Inching My Way Closer to the Castle Final thoughts/future trips 4/2p90 The End 4/4p92

[Ducky4Disney]

Whenever we went back to the room the balcony just called to us. It did to me at least which is why I have these balcony view/vulture shots in between events each day.

After AK and BLT pool time, we got ready for our Garden Grill ADR! I've been to GG several times; it's a staple ADR in my household. MEK, however, had never been, so I was really hoping she'd enjoy it. GG has gone through quite a few changes since I have been eating there. When DH and I ate there back in.... 2003, they had Hitching Ceremonies. I think I set it up when I made the ADR and at the end of the meal they came out with a cake and announced that we were married and since no one there was invited to the ceremony, they were doing it again. They read some vows while Mickey witnessed it, and you got a certificate!

They have also gotten rid of the Ice Cream Social they used to have, and lunch altogether. At one point they totally changed the menu and got rid of the all-you-care-to-eat-family-style. I am SO glad that didn't last! The menu still changes, which is ok, but it still has the great farm-fresh-family-feel to it.

We get there; late. Oops. But we were seated quickly on the lower level. We were currently near the end of the mural in the jungle looking scene and I remember someone saying there was a Hidden Mickey there. I had also heard that the Hidden Mickey was painted over during a refurb, but I started looking anyway. The best MEK and I could come up with is this:

Not bad, right?

Our server comes over and says there is a Hidden Mickey on that part of the wall but that's not it. Back to searching. Not seeing anything Hidden Mickeyish so we ask for a hint and she narrows it down to an area... we need more help. Ok, just show us the darned thing! And this is what she shows us:

Do you see it? That was a tough one! And not very Mickey-like, IMHO. Sort of peeping-Tom Hidden Mickey. That's a sick thought.

There were character visits and good food had by all! I was expecting catfish but got mahi-mahi. Not a bad thing, but I love the catfish there. MEK raved about the veggies that came under the Mahi-Mahi (there she goes on a veggie kick again). I loved the flank steak... and everything else too! I didn't get any pics of it, other than one on my phone so I could send it back to DH.

Is sending food porn pics to your DH a type of sexting?

Anyway, I only good a couple good character pics but I'm sure MEK will fill in for my lack of pics here

Look, no ears!

After a mighty fine meal we wander down stairs for a little Soarin'. And there was, wait for it.... NO WAIT! I mean none, zero, nada on the wait time.

Proof:

It took longer to walk to the ride than the ride itself, I think. Since there was no wait we requested the "good" seats and the CM recommended B1 for the best flight. A fine choice, a very fine choice. While we were waiting for our flight to depart I snapped a couple pics.

Here's a question for all our TR followers:
What's your fav part of Soarin' and what's your least favorite part?

D4D

 

[Ducky4Disney]

I forgot an entire post. How in the heck did I manage that? I got all discombobulated and skipped the pool!

Here we go!

I sat by the pool with Mary Ellen and realized, I'm not a sit-by-the-pool person, and that slide looks like fun! No better way to get wet so I climbed up the steps and hailed MEK so I could give the Day 3 sign before heading down the slide.

Since I am behind a post, Mary Ellen has already told you her slide trauma from VB and I am happy to say that she overcame it! Just reading her account of the slide head trauma made me laugh again, since I've heard it before; poolside! She kept watching people come down the slide to gauge the kind of damage she may suffer if she tried it. She even debated on going down in a sitting position to avoid being concussed, but she decided that she'd look way too geezer if she did that.

After the slide I relaxed in the pool for a bit. Unfortunately, that meant I had to sit on the bottom in order to be submerged at all, and the water was so warm that it wasn't remtely refreshing. Bummer. Sitting in the pool and looking up at BLT made me think about what was different about BLT and why I didn't particularly love it. It looks like any standard hotel. There's no in the building, it just looks like any nice condo building. I made a mental note of that and tried to look at the architecture of other resorts for the rest of the trip.

Is that a carry handle on top of BLT?

We missed the lovebugs but there were plenty of these guys!

There's that carry handle again.

