The Cast:
Me - 50 - aka ABFine - Father
Marie - 49 - Wife & Mother
Sarah - 19 - Daughter & Student
Our Priors:
1980 - Off-Site
1982 - Contemporary
1987 - Polynesian ( Sarah's First Trip )
1989 - Grand Floridian
1992 - Beach Club
1994 - Beach Club
1995 - Dixie Landings / Beach Club / Vero Beach
1996 - BoardWalk Inn
1997 - Wilderness Lodge / Beach Club
1999 - Disneyland Paris
2000 - BoardWalk Inn
2003 - Polynesian / BoardWalk Inn
Our last full day in the World, is there anything sadder?
Sure there is, not coming at all.
I was up at 6:30 so I went to the bakery for coffee & tea. Think it was $5.90. Back up to shower and dress. Down to Spoodles for some grub.
Sarah & Me - Eggs & Sausage / Juice
Marie - Mickey shaped waffles / juice....$35.00 / tip
Caught the bus and arrived at Animal Kingdom at 9:00. We hadn't really planned on coming here. We didn't enjoy it much last time but that might have had more to do with the crowds and the heat. It was in July and it was steaming. For some reason this park seems hotter and more confining than the others. But I digress, headed to the Safari first. Not much of a wait, maybe five minutes. We were seated in the last row and at the last moment this little nerdy, accountant, looking guy jumps on. No offense to all the accountants out there, just what popped into mind when I saw him. Anyway, he's got a clipboard and I soon realize he's a Disney employee there to take notes on our driver. Can't get anything past me. I think I spent more time trying to read what he was writing then I did looking for animals or "poachers". Hard for him to write with the bus bouncing all over and even harder to read......And getting back to the "poacher" thing. Is it really necessary?? How about if we get a few guys out there with cattle prods to stir up all the sleeping animals so we get to see a few more?? Just kidding PETA, I'm an animal lover at heart.
If you're ever in Jersey and want to see a good safari, go to Six Flags in central Jersey. It's a drive through and you'll see so much more.. I actually have pictures of a monkey tearing the vinyl roof off a car. They had a thing about vinyl, even had to start posting warning signs and providing buses. Of course, that was a long time ago. When was the last time you saw a vinyl roof??... They have great coasters too.. Again, I digress....
Went to Tarzan Rocks, we were the second group in line. We could hear the band warming up, they were wailing, I knew I was going to like it. Cool show, Sarah & Marie were quite impressed with monkey boy, he was built almost as well as me. Ha-Ha..hahahahahahaahahhaaahahaha... Got a good picture of him for them to frame....As for the Oriental girl who was singing, that came back a tad blurry, if you could just e-mail me one, that's ABFine@ AOL........ Ouch...sorry honey, didn't know you were behind me.
Not sure of the exact order but went to Dinosaur, Maharajah Jungle Trek, Primeval Whirl and Tough to be a Bug. Seems to me we spent an inordinate amount of time walking. I think our tour guide didn't do her homework, SARAH.... That's pretty much all we wanted to do and it's getting hot so we leave around 1:00
OK Sarah, here it is. The big moment you've waited for all week . We catch the bus and off we go to the Beach Club for lunch at Beaches & Cream!!! Yeeaahhh!!! Wow, there's a line to get in and it's 1:45...Why, I remember back in the old days, we used to just belly up to the counter and git our viddles......
Sarah & Marie - Cheeseburgers / Vanilla Coke
Me - Hot Dog w/ sauerkarut / My, that's a big Heineken - 16oz
$38.00 w/ tip.....Only in Disney can you spend $38. for hot dogs and hamburgers and feel good about it...I feel the magic!!
Wow, Stormalong Bay looks kinda like a prison camp...way to keep those pool jumpers out of there.... Last we stayed at Beach Club you could walk in from anywhere..sad commentary..
Walked back to Boardwalk to drop off some purchases.. Sarah bought this Nemo towel with like the head thing and the hands or should I say flippers...too cute....She swears she's going to use it in her dorm next fall. Should be quite the sight..
