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

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

yay for finally seeing Wishes! I honestly love that show, but I think a major part of that is hearing the music that goes along with it...I just get chills each time.

Anyways.....wondering what happened with the pocket of your sweatshirt and your items......

Oh, the music really is SO important to the show!! I was really happy we happened to stand pretty close to one of the speakers, we had a great perspective of Wishes!

 

[CandleontheWater]

I decided to join in and read along, and now I'm all caught up on your TR! I'm really enjoying tagging along on your adventures and especially reading your dining reports!

Dh and I had a wonderful meal at Citricos on a past trip (May 2011?, maybe?) and I'm glad to hear that you guys enjoyed it also and that our meal wasn't just a fluke.

Glad you got to finally see Wishes, and I think watching from the Poly is one of the best vantage points outside of the MK. We stayed in the Tahiti building in Dec (yes, I am the one who got bit by bedbugs, apparently I'm infamous! ) and watching the Holiday Wishes from our balcony was one of the highlights of our trip!

 

[Merida]

I'm a couple updates behind, so back to summer camp!

We always had to spend part of summer at camp and it totally isn't as great as the Poly. There was always colonies of bugs in the showers and there wasn't any pineapple bread. Not very many tiki torches either! We had to walk everywhere with flashlights. Buuuut our counselors would sing us to sleep every night, so +1 for summer camp!

But I definitely like the vibe of the Poly better than the GF (plus the GF rooms are ugly, despite the buildings reminding me of Dirty Dancing) and the Wilderness Lodge! I just like the idea of all the longhouses and all the plants!

Citrico's looks delicious! I don't know enough about food to determine if it's at the right ~caliber or whatever, but it certainly looks good. I like the bread plates! Colored glass is always a nice touch.

Summer camp also doesn't have fireworks - so massive points for the Poly! How cool to have such a great view from (practically) your room. Do you think the other people may have had a better view? Or not really, especially when taking all the climbing into consideration?

 

[Megablocks]

Oh, I am SO glad you finally got to see Wishes! It makes me cry every time, and seeing it with the castle lights REALLY got me! I feel like this might have been the same night I saw it, too. We watched it from Main Street, and stayed at MK after, and it was NOT easy getting back to our rooms...

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Hahaha don't worry, my fireworks pictures are always bad too. But yours are WAY better thn mine were from the Poly!

So happy you loved Wishes! It's so beautiful and I LOVE it.

I agree though, Illuminations is THE BEST. I don't know what it is but that show never ceases to give me chills.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

I decided to join in and read along, and now I'm all caught up on your TR! I'm really enjoying tagging along on your adventures and especially reading your dining reports!

Dh and I had a wonderful meal at Citricos on a past trip (May 2011?, maybe?) and I'm glad to hear that you guys enjoyed it also and that our meal wasn't just a fluke.

Glad you got to finally see Wishes, and I think watching from the Poly is one of the best vantage points outside of the MK. We stayed in the Tahiti building in Dec (yes, I am the one who got bit by bedbugs, apparently I'm infamous! ) and watching the Holiday Wishes from our balcony was one of the highlights of our trip!

Welcome!!! Glad to have you here!!

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed your meal at Citricos too! It really was a nice dinner there!

That WAS you!!!! Okay, you had me SO freaked out literally days before our trip!! I'm so sorry you had to go through that bedbug ordeal!!!

I'm a couple updates behind, so back to summer camp!

We always had to spend part of summer at camp and it totally isn't as great as the Poly. There was always colonies of bugs in the showers and there wasn't any pineapple bread. Not very many tiki torches either! We had to walk everywhere with flashlights. Buuuut our counselors would sing us to sleep every night, so +1 for summer camp!

But I definitely like the vibe of the Poly better than the GF (plus the GF rooms are ugly, despite the buildings reminding me of Dirty Dancing) and the Wilderness Lodge! I just like the idea of all the longhouses and all the plants!

Citrico's looks delicious! I don't know enough about food to determine if it's at the right ~caliber or whatever, but it certainly looks good. I like the bread plates! Colored glass is always a nice touch.

Summer camp also doesn't have fireworks - so massive points for the Poly! How cool to have such a great view from (practically) your room. Do you think the other people may have had a better view? Or not really, especially when taking all the climbing into consideration?

What??? No pineapple bread at summer camp??? Lame.

I agree, I definitely prefer the vibe of the Poly over the GF. And over the Contemporary as well, if all monorail resorts are up for consideration. Vibe-wise, I think the Poly and the Wilderness Lodge are tied in my mind, but the Poly wins between the two hands-down for all of the transportation options!

Citricos was really nice! I loved the unique plates they had too!

I never actually ended up climbing the hill to see the other view, but I thought our view was pretty great!

Oh, I am SO glad you finally got to see Wishes! It makes me cry every time, and seeing it with the castle lights REALLY got me! I feel like this might have been the same night I saw it, too. We watched it from Main Street, and stayed at MK after, and it was NOT easy getting back to our rooms...

I was so happy to finally see it too! This was Monday, January 9th, if that helps! It must have been worth it to be actually on Main Street though!

