It's cheap! It's free! Can this really be Disney???Complete with pics.

[scrap4u]

Great TR... looking forward to more!

Hi teen toddler mom! Thanks for stopping by to read my report. I may have another chapter up this morning!

 

[scrap4u]

Great TR! I'm lovin' the pictures.

Hi Madsofa. Thanks for sticking around. Glad you're enjoying the report. More to come later today, hopefully!

 

[scrap4u]

Scrapie, since we are such close friends, and have known each foreva eva, I must be totally honest with you and let you know that I just skimmed through your whole report to find a pic of you! Now I FINALLY know what you look like!

Ok - back to actually READING the report . . . .

Hey GMax! Glad you stopped by for a read! I haven't seen on many threads lately. Hope you enjoy the report and the shout out to you!

 

[scrap4u]

I'm lovin your trippie so far! The pictures are great, and we were at POFQ almost the same week, but in 2005. You're bringing back (hot and sweaty) memories!

Hi Alice28! Glad you're enjoying the TR. We had never been in September before. We had been in August last year and I swear September this year was hotter! Thanks for reading!

 

[scrap4u]

Monday, September 11.
Breakfast today wasn’t planned. I figured we’d do the food court at POFQ. I tried not to plan a breakfast if we were going to an EMH the night before. But DH suggested we go over to AKL to have the breakfast buffet at Boma. We love their buffets! Both breakfast and dinner!

I called and we were able to score a 9am ADR. We drove over to AKL and felt such sweet sadness because we stayed at AKL on our last 2 trips to DW but we weren’t there this time. Sniff, sniff. It’s such a beautiful hotel and we really love staying there.

We got a very close parking space and walked into the resort. The beauty of the lobby just takes my breath away. And I love the smell of the Lodge. Or is it the smell that takes my breath away? You decide!

We took the elevators downstairs to the restaurant and were seated right away. I think our waitress Nancy was fine. I don’t remember. All I remember is the excellent food and the terrific Jungle Juice. We stuffed ourselves and then walked back upstairs and through Zawadi Marketplace to see what was new. We enjoy looking around this store as they have lots of interesting things you wont’ see in any other store. We said goodbye to AKL and walked back to our car.

From AKL we drove over to Epcot. We wanted to spend more time here. On previous trips it seems like we haven't spent as much time at Epcot and AK as we have at MGM and MK. We were going to change that this trip. We got to Epicot about 10am. Yes, that is how I say it when we’re in Disney World. It makes me happy. Come on and say it with me....Epicot! I know it’s not very original but who cares!

Once we got through the turnstiles, we went over to Soarin’ and walked right on in the standby line. As soon as we got off, DH walked back on to do it again. I sat on a bench and people watched and reviewed our pictures on our digital camera.

Next we went to see Turtle Talk with Crush. We’d never seen this before so another thing I could cross off my list. We waited about 5 minutes to get into the theater. While we waited we watched a diver in a tank. Watched the tank fill with water. Watched the diver go up and down. Watched the tank being emptied of water. It was actually pretty interesting to watch even though my description sounds boring.

After TT with Crush we decided to go back over to the Character connection to see if Captain Hook was available. We’d never had our picture taken with him before. We walked in and were trying to peak in between a wall and a divider to see who was out for pictures. A CM walked by and I asked her if she knew if Captain Hook was going to be available that day. She said yes he is available right now. He’s walking down the hall right there. So DH and I walked up to him and asked if we could get our picture taken with him. He graciously nodded his head. The nice CM took a picture of the both of us with him.

Then there was a cat from Pinocchio sitting on a bench and she took our picture with him too. I don’t know his name but what the heck. It’s a cute picture. We were the only ones in the hallway so we had these 2 characters all to ourselves!

