Blabbermouth & DH's Feeding Frenzy TRIP REPORT - Final Update 9/21

[blabbermouth]

After breakfast we made a beeline through the GC into DCA. I purposely didn't stuff myself because I wouldn't have been able to walk anywhere if I did! We got in at about 9:45, so I knew all we could do was ride Soarin' or wait for TSMM.

So, off to Soarin' we went!

Minor rant, the longest wait we ever had was for Soarin'. I think I would maybe be satisfied never riding it again. (Except that we did later that day, no, we don't ever learn!) While J stood in line I picked up some fast passes. We should have just left and used the FPs later instead, but we waited. and waited. annnnnnnd waited. I think it's because of the way they line people up, you walk a little bit, then wait in the exact same spot until the next show is over. Almost every other ride you shuffle along as a slow, but steady pace, this one involves a lot more waiting in one spot, so probably feels longer than it truly is.

Anyway, rant over, I do love this ride, this time we were in the back row on the left side, so it wasn't the perfect view we'd had in the past.

Ok, with that overwith, let's get on with things! Grizzly River Run? Nope, don't want to be soaked this early in the day, and due to the heat, it appeared that people were getting absolutely drenched!

So we headed back to TSMM! We took a quick pit stop at Goofy's Sky School because it was a walk on. This ride is just ok. It's scary in a 'fall off the track' kinda way and you get some nice views, but it's short with very little theming other than a few signs. Goofy's voice on the speakers was cute though and if there's little to no wait, it's worth it.

Made it to TSMM.

The wait posted at this time (10:50?) was 20 minutes. I think this was about accurate, as that photo was taken at 10:59. Yes, see how long we waited at Soarin'? I find the TSMM wait a bit long too typically. There was a cute lil girl in front of us though, so that helped a bit. It's too bad there is NOTHING to entertain you in this line up aside from Mr. Potato Head at the very beginning. The posters are cute, once! Too bad it didn't have the same line as Buzz.

Guess who won!

Yup, DH again. Not that I was expecting I had any chance at all, but I love it anyway, even if I suck!

Next was Screamin' with a ten minute wait. Love this ride! It's so smooth and fun being out in the sun listening to the music. We also picked up a FP for later

Then we were off to the next thrill ride, ToT. We took the Bug's Land path. I LOVE LOVE LOVE BL, it's SO cute, the theming is amazing and I could spend an hour there taking pics, but I didn't.

Such a cool way to create shade in lines

Yes, I rode a ride on my wishlist: Heimlich's Chew Chew Train!

It's so awesome! Funny and cute, and I love the smells and real plants throughout the ride. Although, I do not recommend walking around afterwards using your Heimlich accent, I can assure you there will definitely be German guests right next to you if you do. Oops

TOT had a... you guessed it, 13 (THIRTEEN!!) minute wait, aka walk right into the video room. These short waits are almost too short! No time for pics. And I also found with the low crowds we didn't really get to interact with CMs and other guests as much as usual because you don't get bored waiting around, you just keep moving from ride to ride or show. Tot was a great ride as per usual. Screaming on ToT never gets old!

On our way out, we stopped in at the Animation Academy. Wow, the Toy Story Zoetrope is so neat! Hard to wrap your head around it and understand how it works.

Then drawing time, we were nervous, we're NOT artists by any stretch, I'm an accountant! We drew Daisy, and in 15 minutes...

Mine:

Jason's:

not bad huh.

I will stop here for now, after this we hopped back to DL, so I will pick up there next time!

 

[kaoden39]

I absolutely adore BL myself. There are so many cute touches through out it. Disney themes things so well.

 

[blabbermouth]

I absolutely adore BL myself. There are so many cute touches through out it. Disney themes things so well.

It's true! I also love how there are actually lots of real plants in that area too. Plus they make it much naturally cooler feeling.

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

Love it so far!!

 

[blabbermouth]

Well, it was time for Jason's daily Cherry Coke so we left DCA through the long walled pathway and went over to DL.

This was our first trip up main street in one of their vehicles! We just got on the little car, it was cute, and relaxing. The driver was really nice too.

We backtracked into Coke Corner and grabbed a pop. J took a little test...

Just a mere sexy. It's funny that this is still kickin' around main street! "Mommy, what does sexy mean?"

