Memories of the DREAM come true .. 08/09 All 30 days done!

[deenbrad]

We love Joe's Crab Shack! We don't go very often since it's a bit of a drive from our house though. Did they dance around the restaurant while you were there or was it too empty for that? This is by far one of the best places to embarrass someone for their birthday! I have friends that took my old boss there and they had him dress in a hula skirt and coconut bikini and dance on the table!

 

[dizneeat]

So many restaurants to catch up on today!

I haven't heard about Steak N Shake for a very long time! I thought it was just a Midwest thing. Sounds like something to look around for ...

That Kitchen Sink is on our list for our trip next July! I love those cakes at BC! I hope they are still doing that = DDIL had been making some really great creations with fondant - she would love to see those.

We always joke about Waffle House, but we have enjoyed it when we've been there - can't go wrong with a strawberry waffle!

We love Joe's! I see Tom got the steampot - that is what Jim always gets = although on our last visit, I got a steampot and he switched and got a salmon platter or something like that - since I had to wear a bib, they gave him a "sympathy bib" so I wouldn't be the only one wearing it.

It is nice you have such a wonderful relationship with "your" waiter Ron at CG! I'll bet he really looks forward to seeing you.

We haven't really enjoyed the Outbacks in Oregon, but we did really enjoy it there in Orlando - don't know if it was the same one you tried or not. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I am a coke or plain tea drinker, but I do love a good Cherry Limeade

Looking forward to more - are you hoping to finish this TR before you leave for your next trip?

We have often seen ads for Steak n' Shake on TV, but only after Diane posted a review in her trip report we wanted to try it. And we are sure to go back.
You definitely HAVE TO have a Kitchen sink on your family trip - it is such a great treat and so much fun!

Joe's was great and Tom has asked to go back this summer. I really enjoyed my shrimp and watching Tom "working on his food".

We just LOVE Ron! He is such a wonderful server and a really nice friend. I cannot wait to hear which restaurant he will be transferred to while the CG is closed.

This was our second visit to Outback. We went once in Key West, 3 years ago and apart from the blooming onion being greasy, the steaks were really nice.

And I am definitely trying to finish my pre-trip report and this report before we leave, but it is hard work.

We love Joe's Crab Shack! We don't go very often since it's a bit of a drive from our house though. Did they dance around the restaurant while you were there or was it too empty for that? This is by far one of the best places to embarrass someone for their birthday! I have friends that took my old boss there and they had him dress in a hula skirt and coconut bikini and dance on the table!

No dancing for us. There were only three tables occupied while we were eating. When we left there was a huge group arriving, maybe we timed it wrongly.
Tom has asked to go back this summer, so maybe we get lucky this time.

 

[deenbrad]

No dancing for us. There were only three tables occupied while we were eating. When we left there was a huge group arriving, maybe we timed it wrongly.
Tom has asked to go back this summer, so maybe we get lucky this time.

If you can go closer to dinner when it gets more crowded. They do dances around the whole restaurant. It's so much fun to watch (or if you'd like, to participate!)

 

[dizneeat]

If you can go closer to dinner when it gets more crowded. They do dances around the whole restaurant. It's so much fun to watch (or if you'd like, to participate!)

Thanks for the hint. We'll try to get there for dinner than .... but I'd rather watch, I am not a huge fan of being a part of the action.

 

[HowieHowie]

Steak n' Shake is definately on our list this summer. We have never been there and when Rachel & I saw Tom's shake, I told Howie we are making a stop there. Joe's just opened in the next town from us, we haven't gone there yet, your dinner looks good, maybe we will try it while we are in Florida.

 

[englishrose47]

If you can go closer to dinner when it gets more crowded. They do dances around the whole restaurant. It's so much fun to watch (or if you'd like, to participate!)

