Mike & Missy's Grand Adventure! 9/5/09 DCL Western & WDW TR w/ pics! COMPLETE!

[Jennifer48]

Mmm O'hanas is delish! Glad you got to try and AND you loved it!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Mmm O'hanas is delish! Glad you got to try and AND you loved it!

Delish is definitely a good way of describing it! I am VERY glad that we tried it! I can't wait to go back!!!

 

[Mickey's Goofy Gal]

Great Trip Report and I am happy that 'Ohana was everything that you dreamed it would be! Loving the photos and character meets!

 

[Timon]

Isn't the Poly just gorgeous?? I agree, it's definitely a place to stay and one day I will stay there too! Just waiting on that lottery win

I'm excited that you're going on the Dream! I can't wait to read your trippie when you get back! We won't be going back for awhile so no Dream for me

 

[UGAFan0829]

Great Trip Report and I am happy that 'Ohana was everything that you dreamed it would be! Loving the photos and character meets!

Thanks, Kim! Glad you're enjoying my ramblings!!!

Isn't the Poly just gorgeous?? I agree, it's definitely a place to stay and one day I will stay there too! Just waiting on that lottery win

I'm excited that you're going on the Dream! I can't wait to read your trippie when you get back! We won't be going back for awhile so no Dream for me

Yes, the Poly is GORGEOUS! I would love to see it added as a DVC resort one day!!

I'm excited about the Dream as well...can't wait! Aren't you guys going to Alaska next year?

 

[UGAFan0829]

Breakfast with Lilo and a Little Shoppin'​

After an early wake-up call from Mickey at 5:30, we were up and getting ready for another fun day in Epcot, but not before we had breakfast with a few friends!

By 7:30, we had made our way back to the Poly for breakfast with Lilo & Stitch! I have to admit, when I made this reservation, it was more about the characters than anything else, so I really had no expectations about the food! When we arrived, there were very few people there, so we were seated right away. It was kind of weird seeing the restaurant so empty after we'd just eaten there last night with it being so crowded!

The first thing we were brought was a basket of breads and pastries, and that yummy juice that I don't know the name of and a plate of fresh fruit.

Next, came the platter of YUMMY food that included eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes and Mickey Waffles.

Then came the characters...

Seeing Lilo & Stitch and their friends was a great way to start the morning!

By the time the characters were finished making their rounds, we were full and ready for the day! It turned out that we made a great decision when we picked this meal. The service was just as good as the night before, the food was delish, and the characters were a lot of fun! The fact that you don't have to order and wait for your meal to come really makes this restaurant a good choice for breakfast!

Since breakfast was so early, we decided to drive our own car over to the Poly. And with breakfast being done, we headed back over to the BoardWalk to drop off the car and hop a bus to Epcot.

With us having already visited World Showcase, we decided to dedicate the day, or at least part of it, to FutureWorld. We stopped for a couple PhotoPass pics as we headed inside the park.

Next, was our first stop--Spaceship Earth.

This was our 1st time riding, so I was really excited to see what it was all about. Of course, I had to take a couple pics of our future...

I was glad that we finally took the time to ride, as it was a pretty cool experience!

After our visit to the future, we decided to walk into MouseGear.

We'd passed this store on every trip before, and I always wanted to take a look around, but we never did. I was impressed with the selection of stuff in there. There was a million things that I saw and wanted, but we came out empty handed.

After our "window' shopping, we decided to take our first ride of the day, so we headed over to Mission: Space. I LOVE this ride!

On our way over, I discovered some Hidden Mickeys in the concrete:

Next, we decided to head over to one of Mike's favorite rides, Test Track. Unfortunately, the wait was 40 minutes, so we grabbed a Fastpass and decided to head over to the Land and see how the wait looked for Soarin'. As luck would have it, the wait was 40 minutes there as well. With us already being so close, we decided to head over to the Seas and check out Nemo followed by Turtle Talk with Crush.

We still had time to kill before we could head back to Test Track to use our Fastpass, so we decided to do something that we'd never taken the time to do before and check out the aquariums.