We went around the corner and through adventureland to get to the classic Tiki Room!

I have to admit, we both really love this show. It's so fun and we both love the thunder/lightning storm effect. Also, the preshow with the tikis outside is cool too. Our only regret is we already had our refreshing cherry coke, so we didn't really feel like a dole whip.

More lights in the nice, shady waiting area

The coolest bathroom door I've come across so far

We browsed the store across the way. I loved these wind chimes.

And this shirt is so funny if you've ever seen the little flash video online

This is where Jason bought some flipflops too. He only brought one pair of sneakers so they were starting to rub by this time and he was about to get some blisters. He was much happier with these and they didn't hurt his feet at all. They were Quiksilver brand, by the way. This store is mostly filled with non-disney items.

We stopped by the statue for him to change his footwear and watched a cute little show with Mary Poppins and Bert.

Such pretty, calm horses

After this we tried to decide what to do next. I think we went to get a ST fast pass because we rode it later that day and took a ride on the no-wait BLAB (our most visited ride of the trip!)

Then it was time to eat (2pm) so I asked Jason what he wanted and he remembered the mexican restaurant from our last trip, so to Rancho del Zocalo we go.

Jason got a Chicken Burrito. He really liked it.

I ordered the Chicken Tacos. They were good, but too much for me to eat all by myself. They had a nice mild spiciness and I love the salsa, sour cream and fresh guacamole on the side. I found the chicken's sauce to be a bit grainy (?) but that could be because it was later in the day.

This restaurant gets bonus points for decor. It's nice and cool, relaxing, nice flowers, and the view of BTMRR is cool too.

And there are some really chubby birds that hang out there.

I'd give this meal a:

Donald and Daisy! I really liked the guacamole and fresh veggies, there was large portions and great atmosphere, but it wasn't overly impressive.

After our relaxing lunch we decided it was getting to be break time. We decided to take the train from NOS to TL to get on the monorail to get back to the hotel.

On our way, we saw a 5 minute wait for Pirates, so we decided we'd take a lil boat ride first.

Then we finally got to the train, and it was arriving just as we walked up, nice timing!

Off we got in TL and headed to the monorail.

A few pics while we waited:

Wait a second, the Matterhorn is running?! We toyed with leaving the monorail platform and taking a ride in case it wasn't running later, but we decided to leave it for now and hope for the best later.

And here's our monorail arriving, monorail orange!

So we 'zoomed' off at a slow pace to DTD, cut through the GC and stopped to change and pour a beer and head out to the pool

Next update, an evening at DL.

 

[kaoden39]

I bought one of those wind chimes in 2007 on our trip and I love sitting in our courtyard when there is a breeze. It is so relaxing to sit and listen to it and to remember our trip.

 

[Tasscrapper]

Do you remember what hours the parks were open while you were there? It seems like you got tons done even though you took the breaks during the day. Was Buzz mostly a walk on while you were there? My husband and I love that ride too. I won't be surprised if it ends up being our most ridden ride as well when we get there.


I love that bendy straw he got. So cool!

 

[blabbermouth]

I bought one of those wind chimes in 2007 on our trip and I love sitting in our courtyard when there is a breeze. It is so relaxing to sit and listen to it and to remember our trip.

Lucky!! I loved them

Do you remember what hours the parks were open while you were there? It seems like you got tons done even though you took the breaks during the day. Was Buzz mostly a walk on while you were there? My husband and I love that ride too. I won't be surprised if it ends up being our most ridden ride as well when we get there.


I love that bendy straw he got. So cool!

DL was 9am-10pm and DCA 10am-10pm. So sort of medium length of hours. The week before DL was open til midnight. I was really happy with the time we went, it was very quiet. I don't think Buzz was ever longer than a "5 minute" wait and even star tours, the longest I saw was only 45 minutes. It was about 1:30pm when we got the FP for ST in my last post!

Yup, Buzz is so fun! Too bad TSMM didn't have the same wait, but I guess there's maybe fewer rides over in DCA? Or it feels like it at least.

Yes, we got a good giggle out of the bendy straw too

 

[tffnyjean]

I'm enjoying your TR! Thank you for writing it!

 

[blabbermouth]

I'm enjoying your TR! Thank you for writing it!

And thanks for reading!

