JerseyJanice
A Disboards original...
- Joined
- Aug 20, 1999
- Messages
- 10,764
The kids were to spend the day with their grandparents today, so DH and I had the day to ourselves.
We woke up later than usual, feeling rather hungover from the previous nights festivities. We dont get out much at all, and it was lots of fun to be carefree for a change.
I planned for us to split the day between Epcot and MGM with dinner at Boma in between. But my husband, the non-park goer, wasnt up for going to a park that morning. He suggested we change our PS at Boma to an earlier time and then head to a park after then. At the time, it seemed like a good idea.
So we spent a lazy day at the resort, swimming, using the hot tub, and drinking a few expensive cocktails. Lunch was at the food court, Roaring Forks, where we were already getting tired of the menu. Unlike Port Orleans French Quarter, where we stayed in 9/00, the lunch and dinner menus are the same. Even with a daily special, there's not much variety at Roaring Forks.
Around 4:30, we headed off to the MK boat dock to catch a boat to the MK and get the bus to the Animal Kingdom Lodge from there. On the way down, we ran into my brother-in-law, Rocco, and chatted with him a bit. He told us Linda was in the hot tub. We had to walk past the hot tub on our way to the boat, and there was Linda, relaxing with her head back and eyes closed. DH shushed me, then splashed his sister in the face big time. Brothers! She laughed about it.
We got to the AKL without incident and went downstairs to Boma to check in for our 5:00 P.S. (it was around 5:15). They gave us a beeper that would go off anywhere in the Lodge, so we went off to explore. We made it back up to the lobby and were on our way out the door to the animal observation deck when the beeper went off.
We were seated by someone other than our server (a host, I guess), and he took our drink order of a bloody Mary each. He explained a bit about how the buffet worked, and we went up.
The first thing DH got was prime rib. He's crazy about prime rib in restaurants. I got some, too, and then searched for other things to try. DH was looking wary and I started to worry about whether hed like the food.
The prime rib, very unfortunately, was awful. Really bad! Cold, tough and dry. Theres no au jus or brown gravy for it. Just some weird looking applesauce-like stuff.
DH asked the waiter whether they had peel and eat shrimp and the answer was no. The waiter suggested he try the seafood stew, so I went up and got him a cup. I could tell from the look on his face it was going to be a very unpleasant meal.
The seafood stew was coconut curry flavored, and he hated it. I tasted it myself, and it was pretty bad. Small, sandy bits of seafood with a yucky sweet taste. Then, DH started freaking out about how bad the food was. He is not an adventurous eater and I know that, but somehow Id gotten the impression that there was plenty of "plain" food for the basic eater. To be honest, I wasn't impressed with anything I tasted.
He went back up and hit the kids' table for some macaroni and cheese and chicken strips. After eating a few bites, he started complaining that we going to be stuck paying $22 for him to eat a few bites off the kids buffet. So he asked our waiter if we could speak with a manager. She came out, and he explained he found all the food totally disgusting and was very displeased. She said shed give us a discount, and he said he thought he should pay no more than the child's rate, since the only edible food he found was off the kid's buffet.
He was furious by then, and I had terrible agita. I was so worried hed make a scene. It was impossible for me to enjoy anything under the circumstances, and I wanted to leave as soon as possible. He felt the same way and asked for the check. The manager took 20% of the total or approximately $10.
I guess some of you may think it was a fair thing for her to do, but we were very disappointed. We were Disney guests for 8 nights this trip, spending mucho money, and felt we deserved a little better. Frankly, we had a miserable time there. We paid full price for my dinner, and I enjoyed nothing. I had no dessert--something I was looking forward to before we came, but couldn't under the circumstances. DHs dinner came to $12a high price to pay for a bite of prime rib, mac & cheese, and half of a chicken strip.
I cant say what we expected. We ordered drinks and were O.K. paying for those, but the rest of the bill was a big rip-off. So much for magical Disney service!
We left with DH in a foul mood and took the bus to Epcot. I was wishing we'd looked at the buffet before we ordered drinks and walked out. We wouldnt have stayed if we knew all the food was so weird, but I didnt think to look because we've liked all of the other buffets we've had at WDW. We live in the New York City area and are not strangers to exotic food. We eat Thai, Brazilian and Korean barbecue. Everything I tried at Boma was cloyingly sweet, not spicy, so that wasn't the issue. If the prime rib were good, we wouldnt have been thrilled with the place, but it wouldnt have been the complete disaster that it was either.
