Adventures of a DisneyWORLDholic! Updated1/24 I was an unofficial WDW tour guide.

[TinksThree]

The parasailing looks like so much fun! I have always wanted to do that but I am terrified of heights! So I have never been brave enough to give it a shot!

LTT sounds good....I wish it were still a character meal since I like that period and would have loved to see Mickey and Minnie in colonial garb!!

I have a friend that was there the same time you were and she said the crowds were crazy busy. The day they went to HS was horrible with the wait times.

 

[dismagiclover]

That looks like so much fun! Now you've definitely got me thinking about trying the Premium Plan for my 40th birthday trip with DH next January. I can't wait to see what else you do!

 

[ScotsMinnie]

WOW that looks amazing! I thought that they dunk you in the water when you parasail and will admit to thinking you were crackers but that just looked fun! I would be totally up for that knowing you don't get dunked! Have I just been to too many european resorts where dunking is all part of the fun??????

Can't wait to see the rest!

 

[SimmerBaggins]

You guys are very brave to do that -- not just the act itself, but during the coldest month!! I would be more worried about how cold it would be, rather than the experience!

I was looking at your pictures of the Contemporary and BLT -- do you think you might have looked at it all differently if you knew you'd be staying there in a month?

 

[natebenma]

I was still trying to find something to wear for our Photo session and to California Grill since it was the only restaurant to mention a dress code that we were going to. I had already been to Kohls on Thurday and bought 2 dresses, and had previous purchased a couple more the previous weekend.

WELCOME BACK!!!

I quoted this because it seems that whenever I shop at Kohl's I end up returning half of what I buy. So now I buy twice as much!

So glad to hear you had a wonderful trip. I'm sorry to hear that you got sick after your return home. I hope the plantar fascitis doesn't bother you or slow you down.

Great review of Liberty Tree Tavern- never been there. I missed out on the character meals there, and since I now work for Historic New England , I would have gotten a real kick out of Mickey and friends in Colonial garb.

Wow, on the parasailing!!! Sounds fantastic! Great deal on the photo package and upgrade. I was thinking it would kill me not to have my camera, but it is probably a good thing. Better to be enjoying the view and the moment than snapping away. But it would be nice if the photo package included some of the views from the sky.

So far, so good! Looking forward to hearing more about your trip.

 

[jmskinner]

The parasailing looks like so much fun! I have always wanted to do that but I am terrified of heights! So I have never been brave enough to give it a shot!

LTT sounds good....I wish it were still a character meal since I like that period and would have loved to see Mickey and Minnie in colonial garb!!

I have a friend that was there the same time you were and she said the crowds were crazy busy. The day they went to HS was horrible with the wait times.

Sorry about your fear of heights. It really was a nice memory. I wish we had eaten at LTT when it was a character meal also.

The crowds did seem crazy, and I'm really worried about the upcoming trip with Vickie, realized last night that MK opens every morning at 8:00am, they only do that during the busiest times like the week after Christmas.

That looks like so much fun! Now you've definitely got me thinking about trying the Premium Plan for my 40th birthday trip with DH next January. I can't wait to see what else you do!

I am planning on a long spill about going Premium at the end of this so stay tuned.

WOW that looks amazing! I thought that they dunk you in the water when you parasail and will admit to thinking you were crackers but that just looked fun! I would be totally up for that knowing you don't get dunked! Have I just been to too many european resorts where dunking is all part of the fun??????

Can't wait to see the rest!

I was worried about dunking also, but when it showed you lift off from the boat and not the water, I was all for it. When I called Sammy Duvall's I asked what they would recommend since it could be really cold and the parasailing was the one they recommended since everything else they have to offer does involve getting wet.

You guys are very brave to do that -- not just the act itself, but during the coldest month!! I would be more worried about how cold it would be, rather than the experience!

I was looking at your pictures of the Contemporary and BLT -- do you think you might have looked at it all differently if you knew you'd be staying there in a month?

We really lucked out on the weather that day, we weren't cold in the air at all. Of course, it caught up to us later, but that is yet to come.

I've been wondering about my views of BLT. I'm really excited about it, I'm not much for modern interiors, but really curious how it will feel walking to MK and monorailing to Epcot and not having to deal with buses as much.

WELCOME BACK!!!