 

[blabbermouth]

Love it so far!!

Missed your comment in there, thanks for reading!!

 

[blabbermouth]

After leaving at 3pm, we headed back at 6 to DCA. We had to use our FPs! Screamin had a ten minute wait, but we used our FPs anyway. Exhilarating! When we were done, the wait was still only ten minutes... so, we rode it again Love this ride, so smooth and I finally didn't close my eyes on the loop . This time pics included Peace sign and the pretend-to-be-asleep. I really shoulda rednecked these photos, but too many people milling around... more than in the line, I swear!

Then we made the mistake of using our Soarin' FP on our way out to DL... even with FP it takes FOR-EVER!

Finally, we we off to DL through the main entrance for the first time. It was 6:45 and the parade was passing by, obviously! This was alright, I wasn't too worried about reaching out reservation. I snapped a few pics and Jason went into the Mr. Lincoln building. It was starting to get a bit dark, and I apparently just caught the last float, Mary Poppins!

Then I went inside to find J and take a few more pics of the exhibits. Jason loved it in here, looking at the models rotfl and memorabilia. The CM in here was funny, dressed up so fancy in his tails said jokingly 'Oh, I guess naptime is over... unless that's what you're here for' I guess it's a pretty quiet exhibit, I'm surprised the parade going on didn't filter some people in there.

Old tickets, so neat to see:

Mini-castle... is this a castle for ants? Also, no wonder the DL castle is so much smaller than DW, look at what they were starting with!

This is where I saw the super cute IASW tshirt and scarf, oh well, maybe next trip.

Then we were off to eat at...

Wow, this was great! We were seated immediately at a table in the second row from the stage in the centre. We were served by Andrew? Albert? I forget, but his name started with an A, and he was great, his accent really fit the restaurant.

He asked if we wanted drinks, so Jason... asked for a beer! Even though he knows there's no alcohol in DL, he thought the restaurants were special

So we got our non-alcoholic drinks, water with lemon and diet coke, and our food came up pretty quickly.

There are a lot of pics around of this meal, but we got two large pieces of chicken, about 1/2 a dozen ribs and three sausage pieces, four corn wheels, two corn breads, and baked beans and coleslaw.

It was all so fresh and delicious. The meat was all really tender, and if you're the type to not like meat on the bone, this really wasn't that bad as it came off the bone so easily with a fork and knife you didn't have to worry about it. Nothing was dried out, but perfectly cooked and juicy.

We ate all the food we were served, didn't need any extra, and couldn't fit any dessert at all. For $25.99 this is an amazing value.

Jason eating some chicken and beans it looks like.

The coleslaw and beans after we'd already scooped some.

Also, the show was quite cute. They didn't have the best voices ever, but they were funny and enthusiastic. Miss Chris made Jason get involved by clapping during their rendition of Deep in the Heart of Texas, he was shy! Well, and hungry, but she was nice and he gave in.

Tex wandered around between the tables and sang I've Been Everywhere, Man. He was really funny, super quick witted!

I thought I took a video, but it was maybe just a photo? I fail, sorry! Hmm, on my camera I can play it like a video, but when I move it to my computer it's just a JPEG. I dunno what to do! It was cute! Darn.

Anyway, we had a great time, it was fun and delicious!

This meal deserves a

An old school Mickey since this restaurant is a throwback to the old BBQ place in DL.

After our meal, we wanted something relaxing, so we headed over to IASW. Also, Jason has never been on this iconic ride! Ok, it's about two times longer than it needs to be, but it's just so classic.

Hey! Move your head!

That's better.

This is when we finally went to use our ST FPs. Loved it again, this time we saw Darth, yikes! This time we sat at the far left hand side and it was a lot more bouncy than in the middle. So if you're a bit nervous about it, ask for a middle seat.

And then, what the heck, let's fight Emperor Zurg again!

By now it was about 9 and we wanted to find a spot for the fireworks. We did a bit of wandering around through the main street stores and Jason grabbed a coffee at the Blue Ribbon and we sat on the curb in front of the bakery to wait.

The fireworks are awesome! I didn't take any photos because I wanted to see it all instead. But we did see them again the next night

After this we were tired and wanted to head back to the hotel. We had a glass of wine and watched some bad old comedies, Frazier and Seinfeld and hit the hay!

