E(ticket)lizabeth
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2002
- Messages
- 46
Cast: Me, Elizabeth (39); DH, Art (49); DS, Stuart (17 mos); MIL, Marlene (70-ish)
Setting: All Star Music, Dec. 3-11
After our late night at the party last night, we sleep in as late as possible. Stuart wakes up around 8 or so, so he & Art cuddle in bed while I get a shower, then Art can get his. No need to go to the food court this morningweve got a late breakfast at the Yacht Club. However, I do get out the hot pot and make Stuart some instant oatmealwhich he doesnt want anyway. At least Marlene gets her tea!
Although we enjoy visiting the Yacht Club, weve never eaten at the Galley. When we get there, the Galley is offering its usual menu but also a small buffet. For roughly $1 more than most items on the menu, we can have all we could eat on the buffet. We go and look, and although its definitely small, it looks pretty good. It is. I kind of wanted to try the Crab Benedict, but I enjoy the simple buffet, too. Stuart still doesnt want to eat, but we get a little food and milk down him. Plus, we snag a cereal box to toss in the diaper bag for snacks.
We arent in any hurry, so after breakfast, we walk over to the Beach Club to see the chocolate & gingerbread carrousel. Its gorgeous as usual, and neither Art nor I can find all the hidden Mickeys. We think we have, and then realize weve been counting one twice. Its hard to keep track as the carrousel goes around!
After our side trip to the Beach Club, Art & I go to MGM for a day by ourselves, while Marlene & Stuart go back to the room for rest, swimming, and then later, lunch & shopping at Downtown Disney. They enjoy their time together, and so do we!
Art & I mostly want to Rock-n-Drop, and then maybe hit the Stunt Show so we can see how loud it was before we bring Stuart to MGM. We fast-pass our way onto our rides, and thoroughly enjoy them. Arts favorite WDW ride is the Rock-n-Roller Coaster, while my favorite is the Tower of Terror, so the Rock-n-Drop is always a favorite with us. We have no problems getting on either of themactually, we grab fast passes for RnRC, where the standby line is showing a 30-minute wait, then basically walked on to ToT. Theyre showing 20 minutes, but I think they always do, because we barely pause on our way up to the hotel lobby. By the time we get back to RnRC, its a walk-on, too, so our passes dont help us much. Of course, the way things usually go, if we hadnt popped in to pick them up, the standby line would have been 60 minutes!
After our thrill rides, we walk back to the Lights, Motors, Action! stunt show. Wow. What a show. We didnt really know what to expect, but it is wonderful! Not only are the stunts really amazing, but we learn a lot about how those stunts are done. Art & I are just geeky enough that we really love learning how things are done (Alton Brown is our favorite TV chef, if that tells you anything!), so this show is extra cool for us. I thoroughly recommend it for anyone. I sure wish Disney would build bleachers with backs, though! They have all these stadium-style shows, with nary a back (except Tarzanhow did they get it right once, and never anywhere else?). The shows at Sea World are much more comfortable than the ones at Disney, and I wish Disney would learn. (For those of you whove read my previous trip reports, this is a constant beef of mine. Backless bleachers are WAY uncomfortable, and Marlene wont go see Fantasmic! again because she wont sit there for 2 hours waiting for the show. She told us this trip that shed love to see it again, but her back hurt so much when she saw it 5 years ago, she just cant ever go back. Wake up, Disney!)
The stunt show is amazing, and when we get out, its nearly time for the parade. We like Stars & Motorcars, and we want to see the holiday version, so we start looking for a place to watch. Im tired and dont want to stand too long, so we wander around the parade route until I see a group sitting on the ABC steps. One small section is reserved, but there are many open spots still available. This is a great place to watchthe parade goes past practically on our toes, so there is a lot of interaction with the characters in the parade. Mary Poppins sees the Best Wishes pin I had on my hat and congratulates me, and the white Power Ranger comes by and shakes my hand. Those pins are great for interaction!