I quoted this because it seems that whenever I shop at Kohl's I end up returning half of what I buy. So now I buy twice as much!

So glad to hear you had a wonderful trip. I'm sorry to hear that you got sick after your return home. I hope the plantar fascitis doesn't bother you or slow you down.

Great review of Liberty Tree Tavern- never been there. I missed out on the character meals there, and since I now work for Historic New England , I would have gotten a real kick out of Mickey and friends in Colonial garb.

Wow, on the parasailing!!! Sounds fantastic! Great deal on the photo package and upgrade. I was thinking it would kill me not to have my camera, but it is probably a good thing. Better to be enjoying the view and the moment than snapping away. But it would be nice if the photo package included some of the views from the sky.

So far, so good! Looking forward to hearing more about your trip.

Still trying to get off this crud, I'm tired of it and now scared the hubby is getting it. I at least want to be well before he gets it.

And I won't let that Planter Faciitis (sp?) slow me down too much. Get another cortisone shot next week.

I'm thinking about emailing Sammy Duvall's and telling them they should throw some pics on those memory cards from the sky.

 

[jmskinner]

Oops, I just realized I forgot one of the other little girl bathroom stories. While at LTT, I go to the restroom, all the stalls are occupied, so I wait. This little and I mean little girl comes out and tells me "I'm not big enough for the sensor, so it won't flush." I just smiled and told her I would take care of it for her. She was so cute. Asked Jonas if it was the same little girl that stopped him, but he said it wasn't.

And something else I forgot to mention, while parasailing, the guys on the boat were checking out a gator off to the side. Jonas' response to this to me was "If we go down, I only have to swim faster than you." What a romantic????

So, we had finished our parasailing and now needed to head to La Nouba to get our tickets. On the way to parasailing I had noticed a Mickey artwork I have wanted a pic of, but couldn't get a pic because of others so Jonas and I took our time to get it this time.







We piled into the car and took off. We were also hoping to get a nap in since we were both so tired. Now, when we checked-in, the CM handed us the La Nouba package and it had two Disney gift cards in it. Jonas and the CM thought those were our tickets. I had been following a thread here on the Dis about the premium/platinum plans and many people had said those were just redemption tickets. So I peeled them off the piece of paper and sure enough on the back of the card it said you had to take them to the ticket office for the actual tickets. Dis saved the day as usual.

We pulled into the DTD parking lot and Jonas let me out at La Nouba. I hoped out, only to almost get run over by a guy even though I waited to cross at the crosswalk.

When I got to the window, the lady asked for the confirmation number (something else I had read on the Dis you need to have), I look at the piece of paper received at Check-in, nope not on that. I start to panic, wait I had put all that in my phone and thankfully I took my phone with me. Got my tickets and found Jonas in the parking lot.

We got back to the resort and headed up to our room. As we get on the balcony, I spot something in the water, "Is that a gator?" No, it was an otter! It ducked down just as a boat came by and everyone on the boat was looking for it also. Now Jonas was carrying my camera or I would have gotten a pic.

Jonas had a nice nap, but I couldn't sleep. Don't know if it was the excitement of the day, or the fact I kept hearing the boats blowing their horns.

We got dressed and headed to DTD for our dinner at Raglan Road. Jonas loves Raglan Road and we keep trying to go but something always makes us change our plans and we don't get to go. Well this time we made it. We were about 30 minutes early for the ADR, so we wandered around the store and then watched the dancers outside. One little girl joined the act and she was just as good as the dancers there.

We then decided to hit the bar where I had a White Russian. It was good. Finally our table was ready. The only bad thing was it was right by the door to the counter service area. I couldn't believe the number of people who came in that way, only to realize that wasn't the entrance so they would wander through trying to find the check-in. But we really enjoyed our meals and the atmosphere.







And even though we weren't near the main room with the stages, the dancers do come around and perform:


Time for some food porn:
Tomato Salad


Chicken Kabob


Serious Sirloin Steak (check out the size of that onion ring!)


Salmon of Knowledge


Oops, we forgot to get pics of the desserts, but I had the Bailey's Creme Brulee Tart and Jonas had the Dunbrody Kiss. I also tried a different drink, the Aran Island Tea. That was delicious. All the food was just wonderful and this ended up being my second favorite meal of the trip.

We asked for the ticket when we ordered our drinks because it was getting close to time for La Nouba.

