*FINISHED 1/26* Welcome to Disney, Where Wait Times are Made Up and the Crowds Don't Matter! - July 2021

[Newsies]

Just popping on to say I'm loving your trip report! Thanks for sharing!!

Thanks so much for popping in, I appreciate this so much!!

 

[Newsies]

Scenes from a Hat: Galaxy's Edge
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We had to run to GE after M&MRR, it was getting close to noon and we had a 12:15 reservation at Oga's Cantina. We got on Batuu and promptly checked in for our "lunch" reservation. This was not our first time at Oga's, but we loved our drinks/snacks last time, so we were excited to return!

We were seated at a table with another family, which WAS new to us-- I've only ever sat at the bar. I was still a little nervous to be sitting directly with a different party in the midst of COVID-19, but nonetheless, we enjoyed sitting at a table vs at the bar (I am too short for bar stools!). We had an extremely funny, in-character host, so overall, it was another great time at one of our favorite bars on property!

The last two times I've been to Oga's, I've gotten the Blue Bantha, but the internet convinced me to get the Fuzzy Tauntaun:

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The drink had everything I love in a drink-- peach vodka, peach schnapps, orange juice, and pure cane sugar. You really can't go wrong there. The drink itself was lovely, tropical, and went down easily.

The drink is topped off with "buzz" foam, which contains some type of ingredient that numbs your lips/mouth. It's kind of the piece-de-resistance to this drink. It's bitter, and it will definitely make your lips go numb and "stun" your tastebuds a little bit. It isn't something I would enjoy "back on earth," but when on Batuu, you have to expect some type of theatrical element to your Oga's Cantina visit, so it serves its purpose there. Fuzzy Tauntaun = good, but I'll try a different drink next time.

Mom also got the Fuzzy Tauntaun, and she liked it just as well as I did. Dad got the Jet Fuel, which was extremely strong. Grace is still illegal, so she got the Blue Bantha again, which she loves!

We split a basket of Batuu bits as we enjoyed our drinks:

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It's the perfect bar snack-- salty, crispy vegetable "chips." My favorite is the fried seaweed (the bubbly looking squares in the basket), but there are also little bits of fried okra in there that I enjoy a lot. Everything in the basket is pretty good, so be sure to share a basket with your party when you visit Oga's!

It was a great time at Oga's!

As we were leaving Oga's and heading towards the "center" of Batuu, we spotted Chewie and Rey in front of some type of ship (sorry-- don't know a lot about Star Wars, so can't say which exact ship it was!) Rey was having some kind of dialogue about going on an adventure and fixing up a ship with Chewie.

There weren't a ton of people around watching the exchange, so eventually Rey and I were able to have a little "moment" together. She saw me, and I was like "Hi Rey " and she was like, "Hi! Are you coming on our adventure?"

I was like, "I wish I could "

She was like, "... Well, why can't you?"

And then I was like, "... That's a good point, I'll be there!"

I was even able to sneak a few selfies with them:

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I will say... this was THE most "normal" feeling character interaction I've had since the parks closed throughout all three of my trips to WDW this year. It was the only time I interacted with a character that wasn't me shouting to them as they passed by on a cavalcade. I am really looking forward to true character interactions resuming and getting more moments like this! It doesn't have to be the way it used to be (I doubt it will be for a few more years), but Disneyland has been able to give guests some incredible socially-distanced M&G opportunities-- I am impatiently waiting for Walt Disney World to follow suit!

TLDR: This ended up being one of my favorite memories from the trip. I don't know a lot about Star Wars, nor does Star Wars hold a particularly special place in my heart, but Disney entertainment was able to engage me in the story for a moment and I just miss characters SO much!!!

After that amazing moment with Rey & Chewie, something kind of sad happened... our boarding group got called about 30 minutes before our Droid Depot reservations. If you've been on RotR before, you know that the ride itself, not including the time it takes you to get through the queue, is about a 20 minute long experience. Obviously, if we tried to head over there, we would have missed our Droid reservation, BUT our window would be over by the time we got out of Droid Depot-- very unfortunate timing, but hey! Such is life on Batuu.

We decided we would take the loss on RotR this trip and mobile order some Ronto Roasters for lunch so that we wouldn't have to leave the immediate area for our Droid reservation. Mom & dad split a Ronto Wrap and an order of pork rinds, Grace & I did the same. This was my first Ronto Wrap!

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Now... I have been avoiding the Ronto Wrap for about two years because I don't like sausage or coleslaw. For those of you unfamiliar with the technical makeup of a Ronto Wrap, it's a sausage, coleslaw, and a little bit of pork wrapped up in pita.

