I Ate Too Much Food & Took Too Many Pictures! A Sept TR

[trickiwoo]

So after finishing lunch, we decided to go ride Expedition Everest. In retrospect, not the best thing to do on a full stomach!

Last year I completely chickened out and wouldn't even ride EE. It wasn't looking any less scary this year, but I was determined to try! So I took a deep breath and got in line!

Well, the good news was, it wasn't scary! But I didn't exactly find it fun. It was real jerky and I'm not a big fan of rough, jerky roller coasters. This was made even worse by the fact that I had just eaten a humongous meal!!! The whole ride I felt like I was going to throw up!

So while I didn't have an enjoyable experience my first time riding EE, I'm willing to try it again on my next WDW trip! I think I may enjoy it more now that I know what to expect. And I won't ride it right after eating!

After EE, we went to see The Boyfriend's favorite fountain!

He freakin' loves this fountain! And I have to admit, it's a pretty cool feeling to stick your hand in it and see the water flowing but your hand is dry!

The part about "Do not use fountain if you are ill with diarrhea" concerned The Boyfriend. He wondered if something had happened in the past that made them need to include that on the sign...

At this point I wasn't really feeling well at all. I was feeling sick from lunch and EE and the hot hot sun beating down on us wasn't helping. So it was time to use a snack credit on a Coke float!

It definitely helped! I started to feel better after finishing it. So we made our way to the Maharajah Jungle Trek!

After the trek, we did some shopping! I bought my dad a solar powered keychain that would flash "#1 Dad" and The Boyfriend bought the same solar powered keychains for his brothers and sisters that would flash their names! I thought it was pretty cool that he was able to find the names for all his siblings: Mark, Kevin, Laura and Amy. They didn't have my name

By then we were feeling up to another ride, so we rode Dinosaur! On the ride when we saw the Compsognathus, I shouted "Compys!!" I didn't think The Boyfriend could hear me, but he did. I was a little embarassed, but he thought it was cute.

After riding Dinosaur, we decided to check out Rafiki's Plant Watch since neither of us had ever been there. So we went and got on the train. I really liked the train ride there! It was cool going by where the animals stay at night and seeing a lot of the behind the scene stuff.

And I absolutely loved Rafiki's Planet Watch! Definitely worth checking out! I especially loved checking out all the vet stuff! Next time I go to Animal Kingdom, that's the first place I'm going! Hopefully I'll get to see a surgery or something, since they do those in the morning!

I also liked seeing the turtles with the long necks!

While we were there, it started POURING. So we decided to just stay inside Rafiki's Planet Watch for a bit till the rain let up. And since it's Florida, it wasn't too long before the rain stopped!

After we left Rafiki's Planet Watch and got back on the train to the rest of Animal Kingdom, we decided that there wasn't really anything left we wanted to see or do. So we decided to leave the park. But first The Boyfriend wanted to stop and get a snack. So he used his snack credits on a Diet Coke and a Jalapeno Cheese Stuffed Pretzel.

I was still completely stuffed from lunch, but I really wanted to try the pretzel so I took a couple bites. WOW! It was soooo good! Seriously, I could spend all my snack credits on these things! Delicious!

After finishing the pretzel, we left the park and went to the bus stop!

 

[eeyore7360nc]

I love the tiger with his tongue sticking out. Makes you wonder it that is what he really thinks of all of us staring at him.

 

[cajunbaby1]

Awesome photos!! I had to change my trip from next month to May. i'll have to live thru the trip reports to get me thru to may

 

[trickiwoo]

I love the tiger with his tongue sticking out. Makes you wonder it that is what he really thinks of all of us staring at him.

Haha, thanks! I thought it was too cute!! The tigers were sleeping, so I was very happy that one of them woke up long enough to stick its tongue out at me!