Next up was Mission Space. DH rode it—the full throw up version—and I walked around the dump shop as I had never been in this one. Not finding anything here that I couldn’t live without, I went outside to find a seat in the shade. After waiting maybe 10 minutes, DH came out, again all smiles. He really likes this ride too. As he was telling me about the ride, out walk Mickey and Goofy in space suits. We followed them (stalked them!) over to their shady picture spot and another nice CM took our picture with them. How fun!

Can I digress here for just a minute and tell you what everyone says over and over. It is truly the CMs that make Disney such a great place. Most of them are the nicest people and will do whatever they can to help you, answer your questions, just make general conversation and spread that all important pixie dust! We always try to smile when we speak to them and make a point to say hello, thank you, goodbye, etc. Without the CMs, Disney would just be an empty park!

Back to the TR--We walked over to World Showcase and started with Mexico. We had never ridden El Rio de Tempe so we did it. Cute but it does remind me of It’s a Small World. We looked at the menu at San Angel Inn but nothing here was tickling our fancy so decided we’d keep walking.

Next stop was Norway. We went into Kringla Bakeri to get a snack. Can I just say yuck! I got the Lefse which is potato bread spread with butter and cinnamon sugar and then rolled up. It looked good but tasted like dirt. Not that I’ve ever eaten dirt but what I think dirt would taste like! I love bread, sugar, and butter. How can you go wrong with that combination? Add a little cinnamon and you have cinnamon toast! Needless to say, I didn’t finish it. DH had a danish that he seemed to like.

Now it was on to the big thrill ride of the day—Maelstrom. It’s a FP you know! Anyway, we walked onto it with no wait. What a shocker! I can remember riding it 1998 and having to get a FP because the standby line was so long! Skipped the movie at the end of course, we’ve seen it once before, and walked through the dump shop. I love the wool sweaters they have but it just doesn’t get cold enough at home to wear them. I have one I bought in New Zealand years ago and I’m always burning up when I wear it.

We continue our stroll around World Showcase stopping to look at the train display in Germany when we decide it’s time to eat again. We stopped at the Tangerine Café in Morocco and had a wonderful lunch. DH had the Chicken Shwarma platter and I had the vegetarian platter. Both were scrumptious! And guess what? They’re free! Even tastier!

We continued past America and France. This trip I was determined to have a glass of champagne in France. How decadent to be walking around a Disney park with a glass of champagne in your hand. I want to stick out my pinkie and toss off French phrases—that I barely remember from high school.

Anyway, DH asks if I want one now but I said no way. I’m too full and it’s too hot. I’m not sure it would stay down, if you know what I mean.

We hit the United Kingdom next. We decided to walk into some of the shops there and ran in Mary Poppins. I took DH’s picture with Ms. Poppins and we kept browsing. We got to the toy store and Tigger, Pooh, and Eeyore were all together for picture taking. Another nice CM took a couple of pictures with our camera of all 5 of us. They came out great and this is a shot we’ve never had before.

From the UK we walked past Canada but Off Kilter wasn’t playing and we were too tired to wait for their next show. I love me some men in kilts! So we headed into Mouse Gear and then decided it was time to head home and get a little rest before our busy evening.

 

[missj1975]

Great report so far

 

[scrap4u]

Great report so far

Hey miss j 1975! Thanks for reading! I'm glad you're enjoying it. I'm certainly enjoying reading over my notes and thinking about being back in DW instead of at my desk working with my back thrown out!

 

[Aero's Mom]

That's it! After seeing the picture of you with Tigger & friends, I've decided that I'm crashing the next trip you and Mr. scrap4u take and hanging out with you the whole week (instead of just dinner and a show!)!!!!! Ya'll have WAY more fun than I do with AL and you always get way better pictures!