There really is a lot to see there, so we enjoyed strolling around and discovering all the sea life.

Finally, it was time for us to head back to Test Track for a fast ride, but before we did, we decided to grab a Fastpass for Soarin' so that we could come back and ride it later.

With Soarin' FP's in hand, we made our way back across to TT. I was glad that we decided to FP it, especially since the wait was still 40 minutes!! After just a few minutes, we were buckled in and ready to ride!

I love this ride, but I hate the outside part cause I can never manage to keep my eyes open. I guess my eyes are really sensitive to the wind, so they always end up closing on me no matter how hard I try to see where we're going.

With our vehicle testing being successfully over, we headed back to Soarin' to take our scenic ride over Cali. We were able to zoom right through and were ready to glide in no time. It was a bit of a funny ride, as we ended up beside a couple who had their granddaughter with them. Now, even being scared of heights, I've never been scared of this ride, mainly because in the back of my mind I know that we're not really that high up. But because it is so realistic, I can understand how some people get freaked out. This poor lady beside us was definitely freaked out. Her granddaughter kept leaning forward (she was old enough to know that it was freaking her g'mother out, which was why she was doing it, but yet still small enough that the thought of her falling out still scared you), and everytime she did it, the grandmother just freaked. It was funny but scary at the same time. I was laughing at the grandmothers reaction, but yet, getting a little nervous with the g'daughter leaning forward. Between all that and trying to take in the scenery, it was definitely and interesting, but fun ride!

Since we'd accomplished pretty much everything on our list for the day, we decided to head over to Club Cool on our way out. Of course we had to try all the flavors from around the world, with the exception of the Beverly of course. Mike had learned his lesson from last time, so I wasn't able to pull one over on him again!! We did decide to use one of our snack credits and get us a frozen coke to enjoy on our way out. It was very yummy and refreshing! Just what we needed after a warm day in the park!

Next up, we head to Downtown Disney for some dinner and shopping!

 

[mousetravel]

Great update & pics!

 

[podsnel]

That breakfast at Ohana reminds me of the Goofy breakfast at Vero Beach- they just bring the food out, as much as you want of it. It was YUMMY! And you're right- it was very nice not to have to order! :

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Jennifer48]

Yay you are back!

I love Ohanas for breakfast! Lilo was "sleeping" according to Stitch when I went so I didn't get to meet her but it was still fun! Glad you enjoyed it too.

 

[UGAFan0829]

Great update & pics!

Thank you, and thanks for sticking around!

That breakfast at Ohana reminds me of the Goofy breakfast at Vero Beach- they just bring the food out, as much as you want of it. It was YUMMY! And you're right- it was very nice not to have to order! :

Thanks for sharing!

Ooh, I didn't know they had something like that at Vero...very cool. I wish they offered it at HHI as well.

Yay you are back!

I love Ohanas for breakfast! Lilo was "sleeping" according to Stitch when I went so I didn't get to meet her but it was still fun! Glad you enjoyed it too.

Yes, I'm back. Thank you for sticking around! I guess my training for the Princess 1/2 took my focus off getting this thing finished. Now my goal is to get done before we leave on Friday!

 

[UGAFan0829]

After leaving Epcot, we decided to take the monorial over to the GF and check out their shops. The last time we were there, they had some really cute jewelry in the store that's near the lobby. So, we thought we'd stop in and see what they had to offer this time around. Unfortunately, they didn't have anything that caught my eye, so we decided to try the other store upstairs. Still not finding anything that we really wanted, we decided to catch a bus over to Downtown Disney. I was sure that I would find lots of stuff there!!!

Not having a meal since breakfast had made us pretty hungry by this point, so we decided to grab a quiCk bite before we did any more shopping. Since we'd been to Earl of Sandwich before and liked it, we decided that we'd be having it for lunch again today, so we headed over. I got the same thing as last time, the Ham 'n' Swiss...

And I honestly, cannot remember what Mike had, but here's a picture...note the placement of the EOS seal...

For dessert, I went with the brownie thing and Mike had the chocolate mousse/pudding.

I ended up not eating my brownie and took it with us to snack on later.

