1200 pics, 1100 miles, 15 deluxe dining meals, 1 great time at POR *Completed 9/5*

[mickeystoontown]

I read this last update and then realized that I had never posted on the other one. Your lunch at Yak & Yeti looks good even though I'm not a big fan of those types of food. Now, those fried wonton desserts? I could go for those in a heartbeat.

We have given up riding Kali River Rapids. Like you, I find it just okay. To me, it is not worth getting soaking wet for.

The FP line for Expedition Everest went all the way to the Finding Nemo show? I can't see how that would be just a 26 minute wait. I'd have skipped it too.

 

[rteetz]

We just got home today from our stay at POR and it was great! I hope to get going on a TR of my own very soon. Your lunch at Yak and Yeti looks great we have never eaten there may have to next time.

 

[themommy]

I love your wife gettin' her scream on! Great job on the pic holding the balloons. A line all the way back to Nemo? Holy moly! I would have passed too!

 

[alan_renfroe]

I read this last update and then realized that I had never posted on the other one. Your lunch at Yak & Yeti looks good even though I'm not a big fan of those types of food. Now, those fried wonton desserts? I could go for those in a heartbeat.

We have given up riding Kali River Rapids. Like you, I find it just okay. To me, it is not worth getting soaking wet for.

The FP line for Expedition Everest went all the way to the Finding Nemo show? I can't see how that would be just a 26 minute wait. I'd have skipped it too.

Hi Lisa! Those fried wontons are Killer! It's always a good thing when you can please all four members of the family with a meal...so we were very happy with Y&Y.

I agree on KRR. And it always perplexes me that the standby line is so long. I think on our next Animal Kingdom visit we may do something we've never done before instead of KRR...take the train over to that section of the park.

Can you believe that? I was shocked! I've never seen a line that long! I found out later from a fellow DISer that indeed that line DID move quickly and the wait was about 25-30 minutes...but that defeats the purpose of having a fastpass in the first place in my opinion.

We just got home today from our stay at POR and it was great! I hope to get going on a TR of my own very soon. Your lunch at Yak and Yeti looks great we have never eaten there may have to next time.

Awesome! I was hoping you all enjoyed POR as much as we did! If and when you start a trip report, be sure to post your link here.

I love your wife gettin' her scream on! Great job on the pic holding the balloons. A line all the way back to Nemo? Holy moly! I would have passed too!

Yeah, she may seem terrified in those pictures but she loves those rides almost as much as me!

That had to be the longest line I've ever seen at Disney World! I even made a joke that for a line that long you should get to ride with Elsa and Anna!!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Argh... look at that mountain on your PP photos... taunting you... and me

Yeah Alan, it kinda does look like the fam wasn't all that concerned with you being dragged away by those balloons.

My God I love the mixed reactions on Dinosaur.

I have to agree on Kali. After riding other similar style rides, Kali is sadly (and quite surprisingly) lacking.

Wow on the Everest return. How long was it down? Obviously a lot of FP all coming a once. I do expect the line moved pretty steady (I bet people jumped into the standby thinkng it was short and they'd get right on... yeah, no), but that would still be an insanely long wait for FP.

It's probably just me, but the hot tub layout cracks me up with all the chairs circling it... Like it's a show!

 

[BecBennett]

I love the photo of the family on Dinosaur! It made me laugh

 

[disneydadben]

Loving this trip report! When I started reading I thought it was complete. But today I caught up so now I'll be anxiously awaiting your review of California Grill and the rest of the trip.

 

[aqua319]

Took me a while to catch up. I was so sorry to hear about your parents home. Thank goodness everyone was ok and I'm glad to hear things are working out for them!

I'm so excited to see the lion king show in the new theater. You got some great pictures!

Yak and Yeti sounds amazing. I will def have to try that some time!

 

[aqua319]

It took me a long time to catch up. So sorry to hear about your parents house. Thank goodness everyone was ok and I'm glad to hear things are working out for them with the insurance and the new house!

Great pictures of Festival of the Lion King. I'm excited to see it in the new theater.

And Yak and Yeti sounds amazing. I don't know why I thought I wouldn't like it before but you definitely sold me on trying it one of these days!

 

[aqua319]

Ah sorry for the double post. I'm using my phone and it told me it didn't work the first time, but I guess it did.

Your trip was just that good I had to comment twice. Haha.

 

[rteetz]

Alan I started my Trip report
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=52011312#post52011312

I am a rookie at this so we will see how it goes.

 

[shannon47142]

Just found your report! Have caught up on your updates- just love your reporting style! Your family is growing up so very lovely

 

[MissMaryQC]

Yours has been one of the first trip reports I've read; seeking to live vicariously while I plan our next WDW vacation! Boy, you guys know how to vacation! I can't wait to seem the rest!

 

[MissMaryQC]

Oops , glitch caused a double post.

