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- Feb 6, 2000
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Day 11 - Saturday June 9
John and Jane are flying out at 11am, so we're up and dressed about 8am. They are all packed, but didn't get the room charge bill on their door, so after packing up the car we stop at the front desk on the way out. They hadn't charged anything, so of course, no bill was printed (duh). Anyway, they wanted to eat at Perkins again (they don't have them in CA), so we had breakfast. Then I took them to the United Terminal and help them move their luggage near the skycap station. They didn't want us to see them off at the gate, so I left them curbside, and drove back to OKW. Mom and I wanted a light lunch, so we tried Olivia's again...the burgers had been good, even though Mom's chicken salad was yucky. We both ordered soup, salad and sandwich. The soup of the day was chicken with rice with a lemon flavor. Again, it was so over seasoned all you could taste was lemon and black pepper, no chicken flavor at all. The salad was good, their Key Lime Honey Mustard dressing has always been good. The sandwich was awful, I didn't know is was possible to ruin a nice can of albacore tuna. It was so over salted, all we could taste was gooey salt. I was really disappointed in Olivia's this year...in the past their food has ranged from OK to excellent, depending on the chef. Unfortunately, the current 'New Chef' seems like a dud, I hope he is replaced by our next trip in January 2002. On the bright side, the service has always been, and continues to be, wonderful at Olivia's...with many of the servers being there since OKW opened in the days when it was the only DVC resort. And they almost always remember returning DVC guests.
I tried to get a PS for BOMA over at AKL that evening, but they were booked, so I settled for Alfredo's at EPCOT. I read bad reviews about Alfredo's lately, but thought we'd give them a try, since we had enjoyed eating there in previous years...big mistake. The restaurant was so crowded that it was HOT in there, the A/C just couldn't keep up. We ordered a calamari appetizer and each ordered the veal chop with arugala, I'd had it a year earlier, and found it to be tasty. Well, the salads and calamari were very good, but the veal chops were just awful. Another strike out...I should know better than to doubt the opinions of the DIS posters.
Day 12 - Sunday June 10
I was able to get a 6:30pm PS for BOMA. We went over to the Poly to try Kona Kafe for breakfast. We both ordered their special house juice blend (sorry, I don't remember the name) and banana pancakes. We asked the waiter if they still had coconut syrup available, like when it was Coral Isle. He said, no, and that not many people remember the coconut syrup. When we went to Hawaii several years ago, banana pancakes were ALWAYS served with coconut syrup. Anyway, the juice and pancakes were delicious. I like the pancakes better than the Banana Tonga Toast. Although I still think coconut syrup would add a lot of flavor.
After breakfast we headed over to the Studios to watch B&B and stroll through the shops. We left in the hottest part of the day, and went back to the room to wash clothes. We arrived at AKL about 30 minutes early and checked in at BOMA, we had to wait about 15 minutes to be seated. Generally, I'm not big on buffet food, but thought we'd try BOMA since Jiko was so delicious. Our server was Michael, he explained about the different serving areas and their specialties, and recommend their house margarita, I think it was called a Mt. Kilamarita, anyway we both ordered one...it was wonderful. We asked him to check with a chef to see if anything was prepared with an herb called Savory (though rare on Disney property, it turns up occasionally) Mom has a severe allergic reaction to this herb. The chef came to our table, and assured us that no savory was in the buffet items, mostly mild peppers, curry, onions, mint, coriander etc. Although Savory is a member of the mint family, it is the only one that Mom has a reaction to. I have a mild reaction to coriander, but occasionally will try a food item containing it. I tried the sweet potato pancakes (knowing they had coriander). I didn't like them, and started to itch, that lasted a few minutes, then subsided. The rest of the food was outstanding, the prime rib was excellent, the curry items were NOT over seasoned (you know how easy it is to over-do curry) and the dessert station must have had 10 or 15 choices. After dinner we went to a lookout area to see the African longhorn cattle and other animals, a CM was explaining all about the resort, and the animals. It was really a nice evening.
Day 13 - Monday June 11
Today was "sort through your stuff day" we slept late, divided up stuff to pack to see if it would all fit in our luggage and had an early lunch at Rainforest at DD. We both ordered the China Island Chicken Salad. It is very tasty, but avoid it if you have a peanut allergy. During lunch, most of the restaurant lighting failed, only the Atlas statue and fish tanks remained lit. It was dark, but there was just enough light to see your plate. Our server explained that the patio of Rainforest had taken a lightning strike on Thursday night and that their electronics were still acting wacky. Evidently, the computer failed at the beginning of the thunderstorm sequence, killing the lights, but not continuing with the rest of the effects. The cycle resumed about 15 minutes later. After lunch, we shopped for about 2 hours then went back to our room until about 4:30. We decided to try to see Fantasmic that night, since it was rained out on Thursday. I hadn't made any dinner PS, but thought we might get a chef salad at Hollywood and Vine Cafeteria. I didn't know it had been changed to a buffet until we got to the Studios. We could be seated right away, and decided to try it. Another pleasant surprise...I may start doing more buffets. One of their signature dishes is sweet potato slices in a root beer sauce...sounds awful, but what a flavor...I can't imagine who thought up this recipe, but what a delightful combination. In fact, I think I liked the buffet better than 50s Prime Time.
