How A Trip Goes From Relaxing To Lets Do Everything? 2 Week Pic Report From Mar '11

[skidisney]

Cool pictures! You should try the peanut butter dessert thingy at the Sci-Fi. So yummy!

Thanks for looking at the pictures, glad you are enjoying them. We will def have to try out more of the desserts at Sci Fi next time we are down there. JUst not enough room on that day

Woo hoo, look at that blue sky!! We were at DHS that day too and it was such a welcome change from the rain. I agree, people were definitely out enjoying the nice weather.

I think we were at the 12:00 Idol show too, haha!

It was nice to escape the rain for a day. I actually enjoy a rainy day but it was getting a bit ridiculous, as I am sure you remember. The 12 o' clock winner was singing Old Time Rock N' Roll. What a coincidence if we were in the same show!!!

 

[skidisney]

After the Indy show, we headed over to Hollywood Blvd. to catch the parade. Shortly after we arrived, the Citizens Of Hollywood showed up with their pre-parade show. Very funny performance and much better than the parade in our opinion.

Everyone getting ready for the parade

Get out of the way people, Pixar Pals coming through!

Here it is

Look, recycled scooters from Block Party Bash. Actually, most everything is recycled from that parade.

But the have little Incredibles patches on the front

Mr. Incredible is fun, that's what the sign says

Time for A Bug's Life

And then Ratatouille

Monster's Inc.

And Up:

Next: Finishing Up The Parade

 

[wdwgirl03]

It was nice to escape the rain for a day. I actually enjoy a rainy day but it was getting a bit ridiculous, as I am sure you remember. The 12 o' clock winner was singing Old Time Rock N' Roll. What a coincidence if we were in the same show!!!

Yeah, now that you say that it does sound familiar! I think he was the one who said his wife made him audition.

 

[Tink2Day]

GREAT PHOTOS!
A little bit of everything, something for everyone from food to attractions and parades.

Makes me almost feel like I'm back there. Almost

 

[skidisney]

A few more pics from the parade to share with you!!

Toy Story Time

For anyone who hasn't seen it yet, this parade is short. Much shorter than Block Party Bash. It has all the same floats (just redesigned and painted) and does not have the show stops which made Block Party Bash so much fun. As I said in the last post, the pre-parade was probably more fun than the actually parade. But that's just my opinion.​

 

[Goofy442]

Love all the pictures! We were going to eat at that restaurant, but if they do not take TIW I think we will skip it.

 

[skidisney]

After the parade, we had our Tower Of Terror Fastpasses to use from before lunch.

There she is.

Let's ride one of the best attractions in the world

Another fantastic ride. Can't believe it took us this long to ride it. So what do we have to do to make up for it.

That's right! Two more for later.

Random shot on Hollywood Blvd.

Next: Time for our new home!!!​

 

[skidisney]

Well, we thought we woud be in love with Port Orleans Riverside forever. There was no place better. And then we came here.

What a spectacular resort. We booked it through a week we had to trade at RCI. We didn't know what to expect, but we were blown away by the beauty of this place and the rooms.

The walkway towards the marina

Check-in and concierge

More of the lobby

Across from the lobby is Olivia's

And the marina towards the main travel bridge

And then towards the pool

Olivia's along the waterfront

Let's move to the room. We were put in the farthest building from check-in, but hey, no complaints. It was very quiet and relaxing back there and the units across the street were being renovated but nothing loud or obnoxious about it.

Follow the Doug in

Love the Mickey's in the railings, cool details.

Next: The Room ​

 

[skidisney]

As mentioned before, we traded a week with RCI for the room. We ended up with a 1 bedroom unit towards the back of the Old Key West resort.

Let's take a look at this room, shall we. Follow me!

In the entry foyer

The living room, look at all the space

The kitchen side of the main room

Towel bow on the oven

End table, if you look at the lifeguard chair lamp, you will see a Mickey in it

The Dining Table

A look out at the deck

And out at the golf course from the deck

Random Artwork

Here is the bathroom

The Jacuzzi tub, you can see the bedroom behind it. Those shutters do close, but it is pretty much in the middle of the bedroom

Here is the king size bed

No one sits in my chair!!!

Next: Back to the studios for Fastpass time​

 

[mickeymouse108]

Hi just joined you trip report it looks great your first resort is my fav.

 

[obxlover]

I have been reading your report and I love your style of writing!!

We stayed in a studio at OKW in November 2010 and LOVED it!! May-be one day I can book a 1 bedroom.

Can't wait to read more.

 

[skidisney]

Thanks you everyone for the awesome comments. I really take them to heart and it helps me with staying on task and writing the TR. Britt and I really enjoy the feedback.

We went back to the Studios for some unfinished business. Primarily, we had fastpasses to use on two of our favorite attractions.

The crowds were still heavy at 6 PM when we got back to Hollywood Studios.

We went over to Rock 'N' Roller Coaster and found that not only was the Stand-By line over an hour long still and teh FastPass line took almost 25 minutes to get through.

A great ride as always. Next we headed over to Tower for our second ride of the day. Now, we have already seen the regular pics of tower, so here are a couple from the backside.

Here are a few more shots of the 1 bedroom for all of you Old Key West lovers.

