And They Lived Happily Ever After - A June '11 Disneymoon TR! THE END - NEW PTR!

[disneybarbie]

looked like a lovely (but hot!) day at Animal Kingdom .. glad you enjoyed Yak & Yeti.. we went there in 2008 and I hope to go again on another trip!

Pleased the ache from the sunburn didn't last too long too



Emma x

 

[therussells08]

I'm back and I'm all caught up on days 3 and 4!

Typhoon Lagoon is the only Disney water park John and I have ever been to. I wasn't a huge fan of it, because I scraped my foot on one of the first slides I rode and it rained like crazy while we were there! We had a really hard time finding Crush'n Gusher too, but when we found it we didn't really like it! I'm so sorry to hear about your sunburn! I know how much that stinks!

Yay for Animal Kingdom! That is John's favorite park so I hold a special place for it in my heart. Your PP pictures are great!

Oh my, Yak and Yeti looks amazing! I have never been there but now I must go for those wontons!

 

[Jennifer48]

Oooh cliffhanger! Can't wait to see where you ended up for dinner!

Your Y&Y ADR sounds wonderful! I think we might have to try that next time!

Hooray for your sunburn going away!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

I want to try those Wontons at Y&Y so bad! I can't seem to make up my mind for what we're going to do on each day!!! I think this trip for us coming up is going to be a "What do we want to do today?" type of trip.

 

[Nermel9]

Mmm Y&Y looks so good, I really have to try those wontons!

I've only been on Kali once, and I didn't really care for it..maybe we'll give it a 2nd chance this year!

I love the Poly pool area! But am I not going to be able to go hang out down there like I did last year, since they are giving out wristbands now??? Last year we kind of wandered around the pool, got a drink, and then sat in a hammock for a while, I really hope we can do that again this year!

 

[klacey1]

Your Yak and Yeti lunch looks amazing!! We also discovered this trip that not having a dinner ADR doesn't work for us-- unfortunately, since it was FD, we couldn't find a place we wanted to eat at. I hope you had better luck!

 

[blessedmom4]

Courtney, No excuse for my being MIA except I have been busy.

My heart ached when I saw your sunburn, how THANKFUL I am that you were feeling better by the next day. The crowds in the park and the wait times are scary, it makes me worry about October...LOVE your food pics, as always and the fun you and Miguel have together. You are such a beautiful lady and I love your smile!Looking forward to hearing more about dinner...I KNOW you must have gotten some Pixie Dust...you DESERVED IT!!!! Don't keep us hanging toooooooo long...

 

[Shannon84]

That dessert at Y&Y looks amazing!!! I am drooling over here at work

I always thought the pool at Poly looked awesome, actually the whole resort does, but I love the tropical feel

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Glad you liked Y&Y. It's one of our favorites. Oh and YAY for your sunburn cooling off I guess.

You have to get those bracelets for SAB too. Too many pool hoppers I guess

I bet Kona might have an ADR available

 

[dreamerchic33]

great update!
i can't wait for AK and Y&Y! everything looks great and i am SOOO happy to hear that your sunburn went away!!!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

I am SSOOOO glad to hear that your sunburn healed up so quick!!!

Glad to hear Y&Y was awesome The food looked so good!!!


Can't wait to hear what you ended up doing for dinner that night! I'm excited to find out if you were able to get a last minute ADR

AND the swimsuit cover up looked cute!

I was very thankful that the sunburn was much better the next day! I was so worried it was going to put a big damper on the rest of the vacation.

yay I'm so glad Y&Y was delicious! I cannot wait to try those wonton's either, glad to hear another positive revue!

Y&Y was great! And you will love the wontons - they are seriously yummy!

Haha, your picture of Dinosaur looks like mine. Except I don't think I ever took a picture of it because we always looked so bored.

Yum, those wonton look delicious. I'm a big fan of cream cheese, so I probably would have devoured those.

It's always a little disappointing to go on Kali on a super hot day and then not get soaked. Well at least I think so. Ron would disagree.

I love the mister, but I don't like carrying it around so I didn't bring one this trip.

I'm very curious to see where you guys ended up eating dinner that night.

