Ferb, I know What We're Going to Do Today! - Updated 9/30

[TarzansKat]

Citrico's. Nom.

I'm glad you found the Dooney and Burke! Those bags are so cute. Mom and I found ours at the Grand Flo as well, and we actually got an amazing discount. I think we got a passholder discount and something else, so it was awesome what the price came down to on our purchases.

Anyway, dinner looks great. Those potatoes are divine. I wonder what they'd charge if I just ordered a plate of that?

 

[If U Had Wings]

Citrico's. Nom.

I'm glad you found the Dooney and Burke! Those bags are so cute. Mom and I found ours at the Grand Flo as well, and we actually got an amazing discount. I think we got a passholder discount and something else, so it was awesome what the price came down to on our purchases.

Anyway, dinner looks great. Those potatoes are divine. I wonder what they'd charge if I just ordered a plate of that?

Which bags did you get? I still really want the white tassel bag, so I've promised myself one when I finish the 1/2 marathon. (Making myself earn that bag!)

I was so happy with trying Citricos. It was the perfect way to wrap up a vacation. They didn't give nearly enough of those potatoes though. I love the plate of them idea!

 

[If U Had Wings]

It was finally our departure day from Disney, and as much as the Osborne lights had helped boost my spirits some the day before, I was ready to go home. I was glad though that I had one last morning to spend soaking up soa little last bit of Disney. My DME pick-up time wasn't until 1pm (and my friend's was about an hour after that) so we had plenty of time to enjoy a relaxing morning. I had the AP pass, but my friend didn't want to use a day of her 10-day non-expiration pass for a 1/2 park day so we decided to spend it doing a bit of resort hopping and enjoying.

We had a breakfast ADR at the Contemporary, but first I had to make a pit stop at the Poly for a special picture. One of the things on my "to-do" list for this trip was to find and take my picture with this tiki (also seen in my avatar) -

I had seen it earlier in the week when I took my walk around the Poly, but there was no one around to snap the picture. Amazingly enough the tiki was in the exact same location it was in way back when I was 8 years old. My brother's tiki though was no longer there. I never did see it while I was wandering around the Poly grounds.

It was still right across from the old Tangaroa Terrace restaurant, and the old game area. I had to do a bit of climbing into the shrubbery to get my picture, but I didn't care. Kind of scary though. Those pics are about 30 years apart. I swear I don't feel that old most of the time. The restaurant is no longer open, but the sign is still there. We used to have breakfast there every morning when I was a kid.

From there we headed over to the Contemporary for our breakfast at Chef Mickey's. We got there in plenty of time so I got the chance to wander around taking pictures for awhile. The Contemporary is the one Disney resort I really have no burning desire to stay at. I guess I want a little more theming when I go to Disney to "transport" me someplace else for a few days. Oddly enough though, that if it were anywhere else the Contemporary would be a place I would love to stay at.

Another of my beloved ceiling shots.

I loved the holiday display that was tied to Mary Blair's It's a Small World artwork.

I had never been to Chef Mickey's before, so I was a bit unprepared for how crazy it was in there.

We got seated pretty quickly. I loved the little baskets they had on the tables.

The food wasn't bad. I took a picture of my last Mickey meal.

Clockwise from top: Hashbrowns, cheesy potatos , sausage, watermelon, breakfast lasagna, and scrambled eggs.

I don't know if I would ever go to Chef Mickey's again. The food was fairly good for a character buffet, and my friend really liked that they had non-egg options unlike our princess breakfast. I really liked the lasagna, but it was so chaotic and loud it was a bit unnerving. We were nearly finished with our food by the time the characters got around to visiting with us and when they did we felt like we were being largely ignored because we were a group with just adults. Donald in particular was about to walk right past us before my friend stopped him, knowing how much I love him. Minnie was the best of all of them, and was playfully displaying her dress for us. (No chef outfit for Minnie). I hated the way I looked in most of my pictures that morning so just 2 of the better ones:

All in all though I'm glad I tried it out at least once. It was still only about 11 am so with plenty of time we hopped the monorail back to the MK to grab a bus to our next stop.