K

 

[scrap4u]

We took a nap, spruced up a bit and drove over to the Boardwalk. We had a 6pm ADR for Spoodles which is a favorite of ours. Within a minute or two of checking in the hostess took us to a little 2 top table in the middle of a walkway. I know we ( meaning me) won’t be happy here. I look around and see plenty of empty tables so I ask the hostess if it’s possible for us to sit at another table. She has a headset on so she can speak with the hosts back at the entrance. After a few moments she turns to me and with much attitude says “just pick any table”. Now I didn’t think my request was cause for an attitude like that. This must have been another cousin of Suzy Helpershoes! I picked a 4 top table towards the back of the restaurant, away from the noisy open kitchen and the main walkway for the waiters. Miss attitude gave us our menus and left us alone.

We had an excellent waitress, Sandi, who was very knowledgeable about the menu and had a great, friendly attitude. I had the Mediterranean dips and DH had the Greek Salad for appetizers. Both were very good.

For entrees DH had the Portuguese Seafood Stew which he loves. Previously I’ve had their Lemon Chicken which is great but I wanted something different tonight and didn’t want steak as I would be having that the next couple of nights. So I opted for the Fettuccini Alfredo. It was not the best pasta dish I’ve ever had. It was very dry. What sauce it did have was pretty good, it just needed a lot more!

For dessert I had the chocolate Apricot pistachio cake and DH had the kids ice cream sundae. He really liked the ice cream. The cake was just ok. Very heavy!

From Spoodles we were going to MGM for EMH. On our way down the boardwalk we came across one of the many terrific street performers. This guy was great, juggling and balancing things, making jokes. He had a great act and really got the audience involved. We stayed to see his entire act even though we were losing precious time at EMH—he was that good! When he finished up, we walked through the shops on the boardwalk for a minute and then walked back to our car to drive over to MGM. Yes, we could have taken a Friendship boat over but then we’d be over our 3 hour maximum for parking at a resort. Can you tell I’m a rule follower? So we drove over to MGM.

When we entered the park it was very close to show time of Fantasmic. We did the walk/run thing to try and get there before it started. As empty as the parks had been for the last 2 days, we didn’t think Fantasmic would be too crowded. Wrong again! It was standing room only. We opted to skip it and come back another night during the week to see it. We were really taking a chance here as so far, this was the only day out of 3 that it hadn’t rained.

Here's a shot of us and the Sorcerer's Hat:

We walked on Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller coaster. We walked over to the Great Movie Ride which we always enjoy. We had a very long wait to finally get on this ride. We waited somewhere between 20 and 30 minutes. which was ridiculous for this ride. But we waited and rode it anyway.

Once we got out of the GMR, the park had filled up quite a bit as Fantasmic had let out. We were tired and knew we’d be spending tomorrow here anyway so we took the tram back to our car and headed back to our room. We had another busy day coming up tomorrow and needed our rest!

 

[scrap4u]

Tuesday 9/12—
We had an 840am ADR for Chef Mickey’s today. We drove over to the Contemporary and the guard there was kind of short with us, wanting to know what we were doing there. After we explained we had an ADR for Chef Mickey’s and weren’t going to the MK, he finally let us in. We stayed at the Contemporary in 2004 and really enjoyed it so it was fun to walk through the resort and see what had changed. It was also nice to already know where we were going as this resort can be kind of confusing to get around.

We took the escalators upstairs and checked in at the hostess podium. We were seated after about 5 minutes. We skipped having our picture taken in front of the plate this time! We did see Minnie, Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale as they came around to our table. The buffet was ok, but not as good as I remembered it.

When we finished up, Goofy was standing out in the middle of the restaurant so we decided to get pictures with him.

I took a couple of DH and Goofy clowning around. Then DH took pictures of Goofy and I dancing together. That was pure Goofy!

We walked through the shops and I bought a zippered sweatshirt I had been looking at since we arrived. This was the first store that had it in the size I wanted so I whipped out my Disney Rewards card and bought that sucker for free baby! There’s that terrific word again! Free! Say it with me people, Free!

We went back out to our car to leave before the grumpy guard had our car towed and drove over to MGM. This day was kind of cloudy and it sprinkled off and on most of the day.

