Lots of Completed Trip Reports....Nov 2009 - April 2014

[deejdigsdis]

So glad he liked BTMRR! It's a wonderful ride!!

I also try to take pics of Jungle Cruise and end up with lots of blurry mess!
To me a good tour guide on the JC is key! I always feel like it was a waste of time if the Guide is no good!

I finally decided that BTMRR is my favorite "mountain" ride...but now having gone twice in a row without Splash Mountain available...I don't know. It might be a toss up.

Yes, I know what you mean with a cruise through the jungle resulting in a blurry mess of pictures! I have the same thing happen when I try to take pics in Billy Hill.

Darian was our JC guide on our first ever nighttime JC at Christmas...he was very enthusiastic and the best guide we had the whole trip!

Colton loved the idea of guessing his ghost when he rides the original HM for the first time...however he won't be doing that until February 2012.

Glad he liked BTMRR this time around...as you know it was in Colton's top 2.

Do you have a picture of Darian or do you just remember him? How funny that you remember him either way! "Guessing the Ghost" was a great way to put a fun spin on a potentially scary situation. Do you prefer the NBC overlay or the original? I'm sure you must have commented on that at some point. My heart will always belong to the original.

I just love your trip reports! Have I said that before? So glad Buddy liked BTMM.

I was relieved to finally see some lamp shots. I was wondering if some stranger had hijacked your trip report!

Great flower shots as always.

Waiting for more....perhaps after a POC nap?

Thanks TK! I'm always glad to see you. I'm not sure what's going on with me and my lack of lamppost pics my last 2 trips. Maybe because I was with kids instead of just adults? I don't know.

I will be back with another update tomorrow.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Very nice TR and see that he liked BTMRR.

The best photo I liked was the flowers at the exit of BTMRR.

Can't wait to see your next update.

 

[TheColtonsMom]

Do you have a picture of Darian or do you just remember him? How funny that you remember him either way! "Guessing the Ghost" was a great way to put a fun spin on a potentially scary situation. Do you prefer the NBC overlay or the original? I'm sure you must have commented on that at some point. My heart will always belong to the original.

No pic but I remember him because he sang Happy Birthday to Colton on the Microphone!

I am a firm lover of the original, but not a rabid hater of HMH like some. My daughter Kari (The halloween Bride) only goes when it is HMH she is a huge Tim Burton Fan. Brant & Colton have only ever ridden it as HMH so that is their original so I am quite interested to see what they think of my original when they see it for the first time next spring.

 

[deejdigsdis]

Very nice TR and see that he liked BTMRR.

The best photo I liked was the flowers at the exit of BTMRR.

Can't wait to see your next update.

Thank you Bret. Another update coming right up.

No pic but I remember him because he sang Happy Birthday to Colton on the Microphone!

I am a firm lover of the original, but not a rabid hater of HMH like some. My daughter Kari (The halloween Bride) only goes when it is HMH she is a huge Tim Burton Fan. Brant & Colton have only ever ridden it as HMH so that is their original so I am quite interested to see what they think of my original when they see it for the first time next spring.

How cool that he sang Happy Birthday to Colton! When I took DS11 in January, he saw the original HM for the first time. I remember him commenting that the NBC layover was "much brighter." I think he preferred the original though. He's never seen NBC.

 

[deejdigsdis]

So we just reentered civilization after our cruise through the jungle. When we pulled up to the dock, Darian (our guide) said, "Get out." This always strikes us as funny when a guide says that instead of "Please disembark to your left" or something like that. It takes us back to the time when D and I were something like 11 and 12 years old and we were pulling up to the dock after a ride on the canoes. When the guy said "Get out" my mom thought that was especially funny. She laughed so hard that she ended up falling out of the canoe. (Dock-side. It would have made for a much better story had it been water-side. ) She just collapsed in laughter. Of course my teenage brothers scurried off, dying of embarrassment. But D and I laughed right along with her. Ah, what a great memory.

I had been looking forward to trying the new Hungry Bear menu. I was actually fine with the old one, but the new one looked good too. I was fine with the change -- I'm not always fond of change.

But first...we stopped and listened to the band for a few on our way over.