______________

This day we rode 14 rides (I think) ate three meals and watched the fireworks

Up next, our day with the wedding couple!

 

[smiles33]

I love all the photos you took (especially the food) but had to close the window earlier tonight because my 5 year old saw the Minnie Mouse photo you use to rate a restaurant and asked what I was looking at. Oops. I almost ruined our surprise trip! We leave in 3 days and she still doesn't know!

Anyhow, great TR and I can't wait to hear about the next day!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Still reading along, and loving the pictures, too!

I am a little worried about Jason, though... He got in your IASW shot, then he's not in the boat!

 

[kaoden39]

Oh that bbq looks so good!! Going in February I am not sure that I want to attempt it.

 

[blabbermouth]

I love all the photos you took (especially the food) but had to close the window earlier tonight because my 5 year old saw the Minnie Mouse photo you use to rate a restaurant and asked what I was looking at. Oops. I almost ruined our surprise trip! We leave in 3 days and she still doesn't know!

Anyhow, great TR and I can't wait to hear about the next day!

Wow, leaving in three days! Your daughter will be sooo excited! Thanks for reading and enjoy your trip.

Still reading along, and loving the pictures, too!

I am a little worried about Jason, though... He got in your IASW shot, then he's not in the boat!

Haha, that must not have been IN the boat, I think it was just the line! And he's 6'2 so can't hide very easily.

Oh that bbq looks so good!! Going in February I am not sure that I want to attempt it.

I think you should do it!!!

 

[JDBlair]

Cool TR!!!

My friend and I will be staying at the hotel you stayed in for our trip in January. Relieved to see a positive review of the hotel!

 

[blabbermouth]

Cool TR!!!

My friend and I will be staying at the hotel you stayed in for our trip in January. Relieved to see a positive review of the hotel!

Thanks! I'm sure you'll like it as long as you're not expecting a five star resort! Have a good trip

 

[blabbermouth]

So we decided to take this day as a sleep in day. We're really not morning people and had being doing pretty good with waking up at a decent hour our whole trip so far. Plus, we hadn't been sleeping too well a few nights, so it was good to recharge.

Up at 9:30 and over for an easy breakfast at Coco's, right next to our hotel. We both had coffee I had the multigrain pancakes, they were really good and had chunks of walnuts in them However, pancakes are sooo filling and I could only eat one of three

Jason ordered the apple cinnamon pancakes with eggs and sausage. He liked his too and ate most of it. Really, I shouldn't have ordered anything and just had one of his pancakes, but hindsight, 20/20, you know the saying. We were still a bit slow getting started here, but our day picked up.

As we were heading to the parks, J texted his friend who's wedding we were at in Pismo Beach. We walked through the GC and over to the monorail. At this time it was about 10:45 and they were saying there was only one monorail running and it might take awhile to get into the park. We couldn't decide, but we had already sort of backtracked from the GC entry, so we decided to just wait it out.

Finally we made it into the park, and actually we didn't really have to wait too long.

Our first stop, which I hinted at earlier, was the classic Matterhorn Bobsleds!

I really like this ride, even though it's super jerky and awkward to sit in, it's just so kitschy and retro. I'm glad it opened early. The only ride we missed due to closures was Haunted Mansion. I wasn't horribly disappointed, but it did feel a bit weird not going on it.

We finally were able to meet up with our friends, they were at the coffee shop in NOS relaxing, so we headed over! We chatted for a bit with them and his family and then we decided we'd just tag along with the newlyweds Not very nice, huh? But they were ok with it, I swear!

We had done most of the major things we wanted to do so it was great to just go with the flow and do what they wanted.

So they decided they wanted to go on the Finding Nemo Submarines. So we started to trek over there. Then C wanted to go through the castle, so we did and popped into the Hearaldry Shoppe.

Jason decided to get a crest poster done up, he's quite proud to be Portuguese, it's hanging in his "man room" (that I get to share...) We left it there to pick up later that night by 8:30.

Then we deeked back around to see Snow White's Wishing Well.

We all tossed a coin in and made a wish. Mine came true! But it was a simple request: safe and fun travel for the remainder of our trip.

So we finally made it over to Nemo at 12:15. Wow, only one ride before noon, such a change.

