"Why the Face?!" - our Aug/Sept 2011 TR! (updated 11/28 Last Day - MK)

[kdka421]

Day 3 (afternoon) - Animal Kingdom

After we finished our lunch at Flame Tree BBQ, the 4 of us headed back towards Everest. We had 2 FPs for Everest, so Dad and I decided to go on it - me, for the third time that day, and Dad for his first time ever! We walked right on with the FPs. Dad has been willing to try most of the new rides, with a few exceptions, and I'm glad he decided to try Everest. However, I don't think he'll ever go on it again. I think he probably won't ride it again for the same reason he won't ride Space Mtn anymore - too jerky and just a little too intense.

While we were on Everest, Mom and Aaron headed over to see the tigers, so Dad and I headed that way to catch up with them. By that point we were getting pretty warm and exhausted - this was the hottest day of our trip up to that point, plus Animal Kingdom just has a way of making it feel even hotter. Both of us enjoy seeing the animals, but not nearly as much as Mom, so when we caught up to them at the tigers, we didn't stick around much longer. Mom and Aaron had gotten some good pictures though:

I can't remember all which animals were on which trails - but I know that next we walked through the bird sanctuary area.

After the birds, we headed out of the trail, and back into the main pathways, where the monkey area is. One of the CMs was there answering questions about them, and it was interesting to learn about their family, which were the adults and which were the kids, etc. If I remember right - the first photo is Dad, the next is Mom and their son, and the last one is their daughter.

We then headed over to the Gorillas. But before reaching the gorillas, we saw these animals:

And finally,

There was a cute baby gorilla running around, but he was too far away, and hidden behind the various trees and plants, to get a good picture of him.

After we were done seeing the gorillas, most of us were ready for some time out of the heat, so we wandered in and out of the various gift shops for a while. Aaron decided that he really wanted to try Dinosaur, which none of us have ever ridden before, but I just didn't think I'd enjoy the ride. So he went himself to check out the line, found it was relatively long, and just grabbed a Fastpass. While we were waiting for him to be able to use his FP, Aaron and I decided to go ride Everest one more time! I was pretty proud of getting 4 rides in that day! After Everest, Aaron went to ride Dinosaur by himself - but he loved the ride, so I'm really glad that he decided to give it a try.

We then got some photopass pictures taken in front of the tree before we left:

After that, my parents stuck around Animal Kingdom to view the parade, which in our many trips we'd never bothered to see before. After the parade, they also managed to squeeze in the last showing of Lion King (I know many people love the show, but I personally don't find it that exciting!).

Aaron and I, instead, headed back to POFQ, because the 2 couples were doing dinner separately that night. I won't torture you all with a cliffhanger this time...my parents were staying at AK to have dinner at Rainforest Cafe, while Aaron and I were headed back to POFQ to shower and get changed before our dinner at Victoria & Albert's!!! We were SO excited about this dinner, and I can't wait to tell you all about it. That's coming up next time!

 

[kirrrby]

I remember When my mom and I went to Disney back in April, we saw a Baby Gorilla. It was following it's dad. We had the unfortunate timing to see the gorilla while another family was sitting there making noises, and making animal sounds. The CM comes over and tells them to please stop. They didn't, and finally the Dad Gorilla got so mad that it comes running down the hill towards the rope bridge and it charged us beating on it's chest.

Also, i'm not a fan of Dinosaur. I could even go far enough to say I absolutely HATE that ride. Scares the heck out of me.

And Yay! to V&A, my parents went there for their 10th anniversary. I was dropped off at Cub's Den and they got to have their own Anniversary dinner. They still have the menu.

 

[saintstickets]

...while Aaron and I were headed back to POFQ to shower and get changed before our dinner at Victoria & Albert's!!! We were SO excited about this dinner, and I can't wait to tell you all about it. That's coming up next time!

Really looking forward to your review about V&A. DW and I went there for the first time during our last trip. I hope you had the same experience we had.

 

[coltsfanatic]

Oooh...this trip report sounds so exciting!!

You sound so much like our family. I'm the planner and love traveling, mom's the writer and traveler (I guess I like animals too-I'm a vegan!), dad's the goof off and we all love the comfort of a good Disney resort!!