The total for this meal, including 3 drinks, was $111.44. OOP for the drinks (including the bar tab) and tax was $61.


We headed over to La Nouba at a brisk pace, there really is no other way to go when with Jonas.

Found our seats and then I headed to the restroom. If you haven't been to La Nouba, the restrooms are separated, the mens on one end of the theater and the womens on the other and there isn't much room for walking inbetween with everyone in line for food and drinks. Of course, I ended up at the men's first.

Our seats were great, we were high up, but just left of center stage, so got a great view of everything. At times couldn't figure out what to watch. One thing I noticed was I kept getting distracted by the employees wandering around ordering people to put up their cameras. At one point one came by and shined a flashlight in our direction, she had me scared and my camera was in my bag. Still don't know who she was fussing at. Just in case you don't know, NO CAMERA'S ALLOWED INSIDE LA NOUBA!!!! I fully understand part of it being no flashes because you really could endanger the performers. But I did enjoy the show and it amazed me how many of the same performers I remembered from seeing it in 2005.

La Nouba Category 2 $85 each, but included in the Premium package.

Can we really get up in time for an 8:00am breakfast? And I sure hope I don't drive the Segway into the lagoon.

 

[thunderbird1]

Great report so far! You're making my dh want to upgrade for our next trip, lol. Looks like you got plenty of height on the parasailing trip even though you were pushing the weight limit.

On our honeymoon, we rented one of those little Sea Raycers. Decided to go with just one even though we were right at the weight limit. Big mistake--that poor little boat sunk so far down in the water I got spray in my face the entire trip. It was in January, too, so I just about froze. The parasailing looks like more fun.

Can't wait for more!

 

[jmskinner]

Great report so far! You're making my dh want to upgrade for our next trip, lol. Looks like you got plenty of height on the parasailing trip even though you were pushing the weight limit.

On our honeymoon, we rented one of those little Sea Raycers. Decided to go with just one even though we were right at the weight limit. Big mistake--that poor little boat sunk so far down in the water I got spray in my face the entire trip. It was in January, too, so I just about froze. The parasailing looks like more fun.

Can't wait for more!

Oh no, I wouldn't like that at all. I mentioned this before, at the end I'll throw in some tips on the Premium and whether to do it. I wouldn't with kids, I will say that.

I so wanted to do the Sea Raycers or some other boats, but we just didn't have time.

On to the next installment.

Oh, and has anyone noticed my ticker, Vickie and I are now staying at BLT!!!!

 

[jmskinner]

I know everyone is waiting to hear about the Segway tour, so this will probably be a two parter so I can get it all in.

It is now Sunday morning, 6am my alarm goes off. I get dressed and wake up Jonas and we head to Epcot. Luckily we are really learning our away around WDW from the PO resort area. Make it there in minutes, hurry to get out our AP for parking, only to have Jonas point out the piece of paper showing we are resort guests, I always forget about that. He has it in his hand to show it and guess what, no one is in the booth. Wow, we are early.

Here is our car, it is the 3rd one


Do you see why I don't like taking it to WDW? It is hard to find in those parking lots, but not on this day.

Pic of an empty parking lot:


Now, I remember taking a pic of Jonas waiting for the tram like a smart you-know-what, guess it was on my phone. He kept saying, "Why isn't the tram working?" That's my Goofy.



We found the line




We were there by 7:30 and I don't think they let us in until about 15 until 8. Now we were a few people back in line, but once they started letting us in, they opened another turnstile and we were behind one guy. Now, I thought they would have a list to check to make sure we should be there that early, but the CM in control of our line just let us in, but then the other line was held up by a CM with a clipboard. We stood there a moment to see if anyone would check us, but they didn't, so on we went. The guy in front of us stopped at Guest Relations, he was there for the first Segway tour of the day, so guess what...we were the first ones in the park.



















We were both acting like little kids, all excited to be first in the park. I started feeling bad, and thought we should let a family with little ones in front of us, but Jonas wanted breakfast, his favorite meal!!!! Yeah, we were those people.



At this point we saw the people entering from the International Gate. We were still in the lead.





Ok, some birds had us beat












Now we checked in and they told us to stand aside. Our ADR wasn't until 8:15 so I thought they would take others before but....

