Controlled Chaos and the Quest for Bottomless Dole Whips - LIVE! Semi-live? Over ?

[AirGoofy]

We did have a snafu at the beginning of the day. We were at AK well before it opend and near the front of the line. We scan our MBs and lo and behold, it says we have no admission. Mind you, we are Premium Annual Pass holders and it shows on MDE and has for several months.

So over to guest Services. I wouldn't go as far as to say that the CM was rude, but she was all business.I even smouldered to try and get her into a playful mode. Didnt work. We had it corrected fast enough. I asked if there was any way for us to get back to the front of the line since we had already been here for 30 minutes....no dice. Get in line with the rest of the schmucks. Grrrr.
.

Yeah, Disney has failed with this whole MB thing. And, as far as customer service with MB, it is the whole we got your money and we don't care.

 

[Tomstogs]

Can't wait to hear more.

 

[brettcw23]

Yeah, Disney has failed with this whole MB thing. And, as far as customer service with MB, it is the whole we got your money and we don't care.

Yeah, I tend to agree. I like the idea but the execution has been very flawed. And that was something that I pointed out to the CMs. I noted that my MB worked just fine to charge several hundreds of dollars.

Replaying the situation in my head, the CM at the "turnstile" should have said "Come back to me as soon as you get it sorted out and I'll get you in."

It bothered me b\c we got there early and for what. Grrr. The MB\Annual Pass\Park ticket option not working is not an isolated incident. It's happened enough that they should have a protocol to address it.

At least the manager was really cool and apologetic and did their best to make it right.

 

[brettcw23]

Travel day - Flight, ME and Check-in:

Our travel day went really well. I was somewhat worried b\c we were Trick-or-Treating the night before. The girls did well going to bed and had no issues getting up and getting out the door. We flew out of PIT on Southwest with a 9:15 AM departure, so our day started at 5AM. Everything was uneventful regarding boarding, flight time, etc. Which is the way I like it!

We flew down with another family, so my girls and DW all sat together and I took an aisle seat across my DDs and their friend. I watched Disney Bears on my tablet and basically blocked out all of the noise around me.

My youngest patiently awaiting our flight.


We arrived at MCO around 11:30 and we were in line for ME at 11:45 AM. The wait for ME was PAINFUL! It took about 45 minutes for us to get ona bus and then we were the last stop...GF, poly, VWL and lastly BLT. *sigh*

The girls on the ME and ready to go!


Check-in was a surprise. We did online check-in and were escorted to a CM at the front desk who was SUPER nice. Our room was ready which we were thrilled about. We were able to drop off our overloaded carry-on bags and get a little situated before heading to DTD to meet our friends that live in Port Orange, FL.

We were a little surprised at the temp and how windy it was, but I'll take a chilly day at WDW over a warm day at home! It didn't take long for our bus to come and we made it to DTD around 2:45 PM PM

DTD was pretty busy and the construction is evident for Disney Springs. It doesn't impede anything but you can see there's a lot of work going on.

 

[brettcw23]

At DTD with an ADR to Raglan Road. Picked up our TIW card and did some shopping before heading to Raglan Road.

My girls patiently awaiting their meals:


The Irish Dancers (the females were very attractive and very talented):


The Irish dancers and some kids that were invited on stage:


Our friends Vince and Toni with my DW and DDs post dinner:

 

[dvc at last !]

Joining in...
Looks like your vaca is off to a great start.
Enjoy- looking forward to more of this TR !

 

[brettcw23]

Raglan Road:

Raglan Road was an exceptionally pleasant surprise! We originally wanted to do T-Rex for my youngest but couldn't get an ADR. Kudos to fellow DISDad Norm Hayden who told me that the the food was better at RR and that the atmosphere was entertaining was spot on!

The food was delicious!
Amongst the 7 entrees, we had Schnitzel, Bangers and Booze and the Shepherd Pie. My girls got Shrimp and a steak along with Irish chips.
I got a La Fin du Monde Triple for DW and I had a New Belgium Fat Tire
Mmm...tasty.



My Bangers & Booze were incredible. RR is a restaurant that I would do again and one that I highly recommend. (I meant to take a pic before I started eating...what can I say? I was hungry.)

I also tried some of my DW's schnitzel. It was outstanding. I ate what she couldn't finish. I hadn't had that dish since I was in college when we used to raid one of our friend's care packages every time his mom sent one. We could sniff out the schnitzel like blood hounds!

Aside from the food, the atmosphere was really neat. The details of the bar and the booths, the stained glass windows...all unique. I was a little concerned at how loud it might be with the music and adncing but was pleasantly surprised. Our table was able to easily carry on a conversation. I would describe the environment more as festive than loud.

While the attractive and talented dancers were nice, the music was also highly entertaining. The musicians take requests. It was fairly amusing to me when I heard John Denver's, "Take me Home, Country Roads" as an Irish song.

 

[AirGoofy]

Raglan Road was an exceptionally pleasant surprise!