The studios didn't seem nearly as crowded on Monday as they had the previous Thursday. I hadn't rented Mom a wheelchair, since some walking is good for her, she's just slow. Seeing Mom walk with a cane, and since the wheelchair seating rows seldom fill up completely with wheelchair families, the CMs allowed us to sit in the third row down (the lowest blue striped row) before the amphitheater filled up. The clouds and lightning were nearby, but kept their distance for the show.
Day 14 - Tuesday June 12
We got an early start to the MK, and had breakfast at Tony's...another wonderful first time experience. The waffles were outstanding. We got on several major attractions before lunch, including Jungle Cruise, Big Thunder, Splash, CBJ and Haunted Mansion. We had chowder at Columbia Harbour House, then walked through Fantasyland. The crowds had swelled, there was even a substantial line for Small World. It was getting hot, so we called it a day, and left to finish our major packing. We still had enough relaxation time that I read 2 murder mysteries, and Mom read 3 during the trip (Mom's a very fast reader.) WE drove over to the Poly to Kona Kafe for dinner. I had the Teriyaki Steak and Mom had a dinner salad and soup. I thought the steak was a little over salted, but OK...Mom really enjoyed the soup and salad. We each had a Pina Colada with dinner. The service was great. Our trip was almost over.
Day 15 - Wednesday June 13
We awoke early, showered, dressed, and packed those last minute items. We drove over to Perkins for breakfast since we sort of crossed Olivia's off our 'good list' this trip. Besides, it was Character day, again. I drove back over to OKW and retrieved the luggage from our room. Our room charges still hadn't shown up on our door, so I stopped at the desk on the way out and retrieved them. We stopped to fill up the car with gas, and headed to MCO via the Greeneway. I was going to drop Mom off at the Skycap and show him my license, then return the car, but the curbside drop off area was full, so I made another loop and returned the car to National, we took the tunnel from the parking garage to the elevators and up to the ticketing area. The inside ticketing/check-in area was lined up, so we walked out side and waited about 3 minutes for a Skycap. Our flight from MCO to Dallas DFW was on time in a 767, however, our continuing flight to San Antonio in a 727 was 2 hours delayed because of an electrical problem in the cockpit. At least, they hadn't boarded, and didn't make us sit in a hot plane until it was repaired. Other than the late arrival, our flight was uneventful. We've been two of the lucky few who've never had the airlines lose our luggage...I'm sure our time is coming one of these days.
John and Jane are flying out at 11am, so we're up and dressed about 8am. They are all packed, but didn't get the room charge bill on their door, so after packing up the car we stop at the front desk on the way out. They hadn't charged anything, so of course, no bill was printed (duh). Anyway, they wanted to eat at Perkins again (they don't have them in CA), so we had breakfast. Then I took them to the United Terminal and help them move their luggage near the skycap station. They didn't want us to see them off at the gate, so I left them curbside, and drove back to OKW. Mom and I wanted a light lunch, so we tried Olivia's again...the burgers had been good, even though Mom's chicken salad was yucky. We both ordered soup, salad and sandwich. The soup of the day was chicken with rice with a lemon flavor. Again, it was so over seasoned all you could taste was lemon and black pepper, no chicken flavor at all. The salad was good, their Key Lime Honey Mustard dressing has always been good. The sandwich was awful, I didn't know is was possible to ruin a nice can of albacore tuna. It was so over salted, all we could taste was gooey salt. I was really disappointed in Olivia's this year...in the past their food has ranged from OK to excellent, depending on the chef. Unfortunately, the current 'New Chef' seems like a dud, I hope he is replaced by our next trip in January 2002. On the bright side, the service has always been, and continues to be, wonderful at Olivia's...with many of the servers being there since OKW opened in the days when it was the only DVC resort. And they almost always remember returning DVC guests.
I tried to get a PS for BOMA over at AKL that evening, but they were booked, so I settled for Alfredo's at EPCOT. I read bad reviews about Alfredo's lately, but thought we'd give them a try, since we had enjoyed eating there in previous years...big mistake. The restaurant was so crowded that it was HOT in there, the A/C just couldn't keep up. We ordered a calamari appetizer and each ordered the veal chop with arugala, I'd had it a year earlier, and found it to be tasty. Well, the salads and calamari were very good, but the veal chops were just awful. Another strike out...I should know better than to doubt the opinions of the DIS posters.
Day 12 - Sunday June 10
I was able to get a 6:30pm PS for BOMA. We went over to the Poly to try Kona Kafe for breakfast. We both ordered their special house juice blend (sorry, I don't remember the name) and banana pancakes. We asked the waiter if they still had coconut syrup available, like when it was Coral Isle. He said, no, and that not many people remember the coconut syrup. When we went to Hawaii several years ago, banana pancakes were ALWAYS served with coconut syrup. Anyway, the juice and pancakes were delicious. I like the pancakes better than the Banana Tonga Toast. Although I still think coconut syrup would add a lot of flavor.