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[kdka421]

I remember When my mom and I went to Disney back in April, we saw a Baby Gorilla. It was following it's dad. We had the unfortunate timing to see the gorilla while another family was sitting there making noises, and making animal sounds. The CM comes over and tells them to please stop. They didn't, and finally the Dad Gorilla got so mad that it comes running down the hill towards the rope bridge and it charged us beating on it's chest.

Also, i'm not a fan of Dinosaur. I could even go far enough to say I absolutely HATE that ride. Scares the heck out of me.

And Yay! to V&A, my parents went there for their 10th anniversary. I was dropped off at Cub's Den and they got to have their own Anniversary dinner. They still have the menu.

What a gorilla story!! Can't decide it that would have been scary or cool

Glad to hear you say that about Dinosaur - I've heard lots of people say it's awful, although my best friend came back from her first trip recently saying that was one of her favorite rides, so I just was so conflicted.

Really looking forward to your review about V&A. DW and I went there for the first time during our last trip. I hope you had the same experience we had.

I can't wait to share with you all our V&A experience! My hubby and I LOVE dining experiences like that! I hope to get it all typed up this evening.

Oooh...this trip report sounds so exciting!!

You sound so much like our family. I'm the planner and love traveling, mom's the writer and traveler (I guess I like animals too-I'm a vegan!), dad's the goof off and we all love the comfort of a good Disney resort!!

Can't wait to hear more!

Hello! Thanks for jumping in to my TR! I love meeting people who have similar interests and traits and stuff. I'm such a planner, haha. It was so fun to do a trip with my parents with us all as adults, what a different experience than my childhood trips! Do you guys have any trips coming up?

 

[kdka421]

Day 3 (evening) - dinner at Victoria & Albert's (part 1)!

Aaron and I left the Animal Kingdom a little before 4pm, as planned, and took a bus back to the hotel. When we got back to POFQ, we were right on schedule, and had enough time to shower and change before dinner. Our dinner reservation was for 6pm, so our goal was to leave POFQ around 5pm, take the bus to the Magic Kingdom, then take the monorail over to the Grand Floridian. Here we are, waiting for the bus all dressed up

A bus came quickly, and we were on our way to the Magic Kingdom. When we got there, we headed toward the monorail terminal...and were stopped by a CM who asked where we were headed. He told us that the monorails weren't running - they were having some technical difficulties - and the ONLY way to get to the Grand Floridian was by boat.

Argh! That was not what I wanted to hear. We were all dressed up, and now had to wait outside in the muggy heat. And we definitely did not have enough time to make our reservation on time. I HATE being late, it's a major pet peeve of mine. There were quite a few people waiting for the boat (everyone was being pretty polite, although obviously everyone was pretty frustrated), and when the first boat came (taking people to the GF and Poly), we didn't make it on...the boats aren't that large, they probably fit about 40 people or so.

So we waited and waited. As far as I could tell they only had one or maybe two boats running this circuit. I don't remember exactly what time we got on the boat, it was probably around 6:15, so we were already late for our reservation. While we had been waiting, we called over to the GF front desk, who told us that it was only their policy to hold the reservation something like 10 or 15 minutes. Yikes! However - as I've said before, my husband works at a 5-diamond restaurant, similar to V&As, and we both know that a restaurant of that quality would NOT turn someone away if they could help it, so we were pretty sure it wouldn't be an issue. (Plus - it was unavoidable, it was not our fault we were going to be late).

Luckily the GF was the first stop for the boat, and I'd say we made it to the restaurant around 6:30pm. A little late, a little warm, but we made it! The restaurant was completely understanding.

A quick note overall - we were treated very warmly and friendly the whole evening. I believe we may have gotten slightly more attention than the average patrons, because when V&A called to confirm our reservation, I had mentioned to them that we'd love a kitchen tour if possible, particularly because my husband loves seeing and learning about other restaurants. They asked me about where he works - and when we got there, one employee (Melissa: who I believe was the front of house manager) spent a lot of time with us, comparing notes with my husband (she actually mentioned that she checked out the website of the Inn where he works), answering all of his questions, and giving us just a little extra attention. It made it even more special - however, even knowing that we might have gotten something a little "extra", I just want to say even without that, I think the experience would have been wonderful.

