Life’s too short...to never sleep in a treehouse! 8/27 TR is up! Link in siggie

[eandesmom]

Hey! Great post -- I love how the GC opens right into the park like that! We walked around the resort a few years ago, but hadn't come to the parks, so it was just a scouting mission! Looks like you all enjoyed the afternoon, once you got a sweatshirt and a mickey rice crispie treat! Those are good.

It's great. They do check when you try to go in to the park through the GC to make sure you are a resort guest but anyone can leave the park that way I think. It is so cool, it's like walking our your front door and being in the middle of the park, it's THAT close!

And yeah it makes a big difference when the crowd clears out, so that was a nice surprise I am sure! I love how you got all your "ride shots"!!!! That was too funny! I have never done that, not because I felt silly, but because I never thought to!! Now I know to!

And I copied it from many many others....

You'd think an espresso take away bar would make a killing in that lobby...

It looks like there is one but it's not in the lobby, way down at the end of one of the wings by one of the restaurants I think. It would make a killing, it's shocking to me that there wasn't one!

You are getting me so excited for October!!! Oh! And I have those same keen flips but in all black. I wear them camping mostly, but they are really cushie! My feet love them!

Seems like you guys got great use of your GAD passes! Can't wait to hear about dinner!

I love those keens and wear them for camping and at the lake mostly but I knew it might rain so they seemed best for that...and they were! I used to have them in khaki and they disappeared, thinking i must have left them in a hotel room, I held off on ordering replacements hoping they'd turn up but finally bought these last year and get a lot of compliments on the colors! I miss the khaki ones though. Although I can say they weren't ideal for hiking up the grand canyon in the rain. LOL!

I'm having some shoe issues, concerns for the trip....arrgh. The Keens are coming but aren't a shoe I want to wear all day in the parks.

 

[eandesmom]

Love this

Isn't that sign a riot?

Even though it's just a picture I can hear him singing -- "Heaven....I'm in heaven".


Cue the music again! "Heaven....I'm in heaven."

Exactly!

That one looks good! Did he go back for it later in the trip?

Sadly, no, they were closed and it was our only day in the park. He did get home and order a "real" one from Australia, made from Kangaroo that is even better. You will see lots of pics of him in it on the TR, it's going to FL with us.

 

[All7OfUs]

The Monsters Sign was hiliarious!! I love Disney stuff like that!

I'd have gone nutso searching around for coffee like that! I just can't fathom WHY on earth they wouldn't have an espresso bar in there!! They'd make like a zillion dollars!

I can't wait to get my Mickey RKT at Goofy's!! That looked downright fantastic!

LOVE Jeff's hat! Well, the one he didn't buy. Glad he found one he could live with online, though. Huh- Who knew... kangaroo leather!

 

[Flossbolna]

Great update! As everyone else: this Monster sign was hilarious! Thanks for taking the picture!

Isn't the CR the only resort at WDW that has an espresso bar? Disney seems to have a really bad attitude towards coffee in general... Perhaps Walt did not like coffee???

 

[Angies1274]

Great update! So glad that you finally got to ride TSM! Too bad the queue wasn't anything great. But... for getting the high score. I still haven't accomplished that yet!

Love your ToT pics!! That's very strange that it was so quiet though......

 

[Native NYer]

Great update!
How disappointing the queue for TSM isn't as detailed at DCA. I wonder why.
I agree that Soarin' queue is better at DCA.
The GC lobby looks massive! It looks similar to the WL.

 

[creativeamanda]

TOT may not be as scary at DCA, but it doesn't stop my blood from racing when I see the pictures. That is the only ride I am deathly afraid of. And my youngest loves it and I'm still the only one brave enough for it.

Looks like great wait times that afternoon, but I would have loved to sit by that fire, as well.

 

[Sleepingbooty]

I'm a big fan of mixed media

Me too! I registered on that TripIt site, and downloaded the app to my phone. Pretty cool. How much info did you put in yours? ADRs and such? So far all I've added are the flights and hotel info.

DIS stuff, mostly the HP crowd watch thread but I need to bone up more as well.