Awesome photos!! I had to change my trip from next month to May. i'll have to live thru the trip reports to get me thru to may

Thank you! Oh no!!! Well, at least you still get to go and don't have to completely cancel your trip!!! And on the plus side, it gives you more time to plan and anticipate your trip! (Which I don't know about you, but for me that's sometimes even more fun than the trip itself!)

 

[MelMel11]

Enjoy your post and your pictures are great. I live in Rockingham NC glad to see some others from NC..

 

[DisneyDreamerMN]

I know I am late, but I am joining in!

 

[chunkymonkey]

I don't remember that fountain! I will have to check it out!

I too am always too chicken to ride EE. I went on it once, and I think it was a traumatic experience so I never liked it, but maybe on my next trip in March I will try it.

Rafiqui's planet watch sounds pretty cool. I might have to check it out again, but my sisters who are coming with on this trip, are pretty much scared of all animals, LOL.

I love those jalepeno stuffed pretzels! I could seriously eat them all the time!

Great pictures of the animals. Love the upside down bat! Amazing!

 

[newmommy_2010]

Just joining in! Love all your photos and the ones of Martha's vineyard make me want to go there. I also don't remember that fountain in AK. I will have to look for it next time! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[oboedm]

Great update! Where is that fountain! I don't think I noticed it before, but would love to stop by next time we go!

Love the pictures of the trek. The ones of the tiger and bat are amazing!

I do love EE-- it may be my favorite ride. Glad you are willing to give it another shot! =)


Thanks for the planet watch recommendation. I will check that out next time as well!

 

[trickiwoo]

I'm not entirely sure where that fountain is... I think it's in Asia somewhere??

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day yesterday!!! The Boyfriend and I always wait until after the 14th to celebrate... He gets paid on the 15th, so he'd rather celebrate after payday! Plus that way we avoid the crowds. So yeah, we're going out later this week to celebrate Valentine's Day!

I bought a new camera yesterday!!!

It's a Sony NEX-3. I ordered it online and I can't wait for it to arrive!!!! I'm hoping it's going to be my new WDW camera since it's somewhere in between a point and shoot and a DSLR. It's not has bulky and heavy as a DSLR, but it takes better pictures than a point and shoot. The perfect compromise for a camera to take to WDW, IMO.

Anyway, sorry I haven't updated this TR in awhile! But we've decided that we're not going to WDW again until 2012, so I'm kinda trying to make this TR last longer since I don't have another trip to plan for awhile!!!

 

[trickiwoo]

That night we had ADRs for Kona Cafe... but we had a lot of time to kill before then! So when we got to the bus stop, we looked for the first bus going to one of the monorail resorts... and there was a bus going to the GF that was loading, so we hopped on! It was making several stops before GF, but that was fine with us! Like I said, we had plenty of time to kill!

On the bus, I overheard the people behind me talking. They were in a group made up of multiple couples/families that were all staying at different hotels. I overheard one person ask his friend, "So what made you guys decide to stay at the Swan?" and he said, "I just did a search for 'hotels near Disney World' and it was the first result that showed up." I couldn't believe someone would pick a Disney hotel that way! I thought about when I was trying to decide what hotel we were going to stay at... there was lots of planning involved! I made so many lists! I did so much math! I spent so much time online looking at pictures! I just found it so bizarre that the guy behind me just picked the first hotel he found!

On the way to the GF, we drove past the Wedding Pavilion! Which was very cool and I'd never seen it before. Of course, I didn't get to see inside it or anything...we just drove past it. Still cool though!

When we arrived at the GF, The Boyfriend wanted to sit and rest and I wanted to take pictures! So we each did just that!

Then later we met up and did some shopping together! I still couldn't find the purse I was looking for! I was looking for a pink Dooney & Bourke Disney Sketch Crossbody Bag. Impossible to find! They didn't have a lot of the sketch stuff at all... and when they did, it was only just wristlets.