I had mentioned to MEK that I like to use fountains to practice shooting in TV mode so I thought I'd do some myself. My little Canon only stops down to F8 and I need a lot more than that to handle this bright but cloudy day. But take a look at these:

All three pics are properly exposed, but with different shutter speeds you can make the water go from very choppy and "stopped" to softer and more fluid. This is also a good way to figure out how long of a shutter speed you can hand hold.

Subtle difference between these two.

Now you can go back and read my previous post, which should have come after this one.

(Can't belive I got lost in my own trip report!)

D4D

 

[vamassey1]

Great update!

Pool time and dinner. We ate at GG in 2007. We really enjoyed the fresh food but I didn't care for the fact that the room was rotating.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Great updates ladies! Too bad the pool didn't look as "cool" from poolside as it did from upstairs. The slide looks awesome though and I'm proud of Mary Ellen for going down the slide. I'm not much of a sit-by-the-pool and relax kinda gal especially when I'm at WDW.

 

[MagicShell]

I haven't eaten at the GG since 2000. We ate breakfast there. I always forget about it being there.

I cannot believe how empty Soarin' was. How did you get so lucky?

 

[Mndisneygirl]

My favorite thing about Soarin' is the smell of the pine trees and the smell of the oranges!

Least favorite- when the scene changes abruptly. I have to close my eyes for a moment sometimes.
Otherwise it would be - The End of the ride!

Jen - I completely agree with your comments about BLT. I could be any place. It does not shout "DISNEY" at all. I understand that it is supposed to coordinate with the Contemporary, but still.

 

[manntra]

Great updates
I must admit the pool does seem to look much cooler from above...it doesn't seem very big and I like the zero entry (am I that old now?!!) that many of the other pools have. That being said, the slide looks cool and I am always good for a few rides
Those vultures again!! They were so many on the safari....around the hippo and pelican area. Like A LOT!!! I really wonder if they have a problem with them...if not now then they will.
Soarnin: favorite part going over the ocean...or kicking the rafter in the head
least favorite would be the location....I don't head in that direction of the park except for this ride so it is not always a must do for me I know, I know

Tracy

 

[MEK]

Sorry I can't respond right now. I am off today, but have sooooooooo many chores and I want to keep plugging away at them. Tonight the boys play a game 2 hours from here. They moved it up to start at 7pm. But by the time we get home it will be super late. It's the last regular game of the season and then we see where we are ranked. Right now I think we are #4. Remember, we won the state championship last year. I know everyone is hoping for a repeat but both of the teams ranked higher than us we have lost to.

Now here's an interesting change of events. Brian's position has been moved from center defender to center mid and NOW striker. He played striker in the last two games and did really well. If you know anything about soccer, you know that striker is the coveted position that every kid wants to play because you get to score goals. Brian has never, ever been given the opportunity to play this on any of his teams because he is big and physical. Strikers are usually smaller and fast.

I'm not gonna give Brian's stats for those two games because I don't want to jinx him. Let me just say if he can play as well as he has been, it should be a great game. The only concern is he has 3 yellow cards for the season and the last one was totally lame. If he gets a yellow tonight he will not be allowed to play in the first round game of the state tournament. So he will have to turn the physical stuff down a notch.

So I doubt I'll get to replies tonight. But thanks for letting me go off topic! It's just that this is the most exciting time of the year for soccer. And its his senior year and he won't play after this. Which is sad because I think the last two games show he is good enough to play college ball. But he doesn't really have the study skills or the desire to be that focused. It requires a tremendous amount of maturity and desire and he is all about the fun.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Glad you braved the slide ME!

We ate at GG in 2006 and really enjoyed it, probably the best character interaction we've ever had.

I have to admit, I can't find the hidden Mickey in the pic.....

No wait on Soarin'?! That's awesome, and for getting the 'good seats'. As for my favorite part, I'm not sure I can pick one. I love the river scene, and skiing in the mountain, and the orange grove, the ocean, and DL - I could go on and on. I can tell you my least favorite part though, I don't like when it jumps to downtown LA at night, I have to close my eyes for a minute there or I start to feel queazy.

Congrats to Brian, Mary Ellen! I'm sooooo not a soccer fan, but it sounds like a big accomplishment. I'll keep my fingers crossed for no yellow cards tonight!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Congratulations Brian! I hope that the team does well this evening. Let us know how they do when you get a chance.