 

[Foxnhound]

I'm sorry you were disappointed with Edna at Boma. The food certainly *looks* delicious. Especially that pecan sticky roll.

Your Memory Maker photos in the Animal Kingdom all came out great!

I'm glad you got to see the FOTLK in the new theater! I can't wait to see it for the very first time when I finally get to go to WDW! It's funny reading these trip reports and people are "old hats" at touring the parks and talking about inside jokes and stuff. It's all new to me!

Your pics of FOTLK came out really good. I am assuming you did not use a flash?

Primeval Whirl sounds like a ride that spins. I got good and sick on the Tilt-o-whirt at the Fair once. Not sure I can handle this ride!

Your lunch at Yak & Yeti looks delicious! Your review really made me want to eat there! Glad to hear you got a good server in Ivan, to make up for the Edna disaster. That Kobe burger...are they supposed to be served that rare? I was sort of horrified at first. LOL. I like steaks cooked medium but I've got to have my burgers cooked well done! Your Mahi dish looks beautiful....but I'm not much of a fish person. I think I would go for either what your Son or Daugher got, plus those fried wontons! No appetizer for me or I would never get to dessert! Your cherry limeade looks so yummy and refreshing.


Taking an afternoon resort/swim break sounds like the way to go during hot weather. I have tentative plans to go the end of Jan 2016, so I don't know if it will be swimming weather or not. I'm hoping we can since the pools at Disney look awesome.

Looking forward to reading about your Anniversary Dinner at California Grill!

 

[KatMark]

Alan, we were out of town for four days (went to Vegas) and trying to catch up.

Great photopass pictures!

I love Dinosaur and have to ride it myself as Mark won't do it since his neck surgery. I can't believe you did Primevil Hurl twice...and especially once after lunch.

We've not done Kali in forever...just not worth the getting drenched as it's such a short ride (I'd rather get drenched on Splash Mountain).

I'm sorry EE never got done, but pool and relaxing time sounds much better to me in any event.

Can't wait to hear about your dinner. We've never done California Grill and I've been reading a lot of mixed reviews lately.

 

[Connie96]

Hello, Alan. I just stumbled upon your TR and blew thru the entire thing today. It looks like you guys had such a fun trip and, oh my goodness, all your meals look so amazing!

Thanks for sharing all of this and I can't wait to read more!

 

[ashleymrush]

Alan - I forgot to let you know that before we left PCB last week, I made it to Finn's for lunch! I talked my DH into one more night before we left so we were able to fit it in. It was really good. I got the fish tacos and my DH got the shrimp tacos and then we split them. With that said, if you like the fish tacos than you have got to get them from Sunshine Seasons next time you are at Epcot. The one's at Finn's were good, don't get me wrong, but the ones at SS were phenomenal! They also have a lot more fish on them. I'm really happy that we had Finn's though.

 

[alan_renfroe]

Argh... look at that mountain on your PP photos... taunting you... and me

Yeah Alan, it kinda does look like the fam wasn't all that concerned with you being dragged away by those balloons.

My God I love the mixed reactions on Dinosaur.

I have to agree on Kali. After riding other similar style rides, Kali is sadly (and quite surprisingly) lacking.

Wow on the Everest return. How long was it down? Obviously a lot of FP all coming a once. I do expect the line moved pretty steady (I bet people jumped into the standby thinkng it was short and they'd get right on... yeah, no), but that would still be an insanely long wait for FP.

It's probably just me, but the hot tub layout cracks me up with all the chairs circling it... Like it's a show!

You're right! I believe it IS taunting! Lucky for us we rode EE first thing when we got to the park that morning in the standby line and we waited for less than 10 minutes! I guess "ride karma" can work both ways.

Hahahahaha! You are SOOO right about the fam letting me get blown away! The PP photographer even told the kids...."don't you care that your father is drifting away?" I don't think they exactly were on board with the whole concept!

That Dinosaur picture definitely cracked me up! DW has a knack for screaming at exactly the right moments!

The last time we went to Animal Kingdom was five years ago and it was raining pretty steadily. Because of that, we were getting right on and off and on and off KRR. We remembered it being fun because we simply kept riding it without a wait in the rain! That being said....yeah...that ride is just not very interesting.

You nailed it on the FP return line for EE! People were thinking they would ride faster if they got in the standby line....but the standby line was posting a 60 minute wait and we were being told the FP line was taking 25-30 minutes. Either way...that is easily the longest line I've seen at Disney World. I made the comment, "Geesh, if I'm going to stand in a line that long for Expedition Everest, Anna and Elsa better be riding along with me!"

LOL! The hot tub show! Starring....whomever is in the hot tub! Go ahead and take a soak, while the rest of us have a gander!

I love the photo of the family on Dinosaur! It made me laugh

Hahahaha! That was a good one! Looks like we were all looking at different things at that moment!

Loving this trip report! When I started reading I thought it was complete. But today I caught up so now I'll be anxiously awaiting your review of California Grill and the rest of the trip.