Sounds like my kinda place , maybe the Grannies can go there

 

[dizneeat]

Steak n' Shake is definately on our list this summer. We have never been there and when Rachel & I saw Tom's shake, I told Howie we are making a stop there. Joe's just opened in the next town from us, we haven't gone there yet, your dinner looks good, maybe we will try it while we are in Florida.

Tom really loved the shake! They even do a double shake where they fill two different ones into one glass. Maybe I can get Tom to try one this summer.
We really enjoyed the whole experience at Joe's. I had no idea this was a chain. It is close to Crossroads, so not too far off of WDW.

Sounds like my kinda place , maybe the Grannies can go there

Rosie, it definitely is! If I remember correctly, they might even have a pole for you to dance at!

 

[dizneeat]

Day 27, September 8

Fun at the Studios, another sad goodbye to the Disney DREAM and visiting Bubba - Part 1

We got up early that day and Tom fixed a breakfast sandwich for himself, while I had a piece of the Mickey Head Cake for breakfast.
At 8.30 we were on our way to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We got a parking spot in the Stage area, halfway down the row and quickly found ourselves walking up to the tram.
There were a lot of people waiting already and we were not really sure we would be on the next tram heading to the entrance, so we decided to just walk to the entrance and skip the main bag check, by using the one on the walkway. We reached the entrance of the park, just when the first tram pulled into the stop. The gates were open and we joined a line to go through the turnstiles.
Once inside we hotfooted it over to Toy Story Mania. Tom got in line to get Fastpasses, while I waited at the side and once we had the Fastpasses in hand, we got in line for the ride right away.

It was nice to see that there was only a short line which moved quickly. Within a quarter of an hour we were seated in one of the vehicles and went on our way to make some points. As always it was a fun ride and in no time we had to get off again.
We walked towards the Streets of America, but the area was closed, so we walked back to the Sorcerer’s hat, taking in the sights along the way. When we got to Starring Rolls we saw that they were already open and that several tables were free, so we peeked inside and decided to have a snack. Tom had the Turkey Focaccia with chips.

There was a huge amount of turkey meat, salad, roasted peppers and mayonnaise on the focaccia bread. I had a bite and it was very tasty. I ordered something sweet again, the Red Velvet Cheesecake cupcake.

I had read a lot about it and was eager to try. It is red velvet cake, with a small dollop of cheesecake on top, all topped with heaps of creamcheese frosting, which is covered in chocolate and toffee pieces. We sat and enjoyed our goodies before we decided we felt “strong enough” again to take on more adventures. We checked the tip board

and since the Tower of Terror only had a 13 minute wait, we knew where we wanted to go.

Once there we got in line

and in under 13 minutes went to the Twilight zone and back. Nothing like a ride with no wait, we got in line again

and rode it a second time. Our next stop was Rock’n’Rollercoaster. Again we were greeted with just a short wait time, so we hopped in line and made it to the pre show in only 15 minutes. A few minutes later we sat on the ride and blasted off to the other side of LA.
By then it was getting close to our Toy Story Fast Pass return time, but we could not pass up the 13 minute wait for the Tower of Terror,

so since we didn’t know if we would make it back the the Studios during this trip we got in line and rode it again.
When we got off our Fast Pass window had already opened and we headed over to Toy Story Mania. Once there we discovered that the standby wait had gotten to over an hour, so we were happy we had a Fast Pass to enjoy the ride one more time. This time it even in the Fast Pass line it took 20 minutes to be seated.
But none the less it was good fun to play all those games again. On the way back to the entrance we looked at the wait times for the “Great Movie Ride”, but we didn’t want to stand in line for 20 minutes, so we passed. So we strolled through the stores along the way and towards the exit.

