AGLET – We're Gonna Tour The World Together! Updated 11/9!!!

[Nermel9]

Haha, I don't travel light either! That's why I make Brandon bring a back pack in the parks!

I would LOVE to be in Epcot right now! Soon I will be there, only 5 days! Your SE pictures are so pretty!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

So glad to see your review of Bistro de Paris is up! We just made our ADRs (I really should have a PTR going, but I'm kind of scared to do one...I don't know why), and Bistro de Paris is dinner on our first night. Your review made it seem pretty awesome, but I am still not sure about it for a few reasons:

1) I hate butter. Yes, I know, there's something wrong with me. I just hate the taste of butter, and most French food is buttery. DH is cool with butter, but not me.

2) We will be in Paris just a few days before, eating French food, so would Bistro de Paris pale in comparison?

3) I wonder if it was even better pre-DDP. Most people say that the dining plan ruins restaurants. Makes me wish we would've booked it on one of our previous trips, so at least we would know if the food quality is different.

Still, it's on our list of restaurants we've never been to at WDW, and we are trying to shorten that list. I was thinking of making a pledge not to do Italian or French food this time, but it's soooo tempting! And your review makes it even more tempting! For now, I'm leaving it in our ADRs, but I guess those are always subject to change.

Love the pics of Wishes and Epcot...I know it sounds a bit silly, but I miss it!

You should start a PTR!!! (And let me know when you do!)

I definitely don't want to try to talk you into or out of doing something, especially since you've never given Bistro a try, and it is really fun to try new Disney restaurants, BUT...

Given your reasons...I would actually skip it. Based on the dishes we had (and believe me, we weren't trying to eat a pound of butter each!), they were VERY buttery. Which is not to say that they were bad at all! But if you are not a fan of butter, I'm really not sure how you'd feel about the food there.

Also, especially since you will be actually in Paris right before, I'd say visit the many other regions of food represented in Disney.

As far as your DDP concerns, I really do understand and am worried about the same thing. I'd never been before it was DDP, but my parents had. Especially now that it is going to be refurbished during the summer (interesting timing, or just coincidence?), I'm very glad that we got there when we did, very early in its DDP days. Bistro is a very unique, very special dining experience. I've seen a lot of things become unfortunately homogenized throughout Disney dining throughout the years, and it really is a shame.

I know, we use the Dining Plan on our trips. But with the prices rising and rising, it's the more cost-effective way to go now, and still be able to eat the way we want to. I'd honestly be thrilled if the DDP went away entirely, but I know that's just wishful thinking at this point.

(I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go off on a DDP tangent there!)

I can't remember - have you guys tried La Hacienda? We love it there, the atmosphere and the food are great!

Haha, I don't travel light either! That's why I make Brandon bring a back pack in the parks!

I would LOVE to be in Epcot right now! Soon I will be there, only 5 days! Your SE pictures are so pretty!

I was wondering if you were going to post exactly when I was again...yup!! I think this is 4 times in a row now...

Wingnut doesn't carry anything, just his usual daily essentials in his pockets. I don't know how he does it, really! I can just about get by with putting everything in my cargo short pockets, but they get bulky!

Your trip is SO soon!!! How exciting!!

 

[tinacaplan]

Yummy...butter...soup...Bistro de Paris.... sounds so good! And love the Oregon Trail! I loved that when I was a kid.

 

[TheThomsLuvDisney]

Me Too! I love EPCOT and my countdown is still way too far out!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Yummy...butter...soup...Bistro de Paris.... sounds so good! And love the Oregon Trail! I loved that when I was a kid.

Hahahaha I see nothing wrong with a mostly-butter soup!

I used to love Oregon Trail! And there was the other one down the river, Amazon Trail? I always used to accidentally crash our raft into the sides of the river on that one.

Me Too! I love EPCOT and my countdown is still way too far out!

I love Epcot too!!!

 

[MeMom]

When we stayed at POP a few years ago, I could NOT figure out the layout! I took a different path to and from the main building almost every time!

