*1/3 New Trip Report* Pole Dancing and Food Porn

[Happydog]

Great update! We are trying Ohanas for the first time this December -- I have been waiting to try it out, so I guess we'll have to compare notes! I hope that we have a good time, at least! your review got me worried, maybe it was an off night or something.

How fun that late night swim! And I totally agree with you -- there is so much to consider, organize, and put into motion for every aspect of the park and resorts. It is a huge operation to say the least! But of course that is how magic happens...

Looking forward to your next report!

 

[shannn]

Great update Shannon! I loved the pictures of the kids in 06 and yes, Lily was tiny!
I'm sorry you weren't blown away with Ohana. I wasn't either but Marc and Baylor love it. I think it's the caveman, meat eating thing.
That 10:00 swim looked like fun!
Not many people know how many hours teachers put in when the students aren't there. That is unless they have a teacher in the family or are close friends with a teacher. The same for Disney, I guess we just have these expectations and don't really consider how much after hours work it takes to keep the magic in place.

We really loved Ohana last time, but this one it was just okay. I really do wonder if it was because we were trying so many signature meals. The level of service and care just isn't the same.

I actually had a woman ask me one time at church, "What do you mean you don't leave at 3:00? What do you have to do once the students are gone?"

I was LOL when I was reading your first update about AI....how the woman kept her hand on her belly...and the other woman who was dressed a bit out of her generation. Exactly what I would have been thinking!!

I have never been to Ohana....looks like a fun place to eat but it seems that there is a lot of Asian influence in the food and I am not huge on the Asian food. Although....I have seen the wings before and they do look good as Morgan can attest to!

Aww love your comparison pictures!

Tracy

I'm awful to make, shall we say, comments about others. (with, of course, "bless her heart" tacked on the end.) My best friend gave me a sticker that says "If you don't have anything nice to say, then come sit by me."

Ohana is fun. The sides & things are definitely Polynesian/Asian influence, although honestly the meat is just meat! It reminds me of a Brazillian steakhouse if you've ever been to one of those.

GREAT update!! So sorry your O'hana experience wasn't what you expected. I just LOVE O'hana!! It was my favorite meal of our our trip. But we didn't get to do the hula for some reason--just the coconut races. Maybe next time. And I really hope we get to swim in the Poly pool this time--we weren't able to due to all of the rain on our last trip.

I'm glad you enjoyed Ohana. It was one of our favorites last time too. We liked it this time. It just wasn't one of our favorites. The kids loved the hula dancing, though.

Fingers crossed that you get to swim this time. The kids really enjoyed the pool. I think I have some other pictures coming up of them swimming during the day.

I just happened on your report because the title intrigued me! I am hooked.

I'm glad you're enjoying it. There is much more posing and porn to come.

Hope you're feeling better soon!
So glad you found the cards!!!
I love that quote!
Sorry you were disappointed with your Ohana dinner.
Gotta love the night time swimming!
So true, and I'm so grateful!

I am feeling better although I'm living on Tylenol Sinus, especially for coughing at night.

I am absolutely grateful for all the work that goes into making our vacations so seamless. We have had some amazing service that makes it seem like things really are magical, and I know that is because of lots of hard work behind the scenes.

Love this TR!! I found it while doing a search for O'hana. I'm really enjoying your pictures, too. Your children look so polite at the character greetings. My kids never had grandparents, so it's fun to see yours with their grandmothers.

My kids are pretty polite to everyone except each other! Morgan's always getting complimented for his manners (usually right after he secretly punched his sister...)

My dad died before my kids were born and my FIL is definitely not the WDW type, but I do love seeing my kids with their grandmothers. They are incredible women and we're so lucky to have them in our lives.

 

[shannn]

Great update! We are trying Ohanas for the first time this December -- I have been waiting to try it out, so I guess we'll have to compare notes! I hope that we have a good time, at least! your review got me worried, maybe it was an off night or something.

How fun that late night swim! And I totally agree with you -- there is so much to consider, organize, and put into motion for every aspect of the park and resorts. It is a huge operation to say the least! But of course that is how magic happens...

Looking forward to your next report!

You will like Ohana, I'm sure. It's fun and like a big luau party. Your boys will love it! Put them in some Hawaiian shirts and start snapping those adorable pictures. The salad is delicious and the dessert is to die for!

