My wine induced charity auction purchase got me a no kids trip to Disney!-update 3/27

[Nancy for Disney]

After dinner we still have a little time before our Sorin’ fp. We walk around World Showcase. I stop in France and get a class of wine. I notice there are still tons of people waiting outside Chefs de France. We wouldn’t even be close to sitting down if we kept our ADR.

We walk to Canada and see the movie. I really liked it and thought Martin Short made it entertaining.

Next is Sorin’ which of course was highly enjoyable and is one of my favorite attractions.

After Sorin’ we find a spot for Illuminations. We have to go to the other side of the lake because of the wind. We end up standing next to someone from Missouri. Unfortunately we didn’t start our quest for a good viewing spot soon enough and we couldn’t see very well. I still liked but would have enjoyed it more had I been more comfortable.

(For some reason photobucket is not letting me turn this picture around. Sorry.)

After this we head to The Boardwalk. We walk and it is only a few minutes. This is our party night so of course we go to Jelly Rolls.

It is fairly crowded but we find seats in the back. I am not sure what I want. If I drink beer I will be bloated and wine will give me a killer headache. I tell the waiter I like rum and the waiter suggests a rum runner. They were tasty…..a little too tasty.

Here are a few photos I took.

I took video too but one of the waiters politely informed me that there could be no video taping. I apologized and he was very understanding. I was embarrassed. I was a little tipsy at this point. I get my 3rd (4th?) rum runner and tell DH not to let me have anymore. I think about five minutes later the drink is gone and the waiter comes over and asks if I would like another. DH says for me “sure!” I scold him but not too much.

We were having a pretty good time singing along by this point.

Believe it or not we made it to last call, something we haven't done in many years. We decide to take a cab back to the resort. I of course still continue to take pictures.

In one of my previous posts I talk about the ride from Boardwalk to DTD and then finally to POP. It was a long ride. I think it took at least 45 minutes of being in a crowded bus. In the cab it felt like we turned a couple of corners and went down the street and we were at POP in 5 minutes! Ok maybe not 5 minutes but no more than 10. The cab cost about $7 and it was worth every penny.

We tried to go back to the room as quietly as possible. We do take a few pictures. I am making some obscene gestures in them so I delete them when I am thinking more clearly. I did end up with this one.

Of course we go straight to bed after taking some Tylenol.


Coming Next: Our much needed day of rest.

 

[disneybarbie]

Wow what a lovely day you had!! I forgot to take any photos inside Jelly Rolls so it was nice to see yours!
What was in a rum runner?! My sister and I just had a beer there..we don't drink beer that often (we're wine/cocktail girls!) but wanted to try a Bud Light Lime because can't get it in the UK! and it was well after midnight time we got there so didn't really want too much to drink hehe.

Looking forward to the next day, don't our paths cross at dinner!

Emma x

 

[valleygirl]

Just found your trip report today and I'm loving it! DH and I have gone to Disney without the kids a couple of times and we had a great time. Can't wait to read more about your trip.
Maura

 

[Disneychix]

What a great day! I love your pics on SM! You look so happy!

I love rum runners They remind me of summer I can't believe how many you had! Good for you! What a great night too!

 

[Nancy for Disney]

Wow what a lovely day you had!! I forgot to take any photos inside Jelly Rolls so it was nice to see yours!
What was in a rum runner?! My sister and I just had a beer there..we don't drink beer that often (we're wine/cocktail girls!) but wanted to try a Bud Light Lime because can't get it in the UK! and it was well after midnight time we got there so didn't really want too much to drink hehe.


Looking forward to the next day, don't our paths cross at dinner!

Emma x

I have no idea what is in a rum runner so of course I just now googled it and this is one of the recipes I got:
0.75 oz Captain Morgan® Original spiced rum
0.25 oz blackberry liqueur
0.25 oz creme de bananes
2 oz orange juice
8 oz crushed ice

Yep, tomorrow night is the night that we sit next to each other at The Wave.