Sign as you walk up to Hungry Bear restaurant.

My sister also took a pic of me standing by the sign, in the same pose as the beaver. Arms folded and teeth sticking out. I sent the picture to my husband with the caption "And she's all yours..." He replied with a "Which one?" I could've told you how he would reply even before he replied. I guess that's what nearly 17 years of marriage will do to you.

The restaurant was nearly empty. Another reason I was excited about eating at Hungry Bear is because I knew they had the Kids Power Pack. A cute little box with string cheese, yogurt, Goldfish crackers, apple slices and a drink. Right down Buddy's alley.

This particular one came with freeze dried apples, but we got one later that came with fresh apple slices.

D got a chicken sandwich with sweet potato fries.

She liked the sandwich, but thought the sweet potato fries were just OK. I thought they were good.

And this was my Fried Green Tomato Sandwich.

It came with the choice of Zesty Slaw or ... something else that I can't remember. I heard "zesty" and I was all over it.

Now, when I think of "zesty" I think of Italian salad dressing. Which I love. This wasn't zesty at all to me. BUT. It was so so good. I loved every bite. I could have had a big bowlful for lunch and called it good. The words I would use to describe it are "light and refreshing." That's what I was thinking to myself when D said, "That looks so light and refreshing." It was. And it was VERY good. I'll have to look for that recipe and try to recreate it.

Back to the sandwich. First bite...heavenly. This was my first fried green tomato sandwich ever, so I had nothing to compare it to.

Second bite...OUCH! Ouch Ouch Ouch! I fished this out of my mouth. (OK, that sounded gross. Sorry.)

And in case you need a closer look...

It was a broken toothpick. Look how pointy that thing is! I had already pulled out the real toothpick prior to eating the sandwich, so I wasn't expecting anything else lingering around in there. Man, that hurt.

I continued eating. Before I ate the second half of the sandwich, I pulled out the toothpick and discovered it was broken. Yep, it was an exact match to the broken piece that I found in the first half of the sandwich. How did that happen? It seems like the broken piece would be in the same side as the toothpick it broke off from. Strange.

On to the zesty slaw. Seeing as how my sister and I like to tease each other, I put the original mouth-stabbing broken piece of toothpick on top of my slaw and said, "Look at this! Here's another one! Can you believe this? " (She fell for it. )

Something we really missed was watching the Mark Twain sail by/hearing the whistle as we ate. After we ate we took a quick bathroom break downstairs before heading over to Pooh Corner to pick out a post-lunch treat.

This sign by the restroom just made me chuckle a bit. Mostly because of what Buddy thought it was communicating. I can't for the life of me think of what he said right now. Maybe I'll come back to that later.

 

[tksbaskets]

TOO funny about your hubby's text message. Sounds like something my DH would say! I didn't even know there was a Hungry Bear restaurant. Where is it in DL? Looking at those sweet potato fries I'm thinking my men would like to eat there. Is it a counter service place?

I just loved your picture of the band. Makes me want to pipe in DL music to my headphones at work and make believe I'm in my happy place!

Looking forward to more!

 

[kaoden39]

The Hungry Bear is my favorite location for a restaurant. I can hardly wait to try the new menu. The old menu needed to be changed.

 

[deejdigsdis]

TOO funny about your hubby's text message. Sounds like something my DH would say! I didn't even know there was a Hungry Bear restaurant. Where is it in DL? Looking at those sweet potato fries I'm thinking my men would like to eat there. Is it a counter service place?

I just loved your picture of the band. Makes me want to pipe in DL music to my headphones at work and make believe I'm in my happy place!

Looking forward to more!

Hungry Bear is a counter service restaurant in the Splash Mountain/Pooh area. It is kind of tucked away a bit. It is the perfect location for lunch. There is lots of shade, plenty of tables, and it's fun to watch the Mark Twain sail by. Usually people wave from the boat as they go by. It's just really relaxing, and now the food is better with the new menu.

The Hungry Bear is my favorite location for a restaurant. I can hardly wait to try the new menu. The old menu needed to be changed.