 

[shannn]

I was so very excited about going to Epcot. In 2006, we went to Epcot on a completely unplanned whim for about 3 hours. We ended up doing Test Track, Crush, Imagination, and shopping in Mouse Gears.

This time I had planned for at least one Epcot day, and I was thrilled to get there at Rope Drop and have a plan. (Are y'all starting to figure me out at all?

The kids weren't really matchy matchy this day. Lily saw this princess fabric at the girl's site who made her Minnie dress and fell in love. She had to have a dress made out of it! I knew I wanted her to wear something Cinderella themed to the castle, so we decided to wear this one to go to Akershus.

Morgan's shirt was also made by an ebayer. She said it was a size "10" which would have been perfect Morgan. Unfortunately, when we got it it was too small for Lily even. A friend of mine saved the day. She cut out the front of the too small tee and put it onto a bigger tee. You couldn't even tell that it wasn't meant to be that way.

(Picture taken with my phone so excuse the quality)

We thought we catch a bus, but we soon realized that there was no bus available. However, there was a push wheelchair that had been abandoned at the bus stop. We commandeered it for Grammie and headed over to the Transportation & Ticket Center to grab the monorail. It was an easy walk and we took turns pushing Grammie. Morgan loved it! We were soon climbing aboard the Epcot monorail. I love how this monorail goes through the park as it turns around. It's such a cool view of one of the most beautiful Disney parks.

Our plan for this day was to head straight for Soarin'. Gram wasn't really interested so she was going to go for her ECV and then get us all Fast Passes for Test Track. We were to meet back up at the big fountain.

When we did the Soarin' walk/run we ended up in the first loading group. However, I had read that it was worth it to wait for a first row seat so I asked if we could wait. The CM sent us down to the second loading group to wait. While we waited, Morgan asked me what this ride was. I started to tell him. As soon as he heard the name, he started singing, "Soaring, Flying" and dancing. Song I joined in and pretty soon we had a little concert going. I know peope were staring at us, but at that moment I was sharing something with my son that he loved and it was such a fun free vacationy (made up word alert) moment. It's so clear in my mind. Funny how those things stick with you!!

Soon enough it was time for us to board Soarin'. OH MY GOSH, I loved this ride. I think it might be my new favorite ride. I loved it and so did the kids.

After this we headed off to the fountain to meet Grammie. She was pretty sure we'd been abducted by aliens so she was happy to see us coming.

Soon we were off for our Test Track adventure. Grammie was a bit nervous but she was willing to go along.

Of course, I left my Photopass CD at school so I'll have to wait to add our official Test Track photo, but we had a lot of fun. I love that feeling when you break through the doors and start going fast!

Next we headed out for our Mission to Mars. I had read about this and was really uncertain, but I decided to go ahead because I had read that I had to try it! We had decided that we would head for the green side based on our level of adventurous-ness (another made up word alert). Grammie decided to pass on this one as well.

This was a big mistake for me. Claustrophobic people beware, they mean it! This ride sucked for me!! I am highly claustrophobic, and the only thing that got me through this was that I had to pretend to be excited for Morgan. When that wall came down on me, and I realized how truly small this area was, I had to deep breathe to try not to hyperventilate. Of course, Morgan was babbling on next to me about his job and which buttons to push. He really enjoyed it (and Lily absolutely loved it, of course), but I'll be keeping Gram company during this one from now on.

At this point, it was about time for the WS to open and we'd done the main things I wanted to do in FW. The kids were super excited to sign up for their first Kim Possible mission. Unfortunately, when we got to the KP kiosk it was down. The KP mission specialist told us that the minions of Dr. Drakken had invaded the computers and Wade was working on them. The kids were disappointed, but we promised we'd check back in later.

It was a beautiful day in the WS!

We had to wait at the Mexico rope drop for a few minutes, but once they dropped it we had a wonderful CM who escorted us up through the ECV entrance. I loved the inside of the Mexican pavillion - the lights in the ceiling, the sky, and just the open courtyard field. I also loved the beautiful painted Mexican carvings. I wanted some of them so badly, but I was trying to save my souvenir money.

At the fountain inside Mexico, the pose queen struck again.

M&L loved the Three Caballeros song and ride. Morgan still calls himself a caballero and talks about them searching all over for Donald.

From there, we headed to Norway to ride Maelstrom. I thought Norway looked great and loved seeing it since I lived and worked there for a summer. It was fun to talk to the CMs about the area where I lived and speak my little bit of Norwegian with them.