To someone who knows Pop 'like the back of my hand', this is funny. One of our friends who went with us a few trips ago went down to the food court one night and didn't return for almost an hour. We figured she was talking to some of her kids on the phone or something like that, maybe sitting out by the pool. When she finally got back, she told us she had been wandering around lost!

 

[LissaW16]

Yay food porn already !! I hope Wingnut gets on board with the food photos and you didn't have to distract him in order to get a picture. Oh look, honey, it's Mickey (Wingnut turns to see - Stringbean quickly snaps photo of Wingnut's food).

Ok, I'm late to the party (just on page 3) but LMFAO at this comment, and then I see it's MY PAL SUSAN! OMG we think alike... DH said to me just last night: "no one cares about food pics". I beg to differ!!! I didn't take as many on my most recent trip, because DH was so annoyed with me!

 

[sophie832]

You should start a PTR!!! (And let me know when you do!)

I definitely don't want to try to talk you into or out of doing something, especially since you've never given Bistro a try, and it is really fun to try new Disney restaurants, BUT...

Given your reasons...I would actually skip it. Based on the dishes we had (and believe me, we weren't trying to eat a pound of butter each!), they were VERY buttery. Which is not to say that they were bad at all! But if you are not a fan of butter, I'm really not sure how you'd feel about the food there.

Also, especially since you will be actually in Paris right before, I'd say visit the many other regions of food represented in Disney.

As far as your DDP concerns, I really do understand and am worried about the same thing. I'd never been before it was DDP, but my parents had. Especially now that it is going to be refurbished during the summer (interesting timing, or just coincidence?), I'm very glad that we got there when we did, very early in its DDP days. Bistro is a very unique, very special dining experience. I've seen a lot of things become unfortunately homogenized throughout Disney dining throughout the years, and it really is a shame.

I know, we use the Dining Plan on our trips. But with the prices rising and rising, it's the more cost-effective way to go now, and still be able to eat the way we want to. I'd honestly be thrilled if the DDP went away entirely, but I know that's just wishful thinking at this point.

(I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go off on a DDP tangent there!)

I can't remember - have you guys tried La Hacienda? We love it there, the atmosphere and the food are great!

I shouldn't have gotten too anti-DDP, but that just seems like a common complaint about it. We really loved most of our signature dining experiences, but we didn't have any pre-DDP experiences to compare it with. Also, I think by the end of our 6-signature trip, we were really tired of steak and lobster. Yes, there were other things on the menu, and we did have some variety, but the DDP does make you feel like you want to order expensive items to get your money's worth. This time, I am trying to justify TIW instead of DDP...we'll see what happens.

As for Bistro, I am taking your advice seriously. I would hate to ask them to remove sauces that are integral to a dish just because they are buttery. I like to taste dishes the way they are intended, so when I'm at a nice restaurant, I usually don't order a dish if I think I'd have to make a major change to it. I wonder if there would be anything on the Bistro menu that I would want to eat!

We've never been to La Hacienda. The prior restaurant in that spot always got such a bad rap, so at first we were scared off because of that. Then we just couldn't convince ourselves that the food there would be more unique or tasty than the Mexican food we've had here in SoCal. Maybe we are being Mexican food snobs. We do love La Cava, though

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

To someone who knows Pop 'like the back of my hand', this is funny. One of our friends who went with us a few trips ago went down to the food court one night and didn't return for almost an hour. We figured she was talking to some of her kids on the phone or something like that, maybe sitting out by the pool. When she finally got back, she told us she had been wandering around lost!

Hahaha I'm sure I would be just as lost there! I've only ever gone to Pop to switch busses - although we were tempted to grab a piece of the tie-dye cheesecake!

Ok, I'm late to the party (just on page 3) but LMFAO at this comment, and then I see it's MY PAL SUSAN! OMG we think alike... DH said to me just last night: "no one cares about food pics". I beg to differ!!! I didn't take as many on my most recent trip, because DH was so annoyed with me!

Welcome!!! Glad to have you here!!

Oh, Wingnut knows food pictures are non-negotiable at this point! I did sort of try to cut back on the other random pictures, because the camera does drive him a little nuts. But actually a lot of the pictures of his food were taken by him!