I've started following that one, too. I hope the crowds drop off dramatically! Sounds like you'll have an advantage staying on site, what with the early entry. Is that only on certain days of the week? If so, I'm wondering if we should avoid going on one of those days, like we would at Disney.

Chiming in on space bags..

they are plastic bags you use to pack in that have a one-way air valve on them. You pack them up with clothes (soft stuff), then roll it up to "squeeze" out the air. The scrunch up pretty flat and give you a LOT of extra packing room then. We've used them with varying degrees of luck. Sometimes they stay flat and sometimes not depending on how well the air valve thingy works.

I've tried them and didn't like them. In fact, I returned them to the store. The directions said to vacuum the air out, but maybe our vacuum wasn't strong enough. The size of the bag just didn't decrease much at all. I was disappointed.

Cynthia, how was the Monsters Inc ride? We totally forgot to hit that up on our visit there and I was so bummed when I remembered it.

 

[Charleston Princess]

All caught up again!!!

Blue Sky Cellar looks really neat -- it must have been fun to see all the plans for Disneyland.

Love the wine casks -- I always get a kick out of plays on words!

Hurray for three weeks and the Tink bag is super cute!

Yeay for Eric riding California Screamin' and loving it!!!

The Grand California looks absolutely lovely!

I am surprised about the TSM queue -- that's one of my favorite parts of the ride at WDW.

 

[eandesmom]

The Monsters Sign was hiliarious!! I love Disney stuff like that!

Isn't that a riot?

I'd have gone nutso searching around for coffee like that! I just can't fathom WHY on earth they wouldn't have an espresso bar in there!! They'd make like a zillion dollars!

I can't wait to get my Mickey RKT at Goofy's!! That looked downright fantastic!

It was CRAZY that they didn't have one. And of course Jeff was POSTIVE that he remembered that they did. Of course, Jeff was confused. For some reason he through he'd gone through the GC in the am's when he was there with K&T but since he wasn't a resort guest, he wouldn't have been able to get into the park that way. He had espresso at the Compass store in DTD that we'd hit that morning and somehow had moved it into the GC in his mind!



Even if there is one over by the restaurants, they need one in the lobby. If there is one, we sure couldn't find it!

LOVE Jeff's hat! Well, the one he didn't buy. Glad he found one he could live with online, though. Huh- Who knew... kangaroo leather!

It's a great hat, the new one. Looks very hot to me but he likes it. Wider brim so more protection.

Great update! As everyone else: this Monster sign was hilarious! Thanks for taking the picture!

Isn't the CR the only resort at WDW that has an espresso bar? Disney seems to have a really bad attitude towards coffee in general... Perhaps Walt did not like coffee???

You can get espresso at the Crews Cup lounge in the am at the Yacht Club I'm told, I will of course be confirming that! Not sure about WL but they do have a lobby bar. Pretty sure the counter service thing by Kona has it as well at the Poly but I've not actually tested that. It's out there but you have to look, I had doppios twice on our trip but that was in the MK and at Goofy's. I had a scary fake espresso blended thing from Sunshine Seasons Bleh.

Great update! So glad that you finally got to ride TSM! Too bad the queue wasn't anything great. But... for getting the high score. I still haven't accomplished that yet!

Love your ToT pics!! That's very strange that it was so quiet though......

Thanks! I"m sure the high score won't stand...

 

[eandesmom]

Great update!
How disappointing the queue for TSM isn't as detailed at DCA. I wonder why.
I agree that Soarin' queue is better at DCA.
The GC lobby looks massive! It looks similar to the WL.

The GC lobby IS massive! Honestly it feels bigger than the WL one but that may be that there seemed to be more nooks and crannys. They are very similar, the GC and the WL.

TOT may not be as scary at DCA, but it doesn't stop my blood from racing when I see the pictures. That is the only ride I am deathly afraid of. And my youngest loves it and I'm still the only one brave enough for it.

Looks like great wait times that afternoon, but I would have loved to sit by that fire, as well.

What we do for our kids huh!

That fire was nice and there were plenty of folks enjoying it to be sure!

Me too! I registered on that TripIt site, and downloaded the app to my phone. Pretty cool. How much info did you put in yours? ADRs and such? So far all I've added are the flights and hotel info.