Continued in next post: China

 

[shannn]

We had time to go to China before our ADR. Sam was thrilled to go to China since this is the place he has spent most of his time on business lately. He got a chance to see the clay soldiers in person so he really wanted to see Disney's version. The artifacts in the China pavillion are truly amazing, and Lily loved the marionettes outside. Sam said that Disney's China was much cleaner and the CMs were much more polite than the people in China!

Lily LOVED the pond with the lily pads. Her Uncle Will calls her Lily Pad so she thought that was amazing and we stood and looked at them for a while. The kids loved finding flowers and animals in the pond.

We wanted to stop and see the China movie, but we were worried about our timing for our ADR. So we headed back to Norway to check in. We thought we'd have plenty of time later, but this is another place that we just never made it back to.

Coming up next: Akershus lunch

 

[ladybugmom]

More cute outfits!! Soarin' was also my favorite ride and I too would not ride Mission Space. Don't think I can handle it. The WS is my FAVORITE part of Epcot!! Brent has been to China several times on business and made the same kind of comments on our trip! I can't wait to hear about the Akershus lunch--especially what you thought of the food.

 

[All7OfUs]

Isn't WS a delightful place?? I so love it that you were brave enough to pull out that Norwegian of yours, and that you get to eat at Akershus. Although, we liked our lunch there, the best part about it was the food- not the princesses.

I could have spent a lot longer in China, but kept getting pulled along with the "too many" of us. Not next time.... Your pictures are amazing! Very well done!

I was actually one who was pleased to hear that the Lapu was not insipid. I've heard too many stories of folks getting one, only to find that it was a very expensive $12 juice.


Keep up the great TR work!! Loving every minute!

 

[jenjolt]

What great updates!!! So glad the kids got to go swimming it looks like the really enjoyed that!!

As a fellow teacher I have to say that you are right, some will often complain to me about how I get all this time off and then I have to remind them that I make up for it with what I take home and do...papers don't grade themselves, plans are lined up on their own, we work hard at what we do!!!

EPCOT looked so beautiful, you did have a great day!! I too love Soarin, glad your family enjoyed it!!

Looking forward to hearing about lunch at Norway!!

 

[snapppyd]

I'm hooked! What a wonderful trip report. We are going in December, and I wasn't that excited about it, but I am now!!!

Do you mind if I ask what kind of camera you used? Your pictures (especially the ones of the fireworks) are awesome.

 

[praisehisname]

Great update! I'm really looking forward to exploring World Showcase, since we didn't get to on the last trip.

 

[manntra]

Awwwww! I love their outfits yet again! Lilly's dress is adorable and Morgan's shirt turned out great!
This was my first time ever on MS...I was always freaked out about the claustrophobia and spinning, etc....we started out with the green or whatever the non spinning one is called...that was okay and then we did the other one twice. The only thing I got out of it was that I was thinking it was an instance face lift! It was a really weird feeling...mind you this was after a goose or two!
How cool is that about your husband and the little China soldiers....I remember watching something about that on the History Channel.
Looking forward to your lunch report!

Tracy

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Looks like you are having a great time at W.S.! It's cool that Sam has spent time in China, I'll bet the Disney version is much cleaner and friendlier!
As usual Morgan and Lily are adorable!

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

Enjoyed the update! Can't wait to hear about lunch at Akershus.

 

[Happydog]

Cute outfits! I like Morgan's Tshirt! Your start to the day seems nice! I love Soarin' too! MSpace, NOT so much!!!

We love Maelstrom and Donald's BOAT ride too! China is neat -- great photos again! Looking forward to lunch with princesses!

 

[shannn]

More cute outfits!! Soarin' was also my favorite ride and I too would not ride Mission Space. Don't think I can handle it. The WS is my FAVORITE part of Epcot!! Brent has been to China several times on business and made the same kind of comments on our trip! I can't wait to hear about the Akershus lunch--especially what you thought of the food.

Loved Soarin' ~~ And Mission Space was a definite mistake~~

I loved the World Showcase and can't wait to spend more time in there without kids in December!

Isn't WS a delightful place?? I so love it that you were brave enough to pull out that Norwegian of yours, and that you get to eat at Akershus. Although, we liked our lunch there, the best part about it was the food- not the princesses.

I could have spent a lot longer in China, but kept getting pulled along with the "too many" of us. Not next time.... Your pictures are amazing! Very well done!