We have always spent our last afternoon & evening in World Showcase with dinner at Chefs de France, 7:00 PS, and then Illuminations, so we went to EPCOT unaware that drastic changes were in the offing. We strolled along checking out the shops, got another Beck's Dark, yum again. ( 16oz Heine and a 16oz Becks, feeling good now..... and I have to go to the bathroom ) Wanted to talk to the tattoo lady, it was suppose to start turning black, still looks the same, of course, she wasn't there. Weather is starting to deteriorate with thunderstorms in the forecast. Hang out till 5:30 or so and then head back. Here comes the rain.
( Little aside here, JoEllen, if you're reading this, did your daughters' tattoo ever get dark?? Sarah's didn't, stayed that same reddish brown color.... I was upset that we had missed the Turtles, I like them also )
As we were showering and getting dressed, we discovered that no one was really interested in going back to Chefs de France. We had each ordered what we wanted first time around and nothing else on the menu was all that appealing so why spend the money... I had heard some good things about Palio so we all agreed to give it a try. Called them and they said "Sure thing, come on over, 7:30 is fine". You don't get enthusiasm like that every day.
Took the boat as it was raining pretty hard. Place looks pretty empty, not a good omen.
Sarah & Marie are sharing. We order a bottle of wine. They shared..... Lobster Crepe
Fetticini w/ asparagus sauce
Me - Eggplant Rollitini
Beef Tenderloin
I didn't write down dessert but trust me, it was good. This was probably the best meal of the trip or at least runner up. My steak was soooo tender. Tchoup Chop at Royal Pacific was great too. We couldn't declare a true winner. ......$155.00 w/ tip
Beware, I think the tables at Palio are micked. You know, like wired. First, someone said something about the bread taking a long time to get to the table, BAM, sorry Emeril, here comes the bread. Then I said something about our waiter not being very friendly, efficient but not overly friendly. BAM, he's there smiling and asking how everything is and I think his hand actually touched my shoulder. But all in all, a great meal, highly recommended!!
Rain had let up some, we decided to walk back. Could hear the fireworks in the background. Had never missed Illuminations on our last night before . Rather enjoy a good meal than stand in the rain anyway.
Rainy, no action on the Boardwalk, not even Lob - a - Lobster. Time to go up and start packing........Good Night!
Me - 50 - aka ABFine - Father
Marie - 49 - Wife & Mother
Sarah - 19 - Daughter & Student
Our Priors:
1980 - Off-Site
1982 - Contemporary
1987 - Polynesian ( Sarah's First Trip )
1989 - Grand Floridian
1992 - Beach Club
1994 - Beach Club
1995 - Dixie Landings / Beach Club / Vero Beach
1996 - BoardWalk Inn
1997 - Wilderness Lodge / Beach Club
1999 - Disneyland Paris
2000 - BoardWalk Inn
2003 - Polynesian / BoardWalk Inn
Our last full day in the World, is there anything sadder?
Sure there is, not coming at all.
I was up at 6:30 so I went to the bakery for coffee & tea. Think it was $5.90. Back up to shower and dress. Down to Spoodles for some grub.
Sarah & Me - Eggs & Sausage / Juice
Marie - Mickey shaped waffles / juice....$35.00 / tip
Caught the bus and arrived at Animal Kingdom at 9:00. We hadn't really planned on coming here. We didn't enjoy it much last time but that might have had more to do with the crowds and the heat. It was in July and it was steaming. For some reason this park seems hotter and more confining than the others. But I digress, headed to the Safari first. Not much of a wait, maybe five minutes. We were seated in the last row and at the last moment this little nerdy, accountant, looking guy jumps on. No offense to all the accountants out there, just what popped into mind when I saw him. Anyway, he's got a clipboard and I soon realize he's a Disney employee there to take notes on our driver. Can't get anything past me. I think I spent more time trying to read what he was writing then I did looking for animals or "poachers". Hard for him to write with the bus bouncing all over and even harder to read......And getting back to the "poacher" thing. Is it really necessary?? How about if we get a few guys out there with cattle prods to stir up all the sleeping animals so we get to see a few more?? Just kidding PETA, I'm an animal lover at heart.
If you're ever in Jersey and want to see a good safari, go to Six Flags in central Jersey. It's a drive through and you'll see so much more.. I actually have pictures of a monkey tearing the vinyl roof off a car. They had a thing about vinyl, even had to start posting warning signs and providing buses. Of course, that was a long time ago. When was the last time you saw a vinyl roof??... They have great coasters too.. Again, I digress....