We went to Basin White which might just be my favorite store in all of WDW! The Boyfriend bought his mom some Christmas soap and some wine scented soap (which smelled just like wine!!!) I bought my mom some Mickey Mouse soap that was "Pumpkin Patch" scented! And I bought myself some Christmas soap and some Halloween soap. And of course when I came home, I went online and bought myself more Basin soaps. I'm addicted.

We still plenty of time before our rezzie, but decided to head on over to the Poly anyway. So we hopped on the monorail!

When we got to the Poly we did some more shopping! My grandmother LOVES Kona Coffee... so I was really hoping they might sell some at the Poly Gift Shop. Sadly they don't. But I did buy a dog toy for Rosie! It's a pink Mickey head shaped plush squeaky toy that says "Princess" on it... because she's a Princess!

Here's a picture of her with it:

(Yeah, it's the same picture from the front page)

Then The Boyfriend went and sat in the Kid's Area near the check-in area in the lobby and watched old Disney cartoons on the tv. I wandered around the lobby taking pictures!

Then finally it was time to eat!

We checked in at Kona and were seated. Then we ordered drinks!

I got the Island Sunset which was Seven Tiki Spiced Rum, Parrot Bay Coconut Rum, Melon, and Peach combined with our Guava-Passion Fruit Juice

And The Boyfriend got a Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale

We both really like the Kona Brewing Company beers... The Wailua Wheat Ale is my absolute favorite beer ever! And we've had the Longboard Lager and the Pipeline Porter, but neither of us had ever tried the Fire Rock. It was really good! (Still no Wailua Wheat though...) The Boyfriend loved it! The grocery store we go to doesn't stock it, but when we got home The Boyfriend found a store nearby that does. And he buys it all the time now.


Not long after we were seated an old man was seated at the table next to us. He was dining alone and The Boyfriend thought that was just so sad! His first thought was that he and his wife used to come eat here all the time, but now she's dead so he comes here by himself in her memory!

I had plenty of other less sad suggestions as to why he was eating alone... things like he and his wife were here with their grandkids and they're staying at the Poly. The grandkids were in the room taking the nap and so grandma was watching them. And he's sick of the food court food, so he came to Kona for a nice sit down meal. Or maybe he was here with his family and he really wanted to eat at Kona, but none of them did.

Anyway, when I got out my camera to take pictures of our drinks, our waiter asked if we wanted a picture of us. So he took one. After we left the restaurant, I was looking at the pictures and noticed that the old man was in our photo!

The Boyfriend had the Teriyaki-style New York Strip

He said it was really good.

I had the Shrimp and Scallops

Also very good!

For dessert I had the Kilauea Torte

Very delicious!!! Though not quite as good as the Chocolate Wave at Coral Reef.

The Boyfriend ordered the White Chocolate Cheesecake to go since he was too full. They brought it to our table packaged in styrofoam. So I didn't get a picture. When we got back to our room, we put it in our fridge. The rest of the trip we were too full to eat it! So we packed it in our luggage and took it home. It didn't travel well and got thrown out when we got home. I never got a picture of it and we never ended up eating it.

When we were done eating, we got on a bus to DTD. Then as soon as we got to DTD, we got on the water taxi and headed back to POFQ. We dropped off all our stuff in our room, then headed to Scat Cat's!

We had a few beers (Abita Ambers) and I also had the Sangria

It was fun. The local news was on the tv. And there was a story on the news about Animal Kingdom! We were like, "Hey! We were just there!" Apparently there was a kid who's father had full legal custody of him, and his mother had kidnapped him years ago. And ever since then the boy's dad had been trying to track him down. And he had gotten a tip that the mom was taking him to Disney World that day... and the police caught the mom with the kid going into Animal Kingdom that day! I guess they arrested the mom and the kid went home with his father. Anyway, big news story while we were there again! Though not as big as the bomb scare from when we were at WDW the year before!

After a few drinks, I wasn't really hungry... but I started craving mac and cheese. So I went and got some from the food court.