There was just one more task I wanted to do, renew our Annual Passes using the ticket we had had to buy in order to get the discounted OKW villa with free dining.
Our APs expire in November and you usually can renew 30 days early, BUT if you are persuasive enough they might do it ahead of time. So in we went to guest relations and explain what we want to do to the Cast member.
And NO, we cannot renew ahead of time using our tickets, but we could pay the difference and then next year ….. She started to irritate me and I was ready to leave, when she said that she wanted to go backstage and find out if maybe she COULD do something for us.
We have done the same thing for the last three years, so I knew it was possible, but you need to catch the perfect Cast Member who will play along with you. Now, our Cast Member came back and this time offered us a voucher, so we could use that instead of the ticket, but it still would make us loose the renewal discount.
I let her know that we were thinking about it and might be back (or not). And off she went again to try something new and this time she did it!
She was able to renew our Annual Passes two months prior! Yippie! We chatted until she was done with the Annual Passes, thanked her profusely and said our goodbyes.
Since a tram was just pulling in we walked towards the tram stop and got on. It was hot, we were thirsty and tired and we had plans for the afternoon.

To be continued ..........

 

[Teri1]

Karin i can't wait to visit DHS again on the first half of 7 Sept! Getting close to your big decision day!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Sounds like my kinda place , maybe the Grannies can go there

Rosie, it definitely is! If I remember correctly, they might even have a pole for you to dance at!

Dancing and a pole all in one place?! Rosie will be in heaven!!!

Oh, Karin...love the photos of the Studios. Several of my friends are not all that fond of HS, but I've loved it ever since it opened as MGM. I so enjoy strolling along the palm tree lined streets and roaming in and out of almost every shop there. Beauty and the Beast is one of my all time favorites, enjoy the Muppets, going through the line at TOT then taking the chicken elevator down to meet friends who enjoyed being dropped who knows how far and how many times!!

Thank goodness the CM finally came through for you and renewed the APs! I had a CM at EPCOT in 2010 who insisted she could not add on 2 more days to my 8 day non-expiring hopper - I knew she could (I was assured of this when I upgraded from 4 to 8 days and asked the manager if I could add 2 more, possibly not for a year or more - which would be the 10 day limit). This CM kept saying they do not add on days anymore, but I knew it could be done...eventually she gave in and did it, but not without a very grumpy attitude and telling me she would "only do it this once". Oh, yeah, like I would ever go back to her for help with anything! Usually I can get even the grumpiest CM to smile, not this one. She must have been having a very bad day. I thanked her very graciously and could not wait to get out of there. I still have 3 days of that non-expiring hopping burning a hole in my pocket!


Looking forward to your afternoon plans!

 

[Wicket's Mom]

Karin i can't wait to visit DHS again on the first half of 7 Sept! Getting close to your big decision day!

Teri are you going to be in WDW in Sept.? We will be there 10th thru 15th.

Karin, I can't belive it has been almost a year since that trip! You will be at Disney again very soon as will I!

 

[englishrose47]

Glad you got you AP renewed !!I think next year I will be upgrading my Free Trip Hopper to an annual ready for our Granny trip!!!

 

[dizneeat]

Karin i can't wait to visit DHS again on the first half of 7 Sept! Getting close to your big decision day!

I had to think about what you meant about "big decision day" but then it dawned on me.
Yes, we are pretty close to THAT day!

Dancing and a pole all in one place?! Rosie will be in heaven!!!

Oh, Karin...love the photos of the Studios. Several of my friends are not all that fond of HS, but I've loved it ever since it opened as MGM. I so enjoy strolling along the palm tree lined streets and roaming in and out of almost every shop there. Beauty and the Beast is one of my all time favorites, enjoy the Muppets, going through the line at TOT then taking the chicken elevator down to meet friends who enjoyed being dropped who knows how far and how many times!!