Next: Another fantastic dinner ADR​

 

[anl]

Love all the pictures! Jealous of your adults only trip!

 

[Goofy442]

Can't wait to stay at OKW next year. Wow, I know people who have tried to get a room through RCI and couldn't.

 

[ronnmel]

Love all the pictures, as always. I really need to stop and take a look back at the rides after I exit, I'm sure I'm missing some cool theming.

 

[skidisney]

Here is where we really did it up big for dinner. I decided to book an ADR here because I kinda wanted to celebrate the halfway point of our trip. Hey, every day is a day to celebrate when your in Disney World, right?

So where are we going.

Follow me on in

We ended up parking at Epcot because it was EMH there that night and walking through to

Vegetarians look away

As always, a look at the menu

Brittany had the Yachtsman Filet Mignon - 8-oz Filet, Mashed Potatoes, and Red Wine Sauce $40.00

Me personally, I went with the "Prime" New York Strip Steak - 12-oz Strip Steak, Peppercorn Brandy Sauce, and White Cheddar Potato Gratin $42.00

And we had to try the Truffle Mac & Cheese - Orecchiette Pasta and Reypenaer Cheese $9.00

We also enjoyed Signature Banana Napoleon - Custard, White Chocolate and Banana Mousse, and Crispy Phyllo $9.00 for dessert.

This is what the restaurant looked like at 9:30 PM. Empty.

Goodbye Yachtsman!!

The meal was really good though we still have Le Cellier a little bit higher. I believe this was also a touch more expensive. It is worth it once, but I don't think we will be planning 180 days out to eat there with an ADR. Besides, when we got there it was pretty empty (even though the hostess once again told walk-ins that it was a 45 minute wait, Disney trickery people .)

Add to the check 2 beers and a glass of wine and our total TIW discount was $23.20. After tax and gratuity, total bill for 2 was $119.72. Not for the faint of heart or keeping the budget under control.

And then we started our walk back to Epcot, or should I say, our waddle (that was a lot of food.)

Next: Interesting choices for Epcot EMH​

 

[shocky5]

Just now joining in! Great report! We are planning a trip in December so I love all of the food pics/reviews you have! So many decisions!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[skidisney]

After our huge meal, we walked back through the International Gateway and headed back towards Future World.

Here is a view of the sand sculpture they created for Disney's African Cats movie.

The Imagination Pavilion

And now over to The Land

But not what you think we were there for. We went over to Living With The Land and rode that.

Judging by these pictures, our boat was moving at warp speed.

And then, no, not Soarin'. Something way more exciting then that.

Oh yeah, Circle Of Life!

A look at the waiting area, in case you have never been in there.

And the theater

Circle Of Life is ok. Nothing to go out of the way for. The theater is very old and showing it's age. Many of the seats are broken and the fabric and carpets are torn. And it is loud, very loud. Blow out your ear drums loud. Just be forewarned.

This may have been the turning point and where the title of our TR really starts to make sense. We started thinking to ourselves that if we were gonna sit through Circle Of Life, that we should just try to do everything. Why, why, why? The next morning Britt broke out the guide maps and started making notes on what we hadn't seen yet and what we still needed to accomplish. And off we go on our new set of goals!!!

Our final stop of the evening was over at Nemo. Here is Britt with Nemo.

We rode on Nemo again to get to our goal

Which was?

We had put off Turtle Talk on both previous trips to the world. And it was great. I am just a sucker for the interactive stuff like this and Monsters Inc. Now granted, we saw it at 11:30 PM, so it was a very small show, only about30 of us in there. But as always, the kids responses to Crush were great and hilarious.

Next: Slipping back to the dark side​

 

[skidisney]

We woke up at 7:45 AM to a much different look outside of our window than we had two days earlier. Bright sunshine was coming down. So we headed right back over to:

Much more crowded in CityWalk.

And we headed over to Universal Studios.

Not going to the store

Can't stop for Shrek this morning

Here is what we came for!!!

Oh yeah! It's wicked cool!!!

You get to pick your own soundtrack, but pick fast, or else you lose (like me ) and then you get a soundtrack picked for you.

We walked through their French Quarter area which we would revisit later that evening.

The end of Rip, Ride, Rock It and a much quieter area of the park (for now.)

Down through the New York section

On our way to:

Yet another awesome ride. Really intense though, be forewarned.

And another random building

Next: To the other end of the lake and back​

 

[skidisney]

We now move through San Francisco.

Through the always annoying midway outside of Jaws (I always feel like I am back at the local Six Flags when I walk through here)

As I mentioned, Jaws

We didn't end up riding this time, but needless to say, this is not Brittany's favorite attraction. I am guessing she would be happy to get behind the wheel of the bulldozer and drive this one over.

A nice look back at Rip, Ride, Rock It.

And finally to our destination

Don't know why we rode this. We had ridden it the last time we were here and it was ok. Then again, not the biggest fan of simulators. It was still ok.

We then skipped (not literally ) over to Men In Black.

It had been a while since I had gone through the entire corny pre-show. That was fun to see again.

It was then back through Amity to wait in the longest line of our day.

Next: What is the longest line at Universal Studios?​