After breakfast we headed over to the Studios to watch B&B and stroll through the shops. We left in the hottest part of the day, and went back to the room to wash clothes. We arrived at AKL about 30 minutes early and checked in at BOMA, we had to wait about 15 minutes to be seated. Generally, I'm not big on buffet food, but thought we'd try BOMA since Jiko was so delicious. Our server was Michael, he explained about the different serving areas and their specialties, and recommend their house margarita, I think it was called a Mt. Kilamarita, anyway we both ordered one...it was wonderful. We asked him to check with a chef to see if anything was prepared with an herb called Savory (though rare on Disney property, it turns up occasionally) Mom has a severe allergic reaction to this herb. The chef came to our table, and assured us that no savory was in the buffet items, mostly mild peppers, curry, onions, mint, coriander etc. Although Savory is a member of the mint family, it is the only one that Mom has a reaction to. I have a mild reaction to coriander, but occasionally will try a food item containing it. I tried the sweet potato pancakes (knowing they had coriander). I didn't like them, and started to itch, that lasted a few minutes, then subsided. The rest of the food was outstanding, the prime rib was excellent, the curry items were NOT over seasoned (you know how easy it is to over-do curry) and the dessert station must have had 10 or 15 choices. After dinner we went to a lookout area to see the African longhorn cattle and other animals, a CM was explaining all about the resort, and the animals. It was really a nice evening.
Day 13 - Monday June 11
Today was "sort through your stuff day" we slept late, divided up stuff to pack to see if it would all fit in our luggage and had an early lunch at Rainforest at DD. We both ordered the China Island Chicken Salad. It is very tasty, but avoid it if you have a peanut allergy. During lunch, most of the restaurant lighting failed, only the Atlas statue and fish tanks remained lit. It was dark, but there was just enough light to see your plate. Our server explained that the patio of Rainforest had taken a lightning strike on Thursday night and that their electronics were still acting wacky. Evidently, the computer failed at the beginning of the thunderstorm sequence, killing the lights, but not continuing with the rest of the effects. The cycle resumed about 15 minutes later. After lunch, we shopped for about 2 hours then went back to our room until about 4:30. We decided to try to see Fantasmic that night, since it was rained out on Thursday. I hadn't made any dinner PS, but thought we might get a chef salad at Hollywood and Vine Cafeteria. I didn't know it had been changed to a buffet until we got to the Studios. We could be seated right away, and decided to try it. Another pleasant surprise...I may start doing more buffets. One of their signature dishes is sweet potato slices in a root beer sauce...sounds awful, but what a flavor...I can't imagine who thought up this recipe, but what a delightful combination. In fact, I think I liked the buffet better than 50s Prime Time.
The studios didn't seem nearly as crowded on Monday as they had the previous Thursday. I hadn't rented Mom a wheelchair, since some walking is good for her, she's just slow. Seeing Mom walk with a cane, and since the wheelchair seating rows seldom fill up completely with wheelchair families, the CMs allowed us to sit in the third row down (the lowest blue striped row) before the amphitheater filled up. The clouds and lightning were nearby, but kept their distance for the show.
Day 14 - Tuesday June 12
We got an early start to the MK, and had breakfast at Tony's...another wonderful first time experience. The waffles were outstanding. We got on several major attractions before lunch, including Jungle Cruise, Big Thunder, Splash, CBJ and Haunted Mansion. We had chowder at Columbia Harbour House, then walked through Fantasyland. The crowds had swelled, there was even a substantial line for Small World. It was getting hot, so we called it a day, and left to finish our major packing. We still had enough relaxation time that I read 2 murder mysteries, and Mom read 3 during the trip (Mom's a very fast reader.) WE drove over to the Poly to Kona Kafe for dinner. I had the Teriyaki Steak and Mom had a dinner salad and soup. I thought the steak was a little over salted, but OK...Mom really enjoyed the soup and salad. We each had a Pina Colada with dinner. The service was great. Our trip was almost over.
Day 15 - Wednesday June 13
We awoke early, showered, dressed, and packed those last minute items. We drove over to Perkins for breakfast since we sort of crossed Olivia's off our 'good list' this trip. Besides, it was Character day, again. I drove back over to OKW and retrieved the luggage from our room. Our room charges still hadn't shown up on our door, so I stopped at the desk on the way out and retrieved them. We stopped to fill up the car with gas, and headed to MCO via the Greeneway. I was going to drop Mom off at the Skycap and show him my license, then return the car, but the curbside drop off area was full, so I made another loop and returned the car to National, we took the tunnel from the parking garage to the elevators and up to the ticketing area. The inside ticketing/check-in area was lined up, so we walked out side and waited about 3 minutes for a Skycap. Our flight from MCO to Dallas DFW was on time in a 767, however, our continuing flight to San Antonio in a 727 was 2 hours delayed because of an electrical problem in the cockpit. At least, they hadn't boarded, and didn't make us sit in a hot plane until it was repaired. Other than the late arrival, our flight was uneventful. We've been two of the lucky few who've never had the airlines lose our luggage...I'm sure our time is coming one of these days.
Glad your trip home went well.