We were able to ride Tower of Terror twice in a row. It was a walk on as well as Rock n Roller Coaster. DH rode RnR twice and I rode it once. While I was waiting outside for DH on his second ride, I could smell the rain coming. You know that ozone type smell right before the bottom drops out? Sure enough, the sky just opened up right then. Luckily I was only a few feet away from the sliding doors at the bottom of the ramp from the dump shop. So I, along with a number of other people all ran to get inside. It poured for maybe 10 minutes total, but a complete washout.

DH came down the ramp from the shop as it was starting to let up. We’d left our ponchos in the room like a couple of dummies, so I sent DH back up to the shop to buy 2 more. By the time he came back down, the rain had stopped and we didn’t need them anymore. It looked like more rain was coming so I was sure we’d put them to good use. Or will we?

Next we went to see the Voyage of the Little Mermaid. We had to wait about 10 minutes for the theater to open but it was inside and it was cool so we were fine. We sat down on the floor and leaned up against the wall and chatted and people watched. The theatre wasn’t full when we went inside so we didn’t have to move all the way to the end of the row. We were right in the middle. On no, I broke a rule. Well, I’m a maverick when it comes to some things!

After Mermaid we walked over to catch a friendship boat to The Beach Club. A year or so ago DH saw an episode of Great Hotels on the Travel Channel where Samantha Brown was staying at the Yacht club. One of the places she visited was Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club where she had a Kitchen Sink sundae.

Since then DH has been saying he really wanted to try it. It has 9 scoops of ice cream, plus pineapple topping, strawberry topping, hot fudge, nuts, a whole jar of cherries, a whole can of whipped cream, plus cut up snickers candy bars, sponge cake, Oreo’s and more stuff. It is huge. So we were heading over to the Beach Club to eat at Beaches and Cream.

We caught a Friendship boat over to The Yacht/Beach club. The pilot of our boat stood out on the dock for a little while feeding the ducks from his hands. They would fly over his hand and pick up the food. It was very magical for lack of a better word!

We got off the Friendship boat and started walking down the boardwalk to the Beach Club. We didn’t really see any entrances off the boardwalk into The Beach Club. I thought that was pretty strange!

I finally saw a CM and asked her how to get to Beaches and Cream. She has us cut through Hurricane Hanna’s, a poolside restaurant., then walk all through the pool area and up and over bridges and finally we were on the hotel side of the resort. Wheh! We made it! We finally saw the sign for Beaches and Cream. I’m sure it’s easier to find if you are coming in from the front of the resort but not from the back!

We walked up to the host who offered us a table right away or we could wait for him to clean off a booth. We waited for the booth of course! I ordered a hamburger and fries with ice tea. All good. DH ordered the Kitchen Sink, for 18.99! Our waitress asked him if wanted to take the challenge.

Challenge! What challenge? If you can eat the entire Kitchen Sink within 1 hour, you get it for free. DH thought about but then said no. The waitress waited until I was mostly through with my lunch and then turned down the lights in the restaurant and made an announcement that someone was going to try eating the whole kitchen sink. Everyone applauded and our waitress took a picture of us in front of the sink. I took a couple of pictures of it too. DH got down to business.

They actually brought us some small bowls and I used one of those and had 2 bowls full of ice cream. DH probably ate 2/3 of sundae. The whipped cream just got to be too much for us both. He decided to quit before he got sick to his stomach.

We didn’t use the meal plan here as it wouldn’t cover the kitchen sink. So we paid and walked outside. The manager of the restaurant was out there talking to the host and asked DH how he did. We chatted with him for a few minutes. Everyone here was very nice.

We decided to walk around the Beach Club and see what it looked like as we’d never been there before. While we were in the lobby looking around, it started raining hard again. So we settled down on a comfy sofa in the lobby and relaxed, watched the rain and the people.