CR train entering

 

[MyMuse]

I'm all caught up!

I really liked the Osborne Lights. I may have liked it more since it was not so packed. That helps.

Your meals look awesome! I really have to try resort restaraunts. Your review looks great! Especially the cranberry pumpkin cheesecake; that alone will get me there.

I also love your tiki pic. Adorable!!!

 

[jenjolt]

Resort hopping for your last day sounds like a great idea!!! I will have to try that someday!!

So glad you were able to find your tiki and get a picture with it!! That is so awesome!

I have to agree with you Chef Mickey's is definitely busy, but like you said the food is good and I have always had good character interaction there, so I would go back for breakfast!!!

Can't wait to see more of your mid-morning resort hopping!

 

[Lady Lallie]

I've been hesistant to try Chef Mickeys because of the loud factor and because for some reason I think that is the most "kid-ish" of the character meals. I did like Crystal Palace for breakfast before park opening but the dinner I had there was waaaay too loud.

I that you took your picture with your Tiki. You should frame those side by side.

 

[Lovemy3babes]

What a neat way to end your trip. I love that old photo of you and your brother. How neat!! You should put both the old and the new photos in a frame, side by side.

 

[Charleston Princess]

I just love the picture of you by the Tiki! I agree with Kelli -- you should frame both of them together!

I adore the Small World themed Christmas decorations at the Contemporary! Too cute!

 

[If U Had Wings]

I'm all caught up!

I really liked the Osborne Lights. I may have liked it more since it was not so packed. That helps.

Your meals look awesome! I really have to try resort restaraunts. Your review looks great! Especially the cranberry pumpkin cheesecake; that alone will get me there.

I also love your tiki pic. Adorable!!!

I think part of what I loved about the Osborne Lights was that everyone was wandering around with a kind of stunned, happy look on their faces. I think it's the one area where everyone was looking happy while I was there, no matter how crowded it was.

Citricos is definitely worth a visit, and I adore the California Grill as well. As soon as our waiter mentioned pumpkin cheesecake I knew I had to have it. It was sinful!

Resort hopping for your last day sounds like a great idea!!! I will have to try that someday!!

So glad you were able to find your tiki and get a picture with it!! That is so awesome!

I have to agree with you Chef Mickey's is definitely busy, but like you said the food is good and I have always had good character interaction there, so I would go back for breakfast!!!

Can't wait to see more of your mid-morning resort hopping!

This was my first time resort hopping on my last day. Usually I have a flight that has a pick up time of about 8am or so. It was nice having a relaxing morning before I had to leave. I missed seeing several resorts this trip, but I did get to see all the ones I wanted to see most so I was happy.

The only way I'd do Chef Mickey's is if I went maybe a bit earlier or later. I think our ADR was at about 9am or so. I think we hit it smack dab in the middle of morning craziness. I think they need to start the characters off in different parts of the dining room too. We were at the opposite side from where they started and were nearly done eating before any of them made it to us.

I've been hesistant to try Chef Mickeys because of the loud factor and because for some reason I think that is the most "kid-ish" of the character meals. I did like Crystal Palace for breakfast before park opening but the dinner I had there was waaaay too loud.

I that you took your picture with your Tiki. You should frame those side by side.

I think part of the reason I'd pass Chef Mickeys was that it was really easy to get my picture taken with all of those characters elsewhere in the parks. I do want to try the Animal Kingdom breakfast though. I just love Donald in his safari gear.

I like that idea about the Tiki pictures. I want to make it my new tradition when I go.

What a neat way to end your trip. I love that old photo of you and your brother. How neat!! You should put both the old and the new photos in a frame, side by side.

I had really wanted to do it when I went on our family trip 2 years ago, but my brother cancelled out on our Poly dinner. It's kind of a neat way to see the passing of the years. That tree in the pictures has gotten pretty big too.

Meep! I feel old.

I just love the picture of you by the Tiki! I agree with Kelli -- you should frame both of them together!

I adore the Small World themed Christmas decorations at the Contemporary! Too cute!

I thought the CR decorations fit right in with the mural and everything over there. I'm a sucker for Small World anyways.