After the parade, we do some shopping and such, and then leave. As we walk out of MGM, Art realizes he hadnt grabbed new batteries for the camera. We know well get killed on the price, but we have to have batteries, so we stop in the camera shop on Hollywood Boulevard. The lady at the counter notices our pins and asks us what were celebrating. When we tell her its our 10th anniversary, she smiles and pulls open the drawer under her cash register. She starts pulling out batteries and a tester, and hands us 2 practically new batteries for free! She also calls a special number and lets each of us hear a Happy Anniversary message from Mickey. Thats fun, and a special bit of magic.
We have 8 pm reservations at the Concourse Steakhouse inside the Contemp, but Im tired. We decide to see if they can get us in early so we can get home a little earlier. Art wants to keep the ressies and ride the monorail around to all the resorts to get Christmas pins, but he decides he can do that after dinner, too. However, when we get to the Concourse, they say if they put us on the waiting list then, well probably have about the same wait as if we just come back for our reservation time. I cant understand it, since there are several empty tables and no one waiting that we can see, but maybe the others are all shopping or in the bar. Maybe the Concourse is understaffed tonight. For whatever reason, we decide to head for the other monorail resorts first, and then check back in.
Art gets his special Christmas resort pins, thus starting his collection. Although I am tired, it is actually pretty fun riding the monorail around to the various resorts, hopping off and running in to find the pin, and then hopping back on the monorail. We dont usually take the time to just ride the monorail! We make it back to the Concourse before our ressie time, and check back in. This time, while we wait, we catch a little of the Wishes fireworks from the MK. We had seen the holiday version the night before, but these are wonderful, too. Pretty soon, our pager goes off, and we go in to dinner.
Our server seems hurried, so maybe they really are understaffed this night. The service isnt bad, it just isnt as friendly as were used to at the Concourse. Unfortunately, the food isnt as good as it used to be, either. Neither of us is all that impressed with our meals. We both decide wed rather go back to Boma than come back to the Concourseits just too expensive to get mediocre food. Arts prime rib is pretty flavorless, and although my pasta is good, it is also very oily. Three years ago, we had the surprise dinner of the trip here, so we had really expected better. I suppose I could have paid for a steak and maybe I would have been happier, but since Arts beef isnt very good, I think Im just as happy that I didnt.
Time to head back home & get some sleep. Tomorrow were off to Animal Kingdom
Setting: All Star Music, Dec. 3-11
After our late night at the party last night, we sleep in as late as possible. Stuart wakes up around 8 or so, so he & Art cuddle in bed while I get a shower, then Art can get his. No need to go to the food court this morningweve got a late breakfast at the Yacht Club. However, I do get out the hot pot and make Stuart some instant oatmealwhich he doesnt want anyway. At least Marlene gets her tea!
Although we enjoy visiting the Yacht Club, weve never eaten at the Galley. When we get there, the Galley is offering its usual menu but also a small buffet. For roughly $1 more than most items on the menu, we can have all we could eat on the buffet. We go and look, and although its definitely small, it looks pretty good. It is. I kind of wanted to try the Crab Benedict, but I enjoy the simple buffet, too. Stuart still doesnt want to eat, but we get a little food and milk down him. Plus, we snag a cereal box to toss in the diaper bag for snacks.
We arent in any hurry, so after breakfast, we walk over to the Beach Club to see the chocolate & gingerbread carrousel. Its gorgeous as usual, and neither Art nor I can find all the hidden Mickeys. We think we have, and then realize weve been counting one twice. Its hard to keep track as the carrousel goes around!
After our side trip to the Beach Club, Art & I go to MGM for a day by ourselves, while Marlene & Stuart go back to the room for rest, swimming, and then later, lunch & shopping at Downtown Disney. They enjoy their time together, and so do we!
Art & I mostly want to Rock-n-Drop, and then maybe hit the Stunt Show so we can see how loud it was before we bring Stuart to MGM. We fast-pass our way onto our rides, and thoroughly enjoy them. Arts favorite WDW ride is the Rock-n-Roller Coaster, while my favorite is the Tower of Terror, so the Rock-n-Drop is always a favorite with us. We have no problems getting on either of themactually, we grab fast passes for RnRC, where the standby line is showing a 30-minute wait, then basically walked on to ToT. Theyre showing 20 minutes, but I think they always do, because we barely pause on our way up to the hotel lobby. By the time we get back to RnRC, its a walk-on, too, so our passes dont help us much. Of course, the way things usually go, if we hadnt popped in to pick them up, the standby line would have been 60 minutes!
