A Disney Geek-tastic Trip to the World Updated 3/27!

[luvpoohandcompany]

WOW-JUST WOW

 

[Missyrose]

WOW!!!

Awesome Disney Touches

Thanks Dee!

I loved all your little Disney touches. And your photos are beautiful (and fun)! Hope all is going well for the two of you!! And hope you don't get socked in by the snow headed your way.

Thank you! We got plenty of snow this week (seven inches!). Franklin was off work for a couple of days. Sadly, newspapers come out every day, so I worked from home.

Perfect Disney touches! I like every single one of them, but the Spaceship Earth custom cuff links are amazing. As is the HVAC makeover, and your shoes, and the cake marker - and Everything,

Thanks! We searched high and low for cuff links for Franklin that had a touch of Disney without them being too cartoonish. It dawned on me one night that It would be perfect to use one of Franklin's photos for his cufflinks, it was especially meaningful since photography and Disney go hand in hand for him. And the photo of Spaceship Earth kind of looked like a geographic pattern, which made it a perfectly subtle Disney touch!

WOW-JUST WOW

Thanks!​

 

[Missyrose]

Welcome back friends! We last left off with the first half of Franklin’s birthday at Disney and our very first Keys to the Kingdom tour! We had come back to our resort for some pool time, but ended up passing out for the afternoon before we could even change clothes!

We woke up and realized it was time to get ready for dinner. We were trying a new restaurant this evening, Bluezoo at the Dolphin. It’s seafood restaurant and if you’ve read our previous TRs, you know how much Franklin loves his seafood. The sun had set and there was the slightest chill in the air.

We set out for the Dolphin on foot.

We started out with drinks. Franklin had a bubblegum martini.

I had a cosmo.

The restaurant is gorgeous! So modern, yet perfectly themed.

Franklin started with oysters.

I had scallops. You see, I’ve never been a huge seafood person. But I’m learning to like more seafood, with scallops at the top of that list.

Franklin had the chef’s special, which that night was tuna and octopus.

And we split the most delicious garlic and parmesan fries I’ve ever had.

The food was A-MAZING. I know people always rave that the restaurants at the Swan and Dolphin are a step up from Disney food, but this meal convinced me it was true. So when they asked if we wanted dessert, there was no way we’d turn it down. We had a molten chocolate cake.

We paid the bill and enjoyed a leisurely walk back to Boardwalk.

​

 

[Missyrose]

It was almost time for Illuminations, so we curled up a bench to watch the show.

We’d seen the fireworks from the bridge between Boardwalk and Beach Club, but we’d never sat back on the Boardwalk to watch them. And we LOVED this vantage point. Our last stop of the evening was Jellyrolls. We’d never visited before, but it has quickly become a must-do for us. The drinks were yummy (and not too expensive) and the music was awesome.

There was a couple who was, um, slightly inebriated. Have you ever seen drunk swing dancing before? Well, you’re about to.

And toward the end of the night, several tables of convention-goers decided to get their groove on.

It was a really fun night. Good food, good music and lots of fun. I think Franklin really enjoyed his first birthday at Disney, don’t you?
​

 

[sue_88]

That did look like a really great day. I'm so glad that you enjoy reliving it through trip reporting. Thanks!!

 

[happenin2you]

I love scallops, too! That octopus and tuna is a bit much for me, though... I'll have to try to fit in a stroll over to the Swan and Dolphin to see the lobbies, they look gorgeous!

 

[Shazzasmd]

Your dinner looked delicious, as do Franklin's photos of the entrance to the dolphin.

 

[Missyrose]

That did look like a really great day. I'm so glad that you enjoy reliving it through trip reporting. Thanks!!

Thanks, it was a fantastic day!

I love scallops, too! That octopus and tuna is a bit much for me, though... I'll have to try to fit in a stroll over to the Swan and Dolphin to see the lobbies, they look gorgeous!

Those resorts (even though they stick out like a sore thumb in the Epcot resort area) are really gorgeous, especially all lit up at night. Shula's Steakhouse is next on our list of Swolphin restaurants to try.

Your dinner looked delicious, as do Franklin's photos of the entrance to the dolphin.

Dinner was incredible, everything we tried was amazing. We'll definitely be making a return trip to Bluezoo in the future.​

 

[Missyrose]

Welcome back friends! We left off with Franklin’s big birthday at Disney. Keys to the Kingdom, dinner at Bluezoo and Jellyrolls, it was quite a day. You’d think maybe, with such a jam-packed day under our belt, we’d take it easy the next day, right? Wrong! We were gearing up to try something we never had before. What was this Disney feat?

Four parks in one day!

But that’s crazy, how can you do that in late January? The hours are too short! Don’t think we can do it? Buckle up and enjoy the ride!

Since we were going to start our day at Animal Kingdom, we chose to have breakfast at one of our new favorite breakfast spots: Boma!

It was early, so the restaurant was nice and quiet.

