I'm late! I'm late! This TR is very late! Food & Wine 2015 COMPLETED 8/26!

[Teetah]

I'm late! I'm late! This TR is very late!
Food & Wine 2015​

Hellllllllllllllllllooooooooooooooooooo Disers!!!!!!!!!!!!!​

Welcome to yet another incredibly late trip report! We have attended the Food & Wine festival the last 2 years in a row and are hoping to continue this new tradition! Upon returning from this journey, both our workplaces became extremely busy then we spent a week in Belize, then the holidays, blah blah blah, excuse, excuse, excuse.

Let me get these intros started!

ME:



Sorry for the weird, fake smile. That cupcake, tho.

I am Tara, aka Teetah (pronunciation: teetaw). My nephew gave me that nickname when he first started trying to say "Aunt Tara". Later we found out from a Philippine friend of mine that "Teetah" is very close to the word "Aunt" in her families native language, (insert joke about my nephew's real father), which we all found rather bizarre. So, it stuck and now most of my friends and my husband's family call me that.

My passions include: Disney, photography (tarasmithstudios.smugmug.com), various musical instruments, fashion, and motorsports!

The HUBS (Tim)



I am sure he will be thrilled that this is the first photo I put up of him.

He isn't QUITE the Disney freak I am, but he is into details and engineering, so Disney (especially Epcot) suits him just fine.

He loves playing drums, motorsports, classic cars and making stuff out of metal.

Please feel free to join in! I love a good comment! I am in the process of starting to think about Food & Wine 2016, but no PTR as of yet!

Day 1 Part 1: AOA Check In & Stuffing Our Faces Already!
Day 1 Part 2: The Stuffing Our Faces Part!
Day 1 Part 3: AOA Photos Galore!
Day 2 Part 1: AOA Photos Galore Part 2!
Day 2 Part 2: Magical MK Day - Is This Real Life??
Day 2 Part 3: Magical MK Day - Better and Better!
Day 2 Part 4: Lots of First Time Moments!!!!
Day 2 Part 5: Yacht Club, Baby!!
Trip Highlight: Main Street Electrical Parade
Trip Highlight: Food & Wine 2015 Part 1 - spreadsheet time!

 

[Teetah]

DAY 1 PART 1: AOA CHECK IN & STUFFING OUR FACES ALREADY!​

Our journey to THE BEST PLACE EVER began on a Thursday evening. We worked half the day, then drove ourselves to the airport, which is about an hour from our house. We flew Southwest, which we don't typically do, but they are the only airline that has a direct flight to MCO from IND! We bought the upgrade package that allows you to board first - we are pretty spoiled with Delta.

We landed on time at 5:55pm and headed towards ME! It had been several years since we have been on ME, so I was excited! Our wait time for our bus was about 25 minutes. We were the first to board so we got front row!





Hey girl, hey!



When they announced we would be stopping at our resort first, we cheered! And we were the only people that cheered...so I looked back at the full bus and said....oh...sorry...

Heh.
​

We were dropped at our resort and greeted by CM Tom from St. Louis. He was super helpful and cheery and just altogether awesome! We got all checked in and headed straight to our room to drop our bags. In true Diser fashion, I took to taking room photos immediately:







Is anyone else not Prince Eric's biggest fan? I mean, he's ok and all...but I guess I have never found much appeal in him.






Oh Disney details! You make my heart happy!



I find it a bit annoying that Ariel is reminded me that time is running out here...leave me be, woman! There are no clocks on vacation (ha!).





I WANT THESE MIRRORS AND THIS SHOWER CURTAIN!!!!



At this point, we were famished and decided to head to Landscape of Flavors and grab some grub and take some night photos!



He's so cute!

​

 

[Teetah]

DAY 1 PART 2: THE STUFFING OUR FACES PART I DIDN'T GET TO IN THE LAST UPDATE!
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We found our way back to the food court and decided on the build your own pasta and some incredibly rich and insane desserts. I mean, hey, why not?



We had the pasta bar at POR during our last trip and found it to be great! We don't eat much pasta at home (for calorie/health reasons) so the splurge was so yummy!





The desserts were perfectly indulgent. My intro photos are from this meal!

After a day of work then travel then all that heavy food in our bellies, it was time for a nice long walk around the resort! I must say, this resort's theming is just top notch! Here is my first batch of photos (in no particular order)!