Our Dinosaur pics are always some of my favorites because we never show any emotion!

great update!! I love YandY too!! I looked back at your PTR and we were at the pool the same day you were but our flight was at 4'ish so I think we would have left before you got there but our "seats" were the tables/umbrella to the side of the pool too!!! Gotta love the bracelets! at $400+ a night, it better only be resort guests using that pool! We saw several groups being kicked out.

How neat we were at the pool on the same day! I know we left the pool area around 6:30, and we weren't there for too long, so we probably missed each other.

I had heard about them checking for room cards, but I was surprised to actually see it happening! We saw a few groups that were asked to leave, too!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Those cream cheese wontons at Yak and Yeti look so very yummy!

I'm glad to hear that your sunburn was feeling better at that point. It can be so uncomfortable, especially when it is so hot outside.

The wontons were SO good. I can't wait to eat them again!

Your lunch at Y&Y looked really tasty! I am SO glad that your sunburn was feeling better...that would of been a terrible way to spend your honeymoon.

Oh man...on a super hot day you definitely want to get wet on Kali...and I for one am a big fan of the mister fans! We bought ours on our AK day last year too! It is just SO hot at that park!

Ahh relaxing at the pool...how fun! Oh man...checking keys and bracelets? I've never seen that! (Not that I am a pool hopper...lol...but that is only fair to the guests who are actually staying at that resort) Your cover up is super cute!

I had heard about the key checking, but I'd never actually seen it. It kind of surprised me, but the pool was really crowded, so I guess it makes sense.

looked like a lovely (but hot!) day at Animal Kingdom .. glad you enjoyed Yak & Yeti.. we went there in 2008 and I hope to go again on another trip!

Pleased the ache from the sunburn didn't last too long too



Emma x

We plan on eating at Y&Y again soon, too! I was so glad the sunburn was better! I was really worried I was going to be miserable for the rest of the trip!

I'm back and I'm all caught up on days 3 and 4!

Typhoon Lagoon is the only Disney water park John and I have ever been to. I wasn't a huge fan of it, because I scraped my foot on one of the first slides I rode and it rained like crazy while we were there! We had a really hard time finding Crush'n Gusher too, but when we found it we didn't really like it! I'm so sorry to hear about your sunburn! I know how much that stinks!

Yay for Animal Kingdom! That is John's favorite park so I hold a special place for it in my heart. Your PP pictures are great!

Oh my, Yak and Yeti looks amazing! I have never been there but now I must go for those wontons!

My sunburn kind of left a bad taste in my mouth for TL, too. I would go back, but probably in a few years. I just don't think I'm too much of a water park person.

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Oooh cliffhanger! Can't wait to see where you ended up for dinner!

Your Y&Y ADR sounds wonderful! I think we might have to try that next time!

Hooray for your sunburn going away!

You should try Y&Y! I would definitely recommend it.

I want to try those Wontons at Y&Y so bad! I can't seem to make up my mind for what we're going to do on each day!!! I think this trip for us coming up is going to be a "What do we want to do today?" type of trip.

I would like to have a trip like that, but I don't think the OCD planner in me would let me!

Mmm Y&Y looks so good, I really have to try those wontons!

I've only been on Kali once, and I didn't really care for it..maybe we'll give it a 2nd chance this year!

I love the Poly pool area! But am I not going to be able to go hang out down there like I did last year, since they are giving out wristbands now??? Last year we kind of wandered around the pool, got a drink, and then sat in a hammock for a while, I really hope we can do that again this year!

I normally love Kali, but this time it just wasn't as great as I had remembered. It seemed to be over so quickly and we barely got wet!

I couldn't tell if you had to have a wrist band to just be at the pool, or if it was to actually be in the pool. I would think maybe as long as you were at the bar area or on the beach area, you would be fine. I would think they are probably a little more strict during the summer when it's super crowded, though, so maybe they won't be checking keys on your trip. I hope you get to spend some time there!

Your Yak and Yeti lunch looks amazing!! We also discovered this trip that not having a dinner ADR doesn't work for us-- unfortunately, since it was FD, we couldn't find a place we wanted to eat at. I hope you had better luck!