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

LOVE the tiki picture!!!

 

[miprender]

We love CM, but it does get crazy. We have only had dinner there so I am not sure how buzy breakfast is, but it looks like you sat in the quieter room. We sat there on our last trip, right by the stairs. I never even knew they had that room up there but I felt far away from the action last time.

 

[TarzansKat]

Which bags did you get? I still really want the white tassel bag, so I've promised myself one when I finish the 1/2 marathon. (Making myself earn that bag!)

I'll have to take a picture of it and post it for you later.

It's the really cute purse with the white background with the various characters and symbols on it.

My mother purchased the black purse with the iconic Mickeys in various colors, because that shape was more her style, and the one I got was more me.

Now ask me if I've used it yet. It's terrible, I'm so afraid of getting it dirty, but I know someday I'll get to the point where I'll want to start using it because it reminds me of January with Mom.

I was so happy with trying Citricos. It was the perfect way to wrap up a vacation. They didn't give nearly enough of those potatoes though. I love the plate of them idea!

No, those potatoes are like a little slice of heaven and not nearly enough.


I'm glad you got to take your Tiki picture! Isn't it really amazing to be able to take a picture with something that was there when you were a kid? Honestly, I feel that way about photos in front of the castle, too! You can go through the years and compare how we've grown, and we always seem to take some on the bridge to Tomorrowland.

I love Chef Mickey's. I'd have to say that it's probably my favorite breakfast buffet in the World. As far as the loud factor, I just have to weigh in.

All the character buffets get loud. It really just depends on when you're there. And, because my party size has been so big traditionally we've been seated in the back area, which is a room almost by itself, and so it doesn't get as loud as the outer big room must.

Although, now that I think about it, we sat in that room even when it was just the three of us, so maybe it's the time of day that I'm making my ressies, which is pretty much the latest breakfast available. There's something thrilling to me about eating all that yummy breakfast food for lunch.

But, I totally see your point. If I didn't have kids, I don't know that I'd make a point of going there on every trip.

 

[If U Had Wings]

LOVE the tiki picture!!!

I was so happy I was able to find it. I love that even after all these years it's still there.

We love CM, but it does get crazy. We have only had dinner there so I am not sure how buzy breakfast is, but it looks like you sat in the quieter room. We sat there on our last trip, right by the stairs. I never even knew they had that room up there but I felt far away from the action last time.

We were right next to the door to the kitchen, right to the left side of the buffet as you enter the restaurant space. It seemed like there was lots of activity all over the place. It was nice and convienient to the buffet though.

Our Princess breakfast was much less crazy. Probably because there they brought the hot items to you, and there was less people wandering around. (Besides it being a much smaller location).

I'll have to take a picture of it and post it for you later.

It's the really cute purse with the white background with the various characters and symbols on it.

My mother purchased the black purse with the iconic Mickeys in various colors, because that shape was more her style, and the one I got was more me.

Now ask me if I've used it yet. It's terrible, I'm so afraid of getting it dirty, but I know someday I'll get to the point where I'll want to start using it because it reminds me of January with Mom.

I love that white pattern! It just has such a magical feeling about it, but I'm finding the black pattern pretty neat too. There were a couple of the black bags that I really liked too.

I don't blame you for not using it yet. I'd be paranoid abut getting it dirty. You'll have to start taking it out for some special occasions at least.

I'm glad you got to take your Tiki picture! Isn't it really amazing to be able to take a picture with something that was there when you were a kid? Honestly, I feel that way about photos in front of the castle, too! You can go through the years and compare how we've grown, and we always seem to take some on the bridge to Tomorrowland.

I loved the fact that there was that continuity having my picture taken with it. It's part of the reason I had really been hoping to get my picture taken with it last year when I was there with my brother and the nieces. Kind of a passing the torch of Mickey love to the next generation.

When we were there on the last family trip the entire family was posing for the photopass guy in front of the castle and the photographer pulled just my parents, my brother and I out for a few pictures of just our original family. We must have looked a bit confused, because he laughed and asked if it had been awhile since the last time we took a photo with just the four of us. It ended up being one of my mom's favorite pictures from that trip.