I shouldn't have gotten too anti-DDP, but that just seems like a common complaint about it. We really loved most of our signature dining experiences, but we didn't have any pre-DDP experiences to compare it with. Also, I think by the end of our 6-signature trip, we were really tired of steak and lobster. Yes, there were other things on the menu, and we did have some variety, but the DDP does make you feel like you want to order expensive items to get your money's worth. This time, I am trying to justify TIW instead of DDP...we'll see what happens.

As for Bistro, I am taking your advice seriously. I would hate to ask them to remove sauces that are integral to a dish just because they are buttery. I like to taste dishes the way they are intended, so when I'm at a nice restaurant, I usually don't order a dish if I think I'd have to make a major change to it. I wonder if there would be anything on the Bistro menu that I would want to eat!

We've never been to La Hacienda. The prior restaurant in that spot always got such a bad rap, so at first we were scared off because of that. Then we just couldn't convince ourselves that the food there would be more unique or tasty than the Mexican food we've had here in SoCal. Maybe we are being Mexican food snobs. We do love La Cava, though

I know, I feel bad getting all down on the DDP too. But I just think that the meal prices are skyrocketing at this point, and can't see how the DDP didn't have an influence.

There are times that I leave the sauces off (or on the sides) of dishes, but that's mostly just if veal is involved. I'm sure you've checked out the Bistro menu. I'm not sure what on there wouldn't have a butter-based sauce or just BE entirely butter-based, but you can certainly ask. I'd still switch it out for another time though. I always forget you're from California! Maybe not La Hacienda then...you've tried Sanaa, right? Or if you wanted to stay in the Epcot area, there's always Rose & Crown.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

We woke up the next morning, ready for another day at Disney! Today was a day of a new breakfast experience – Akershus!

If you don’t remember from my PTR, yes, the princess breakfast was ALL Wingnut’s idea. Seriously. Well, okay. He wanted to try the Norwegian fare, and sure, if a princess happened to be there, that wouldn’t faze him in his mission to eat herring.

A few days before we left, I got the idea to have the princesses in attendance sign a birthday card for our 4-year-old niece. She’s VERY into the princesses and the fairies, and we figured that this would make a cool surprise for her, plus, it would give us a bit of a modality when the princesses came around to our table.

Before we left the room, I again attempted to leave a whimsical towel animal for Mousekeeping, in hopes we would get something fun in return. (So far, all of my efforts had just been rearranged back into the standard Mickey head.)

Heart with arrow.



I triple-checked that we had the card, and a bag to keep it protected for the rest of the day. Around 7, we set off for Epcot, by way of the TTC. I knew that the monorail started running at 7, so I figured we’d hop the Epcot monorail over and be there in plenty of time for our slightly-after-8AM ADR.

What the TTC looks like when you’re walking towards it at 7:10 AM.



We approached the monorail ramps, and were greeted by a couple of CM’s.

“Hi guys! The resort monorail just started running, come on up!”

“Hi! Oh, actually, we wanted to go on the Epcot one.” We continued walking towards it, but none of the CM’s made a move toward that direction.

“Actually, I’m so sorry, but the Epcot monorail doesn’t start running until 8.” The original CM that had greeted us brought us to a screeching halt.

“Wait. What?”

Yup. As it turns out, the resort monorail is happily gliding away at 7. Epcot, not so much. (Not sure what the rules are when EMH’s come into play.)

They told us that we were welcome to hang out at the TTC until 8, but I explained that we had a pre-park opening ADR to get to, and just getting on the monorail at 8 would definitely not get us there in time.

They asked us where we were staying, and we told them the Polynesian. They suggested to go back to the resort, go to the bus stop, and ask the first bus driver we see if Epcot busses were running that day from there. (Usually not, but according to them, worth a shot.)

(Clarification moment here: Most other resorts, totally no problem to get a bus to Epcot. The resorts with other modes of transportation to get there, such as Poly, GF, Contemporary, Beach/Yacht Club, Boardwalk, or Swan & Dolphin, no Epcot busses run until post-fireworks crowds.)