 

[megcellent]

Yay! I finally caught up! Such BEAUTIFUL pictures ... I loved going from page to page wondering what will be next! Hope soccer goes well tonight!

 

[Queenofallthings]

One of our favorite things about staying at AKL was the balcony....whenever we were in the room, we were on the balcony....I missed it so much we left for the All Stars

Great pics once again!!! Love them all!!

 

[vamassey1]

Mary Ellen I hope the game went well and Brian didn't get a yellow card. How exciting for him and the other players.

 

[MEK]

I'm not a soccer fan either (and I was a soccer mom...and jumped for joy when he gave it up for football, baseball and wrestling). But I like Mary Ellen too.

Gee thanks!

Wow, awesome slide! The pool does look really cool from that angle. Sorry it didn't live up to that from the ground.

Also glad you both rode it. If you ask me, life's too short to let potential agony get in the way of what could be a good time.

That's a great saying and I will definitely remember that the next time I am fearful of something.

Potential agony alright! The slide at VB was wicked, I tell you. downright possessed!

More great pictures, MaryEllen. I've heard that about the pool at BLT -- underwhelming (we always thought that of the Contemporary pool). Good for you going down the slide.

I'm going to guess you do the Segway Tour.

The slide was fun. I skipped all slides last year and now I wish I had tried the one at CSR. It looks so cool.

Hey, and good guess there missy!

Be back tomorrow with more replies.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Hope the game went well!

 

[MEK]

Our server comes over and says there is a Hidden Mickey on that part of the wall but that's not it. Back to searching. Not seeing anything Hidden Mickeyish so we ask for a hint and she narrows it down to an area... we need more help. Ok, just show us the darned thing! And this is what she shows us:

Do you see it? That was a tough one! And not very Mickey-like, IMHO. Sort of peeping-Tom Hidden Mickey. That's a sick thought.

I totally forgot about the hidden mickey cause I never really saw it. I STILL don't see it all that well. Lame, if you ask me!

Here's a question for all our TR followers:
What's your fav part of Soarin' and what's your least favorite part?

D4D

I like trying to kick the people in the canoe. Miss every time. I love the skiing scene where the one skier falls on his @$$ and I LOVE the surfing scene. I don't know what it is about that scene, but its so cool. Especially knowing that there's probably not much daylight left and soon they will be pushing the envelope of safety.

Great update!

Pool time and dinner. We ate at GG in 2007. We really enjoyed the fresh food but I didn't care for the fact that the room was rotating.

The food was delish! Loved it, especially the veggies, fish, and potatoes. Really good stuff!

I didn't mind the room rotating, but I felt like the seating area was really small.

Great updates ladies! Too bad the pool didn't look as "cool" from poolside as it did from upstairs. The slide looks awesome though and I'm proud of Mary Ellen for going down the slide. I'm not much of a sit-by-the-pool and relax kinda gal especially when I'm at WDW.

I love to sit by the pool. I didn't use to, but since I don't get much pool time at home its a real guilty pleasure for me.

Maybe next trip I'll try that slide at the beach club. We'll see!

I haven't eaten at the GG since 2000. We ate breakfast there. I always forget about it being there.

I cannot believe how empty Soarin' was. How did you get so lucky?

I do too, but I know Jen raves about it so when she suggested it, I was totally on board with it. I love trying new eats!

Walking on Soarin like that right after dinner was very surreal. I have NEVER, EVER seen that. It was a little scary. The kind of scary when you think, "was there a major disaster that we don't know about and has everyone else left the parks?"

 

[MEK]

Gotta get ready for a music rehearsal. Be Back Soon with more replies.

Oh, and soccer......WE LOST 2 TO 0. Those kids were really, really good. Every single one of them played rep ball. Their defense was outstanding and ours let up two early girls because they weren't expecting that type of start. Oh well! Everytime I drive downstate like that we lose. Never won a game down there - EVER! Lesson learned - stay home!

 

[KatMark]

Gotta get ready for a music rehearsal. Be Back Soon with more replies.