AOA Lobby

If I could do something like in one of our hallways at home, I would in a heartbeat! I chose some of my favorites to show you up close!











He is so perfectly annoyed!




And he is so perfectly cranky!



And the other direction....



Oooohhh pretty pretty lights!!!

I will share one fun memory...back in 2009, my sister in law, her husband and their little one plus us took my in laws to Disney for 9 days for their 25th wedding anniversary. This trip is what started my slight obsession with Disney World. The Disney brand was a huge part of my childhood, but I had only been to the World a couple of times before that and they were when I was very little and a day trip. During this trip, we stayed at Pop Century. While there, the AOA didn't exist and wasn't even announced. The bridge in the photo below was there and you could walk to the now AOA entrance, but you couldn't go any further. It was very mysterious looking back then. I believe it was originally supposed to be save for the later decades to expand Pop's theme, but then they change it to Art of Animation (which I am very happy about!). I remember we would walk over there as a family and contemplate what great Disney secrets could be hiding in this closed off area! We were being silly, of course, but it was really fun to walk to this bridge and remember those moments!



To Be Continued!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Joining in. I've never been during the Food & Wine Fest but hope to be able to go and taste all the wonderful dishes. It seems that May is when we go most often so I've seen the Flower and Garden Fest and it's just beautiful. Hopefully one day soon I'll get there in October.

 

[Teetah]

Joining in. I've never been during the Food & Wine Fest but hope to be able to go and taste all the wonderful dishes. It seems that May is when we go most often so I've seen the Flower and Garden Fest and it's just beautiful. Hopefully one day soon I'll get there in October.

Welcome!

I hope you do make it to Food & Wine sometime - it can be just heavenly!! I have been to the Flower and Garden Fest once before and it was just beautiful! There is amazing food there, as well, I hear (we didn't do any food sampling... I wasn't familiar with the event at the time). I see you are doing a Disney cruise in the future - have you been on one before? We have been tempted and have heard so many great things!

 

[PebblesMom]

Yay! Can't wait to see more!!!!!

 

[Teetah]

Yay! Can't wait to see more!!!!!

HI DSIL!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Teetah]

Day 1 Part 3: AOA PHOTOS GALORE!​

Before I pick up where I left off, I have some iPhone photos I found that I had forgotten about! These were when we were waiting for ME!





Maybe we will smile at the same time at some point!



There we go!

OK, back to it! When last we spoke, we were doing a night stroll of AOA. Here is Crush at night - I just love him!!!!







We headed back to our room, pretty beat but so happy to be here!



OK, Prince Eric looks pretty good here.



I was NOT prepared for the size of Ursula!



I really wonder what the constructions folks were thinking and the enormous (no pun intended) amount of jokes that must have went down during this creation:





We had decided that we would get up relatively early and take a stroll all the way around AOA in the daylight to get more photos and then grab our bags and check out!

Get ready for a serious amount of photos!

Little Mermaid Area

Good morning, large Ursula.



Girl, that mani!





Tim wishes!



OK, he might have won me over.



Dinglehopper!



Again, he wishes!



Obligatory:



I REALLY had to refrain from climbing up there:




Continued in next post...

 

[Teetah]

DAY 1 PART 4: AOA PHOTOS GALORE PART 2!​

Lion King Area

Good morning, Mufasa!



Cuties!



Should have take this at night...it was actually a little creepy! I really love that foam/athletic type of ground they have in this area. I am sure it makes for less skinned knees!



Zuzu!



Scar! So I find out at this moment that my husband couldn't tell the difference between Mufasa and Scar...then add in an teenage Simba...he really got confused! It was a sad day for me. I think it means I need to make him watch Disney movies more.



My favorite Lion King character! Rafiki!



Tim LOVED the name of this...dropping the kids of the pool...you know, 10 year old toilet jokes!



Love these guys - have a funny story about them in Epcot later on...



Cars Area

Being a car guy, Tim loved this area!







In the daytime:








In the daytime:



So cute!











Tim wants to recreate this at home. I said no.





If you read my original TRs, you know that we bought a house a few years ago and started renovating it. It came on about 9 acres of amazing wood and landscaping. Most of it has fallen into disrepair and now that the inside is done, we have started working on the outside. We have heard stories from the neighbors that the landscaping used to be amazing and just pristine (no pressure, guys). So anytime we see cool plants or some neat landscaping, we take photos. And, well, there is not many standards higher than Disney's! We loved these evergreen trim designs!