I love Chef Mickey's. I'd have to say that it's probably my favorite breakfast buffet in the World. As far as the loud factor, I just have to weigh in.

All the character buffets get loud. It really just depends on when you're there. And, because my party size has been so big traditionally we've been seated in the back area, which is a room almost by itself, and so it doesn't get as loud as the outer big room must.

Although, now that I think about it, we sat in that room even when it was just the three of us, so maybe it's the time of day that I'm making my ressies, which is pretty much the latest breakfast available. There's something thrilling to me about eating all that yummy breakfast food for lunch.

But, I totally see your point. If I didn't have kids, I don't know that I'd make a point of going there on every trip.

I think part of my perception of the place is probably because we were right on the main floor, just steps away from the buffet. There was perpetually alot of action surrounding us. Plus I think there were a couple of very loud groups right near us.

There was one family right near us that had a couple of boys who were playing around with toy swords out in the middle of the aisles. It was not helping with the general craziness around us, as they were really loud and a bit obnoxious. When the characters came around Mickey played around good naturedly with them having a sword fight, but when Minnie came around they turned almost mean and were jabbing her fairly hard with the swords. What killed me was that the parents apparently thought this was pretty funny and appropriate behavior. Mickey finally had to step in and take the swords away from them to protect his girlfriend.

I think a seat further away would have helped greatly.

 

[If U Had Wings]

The last resorts I really wanted to check out for the holidays were the Port Orleans resorts. Being so close together it made it a very easy two for one deal to visit them. Again, we were able to catch a bus pretty quickly, and we hopped off at the first POR stop. I'm a bit impartial to the French Quarter and wanted to save it for last. The weather on our last day was absolutely warm and gorgeous out. We were a bit jealous that we didn't see such beautiful weather all week long, but id did make for a great day to wander between the two resorts.

We hopped off the bus at the first Alligator Bayou stop. We really had no idea where we were headed, but there was a lot of activity around the resort so we just followed the crowd. I was surprised how away from it all the Bayou sections felt.

We finally made it up to the main lobby. The resort looked beautiful decked out for the holidays. The decorations were very stately and classy. It was crazy with activity though, not matching up with the serene décor. POR was a Pop Warner hotel, and the place was just loud with cheerleaders and football players all over the place. I had spent my first 3 nights on this trip at AsSp with the Pop Warner crowd, and it was nothing like the contained chaos going on at POR. I can't imagine having that going on all week. I don't know if it was just worse there, or if the groups had gotten louder as the week went on, but it felt much worse at POR than at AsSp. I had left AsSp thinking the Pop Warner crowds weren't all that bad, but after seeing POR that morning I don't think I would chance staying at a Pop Warner hotel again. Still the decorations were beautiful.

After that we headed out to POFQ. We somehow missed the path and had to do a little bit of cutting across the lawn, but in no time we were wandering past the Magnolia section. Lots of team banners were hanging around the railings, ruining the ambiance a bit.

From there we walked along the river towards the French Quarter.

At the first glimpses of POFQ I felt right at home. I love trying out new resorts, but POFQ just feels like my home away from home. It has such a wonderful peaceful, but still a bit urban feeling to it. I love all the gardens around the grounds.

The decorations at POFQ were great. It felt very festive, and I loved the slightly darker color palette of the decorations.

It was getting a bit late so we were going to head back to the Boardwalk. Since it was such a gorgeous day we thought we'd take the boat over to Downtown Disney and then hop a bus back to the Boardwalk.

Here is where I need to give a heads up warning to people wanting to take the boat from POFQ in the middle of the afternoon. Don't count on being able to do it!

There was a little bit of a line at the dock when we got there, and the first boat that arrived filled up before we were able to get on. Unlike the Epcot Friendship boats, everyone has to have a seat on the Port Orleans/DTD boats and there really aren't that many seats on board. Still we were only the second group in line, and we weren't in a big rush so we figured we'd wait for the next boat. At this point in the afternoon there were only two boats in service.