This is obviously the restaurant in Disney with the highest level of service. When we got in, they "checked" our umbrella, and brought over a small stool to use as a table for my purse and camera. We were introduced to both our main waiter and assistant waiter (we learned later that internally, these positions are referred to as the "Victoria" or the "Albert" - Victoria being the main waiter, and Albert being the assistant.) I'll have to ask my husband later if he remembers their names - but our main waiter was knowledgeable, but slightly distant, while our assistant waiter was much more attentive and more friendly. They worked well as a team though.

Shortly after we were seated:

A standard place setting, before the meal begins:

The customized menu and the flowers on the table:

The harpist, who started playing probably around 7, and played all through the course of dinner - very soft and beautiful:

The assistant waiter came over, and she stepped us through all the options on the menu (Aaron's pet peeve - she really didn't tell us much new about each dish, she sort of read the description from the menu). We picked out our courses pretty easily, actually, and also decided to go all the way and get the wine parings as well....why not, it's a special occasion!

The restaurant was pretty quiet - Aaron again will remember more of the details, but Melissa told us this was a pretty average night in terms of busyness. There were maybe about 8 tables seated in our dining room that evening, and I believe there were a couple more in the Queen Victoria room, as well as one at the Chef's Table.

Note: I think I'll make a separate post after this one with pictures of each and every dish we ordered, and I'll leave this post for talking about the experience as a whole. (Otherwise this post will get ridiculously longer than it already will turn out to be!)

In between the hot appetizers and the meat entree course, Melissa came over and asked us if we wanted to use that time to see the kitchen. The Chef's table had already left for the evening, so it was a perfect opportunity for them to show us around. We of course were excited to do this!

She led us through the waiter's station, then into the kitchen. We first passed by the dessert area:

We then stopped to get introduced to Chef Scott, who also made some small talk with Aaron about the Inn where he works, I believe he had visited there in the past. We were then brought over to the Chef's table area:

We spent a lot of time here talking about the restaurant and how it functions. While we were there, Aaron asked about where they store their wine. The CM went to check with someone to see if she could bring us back there, and got permission; so we headed further back into their storage areas, and got a peek into their wine coolers. They have a separate one for whites and for reds.

After our kitchen tour, we returned to finish up our dining experience! At the end of the meal, we received a loaf of bread to take home with us, and I was given a beautiful red rose. Interesting note: this was Day 3 of our trip - the rose survived all through our vacation, survived a train ride back where it was stored in a hot car, it arrived in VA wilted, but perked back up and lasted about another week. That was one strong rose!

By the end of the meal - we had had a lot more to drink than we were used to! The wine parings are MORE than generous, I believe they call them 2-3 ounces, but many pours were probably closer to 4 ounces each. In our opinion, the wines paired well with the dishes, and it was definitely worth the extra expense. The monorail was back up and running by the time we left (which was probably around 10:30pm). We took the monorail back to the MK, then a bus back to POFQ, and arrived back at the hotel, still a little tipsy, extremely full, and VERY very happy.

And to end this on a humorous note - do you remember me posting this picture at the beginning of the TR? This is the evening this occurred! We were already in a silly mood, joking around with my parents, and this was a hilarious way to end the evening...with a lizard in the bed!

Hope you all enjoyed! Stay tuned for a separate post with pictures and details of all the food!! It's worth waiting for.

 

[saintstickets]

I'm jealous that y'all got to tour the kitchen and wine cellar. Love your V&A review and can't wait to see the pics.

By the end of the meal - we had had a lot more to drink than we were used to! The wine parings are MORE than generous, I believe they call them 2-3 ounces, but many pours were probably closer to 4 ounces each. In our opinion, the wines paired well with the dishes, and it was definitely worth the extra expense. The monorail was back up and running by the time we left (which was probably around 10:30pm). We took the monorail back to the MK, then a bus back to POFQ, and arrived back at the hotel, still a little tipsy, extremely full, and VERY very happy.

DW and I were leery about getting the wine pairing. A full glass of wine with each course is more than we are used to. We were able to split one wine pairing and get a short glass of the appropriate wine with each course. It was just enough to accent the course but not so much that we were "knee-walking" after the meal!

Keep the TR coming!