When it started to let up we headed back out. It was still coming down enough to get pretty wet so we pulled out our newly purchased Mickey ponchos.

DH helped me put my on and then tried to put his on. He was having some trouble but he finally managed to get it on. I looked over at him and started cracking up laughing. The sales clerk had sold him 1 adult and 1 child poncho instead of 2 adult ponchos. And DH had the child’s. DH is 6ft 1 and about 220 lbs. The poncho barely came down to his hips and the sleeves didn’t come past his elbows. I made him stand there and let me take a picture of him because it was so funny looking! What a good sport he is!

We got back on the Friendship boat to MGM, to get the tram back to our card, to drive back to our room. I know it sounds like a pain but it was actually pretty quick. Except the Friendship boat that is. Sometimes you just want to lean out the window and paddle to get that thing going faster!

We decided to head back to the resort to rest up for the evening. Tonight we were eating at The Yachtsman Steakhouse! Yuummmm! Repeat after me---Yuuummmmm!

 

[Adi12982]

I love your pictures - thanks for sharing!! Can't wait to read the rest!

 

[Tasmen]

Thanks for sharing All these trip reports make me extra anxious for my own trip.

 

[GottaGetToDisney!]

We got to Epicot about 10am. Yes, that is how I say it when we’re in Disney World. It makes me happy. Come on and say it with me....Epicot! I know it’s not very original but who cares!

My DD has always called it Epicot! (And our hotel has always been called the shotel). Original or not, it puts a smile on my face to say "Epicot" too!


Gotta Get To Disney!

 

[OhMari]

I just hand her my ADR coupon. She looks at it and say Ah! Boy those little ADR coupons sure come in handy!

Did you make your own coupons with your ADR # on them?

And, can you really walk into the Plaza and order ice cream and use a snack credit. My husband will love you if you say yes.

 

[Madsofa]

Wow I'm so lovin' your report! Holy kitchen sink!

 

[scrap4u]

That's it! After seeing the picture of you with Tigger & friends, I've decided that I'm crashing the next trip you and Mr. scrap4u take and hanging out with you the whole week (instead of just dinner and a show!)!!!!! Ya'll have WAY more fun than I do with AL and you always get way better pictures!

K

Hey Aero's Mom! You know you are always welcome to join us. We do have a lot of fun but always come home needing a vacation because we're so exhausted. But it wouldn't be Disney if that didn't happen!

We're going to have to meet in DL and let you show us around one of these days!

 

[scrap4u]

I love your pictures - thanks for sharing!! Can't wait to read the rest!

Hey there Adi12982! Thanks for posting and I'm glad you're enjoying the report. We sure had a blast. Hopefully I'll get another chapter or 3 posted tomorrow!

 

[scrap4u]

Thanks for sharing All these trip reports make me extra anxious for my own trip.

Hi Tasmen. Wow--you're staying at the Poly on the concierge level--my dream come true! One of these days we'll do that too.

No need to be anxious for your trip. I'm sure you will have a wonderful time. Thanks for stopping in to read my report.

 

[scrap4u]

My DD has always called it Epicot! (And our hotel has always been called the shotel). Original or not, it puts a smile on my face to say "Epicot" too!


Gotta Get To Disney!

Hey there Gotta Get to Disney! I feel the same way. I wouldn't mind being there right now!

Here's a smile for you--Epicot , Epicot , Epicot

Glad you're enjoying our report.

 

[scrap4u]

Did you make your own coupons with your ADR # on them?

And, can you really walk into the Plaza and order ice cream and use a snack credit. My husband will love you if you say yes.

Hey Oh Mari--I did make my own coupons in word. Very easy. Just used a Avery mailing label format for a label 2in by 4in. Then I could put all the info for each ADR in 1 block in big, easy to read print!

Attached to the Plaza Restaurant is the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor. It's right on the corner. That's where we used our snack credits for ice cream cones. I think we could get anything but the sundae. It was yummy too!