ADR's, which you can send straight to it it and it will import, flights, hotels and I also have touring plan info in there broken into am and pm. I also have my grocery order, the towncar info, cruise info and a few other things.

I've started following that one, too. I hope the crowds drop off dramatically! Sounds like you'll have an advantage staying on site, what with the early entry. Is that only on certain days of the week? If so, I'm wondering if we should avoid going on one of those days, like we would at Disney.

Right now early entry is every day. And it sounds like early entry often starts earlier than the published time so we plan to try that. Sandie wants to hit the park on the 19th as well which kind of messes with our tickets so I have a feeling we may end up having to add on to those tickets but we will see.

I've tried them and didn't like them. In fact, I returned them to the store. The directions said to vacuum the air out, but maybe our vacuum wasn't strong enough. The size of the bag just didn't decrease much at all. I was disappointed.

Seems to me I tried something similar once and it didn't make an appreciable difference either.

Cynthia, how was the Monsters Inc ride? We totally forgot to hit that up on our visit there and I was so bummed when I remembered it.

It was cute. Kind of along the lines of Winnie the Pooh, Snow White or Peter Pan. A Fantasyland kind of ride.

All caught up again!!!

Blue Sky Cellar looks really neat -- it must have been fun to see all the plans for Disneyland.

Love the wine casks -- I always get a kick out of plays on words!

Welcome back! Blu Sky was fun!

Hurray for three weeks and the Tink bag is super cute!

almost two now!


[/QUOTE]Yeay for Eric riding California Screamin' and loving it!!!

The Grand California looks absolutely lovely!

I am surprised about the TSM queue -- that's one of my favorite parts of the ride at WDW.[/QUOTE]

The GC is massive. It's funny, I really want to stay there one day but honestly I was happier with Paradise Pier, it's so much smaller and that just suited me better this trip.

California Screamin' is the BEST!

 

[englishrose47]

Just popping in to say HI!!!!

 

[MEK]

What? No screams on ToT? Honestly, that was one great red neck pic from ToT. Turned out great.

I love that hat that Jeff tried on.

What a great day! the Grand Californian looks really pretty. What a lovely place to stay.

Kudos to you for the high score on TSM. I hope you maintain that mojo in Disney world.

 

[eandesmom]

Just popping in to say HI!!!!

What? No screams on ToT? Honestly, that was one great red neck pic from ToT. Turned out great.

I love that hat that Jeff tried on.

What a great day! the Grand Californian looks really pretty. What a lovely place to stay.

Kudos to you for the high score on TSM. I hope you maintain that mojo in Disney world.

No screams. That you could hear from the street. Plenty of it on the ride itself.

I'm sure someone will clean my clock on TSM once we are there but I'm hanging onto it as long as I can. It pales in comparison to some I see posted on here so there will be no number sharing.

My GC pics do not do it justice, it really is spectacular.

 

[cdotla]

Great update! Interesting comments about the Soarin vs. TSM que lines. I guess they want us all to feel that we have to visit both coasts to get the best of the best.

Would love to be sitting beside that fire one day at the GCL!

 

[eandesmom]

Great update! Interesting comments about the Soarin vs. TSM que lines. I guess they want us all to feel that we have to visit both coasts to get the best of the best.

Would love to be sitting beside that fire one day at the GCL!

Could be! I never thought about it that way. The DCA versions came first in both cases so I can see where they decided to "improve" the TSM queues but Soarin makes no sense....other than in FL you aren't in CA and since it's all about CA maybe they decided to downplay that fact?

I don't know.

Yes, that fire would be lovely!!

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

thanks for all the pics last round, most of those ewre the first time i have seen alot of that stuff...especially there TSM and there TOT

 

[eandesmom]

thanks for all the pics last round, most of those ewre the first time i have seen alot of that stuff...especially there TSM and there TOT

My pleasure! It's fun to see what is the same, and what's entirely different!

 

[eandesmom]

After heading back to change and finish drying out from a little more drizzle, it was time to head to our last dinner on this spring break surprise trip. I was really looking forward to this dinner, Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen, in Downtown Disney.

5 minutes after leaving our room, we walked in the front door. You have to love that!