Thank goodness the CM finally came through for you and renewed the APs! I had a CM at EPCOT in 2010 who insisted she could not add on 2 more days to my 8 day non-expiring hopper - I knew she could (I was assured of this when I upgraded from 4 to 8 days and asked the manager if I could add 2 more, possibly not for a year or more - which would be the 10 day limit). This CM kept saying they do not add on days anymore, but I knew it could be done...eventually she gave in and did it, but not without a very grumpy attitude and telling me she would "only do it this once". Oh, yeah, like I would ever go back to her for help with anything! Usually I can get even the grumpiest CM to smile, not this one. She must have been having a very bad day. I thanked her very graciously and could not wait to get out of there. I still have 3 days of that non-expiring hopping burning a hole in my pocket!


Looking forward to your afternoon plans!

To be honest, Christine, DHS is not my all time favourite park either, but we try to give all the parks an equal amount of time and there is always something to do in every park.

As far as the CM, she was starting to annoy me as she just would offer something else, that would cause us to "loose" money.
My big problem is that the ticket we buy from the UK DOES expire, even if unused and the other issue is that our APs expire in November instead of the summer - happened when they gave three extra months for free for renewing your AP. I don't think I will renew next year though as I have a gazillion tickets at home which I can use to upgrade to an AP in years to come.
BUT ....... soooooo not happy to hear that you had an equally disappointing experience.

Teri are you going to be in WDW in Sept.? We will be there 10th thru 15th.

Karin, I can't belive it has been almost a year since that trip! You will be at Disney again very soon as will I!

Yes, it's almost a year and it is unbelieveable how fast that year has rolled by!
But thank god we will both be back soon.

Glad you got you AP renewed !!I think next year I will be upgrading my Free Trip Hopper to an annual ready for our Granny trip!!!

The road to renewing our AP might have been bumpy, but we succeeded in the end. Thanks for your PM Rosie. You can ask as many questions as you want to!

 

[dizneeat]

Day 27, September 8

Fun at the Studios, another sad goodbye to the Disney DREAM and visiting Bubba - Part 2

It was hot, we were thirsty and tired and we had plans for the afternoon. It took a while until the tram went back out again, but we were soon off the tram and on the way to our car. Tom opened the convertible and off we went.
Since we drove past Fort Wilderness we decided to stop there and maybe try out Trail’s End for lunch. We went through the gates and towards the far end of the resort, but we never made it to the restaurant. But there was something else we discovered. A trailer that looked very familiar, it was the trailer of our first cruise friends Gary and Carol.
We stopped and knocked at the door, but no one was home, so we decided to just stop by again another time. Back at Old Key West we picked up our new Owner’s locker box from bell services and then just rested for a while in the villa.
We had a few snacks out of the fridge and just hung out on the couch until it was time to get ready to head out again.
We headed out to say goodbye to our beautiful home for eleven nights, the Disney DREAM. We had not driven far and we hit the first traffic jam. And when we finally were on the freeway, it was bumper to bumper and a pretty slow ride.
When we finally went past the airport the traffic became much lighter and we were able to get towards our destination. After about an hour and a half of driving we arrived at Port Canaveral.

The Carnival ship had already pulled out and we headed straight to Jetty Park.
On the way there we were greeted by some stray cats which were enjoying the sun

and after a few minutes we were able to park our car

and head out onto the pier to wave goodbye to the Disney DREAM. We stood and watched the turtles in the water

and then it was time for the Disney DREAM to slowly glide by.

People cheered when the Mickey Whistles were blown and we our hearts were heavy as we knew it would be another 6 months until we were to sail on her again. After the ship had left the harbour and was out at sea we headed back to the car and started our drive back to Orlando.
There was very light traffic on the way back and we made good time and since it was dinner time we decided to stop at Universal Orlando. Thankfully parking is much cheaper during the evening hours, so we parked the car in their parking garage and tracked over to Citywalk.
We stopped at the Fossil shop and Tom found a watch he really liked and bought and then we popped into Fresh Produce to have a look at the new Vera Bradley bags. I didn’t find any new bags but bought a new purse instead.
Purchases in hand we headed to our next stop, Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Company. The employees at the entrance told us to follow the Smileys inside the restaurant and once we were inside and had met the greeter we were seated immediately.
Tom ordered some Diet Coke and I ordered my all time favourite, the Strawberry Speckled Lemonade.