Once done savoring our sammiches, it was time for the shopping to begin. The first place we headed to was the "ear" store. I can't remember the name of it, but it's the place that has all the mouse ears and does the embroidery on them. Since our very first trip, Mike and I had been wanting to get our own set of ears with our names on them, but never had, so now was the time. I also wanted to get my great-niece her first pair of ears, so we got them all done at the same time. Here's a few pics of hers being done...

I was really happy with the way they turned out. I had purchased some a couple years ago in the MK for my niece and nephew, and I think the names on them were done by hand, as they weren't nearly as neat!

After leaving the ear store, we headed over to Pin Traders. I picked up a couple 2009 pins along with a few others. I could spend a fortune in that place, but I try and limit myself as much as possible!! After the pin store, we checked out the new Tren-D boutique, which was really nice. They had a lot of cute things in there, but nothing I would wear.

Next, we went to my all time favorite DTD store, World of Disney. I'm sure I'm not the only one who LOVES this store, and it was pretty obvious by all the others who were there as well! I loved the castle that they had on display, and thought it would look really nice in my living room...LOL!

We ended up buying a ton of stuff there, which is typical for me!!!

Shopping done, we were ready to sit down for a few, but not before we picked up something to soothe the sweet tooth that we had going on....so what better place to head than Ghirardelli!!! Mmmmm...that place is heaven! I have no clue what it was that we ordered, but here they are...
Mikes:

And mine:

Mike's even had a hidden Mickey on top...

They were SO yummy! We'd found a little table on the water right across from Ghirardelli and took in the view as we enjoyed our yummy treats. As we were sitting there, a yellow jacket decided to pay us a visit. So, Mike decided to shoo it, and as he did he shooed it right into my shake! I was so sad as I was only about half done with it! He tried to get me to dig him out and drink the rest, but there was no way. It would have been my luck that the stinger would have come off and then I would have ended up drinking it...so there went my yummy shake right into the trash! I have to admit I was a little irritated by the whole thing, but I know he didn't mean for it to happen that way. I sure haven't let him live it down though. Everytime we talk about the trip, I remind him that he owes me another shake when we go down again. Bless his heart, I know he felt really bad about it!

We sat a little longer and then decided it was time to head back to the resort. If we were lucky, we could make it back in time to head to the pool...but by the time our bus finally came and we made the stops at the Beach Club and Swan and Dolphin, it had gotten to late. Yet another night of unsuccessfully trying to go down the awesome slide that I so badly wanted to try! So we decided to chill in the room for the rest of the evening. I did a little surfing on the net then called everyone back home to check-in. It had been a long and fun day, so we hit the hay early, excited about tomorrow and going to Hollywood Studios and riding Toy Story Mania for the first time.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Looks like a day of yummy food! I wouldn't have finished that shake either.

 

[The Bad Witch]

Really enjoying your trip report!! Thanks for posting and looking forward to the next installment!

 

[Jennifer48]

I still have never eaten at Ghirardellis. Sad I know.

I love the World of Disney store too! I love Downtown Disney as a whole. I like to spend a whole day down there. Its so fabulous!

What did you buy?! I want to see

 

[Timon]

Love your Pooh shirt!

Your ham and cheese at Earl's looks really good! I could go for one right now!

Sorry about your shake but I wouldn't have finished it either!

And yes, we are going to Alaska on the Wonder in 2011

 

[Tinkerkell123]

Having so much fun with you! Thanks!

That ham & cheese sandwich looks fabulous, I am going to have to get one of those next time we go. And whatever Mike had at Ghiradelli's looks amazing. I am not a big ice cream/sweets person, but THAT I have got to try!!

Looking forward to more!

One question: what kind of stuff did TrenD have?

 

[UGAFan0829]

Hi, everyone! I had really planned on getting this thing finished up before the weekend, but it didn't happen that way. I am actually here at Saratoga Springs as I write this--we're here for the Princess 1/2...so please cross your fingers for me as tomorrow is the big day. Anyway, I really hope to get this thing finished up as soon as we get home!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Good luck tomorrow! I'm sure you will do great!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Looks like a day of yummy food! I wouldn't have finished that shake either.