Can’t have breakfast at Boma and not start with a little Frunch.

The buffet was looking scrumptious this morning.

I started with ham and cheese scrambled eggs, but couldn’t keep myself from some chocolate chip pancakes too.

Franklin went a little more well-rounded with his plate.

We paid the bill and made our way to our car, we had four parks calling our name!

Minutes later, we were at our first park of the day.

Not very many people shared our idea of starting the day at AK.

We made our way to Africa.

It was a gorgeous morning. Just chilly enough that a sweatshirt was comfortable. I don’t know why, but I love going when it’s cool enough to tour the parks in a sweatshirt.

We made our way to our first stop of the day, Kilimanjaro Safaris.

I was pretty excited, it had been a loooooong time since we’d gone on the safari.

I won’t bore you with any talk. Franklin’s gorgeous animal photos speak for themselves!

​

 

[Missyrose]

It was a very active morning on the safari, lots of animals up and about! We next made our way to Asia.

I still can’t do anything but scream in the Expedition Everest, Franklin, however, took a bit of a snooze.

We decided to grab a little lunch before we left the park. Since we were in Asia, we stopped at Yak and Yeti for some Chinese fare.

Franklin tried the honey chicken and I had the beef lo mein. The food was okay, nothing we’ll stray from Flame Tree Barbecue again for in the future though.

It was time for the next park, but we didn’t rush out of the park.

That's where we'll stop for now, but there is another three parks' worth of fun still ahead. Which park do you think we're heading to next?​

 

[natebenma]

Ok, I have read the past few update from your morning/afternoon/evening at MK, but for whatever reason, I haven't commented. Here goes, then I'm off to check out your KTTK tour.

Meet George, our Jungle Cruise skipper.

​

Seriously? George of the Jungle (Cruise)?

​

I think I commented recently about how Franklin's photos have helped me see things that I haven't noticed before, even though I have seen something about a million times.

Like this. I have never noticed the cloth on the rhino's tusk before.

I think you can see my point.

I'm amazed!

I know most people like to watch Wishes from Main Street for that perfectly centered view of the show, but what off-beat places have you enjoyed watching the fireworks from (either inside or outside the park will do)? Plenty more fun coming up, so stay tuned!

​

Well, as you know, I don't have a lot to choose from. I have only seen Wishes once, at the Dessert party.

However, the funkiest place I have watched the MK Nightastic fireworks show was from my standard view balcony at the Beach Club in 2010. I went out to watch the show every night we were there.



Finally, I love, love, love, love, love, love the fireworks over Beast's castle.

Between that and the incredible looking meal and décor at Be Our Guest, I may get my boys into New Fantastyland yet.


PS- Dumbo is such a great vantage point for photos of the mine train progress!

 

[natebenma]

Read your KTTW tour update. Yup, definitely something I need to do! I love all of the background and insider tips! And you get to eat at CHH!

Great info about the lack of bathrooms in Liberty Square- I work at a 300 year old pre-colonial farmhouse and my favorite part of the lessons we do with students have to do with chamber pots and outhouses. The best artifacts on the property were found in the outhouses because this was the place you could make things disappear. And broken pottery would be used to help "fill" the holes because it would help with the drainage. Good stuff!

 

[annie170]

Cool idea doing all four parks in one day! Do you remember approximately how long you were in each park?

My first visit to WDW was in January. I enjoyed the cooler temps and low crowds, also. Unfortunately, I've never made it back again in January.

 

[Missyrose]

Ok, I have read the past few update from your morning/afternoon/evening at MK, but for whatever reason, I haven't commented. Here goes, then I'm off to check out your KTTK tour.

Seriously? George of the Jungle (Cruise)?


I think I commented recently about how Franklin's photos have helped me see things that I haven't noticed before, even though I have seen something about a million times.

Like this. I have never noticed the cloth on the rhino's tusk before.

I think you can see my point.

I'm amazed!


Well, as you know, I don't have a lot to choose from. I have only seen Wishes once, at the Dessert party.

However, the funkiest place I have watched the MK Nightastic fireworks show was from my standard view balcony at the Beach Club in 2010. I went out to watch the show every night we were there.



Finally, I love, love, love, love, love, love the fireworks over Beast's castle.

Between that and the incredible looking meal and décor at Be Our Guest, I may get my boys into New Fantastyland yet.


PS- Dumbo is such a great vantage point for photos of the mine train progress!

George of the Jungle (Cruise)?!?!?! Hahahahahaha I hadn't even thought of that,

I've seen the Wishes photos from BC and it is a pretty spectacular and completely unexpected view.

Maybe once Mine Train is open (if? when?) your boys might finally want to see New Fantasyland. Although it isn't going to be a very thrilling ride so you still might have to avoid that part of the park. Sigh.

Dumbo is the perfect way to sneak progress photos of Mine Train.

Read your KTTW tour update. Yup, definitely something I need to do! I love all of the background and insider tips! And you get to eat at CHH!

