I Can See Epcot From Here! ~ A November Trip and Dining Report ~

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Glad you enjoyed Sci Fi... we were there in 2007 and haven't returned. It was busy and the food not so good. Your food looks really good... maybe there's been a menu change (I would hope so).

The park does look empty, even the restaurant ! What are the chances of the same car and same waiter!

Our meal at DHS this year is at 50's PT. We've been before and loved it.

I am also planning a OOP lunch at the HBD - want my Cobb Salad

I did just realize my DHS day is a EMH evening day, with 3 showings of Fantasmic! YIKES ! I wanted to do rope drop so DH could see the running of the Bulls for TSM.... maybe we will and I will skip the lunch and head back to the resort for a nap?

The thing I don't like about DHS is that the shows never coordinate for us... we've never seen Indiana Jones or the Cars show and DD has no interest.... so our list of To Do is very short. She won't ride RNR, TOT, Backlot Tour, GMR. I plan on RNR TOT for sure. TOT is my favorite ride tied with Space Mountain, and my last trip to the world I missed both of them as it was just DD and I.

Seeing your pictures is making me very excited !

I don't know if the menu has changed or not. We went in 2007 or 2008 and just had sandwiches. I'm glad we tried the bigger meals last year and this year. They are very good!

I hope your DHS day isn't packed because of Fantasmic!

You should try Indy or the LMA Stunt Show. They are both very good. I really enjoy them. We try to see one or the other on each trip. If you see them both on the same day it would take up a good chunk of your time. Why won't your DD ride the GMR and the Backlot Tour?

I hope you get to ride TOT and RNRC!

 

[T*Bird]

Shelly, your salads crack me up! It kind of looks like the kitchen exploded and everything landed nicely in your plate. Steak, lettuce, french fries, cheeses......oh my! That is an odd combo, but I have to admit it looks yummy! And it's pretty funny for me to talk about odd foods. I eat crawfish, otherwise known as mud bugs, which actually do crawl around in mud.

The shrimp dish looks delicious, too. I love almost any pasta dish.

I'm afraid I wouldn't have room for dinner if I had the milkshake before. They look to die for!

$75 seems kind of high, especially since your boys shared a meal. But I guess that's Disney food. That's the nice thing about the DDP - you don't pay attention to the costs of indiviual meals. You're still paying for it one way or another, you just don't see it!

 

[sjs314]

I can not get over how deserted DHS looked, the day we went during Spring Break in 2009, we did not do much, it was so packed you could not walk down the streets and Ddil had a panic attack, I was filming the parade as we exited, my camera held high over my head just so I could get to see a lil bit of the parade
We never made it to TSM

We went to Sci-fi years ago I like the food but just not crazy for the seating in the cars makes it hard to talk, your food all looked good especially DH pasta, and now I could go for some cheesy fries

 

[drakes]

Dd hates Catastrophe Canyon on Backlot tour... this scared here in 2007, and she won't go on it again. The Alien scene did the same to her on the GMR in 2009. She is very much into the calmer rides... bless her

The Backlot Tour in DLR Paris was really neat... smaller, but you saw the whole workings of the Catastrophe Canyon.

 

[Lovemy3babes]

What a bummer about FPs for TSM. I wonder why they were gone when it was so quiet? I hope you got back there later in your trip.

We really like Sci Fi too. I know it gets bad reviews but we enjoyed it. The burger I had was so yummy.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Shelly, your salads crack me up! It kind of looks like the kitchen exploded and everything landed nicely in your plate. Steak, lettuce, french fries, cheeses......oh my! That is an odd combo, but I have to admit it looks yummy! And it's pretty funny for me to talk about odd foods. I eat crawfish, otherwise known as mud bugs, which actually do crawl around in mud.

The shrimp dish looks delicious, too. I love almost any pasta dish.

I'm afraid I wouldn't have room for dinner if I had the milkshake before. They look to die for!

$75 seems kind of high, especially since your boys shared a meal. But I guess that's Disney food. That's the nice thing about the DDP - you don't pay attention to the costs of indiviual meals. You're still paying for it one way or another, you just don't see it!

Yeah, look who is talking about crazy foods!! Miss crawfish boil! I still don't even know what that is!