Just found your trip report today and I'm loving it! DH and I have gone to Disney without the kids a couple of times and we had a great time. Can't wait to read more about your trip.
Maura

Thank you. I am so glad you found me.

What a great day! I love your pics on SM! You look so happy!

I love rum runners They remind me of summer I can't believe how many you had! Good for you! What a great night too!

I can't believe how many I had either! I really don't think I could have possibly had 5. It had to be only 4. If I would have had 5 I would have been praying to the Porcelain God. Since that didn't happen it had to be only 4. I am such a light weight and probably only have about 10 drinks a year that there is no way that this little 5 foot body could consume that much.


I don't know when I will be able to update again. Our main computer has a virus. Right now DH and I are trying to decide if we pay someone to fix it, buy a new one and have them transfer files (DH said that we were due for an upgrade), or DH is going to try to fix it himself. It wouldn't bother me too much as most of my favorite pictures are on facebook or photobucket. I think my biggest issue is i-tunes. That is where we store all of our music. Wish us luck. Right now I am using the kids computer. It has limited functions.

 

[Nancy for Disney]

I've had a crazy past couple of weeks. I am hoping to do an update this weekend but can't promise anything. I am having trouble keeping up with my 9 year olds social schedule. DH and I went to the heartball again. We made it out without any impulse trips purchased but we did by some really nice pictures for DH office. DH didn't think he would win the bid on the silent acution but oh well.

Here is our picture this year:

 

[kathie859]

I've had a crazy past couple of weeks. I am hoping to do an update this weekend but can't promise anything. I am having trouble keeping up with my 9 year olds social schedule. DH and I went to the heartball again. We made it out without any impulse trips purchased but we did by some really nice pictures for DH office. DH didn't think he would win the bid on the silent acution but oh well.

Obviously you didn't drink nearly enough wine this year since you escaped without another trip.

 

[Nancy for Disney]

I am updating!

I bet those that have been reading thought that this was another tr that had fallen to wasteland. Sorry it has been so long but it has been crazy. I just got over my second cold of the year, the kids are going every which way, blah, blah, blah. You all know how it is.

Well here it is......

Our Day of Rest

Needless to say we slept in this morning. I think I got up at around 9 and went to get some food in my somewhat queasy stomach. I got bacon, egg and cheese croissant, soda and an OJ which I paid OP for. Sorry no pictures. That would have been way too much effort.

We finally got up and going at around 11:00. This was going to be our one opportunity to eat at WPE. This was the one and only time we had a bus issue. There were buses at every stop except DTD. There was a small line already there. All the other buses leave. We wait. At least two of the stops have a second bus pull up. We watch them leave. Next thing we know all of the stops have a bus pull up except DTD. Guess what; since they all just had a bus leave there isn’t a single person waiting except for at DTD where the line has gotten quite huge. I decide to go tell one of the drivers to tell dispatch but another person beat me to it. Within about a minute one of the other buses that had been at another of the stops pulls up to DTD and all is right with the world. I think this process still took less than 15 min so that isn’t too bad.

We get to WPE and the line is out the door. We decide to wait because this was one of our favorite places to eat on our last trip. The line goes pretty quickly. Unfortunately the there are not too many choices of places to sit. It is way too cold to eat outside. We end up sitting against the back wall at a row of tables. Our table is for four. Just after we sit down a couple asks to share the table with us. Normally I don’t mind but I was not in a friendly mood. Turns out they were an absolutely delightful couple. They were older than us and had grandchildren. DH prepared them for me taking pictures of the food. We all had a good laugh about it. I told them about DIS and they said that their son was a moderator for another Disney website so they understood. It all worked out in and in the end I found that I really enjoyed their company.

Enough chitchat you say? Ok here is the food porn:

I got the Mediterranean Vegetable Melt. Very yummy and one of my favorite combinations of vegetables.

DH got the Chicken Melt. He also liked his.