Oh, and soccer......WE LOST 2 TO 0. Those kids were really, really good. Every single one of them played rep ball. Their defense was outstanding and ours let up two early girls because they weren't expecting that type of start. Oh well! Everytime I drive downstate like that we lose. Never won a game down there - EVER! Lesson learned - stay home!

Sorry the team lost, MaryEllen. I felt that way a lot of times too...if I just hadn't traveled ALL that way....

 

[All7OfUs]

Ah nutz!! Sorry to hear they lost the game Mary Ellen! Glad to hear they were good sports and played well, though!

 

[MEK]

My favorite thing about Soarin' is the smell of the pine trees and the smell of the oranges!

I love the smells too! It so refreshing and seems so real!

Least favorite- when the scene changes abruptly. I have to close my eyes for a moment sometimes.
Otherwise it would be - The End of the ride!

I think the each scene changes about 5 to 10 seconds too soon. I wish the whole ride was 30 - 60 seconds long, but can you imagine what THAT would do to the wait time?

Jen - I completely agree with your comments about BLT. I could be any place. It does not shout "DISNEY" at all. I understand that it is supposed to coordinate with the Contemporary, but still.

I agree. When we were sitting by the pool I remember looking up and thinking, "what the heck? this looks like any condo in Florida." OK, I'm exaggerating cause I'd take BLT anyday over most places in Florida.

Great updates
I must admit the pool does seem to look much cooler from above...it doesn't seem very big and I like the zero entry (am I that old now?!!) that many of the other pools have. That being said, the slide looks cool and I am always good for a few rides

The slide was fun and the location near the lake is superb. But compared to the Poly pool and the GF pool, the BLT pool is lacking. Still, I was very happy to be there so I really can't complain.

Those vultures again!! They were so many on the safari....around the hippo and pelican area. Like A LOT!!! I really wonder if they have a problem with them...if not now then they will.

Those vultures WERE everywhere, but I tried hard to ignore them. The rest of the view was so beautiful.

Soarnin: favorite part going over the ocean...or kicking the rafter in the head

OMG - that's exactly what I said. I also added the skiing scene. I love kicking the rafters. Its a bit passive aggressive!

least favorite would be the location....I don't head in that direction of the park except for this ride so it is not always a must do for me I know, I know

Tracy

Yeah - its a little far from the ditch!

Glad you braved the slide ME!

I have to admit, I can't find the hidden Mickey in the pic.....

Good! I am glad I'm not the only one!

No wait on Soarin'?! That's awesome, and for getting the 'good seats'. As for my favorite part, I'm not sure I can pick one. I love the river scene, and skiing in the mountain, and the orange grove, the ocean, and DL - I could go on and on. I can tell you my least favorite part though, I don't like when it jumps to downtown LA at night, I have to close my eyes for a minute there or I start to feel queazy.

The no wait for Soarin' was pretty darn amazing.

Sounds like we all really enjoy the same parts of Soarin. There are some parts that really appeal to the senses!

Congrats to Brian, Mary Ellen! I'm sooooo not a soccer fan, but it sounds like a big accomplishment. I'll keep my fingers crossed for no yellow cards tonight!

Thanks! I know he's a little disappointed that they lost, but no yellow cards!!!! No he starts with a clean slate for the tournament.

Yay! I finally caught up! Such BEAUTIFUL pictures ... I loved going from page to page wondering what will be next! Hope soccer goes well tonight!

Thanks Megcellent. As you know, soccer did not have the intended outcome, but that team was really good. So onward and upward!

One of our favorite things about staying at AKL was the balcony....whenever we were in the room, we were on the balcony....I missed it so much we left for the All Stars

Great pics once again!!! Love them all!!

The balconies are definitely one of the highlights for staying deluxe. That BLT balcony was by far my favorite! Hands down best ever!

Glad you are enjoying the pictures. More tonight!

Mary Ellen I hope the game went well and Brian didn't get a yellow card. How exciting for him and the other players.

Thanks. I know they are really ready to play the state tournament which starts NEXT weekend. We won the whole thing last year, but if we make it to the semis or quarter finals, that would be an accomplishment!

Hope the game went well!

Well, it would have been better if we tied but at least our defense stepped in up in the second half and they didn't score anymore. They scored their first two goals in the first 20 minutes.