It wasn't very good at all!

Then we decided to call it a night and headed back to our room.

 

[chunkymonkey]

I love Basin too. It's such a great store. I like it better than Lush, which is that chain. I think the stuff at Basin smells better than Lush, so I don't know why there aren't more of them! They are must-go stores for me when I am in WDW or Disneyland. Have you tried the solid shampoos? They are shampoos but in bar form. They are wonderful! I really like the one that smells like coconut, and also the one called Good Hair Day (it's pink). I also picked up a pumpkin-scented one on our last trip. They are great for travelling because they aren't liquids and they smell good and make my hair look great. I really like them. Only downside is they don't last as long as maybe a full bottle of shampoo, but I think it's because soap bars in general kind of deteriorate in the shower more quickly...

Your dinner at Kona is really making me rethink my dinner at 'Ohana in March! I love the way your entrees look! And of course I love the Kona Brewing company. I can't remember which beers we sampled when we went in Nov, but Wailua Wheat was definitely one of them. We liked them all though. My husband even bought a Longboard Ale t-shirt. We had a great time there.

I feel so bad for the older man dining by himself! But you are probably right, it may not actually be a sad story at all, and he might have been having a great time dining alone to get away. Although there is something wistfully romantic about your dbf's story.

Love the pictures as usual. I like the fisheye effect! And congrats on getting the Sony NEX! Did you get a pink one too? I am most likely getting the Panasonic GF1. I'm hoping I get it for my b-day in 2 weeks!

Sorry the mac n cheese wasn't that great, but I have not had good mac n cheese at WDW from a food court or buffet. It's only when it's freshly made that I found it tasted better.

 

[trickiwoo]

I love Basin too. It's such a great store. I like it better than Lush, which is that chain. I think the stuff at Basin smells better than Lush, so I don't know why there aren't more of them! They are must-go stores for me when I am in WDW or Disneyland. Have you tried the solid shampoos? They are shampoos but in bar form. They are wonderful! I really like the one that smells like coconut, and also the one called Good Hair Day (it's pink). I also picked up a pumpkin-scented one on our last trip. They are great for travelling because they aren't liquids and they smell good and make my hair look great. I really like them. Only downside is they don't last as long as maybe a full bottle of shampoo, but I think it's because soap bars in general kind of deteriorate in the shower more quickly...

I haven't tried the shampoo bars! I'll definitely get one next time I go to WDW! (Or I may get one next time I make an online Basin order... but that would involve me having to buy one without smelling it first...) That sounds ideal for travelling! I never thought about that!

Your dinner at Kona is really making me rethink my dinner at 'Ohana in March! I love the way your entrees look! And of course I love the Kona Brewing company. I can't remember which beers we sampled when we went in Nov, but Wailua Wheat was definitely one of them. We liked them all though. My husband even bought a Longboard Ale t-shirt. We had a great time there.

We just wished they had the Kona beers on tap!

I feel so bad for the older man dining by himself! But you are probably right, it may not actually be a sad story at all, and he might have been having a great time dining alone to get away. Although there is something wistfully romantic about your dbf's story.

It is romantic! I asked The Boyfriend if I died if he'd still go to WDW and eat at all our favorite restaurants alone in my memory, and he said he would. Then I thought about him doing that and I got all teary eyed!

Love the pictures as usual. I like the fisheye effect! And congrats on getting the Sony NEX! Did you get a pink one too? I am most likely getting the Panasonic GF1. I'm hoping I get it for my b-day in 2 weeks!

The fisheye optic was so much fun to use at WDW!!! It's pretty much what I used the whole time... Though now I wish I'd gotten more pictures with other lenses! Haha! So I may just leave the fisheye at home on my next trip... Or if I do bring it, try to use it less!

My NEX just arrived a few minutes ago!!!! I am now anxiously waiting for the battery to charge so I can play with it! I can't get over how light it is (even with the heavier zoom lens)! It is definitely going to be the perfect WDW camera! And yes, I did get it in pink! It's so pretty!!