It is in an excellent location. I'm always surprised it isn't busier. We definitely had our choice of tables and we were there right at lunchtime. There wasn't even a line to get our food. I can almost hear the Mark Twain whistle now...

 

[mvf-m11c]

The food looks good at Hungry Bear restaurant. Very nice pictures of the food porn Deej. That reminds me to go over to the HB and have lunch one day. I should have done it last month, but I just had barely any time at the park.

Great update.

 

[smile4stamps]

I can't wait to try the Hungry Bear! The new options look so yummy!!

 

[deejdigsdis]

The food looks good at Hungry Bear restaurant. Very nice pictures of the food porn Deej. That reminds me to go over to the HB and have lunch one day. I should have done it last month, but I just had barely any time at the park.

Great update.

I can't wait to try the Hungry Bear! The new options look so yummy!!

I hope you both get a chance to try out Hungry Bear on your next trip. We had planned on having lunch over there again during our trip, but it didn't work out. I could really use some of that Zesty Slaw about now...mmmmm.

 

[deejdigsdis]

I thought I'd pop in and share some pictures from Pooh Corner. After our lunch at Hungry Bear we wanted a sweet treat. Pooh Corner was closed during our January visit so it was good to have it up and running again. Here are some random treat pictures.

(Remember Easter was the day before.)

I was sure that Buddy would choose a Tigger Tail -- even though they have changed since he last had one. He has been talking about those things since his one and only trip in Nov. 2009. If he didn't go for the Tigger Tail, I was sure his second choice would be the pretzel rod with M&Ms. He had requested one of those when I went to DL with my mom and sisters in Oct. 2010, but they weren't making them while I was there. They were making a pretzel rod with candy corn instead. Not very appetizing at all. I like candy corn but I can only do a few pieces in one sitting. Well, needless to say, I was shocked when Buddy made his final decision...

A large Mickey Turtle!

This didn't sound like him at all. He's a HUGE chocolate fan. (Wonder where he gets that from. ) But given a choice he is usually one to go without nuts. I ended up choosing a chocolate-dipped marshmallow thing.

3 marshmallows dipped in caramel, then dipped in chocolate. I've always wanted to try one, but the main reason I chose this is because I was SURE Buddy wouldn't be happy with the Mickey Turtle, and would want the chocolate covered marshmallows on a stick thing instead. So I was planning ahead for the trade that I was positive was on the horizon. I mean, I know my son, right? Wrong. He loved his Mickey Turtle and I was stuck with a way-too-sweet treat. I liked the first couple of bites. It was really good, but just too much sweetness in one sitting.

My sister got 2 things. One was a Chocolate-dipped Strawberry. I'm not sure what the other thing was, as she downed it before I got a picture.

We found some shade (me and Buddy) and my sister found a bench in the sun. We enjoyed our treats and the sights and sounds of Critter Country.

I wish the chocolate layer was as thick as the marshmallow, and the marshmallow was as thick as the chocolate.

 

[tksbaskets]

OK now I'm officially drooling on my screen! Thanks for the treat pictures. Nice of you to sacrifice your own discerning palate to get the marshmellow thingie in case Buddy didn't like his turtle (which looked delish BTW).

I would have gone for the chocolate covered pretzel rod that looked like dark and light chocolate with something underneath it.

Not that I would have turned down any of the pretzel choices.....

 

[kaoden39]

I was so sad when I was there in February and Critter Country wasn't open. I missed Pooh's Corner. I lover that little shop.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Wow, the Easter treats look so good that I don't even want to eat them.

 

[smile4stamps]

They do such a good job making seasonal Caramel Apples! That bunny is so adorable!!

Sorry you got stuck with the Marshmallow item. Personally I think they need more caramel but I LOVE caramel!!

 

[TheColtonsMom]

I do a dipped pretzel rod thingy and one of the ones I do is pretzel, marshmallow fluff then chocolate and it IS so much nicer when the marshmallow and the chocolate balance each other, I have never eaten one of those marshmallow dippers at DL for the exact reason you stated ...just thought it would be too sweet. However of what you got I think def would have been his chocolate turtle or the chocolate dipped strawberry over what you (good mommy that you are) got stuck with.