This trip solidified that for me, too. On our January 2010 trip, I really hated the night that we didn't have an ADR, but then on our November trip, I kind of wished we didn't have one. From now on I am just going to make one for every night!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Courtney, No excuse for my being MIA except I have been busy.

My heart ached when I saw your sunburn, how THANKFUL I am that you were feeling better by the next day. The crowds in the park and the wait times are scary, it makes me worry about October...LOVE your food pics, as always and the fun you and Miguel have together. You are such a beautiful lady and I love your smile!Looking forward to hearing more about dinner...I KNOW you must have gotten some Pixie Dust...you DESERVED IT!!!! Don't keep us hanging toooooooo long...

I know you are so busy, Judy! Don't feel bad! I need to get caught up on all of my subscriptions, too!

This was definitely our most crowded trip, but it was still manageable, and the Safari was the only attraction that we actually waited a good bit for. I think you'll be ok in October.

That dessert at Y&Y looks amazing!!! I am drooling over here at work

I always thought the pool at Poly looked awesome, actually the whole resort does, but I love the tropical feel

The Poly is a wonderful resort! I definitely understood the hype and the following that it has after staying there. It really does have a certain "feel" to it.

Glad you liked Y&Y. It's one of our favorites. Oh and YAY for your sunburn cooling off I guess.

You have to get those bracelets for SAB too. Too many pool hoppers I guess

I bet Kona might have an ADR available

I bet they are even more strict at SAB! I will say that we did find an ADR at Kona, but I won't say when

great update!
i can't wait for AK and Y&Y! everything looks great and i am SOOO happy to hear that your sunburn went away!!!

I was so glad the sunburn healed quickly! I was so worried!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

DAY 4 – Pt. 3

As we sat around the Volcano pool enjoying our drinks from the bar, Miguel and I debated about where to eat that evening. Since I had chosen every restaurant for the trip, thought it would be nice to let Miguel choose our last-minute dining destination. His request? Something Mexican! I should have known…

Since we had a reservation for La Hacienda later in the week, I searched for the two other places that I knew had Mexican food – Paradiso 37 (which we had been wanting to try) and San Angel Inn. The mobile Disney dining site showed a 9:15 ADR for Paradiso and an 8:45 ADR for SAI. We figured 9:15 was a little too late, and Miguel voted for SAI, so with the click of a button (or should I say the touch of a screen) the ADR for San Angel was made!

By that point the rain had let of just a bit, so Miguel went back to enjoy the pool, and I joined him after a while. I got in just in time to see him come down the volcano slide. Right as he did I thought about his (very nice) sunglasses, worried that they would get knocked off when he came down the slide, and sure enough, they did! As soon as he realized it, Miguel looked to me in panic and I swam over to try to locate the missing glasses. I climbed out of the pool to try to get a better view, but couldn’t find them. Thankfully, a kind man who was waiting for his kids to come down the slide spotted them and dove down to get them. Crisis averted!

After the lost glasses, we both decided to go back to our chairs and dry off a bit. Unfortunately, that was going to be hard to do because it started raining a bit harder! We decided to make a run for it and head back to Rarotonga so that we could get ready for our unexpected evening at Epcot.

Even though it was raining, we just couldn’t help but take some pictures along the way.

We loved seeing all of the animals on the trails!

When we made it back to our room, we both showered and got dressed for the evening and were ready to go by 7:45. I didn’t feel like driving that night, and since it had pretty much stopped raining, we decided to walk over to the TTC again and catch the monorail over to Epcot. I did think to take an umbrella and our ponchos just in case, but thankfully we didn’t need to use either one!

Once we made it to the TTC, we climbed on to the Tronorail!

I love the ride over to Epcot on the monorail since it’s so much longer than the one over to the MK and you get to make that lovely loop though Epcot!

Epcot was particularly pretty that night. The storm had made the sky a really pretty color and the sun was just getting ready to set. It was a bit windy, but other than that the weather was wonderful. The rain had really cooled things off!

We of course stopped for a PP picture!

And a few more pictures on the way back to Mexico.

I loved the Cars 2 topiary!

Since we didn’t have too much time before our ADR, we went straight to the World Showcase to the Mexico pavilion. The entire park just seemed to glow that night. So pretty!