Sorry the mac n cheese wasn't that great, but I have not had good mac n cheese at WDW from a food court or buffet. It's only when it's freshly made that I found it tasted better.

Luckily I didn't have high expectations for my QS mac and cheese. But I was hoping I might be pleasantly surprised... like I was with the food court scrambled eggs! I absolutely LOVE the scrambled eggs they have in the food courts in the morning at WDW! Which I was very surprised about because the thought of food court scrambled eggs doesn't sound very appealing. But they're tasty! The mac and cheese on the other hand... not so much.

 

[giftcard]

Awesome TR!!!! Love all the pics!

I laughed when I read your "sausage" comment. I have a similar story. Several years ago, my BFF and I were headed to our favourite breakfast place. They were do some construction in front so we had to follow all these little hand made signs the restaurant had put up guiding people around the building, down an alley to the back door. The whole time were joking that we were on a treasure hunt for sausages (they seriously have the best sausages ever). Didn't think anything of it until we were seated and my BFF told our gorgeous waiter how we were on a treasure hunt for sausages. Can you say awkward?

 

[whitney025]

I'm subscribing...Looks like you and your boyfriend had an awesome trip...Excited to hear more about it.

 

[lnk1229]

I love your TR!! All of your pictures are absolutely gorgeous!

There are so many similarities between you, our trips, etc! I took 2,300ish pictures on our trip and would have taken more if I thought my DBF would tolerate it! My DBF works with computers too and is pretty shy... not a huge fan of pictures but he tolerates it! I posted a bunch of my pictures on my TR and still have a bunch more!

Love it- can't wait to see more!

 

[trickiwoo]

I love your TR!! All of your pictures are absolutely gorgeous!

There are so many similarities between you, our trips, etc! I took 2,300ish pictures on our trip and would have taken more if I thought my DBF would tolerate it! My DBF works with computers too and is pretty shy... not a huge fan of pictures but he tolerates it! I posted a bunch of my pictures on my TR and still have a bunch more!

Love it- can't wait to see more!

Oh wow!! We do sound like we have a lot in common!!! Haha, neat!

 

[trickiwoo]

Don't worry! I'm still alive and I'm still planning on keeping this TR updated!!! Even though it's been a few months since I update.... yikes!

Anyway, since my last update I've gotten a 2nd job. Which means I have significantly less free time! But I am hoping to start updating this thing again soon!

The good news is that with this 2nd job, there's a chance we'll be able to go back to WDW this fall!!!!!!!! Currently we are waiting to see if FD will be offered before we start making any plans!

Haha, so my goal now is to finish this TR before I start a new PTR!!!!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Don't worry! I'm still alive and I'm still planning on keeping this TR updated!!! Even though it's been a few months since I update.... yikes!

Anyway, since my last update I've gotten a 2nd job. Which means I have significantly less free time! But I am hoping to start updating this thing again soon!

The good news is that with this 2nd job, there's a chance we'll be able to go back to WDW this fall!!!!!!!! Currently we are waiting to see if FD will be offered before we start making any plans!

Haha, so my goal now is to finish this TR before I start a new PTR!!!!

Congrats on the new job and YAY for being able to plan a trip for this year! I hope to see a lot more in this TR!!

 

[trickiwoo]

Free Dining is coming Monday!!!! I want to make my ADRs buuut... we have no idea who is going with us!!! The Boyfriend and I have gone to WDW just the two of us two years in a row. And we both have a lot of fun when we go, but it feels like we're doing the same thing over and over and over again. So we'd like to mix it up some and go with a few friends! So far we have a few friends that have expressed interest... but no one has definitely said yes yet! I might go ahead and make some ADRs for just the two of us... then if other people commit to going with us, I'll change them.

I'm soooo excited!!!! I can't wait to go back!!!!!!