Received birthday card and balloons from Mickey Mouse. Nice touch, I travel thousands of miles to stay 29 for an extra five hours and then Disney bring it forward by a whole day!
Slow start to the day. Arrived at MGM/Disney Studios and headed straight for RnR. I had persuaded the GF to try it. I had no idea what it involved and I couldnt answer her questions (does it go upside down, does it spin, is it fast etc ) It was very smooth and very fast! The acceleration at the start surprised me and the whole thing was over before I could apologise to her!
No ill effects though. We were hungry as we had skipped breakfast. Consulting the map, the only table service that was opening at this time was the 50s Primetime Café.
We were seated within ten minutes of arrival. Our mom called us kids out and took us to our table saying we were lucky to have a table with the modern marvel of TV! She told us to set our places and shed send over cousin to take our order! Our waiter/cousin was great! Big Man Utd fan (more so than me) and his wife was from Madrid so knows everything about David Beckham This was all brilliant fun. Hearing people being ticked off for elbows on the table and being told to remove their baseball caps. Most diners seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere. One table became really grumpy and took offence to being told to take their hats off etc.
The food was good. Shared baked boursin starter and for entrees a meatloaf dinner, and fried chicken, both with mash and green beans. The menu is small and the food is hardly exotic. But is tasted good and the whole experience was a bargain $55. Considering we both had cocktails, and shared a huge Dads Super Sundae it represented good value (Pepper Market is beginning to look extortionate!). Our cousin wished us a pleasant day and advised us Dont do the Tower, for at least an hour.
We had no plan of action and just drifted around. Muppets 3d, Great Movie Ride etc. We skipped a lot of the attractions as we had spent a lot of time here last year. Besides, we had to go to Epcot to visit the last day of the Pin Traders Expo.
Stopped to take photographs of the big hat I dont know why so many people dislike this MGM landmark
On to Epcot, the Pin expo was amazing... How fanatical are these people?! I found myself in conversation with a guy that thought everyone was mad Yeah, pins should have a surgeon generals warning on they can seriously damage you bank balance and sanity - No kidding he said as he walked off dragging a trolley with at least a dozen pin trading albums strapped to it! I have no idea how many pins fit in an album, 100? Thats $700 worth. 12 albums Thats over $8000!!!
The Disney Tokyo pins were especially stunning. The GF spent some time trading and looking at the displays. Thankfully, it was near the end of the show, so we only had a couple of hours before it closed.
Returned to CSR to change for dinner. I stopped by Guest Services. I had decided that CSR wasnt my resort and wanted to treat myself for my birthday. This was the first Cast Member at CSR that I thought met Disneys standards. He was friendly and efficient and within minutes I had secured a room at the Boardwalk Inn. We check out in the morning!
Downtown Disney this evening Yep, more shopping! Virgin Megastore to locate the dvds I had been asked to get. We also stocked up on some small Christmas gifts.
Dinner at Planet Hollywood - 10 minute wait. Again we shared a starter of chicken dippers. Mains were Spaghetti Polona and Fajitas. 2x Bananarama drinks. $55 ex tip. Every bill/meal I have is now compared to the Pepper Market
A little more shopping and back to CSR to pack for yet another change of hotel!!!
Slow start to the day. Arrived at MGM/Disney Studios and headed straight for RnR. I had persuaded the GF to try it. I had no idea what it involved and I couldnt answer her questions (does it go upside down, does it spin, is it fast etc ) It was very smooth and very fast! The acceleration at the start surprised me and the whole thing was over before I could apologise to her!
No ill effects though. We were hungry as we had skipped breakfast. Consulting the map, the only table service that was opening at this time was the 50s Primetime Café.
We were seated within ten minutes of arrival. Our mom called us kids out and took us to our table saying we were lucky to have a table with the modern marvel of TV! She told us to set our places and shed send over cousin to take our order! Our waiter/cousin was great! Big Man Utd fan (more so than me) and his wife was from Madrid so knows everything about David Beckham This was all brilliant fun. Hearing people being ticked off for elbows on the table and being told to remove their baseball caps. Most diners seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere. One table became really grumpy and took offence to being told to take their hats off etc.
The food was good. Shared baked boursin starter and for entrees a meatloaf dinner, and fried chicken, both with mash and green beans. The menu is small and the food is hardly exotic. But is tasted good and the whole experience was a bargain $55. Considering we both had cocktails, and shared a huge Dads Super Sundae it represented good value (Pepper Market is beginning to look extortionate!). Our cousin wished us a pleasant day and advised us Dont do the Tower, for at least an hour.
We had no plan of action and just drifted around. Muppets 3d, Great Movie Ride etc. We skipped a lot of the attractions as we had spent a lot of time here last year. Besides, we had to go to Epcot to visit the last day of the Pin Traders Expo.
Stopped to take photographs of the big hat I dont know why so many people dislike this MGM landmark
On to Epcot, the Pin expo was amazing... How fanatical are these people?! I found myself in conversation with a guy that thought everyone was mad Yeah, pins should have a surgeon generals warning on they can seriously damage you bank balance and sanity - No kidding he said as he walked off dragging a trolley with at least a dozen pin trading albums strapped to it! I have no idea how many pins fit in an album, 100? Thats $700 worth. 12 albums Thats over $8000!!!
The Disney Tokyo pins were especially stunning. The GF spent some time trading and looking at the displays. Thankfully, it was near the end of the show, so we only had a couple of hours before it closed.
Returned to CSR to change for dinner. I stopped by Guest Services. I had decided that CSR wasnt my resort and wanted to treat myself for my birthday. This was the first Cast Member at CSR that I thought met Disneys standards. He was friendly and efficient and within minutes I had secured a room at the Boardwalk Inn. We check out in the morning!
Downtown Disney this evening Yep, more shopping! Virgin Megastore to locate the dvds I had been asked to get. We also stocked up on some small Christmas gifts.
Dinner at Planet Hollywood - 10 minute wait. Again we shared a starter of chicken dippers. Mains were Spaghetti Polona and Fajitas. 2x Bananarama drinks. $55 ex tip. Every bill/meal I have is now compared to the Pepper Market
A little more shopping and back to CSR to pack for yet another change of hotel!!!