Now, for some reason I didn’t take any pictures of the outside of the restaurant. So I’ll steal this one lol.

I did catch the inner courtyard which is just beautiful!

We checked in and were seated in the Flambeaux room

Which was scheduled for some live entertainment

I really enjoyed the wall art

As it was our last night, we decided to splurge, and ordered a cocktail. And, because we could, we also opted for some of their famous cheese bread while we perused the menu.

Southern Garlic Cheese Bread
Basil, mozzarella, roasted garlic & olive oil pureé 8 ​

As our drinks arrived, so did the entertainment. It
was….Elvis meets Liberace. Liberelvis

We especially loved his shoes

We decided to order. First up, a wine selection and then both Jeff and I decided to get salads.

I opted for the Seasonal Salad.

Seasonal Salad
Romaine hearts, Granny Smith apples, smoked bacon, cornbread croutons, parmesan-pepper dressing $8​

If memory serves, Jeff chose the French Quarter salad but I didn’t take a picture.

French Quarter Salad
Mixed greens, candied pecans, cherry tomatoes, cider vinaigrette​

For entrees, Jeff chose the

Pasta Jambalaya
Gulf shrimp, andouille sausage, roasted chicken, spinach fettuccine, Creole seasoning $24
​

I am almost positive I got the crab cake appetizer with a side of andouille grits. However, I didn’t take a picture of the crab cake? Must have been that cocktail! It was served in a Hurricane glass (though it wasn't a Hurrican). Enough said.

Louisiana Crab Cakes
Fire roasted corn-black bean salsa, horseradish cream, chili oil $12​

I did take a picture of my grits (horrible picture!). They were SOOOO good, I was in heaven!

Both kids went for the same thing

Bowtie Pasta and Meatballs - Bowtie pasta with tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese. Kids Meal's includes Appetizer of Celery and carrot slices served with ranch dressing, choice of side(Smiley Fries, Corn on the Cobb, Mashed Potatoes, Peas and carrots, Mac and Cheese, or Fresh Fruit) and a Ice cream Sundae. - $​

The kids pasta

Ice cream or not, this kid was getting tired!

We persuaded Evan to take a picture of us

I am short on both pictures, and descriptions here. It was one of those nights were we just relaxed, enjoyed a very leisurely dinner, great food, great wine and some fun entertainment. Liberelvis was a riot. He did mostly covers and was taking requests. Now, for the life of me I can’t recall what we egged Evan on to request, but he did, and they guy played it. It was a riot.

Service was good, ambiance was outstanding and overall the food was….













Ok.

This was, by far, the most expensive meal of the trip. The kids pasta was flat out weird. Mealy meatballs and odd flavor to the sauce. We didn’t make them eat it. Jeff liked his pasta, but didn’t love it.

I adored my grits. They truly were a highlight of the trip for me in the food category. Incredible! However I’m not sure they, by themselves were enough to justify what that dinner cost. The wine was spectacular and the cocktail, whatever it was, I recall as being absolutely heavenly. Salads were quite good, as was the bread.

I don’t think we ordered dessert, (if we did I didn’t take pictures) which is surprising as I’d been dying to try the bread pudding, I am a huge bread pudding fan. But I have a feeling I was simply too full, and we still had a FULL apple pie in our room from Mrs. Knott’s! I have the receipt somewhere so should go look but in the interest of getting this TR done before the next trip starts, I opted not to dig for it!

All that said it really was a lovely last evening, very perfect in almost every way, one of those nights were you really FELT on vacation, and relaxed and of course, right when it was time to head back! I would eat there again.
We headed back to our room, making the short walk from Downtown Disney to Paradise Pier, sated, happy and…sleepy.

Up next, our last day, Surf’s Up and SHOPPING!
Also, starting tomorrow I’m going to begin my TWO week countdown! Since it is a 2 week trip I thought I’d post each day what we will be doing in two weeks, by the time I finish it, we will be ready to go!

In TWO weeks...Day 1

 

[englishrose47]

That restaurant looked very interesting !! The Grits sound delish !!!I am the only one who eats grits soo would be the only one trying them !!!!

Looking forward to your 2 week countdown !!
I am forging ahead on my ptr as an escort!!!!!