I got us checked in to San Angel, we were handed our buzzer and we found a bench to relax on while we waited for our ADR.

Even though Miguel’s eyes are closed, I think this is a cute picture!

Our wait was very short, probably less than five minutes, and we were led to our table. The first thing I always notice about SAI is how quiet it is. It seems like the darkness of the restaurant almost puts people in to a trance because it is so very quiet in there! We did not mind it, though! I also noticed that they had changed the décor a bit. Because it was so dark, it was impossible to get a picture, but they have “fancied” it up a bit. The old colorful chairs that they used to have have been replaced with dark wood chairs and the tables now have white tablecloths and cute metal lamps on them. I was very impressed and felt like I was trying a whole new restaurant!

As you can tell, we have eaten at San Angel in the past, about 2 years ago. While we weren’t as disappointed as most people here are, we weren’t super thrilled with the restaurant either. I had a feeling that we were really going to enjoy our meal since it seemed that they had made a lot of changes to improve it.

The menu has also changed! We decided to get some guacamole to start with, which wasn’t on the menu but our waiter (who was wonderful) had no problem fixing it for us. It was served with a puffed chip that had a bit of a spice to it, and was very good! Sorry my picture is terrible!

We also decided to get a chicken tostada appetizer, which had chicken, beans, guacamole and cheese on a mini corn tortilla and was excellent as well.

Miguel was very excited to be getting some Mexican food, finally!

For our entrée, we both ordered the steak tempequena, which was actually one of the options that we had at our rehearsal dinner, so it seemd very appropriate! A tempequena is just a grilled skirt steak that is served with a cheese enchilada and in this case, rice and beans.

Oh my goodness, this was an amazing dish! I know it’s pretty simple, but the flavors were wonderful and the steak was so tender and cooked perfectly. We both loved our dish and we both agreed that it was our best meal of the trip so far!

We noticed on the menu that SAI now offered a three course, fixed-price meal that can be eaten on the dining plan now. You can really tell that they are trying to improve their reputation, and I hope that people will give this restaurant a chance. It still is not your stereotypical Mexican food (tacos and burritos) but I do think they’ve Americanized it just a bit. The new menu combined with the pretty new décor and the peaceful atmosphere made for a wonderful dining experience that night. It was actually one of our favorites of the entire trip and we’ve already planned to go back on our February trip!

We were far too full for dessert, so we paid our bill and headed out.

We made it back to the monorail and to the Poly in no time! Our walk back from the TTC was peaceful, and on the way I decided to stop by Captain Cooks for a Mickey head bar! I had forgotten how much I loved those things! I ended up getting them a few other nights during the week, too.

Now that I was fully stuffed and we were both pretty tired, we feel in to bed, excited about the following day at the Magic Kingdom!

 

[reelmom]

I love those chicken tostadas. The San Angel Inn is one of our favorite restaurants at Disney.

 

[Nermel9]

The Poly is so pretty, even in the rain! I love ducklings! Seriously, if I could capture one, I'd probably bring it home with me!

Wow, you're right, Epcot looked amazing that night, great pictures! AHHH I can't wait to be there in 11 days! Anyway, San Angel looks great, I really want to try it sometime, but it's one of those that I can never fit in!

 

[arbolita]

I love this picture you took in Epcot:

Something about the texture of it almost makes it look like it could be a painting! Glad you had a great dinner at San Angel! I haven't eaten there before, but I definitely want to since they changed the menu.

 

[Lady Lallie]

I don't know how I missed the last three updates. I'm a TR slacker apparently!

I could really go for some of those Yak & Yeti wontons right about now, they would make a delicious breakfast.

The little baby duckling picture is so freaking cute!

I love your last minute ADR, I think sometimes those meals turn out to be the best ones of the trip! My husband has been wanting to try San Angel, I will have to give it some thought.

 

[CandleontheWater]

I am so glad you enjoyed the San Angel Inn! Its been a favorite of mine, since there is where we ate the night that DH propose.

I'm also loving your Poly pics! We are staying there in Dec, and I am so excited for direct monorail access.

Is you DH by any chance a jockey or work with horses? I saw that he was wearing a jockey club shirt in one of your pics.