Jack and Sally. UPDATED. FINISHED :( !! LOTS of pics. 6.26-7.3

[lazidazi07]

We arrived at the Studios about noon-ish and I was starving. Coke and a yogurt bar didn’t really hold me over well. We decided as soon as we got through the horrendous bag check line, we would head to Backlot Express. And that we did.

On our way to Backlot Express, we spotted some Streetmosphere. And thus was the beginning of our love affair with Streetmosphere. We both decided that we could go to MGM and never ride a single ride, just sit and watch the Streetmosphere. We even got our own starring role later in the week, stay tuned for that!

We got to Backlot Express and it was EMPTY! I had prepared myself for huge lines at CS, horrendous heat, huge crowds and rain. None of which we experienced this day or the whole week really. John had a burger and fries, with cheesecake and I had the Turkey&Cheese with Cheesecake. It was GROSS. It was slimy and….ugh. I munched on the French fries though, and those filled me up! I tried the cheesecake, but it was warm so that wasn’t very pleasant.

Standing under an Oscar that will soon be mine! We didn’t really have a game plan, I mean we didn’t even plan on being here today, so we kinda just mosy-ed around and enjoyed the atmosphere. John’s a filmmaker in the making and I’m an aspiring actress, so we just felt at home! We headed down to RnRc and ToT to just see what the wait times were.
…And there she was!

RnRC was 90 Minutes and ToT was 50. We decided that we would FP Tower. The FP was for 3 and that wouldn’t work so we just stood in the line. We didn’t mind and we were just happy to be here. During the wait I took some shots

I sucked it in and didn’t act scared of Tower just for John. But later in the week, John would find out how much Tower scares me and we never did it again. So, he enjoyed his first ride. I cant stand it. Yes, the theming is amazing. Yes, the effects are awesome. But remember that fear of flying? Same thing. I hate freefalls. Especially when you don’t know when they are coming or stopping. But John loved it, and I loved being there with him.
Afterwards, we called it a day and headed home to CBR for a nap. It was about one-ish. We didn’t wake up from our nap until 5! When we opened our door, I saw this:

We enjoyed our nap and were soon up and about getting ready for our first Disney Dining Experience at California Grill.

 

[hayanyujah847]

Loves it~!!! I love your picture filled TR! You two are so cute & got some awesome PP pics. How come mine never turned out so well!? lol I can't believe you guys went in the summer and had such little waiting. That's awesome. I'm excited to read more & see more pics~!!

 

[punkin413]

you will someday appreciate people guessing that you're younger than you really are! when i was a teenager, i used to get sooooooo mad when they'd give me a kids' menu at restaurants because i always looked younger than i really was. now i love it! i'll be 31 in two weeks and it rocks that i'm still carded! although a couple weeks ago we went to six flags over georgia and there's a lady that guesses either your weight or your age and if she's wrong you win a prize. she guessed my age as 34..... i got a super cool pink superman cape out of it though....

another great installment! how sweet of you to ride ToT for john! i kinda did that the first time i rode it...i was so scared and i thought about not going on it, but then i knew if i didn't that i'd regret it plus i knew ray (my DH) would be disappointed if i didn't go on it with him. the only difference is i ended up loving it! i still scares the bejesus out of me though!

 

[Disneyolic]

You two are really a cute couple. Just seeing the smiles on your face is addicting. I can't believe you didn't like EE but everyone must have an opinion. I love things like that. I'm a coaster freak and it all started when I was a little kid at Roseland Park... Oh yeah, this is your TR. Sorry.

Did you order your PhotoPass there because I ordered mine as soon as I got back (well, plus 2 days) but am still waiting for it to arrive...

 

[lazidazi07]

Loves it~!!! I love your picture filled TR! You two are so cute & got some awesome PP pics. How come mine never turned out so well!? lol I can't believe you guys went in the summer and had such little waiting. That's awesome. I'm excited to read more & see more pics~!!

