Best Week Ever: Disney Edition (My Sept. 6-13 Trip Report)

[MAF]

Well kids I just got back from "the most magical place on Earth" and I'm here to tell you all about my little travels. We left at the butt-crack of morning on Saturday, Sept. 6th and sadly had to leave on Saturday, Sept. 13th. Well this will be my first trip report, so strap yourselves in and bare w/ me. The trip was filled w/ laughter, happiness, and maybe even a little unecessary drama for good measure. Here we go!



First of all let me introduce myself and the rest of the "cast":

David (Me)- Yup that's me ya'll. I'm 24 and a major Disney dork. I haven't been to the "world" in 4 years and when my mom asked me to "tag along" on their upcoming trip she didn't have to convince me twice to go along. They really had to twist my arm to go...**

Dad- He's a 47 y/o baby who happens to look like a grown man. He may look big and mean, but he's a big softie at heart. Remember the drama I mentioned? Well it was probably started by him. He's a type-A Disney commando who takes no prisoners. If you happened to see us you would see him 5 miles ahead and me yelling to "slow down".



Mom- She's 45 and a total blonde if you know what I'm saying. I shouldn't say anything because we are practically the same and we were always trying to go the wrong way to exit rides and the whole mess. Fun times! Anyways she was the type who wanted to stop and see the parades, but of course "you know who" wanted to go, go, GO!



Well anywho, that was my "short" little introduction to bring everyone up to speed on who you are dealing w/ on this TR. See you all soon for more.

 

[MAF]

The Itinerary:



I thought I would give a preview of all of the parks we visited and restaraunts we ate at on the various days.



Day 1 (Sept. 6th)-

Went to the Magic Kingdom, ate at Chef Mickey's



Day 2 (7th)-

Went to the Magic Kingdom, ate at the Columbia Harbor House, and Narcoosee's



Day 3 (8th)-

Went to Animal Kingdom, then Disney Studios at night. Ate at Yak and Yeti for CS, then Boma.



Day 4 (9th)-

Went to Epcot, ate at AS Music, then Coral Reef.



Day 5 (10th)-

Went to Disney Studios and Downtown Disney, ate at Earl of Sandwich and AS Music.



Day 6 (11th)-

Went to Magic Kingdom, visited Fort Wildnerness, Epcot, and then back to the MK again. Ate at Cosmic Ray's and then O'Hana.



Day 7 (12th)-

Went to Magic Kingdom, then Epcot, and then briefly back to Magic Kingdom. Ate at Sunshine Seasons, and then Whispering Canyon at WL.



We were on the Free Dining promo, which was awesome. I'll go into more detail on what I ate and give my reviews, although sadly I have no "food porn" pics.

 

[rosiep]

More please!

 

[jkCT]

I'm here too!!

Can't wait to hear all about your trip!

 

[jslbjc]

Can't wait to hear about your trip.

 

[jeanigor]

I can't wait to hear about your dining experiences and whatnot either!
I do have to say that you are kinda lucky though. I could barely drag my mom into the parks when she came to visit me when I was a CP.

 

[ConcKahuna]

LOL I love Disney too, but I'm very mellow about the parks. I get to the stuff...eventually

And it was really cool to run into you on the monorail Shame I was wokring

 

[DWJoshua]

Well that was a huge tease! Let's hear more!

 

[MAF]

Day 1- Sept. 6th

Well it's that time again, time for me to make you all jealous of my awesome time at WDW. Let me start off by telling you that me and gettin up at 3am to catch a plane do not mix. It leads to extreme giddy-ness and then later . I won't bore you w/ the deets on my flight because that was boring as heck. Let's start this off w/ something you all like, DRAMA!
The first "incident" of my lovely trip happened when my dad went up to get the tickets to get on the Magical Express. Well anywho, it was crowded and they only let one person wait in line, so my mom and I stood back. When he gets out of the line he's looking like a deer in headlights trying to find us, except we see him immediately and start walking up to him. Long story short big baby has his first meltdown and freaks out that he couldn't find us, although he was only looking for us for like 2 seconds! So yay what a way to start the trip! Now that that's over we boarded the "Magic School Bus" aka Magical Express.