 

[thunderbird1]

Oh no, I wouldn't like that at all. I mentioned this before, at the end I'll throw in some tips on the Premium and whether to do it. I wouldn't with kids, I will say that.

I so wanted to do the Sea Raycers or some other boats, but we just didn't have time.

On to the next installment.

Oh, and has anyone noticed my ticker, Vickie and I are now staying at BLT!!!!

Oh no--definitely wouldn't do the Premium plan with the kids, but dh is talking deluxe ddp. More meals (including breakfast--his favorite also, lol), appetizers, but I think the kids would revolt at spending that many hours a day sitting in restaurants.

Love the empty park shots--I'd be jumping around like a kid, too!

 

[jmskinner]

Remember, I thought we would have a little wait, so I started snapping more pics



I was totally surprised that they called us first, but then we still had to go in and stand in a line, but we were first. Before Belle arrived, we had time to take some pics of the empty restaurant













I felt just horrible when Belle walked in thinking of all the little girls behind me, but Jonas and I quickly stepped aside so the little girls could see her. We had our picture taken (as I have gotten older, I really hate having my picture taken. Gravity, gaining weight so my face is rounder, but I always try to fix my smile and end up looking drunk or drugged,but take a good look at this pic, they snapped it just as I licked my lips.)



This pic was included with our meal, which is good because I would not have purchased it. And has this always been included with the meal or is it something new they have started? I remember paying for the pics at Chef Mickey's and 1900 Park Faire a year or so ago.

Here is the folder the pic came in:






You start this meal out being seated, waitress takes your drink order and then you are showed a little buffet area where you can pick from pastrys and fruit. You will also notice a piece of Salmon, this was a big mistake on my part, because I tasted it until lunch.



They then bring you a plate to share with eggs, bacon, and potatoes. It was all very good, especially the Lingonberry Muffins. Now, I recognized Lingonberry from visiting Ikea and always have the drink when I eat at the restaurant. Now I want to look to see if they have muffins.

And of course we met princesses, which at this point I started thinking that they should have a little area for people that are there for the food, so we don't take time away from others. I guess we could have said, "hi and keep moving, we are here for the food.", but it seemed rude.







Now I asked Jonas if he wanted his pic with Snow White and he said "No." But after she left our table he said she gave him the look he knows too well from women, you know "NO".

I made sure he got this pic because he loves redheads:


This was probably my favorite breakfast of the trip, it really was good.

Cost of two adults to eat at Akershus $82.27 with tip, so our OOP expense was $12 for the tip.


I promise, Segways are coming up.

 

[jmskinner]

but I think the kids would revolt at spending that many hours a day sitting in restaurants.

Love the empty park shots--I'd be jumping around like a kid, too!

That is exactly the point I plan to make at the end, it really does "eat" up a lot of your time.

And do you have another trip planned yet, really need to try to meet you!

 

[jmskinner]

Ok, I had more to say in that last post than I thought I would.

We got our ticket and headed out about 8:40am. Still 20 minutes until park opening. Our Segway tour wasn't until 9:30.

We wandered around, took a potty break and ended up by TT. But were stopped




At this point we are feeling like we are in an area we shouldn't be. So we wander around to the fountain




These were people coming from the International Gateway entrance


This area was roped off, which I had no idea how Epcot opened, but I would soon learn.

The characters came out and Donald came to our side:


It was a little scary looking at all the people that would be coming from the other direction






I don't know if you notice the family standing next to the TT car, they got to ride away in that car. That was so cool.

Finally the imaginary rope was dropped, in case you haven't been at the rope before, a minute or so before the official rope drope the CM's remove the rope so people don't end up tripping over it, but they keep telling everyone, there is an imaginary rope there.

Once we were able to go, Jonas went to get FP's for TT, we enjoy Soarin' but love TT much more. I headed over to guest relations to see if that is where we checked in for the tour and also wanted to see if I could get the pictures sent over to our room so they wouldn't get damaged. I wasn't sure if there would be someplace to put them while on our tour. Three CM's were wearing Mickey hands waving people into the park in front of guest relations, one turned to me and I asked if this is where we checkin for the Segway tour. Not only was I in the right spot, I had found one of the tour guides. Sorry, don't remember his name, but he was from Japan.

