? i hate that you can't use TIW there, but like you said, it will be worth it anyways paying full price.

wow, score on hitting the 3 bigs one before 9:45!!! that's awesome!

the big 3 before 9.45, can't be bad to that!

I like yout ToT experience about the waving maintenance man, never the same ride twice!

Teppan Edo looks so good! do you think it would be suitable for a pretty plain eater? I would love to try it but would be scared of maybe wasting money because I'm such a fussy eater!

last night...o dear, so funny that the photographer checked the relationship status before adviing you to go for the kiss!

for Teppan Edo... the wasabi tuna cocktail ("tuna sensation") was cubes of raw tuna ("sashimi" I think it's called.. sushi without the rice!) and pieces of avocado in a soy & wasabi sauce

Dessert.. I was suprised by how much I like the chocolate ginger cake, I've tried the green tea pudding there too (like a mousse, we only tried it as we were on the dining plan for CLP!) - but it's not somewhere I think people particularly go to for desserts


and I think it would be fine for a fussy eater! .. most mains are prepared by the chef so it's the same accompaniments of: rice, noodles, stir-fried vegetables.. then you choose chicken, steak, prawns (shrimp) or scallops (also in various combinations).
I went there with DF's family last summer & everyone found something they liked

Here is the menu on All Ears if you want to see! Teppan Edo


Emma x

 

[exwdwcm]

the big 3 before 9.45, can't be bad to that!

I like yout ToT experience about the waving maintenance man, never the same ride twice!

Teppan Edo looks so good! do you think it would be suitable for a pretty plain eater? I would love to try it but would be scared of maybe wasting money because I'm such a fussy eater!

last night...o dear, so funny that the photographer checked the relationship status before adviing you to go for the kiss!

i have to agree with Emma, although i've never eaten at Teppan, i am a picky eater. I don't eat salad- i don't like most veggies either and don't eat seafood. But i enjoy hibachi style cooking- i just stick to the steak and chicken and rice. i enjoy the noodles too.

 

[disneybarbie]

Friday 17th December

Sadly this was our last day of the trip – but as our flight wasn’t until 7.30pm, we had several more hours at Disney to enjoy!

We got up and finished packing, said goodbye to the room and took our luggage to the lobby – bell services took it from us & organised a taxi to take us to..

Breakfast at the The Grand Floridian!

This is where we’re going to stay for our honeymoon, so I really wanted Steve to see it before.

The taxi took no time at all to get there, so we had 15-20 minutes to explore the hotel.

The gingerbread house…

We wandered up to the first floor and had a look at the menus for Citricos & Victoria & Albert’s (we have ADRs at both of these for honeymoon!)

Soon it was 8.30am and time for breakfast at .. 1900 Park Fare!
The waiting area was very quiet, we had our photo taken (no character there) but didn’t buy the photo package afterwards, seemed a bit too expensive at $30, especially when we already had had several taken with Photo Pass.

As the cast member opened the doors, we could see Pooh & Tigger wandering through the restaurant.. we were both grinning!
We ordered some coffee, then went to explore the buffet.

I had some fruit, mickey waffles, biscuits & sausage gravy (this would be a completely different dish in England – not a breakfast food!), bagel & smoked salmon.. and some of the strawberry soup. Steve had a more traditional cooked breakfast – we both really enjoyed the food & also the juice that’s served (I think it’s orange, mango & passionfruit).

During the meal, we met with some very fun characters!

The Mad Hatter made a real fuss over us when he saw my ‘Just Engaged’ button, he shouted over to Alice to come look at my ring.. she pretended to be blinded by the diamond! … he said “oh look Aliiiicccce… He Put A Ring On It!!!”

After a great breakfast, we hopped on the monorail to the Magic Kingdom.

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[disneybarbie]

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It was about 9.15am and the park wasn’t too busy at all..

We went to Fantasyland first, I wanted to see the new Pooh queue area!

Really like the enhancements, particularly the honey walls.

Next we went to Tomorrowland, and road Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin again..

We saw Push the Trash Can..

Then we went on Stitch’s Greatest Escape – not my favourite attraction but I think it’s all really well themed.

We walked back to the hub, and saw some of the show going on…

We walked down Main Street and into the Emporium..

I wanted to get my sister a present (she was picking us up from the airport.. which turned out to be quite an adventure for all of us! … stay tuned…) so we got her a green D&B wristlet, and we also wanted to get some big bags of Goofy’s Taffy for our work colleagues (it always goes down really well in my office!).


We walked over to Adventureland.. it was only about 10.30am, but decided it was a perfect time for …. Dole Whip!

We sat near the Swiss Family Tree House and enjoyed our frozen treats, watching the world go by.

Next attraction was Pirates of the Caribbean, there was no wait at all – but we did just miss a South American tour group that were heading to PotC!

We walked around to Frontierland, considered riding Splash Mountain – but didn’t want to risk getting too wet when we had a long journey ahead of us later that day!

So we went to the Haunted Mansion..

And then back to Frontierland to get on the train around the park.

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