We were actually watching the cost a little, since we weren't on the DDP and were paying OOP! Sci-Fi was one of our more expensive meals. Only because of the milkshakes. They are something like $4.69 each. So about $20 of our bill was for milkshakes. But they were SO worth every penny!!

I can not get over how deserted DHS looked, the day we went during Spring Break in 2009, we did not do much, it was so packed you could not walk down the streets and Ddil had a panic attack, I was filming the parade as we exited, my camera held high over my head just so I could get to see a lil bit of the parade
We never made it to TSM

We went to Sci-fi years ago I like the food but just not crazy for the seating in the cars makes it hard to talk, your food all looked good especially DH pasta, and now I could go for some cheesy fries

Yeah, DHS was not busy at all that day. Well, except for TSM.

I don't know if it was a Fantasmic day or not, must not have been.

The kids love the car seating at Sci-Fi! Probably because they don't have to sit with us!!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Dd hates Catastrophe Canyon on Backlot tour... this scared here in 2007, and she won't go on it again. The Alien scene did the same to her on the GMR in 2009. She is very much into the calmer rides... bless her

The Backlot Tour in DLR Paris was really neat... smaller, but you saw the whole workings of the Catastrophe Canyon.

I thought Catastrophe Canyon seemed different this time. I'm not exactly sure what it was, but it seemed different. . . I wonder if they changed anything in the last year or if it's just my imagination. . .

What a bummer about FPs for TSM. I wonder why they were gone when it was so quiet? I hope you got back there later in your trip.

We really like Sci Fi too. I know it gets bad reviews but we enjoyed it. The burger I had was so yummy.

That was a real bummer. I would have never guessed they'd be gone on such a slow day. We were hoping to grab them and be able to use them after dinner or even after the Osborne Lights.

I don't know why Sci-Fi gets bad reviews all the time. We love it! Oh well, it's never hard to get an ADR there!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Guess what???


I got a PIN!! I was beginning to think they had forgotten about me. I hadn't received one in several months. But I got one today. It stinks and we won't use it. But I'm glad to know they are still sending them out.

This one is for Disney Visa cardholders and it's kids (ages 3-9) stay and play for free. Well, DS9 is the only one who qualifies for that. And he's already staying in our room, so all it amounts to is free tickets for him. Free dining is a much better savings, so I guess we'll stick with that and keep hoping for a room discount.

 

[sjs314]

Shelly - You got me all excited for a moment until I read it was the Visa Kids Promo

DH is officially retired as of Tomorrow, today was his last day and they had a party for him last evening. Sunday he is going out with his buddy to celebrate.

I have resolved myself that if a pin comes out it will probally be for only 35% off as that seems to be what others are reporting getting for the deluxe resorts, 40% for villas but if we did a villa this time it would be a studio and from what I have read the studios at BLT(which would be our choice to stay on the monorail) are very small.

I have gone thru and did the calculations with 35% discount for a few room/resort types so if I do get it and call I will be able to decide easier.

I never told you what I did and have been agonzing over for past 2 weeks. When I changed our dates to take advantage of FD I also changed our room from CR Tower MK view to the Garden Wing Deluxe Room and saved an additonal $400 so with the FD that was almost $1000 cheaper. DH liked the idea of the larger room 629 sq ft vs the 440 and loved the lower cost. He has restless leg syndrome and often gets up at night and walks around, the larger room would be good for him for that reason.

But I keep wondering if we will regret not being in the Tower

If only we would get a darn pin# would make the decision so easy

Here is hopeing we both get a good pin# soon.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Thanks for the great Sci Fi pictures! We're eating there for the first time in March. I showed Zach the pictures & he thinks it looks pretty cool!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Shelly - You got me all excited for a moment until I read it was the Visa Kids Promo

DH is officially retired as of Tomorrow, today was his last day and they had a party for him last evening. Sunday he is going out with his buddy to celebrate.

I have resolved myself that if a pin comes out it will probally be for only 35% off as that seems to be what others are reporting getting for the deluxe resorts, 40% for villas but if we did a villa this time it would be a studio and from what I have read the studios at BLT(which would be our choice to stay on the monorail) are very small.

I have gone thru and did the calculations with 35% discount for a few room/resort types so if I do get it and call I will be able to decide easier.