After some discussion with him, I figured out I could just leave the pic behind while on our tour, so I kept it. I signed the waiver and then sat down and started Facebooking, just then our tour guide asked for my room key and then I see Jonas walking past guest relations. So, I have my little packet out with room key and credit card, my phone and anything else I seemed to have in my hand, and am watching Jonas walk on by, so I told the CM I would be right back, went to the door to holler at Jonas and still managed not to drop anything. I felt this was a tremendous accomplishment.

We got checked in and another lady sat next to me and she said she was worried about being the first to fall, I told her I was afraid of the same thing. She then decided I could be first and she would be second.

Finally our tour guide led us over to Innoventions, where we went in a dome to watch a presentation on how to control the Segways and get our helmets. Now before this, I stupidly thought we would get to the World Showcase a back way, never thought we would be driving through guests of the park. Nope we did our training, they opened the gate and we were on our way. Training was only about 15 minutes, if that long. Sorry, had to have my camera in the bag, so not many pics of the tour.

A little info on the Segways, they are smarter than us. I couldn't believe how easy they were to steer and how well they worked. And about the only way you would fall on them is if you do something wrong, and you have to do something really wrong. I say this, because the Segway makes a horrible noise if you do something wrong, then it starts beeping and eventually screaming. Then it shuts down, when it shuts down is really the only time you will fall. The tour guides warned us of the discussion they would have with us, if this occured.

So off we went through Innoventions, out the door, through all the park guests. Now I was afraid of running over little kids, but it wasn't the kids you had to worry about. They all stood back in amazement, it was the adults. Here we are, 8 guests on Segways, with two tour guides and the adults kept trying to walk inbetween us. Did they not know most of us had never ridden the things?

We stopped in the building where the character spot is for a potty break. It is so cool that to park a Segway you ride it a foot or so away from a wall or railing,(or we learn another trick in the next tour) stepoff and then let the Segway drive itself into the wall. It stops once it bumps the wall.



After that we headed over into the World Showcase by way of Mexico. We rode over to China, where to my surprise our tour guide takes us to the very back through the shop. I was so nervous. We then stopped for a little info on China and headed on through the World. Now, the Segways are set in the Turtle (training) mode so you can only go 6 miles an hour. What happens if you reach 6mph, the thing starts pushing back on you. It's really freaky the first time this happens because you think it is going to throw you off backwards.

The tour guides had told us we would do little obstacles along the way, and we did one in Italy. He drove use through all the columns there at the shop. I did not want to be the one that destroyed one of those columns. I was so nervous, but we made it just fine.

Quick stop by the new restaurant and then a quick photo op.



They let us do whatever we wanted in this little area and set up cones we could go around. We all had a blast.

Stopped in America and went through the little garden in back, which I didn't even know existed. Then to Japan where my smart husband said to the tour guide "You don't know anything about this area do you?"

From there we rode our Segways through the little path in that garden area. By this time, the World Showcase had opened, so we were having to avoid guests again and again it was the adults you had to watch out for.

I can't remember if we stopped anywere else, but we made our way back to Innoventions, where we were handed this:



Yes we have two of them, but no way will I be trading one. I was so surprised. We thanked our tour guides and headed off. By the way, you get wobbly legs like when you stop skating. Also, because you stand a little different, best to bend the knees a little, the leg muscles were a little sore.

I highly and I mean highly recommend this tour, it was so much fun and anyone can ride these Segways. I asked Jonas if I could have one, I enjoyed it so much.

Price of this tour if we had paid out of pocket, $105.44 per person.

I'm off to price a Segway now.

 

[dismagiclover]

What a great set of updates! First of all how cool that you were first guests in the park! I would have been like you, snapping pictures like a madwoman! I'm not suprised they seated you first. A couple of time I have had 8:20 ADRs at Crystal Palace. We've arrived at 8:00 and always been seated immediately. I think they basically seat first come, first serve. I love the Segway tour! I'm really considering going premium for a night or two for my 40th b-day. (Actually I want to go Platinum so I can do Victoria & Alberts and get a massage.) Anyway your report is helping to convince me!

 

[jmskinner]

What a great set of updates! First of all how cool that you were first guests in the park! I would have been like you, snapping pictures like a madwoman! I'm not suprised they seated you first. A couple of time I have had 8:20 ADRs at Crystal Palace. We've arrived at 8:00 and always been seated immediately. I think they basically seat first come, first serve. I love the Segway tour! I'm really considering going premium for a night or two for my 40th b-day. (Actually I want to go Platinum so I can do Victoria & Alberts and get a massage.) Anyway your report is helping to convince me!