We've never been on this ride before, and yes, the line was long, longer than the 20 minutes posted, but we were being entertained by friends, so it wasn't too bad.

This ride was actually really cute, I was surprised! I like how it was kind of hard to figure out how they do it and fit everything into the pond... lake? pool? whatever you want to call it. And the air conditioning was nice after the fairly sunny line.

After we got our land legs back, we wanted to drive some minicars at Autopia, but we're too keen on the 25 minute wait (after a fairly lengthy wait at Nemo). So I thought we'd introduce them to Buzz!

Once again, 5 minute wait. Jason got his best score yet, 253,000 and I finally got to Level 3!

We grabbed some FPs for Star Tours since we were nearby and wanted to ride one more time. They had a return time of 6:30 (at about 1pm, not bad!)

Next we thought about seeing Captain EO, but the show had just started, so we took a potty break (in my least favorite washrooms in the park, by the space mountain exit, blech, packed and always dirty/smelly) and headed over to check out Innoventions.

Another thing J and I have never experienced, and once again - fun!

I found out what my future holds:

Haha, I look so homely in my future, would it have killed me to smile?

We played around with a few of the other games too, got to see what we'd look like in 2050 being aged, watched some people play the energy/broom game.

Then we headed downstairs to the House of the Future. Ok, this was a bit too much advertising, but it was pretty cool! The presentation was pretty cute, all the guys did a pretty good job. In the little boy's Peter Pan room I got to try and get Tinkerbell out of the drawer Seriously, you need to go there just to see that! Sit by the bedside table. And I loved the kitchen!

Beautiful AND functional. It will bring your recipes up right on your island countertop! Much easier than a book or my laptop on the counter like I usually use. Biodegradable countertops: when you're done with them, you just have to take a sledgehammer to them and bury them in the ground and they will decompose.

And I really liked the fancy tree house, complete with "tree" made out of computer parts.

So after wasting an hour in Innoventions we decided we were all hungry. Since I didn't want to be a control freak, I let them decide on Tomorrowland Terrace. It actually wasn't too bad!

Jason and I split a cheeseburger. It was hot, juicy and didn't taste like cardboard. The fries were fresh and nice and salty, and made with real potatoes, there was skin on still and everything! and they have extra mayo and ketchup to add, which made it just right.

They actually have some other good sounding sandwiches there too, a crispy fish sandwich and a roasted veggie sandwich. Maybe next time!

Sorry, no pics again, but a hamburger isn't very exciting looking.

I would give this meal a Donald and Daisy

Isn't this a cute pin?!

I won't run back, but it really wasn't bad at all!

Satisfied, we headed off towards Toon Town (where we also hadn't been yet, this was working out perfectly! We took a quick break to watch the Jedi Training Academy, but the little boy was really shy and didn't really want to go near Darth to practise, so we moved on. On the way by, C&C decided they wanted to ride IASW.

So J and I pulled up a bench and relaxed some more. We also browsed through the toy shop and contemplated buying some of the Disney games, like Clue and Life. They're sooo cute! We will add them to the "next time" list.

Continuing along, we once again got side tracked and went to peek in at Princess Fantasy Faire. The line was fairly long, but Cinderella and Snow White were waiting on the other side. Only regret: I didn't get a crown

C decided we should take a full ride around the park on the train, but it was temporarily out of commission. So we stuck to our TT plan. Seeing that Roger Rabbit CarToon Spin was right there, we hopped in line. I cringed at the 20 minute posted wait, but it was really only 10. I like this ride, mostly due to the ability to spin it around like a crazy person

We wandered around a bit, C&C took some photos, we played with all of the gags, got stuck in a few dead end areas and listened to all of the loud, playing children. It always seems crazy busy back here, I guess because there is only once entrance/exit!

Then the train was ready for us, so we hopped on with a target of main street. Finally we got to see the diorama, this is the first time we'd gone past TL. It was cool, like being at the museum looking at the dinosaur exhibit! Another retro DL experience.

At Main Street, C&C decided they needed a break, but since we slept in, Jason was rarin' to go (and/or didn't want to walk all the way back to the hotel and back again!) so we......

Any guesses? You'll have to wait for my next update! Sorry for the lack of photos in this one!

 

[kaoden39]

The lack of pictures tells me that a lot of fun was had. I find that the more fun that I have the less I think about pictures.