Thank you very much! I've been out of town all week so I'm just now catching up myself. A new chapter is coming right up!

It took me a long time to catch up. So sorry to hear about your parents house. Thank goodness everyone was ok and I'm glad to hear things are working out for them with the insurance and the new house!

Great pictures of Festival of the Lion King. I'm excited to see it in the new theater.

And Yak and Yeti sounds amazing. I don't know why I thought I wouldn't like it before but you definitely sold me on trying it one of these days!

Thanks very much. Things are moving along well for my parents. They are supposed to close on a house by the end of next week....so they're starting to get a little excited about their new home!

The new FOTLK theatre is wonderful! It can hold throngs of people for each show...and where it is located in the Africa section of the park is just perfect.

Oh, I definitely recommend Yak & Yeti! This was our third time to eat there and it has been consistent each time.

Ah sorry for the double post. I'm using my phone and it told me it didn't work the first time, but I guess it did.

Your trip was just that good I had to comment twice. Haha.

No worries! I always seem to have that problem when posting from my phone. I don't normally post a lot from my phone because of that. And hey, that just meant I got to "hear" from you twice!

 

[alan_renfroe]

Alan I started my Trip report
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=52011312#post52011312

I am a rookie at this so we will see how it goes.

Hi Ryan! I just went to your trip report and subscribed! Wow...you are doing a GREAT job! You've got some wonderful photos and it's great to see your whole family!

Just found your report! Have caught up on your updates- just love your reporting style! Your family is growing up so very lovely

Hi shannon47142! Welcome to our trip report and thank you so much for your kind comments! I'm a lucky man!

Yours has been one of the first trip reports I've read; seeking to live vicariously while I plan our next WDW vacation! Boy, you guys know how to vacation! I can't wait to seem the rest!

Awwww, thanks so very much! That's quite a great compliment! A new chapter is coming up!

I'm sorry you were disappointed with Edna at Boma. The food certainly *looks* delicious. Especially that pecan sticky roll.

Your Memory Maker photos in the Animal Kingdom all came out great!

I'm glad you got to see the FOTLK in the new theater! I can't wait to see it for the very first time when I finally get to go to WDW! It's funny reading these trip reports and people are "old hats" at touring the parks and talking about inside jokes and stuff. It's all new to me!

Your pics of FOTLK came out really good. I am assuming you did not use a flash?

Primeval Whirl sounds like a ride that spins. I got good and sick on the Tilt-o-whirt at the Fair once. Not sure I can handle this ride!

Your lunch at Yak & Yeti looks delicious! Your review really made me want to eat there! Glad to hear you got a good server in Ivan, to make up for the Edna disaster. That Kobe burger...are they supposed to be served that rare? I was sort of horrified at first. LOL. I like steaks cooked medium but I've got to have my burgers cooked well done! Your Mahi dish looks beautiful....but I'm not much of a fish person. I think I would go for either what your Son or Daugher got, plus those fried wontons! No appetizer for me or I would never get to dessert! Your cherry limeade looks so yummy and refreshing.


Taking an afternoon resort/swim break sounds like the way to go during hot weather. I have tentative plans to go the end of Jan 2016, so I don't know if it will be swimming weather or not. I'm hoping we can since the pools at Disney look awesome.

Looking forward to reading about your Anniversary Dinner at California Grill!

In retrospect, I can't help but wonder if I was just in a cranky mood from having to get up so early that morning we had breakfast at Boma. Either way, Edna was just plain bad at her job! We didn't even realize how bad until later in the trip!

I think our AK Memory Maker photos were my favorite of any park! Maybe because that was the last park to have our pictures made in...who knows!

I hope you get to see FOTLK for yourself! The pictures don't even do it justice. And you are correct, no flash. Those pics were all taken from our iPhones. Nothing fancy!

Primeval Whirl DOES have a spin element to it, but to me it's nothing like a tilt-a-whirl. I get a little queezy on those rides myself. On Primeval Whirl the first part of the ride is just a traditional "mouse" type of coaster with no spinning. The second part of the ride takes you around some really sharp turns and allows the ride vehicle to spin. It's actually quite fun to me!

That picture of the Kobe Beef burger at Yak & Yeti didn't turn out too good. In reality, the burger wasn't nearly as rare as it appears in that pic. DW did order it medium rare however. I think if I ordered I would get mine medium well. That Mahi was really really good...and the wontons are amazing! Being on the dining plan, I had sort of forgotten that you can order any non-alcoholic drink on the menu....so I went with something a little different with the Cherry Limeade! It was really refreshing on a hot summer day!

We learned a long time ago that afternoon "breaks" are the way to go for our family. That's when the parks are the BUSIEST and HOTTEST in the summer. So the best move for us is to just avoid them. And it is nice to be able to enjoy the resort for awhile also.

Anniversary Dinner at Cali Grill coming up next!