After our thrill rides, we walk back to the Lights, Motors, Action! stunt show. Wow. What a show. We didnt really know what to expect, but it is wonderful! Not only are the stunts really amazing, but we learn a lot about how those stunts are done. Art & I are just geeky enough that we really love learning how things are done (Alton Brown is our favorite TV chef, if that tells you anything!), so this show is extra cool for us. I thoroughly recommend it for anyone. I sure wish Disney would build bleachers with backs, though! They have all these stadium-style shows, with nary a back (except Tarzanhow did they get it right once, and never anywhere else?). The shows at Sea World are much more comfortable than the ones at Disney, and I wish Disney would learn. (For those of you whove read my previous trip reports, this is a constant beef of mine. Backless bleachers are WAY uncomfortable, and Marlene wont go see Fantasmic! again because she wont sit there for 2 hours waiting for the show. She told us this trip that shed love to see it again, but her back hurt so much when she saw it 5 years ago, she just cant ever go back. Wake up, Disney!)
The stunt show is amazing, and when we get out, its nearly time for the parade. We like Stars & Motorcars, and we want to see the holiday version, so we start looking for a place to watch. Im tired and dont want to stand too long, so we wander around the parade route until I see a group sitting on the ABC steps. One small section is reserved, but there are many open spots still available. This is a great place to watchthe parade goes past practically on our toes, so there is a lot of interaction with the characters in the parade. Mary Poppins sees the Best Wishes pin I had on my hat and congratulates me, and the white Power Ranger comes by and shakes my hand. Those pins are great for interaction!
After the parade, we do some shopping and such, and then leave. As we walk out of MGM, Art realizes he hadnt grabbed new batteries for the camera. We know well get killed on the price, but we have to have batteries, so we stop in the camera shop on Hollywood Boulevard. The lady at the counter notices our pins and asks us what were celebrating. When we tell her its our 10th anniversary, she smiles and pulls open the drawer under her cash register. She starts pulling out batteries and a tester, and hands us 2 practically new batteries for free! She also calls a special number and lets each of us hear a Happy Anniversary message from Mickey. Thats fun, and a special bit of magic.
We have 8 pm reservations at the Concourse Steakhouse inside the Contemp, but Im tired. We decide to see if they can get us in early so we can get home a little earlier. Art wants to keep the ressies and ride the monorail around to all the resorts to get Christmas pins, but he decides he can do that after dinner, too. However, when we get to the Concourse, they say if they put us on the waiting list then, well probably have about the same wait as if we just come back for our reservation time. I cant understand it, since there are several empty tables and no one waiting that we can see, but maybe the others are all shopping or in the bar. Maybe the Concourse is understaffed tonight. For whatever reason, we decide to head for the other monorail resorts first, and then check back in.
Art gets his special Christmas resort pins, thus starting his collection. Although I am tired, it is actually pretty fun riding the monorail around to the various resorts, hopping off and running in to find the pin, and then hopping back on the monorail. We dont usually take the time to just ride the monorail! We make it back to the Concourse before our ressie time, and check back in. This time, while we wait, we catch a little of the Wishes fireworks from the MK. We had seen the holiday version the night before, but these are wonderful, too. Pretty soon, our pager goes off, and we go in to dinner.
Our server seems hurried, so maybe they really are understaffed this night. The service isnt bad, it just isnt as friendly as were used to at the Concourse. Unfortunately, the food isnt as good as it used to be, either. Neither of us is all that impressed with our meals. We both decide wed rather go back to Boma than come back to the Concourseits just too expensive to get mediocre food. Arts prime rib is pretty flavorless, and although my pasta is good, it is also very oily. Three years ago, we had the surprise dinner of the trip here, so we had really expected better. I suppose I could have paid for a steak and maybe I would have been happier, but since Arts beef isnt very good, I think Im just as happy that I didnt.
Time to head back home & get some sleep. Tomorrow were off to Animal Kingdom