 

[Tink rules]

About the meal - the menu is extremely simple, but the food was fantastic in all of our opinions. Very traditional, very much comfort food, and it was all very well done. The meal is served family style, but the portions they brought out were pretty perfect for 4 people, I think it was just about the right amount of food, but they would have gladly bought more if we needed anything. The salad was great, and I think we all preferred a different one of the meats (turkey, pork, or beef), and the green beans were a huge hit. The stuffing and potatoes were both delicious as well, and the macaroni and cheese was the only item that fell a little short in my opinion. Our waiter was also fantastic, the restaurant was pretty busy, but he was very attentive with our drinks, asking if we wanted more items, etc.

After dinner, we hadn't really left the Adventureland/Frontierland/Liberty Square area, so we decided it was off to see something else! Any thoughts on what ride we hit next?? It is another one of my Dad's favorite rides...
...I'll tell you next time!

the Mac and cheese is Stouffers... they sponsor the restaurant...


Nice job at V&A's... Was Jack or Sheri one of your servers?

 

[kdka421]

Day 3 (evening) - Dinner at Victoria & Albert's (part 2)!

And now, a series of pictures that should make your mouth water

Amuse-Bouche:
(From bottom left, clockwise: Shrimp, tuna, a soft poached quail egg, and something stuffed with crab).

The first bread course:

Cold appetizers:
1. Applewood-smoked Buffalo Waldorf salad (mine: and it was fantastic)
2. Heirloom Tomatoes, Octopus and Burrata Cheese with Yellow Tomato Gazpacho (Aaron's: and I think the only one I didn't have a taste of)

Seafood course:
1. Diver scallop with braised fennel and blood orange gastrique (this entire dish was great, and I don't always love scallops, but these were cooked perfectly)
2. Roasted Alaskan Sablefish with Arugula Pudding (Aaron's)
3. Each of these dishes came with a side of something, that for the life of us, neither of us can remember...but it was good!

Second bread course:
(If I remember right there was also a third bread course - but it looks like we didn't get a picture of that. Darn!)

Hot appetizers:
1. Duck breast, duck sausage, and confit with strawberry-rhubarb puree (mine: amazing! I love duck, and this trio was melt in your mouth)
2. Roasted quail with asian pears and serrano ham jus (Aaron's - it may not have been the most visually appealing, at least not in the picture, but this was wonderful as well)

Surprise course:
When choosing our main courses, out of the 3 options the one we eliminated was a delicious chicken with truffle gnocchi and chanterelle mushrooms. It sounded wonderful, but we just chose the other two. Well, they sent us each out an extra course of this dish, with an additional wine pairing as well!

Main course:
1. Kurobuta pork tenderloin and belly with verjus-bacon vinaigrette (mine: now, typically pork is not one of my favorite meats. However this might have been my favorite dish of the evening. It was very savory, the flavors were just amazing together. All of the little touches here were so fun, including a few pieces of popcorn for texture!)
2. Niman Ranch lamb with candied marble potatoes and English peas (Aaron's: maybe his favorite dish as well. He loves lamb. This may have been the most beautiful dish of the evening (until desserts!))

Cheese/gelato course:
1. White chocolate gelato with tableside shavings and micro orchids (mine: I loved that they gave an alternative to the cheese course. The gelato was perfect. Light and beautiful)
2. Quartet of cheeses (Aaron's: I guess this is the second thing I didn't try. I'm not very adventurous yet when it comes to cheeses...not sure why.)

Dessert:
1. Aaron's coffee contraption
2. Grand Marnier Souffle (Aaron's: perfectly done souffle, which they cracked open at the table and poured sauce inside of it)
3. Caramelized banana gateau (mine: this picture does not do it justice. It's covered with this sheet of spun sugar, and underneath it's similar to banana's foster, but better!)
4. Some post-dessert candies (these came back to the room with us)

Up next - the last few thoughts on Day 3, then on to Day 4 - Hollywood Studios.

 

[kirrrby]

Honestly the portions, except the dessert look sooooo tiny. Maybe it's the pictures. I know you get multiple courses, but why's the price so high? Are you paying for the Ambiance?

 

[kdka421]

Honestly the portions, except the dessert look sooooo tiny. Maybe it's the pictures. I know you get multiple courses, but why's the price so high? Are you paying for the Ambiance?

It's a fair question - a few years ago I would have asked the same thing as well. I've learned a lot both from my husband's job, and just going out to places like this. I still get sticker shock sometimes, but at least I have a better understanding...