We got to Epcot and went over to Test Track to try for Fastpasses. Of course, they were all sold out, but the single ride line said it was only 30 minutes. We got in that line, but then overheard a CM telling other guests that they were badly backed up because of the two thunderstorms that day. (Note: We experienced only one of those storms--guess the other one didnt make it to the Wilderness Lodge.)
We walked to the World Showcase from there, and I have to say something here. That Odyssey building is beyond ugly and sad-looking. They need to tear it down or fix it up. It's an eyesore covered in bird crap and a blight on the landscape there.
I wanted to have one of the layered margaritas I'd heard so much about, but DHs face was like a thundercloud. I asked what the problem was and he said he was disappointed that wed used a day on our hopper passes and weren't going to do any rides. I suggested we head to the Magic Kingdom then and he was game, so we took the monorail there.
But then the MK was packed! We headed toward Adventureland--I dont know why, but we just wound up moving in that direction. We hopped on the Pirates of the Caribbean and did that. A boy around my sons age was crying in the loading area, and I asked what was wrong. The poor kid was afraid! I said what I could to reassure him. Poor kid! My little guy was having trouble himself being brave about rides this trip. Last time, he had just turned 4 and was a champ about everything. This time, going on 6, he's a nervous wreck. I guess now that he's older, hes smarter, and therefore, more chicken.
We left there and headed to Fantasyland, stopping by the Haunted Mansion on the way. A 45 minute wait--I don't think so! I was hoping to ride one of my favorites, Peter Pan's Flight, but that was a 60 minute wait. The only thing that wasn't totally mobbed was It's a Small World, so we hopped on that. I dont care what anyone saysI love this attraction AND it's song. It seems like theyve put the volume down on the music--bummer! They can blast it for me.
After that, we decided to wait for Spectromagic. People were lined up everywhere for it, and I wanted to see it so much. It didn't play at all on our last two trips. We went to watch it near the bridge leading from Liberty Square to the hub. I am so glad we saw it, too. It was so wonderful! I just loved it!
We walked to the bridge to Tomorrowland, which is my favorite place to view the MK fireworks. No one presents fireworks as well as Disney. I love the announcements, music, and Tinkerbell's flight. The whole package thrills me and puts a lump in my throat. Tonight's show was spectacular.
Since it was just the two of us, we were able to zig-zag quickly through the crowd and make it back to the boat dock in time to catch the second boat back. I could see one heck of a line behind us so I was very glad we got there when we did. DS wound up sleeping in Grandma's room again that night.
We woke up later than usual, feeling rather hungover from the previous nights festivities. We dont get out much at all, and it was lots of fun to be carefree for a change.
I planned for us to split the day between Epcot and MGM with dinner at Boma in between. But my husband, the non-park goer, wasnt up for going to a park that morning. He suggested we change our PS at Boma to an earlier time and then head to a park after then. At the time, it seemed like a good idea.
So we spent a lazy day at the resort, swimming, using the hot tub, and drinking a few expensive cocktails. Lunch was at the food court, Roaring Forks, where we were already getting tired of the menu. Unlike Port Orleans French Quarter, where we stayed in 9/00, the lunch and dinner menus are the same. Even with a daily special, there's not much variety at Roaring Forks.
Around 4:30, we headed off to the MK boat dock to catch a boat to the MK and get the bus to the Animal Kingdom Lodge from there. On the way down, we ran into my brother-in-law, Rocco, and chatted with him a bit. He told us Linda was in the hot tub. We had to walk past the hot tub on our way to the boat, and there was Linda, relaxing with her head back and eyes closed. DH shushed me, then splashed his sister in the face big time. Brothers! She laughed about it.
We got to the AKL without incident and went downstairs to Boma to check in for our 5:00 P.S. (it was around 5:15). They gave us a beeper that would go off anywhere in the Lodge, so we went off to explore. We made it back up to the lobby and were on our way out the door to the animal observation deck when the beeper went off.
We were seated by someone other than our server (a host, I guess), and he took our drink order of a bloody Mary each. He explained a bit about how the buffet worked, and we went up.
The first thing DH got was prime rib. He's crazy about prime rib in restaurants. I got some, too, and then searched for other things to try. DH was looking wary and I started to worry about whether hed like the food.
The prime rib, very unfortunately, was awful. Really bad! Cold, tough and dry. Theres no au jus or brown gravy for it. Just some weird looking applesauce-like stuff.
DH asked the waiter whether they had peel and eat shrimp and the answer was no. The waiter suggested he try the seafood stew, so I went up and got him a cup. I could tell from the look on his face it was going to be a very unpleasant meal.