About 15 minutes after the boat departed to DTD one arrived from DTD dropping off before heading to POR. When it left POFQ it was practically empty. After it stopped at POR and came back to POFQ to pickup before heading to DTD 15 minutes later it was packed. No one at POFQ was able to get on the boat. Needless to say there were a lot of cranky people on the POFQ dock. The line behind us now was quite long, and not a single person was going to be able to get on a boat. They really needed to have another boat or two out. We had enough. We had wasted enough time waiting pointlessly for a boat (about 40 or so minutes total) only to be stuck in line still. By now it was getting late, and all I kept thinking about was not missing my ME bus.

We headed back to the POFQ entrance, planning on just calling a cab, but a DHS bus arrived just as we got there so we hopped that and then took our one last boat ride back to the Boardwalk. I claimed my bags from luggage services and then my BFF and I said our goodbyes. She wanted to head back to the concierge lounge for awhile and my bus was nearly due. I was feeling pretty tired by this point, and I fell asleep pretty much as soon as I sat down on the DME bus. I don't remember anything about the ride back to the airport.

I got home to a frigid CT. I was completely worn out, but my vacation was to continue one more day. My mother and I have a yearly tradition of having a December girls day out in NYC. We get tickets to a Broadway show, eat at a really nice restaurant and soak up the holiday decorations. With my trip this year we weren't sure we were going to be able to do it, but my mom looks forward to our little excursion all year, so I told her we could still do it the day after I got back. I'm so glad I did. It's become one of my favorite holiday traditions, and I hate when we have to miss it. A few pics from our day -

Me and Mom at the Rockefeller tree. I work right next door to it, and get a bit annoyed with the crowds, but it never really gets old seeing it everyday.

The dancing snowflakes at Sak's. (A really, really small version of the Osborne Lights. )

Radio City Music Hall, also right next door to my office. One of my favorite NY institutions.

And finally after a long week I was at Grand Central Terminal heading home. Thank goodness I had Mom to make sure I got off the train at the right stop

I'll be back to post some last thoughts about the trip, and some pictures of the few souvies I couldn’t resist. After some thought, I decided to add in a mini trip report from my March trip to this one instead of starting a new trip report for it. It's not going to be a full out trip report like this one was, just some thoughts and impressions from that trip and really not enough for a trip report of it's own. For me these two trips are very tied together. What I had thought I had lost on one trip, was given back to me on the second, making it all the more special.

So feel free to stay around for my mini-trip report, otherwise I'll be wrapping things up in my next post.

 

[Lovemy3babes]

I also really liked POFQ. The theming and the peaceful vibe was what really got to me.

Your tradition with your mom sounds like a lot of fun! I will definitely stick around for your mini update. Can't wait!!

 

[skier_pete]

When a TR comes to an end...it's almost as sad as when the trip comes to an end.

Port Orleans looked beautiful. You know that POFQ is our favorite - though admittedly we've so far only stayed at POFQ and Pop Century - but we do love the feel of POFQ. Our visit over to POR left no desire to stay there.

Your boat experience exactly mirrors ours from our trip in 2006. We had a night out on our own (DMIL was there with us to watch DD), and we went down to the dock. We were actually going to meet some friends for dinner. They would load each boat with a total of 4 people from POFQ, with POR getting about 25 seats on the boat. We didn't realize this until the 2nd boat came. By then we were at the front of the line and decided to wait one more, but we waited 3 boats when there were 8 people in front of us. Combine that with the 25 minutes it takes the boats to get there...we were well over an hour late meeting our friends...I was FED UP with that as a mode of transport. From then on our next 2 trips, I always took the bus to DTD...which was always very fast. DW still used the boats a few times, but I still wouldn't bother if we went back.

I'm leaning towards going back there in 2011 - assuming we go - whenever that might be.

 

[All7OfUs]

Hi Crissy!

Sorry I had fallen behind! I've had non-stop people in my house for 3 days buying the chairs out from our rear-ends practically! STRESS!!

Anyway, your resort hopping looks so fun! I"d have to say, someday, I'd love to spend a whole day doing that! I"m the same way about Contemp. Just not my cup of tea. I "get" the transport thoughts. I want fantasy at WDW, not the Hilton.