Hahaha don't worry, my fireworks pictures are always bad too. But yours are WAY better thn mine were from the Poly!

So happy you loved Wishes! It's so beautiful and I LOVE it.

I agree though, Illuminations is THE BEST. I don't know what it is but that show never ceases to give me chills.

I don't know how people get amazing fireworks pictures! I just click and hope for the best .

Illuminations really is just amazing. I mean, Wishes was wonderful and beautiful and emotional and all of that, but Illuminations just is perfect, in my mind at least! I'm glad I'm not the only Illuminations over Wishes fan here!!

 

[mousescrapper]

So glad you got to see Wishes finally and that you loved it now next time you must see it in the Park


I love this show


So I'm worried you lost something....

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

So glad you got to see Wishes finally and that you loved it now next time you must see it in the Park


I love this show


So I'm worried you lost something....

I was so happy to finally see it too!!! Now I know why everyone was so shocked about us not having seen it!!!

Nothing was technically lost, I'll say that!

 

[sophie832]

Nothing was technically lost, I'll say that!

Ohhh, another clue! This is like a little mystery to solve. I'm intrigued

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Before I begin this update, I wanted to share some good news...

I will be starting a new job on Monday!!!

Thank you all for your wonderful wishes and pixie dust, they definitely helped a lot!!!

---

The next morning began bright and early for us (as they usually do), as we were extra-super-excited about our breakfast that day at the Grand Floridian Cafe, a favorite from the year before.

We left the room, and made it all the way to the GCH before I realized that I had forgotten my sunglasses back in Tokelau.

Sigh.

(And no, this was not what I was alluding to in my previous update. I am that much of a mess .)

We turned around, returned to Tokelau, I grabbed my sunglasses, and we were back on our way!

(Despite the back-and-forthing, we were still at the monorail ("Donuts - is there anything they can't do?") station by 7:15.)



Sunglasses? Check!

We took our very brief one-stop monorail ride over to the Grand Floridan, and checked in for our sure-to-be-delicious meal.

Why were we so excited about this breakfast, you may ask?

The steak and eggs.

We both rhapsodized about the wonderfulness of this dish for basically an entire year since having it last December. Here's Wingnut's account.

That looks awesome, right? I know.

We were led to our table in the restaurant, which had a nice view of the porch outside.



Well, that was from my seat, anyways. Wingnut's view was of me. And a whole bunch of chairs.



The restaurant never became that crowded while we were there, so I would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting a quiet breakfast experience.

Wingnut knew exactly what he wanted to drink, the frozen coffee that he had loved the year before. I decided to mix it up and try the Tropical Splash, described on the menu as "a surprising blend of strawberries & orange juice".



(Yes, he makes faces for the camera even at 7:30 in the morning.)

Wingnut again really enjoyed his frozen coffee, which he had had chocolate flavor added to. I didn't try any of the coffee, but I did steal some of the whipped cream off the top .

So, was I surprised by my drink? Well, not really. I mean, it tasted like orange juice and strawberries. But that's not to say that it wasn't good. But it may be better suited for an adjective like "refreshing" or "enjoyable".

Although, there was a strawberry on the rim of the glass, which was a nice surprise (if that counts).

I literally did not even give the menu a glance before I placed my order for the steak and eggs (which Wingnut ordered as well). I mentioned to our server that I was excited to have it again. He laughed at my enthusiasm, and asked if we had been there recently.

"No, we had it back in December of 2010."

"Oh okay. Well we just changed the dish last week, I'm not sure if you noticed on the menu."

(The same menu that I had only looked at for drinks, so, well, no.)

He explained that the steak had changed cuts, the potatoes were a different style, and it was no longer served with a frittata, now 2 eggs of your preparation choosing.

Oh. Um. Okay.

We were still willing to give it a shot. It had been so great last time, how bad could the changes be?? We both ordered our eggs over medium, and waited in anticipation.

Here's what arrived:



(For comparison's sake, the dish as it appeared last year



Alright. We attempted to be openminded, but unfortunately, this was a bit of a letdown, especially given the buildup of the year in between.

(WHY COULDN'T WE HAVE COME THE WEEK BEFORE?? Literally. One. Week.)

Wingnut thought it was still good, although the cut of meat last year was better. It was flavorful, but the portion was pretty small. I was disappointed by the dish, the eggs were pretty overcooked, past the point of lovely squishy yolkyness. The potatoes were okay, but a bit bland (there was a bit of cheese in there). Most of all, I missed the wonderful frittata of the year before.

I guess it was my fault, I probably should have consulted the menu and noticed the change in accompaniments. But I'm still not sure that I wouldn't have ordered the same thing anyways. I was blinded by the memories of that lovely lovely dish from before. It was by no means bad, but the previous edition was MUCH better.

It was soon time to pay, and we had decided to pay OOP for this meal, and save our dining credits for elsewhere. For Christmas, my parents had given us a Disney gift card for us to use during our trip, so we decided to use it for this meal.