Thanks! ALOT of our pics didnt come out very well. Out of 60 or so, only maybe 10 came out okay! I was surprised at the little waits, but its awesome because now we know that we can kinda make annual trips in the summer!

you will someday appreciate people guessing that you're younger than you really are! when i was a teenager, i used to get sooooooo mad when they'd give me a kids' menu at restaurants because i always looked younger than i really was. now i love it! i'll be 31 in two weeks and it rocks that i'm still carded! although a couple weeks ago we went to six flags over georgia and there's a lady that guesses either your weight or your age and if she's wrong you win a prize. she guessed my age as 34..... i got a super cool pink superman cape out of it though....

another great installment! how sweet of you to ride ToT for john! i kinda did that the first time i rode it...i was so scared and i thought about not going on it, but then i knew if i didn't that i'd regret it plus i knew ray (my DH) would be disappointed if i didn't go on it with him. the only difference is i ended up loving it! i still scares the bejesus out of me though!

It just really caught me off guard because everywhere I went CM's were asking me if I was turning 21! I would be called 15 anyday if I could get a pink superman cape! I think ToT is a one time must do on the trip, but I just can't do it anymore!

You two are really a cute couple. Just seeing the smiles on your face is addicting. I can't believe you didn't like EE but everyone must have an opinion. I love things like that. I'm a coaster freak and it all started when I was a little kid at Roseland Park... Oh yeah, this is your TR. Sorry.

Did you order your PhotoPass there because I ordered mine as soon as I got back (well, plus 2 days) but am still waiting for it to arrive...

Thanks! We really like coasters too, we ended doing RnRc 5 times but something about EE jerked us around or something? But anywho..We bought our PP before we even left in the photo shop in MGM.

 

[cdotla]

Love your report so far - keep it coming!!! Especially those resort photos - don't leave out a single one!

Seeing the pics so far of CBR has gotten me very excited for my Sept. trip!

 

[__disneygirl]

Loving it! You two are an adorable couple and I enjoy your style of writing. California Grill is one of the best restaurants I have ever been to, and i've been around. I'm excited to read about your experience there!

 

[ThinkTink75]

I love your pictures! Just a quick question tho- why didn't you use Magical Express for transportation to WDW? Is it only available from certain airplane carriers? Just wondering! My DBF and I are staying at CBR and we leave in 2 weeks! I am so glad you got your TR up so quick! It is making me super pysched! Can't wait to read more!!!!!

 

[Avivasmom]

How sweet, the balloons. To be 18 again! We are going to CAlifornia Grill for our 11 anniversary leaving the little one at the Sandcastle Club for some adult time.

Love the pics...cannot imagine leaving my hair down when it is so hot and yours looked so good!

 

[DreaGirl]

Wow! You are fast! I love it! I hate slow reports.

First off, you two are so cute in all your pictures. I think you are the first person that I have read that doesn't like EE. I can understand though. I don't enjoy the wooden roller coasters at Cedar Point.

Sorry about your lunch at MGM. I haven't heard good things about the food there.

Keep up the good reporting!!

 

[lazidazi07]

We arrived at the Magic Kingdom and went to catch the monorail. John had never ridden a monorail before (sans the tram at the airport) and since we were really early, we took a loop around the monorail. It was really beautiful as it was pretty close to sunset. It was only 7:15 when we got off the monorail at the Contemporary, so we browsed the gift shops. We decided that we wouldn’t stay here. It really is one of the least “Disney” resorts. I mean, it is an original and all, but it just kind of bland for Disney. Around 7:30 we headed to the 2nd floor to check in for Cali Grill. Imagine my dumbness when I realized that check-in was on the second floor. I was prepared to take the elevator straight up, 14th floor! Anyways, we check in and we are STARVING! We could smell the Concourse Steakhouse upon arrival and we had to resist ourselves from just settling in the food court! We get up there and they tell us that they are running behind and it could be another 15-20 minutes after our scheduled ADR. What? We tried not to panic as they took us up to the fourteenth floor. They told us that we could hang out in the lounge or the observatory deck. That would have been a great idea had it not been filled with cranky, restless children. Okay, I’m prepared. I know, I don’t have children and I will never understand until I have children. I know kids are the rule, not the exception at Disney. But we saw plenty of children that were very well behaved and respectful but there were some families that just let their kids run up and through the restaurant, screaming and yelling. There were some kids that clearly didn’t get their nap. And their parents just sat there sipping their wine while their kids were running amok.. There were a lot of people who were not “business casual” and we saw plenty of people in jeans and flip flops and such. We weren’t “paying” for it, and we were glad we weren’t. We were just really shocked, because we were under the impression that this was going to be an upscale restaurant. On the other hand, the view really was amazing. We checked out the observation deck before going back inside. It was beautiful!