First, these portions actually aren't quite as small as the pictures make them seem. The plates and bowls were all extra large, actually. So that's a little deceiving.
Part of the price is the overall experience, yes - you're treated to a level of service above and beyond anything else. For this restaurant to be rated 5-diamonds, they have to show and maintain certain standards and qualities that you won't get at many other restaurants.
You're also paying for much higher quality ingredients. You can get some pretty good food at some of Disney's regular restaurants, but the bar here is much higher. It also really is a much larger quantity of food too.

The cost of $125 per person is certainly not cheap. But compare the quality and quantity of food you're getting here to dinner one of the signature restaurant, where you might pay $40 for the entree alone, and here you receive at least 6 courses...I'd consider it a very good value for what you receive.

I hope I explained that well

 

[kdka421]

I'm jealous that y'all got to tour the kitchen and wine cellar. Love your V&A review and can't wait to see the pics.

DW and I were leery about getting the wine pairing. A full glass of wine with each course is more than we are used to. We were able to split one wine pairing and get a short glass of the appropriate wine with each course. It was just enough to accent the course but not so much that we were "knee-walking" after the meal!

Keep the TR coming!

Well, you'll just have to go again so that you can have a tour

Yeah, I went back and forth about the wine pairing - I'd heard a few people mention that you can split it, so I knew that was an option. It definitely would have been enough...we may have overindulged just a little In all honesty though, I would say we were tipsy by the end of the meal, but since it was spread out over almost 4 hours, it wasn't any worse than that.

the Mac and cheese is Stouffers... they sponsor the restaurant...

Nice job at V&A's... Was Jack or Sheri one of your servers?

Ah, interesting about the mac and cheese...I actually think the sponsorship has changed, it's now Ocean Spray (a few menu items featured Ocean Spray craisins), but I would bet they might have just kept using that mac and cheese.

Glad you enjoyed the V&A review. We should have written down our servers names because now we can't remember them - but I don't think either of those are who we had, no.

 

[kirrrby]

It's a fair question - a few years ago I would have asked the same thing as well. I've learned a lot both from my husband's job, and just going out to places like this. I still get sticker shock sometimes, but at least I have a better understanding...

First, these portions actually aren't quite as small as the pictures make them seem. The plates and bowls were all extra large, actually. So that's a little deceiving.
Part of the price is the overall experience, yes - you're treated to a level of service above and beyond anything else. For this restaurant to be rated 5-diamonds, they have to show and maintain certain standards and qualities that you won't get at many other restaurants.
You're also paying for much higher quality ingredients. You can get some pretty good food at some of Disney's regular restaurants, but the bar here is much higher. It also really is a much larger quantity of food too.

The cost of $125 per person is certainly not cheap. But compare the quality and quantity of food you're getting here to dinner one of the signature restaurant, where you might pay $40 for the entree alone, and here you receive at least 6 courses...I'd consider it a very good value for what you receive.

I hope I explained that well

Yes, it explained it very well. Honestly it looks a lot of it is the ambiance and the service. BUT i'm the type of person that I can't see spending more than 20 bucks a person on a meal, unless it's at Disney (where the prices are exorbitant regardless). So I still get sticker shock.

 

[kokotg]

Just stumbled across your trip report and read the whole thing! Really enjoying it...you got some great pictures!

I hope that my kids still want to do Disney trips with us when they grow up (I also wish my mom would want to do a Disney trip with me, but I know THAT'S not going to happen--not her thing).

DH and I both think you look really familiar, but I can't think where we would know you from.

Anyway! Looking forward to reading more

 

[engle]

We love V&A...heading there in January for the 5th time. And my husband, who NEVER orders nor eats a dessert ANYWHERE....craves the banana gateau!!! LOVE IT!!!

 

[kdka421]

Yes, it explained it very well. Honestly it looks a lot of it is the ambiance and the service. BUT i'm the type of person that I can't see spending more than 20 bucks a person on a meal, unless it's at Disney (where the prices are exorbitant regardless). So I still get sticker shock.

I get sticker shock all the time

Just stumbled across your trip report and read the whole thing! Really enjoying it...you got some great pictures!

I hope that my kids still want to do Disney trips with us when they grow up (I also wish my mom would want to do a Disney trip with me, but I know THAT'S not going to happen--not her thing).

DH and I both think you look really familiar, but I can't think where we would know you from.