I'm glad to know that you would have done the same, and that I wasn't overreacting!!

Really enjoying your trip report!! Thanks for posting and looking forward to the next installment!

Why, thank you for joining in!!

I still have never eaten at Ghirardellis. Sad I know.

I love the World of Disney store too! I love Downtown Disney as a whole. I like to spend a whole day down there. Its so fabulous!

What did you buy?! I want to see

Yes, Jenn-that is very sad. You are just going to have to fix that when you go back!! I agree that Downtown is fab! I can spend waaaay too much money there. Unfortunately, I don't have pics of what we bought since most of it was for the family.

Love your Pooh shirt!

Your ham and cheese at Earl's looks really good! I could go for one right now!

Sorry about your shake but I wouldn't have finished it either!

And yes, we are going to Alaska on the Wonder in 2011

Thanks, Cass...Pooh is my fave!! I'm so excited that you guys are going to Alaska. I know that is going to be an awesome, awesome experience. I surely can't wait to read that TR!!

Having so much fun with you! Thanks!

That ham & cheese sandwich looks fabulous, I am going to have to get one of those next time we go. And whatever Mike had at Ghiradelli's looks amazing. I am not a big ice cream/sweets person, but THAT I have got to try!!

Looking forward to more!

One question: what kind of stuff did TrenD have?

Awww, thanks!!!!

Tren-D has a lot of boutique type stuff...more of the couture style if that makes any sense...Kinda higher in stuff.

Good luck tomorrow! I'm sure you will do great!

Thanks, Lessa...I did meet my goal, which was to finish and get a medal, so I am super happy about that! I never thought I would be excited about running, but I can't wait to do it again next year!!!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Hollywood Studios and the "Elusive" BoardWalk Slide!​

Making it to park opening at Hollywood Studios wasn't really a priority for us, so we were able to take our time and actually slept a little later than normal this morning.

Being able to take the water taxi over to the park was wonderful, and we made it to the park around 10, which was just about an hour after park opening.

As we walked in, we decided to stop and get a couple Photopass pics taken before we headed on our mission...

Our first stop was Toy Story Mania. Since I'd heard so much about it since it's opening, I was really excited to try it for the first time. But before we made it, we were stopped by a CM and were given these babies:

Whoo-hoo! That was the first time we'd gotten anything like that. Actually, after the Year of a Million Dreams had ended, I didn't even think that they did things like this anymore. Either way, we were really excited!

So, with magical Fastpasses in our hands, we were finally on our way over to Pixar Place to check out TSM.

Since the wait wasn't that long, we decided to grab Fastpasses and then head into the stand-by line.
I LOVE the themeing and details of the ride...I think they really make it a lot of fun. Here's what we saw as we waited...

After just a few minutes, we were ready to get our ride on. I loved this ride. It was so much fun, even if I did get my butt whipped...

After a fun, fun ride on TSM, we decided to head over to Animation Academy to see if we could make it into a drawing class.

This was one of the things that we couldn't wait to do again as we had so much fun drawing on our last trip. Unfortunately, the wait was a little longer that what we had in mind, so instead we headed over to see the characters from "Up", which I love!

As we were heading out, we noticed that the Incredibles didn't have much of a line, so we decided to pay them a visit as well:

It took me a while to figure out that the black thing on my head was actually Mr. Incredible's hand!

On our way out from Animation, we realized that Mater and Lightnin' were out for pictures as well, so we had to head over there since Mater is one of Mike's favorites. I really like the way that they have changed this since the last time that we saw them in 2007. Before, they brought them out into the Streets of America, and it was pretty much a free-for-all as far as getting pictures. But with the new set up, they keep them in one area and organize a line just like with all the other characters. This was much, much nicer!

After our visits with the characters, it was getting time for our lunch ressie, so we headed over to Sci-Fi where we would be eating for the first time. I'd heard lots of good things about the place, so my expectations were pretty high...

Stay tuned to see if Sci-Fi lived up to the hype...