When we finally scoured a seat in the lounge, we admired the view and our buzzer went off. We actually got seated 10 minutes early. We got a…..window seat! Staring directly at the castle.

When we were seated, I saw Mickey Confetti spread all over our table. This was starting to get a little better!!

They definitely let you take your time at California Grill. In another 15 minutes, our waiter took our appetizer order and entrée order. We waited to order dessert. We both got flatbreads for our app and omgoodness they were delicious. For entrees, I got the chicken something. Sorry. Like I said, we didn’t really take pictures and I only have little scribbled notes to remember from! John had the beef entrée. During the wait for our appetizer, one of the servers walked up to us and asked us if he could take our picture. He had a thick accent so we were really confused, but just smiled and nodded. A couple minutes later, he came back with the picture of us in a little Contemporary Resort Card. Its was SOO cute. One of my favorite souvenirs from the trip.

As we were eating our entrees, we could see the Electrical Water Parade (Is that what its called?) coming by and that was really neat. They were very delicious and we would eat the food again, but like I said earlier, I don’t think we would ever really “pay” for it. After we finished our entrees and had ordered dessert, it was only about 5-10 minutes before Wishes so we left to claim a spot on the railing. I told John that I would try to keep it all together, but the fireworks make me a little mushy. He kind of just smiled and rolled his eyes and said, “Please don’t.” The fireworks started and omgoodness Wishes is just breathtaking, especially 14 stories up. My favorite little memory is during the part where you can here Peter Pan say “I wish I never had to grow up..Off to Neverland!” Peter Pan is our absolute favorite Disney Character/Movie and he really fits us right now, with graduation and all. Who really wants to grow up?! So during that part we exchanged a little glance and smile and it was very touching. After the fireworks were over, I said, dabbing my eyes, I kept it together! He smiled and said, “I almost didn’t! That gave me goosebumps!” It was very memorable and one of my favorite moments from our entire trip. We settled back inside and our desserts were waiting for us!

We could barely finish them! We settled the bill and headed back to CBR. We had another rope drop waiting for us in the morning!

 

[Disneyolic]

The monorail is a "must do" if you've never done it before. Fun especially in the front. Try that sometime if you have a chance to wait for it.

California Grill should be on our list of must do's next time. We want to be able to do with sans kids though so we have to wait for family to join us next time so they can babysit!

PS...my kids would NEVER have been those running amok in the dining place. Yes, kids do have breakdowns, as my Brooke did at Epcot the first day, but when people are in a restaurant in closer quarters, it is just rude to have your children ruining it for others.

 

[lazidazi07]

Love your report so far - keep it coming!!! Especially those resort photos - don't leave out a single one!

Seeing the pics so far of CBR has gotten me very excited for my Sept. trip!

The next installment will be chock full of them! Stay tuned!

Loving it! You two are an adorable couple and I enjoy your style of writing. California Grill is one of the best restaurants I have ever been to, and i've been around. I'm excited to read about your experience there!

Thanks!

I love your pictures! Just a quick question tho- why didn't you use Magical Express for transportation to WDW? Is it only available from certain airplane carriers? Just wondering! My DBF and I are staying at CBR and we leave in 2 weeks! I am so glad you got your TR up so quick! It is making me super pysched! Can't wait to read more!!!!!