I never told you what I did and have been agonzing over for past 2 weeks. When I changed our dates to take advantage of FD I also changed our room from CR Tower MK view to the Garden Wing Deluxe Room and saved an additonal $400 so with the FD that was almost $1000 cheaper. DH liked the idea of the larger room 629 sq ft vs the 440 and loved the lower cost. He has restless leg syndrome and often gets up at night and walks around, the larger room would be good for him for that reason.

But I keep wondering if we will regret not being in the Tower

If only we would get a darn pin# would make the decision so easy

Here is hopeing we both get a good pin# soon.

I know, I was excited there for a minute too!! But then realized the savings was very minimal.

I'm still hoping for a 40% off PIN!! For me and for you!

That's a tough call. The extra space is definitely a plus, but I would probably choose the tower over the garden wing. Maybe. I don't know!! A deluxe room would be nice. That's a tough one!!

Thanks for the great Sci Fi pictures! We're eating there for the first time in March. I showed Zach the pictures & he thinks it looks pretty cool!

You're welcome! I hope you guys enjoy it as much as we do!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! Does anyone have big plans? We will probably just go to dinner and then come home. That's what we usually do. Real party animals, I know.

Well I'm not sure if there will be too many people around the next few days, but I have an update ready, so I guess I'll go ahead and post it!


I hope everyone has a safe and fun night tonight. And a very Happy New Year!! I hope 2011 brings you all health and happiness. And maybe even a Disney trip!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

After a wonderful dinner at Sci-Fi we were ready for the Osborne Lights, but it wasn't quite time yet. So we took a spin on the Great Movie Ride. It was very fun and entertaining as always!

It was getting a little chilly, but nothing like the cold air the night before! We messed around by the hat for a bit before heading to the Streets of America.

It was probably about 5:30 when we headed to the Streets to get ready for the lights. Last year we were there on the very first night they started and they did a little light up preshow. Which I assumed they did every night. But this year we were there the second night they were on and there was no preshow or anything. One minute the kids were trading pins with some CM's. . .

And the next the lights were on!

Up Next: More Osborne Lights
(continued in next post)

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

There were photopass photographers there, but the lines were HUGE, so we opted for the 'ask a stranger to take our picture'!

We did a little dancing to the music!

We made our way around the whole thing this year. Last year it was more crowded and we mostly stayed in one spot.

After about an hour we decided to head out. We made a quick stop at one of the shops on the way out and then headed to the boat dock. Yes, we remembered to take a boat back rather than waiting on a non-existent bus!

Up Next: Boardwalk fun and IllumiNations from the balcony

 

[Lovemy3babes]

I love the Great Movie Ride. What wonderful Osborne Lights pictures! I have seen them twice and they are just so lovely. Ahhh.....quite nothing like them, is there? Just like you, the lines for PP were HUGE!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I love the Great Movie Ride. What wonderful Osborne Lights pictures! I have seen them twice and they are just so lovely. Ahhh.....quite nothing like them, is there? Just like you, the lines for PP were HUGE!

We love the GMR too!

Glad you enjoyed the Osborne Lights pics. There really is nothing like them. I couldn't believe those photopass lines. There was no way my family was going to wait an hour to get their picture taken!!

 

[T*Bird]

Beautiful pics of the Osborne lights!!! I just have to see that one day!

We're heading up to our camp in a little bit to ring in the New Year. Crummy weather, though. Rain, hot, humid, and tornado watches. I guess we'll be watching a lot of football.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!!!

 

[DisMomAmy]

The lights are gorgeous!!

Happy New Year!! We're just hanging out at home tonight!

 

[sjs314]

Check this thread out

I will need to change our dates but if I can lock in 35% discount it will save me move than the FD

Good Luck Everyone

Happy New Year



http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=39363568&posted=1#post39363568

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Great Osborne pics Shelly! I love that!
I like the GMR too. DD7 gets scared during parts of it (Alien).

We are going to dinner at an Italian restaurant with 28 other friends/neighbors!! Then we will go back to one of the neighbor's homes and play games. We did the same thing last year, but with a few less people. Lots of fun and we get close to home early.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! May it bring lots of pixie dust for all!