I got the crème brulee for dessert. One of my favorites. The four of us were laughing very hard as DH took the picture. Everyone thought it would be better if I was in the picture too.

After lunch we walked around DTD. I took just two pictures.

I took this one to put up on my desk. We have to share desks and my deskmate is a huge Pooh fan and our desk is covered. I thought this would add to it. Unfortunately I haven't gotten around to printing it yet.

We decided to see a movie. DH picked 2012. We both agreed that it was the worst movie we ever spent money on. We did sit next to some Pop Warner kids and they were no problem what so ever.

After the movie we headed to our ADR at The Wave.

We were a little early but we were still seated very quickly. Little did I know but I was seated next to another DISer, DisneyBarbie. She has a perfectly lovely TR and I realized as I read hers that we had been seated next to one another.

Despite sitting next to a nice quiet pair (DisneyBarbie and her sister) I found the restaurant quite noisy. One of the reasons I picked The Wave is that my fellow DISers had said that it was quiet and not very many kids. Well I think I went there on the wrong night. The family on the other side of us had kids. They were ok but very messy. After DisneyBarbie left another family sat in her spot and they were ok. However there was a large group sitting behind us with a toddler that screamed as loud as they could through the entire meal. It wasn’t a happy scream, a sad scream or even I am tired scream. It was an "I am screaming just for the sake of screaming" scream. Ugh. At some point they did take the child out of the restaurant but it was only for five minutes. I know it is Disney, there will be kids. I normally probably wouldn’t have minded but I was still a little tired from the night before and it just didn’t set well especially since this was the “romantic” meal of the trip. Please forgive my grumpiness.

Another disappointment in The Wave was that I was really looking forward to the Cinnamon Rubbed Pork Tenderloin. Allears.net had it listed with the side dish of sweet potatoes. Yum, I love sweet potatoes. However the menu had changed and it came with something else that didn’t sound nearly as yummy. I can’t remember what it was but allears now has this posted: Cinnamon-rubbed Grilled Pork Tenderloin - with Spoon Bread, wilted chard and corn nectar. Blech!

In the end I played it safe and got the beef tenderloin with potatoes substituted for the white bean mash. It was very good.

DH got the Chili-rubbed Flat Iron Steak - with fingerling potato salad and avocado mouse.

For dessert I got the Crispy and Crunchy - Vanilla-braised Pineapple Spears, Almond-Pineapple-Raisin "Baklava", Zucchini-Carrot Cake with Vanilla Panna Cotta.

It was my first excellent dessert of at TS meal! Loved all three. It was definitely a good dessert day.

DH got the Decadent Flavors - Blueberry Compote with Yogurt Gelato, Lemon Cornbread with Vanilla Panna Cotta, Chocolate Mousse with Salted Caramel Sauce. (I think the description had changed on allears. I know I tasted the lemon cornbread but I think it had blueberry compote with it. I was really looking forward to it but I was not impressed.)

After dinner we walked around the contemporary for a bit.

Then we got on the monorail so I could show DH The Poly, my dream resort. I have loved that volcano pool since my first visit in 1972.

Unfortunately DH was not impressed. My ultimate goal had been to get a Lapu Lapu at the bar there but I was not feeling up to it. Besides the bar area was packed with people waiting for Kona and O’hana’s. The next goal was to watch the fireworks at MK from the beach but it was raining.

 

[Nancy for Disney]

We got back on the monorail to see the gingerbread house at GF.

I took this picture of this lovely family. I didn’t have the patience to wait in line to get a picture of myself.

Just as we were leaving GF the MK fireworks started. It was still raining so we got on the monorail and headed to MK to catch the bus. We were able to watch a few moments from the monorail station. Sadly this was our only opportunity to catch any of the fireworks.

Coming Next: Our final day. Will we make the most of it?

 

[valleygirl]

I'm so glad you're back to finish your report.
Maura

 

[disneybarbie]

Hi! ... nice update... I still can't believe we sat next to each other at The Wave!! It sure is a Small World !