I wanted to take a picture of myself so badly, but since I was seated too far for the rents to take a picture I didn't want to look like a big Disney freak snapping pics of myself on a bus full of people. So after a short little excursion I saw the best sight you could ever see, the welcome to Walt Disney World sign! When we walked into the All Star Music lobby a man w/ a funky Mickey hat and gloves "welcomed us home". At that moment is when I truly felt the Disney "magic". After a short check in we arrived at the farthest room EVER in the Rock N' Roll section.
Here's me showcasing our room number!

*cough*FREAKSHOW*cough*
...and here's the rents w/ some of the themeing in the background.

We got towel animals! *I don't think my parents realized what a Disney freak I truly was because this was the first thing I wanted to take a pic of. *

Ok if you're still w/ me, run away now...j/k It's time for a short intermission and soon I'll tell you all about our visit to my fave. park, the Magic Kingdom.

 

[jkCT]

Love the towel animals...it's all those little things that I wish I'd taken pictures of when we went. Next time I'll be the obsessive one taking pictures of towel animals, food, signs, flowers...

 

[MAF]

...and we're back! I think I'll start this one out with BACK SWEAT. Yes back sweat pouring down like a waterfall. I think I forgot that Florida is 200 degrees hotter while you are waiting for your bus to arrive, yes its a little known fact. But of course I didn't care because I was going to the Magic Kingdom! *happy dance!!!111*

When we got there I was excited to see that they "kingdom" was fully decked out in Halloween garb. I LOVE Halloween. We had to take a picture w/ the pumpkins, and this really awesome lady volunteered to take our photo w/out anyone even asking. That's Disney magic right there.

So I decided that our first ride should of course be my fave. Pirates, even though my Dad wanted it to be Jungle Cruise. JC? Are you kidding me? Before we got to the entrance I spotted that Capt. Hook and Mr. Smee had just came out and my mother and I wanted to get a picture. Well guess what? My dad was like 5 miles ahead stampeding to get in line for Pirates. This was the typical behavior of him throughout the entire trip because, like I said he's a Disney commando. I even have a picture that we took of him running ahead of us, but I'll show that one later.

Anywho, Pirates was of course awesome and I loved the addition of the Capt. Jack AA's. Pirates to me is the epitome of WDW, it's such a classic and I could NEVER get tired of it. After the ride we decided to hurry up and see if Hook and Smee were still there. There were and we rushed into the short line, and before we got to meet them, they announced that they had to leave. I was not a happy camper and we teased dear old dad that he had already ruined the trip for us!

After that ordeal, we hit our other faves BTMR and SM. If I had my way I would have rode SM over and over...and OVER, although there really wasn't much time seeing as we had to make our ressies at Chef Mickey's. Next we hit up my other fave Haunted Mansion. I loved the new renovations they made to the ride. If you ever rode w/ me on this ride you must know that I'm singing along in the graveyard scene each and every time... Don't judge!

On our way out we stopped to see the end of the 3pm parade. I hate taking pics of parades because I find them boring, but my dad insisted. I'm really bad at taking them as evidenced. You can't see anyone...

Ok after that we made our way to the monorail and we were off to the Contemporary for Chef Mickey's. Remember when I said I started out giddy and then turned . Yeah this is about the time that transformation happend. But we'll leave that part for the next installment.

Let me leave you all w/ the obligatory castle shot:

 

[freedogshampoo]

The pic with the pumpkins got me all excited about my MNSSHP trip coming up on Oct 4th!

 

[ILuvCrush]

 

[jslbjc]

Wow a Commando dad!!

 

[Leoscrp27]

I'm Loving your TR. It's definately helping to pass the time before our own trip in November. Can't wait to hear your Dining Reviews, and your dad is cracking me up Those pictures you took of the parade were Amazing, It looks like you had the park to yourself!

 

[MAF]

Day 1 Cont.-

Ok sorry for the lack of updates, but this is taking me longer than anticipated. Well when I last left off I was about to tell you about my dinner at Chef Mickey's.