We didnt use ME simply because we didnt want to deal with the luggage thing, which we ended up having problems with anyway! It didnt have to do with anything else. We also just wanted to get there faster and we figured a towncar/SUV would be much faster. I've got some CBR pics coming up really soon!

How sweet, the balloons. To be 18 again! We are going to CAlifornia Grill for our 11 anniversary leaving the little one at the Sandcastle Club for some adult time.

Love the pics...cannot imagine leaving my hair down when it is so hot and yours looked so good!

After you read my installment on CG, you will realize why I very much appreciate you taking your little one to the Sandcastle Club! Thank you!

Wow! You are fast! I love it! I hate slow reports.

First off, you two are so cute in all your pictures. I think you are the first person that I have read that doesn't like EE. I can understand though. I don't enjoy the wooden roller coasters at Cedar Point.

Sorry about your lunch at MGM. I haven't heard good things about the food there.

Keep up the good reporting!!

Thanks! I finally unpacked everything today, but I'm still reporting! Making progress, box by box on photobucket!

 

[lazidazi07]

The monorail is a "must do" if you've never done it before. Fun especially in the front. Try that sometime if you have a chance to wait for it.

California Grill should be on our list of must do's next time. We want to be able to do with sans kids though so we have to wait for family to join us next time so they can babysit!

PS...my kids would NEVER have been those running amok in the dining place. Yes, kids do have breakdowns, as my Brooke did at Epcot the first day, but when people are in a restaurant in closer quarters, it is just rude to have your children ruining it for others.

A babysitter would be a great idea! Your kids are too cute to have breakdowns! There were plenty of parents that had great kids, but I dont know what some of them were thinking!

 

[babieemelly]

Hey Shanna! I just got all caught up and I'm LOVING your report! I'm 2 years older than you, but we're still basically the same age and I love reading trip reports by people around my age. You have such a cool point of view. And you and John are so cute together!!!

I saw that you're planning on spending next summer in NYC. Have you been here before?? It's amazing!! We should keep in touch and I could give you guys an awesome tour, haha.

Keep the updates coming!

 

[Disneyolic]

Your kids are too cute to have breakdowns!

Aww...thanks! I think they are cute too . But they do have their moments. It's just how a parent handles it is the key. We did have to let Brooke cry it out but we weren't in any enclosed area and people could just ignore us. Sometimes that is what you have to do and the kid gets over it. Being in close quarters, a parent should remove the child, even if it interrupts their plans. JMHO. But you have a bunch of years before you have to worry about THAT, right???

 

[lazidazi07]

Aww...thanks! I think they are cute too . But they do have their moments. It's just how a parent handles it is the key. We did have to let Brooke cry it out but we weren't in any enclosed area and people could just ignore us. Sometimes that is what you have to do and the kid gets over it. Being in close quarters, a parent should remove the child, even if it interrupts their plans. JMHO. But you have a bunch of years before you have to worry about THAT, right???

DEFINENTLY. I love little kiddos...but I'm going to be rebel and aim at about 30. Thats another...12 years. Here in the South, everyone's married and knocked up at about 21. No Thank You!

 

[Avivasmom]

After you read my installment on CG, you will realize why I very much appreciate you taking your little one to the Sandcastle Club! Thank you!

LOL...mine is very well behaved but not going to order chicken nuggets for her there. She has more fun with other kids.

But totally understand where you are coming from and I am a parent. It is not a place for young children, in my opinion!

 

[DreaGirl]

Oh, you two are so sweet!

Sorry about the kids. We have a DD who is 14 months, and we would be mortified if she was running amok. But, with that being said, sometimes they just can't be calmed down.

We waited until I was 29 and DH was 30 to have our DD and it was a good decision, so I say wait if you can.

The view from the 14th floor looks amazing. Glad you two got to share that moment.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Hey Shanna,

I just got back from my trip tonight and saw that you have already started your trip report! Looks like your trip is off to a great start, can't wait to hear more!