Seeing pics of the dessert trios again made me hungry!

Emma x

 

[Joyciemc]

I just found your TR today, so I have no complaints about your time off from writing

Very much enjoying reading, you guys had a great trip!

I agree with your DH that ice cream cookie sandwiches are amazing. But my absolute favorite MK treat is a hot fudge sundae in a waffle bowl

It was nice to read about Jellyrolls, as we are hoping to get there on our trip. I was (am?) a huge Adventurer's Club fan and find myself without my usual nighttime hangout on this next trip. Do you remember what time Jellyrolls opens and closes?

Your food reviews are great and are making me very hungry!

 

[Nancy for Disney]

I'm so glad you're back to finish your report.
Maura

Thank you. Hopefully it won't be quite as long for the next update.

Hi! ... nice update... I still can't believe we sat next to each other at The Wave!! It sure is a Small World !

Seeing pics of the dessert trios again made me hungry!

Emma x

Yes, those dessert trios were very good. I can't believe that I found someone that I had contact with on DIS either.

I just found your TR today, so I have no complaints about your time off from writing

Very much enjoying reading, you guys had a great trip!

I agree with your DH that ice cream cookie sandwiches are amazing. But my absolute favorite MK treat is a hot fudge sundae in a waffle bowl

It was nice to read about Jellyrolls, as we are hoping to get there on our trip. I was (am?) a huge Adventurer's Club fan and find myself without my usual nighttime hangout on this next trip. Do you remember what time Jellyrolls opens and closes?


Your food reviews are great and are making me very hungry!

So glad you found my trippie. I had never been to The Adventurer's Club although it sounds like it would have been more fun or at least more adventurous. I think Jellyrolls opens at 8 and it closed at 1. We got there about 10 and were lucky to get a table at that time. Have fun planning your Disneymoon and congratulations.



One a side note...as I type my kids are cleaning the kitchen and singing Disney songs. Right now they are singing songs from Mulan. Before that it was Lion King. Do I have them trained right or what?

 

[Nancy for Disney]

Today was our final day of parks. The plan was to go to AK. I only had a few goals at AK. Ride EE, take our time looking at things, see FOTLK. After that we were going to possibly take a break and then go to Epcot or just go straight to Epcot. I had hoped to take a break because we were to swap the refrigerator today and the other family was to arrive at around 2 pm that day. I really wanted to have the swap out of the way. We had plans to meet my good friend from my childhood in the evening for some drinks at DTD. She lives in Tampa. Will we accomplish all of this?

We had no problems getting up early as we had an early uneventful evening the night before. We get to AK with lots of time to goof off and take photos.

We are very close to the front of the line to go in. This was the only time we encountered rude teens. They were just a very large and loud group and were standing directly behind us. I remember thinking how lucky we were to be in front of them rather than behind them. If DH would have tried on one more hat that would have been the case. I overheard one of them say that they were a high school choir from Texas and they had performed in the Candlelight Processional the night before.

We have about a ten minute wait until we are allowed to go through the gates. Once we are through we have plenty of time for some more pictures.

It isn’t long before the opening show begins. We had missed it the previous year. It is cute but doesn’t have the “WOW” factor that MK has.

Of course we head strait to EE. The choir kids start to run in front of us. We get a fp first then we get in line. A few of the choir kids got separated from their group and push ahead of us in line. One of the kids mentions to their friend that they shouldn’t do this and the friend responds “Who cares this is Disney World. This is what you do in Disney World”. The person behind me says “Where are their parents?” I explain that they are with a choir from a high school. I can’t remember what the person behind me says but they didn’t quite understand that I was trying to say there are no parents to supervise them. I let it all go. After all it is Disney and I am in my happy place. The line goes pretty fast anyway. I think it was may 5 minutes.


Here are our EE pictures:

This coaster is so awesome. I almost have trouble deciding between this being my favorite coaster of all time or SM.