This poses basically no complication for the resorts that can just use the International Gateway, but for those relying on the monorail, it gets a bit tricky to get there for anything before the park opens.

What the TTC looks like when you’re walking away from it at 7:13 AM.



We walked a bit faster towards the bus stop, and an Animal Kingdom-bound bus pulled up first. I asked the bus driver if any Epcot busses were scheduled to stop at the Polynesian that morning. Nope.

We briefly deliberated on what to do. Wingnut suggested giving up and just going to Kona. I dismissed that idea, 1) because we were already going to Kona for breakfast the day after, and 2) we had come this far. There’s no giving up now.

Plus, I had remembered the card. We’re going.

I’ll admit, even though we have used cabs around Disney property to and from ADR’s, it annoyed me that this was literally the only option we had at that point. We went to the podium and requested one for Epcot.

“Heading to Epcot so early?” The CM asked, after he had flagged down a cab for us.

“We have a breakfast reservation. And the monorail isn’t running yet. And there’s no busses.” I explained, trying to sound as not-annoyed as possible.

“Yep, they should have warned you guys about that. There’s not many options from here without a car, unfortunately.” He sent us on our way, and the cab driver took off in the direction of Epcot.

One very brief cab ride and $11 pre-tip later, we were in the parking lot of Epcot. We had arrived in plenty of time, so we lined up at the early breakfast turnstyle and watched as they cleaned the turnstyles, then noted everyone’s ADR’s on a clipboard, then finally opened the turnstyles at 7:50.



We were still in front of Spaceship Earth, walking quickly along with the rest of the crowd, when something dawned on me that caused me to stop in my tracks for the second time that morning.

“What? What’s wrong?” Wingnut noticed he was suddenly 5 feet in front of me.

“I forgot a pen.”

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Oh no, your morning isn't working out exactly as you planned. I hope it gets better when you get to Norway.

 

[teekathepony]

Oh dear! What a runaround with the monorails and busses and taxis! I'm glad you guys were up early enough to deal with all of that and find your way there.
And all that just to forget a pen! Oh no! I'm hoping a waitress or something was able to find you one!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Oh no!!!!! I cannot believe after all that, no pen! I have to admit, I giggled a bit. Can't wait to see how you solved that one...no stores open that early, right? I think at that point I would be walking up to strangers asking if they had a pen I could borrow!

 

[MEK]

Ugh - I think you took your morning drama all in stride. Although, I suspect it was still a bit too early to get a pen in the gift shops. But you're smart - You'll figure out something.

We ran into the same issue when we took the 745 am segway tour and were staying at BLT. I'm glad we figured it out in enough time to get that cab!

 

[Megablocks]

Oh, gosh, what a runaround with getting to Epcot! And after that, remembering you have no pen. Been there, done that...not necessarily with a pen, but with forgetting things, and then having that moment. I hope you guys were able to find one!

 

[marDgreen88]

First of all, thank you for providing this information about the monorails. I had no clue! It'll definitely come in handy with BLT this summer.

Also, wow, that sounds like a pretty stressful morning. I hope the stores that sell pens open before Akershus does!

 

[jecskc]

Ok, I'm late to the party (just on page 3) but LMFAO at this comment, and then I see it's MY PAL SUSAN! OMG we think alike... DH said to me just last night: "no one cares about food pics". I beg to differ!!! I didn't take as many on my most recent trip, because DH was so annoyed with me!

Hey Mellissa !! Oh girl, you HAVE to have food porn !! No one cares about food pics ?? What ?? Oh no. Food porn is a must.

 

[Joyciemc]

Transportation difficulties are all too familiar! Our last trip was FILLED with them!

Glad you finally made it to Epcot... hope you got your hands on a pen on the way to Norway!

 

[rndmr2]

Oh no! You certainly are having a time with the transportation this morning! Can't wait to hear how your meal turned out.

BTW Love your Towel "animal"!!

 

[jecskc]

First of all, I ADORE your use of the word modality. Stellar. I love me some five dollar words.

Weird that there isn't an early morning buss to Epcot from the monorail resorts. Epic fail on Disney's part.

Surely you were able to find a pen ......