When we arrived we were an hour early, so we browsed the shops a little. By this time I was completely spent for the day and was not in a good mood in the least. We sat in the lobby by the resteraunt for about 30 mins while they were playing Corey in the House. I would rather have tootpicks shoved under my fingernails than to have to endure watching that show again...

So after what seemed like an eternity they let us into the main lobby to sit. I was so crabby by this point that even the Disney music blaring was putting me into a grumpy mood. Oh and let's just say there were kids EVERYWHERE running around knocking over the ropes, touching the food....ugh and it was sooo LOUD! Yes I know this is Chef Mickey's and there are definately going to be kids, but the parents were so oblivious! Sheesh.

So yeah after we were seaten and I had my caffeine I was feeling mucho better! I started off w/ some cheese and rolls, and decided to skip the salad. For my "main food" I had the prime rib, ribs, chicken, and mashed potatoes. I think I even had some of the chicken strips from the kids part. Everything was good, but honestly the food was no different than what you'd find in your local buffet. For dessert I had ice cream and those AWESOME Oreo Mickey ear things. Those were so good. Overall I would rate the food a B-. I don't think I would go back again since the food wasn't all the impressive in comparison to other resteraunts around the world and like I said it was just too LOUD for my tastes.

On to the characters! I felt like our table was pretty much ignored, and I'm guessing it was because we were all "adults". I got pics w/ Donald, Goofy, Mickey, and Pluto, yet Minnie totally blew us off! She gave us a sign that she'd be right back and when she did come back she skipped right over us. She was probably just jealous that I hugged her b/f. mwahaha Anywho the characters really weren't that much into "character" at all and pretty much just stopped to take a pic and then ran off. Kind of disappointing to say the least. Also when Donald came I was alone at the table and he acted like he didnt' want to take a pic w/ me at all. Sadness!

Here's some pics:
I had to take this by myself, hence the EXTREME close-up!

Uh yeah apparently my dad has not mastered the art of using a camera...

No wonder Minnie blew us off!

I don't know these people...

We look so "Goofy".

Ok so after Chef Mickey's was done, we headed back to the Magic Kingdom. We rose Space Mountain, Buzz, and then Monster's Inc. My dad got to be the "churro" guy which was so hilarious. Then we did Stitch where my chair's effects were broken. Um yeah I don't think I will ever be doing that one again. LAME!

We then did a few rides in Fantasyland and then more DRAMA! My dad wanted to see the Country Bears, but my mother and I wanted to pass. Well he threw another little hissy fit which was hilarious. I'm sorry, but I have to just laugh at him when this happens. I think I'll leave you w/ this picture of me and my mom on IaSW.

We're bringing sexyback.... Yeah I had to bring that cliche back.

Ok well that will be today's installment! Let's just say I was dead tired and cranky that night and got like 1 hour of sleep due to loud snoring. Not a good night... Next time I will be talking about our 2nd day at the Magic Kingdom and the best dinner of my life. Stay tuned!

 

[MAF]

Day 2- Sept. 7th, 2008-

Previously on "Best Week Ever- Disney Edition": Early wake-up calls, family melt-downs, and Chef Mickey's.

Ok like I said in the previous post, I was once again dead tired because my dad was snoring LOUDLY the entire night. Um yeah so after having 1 hour or less of sleep I was ready to take on the Magic Kingdom...AGAIN! Going to the Magic Kingdom is the only thing that could energize me at dire times like these. After getting my morning coffee I was up and rarin' to go!

W/ my Mickey ears in tow we headed off to the Magic Kingdom where I got to see the opening ceramony for the first time ever. It was so magical when the train pulled up and my main man Mickey hopped off and waved to the crowd. After the gates opened it was a mad dash to Space Mountain. Although it's as old as the hills I still love this one. I love how jerky it is and it's so much fun to yell in the dark. Good times... After that we headed to Fantasyland to hit the rides we missed before.

I must let you all know that my family has to stop at every restroom the "world" has to offer. I got bored waiting so I decided to take a picture of my shadow...

DUMBO! *Yes I know it only goes around in a cirlce, but it's a classic that I still love.*

We also hit up Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, and Snow White. I love dark rides, no matter how cheesy they may be. My goofy grin will attest to it!