My Bangers & Booze were incredible. RR is a restaurant that I would do again and one that I highly recommend. (I meant to take a pic before I started eating...what can I say? I was hungry.)
]

Always glad to offer my 2 cents. I forgot to take pictures of some of the meals too. Unfortunately, my waist line realizes all of the food choices I make as well.

 

[brettcw23]

Day 01: Sunday @ AK part II

I forgot to mention in Part I that we stopped at the Dawa Bar in AK. I was hell bent on getting a Bloody Mary from there based on teh Disney Food Blog! I couldn't find it and then a nice CM explained it was right at Tusker House. Duh!

The CM behind the bar informed that they stop serving them at 11 AM but she'd make me one. It was PERFECT. It even came with a stick of beef jerky. Instead of just making an African Bloody Marry, she made me a combo drink. So good.

Some Pics of DW and I at the Dawa bar sans children:


After relaxing at our resort, we made our way over to the Poly for dinner at Ohana with our friends.

Pre-dinner trying out a Pirate hat at the Poly's gift shop:

 

[brettcw23]

Ohana:

The DW and I got some drinks before dinner. I got a beer and she, at the suggestion of a frined that had been to Ohana the night before, got a Pina Colava. Now, here's the thing...the Pina Colava was good, however, it was too filling and took away my wife's appetite. Not a good situation when sitting down to an all you can eat restaurant!

This was our 2nd time having Ohana dinner and 3rd time overall. The menu had changed slightly since we were there last for dinner 2 years ago. We got pork instead of chicken. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

We also got lettuce wraps instead of salad. Everyone seemed to enjoy them but I was saving myself for the Steak, pork and shrimp!

Our party was 10 people made up of 6 adults and 4 kids. Interestingly, they split us up into 2 tables. The kids sat at one, the adults at the other. It worked out just fine, but I thought we should have been at a table together. It wasn't worth complaining, but I though they'd either put us at a large table or put some together. No biggie though.

Our server was fine. Friendly enough, but didn't overwhelm us with customer service. Not sure if we'll have Ohana on our itinerary for next trip or not. We like to try new restaurants, but it'd be hard for us to pass up Ohana. And I'd like to give my wife a chance at redemption since she didn't get to enjoy the meal as mucha s she should have.

 

[brettcw23]

Day 01: Sunday @ AK

10 of us took a break at AK and had lunch together. This was my choice. I am a HUGE fan of the BBQ sauce. My older DD and I got the ribs. Yummmmmmmy! My wife an youngest got boring sandwiches and kid meals. Not much to write about there.

I am particular about certain foods and opted to go with 2 sides of cole slaw as my sides rather than slaw and baked beans.

My wife enjoyed the pulled pork. I'd think more often than not we will eat at Flame Tree on the days that we visit AK.

The lines were long but the staff was very efficient. We ordered and had our food in less than 10 minutes. And there was ample seating for all 10 of us. Another thumbs up to Flame Tree!

 

[brettcw23]

Day 02: Monday @ Epcot and MK

I was a little apprehensive as I had some stomach issues Sunday night. I seemed to have recovered but my tummy was not in an ideal state for gorging on food and craft beers. However, I kept my chin up and went in with a great attitude, which paid off.

We got to EPCOT early and made sure to hit the main ride attractions. I convinced the fam to do the less intensive Mission: Space.

We are now at a point where we can enjoy the countries and everything that they have to offer so that's convenient for us.

We ate at Via Napoli for lunch and enjoyed the show that was going on outside while we waited for our table.


We then proceeded to enjoy many of the different countries and sampled a number of the foods and the beers.


We stopped at La Hacienda de San Angel for more of a snack than actual dinner. Our friends' nephew and his wife both are CMs so it was super cool to hang out with them for an extended amount of time and hear some "behind the scenes" stories.

We eventually departed and stopped by MK to hit a few attractions since it's right next to "home".

Obligatory Zurg photo:

 

[brettcw23]

Via Napoli:

This was our first time eating here. We didn't walk in with any expectations, aside from it being Disney and me expecting it to be AWESOME!

We got there and it wasn't open just yet but the hostess took our name and gave us a pager. We enjoyed a show out in the courtyard. They played music and were dancing. It was a tremendous way to kill time. A lot folks are all about running from one attraction to the next when they are at WDW. I believe it can be far more enjoyable to stop and smell the roses. Despite us having no photopass pictures or anything like that, I remember that it was slightly chilly but it was warm in the sun and the sun was very bright that day. Fortunately our kids are Disney vets and allow us to have these casual moments. They were content to sit and color their Kidcot activity pages!

It didn't take 15 minutes and our pager buzzed. The entrance was packed with guest waiting to get in. We were seated and greeted by our waitress immediately. Via Napoli has a really cool interior. I may be more impressed than others b\c I've never been to Italy, but I enjoyed the decor and openness of the restaurant.

I perused the menu although we knew that we were getting a pizza. It looked delicious and a place I'd certainly enjoy for dinner. It didn't take long for our pizza to arrive. It was YUMMY. I am a harsh judge of pizza. Don;t get me wrong, I'll never turn a piece down, but all pizzas are not created equal. The dough was thin and light and the sauce made the dish. It just tasted fresh. It's hard to describe it any other way. Needless to say, we enjoyed it. The cheese was different too. It was a lighters and not like a giant clump that tou often get with an average pizza.