Anyway! Looking forward to reading more

Thanks for joining my TR!! My hubby gives me a hard time, because when we first started dating (and before that, back when I was in high school and college) I used to say that the last thing I wanted to do was go back to Disney, because that was the only vacation we took as a family growing up. But I've changed my tune greatly It was such a blessing and so much fun to take this trip with my parents.

Hmmm - I checked out some of your pictures, and I don't recognize you off hand...my first obvious guess was maybe we were both at WDW the same time, but it doesn't look like our trips overlapped. Who knows!

We love V&A...heading there in January for the 5th time. And my husband, who NEVER orders nor eats a dessert ANYWHERE....craves the banana gateau!!! LOVE IT!!!

Yummmm....that was definitely delicious! Have so much fun when you are there in January! I have a strong suspicion that V&A will now be a must-do for us as well on any future trips...

 

[kirrrby]

Interesting fact.

Nestle has subsidiaries, which Stouffers being one of them. When Nestle got replaced as a sponsor their stuff went out and Liberty Tree (Who was sponsored by Stouffers) changed their menus. Same thing with McDonald's.. You used to see their fries everywhere.

Disney basically lives on sponsors. Alamo is for their fleet cars and major car rentals. General Motors (test track and AKA "The official motor vehicle company of WDW"). Coke being the major Sponsor of all of WDW also.

So it just depends on who makes the contract that year, or term.

 

[kdka421]

Day 3 (evening): Animal Kingdom / Rainforest Cafe

Before I can move on to Day 4 at Hollywood Studios, I need to finish my parents part of Day 3!
After Aaron and I left the Animal Kingdom, they stayed to watch the afternoon parade (pretty unmemorable was the consensus, even for Mom who loves parades), then the Lion King show.

After that, they headed over to the Rainforest Cafe. Mom chose this as their date night restaurant, we had gone there once as a family on one of our previous trips. They each ordered salads:

Here are Mom's notes on their dining experience:
Rainforest Café: Two takes on this here. My husband found it noisy and crowded. I found the theme fun and exciting. The food, was good with many fun options (such as a myriad of unique mixed alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and a huge ice cream dessert with sparklers) We each ordered salads, which were huge, fresh and well-prepared. I think it’s fun. If you’re not looking for a dark space with loud animated monkeys and frequent simulated thunderstorms, maybe you’d best look elsewhere.

Once they were done with dinner, we weren't 100% sure how the bus situation would work, since it was well after park closing. However, they reported that this was extremely simply - they walked out, and there were cast members asking where they needed to go, and they simply put them on one of the waiting buses and took them back to POFQ. Easy as pie.

They spent the rest of the evening relaxing and wandering around the resort, taking some pictures of the pool area, and things like that.

Okay, that's finally the end of Day 3! Next up will now be Hollywood Studios!

 

[kdka421]

Day 4 (morning) - Hollywood Studios

With Day 4, we hit our 3rd early morning in a row, with yet another morning Extra Magic Hours. The park opened at 8am, so we were on the bus at 7:15am and on our way to MGM - I mean HS! We were at the park by 7:35am, so we had some time to wait, both outside the terminals and then inside at rope drop. Since we had gotten there so early, we were pretty close to the front of the crowd.

Aaron had nudged his way a little closer to the front of the crowd than the rest of us - so when they started letting the crowds through, he headed forwards, but not in the right direction! He couldn't hear us yelling to him, but luckily he turned around and headed over and caught up with us! Oops.

Now I had a very clear plan for HS rope drop, although it didn't quite work out as planned, as you'll soon see. Mom headed off on her own, towards Toy Story Mania, to grab Fastpasses. Meanwhile, Dad, Aaron, and myself were headed over for a quick ride on Tower of Terror, and then Aaron and I were going to ride Rock 'n Roller Coaster (for my first time!). So Mom went off on her way, and we headed to ToT:

We weren't in too much of a rush, so we stopped to get Photopass pictures taken of the 3 of us outside of ToT. We then walked right on to the ride - fabulous as ever! It's definitely one of my top 5 rides at WDW, the whole experience is just absolutely amazing.