Tom ordered the Captain’s Beer Battered Fish and Chips

which were served with Tartar Sauce and coleslaw, while I had known what I wanted long before we had even arrived at the restaurant. I ordered the Dumb Luck Coconut Shrimp

which were served with Cajun Marmalade, coleslaw and Fries. And while we were still enjoying our food, our server came by to play the Forrest Gump movie quiz with us.

Thankfully the questions are more or less the same every time, so we did pretty well. Once we had finished we paid the bill and went to Cinnabon for dessert.

I got the Centre of the roll,

the ooey, gooey middle of the bun, topped with their signature cream cheese frosting. Yummy!! And after I had finished my dessert we headed back to the car.
On the way back to the resort we talked about how fun it would have been, had me met Gary and Carol and we came up with an idea. We stopped at Old Key West, picked up a bottle of wine and drove over to the campground. It was very dark and we had a bit of trouble finding their trailer again, but finally we had found it and again we had missed them, as it was locked.

We put the bottle of wine on the stairs and left them a message. And since we were already out and about we just headed to Kissimmee to pick up another box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. We picked up a dozen for our guards as well, “inhaled” one of the soft warm treats right there

and then and then finally headed back to Old Key West. The guard was surprised and happy when we handed him the doughnuts and we just drove over to our villa. As soon as I had connected my computer to the internet I found a message from Gary, thanking us for the wine and letting us know that we had missed them by minutes. But he was home the next morning and if we had time, they would love to meet us.
We stayed up for a little longer, watching TV, but by 11pm we were both in bed.

To be continued ..........

 

[jenseib]

So did you drive through Ft. W? I thought you weren't allowed to drive around..or only to your campsite and for the most part, then park it.
I could be totally wrong, but I guess i thought that was how it worked.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Jen, we have driven around Ft Wilderness to see the Halloween and Christmas decorations - it would be too far to walk around to see everything. It is a lot of fun! Not sure if the rules have changed since we did it though - last time was 2010.

 

[Teri1]

Teri are you going to be in WDW in Sept.? We will be there 10th thru 15th.

Wicket's Mom we will miss you by one day! We are at POR the 6th to the 9th and leave on the Dream that day. I would love to have gotten a chance to meet you! But of course we don't live too far from each other since we are both in Ohio!

 

[Wicket's Mom]

Teri are you going to be in WDW in Sept.? We will be there 10th thru 15th.

Wicket's Mom we will miss you by one day! We are at POR the 6th to the 9th and leave on the Dream that day. I would love to have gotten a chance to meet you! But of course we don't live too far from each other since we are both in Ohio!

Drat, it seems my Dismeet luck isn't working for this trip!

At least you will get to meet Karin & Tom!

 

[englishrose47]

Enjoyed the Update especially Bubba Gumps as we plan on eating there next month!! I wish you could make ressies but you can't and 10 people could be a problem !!! I do have ressies for Mythos for lunch already though !!!

 

[dizneeat]

So did you drive through Ft. W? I thought you weren't allowed to drive around..or only to your campsite and for the most part, then park it.
I could be totally wrong, but I guess i thought that was how it worked.

Yes, we just drove around several times. I have never heard of the fact that you cannot drive around. What do people do, who bring their cars? Have it stay put and enjoy its vacation?
We were asked every time we passed the gates what we were here for and we always tell them to have a look around and NO one stopped us!

Jen, we have driven around Ft Wilderness to see the Halloween and Christmas decorations - it would be too far to walk around to see everything. It is a lot of fun! Not sure if the rules have changed since we did it though - last time was 2010.

Yes, I remember seeing reports on the Tagrel boards about those Halloween and Christmas sightseeing tours.

Carol and Gary had already decorated for Halloween, it was awesome!