And that wrapped up our time at AOA! It was time to check out, send our bags on to the Yacht Club and head to MK!

Next Up: A Rough Start Turns Into A Magical Day!

 

[saintstickets]

Found your trip report and joining in. Looking forward to more!

 

[Teetah]

Found your trip report and joining in. Looking forward to more!

Welcome! More coming later this week!

 

[Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Daa]

Hey there! Im new but this looks fun so Im joining in!

 

[ariane37]

Hi Teetah Since you started reading my TR I thought I'd read yours! We stayed in a LM room for a few nights back in 2014. I guilted all my guys into it for me lol. Definitely agree the theming of the resort is awesome!

Looking forward to reading more

 

[Closet Disney Junkie]

Carbs taste so much better when they're bright green. Great pics and can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip!

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Somewhere, in an alternate universe...

(Also, Jamie and Tim are practically kissing )

Loving the look of your trip! Excited to hear more

 

[Teetah]

Hey there! Im new but this looks fun so Im joining in!

Welcome, welcome, welcome!!!! Hope you have fun here! We are pretty nice to newbies.

Hi Teetah Since you started reading my TR I thought I'd read yours! We stayed in a LM room for a few nights back in 2014. I guilted all my guys into it for me lol. Definitely agree the theming of the resort is awesome!

Looking forward to reading more

Good for you! That is only fair when you are the only lady! Welcome!

Carbs taste so much better when they're bright green. Great pics and can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip!

I could not agree more! Thanks for joining in!

Somewhere, in an alternate universe...

(Also, Jamie and Tim are practically kissing )

Loving the look of your trip! Excited to hear more

Oh. my. gosh. This is just hilarious!!!!! I love it so much!!!! Glad to see you here!

 

[Teetah]

Day 2 Part 2: Magical MK Day - Is This Real Life??​

Once we were done taking all the photos at AOA, we hopped on a bus to MK for the morning and afternoon! We had decided not to eat breakfast, since we had an early lunch reservation PLUS ALL THAT PASTA AND SUGAR WE HAD THE NIGHT BEFORE!

When we arrived, I was so so excited for our early BOG lunch...when we got to the turnstiles and tapped the Mickey head...it turned red. MEEEHHHHHHHHH! We were spoiled, as we had zero MB issues in any of our trips until this very moment. And our BOG reservation was in 45 minutes! The CM said our tickets were expired, so I knew it must be reading old tickets. We hopped over to Guest Services and had a 30 minute wait. I was a bit nervous that we would end up missing our reservation, but we were just fine! We people-watched during our wait and I will tell you...put a bunch of nervous and possibly upset people in line together and it is just no fun. We try to approach these situations with patience and grace. I knew if we were late, a CM would help us and everything would be taken care of. Did I want to stand in that line? Of course not, but such is life! So we tried to laugh with a line CM and just stay cheerful to hopefully rub off on the people around us!

Once we were sorted out (which once we got thru the line took no time at all!), we entered and there we were!



As we wanted to get to BOG on time, we only took a few photos on our way over - we had all day to take more pics!















OK, maybe I took more than I thought I did.

We headed straight over to BOG for our 10:40 early lunch and we checked in before they were ready to start letting folks in. I was just happy to be on time! So we took the opportunity to look around and enjoy the view!

Hey stud...



Just lovely...sigh...





We hopped in line when they opened and enjoyed BOG and the Beast's Castle for the first time! The queue was fun and I loved the full suits of armor! We found a seat by the frosty glass and enjoyed the idea of cooler weather...





Tim didn't realize how the magical carts worked and was a bit surprised when our food just showed up! We spent some time discussing that technology (he is an IT guy) and started to dig into our meal.



I had the Carved Turkey Sandwich and green beans. Both great!



Tim had the Carved Prime Chuck Roast Beef with fries and a French Onion Soup (which we shared). Again, all delicious!



I was so pumped to try the grey stuff and being lunch time, I knew the only way was to get the Master's Cupcake!





I am happy to report it was quite yummy and just super fun to eat!

We hung around in Beast's Castle and took some photos...these are mostly iPhone so bear with me...


















I see comments about the above mosaic that the Prince has no pants...and I agree that he does not and is related to Ken. But does anyone else think these look like he is wearing booty shorts????