I'm looking forward to you mini-report! A redeemed trip is always a good thing- the very thing I'm wishing for in Sept.!

 

[aprilisis]

I really enjoyed reading your TR & seeing your photos. Thanks!

 

[jenjolt]

What a great TR! I so enjoyed every minute of reading about your trip!!!! I glad you had a good time!!

Would love to see POR and POFQ all decorated for Christmas someday!!!

What a great NYC tradition! Glad you were able to go on that with you Mom!!!

 

[If U Had Wings]

I also really liked POFQ. The theming and the peaceful vibe was what really got to me.

Your tradition with your mom sounds like a lot of fun! I will definitely stick around for your mini update. Can't wait!!

I always find it so tranquil, and I love that POFQ isn't really all that big. I always feel a moment of Ahhh! when I walk through there.

When a TR comes to an end...it's almost as sad as when the trip comes to an end.

Port Orleans looked beautiful. You know that POFQ is our favorite - though admittedly we've so far only stayed at POFQ and Pop Century - but we do love the feel of POFQ. Our visit over to POR left no desire to stay there.

So far I've stayed at the Poly (though not since it became so crazy expensive), POFQ, AsSp, and the Boardwalk. In their own ways I've liked all of them. POFQ just feels like home to me, and fits into the budget. (Always a good thing!)

Your boat experience exactly mirrors ours from our trip in 2006. We had a night out on our own (DMIL was there with us to watch DD), and we went down to the dock. We were actually going to meet some friends for dinner. They would load each boat with a total of 4 people from POFQ, with POR getting about 25 seats on the boat. We didn't realize this until the 2nd boat came. By then we were at the front of the line and decided to wait one more, but we waited 3 boats when there were 8 people in front of us. Combine that with the 25 minutes it takes the boats to get there...we were well over an hour late meeting our friends...I was FED UP with that as a mode of transport. From then on our next 2 trips, I always took the bus to DTD...which was always very fast. DW still used the boats a few times, but I still wouldn't bother if we went back.

I'm leaning towards going back there in 2011 - assuming we go - whenever that might be.

I hadn't taken the boat from POFQ to DTD in quite some time. Normally I've taken a bus there, and then taken the boat home at the end of the night. (Never had a problem taking the boat home). If I ever really wanted to take the boat from POFQ again, I'd just hop on the one going to POR and take a longer ride. That way I'd be guaranteed a seat.

Hi Crissy!

Sorry I had fallen behind! I've had non-stop people in my house for 3 days buying the chairs out from our rear-ends practically! STRESS!!

Anyway, your resort hopping looks so fun! I"d have to say, someday, I'd love to spend a whole day doing that! I"m the same way about Contemp. Just not my cup of tea. I "get" the transport thoughts. I want fantasy at WDW, not the Hilton.

I'm looking forward to you mini-report! A redeemed trip is always a good thing- the very thing I'm wishing for in Sept.!

That's just crazy! I'd flip if I had people in my house for that long. Eek!

It was a lovely way to spend our last day. I had really wanted to see as many of the resorts decked out for the holdiays as I could. Getting to walk to them, just made it even nicer.

My April trip was wonderful. Short, but really special.

I really enjoyed reading your TR & seeing your photos. Thanks!

Glad you enjoyed it!

What a great TR! I so enjoyed every minute of reading about your trip!!!! I glad you had a good time!!

Would love to see POR and POFQ all decorated for Christmas someday!!!

What a great NYC tradition! Glad you were able to go on that with you Mom!!!

POR and POFQ both looked great for the holidays. I'd love to stay at either of them during the season.

My mom and I have been doing it for about 10 years or so now. We've missed a couple when I had been unemployed during the year and money was tight, but we do our best to squeeze it in during the holiday season. My BFF usually comes along too, but she lives in another state now, and since it was so close to our trip it just wasn't possible to make it. My mom's BFF was able to go though.

One of these times we want to start including the niece's for our girls holiday day in the city. We brought them to see Shrek last summer, but finding the time during the holidays is much tougher.