The seafood stew was coconut curry flavored, and he hated it. I tasted it myself, and it was pretty bad. Small, sandy bits of seafood with a yucky sweet taste. Then, DH started freaking out about how bad the food was. He is not an adventurous eater and I know that, but somehow Id gotten the impression that there was plenty of "plain" food for the basic eater. To be honest, I wasn't impressed with anything I tasted.
He went back up and hit the kids' table for some macaroni and cheese and chicken strips. After eating a few bites, he started complaining that we going to be stuck paying $22 for him to eat a few bites off the kids buffet. So he asked our waiter if we could speak with a manager. She came out, and he explained he found all the food totally disgusting and was very displeased. She said shed give us a discount, and he said he thought he should pay no more than the child's rate, since the only edible food he found was off the kid's buffet.
He was furious by then, and I had terrible agita. I was so worried hed make a scene. It was impossible for me to enjoy anything under the circumstances, and I wanted to leave as soon as possible. He felt the same way and asked for the check. The manager took 20% of the total or approximately $10.
I guess some of you may think it was a fair thing for her to do, but we were very disappointed. We were Disney guests for 8 nights this trip, spending mucho money, and felt we deserved a little better. Frankly, we had a miserable time there. We paid full price for my dinner, and I enjoyed nothing. I had no dessert--something I was looking forward to before we came, but couldn't under the circumstances. DHs dinner came to $12a high price to pay for a bite of prime rib, mac & cheese, and half of a chicken strip.
I cant say what we expected. We ordered drinks and were O.K. paying for those, but the rest of the bill was a big rip-off. So much for magical Disney service!
We left with DH in a foul mood and took the bus to Epcot. I was wishing we'd looked at the buffet before we ordered drinks and walked out. We wouldnt have stayed if we knew all the food was so weird, but I didnt think to look because we've liked all of the other buffets we've had at WDW. We live in the New York City area and are not strangers to exotic food. We eat Thai, Brazilian and Korean barbecue. Everything I tried at Boma was cloyingly sweet, not spicy, so that wasn't the issue. If the prime rib were good, we wouldnt have been thrilled with the place, but it wouldnt have been the complete disaster that it was either.
We got to Epcot and went over to Test Track to try for Fastpasses. Of course, they were all sold out, but the single ride line said it was only 30 minutes. We got in that line, but then overheard a CM telling other guests that they were badly backed up because of the two thunderstorms that day. (Note: We experienced only one of those storms--guess the other one didnt make it to the Wilderness Lodge.)
We walked to the World Showcase from there, and I have to say something here. That Odyssey building is beyond ugly and sad-looking. They need to tear it down or fix it up. It's an eyesore covered in bird crap and a blight on the landscape there.
I wanted to have one of the layered margaritas I'd heard so much about, but DHs face was like a thundercloud. I asked what the problem was and he said he was disappointed that wed used a day on our hopper passes and weren't going to do any rides. I suggested we head to the Magic Kingdom then and he was game, so we took the monorail there.
But then the MK was packed! We headed toward Adventureland--I dont know why, but we just wound up moving in that direction. We hopped on the Pirates of the Caribbean and did that. A boy around my sons age was crying in the loading area, and I asked what was wrong. The poor kid was afraid! I said what I could to reassure him. Poor kid! My little guy was having trouble himself being brave about rides this trip. Last time, he had just turned 4 and was a champ about everything. This time, going on 6, he's a nervous wreck. I guess now that he's older, hes smarter, and therefore, more chicken.
We left there and headed to Fantasyland, stopping by the Haunted Mansion on the way. A 45 minute wait--I don't think so! I was hoping to ride one of my favorites, Peter Pan's Flight, but that was a 60 minute wait. The only thing that wasn't totally mobbed was It's a Small World, so we hopped on that. I dont care what anyone saysI love this attraction AND it's song. It seems like theyve put the volume down on the music--bummer! They can blast it for me.
After that, we decided to wait for Spectromagic. People were lined up everywhere for it, and I wanted to see it so much. It didn't play at all on our last two trips. We went to watch it near the bridge leading from Liberty Square to the hub. I am so glad we saw it, too. It was so wonderful! I just loved it!
We walked to the bridge to Tomorrowland, which is my favorite place to view the MK fireworks. No one presents fireworks as well as Disney. I love the announcements, music, and Tinkerbell's flight. The whole package thrills me and puts a lump in my throat. Tonight's show was spectacular.
Since it was just the two of us, we were able to zig-zag quickly through the crowd and make it back to the boat dock in time to catch the second boat back. I could see one heck of a line behind us so I was very glad we got there when we did. DS wound up sleeping in Grandma's room again that night.