When we were done, Dad left to go meet up with Mom, and Aaron and I went around the corner to check out what we hoped would be a short wait still for RnRC. There didn't appear to be much of a wait - but when we got closer, the reason for that was apparent - the ride was closed down. UGH. Technical difficulties or whatever, but they hadn't opened up the ride yet for the morning. Couldn't even get FPs for it. So we called Mom and Dad to meet up with them (how did groups travel around WDW before cell phones?! Seriously...).

With our plans thrown off, we didn't really know what to do next. So, we decided to go to Muppets 3-D. Here's Aaron with Statler and Waldorf (especially meaningful to Aaron, since the main building for his college program was Statler Hall):

We loved the show as always, and then decided just to wander around for a while, we had some time to kill before we could use our TSMM FPs. So we wandered around the Streets of America, went into the shops (got some snacks/drinks at the Writers Stop), took some pictures:

We STILL had time to kill (yes, we had planned for this to be a pretty low-key day), so we decided to check out Star Tours. My Dad and my brother had gone on this ride during our previous family trips, but for whatever reason it was never something that caught my eye, so I had never ridden it before. So Aaron and I also hadn't gone on it during our last trip either. So the 3 of us decided to ride on it, with only Dad being able to compare this newly updated version to the old version. (Mom went over to wait for us by Toy Story). The line took about 15-20 minutes or so, and it was one of the longer lines we waited in at all, can't complain about that. I really knew nothing about the ride. But it was extremely well done - didn't become one of my favorites, but I wouldn't hesitate to ride it again - the effects were really quite awesome. Dad said it was a pretty big, and positive, upgrade from the previous version. He also mentioned that apparently there are different versions of the ride, so your experience can be different, but we never got to ride it again to check that out. But we all had a good time.
When we got out, we waited for a moment to see if we could get Aaron's picture with a Stormtrooper, but they weren't cooperating, so we settled for this instead:

Finally it was time for Toy Story! We met up with Mom, and headed in. Even the Fastpass line took a while for us to get through, but that wasn't a surprise. Mom wasn't sure what to expect from the ride - spinning and dark jerky rides aren't exactly her cup of tea, but I was sure she'd like it, so she was convinced to give it a try. We got into our car, started and got through about 1 set of games, when the ride stopped. Technical difficulties, unloading/loading a passenger, I don't know what the reason was - but it gave me a chance to see what Mom thought (trying to yell around the seats wasn't the easiest, but we managed), and she was definitely enjoying herself. The ride picked up again, and we enjoyed the rest of our games. The winner of the 4 of us: Aaron! As Mom made clear to us the rest of the day - TSMM was now one of her favorite Disney rides, as is evident from this picture from when we picked up more FPs to use later on:

At that point, we found out that Rock n Roller Coaster was up and running again - so we split up, with Aaron and I headed to RnRC, and Mom and Dad went off to wander around. And where do you think 2 grown adults headed off to? That's right, the Winnie the Pooh meet & greet.

They also walked by a few other character Meet & Greets, and managed to capture this hilarious and quite unfortunate (for her) picture of Mrs. Incredible which they delightedly showed us later:

So as they were having quite the entertaining time with the characters, Aaron and I headed over to RnRC. The regular wait time was 40 minutes I think, so we decided to go through the Single Rider line, which was a toss up since they don't have wait times posted for that. All in all I think we ended up probably waiting about the same amount of time - we got inside a lot quicker, but then the single rider queue after the video segment moved very slowly. I was quite nervous, I think this was only the second upside-down coaster I've done, but Aaron kept assuring me I'd love it (he did it on our last trip). We weren't on the same coaster since we did single rider, not that it really matters since you don't sit next to each other anyway. But once the ride started - I absolutely loved it!! Everyone who says that the ride is so smooth you don't even really realize you're going upside down - they are totally right. I loved the way it was all done using black lights, I didn't know that. The only negative of the ride is that it goes so fast, the wind makes my eyes teary, and I couldn't wipe away my tears! In my personal opinion, the ride is much less scary and intense than Space Mountain.

Aaron and I met up in the gift shop, and went off to meet my parents. Coming up next - the rest of our evening at Hollywood Studios, including a really special Cast Member encounter.

 

[kokotg]

Nice updates! I'm on your Dad's side about Rainforest Cafe being noisy and crowded. Yet I still have an inexplicable desire to try out T-Rex sometime, even though I know it will be the same thing. Poor Mrs. Incredible; I bet that happens to her a lot