This man and his fashion sense.

And I will leave you on that note!

Next Up: Day 2 Part 3!

 

[Teetah]

Day 2 Part 3: Magical MK Day - Better & Better​

After finishing at BOG, we decided we were in desperate need of coffee. We asked a CM where the closest spot was and he said at Pinocchio Village Haus! The first time Tim and I went to MK together, we had lunch here, so I was exciting to pop in there, if only for a minute! We got a large iced coffee and headed towards Haunted Mansion. On the way, I had to stop and see the Rapunzel bathrooms! I took a few photos around the area:





I didn't take very many photos at HM, but I got one for ya:



After an enjoyable trip on HM, we started to head towards Tomorrowland, but we stopped for some castle photos along the way!

GORGEOUS!!!







We had time before our FP on Buzz, so we headed to Main St to cool down. It was super hot on this day (and every day thereafter). We had a relatively cool summer in Indiana this year, so we were NOT ready for the heat. You will find we did lots of cooling down and making decisions based on that later in the trip! During our cool off period, we watched the fall Trolley Show on Main St. It was just adorable!!!!











We decided to head to Tomorrowland and see if we could catch Monster's Laugh Floor before Buzz, which we had never seen. We had a short wait and were sitting in the AC enjoying the show! We thought it was hilarious and really enjoyed it! I can see why you might not want to go to this over and over, as I am sure most of the jokes are the same, but because it is so interactive with the audience, it could be differently funny every time at least a little bit!



We had also never ridden Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin so we headed there next for our FP!




OK, so this ride is a ton of fun, but we were AWFUL at it! Our shameful scores...I'm on the left...and I am usually better at Tim at games like this...



And look how hard I am trying!



Pathetic.

We hopped on it again and it just got worse...



But we really liked it!



Before heading to our 2pm reservation at Tony's, I was in desperate need to ride the Teacups! If you have read my previous TR...you know the story here...

I took lots of photos this time!











For some weird reason, I decided I REALLY needed a pic of the mouse all the way out of the teapot...it took a few tries....








This was as good as I got!



I know you guys were really on the edges of your seat rooting for me there...pretty exciting stuff, I know.

It was time to head to Tonys! Next up...

Day 2 Part 4: Lots of First Time Moments!!!!

 

[Teetah]

Yeah...so...this TR. As per usual, I am just now getting back to it. I booked a F&W trip with my DSIL for November, so I am all inspired to come back and finish this up! I should probably let her do the next TR...LOL. But, if I can finish this up, it should give you all lots of good info for F&W this year if you happen to be going!

Day 2 Part 4: Magical MK Day - Lots of First Time Moments!
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As we walked to Tony's, this precious older CM gentleman stopped me in the middle of Main St. He asked if we needed any assistance finding where we were going. I told him we were headed to Tony's and he offered his arm and walked me down the street! It was so dear! Tim just followed along behind and when we stopped, he said something to Tim along the lines of thanking him for allowing him to escort his lovely wife and that it made his day. It was beyond adorable and definitely my favorite Pixie Dust moment ever! I was so enthralled, I didn't even thing to get a photo!

On to Tony's.



I have read many poor reviews of the food here. However, I wanted to see FOF for the first time from here. We waited for a seat outside. I am going to tell you that the view left something to be desired. It wasn't bad or anything, but it really wasn't great with the trees and people. So, I am going to say that it is not really worth the money you have to pay to eat there. Here was our view without zoom - you can make your own determination, I guess, but we would not do it again.



Not horrible, but not super awesome. That probably sounds like I am complaining, and I do not mean to do that. We loved the parade and it was nice to be out of the crowd!

The food was ok - I didn't think it was awful. However, our server was great and we had a friendly conversation with a couple next to us from Texas!





More FOF pics for you! No real order, just my favorite of my shots.

















After our meal, it was about 4pm, so we headed to check in at YC!!!!!!!!!!!!

​

 

[Teetah]

Day 2 Part 5: YACHT CLUB, BABY!

Still on our MK high, we headed to YC to check in. Getting our luggage taken care of was easy peasy, and we headed to our room. Tim said as we were walking thru YC, "now THIS is what I'm talking about!"

He wasn't as thrilled with AOA as I was.

Spoiled brat.

Our room was just so Disney perfect!















We decided to lay down for an afternoon siesta! More coming soon!