I was actually one who was pleased to hear that the Lapu was not insipid. I've heard too many stories of folks getting one, only to find that it was a very expensive $12 juice.


Keep up the great TR work!! Loving every minute!

LOVE the WS. We enjoyed Akershus too. That report is coming up.

The Lapu wasn't insipid this time at all!! It was quite strong, in fact, I couldn't finish it which is rare for me!!

What great updates!!! So glad the kids got to go swimming it looks like the really enjoyed that!!

As a fellow teacher I have to say that you are right, some will often complain to me about how I get all this time off and then I have to remind them that I make up for it with what I take home and do...papers don't grade themselves, plans are lined up on their own, we work hard at what we do!!!

EPCOT looked so beautiful, you did have a great day!! I too love Soarin, glad your family enjoyed it!!

Looking forward to hearing about lunch at Norway!!

They Loved the swimming. And somehow swimming when it would have normally been their bedtime made it even better!

Teaching is fun and I wouldn't do anything else, but it is definitely hard work. And sometimes it gets in the way of my leisure time.

I'm hooked! What a wonderful trip report. We are going in December, and I wasn't that excited about it, but I am now!!!

Do you mind if I ask what kind of camera you used? Your pictures (especially the ones of the fireworks) are awesome.

Thanks!! I'm glad you're enjoying it. I'm going in December, too; and I'm soooo excited. Are you going with your family?

Sam's camera is a Nikon D40. (And that's about all I know about it. He's the photographer in the family. He just sent me a link to the lens I'm supposed to buy him for his birthday next month.)

Great update! I'm really looking forward to exploring World Showcase, since we didn't get to on the last trip.

Enjoy the WS. I have to admit that I could spend many hours there!! (preferably without children...)

Awwwww! I love their outfits yet again! Lilly's dress is adorable and Morgan's shirt turned out great!
This was my first time ever on MS...I was always freaked out about the claustrophobia and spinning, etc....we started out with the green or whatever the non spinning one is called...that was okay and then we did the other one twice. The only thing I got out of it was that I was thinking it was an instance face lift! It was a really weird feeling...mind you this was after a goose or two!
How cool is that about your husband and the little China soldiers....I remember watching something about that on the History Channel.
Looking forward to your lunch report!

Tracy

I'm glad you liked their outfits. Lily loves that dress and really wants to wear it to school. (Unfortunately, it's not really appropriate for the weather right now.)

He enjoyed seeing their version of the clay soldiers. It said that they were remarkably alike, although the real ones take up miles and miles of space. .

Looks like you are having a great time at W.S.! It's cool that Sam has spent time in China, I'll bet the Disney version is much cleaner and friendlier!
As usual Morgan and Lily are adorable!

Yes, he would definitely agree that the Disney-fied China is much much cleaner. I'm amazed by the stories he tell of the filth on his trips. He spends most of his time in either China or Mexico so he has plenty of stories to tell.

Enjoyed the update! Can't wait to hear about lunch at Akershus.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Akershus is coming up.

Cute outfits! I like Morgan's Tshirt! Your start to the day seems nice! I love Soarin' too! MSpace, NOT so much!!!

We love Maelstrom and Donald's BOAT ride too! China is neat -- great photos again! Looking forward to lunch with princesses!

I couldn't believe how much the kids enjoyed Donald's boat ride. They still talk about it.

I'm glad you liked Morgan's tshirt. He was proud of it although by Saturday he was sick of wearing things with his name on it. He kept getting startled by strangers who knew his name.

 

[shannn]

Akershus was no where on my original plans. I had thought to eat at Le Cellier for lunch and somewhere else for dinner and then Ohana or Kona for dinner. But literally 5 minutes before I emailed my requests I decided that Le Cellier would be better for lunch. But I needed an Epcot restaurant for lunch. Sam's vote was for Biergarten but that seemed so heavy if we were going for a steak dinner, so I asked for Akershus.

The reason I was hesitant was because I lived in Norway for a summer. I gotta tell you, it was definitely not a gourmet experience!! Basically I spent 2 months eating bread and cheese. So, I wasn't so sure that the food would be that great. But my fears were unfounded. It was really pretty tasty and a great light lunch.

First we went to the appetizer buffet.