I took a chance on the Ronto Wrap this trip and I will NEVER, I mean NEVER... go back to life without Ronto. Holy wookie, this was amazing. The "sausage" is definitely just a hot dog, so if you aren't a fan of traditional "sausages," give this a try! The pork and hot dog are both great, AND the coleslaw adds this beautiful crunch, slight sweetness, and moisture to everything, all wrapped up in a super soft pita shell. It is AWESOME. So delicious. I'm dreaming of it right now.

The pork rinds were good-- I could do without pork rinds in general but the seasoning here is awesome, so if you are a pork rinds eater, rejoice!

Once my life-changing Ronto Wrap was finished, we were due to check in for Droid Depot. This is something that mom in particular has been really excited to do-- she is not a Star Wars fan, she just thinks the robots are cute, which I think is extremely valid. We were really excited for this new experience!

We checked in, got in line inside the Depot, and purchased our bots. The four of us made two droids, with Grace & I deciding we'd build a BB-series unit and mom & dad deciding to build an R-series unit. We bought the package that came with the additional personality chip and the backpack for each droid. Here's an actual conversation between me and the cashier at Droid Depot:

Cashier: What kind of personality chip would you like?
Me: ... What, in your opinion, is the sassiest chip?
Cashier: Definitely purple.
Me: I'll take purple!

We paid our dues for the droids and then Grace and I set off to build our BB.

Now... I am a fairly competent person. I am no MENSA card-carrying member, but I pride myself in being able to navigate brand new situations with good instinct, logic, and a reasonable amount of guidance from others. HOWEVER... and I say this in the most light-hearted, comical way possible... I have never felt dumber than I did trying to build my BB droid. I felt like I was in the middle of a Saturday Night Live sketch. Our tech (The CM who helps us build and activate the droid, I think that's what they're called?) had to walk Grace and I through every step and ended up putting the body of the droid together for us because we had no idea how to secure it.

The most wild part of the Droid Depot was that he handed me a MECHANICAL SCREWDRIVER!!!! He whipped out an entire MECHANICAL SCREWDRIVER and he was like "go ahead and screw those bolts in." I had NO idea what to do with this power tool in my hand and there was a 9 year old boy next to me screwing his own droid's bolts in like he was the senior foreman of a droid factory line. It was truly the most insane theme park moment in my life. Never in my wildest dreams would I imagine having to use a power drill in Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Moving on, we eventually got everything working and activated.

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Grace and I eventually pulled our droid together and got out of there.

We are very indecisive and still to this day have not named our droid, but we DID take pictures with our new baby outside of Droid Depot while our parents were finishing up.

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And that was pretty much the end of our afternoon on Batuu! We promptly left the park once we had our droids so that we could get ready for our dinner ADR at 'Ohana.

(Click here to continue!)​

 

[LifeTheDisneyWay14]

Plaza Restaurant Hoedown
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Once we got off of Pirates, our next stop was actually the kiosk next to Pirates that features tiaras and other small trinkets that they sell at Crystal Arts. We went to the Disney Store at our mall before we left and a CM showed us a fancy pen that she got from this stall, and mom really wanted one, so we made it a priority this trip and stopped as soon as we got off the ride.

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They were really cute! I really liked the white one with the colorful beads, but I actually invested in the gold Castle one:

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I have not used it yet (don't worry, I got to test it before I bought it!), but it is packed up in a bag and ready to come to the office with me when I finally go back to work in person soon

Mom got the silver one on the far right, which has a Mickey icon on it.

When we were finished buying our pens, it was time for a Dole Whip break. Mom & Grace split a dole whip float, but I tried a new treat-- the Pineapple swirl with COCONUT Dole Whip.

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Ya'll... this coconut dole whip NEEDS TO STAY PERMANENTLY! FOREVER!!! This was the BEST Dole Whip flavor I have ever had, bar none!!! The coconut was so delicious and creamy... I am getting chills just thinking about it!! It wasn't super sweet and when paired with the pineapple, it was just heavenly! 100/10!

We ate our Dole Whip and then decided to head all the way over to Tomorrowland. On our way over, we stopped for some Purple Wall pics.

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I'm sorry to say it, but I am NOT #TeamGeometricPurpleWall, I am #TeamLegacyPurpleWall all the way! The clean purple just looks so much better than that design!

Our first stop in Tomorrowland was Peoplemover, which is a favorite ride amongst the family. The line was LOOOOOONG and we ended up waiting about 25 minutes, but we didn't mind. I will truly wait an hour for the Peoplemover... that's right, I said it!

After Peoplemover, we did Carousel of Progress. I used to not like CoP, but it's another show that's grown on me, so now I don't mind it, especially on a hot day like today was. I really love the soundtrack!