Ok that was the first 15 minutes at the park. I am going to stop here as I think it is best if I just do short updates. Not sure if it is for convenience or I just don’t want the trip report to end.

 

[mousebit]

Just found your TR and caught up! Gotta say, I'm just a little jealous. I'd love to do a trip with just DH.

BTW, we're from Missouri too! St. Charles Country. Show-me some warm FL sunshine in the middle of our long, dreary winters and I'm a very happy camper.

Haven't made it to WPE yet, but just added it to my must-do list for next trip. I love creme brulee and you look pretty darned happy with yours! And am I seeing this right? Are those real dishes at a QS place?

Anyway, thanx for the great report.

 

[kathie859]

Ok that was the first 15 minutes at the park. I am going to stop here as I think it is best if I just do short updates. Not sure if it is for convenience or I just don’t want the trip report to end.
__________________

Talk about true words spoken in jest!!

Thanks for sharing this trip. I'm trying to coerce DH into an "us" only trip so I like hearing your experiences.

 

[Nancy for Disney]

Ok that was the first 15 minutes at the park. I am going to stop here as I think it is best if I just do short updates. Not sure if it is for convenience or I just don’t want the trip report to end.
__________________

Talk about true words spoken in jest!!

Thanks for sharing this trip. I'm trying to coerce DH into an "us" only trip so I like hearing your experiences.

Tell DH that it is a great trip just for couples. I kind of dread doing Disney with kids ever again. It was just so much easier without them. There is so much to do there too so there is something for everyone.

Just found your TR and caught up! Gotta say, I'm just a little jealous. I'd love to do a trip with just DH.

BTW, we're from Missouri too! St. Charles Country. Show-me some warm FL sunshine in the middle of our long, dreary winters and I'm a very happy camper.

Haven't made it to WPE yet, but just added it to my must-do list for next trip. I love creme brulee and you look pretty darned happy with yours! And am I seeing this right? Are those real dishes at a QS place?

Anyway, thanx for the great report.

Oh you must plan on WPE. Best use of a CS credit you can find. Very good cream brulee for a what is considered a fast food type of restaurant. Yum. I want some now.

Thanks for reading. I agree. The winters were very dreary. When we were at Disney there was a major temp drop and it was cold for even MO standards for Dec. I know that it was too cold for my kids to go the bus stop and my MIL had to drive them to school. I was very happy to be in FL. I wish I could go every winter.

Thanks so much for reading.

 

[Melknor]

Great TR! Can't wait for the rest of your updates. DH and I went just the two of us in Sept and it was a wonderful trip! So different than the first one with the kids. We were able to just enjoy and not rush getting the kids on rides. Our upcoming trip I definately plan to take is slower and just enjoy being in my happy place.

I have the "same" self pic of DH & myself on the TTA too. I definately everyone take at least one "kid-less" vacation to WDW.

 

[Joyciemc]

Oooh, I think I'll just live on creme brulee from WPE all week when we are there, it looks delicious!

I think SM would win for me of EE... but it is a close one!

 

[Nancy for Disney]

WOW, It has been a long time since I updated. I have been very busy. I had a girls weekend with one of my best friends in high school a couple of weeks ago. We went back to our hometown for their annual St Pats celebration. We hadn’t seen each other for 20+ years! Thank you facebook for helping me reconnect. We then went to Texas last weekend for a family event. It was a last minute trip and required over 20 hours of driving each way. I am glad we went though.

Anyway, here is another quick update. This one will mainly be pictures.

We had just gotten off EE. There was an available photopass guy so we took advantage of it.

In 2008 we really rushed through the Pagani trail. This time I wanted to take our time going through the other trail, Maharajah. Since we did take it slow I was able to get lots of pictures.

What a ham!

Oh how I hate snakes. There was a time I wouldn't have gotten within 20 feet of this.

Did I take a picture of bat poo?????

Don't you just want to rub his belly?

Coming next: My favorite show and taking our time.