I was trying to convince Jonas to go Platinum for Victoria & Alberts and then got to looking at the menu, we are steak and potato type of people so I was scared we wouldn't enjoy the food that much.

 

[SimmerBaggins]

That's funny about the adults walking through you -- you should have had signs like student drivers do!

I really thought they would have had you guys go though some "back ways" more than what you described, rather than going through the crowds of the park. Overall though, it sounds like fun -- and sounds like you used more muscle to drive it than I would have thought!

 

[jmskinner]

That's funny about the adults walking through you -- you should have had signs like student drivers do!

I really thought they would have had you guys go though some "back ways" more than what you described, rather than going through the crowds of the park. Overall though, it sounds like fun -- and sounds like you used more muscle to drive it than I would have thought!

The main problem areas was the path leading to The Land because we had to pass it twice and then through the UK and Canada. I like the student driver sign idea, maybe we should recommend that. Oh yea, no recommendations allowed.

The muscles came in to play because you don't really need the stick to steer, you can shift your weight to make it turn, I tell ya, those things are smart.

 

[jmskinner]

I know I am posting quickly, but I hope to have this done before me and the BFF takeover the world.

We had just finished our incredible Segway tour and we had a little time before our ADR at Le Cellier and our FP time for TT had arrived.



Now, I noticed an entire family going through the single rider line with little kids. I have previously witnessed a mother attempting this only to have her little one refuse to ride by herself, so I wondered if they would make it. Well, the kids were fine, it was the people that were chosen to ride with them. The father of this other family didn't want to be responsible for the kids, which I can understand. You don't know how other children will react, don't even know how your own will sometimes. The CM was able to find another car for the kids to ride in and they seemed to have a great time. Jonas and I got into a discussion how maybe they need to have an age limit for the single rider line.

Our little ride was uneventful and for some reason I didn't take pics. Guess I decided to sit back and enjoy.

After this we headed over to Canada, but we still had a bit of a wait for our ADR. We went in search of bathrooms, none in Canada to be found, so we headed over to the UK. Once I came out, I couldn't find Jonas. He had wondered off into the shops where he found a Scotland glass he wanted to purchase, so we made plans to come back after lunch.

We then checked in at Le Cellier and it was such a beautiful day, we decided to sit outside and wait....and wait....and wait. This was the longest wait for a meal we had the entire weekend. Of course we took pics, I love the gardens there in Canada:





While sitting on the bench, this was our view and Jonas noticed something not too child appropriate:


Do you see it?

Finally it was time for our meal. I'm sorry, but my pics didn't come out well at all, so none to include here. I didn't want to use the flash on my camera and the table we were at was really dark, two tables over and I would have had great pics.

We had a wonderful waiter, Matt, and he recommended the Niagara Refresher, which I ordered and loved; and Jonas just had a coke.

Jonas had the cheese soup $5.49 and said it was really good, but spicy. He then had the steak salad $15.99, followed by the Chocolate on chocolate Whisky cake $7.99.

I had the tomato stack $8.99, which I loved. I don't normally eat cucumbers, but the dressing on this made them good. Usually I get Filets when we have steak, but didn't want to this time due to it coming with mushrooms, that I don't like. (Wonder where my pickyeater son gets it from?) So I went for the New York Strip $29.99, and followed it with the Maple Creme Brulee for dessert $6.99. My steak was good, but honestly would rather have an Outback steak.

I'm glad we finally got to try Le Cellier, but probably won't go back. Especially for 2 TS meal credits.

Cost of meal without tax and tip $85, our OOP expense $17.26 for tip.

After our meal, we walked back to the UK for Jonas' glass and then headed out of the park.

Made that long walk to our car.



Parking lot looked a little different than when we arrived


We headed back to the room for another nap and to get dressed for our romantic night. Horse drawn carriage ride, Yachtsman Steakhouse, and Jelly Rolls. "Remember, we have to be at MK at 8:00am."

 

[carissanboys]

You guys had such an amazing trip and did so many awesome things! So happy for you guys. Sorry you had to get so sick afterwards though.