These are our appetizer plates. We all enjoyed the buffet. It had a green lettuce salad, cold salads (pasta salad, shrimp salad), asparagus, boiled shrimp, cold cuts, fish (smoked salmon, mackerel) and bread. We really enjoyed it, there were lots of choices, and the kids loved the fruit. Grammie especially enjoyed it and said that she could have just had that for lunch.

Granmouse had the pasta. "Pasta and sauteed garden vegetables
with a fresh herb roasted garlic pesto."

She said that this was good. It was filled with onion, mushrooms, and tomato.

Grammie and I both had the chicken sandwich. "Open faced chicken sandwich on Sourdough bread with tomatoes, argula, mushroom vinagrette, jarlsberg,and lingonberry mayonnaise served with potato and fennel salad paired with your choice of creamy Winter Bisque or hearty Vegetable Soup"

The chicken sandwich was good although I didn't eat all of it. The bread was really tasty, crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.
The potato salad was quite strange tasting. I don't know if it was the fennel or something else, but it just had a very odd taste.
Gram thought the bisque was too spicy (she's very sensitive to spice), but I thought it was wonderful. In fact, I could definitely go for a bowl right now!

Sam had the venison. "Grilled Venison Sausage served over Scandanavian white bean stew with bacon, rainbow carrots and potatoes.

He was not that impressed. He said the venison flavor wasn't very strong, and the whole dish was rather "eh"

The dessert platter is brought family style. "Traditional Rice Cream
topped with fresh Strawberries and Sauce
Chocolate Mousse
Finished with a chocolate waffle and chocolate shavings
Apple Tart
Flaky Pastry filled with Apples served with Vanilla Ice cream and Caramel Sauce"

We enjoyed the chocolate mousse. It was light with crispies in it.
The pastry was well made.
Only two people were willing to try the rice cream, but we both liked it. It was a little like rice pudding but not nearly as sweet.

The food was enjoyable and our service was adequate, but you know we were mostly here for the princesses!! (At least Lily was, Morgan made sure to sit at the back of the table so he didn't have to get up to pose with all those girls! Of course, one of those girls changed his mind, as you'll sit in a moment!

First up was Belle of course. (Morgan was required by Dad to do this meet as well.)

(Continued in the next post because I just realized that there are a lot of girly shots...)

 

[shannn]

The first to visit our table was Ariel. Suddenly, Lily decided that she wanted autographs. The only paper we had was my little notebook where I was taking notes, so now the final pages are all covered in the scrawls of some poor Florida girls in big dresses.

And, of course, our favorite red head was the only one to coax Morgan out of his corner!!

Next up was Cindy. Lily had, of course, to show her that she was right there on the front of her dress.

This girl was pretty (much prettier than...well, we'll get to that later!!) And I love this pose!!!

Next came Snow White (my personal favorite. I truly believe brunettes have more fun!)

And, finally, Lily's favorite AURORA!! She was out of control excited and had to make sure she knew that she was the favorite. And that she was on her dress too...on the front... she was babbling!!

(Just between you & me, does she look a little long in the tooth for this job?)

I would really recommend Akershus. We had a great time, and it was only 1 credit on the meal plan. I'm glad we did it!

After Akershus, we got back on board the monorail and headed back for what else? our nap!!

Coming up: the WS at night and our Le Cellier dinner

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Wow, and I always thought it was more than one credit on the meal plan.....
I just love the picture of Cindy and Lily with the dress pose. Is it framed and in Lily's room?
We enjoyed our food at Akershus too! Baylor would have been very happy if it had just been the cold buffet....

 

[ladybugmom]

YAY!! Loved this update!! Akershus was one of our favorites!! I can't wait to go back in May. What cute pictures with the princesses!! Lily looks like she is in HEAVEN!!

 

[All7OfUs]

Lots of very purty princess pictures this time around. My sons wouldnt' have anything to do with Belle- no way, they said. Had it been Jafar, that would have been a totally different story!

We loved the food here. But loved it sooooo much more back in 2001 when we first went here. Back then, it really was VERY, very Norwegian, with tons more fishy stuff-OHHH, I can remember the mackeral in sour cream... Ah well, another Disney restaurant tragedy. I mean really, whoever heard of Mickey shaped ravioli in Norway??!!



On the other hand- OH my heck!! I could eat that rice cream cloud of heaven on a plate all day long!! I am making sure to hit Norway again specifically to get that fluff of yummy again!! WOW!
They sell sides of it at the Kringla if you just want that.