 

[deejdigsdis]

OK now I'm officially drooling on my screen! Thanks for the treat pictures. Nice of you to sacrifice your own discerning palate to get the marshmellow thingie in case Buddy didn't like his turtle (which looked delish BTW).

I would have gone for the chocolate covered pretzel rod that looked like dark and light chocolate with something underneath it.

Not that I would have turned down any of the pretzel choices.....

I would have traded my chocolate covered marshmallow for the Mickey turtle in a second! I've never been a fan of pretzels, so those don't appeal to me. They look cute but that's about it.

I was so sad when I was there in February and Critter Country wasn't open. I missed Pooh's Corner. I lover that little shop.

I love it too. It's such a happy little place.

Wow, the Easter treats look so good that I don't even want to eat them.

I've always felt that way about the apples. They are just too cute to cut into. I'd really like to try one someday.

They do such a good job making seasonal Caramel Apples! That bunny is so adorable!!

Sorry you got stuck with the Marshmallow item. Personally I think they need more caramel but I LOVE caramel!!

I know! I wonder how long it takes to make some of those more detailed ones. I can't believe how pricey they are.

Yeah, I think a little more caramel would have helped tone down all that marshmallow!

I do a dipped pretzel rod thingy and one of the ones I do is pretzel, marshmallow fluff then chocolate and it IS so much nicer when the marshmallow and the chocolate balance each other, I have never eaten one of those marshmallow dippers at DL for the exact reason you stated ...just thought it would be too sweet. However of what you got I think def would have been his chocolate turtle or the chocolate dipped strawberry over what you (good mommy that you are) got stuck with.

That's a good idea. I'm not a pretzel fan but everyone else in the family is. I'll have to try that. That makes a lot of sense to use the marshmallow cream. Right now I'm picturing trying some for the 4th of July -- maybe with red, white and blue sprinkles? It seems like you could make them look like little sparklers or something. Thanks for the idea!

 

[deejdigsdis]

After our relaxing treat-eating moment in Critter Country we decided to go catch the next Billy Hill show. This would be our only day to see it. We had no problem finding a table (although it was upstairs). It was 15 minutes until showtime. I left Buddy and D to relax a bit and I headed over to grab our 3rd set of BTMRR FPs of the day, as well as refill water bottles in the courtyard of Rancho del Zocalo.

Checking out our FPs...

This is another place where I experience "Jungle Cruise Syndrome" -- usually my pictures are a blurry mess. I'll just share a few.

I was happy to see my very favorite main Billy. I always prefer his show. My favorite moment of this show in particular was when Billy said that any song could be sung in bluegrass style, and then proceeded to sing Cheap Trick's "I Want You To Want Me" I LOVED this! I had put my camera away since I just never get any good pics here, but I whipped it out to record this number. I didn't get the beginning, but I got enough to relive the moment. I can't tell you how many times I've watched it since I've been home. He had the audience join in at the end, just like Cheap Trick does. It was awesome.

This brings us to the inspiration for this TR's title... After the show was over Buddy asked, "Mom, are those guys robotic like the Pirates in Pirates of the Caribbean?" My sister and I got quite a chuckle out of that one. It was very cute. I tried to imagine the Billies as audio-animatronics, just as Buddy had seen them.

I noticed that Buddy was getting a little sleepy. I think because we had been sitting for so long. Sitting for lunch, sitting with our treats from Pooh Corner, and then sitting for Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. I asked him, "Are you getting sleepy?" He replied, "Mom, I have to go on a roller coaster to not get tired, so I HAVE to go on Space Mountain." I still felt like we needed to work our way up to that, so I told him that would come later. We were close to Fantasyland so we'd head there next. (Yes, I know...the perfect time to go make the rounds at Fantasyland is at 2:00 in the afternoon. )

Flowers in Fantasyland.

Our first ride was King Arthur's Carrousel. That was one of Buddy's favorites during his last trip. Here is another favorite picture from this trip.

(How do you like the hat? I went into Picasa and blocked out his real name and then added "Buddy" .)

 

[kaoden39]

I love what you did with the hat. How brilliant! We have always called our son buddy, so I was like oh wow how cool. I hadn't noticed that you did that.