Sadly I wasn't worthy enough to release the sword from the stone, no matter how ripped I may be.

Me rockin' the coolest glasses ever at Philharmagic. I LOVE this show. It almost brings a tear to the eye...almost!

Ok after Fantasyland we hit up my absolute fave. the peoplemo...I mean the TTA. I will never get used to calling it that. Then we saw the Carosel of Progress which I still actually enjoy. It reminds me of Walt.

After having a ton of fun times, we had to go back to our new room that we tranferred to at ASMusic. When we checked in the first day we had a brand new employee who didn't get our request for a closer room to the lobby and pool. Well anywho my dad got it all fixed and we were moved to the closer, "Jazz Inn."

Waiting for our bus I took a pic of these "hungry" duckies. They just walked right up to us w/ their sad eyes looking for food. Unfortch nobody had any to give. So sad.... Oh and some more drama happened on the trip when the lady in front of us started freaking out that the busses were too slow and that she was going to walk up to the nearby bus to yell at him. Um yeah what would that solve? I swear people need to realize that they are in the most magical place on Earth and chillax.

My mom decided to mock me by taking a shot of our new room number...

"In the next installment I will tell you about our dinner at Narcoosee's. All I'm going to say is "BEST DINNER EVER!!!".

PS: I forgot to mention that we also at the Columbia Harbor House for our CS credit for the day. I got the Chicken and Fish basket w/ fries and the chocolate cake. We weren't that impressed and my mom said that Long John Silver's is better. Ouch... It's sad because I remember that the food used to be so good.

Ta Ta For Now!

 

[ConcKahuna]

I love this picture

 

[MAF]

Day 2- Sept. 7th (Continued)
"The Narcoosee's Review"

After settling our stuff into our new room we decided to head over to the Grand Floridian early. When I say early, I meant EARLY. We were about 2 hours ahead of our reservations. We spent some time walking the grounds, the shops, and I took a few photos of the lobby.

After a while we decided that it was just too long of a time to just sit around so we all decided on a quick trip to the Magic Kingdom for a little Pirates!

We took a boat ride back to the Grand Floridian after our short stint at MK. It was nice, but really hot and humid on the ride over. The location of the resteraunt is in a really great spot. It's such a beautiful view of the lagoon and the castle. We were seated "sort-of" near a window. At least we were able to see out which was nice. We had the nicest waiter who was actually really funny. He was cracking jokes the entire night and was really attentive, even though he was busy w/ many other tables it seemed.

Being the alcholics we are, we decided to have our first drinks of the trip. (That was a joke people...ha, ha? ) Oh and I needed something to pick me up after lack of sleep for two nights....

I look THRILLED...

I got the "Glow-tini" after seeing so many pics of people getting them in other trip reports. It was really good, but strong as well. You could def. taste the vodka. Oh and it came w/ an awesome glow-cube that you could take home. I would def. recommend this drink.

Happiness is the Glow-tini!

The parents each got a margarita. I'm pretty sure they were mango or something, but I didn't try them so I'm not 100% sure. They said they were good so I'll take their word for it.

As for the main course, let me tell you...BEST DINNER OF MY LIFE. We each got the whole Maine Lobster which came w/ au-gratin style potatoes and I think it was brocolli. The was the best lobster I have ever had. It was already cracked open and it was not rubbery at all. It was just perfect. For dessert we each had the almond crusted cheescake. This was heaven on a plate. I love cheesecake, and this was probably one of the best I've ever had the pleasure to eat. Yum!

Overall I would grade Narcoose's an A, and I would definately come back here next time. Great atomosphere, amazing food, and an attentive staff.

After our amazing meal, we headed back to the MK to catch Wishes. I love Wishes and it def. didn't disappoint. After Wishes we hit up a few more rides during EMH, and then headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep. *Yes I finally got some sleep that night!*

In the next installment- Animal Kingdom, CS at Yak and Yeti, Dinner at Boma, and Hollywood Studios...

 

[ILuvCrush]

Great update!! You are the 2nd TR I've read today that had the lobster AND almind cheesecake at narcoossee's... and with both of your raving reviews....I may have to add it to an upsoming trip!!!!

Paula