Went to Tarzan Rocks, we were the second group in line. We could hear the band warming up, they were wailing, I knew I was going to like it. Cool show, Sarah & Marie were quite impressed with monkey boy, he was built almost as well as me. Ha-Ha..hahahahahahaahahhaaahahaha... Got a good picture of him for them to frame....As for the Oriental girl who was singing, that came back a tad blurry, if you could just e-mail me one, that's ABFine@ AOL........ Ouch...sorry honey, didn't know you were behind me.
Not sure of the exact order but went to Dinosaur, Maharajah Jungle Trek, Primeval Whirl and Tough to be a Bug. Seems to me we spent an inordinate amount of time walking. I think our tour guide didn't do her homework, SARAH.... That's pretty much all we wanted to do and it's getting hot so we leave around 1:00
OK Sarah, here it is. The big moment you've waited for all week . We catch the bus and off we go to the Beach Club for lunch at Beaches & Cream!!! Yeeaahhh!!! Wow, there's a line to get in and it's 1:45...Why, I remember back in the old days, we used to just belly up to the counter and git our viddles......
Sarah & Marie - Cheeseburgers / Vanilla Coke
Me - Hot Dog w/ sauerkarut / My, that's a big Heineken - 16oz
$38.00 w/ tip.....Only in Disney can you spend $38. for hot dogs and hamburgers and feel good about it...I feel the magic!!
Wow, Stormalong Bay looks kinda like a prison camp...way to keep those pool jumpers out of there.... Last we stayed at Beach Club you could walk in from anywhere..sad commentary..
Walked back to Boardwalk to drop off some purchases.. Sarah bought this Nemo towel with like the head thing and the hands or should I say flippers...too cute....She swears she's going to use it in her dorm next fall. Should be quite the sight..
We have always spent our last afternoon & evening in World Showcase with dinner at Chefs de France, 7:00 PS, and then Illuminations, so we went to EPCOT unaware that drastic changes were in the offing. We strolled along checking out the shops, got another Beck's Dark, yum again. ( 16oz Heine and a 16oz Becks, feeling good now..... and I have to go to the bathroom ) Wanted to talk to the tattoo lady, it was suppose to start turning black, still looks the same, of course, she wasn't there. Weather is starting to deteriorate with thunderstorms in the forecast. Hang out till 5:30 or so and then head back. Here comes the rain.
( Little aside here, JoEllen, if you're reading this, did your daughters' tattoo ever get dark?? Sarah's didn't, stayed that same reddish brown color.... I was upset that we had missed the Turtles, I like them also )
As we were showering and getting dressed, we discovered that no one was really interested in going back to Chefs de France. We had each ordered what we wanted first time around and nothing else on the menu was all that appealing so why spend the money... I had heard some good things about Palio so we all agreed to give it a try. Called them and they said "Sure thing, come on over, 7:30 is fine". You don't get enthusiasm like that every day.
Took the boat as it was raining pretty hard. Place looks pretty empty, not a good omen.
Sarah & Marie are sharing. We order a bottle of wine. They shared..... Lobster Crepe
Fetticini w/ asparagus sauce
Me - Eggplant Rollitini
Beef Tenderloin
I didn't write down dessert but trust me, it was good. This was probably the best meal of the trip or at least runner up. My steak was soooo tender. Tchoup Chop at Royal Pacific was great too. We couldn't declare a true winner. ......$155.00 w/ tip
Beware, I think the tables at Palio are micked. You know, like wired. First, someone said something about the bread taking a long time to get to the table, BAM, sorry Emeril, here comes the bread. Then I said something about our waiter not being very friendly, efficient but not overly friendly. BAM, he's there smiling and asking how everything is and I think his hand actually touched my shoulder. But all in all, a great meal, highly recommended!!
Rain had let up some, we decided to walk back. Could hear the fireworks in the background. Had never missed Illuminations on our last night before . Rather enjoy a good meal than stand in the rain anyway.
Rainy, no action on the Boardwalk, not even Lob - a - Lobster. Time to go up and start packing........Good Night!
Anyway, I'm glad you had a good last day even though it rained. 