A few months before THAT (I know, this is a multi-part backstory here), I had discovered the personalizable gift cards on the online Disney store. For only around $4 more, you could add a picture to your gift card, and make it pretty awesome.

So this was the gift card my parents had given us:



We gave the card to our server, and he whisked it off to run it through the machine, but then paused.

"Wait. WHAT IS THIS???" He held up our gift card.

"It's a Disney gift card. But you can add pictures to them when you order them online. My parents gave it to us." I explained.

"THIS IS THE COOLEST THING EVER!!!" He proclaimed, examining it. He then turned to a table seated nearby, "isn't this amazing?? Look at this!!". The first table kind of just glanced at the card and us, and seemed much more interested in their pancakes. Our server then descended on another table next to us "check this out!!!! Have you ever seen anything like this before??"

Wingnut and I laughed, we never expected to garner such a reaction with our gift card! The table currently looking at our gift card seemed as similarly impressed as our server, asking us where you were able to get them, and looking at us and back at the card a few times in amazement.

The rest of the payment process was pretty standard and boring, by comparison. We left the restaurant, and headed out to the Grand Floridian's bus stop, ready for adventure at...

 

[smile4stamps]

What a HUGE bummer on them not having what you had been craving! I know how awful that can be! I also think that is why the dishes at WDW restaurants don't change as often as other restaurants... people expect when they go back years later that the dish they loved will still be there!

We have one dish that we are craving to have when we get there in October. I dare not say what it is though or else it probably won't be there!

The gift card is pretty awesome! I think I would keep reloading it!!

I'm guessing that you left your ID in the pocket of the sweatshirt from watching Wishes and it somehow didn't end up with you the following day?!?!

 

[sophie832]

That gift card is totally the coolest thing ever!!! Kind of like a Disney VIP thing

Bummer about the steak & eggs. DH and I have issues with the frequent/recent menu changes at WDW. Now that R&C has done away with his beloved sweet potato pillow, he refuses to even go there on our upcoming trip. I'm sure we'll run into other dishes at our fav restaurants that are different, too.

Edited to add...Congrats on your new job!!!! I totally thought that in my head when I read your post, then forgot to put it in my reply.

 

[marymac123]

One Week
I can see changing the cut of meat to save a little $ but why everything else??

 

[SoNotAPrincess]

I'm so glad that I'm not the only one who invariably leaves something in the room!

Aaaagh...your GFC breakfast. I hate when that kind of thing happens, and I totally feel your disappointment. Sigh.

That gift card is...what's that word I use for all things Disney? Oh, yes, it's MAGICAL!!

 

[glennbo123]

I will be starting a new job on Monday!!!

Congrats!

I decided to mix it up and try the Tropical Splash, described on the menu as "a surprising blend of strawberries & orange juice".

So, was I surprised by my drink? Well, not really. I mean, it tasted like orange juice and strawberries. But that's not to say that it wasn't good. But it may be better suited for an adjective like "refreshing" or "enjoyable".

When I read the chapter I thought the same thing, before I got down to your follow-up comment -- "surprising" is an odd way to describe an orange and strawberry juice blend. It probably isn't all that surprising.

Unless you went:

"Oh okay. Well we just changed the dish last week, I'm not sure if you noticed on the menu."

Ew, bummer.

A few months before THAT (I know, this is a multi-part backstory here)

....And God said, "Let there be light".

We gave the card to our server, and he whisked it off to run it through the machine, but then paused.

"Wait. WHAT IS THIS???" He held up our gift card.

"It's a Disney gift card. But you can add pictures to them when you order them online. My parents gave it to us." I explained.

You should have told him, "Yes, we're the new models Disney is using on their gift cards now."

 

[Megablocks]

Yaaaay! Congrats on the new job!

Oh, that is so disappointing about the steak and eggs, especially since you guys had been looking forward to it. I am glad Wingnut got his frozen coffee, though...that is totally what I'd go for!

That personalized gift card is awesome, I had no idea you could do that!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Don't you just hate it when you have dreamed of that one perfect meal from trips past and then you go back and they've changed the dish. Makes for one pouty couple. At least you were able to eat in the beautiful Grand Floridian and enjoy some early morning time together.

 

[MEK]

First of all - congrats on the new job. I hope its better than the last one and I wish you much success.

That iced coffee thing looks amazing (and I said that last year too!)

Bummer on the menu change. Disney is turning a profit. Can't they just leave some things alone? Sorry it was not as amazing. That's they way I felt about the tricorner sandwich at LTT. I remember it being bigger and better.

I love that gift card. If I had one of those I would just keep using it over and over again.

 

[Disneyfreak616]

YAY for the new job!

So sorry your meal wasn't as good as you remembered. Although right now I am so hungry that both of those looks SPECTACULAR to me.

HAHAHA what a great reaction to a gift card. It is awesome! I might have to look into that myself!

Can't wait to hear where you're off to next!

 

[Nermel9]

Congrats on the new job!

I'm sorry they changed the steak and eggs, it's so annoying when they change the menus like that! They still look pretty good though, at least in the picture!

I love that gift card, so cute!