Great info about the lack of bathrooms in Liberty Square- I work at a 300 year old pre-colonial farmhouse and my favorite part of the lessons we do with students have to do with chamber pots and outhouses. The best artifacts on the property were found in the outhouses because this was the place you could make things disappear. And broken pottery would be used to help "fill" the holes because it would help with the drainage. Good stuff!

You would LOVE KTTK, lots of fun tidbits of info. That is so cool about the farmhouse!

Cool idea doing all four parks in one day! Do you remember approximately how long you were in each park?

My first visit to WDW was in January. I enjoyed the cooler temps and low crowds, also. Unfortunately, I've never made it back again in January.

Looking back, I think we were at AK from 9 to 12, DHS from 12 to 2, Epcot from 3 to 6 and MK from 6 to 8:30.​

 

[Missyrose]

Welcome back friends! We’re in the midst of four parks in one day. We had finished up with Animal Kingdom and were ready to move on. Thanks for the fun morning AK! Onto Hollywood Studios!

Where to first? Toy Story Mania, of course!

This may have been the closest competition I’ve ever given Franklin on this ride.

The park was EMPTY!

We headed for the hub…

...and down Hollywood Blvd. to G-Force Records.

And this is Franklin laughing at me on Rock-N-Rollercoaster.

With two headliners under our belt, we thought it was time to mosey over to Epcot. We wanted to have time to enjoy the park before our dinner in the World Showcase.

The plan was to drive to Epcot, park the car there. And then we’d monorail back and forth to Magic Kingdom for our nightcap.

We ran into a couple of good friends at the front of the park.

As we made our way into Future World, we saw this posted wait time and decided we couldn’t pass it up.

​

 

[Missyrose]

Check out that face. Hands off ladies, he’s mine.

A journey through time had left us both pretty hungry. It was nearing our dinner ADR time, so off to the World Showcase we went. Canada to be more specific.

We checked in and had a Le Cellier-typical 20-minute wait. No worries, just more time to get excited for the cheese soup.

We were seated in the corner of the restaurant that has all the two-top tables piled directly on top of each other. I love this restaurant, but these tables are too small and too close to the neighbors.

We each started with a steaming bowl of cheese soup, the perfect item for a chilly day at Disney.

We also got a pretzel bread-only bread basket. The perfect accompaniment for the soup!

We split the mushroom filet and a Caesar salad for dinner. This was the first time we tried the risotto instead of subbing it out for the old mashed potatoes that used to come with the steak. And OMG, it was absolutely heavenly. We’ll never sub that out EVER again!

Dinner was scrumptious, as usual. The sun was just starting to set as we left dinner. It made Epcot look even more gorgeous than usual. So we took our time to enjoy the sights as we walked to the monorail.

​

 

[Missyrose]

Off to the Magic Kingdom and park No. 4!

We didn’t exactly have to beat the crowds back to get into the park. Seriously, if you ever want to truly enjoy the parks with little to no crowds? Late January/early February. It’s fabulous.

We scoped out a spot for Main Street Electrical Parade.

That's where we'll leave off for now, but we have quite the entertaining evening at MK coming up! If you had to plan a day's worth of meals in three different parks or resorts where would they be?​

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Loved the update!! You didn't do too bad hitting headliners in the 1st 2 parks. Your dinner looked really good at Le Cellier! Can't wait to hear how the evening went.

Meals at 4 parks, hmmm. Well, I think I like your start at Boma and AK. I think I would do lunch at Columbia HH in MK and dinner at Via Napoli in Epcot and close out the night with a ride on TSM and some sort of snack at the Studios.

Beaverdom on TSM! That is the sad story of my life! Never better than a Beaver! (maybe once, with help from my co-pilot)

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

OK Missy any chance you and Franklin would adopt me??? Seriously
I'm loving the way you tour and even more the way you eat lol

Jan looks like a really great time to visit-sunny yet cool and empty parks -what's not to love

My favourite breakfast in park would have to be Crystal Palace because , well my name probably says it all and the food is gorgeous. I also like the idea of getting in early to MK but I am the proud mother of a teenager and have been for 11yrs now (my kids are spread out- 24yrs, 16yrs and birthday boy 7 today) so I haven't done this in at least 12 years

Lunch would probably be Via Napoli and dinner would definitely be The Yachtsman Steakhouse. Without a doubt the best meal I've ever had though I also like Mama Melroses "for old times sake" and love Kevin the waiter there He wasn't there the last time we were so could be he has moved on

 

[khertz]

Breakfast looks so good!! That waffle on Franklin's plate had me drooling.

4 parks in 1 day! Can't wait to see what all y'all are able to accomplish in each one.

AK at rope drop never seems to be really crowded. But that's good for y'all to be able to get a couple of things done pretty quickly.

Great safari photos! That baby elephant is so freaking adorable!

Maybe DHS next?