Service was good, not great. They were friendly and timely but not over the top. One thing that I have to remind myself of when dining in the World Showcase is that the CMs usually don't speak English as their first language. I recall my DW discussing with the waitress what size pizza we would want for our table and it didn't seem to translate clearly. Then again, maybe it as just my DW.

 

[Kerpgh]

Lets go Brettcw23, i wanna see how this thing turned out

 

[brettcw23]

Lets go Brettcw23, I wanna see how this thing turned out

There's nothing like someone from your travel party giving you grief about not completing a TR in a timely manner.

 

[brettcw23]

La Hacienda de San Angel:

Ok, so this was an epic fail. Now I don't want to be too harsh on the restaurant b\c of our follies

We ORIGINALLY had planned on dining at Coral Reef. Due to our party size changing and taking into account the plethora of food available via the Food & Wine festival we ended up at La Hacienda de San Angel. Now, for those who are not aware, Mexico has 2 similarly named restaurants.
La Hacienda de San Angel and San Angel Inn the latter being in the Mayan pyramid. I was baffled when we didn;t have reservations but then logic prevailed and we walked right across the way to La Hacienda de San Angel.

Our esteemed "off duty" cast member suggested that we just get some appetizers so that we could enjoy the food and booze. They clearly don't know me. I could have eaten an entree from Le Cellier and then proceeded to hit all of the F & W kiosks!

We all got simple apps. The popular choices were Taquiza and Queso Fundido. the apps were not memorable. They definitely weren't bad, just not anything to brag about is all.

The service was fine. As I've stated previously about EPCOT restaurants in the World Showcase, I set the bar a bit lower due to language barriers. While I'm not interested in eating here again, I wouldn't try to dissuade folks from eating there.

 

[brettcw23]

Day 03: Tuesday @ MK

Magic Kingdom day! I always think of MK when I hear WDW. I don't know if it's bc it was the first park or b\c it has so many Disney classic attraction. Highlights for my day shouldn't come across as a surprise...A Dole Whip, dinner at BOG and our inaugural ride on the Mine Train!

The Dole Whip came at 10 AM I think. My blood sugar was low and miraculously we were right by Aloha Isle as they were opening for the day!



The 7 Dwarves Mine Train met my expectations. It was perfectly themed and the unique rocking cars were a nice touch to the attraction. We enjoyed the ride a great deal, but I wouldn't have waited in the stand by lines. They were pretty rough all week.


Posing for pics before we have dinner at Beast's Castle!


We had a little bit of Disney magic later in the evening. We were on the Jungle Cruise, something we've been on countless times, but our youngest got to play the role of skipper for the majority of the ride. It was so much fun watching her steer and being so focused on driving the boat.

 

[afwdwfan]

Love me some Via Napoli. I think your review hit it pretty much spot on. Just something about that pizza that is just fresher and a little bit better than most. We always have to hit that place up for a pizza. I'd like to try some of the other things on the menu, but I just can't make myself do it!

 

[brettcw23]

Love me some Via Napoli. I think your review hit it pretty much spot on. Just something about that pizza that is just fresher and a little bit better than most. We always have to hit that place up for a pizza. I'd like to try some of the other things on the menu, but I just can't make myself do it!

Via Napoli is def a place I'd go to again. Lunch was served quickly and as I noted delectable! We some times fall into the trap of dining at places over and over again despite the fact that there are soooo many places to eat. And like you Andy, I tend to order the same items repeatedly despite the fact that there are so many items that look amazing on the menu.

 

[brettcw23]

I always tell people that if they get the chance to eat at BOG. I think they have a terrific menu but the ambiance really is what makes it. It's even better if you manage to have your dinner served in the West Wing.
I will remain consistent with my apologies for not taking photos of the food. I lose focus when it shows up and start shoveling it in with reckless abandon.

I did manage to get a picture of the soup at least!


This was our 2nd trip to BOG. Last trip it was amazing on all levels so I tried to lower my expectations a bit for this trip.
Our wait to get in wasn't too bad and we didn't care where they sat us since we dined in the West Wing last trip.

One of the nice things about BOG, is that the kids look forward to it and so do the adults. We get to have a really nice dinner and the kids get to enjoy it as well.
Here they both are with Lumiere's cousin, Pierre? Jacque? <insert French name here>


My oldest DD is a major carnivore like me so she looks forward to the steak. Here she is making sure that she didn't leave any dessert.


My youngest daughter could care less about the entrees and just patiently awaits for the desserts! Gray Stuff? Yes, please!


We had nice dinner across the board. My wife thought her filet was bit overcooked but hey, when you order it well done, then it will be well done! Mine was good and I was smart enough to not OVER indulge. Last year the charcuterie board was a bit too much. Thus this year I opted for the soup (photo above) as my appetizer.

We also got to extend our gratitude to our host who was very amicable.