When Peoplemover was done, we were about 45 minutes away from our dining reservation, so we made our way back to Main St. Mom got a box of popcorn and we stopped to watch the princesses.

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When the Princesses had floated on by, we went back to Main Street. Mom, dad, & Grace wanted to stop by the Emporium, and I wanted to head in to Uptown Jewelers for a special souvenir.

Backstory: I have wanted the original white Disney sketch print Dooney & Bourke pretty much my entire life, or at least since I first saw it in 2014. Now that I am an adult who has graduated college, survived a pandemic (*knocks on wood*), and gotten a big girl job, I told myself that this was going to be the year that I bought the white Disney sketch tote. And I made it my mission to buy it on Main Street USA, at Uptown Jewelers.

Well, I walk into the store, and unfortunately, the white Sketch is sold out all over property and they don't know when they're going to get it back in.

However, out of the corner of my eyes, I see a new Dooney & Bourke print-- this one is a solid black leather bag with the sketch "design" embossed into the leather. It was more money than the original Sketch, but I loved that it was solid black. From a distance, you couldn't really tell that the design had Disney stamped all the way into it, so it was casual and subtle enough to be a purse for work (or really just for going about town). It wasn't my first choice, but I figured that the original sketch print would still be here next trip, and that I worked hard enough and waited long enough to buy my first Disney Dooney.

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I couldn't love it any more! It is so cute and I love the embossed leather!!! And I can't wait to get the original Sketch bag next time I'm at the Parks... well, maybe not the very next time I'm at the Parks, but the time after that for sure

I bought my bag and it was time for us to check in for our late lunch reservation!

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We had not been to the Plaza in years, quite literally over a decade-- the first and only other time we've eaten here was way back in July 2010. The menu just didn't appeal to us. We chose it this time for a) lack of any other new Magic Kingdom restaurants to eat at, and b) I really wanted Plaza ice cream this trip and wasn't sure if the cone shop was going to be open.

We were seated very quickly, but it was also pretty clear that they wanted us out of there quickly-- our waiter was in a huge hurry, and the very small restaurant was packed to the very highest capacity.

Grace, mom & I all got the same thing, which was the Plaza Turkey Club.

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It was a decent sandwich! Is it anything to go nuts over? No. But the bread was nice and warm, the bacon was cooked perfectly and was nice and thick. There wasn't a lot to say about it, but we were happy we ordered it nonetheless.

The real star of the show here was dessert. I ordered the brownie sundae to split with dad.

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This was... words fail. Have you ever eaten something and then just gone completely silent? You couldn't even speak to the other members of your party because you were just utterly obsessed and in such bliss with what you were eating? Well, when you order the brownie sundae at the Plaza restaurant, the entire world around you disappears until there's nothing but you and the luscious chocolate and vanilla treat in front of you. It's perfect. The fudgy brownie. The little chocolate chips. The warm hot fudge and the ice cold vanilla ice cream. I will be thinking about and missing this dessert until I reunite with it again.


I had to be physically pulled away from this dessert, but once the bill was paid, we went back to the resort where we had a quiet few hours. I jotted some notes down for my TR, I pulled a tiktok together, and I even ran down to the quiet pool bar for a drink at some point.

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This was the Pago Pago Painkiller. Plantation rum, orange juice, pineapple juice, and cream of coconut come together for this STRONG but tasty tropical drink.

My family went back to the Parks for dinner and fireworks, but I actually stayed back at the resort to meet up with my friend Jess. Jess is my best friend from home and she is down there right now on her second DCP! We met up at Captain Cooks, and I got the pulled pork nachos.

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I would personally not get these again. Everybody raved about these, I thought they were very, very weird. The illusion of that yellow sauce being some tangy mayo instead of actual cheese was too much for my tiny brain. Like I said, everybody else raved about these, so please do not deter my review from ordering these if you love pulled pork and pineapple slaw.

Jess also grabbed a dole whip from Pineapple Lanai, which she ate as we made our way back to our hotel room. We talked for an hour or two before she decided to head back to her apartment, so we said our goodbyes-- BUT Jess appears twice more in this story, so you have not seen the last of her!

The parents and Grace came back after fireworks and we all went to bed after a great day at Magic Kingdom!

(Click HERE to Continue!)​

Gorgeous bag and the sundae looks so yummy!

 

[Newsies]

Gorgeous bag and the sundae looks so yummy!

The sundae was so good!!!

 

[rdkeim]

Oga's looks like a good time! Your drinks look refreshing. Did you feel rushed to give up your seats? Loved your interaction with Chewie and Rey - slowly things are turning around. Everything about the Ronto wrap appeals to me. Our last trip this past March, HS was so darn busy I feel like we missed so much. Lines for everything were so long. I've yet to ride SDD - going again March 2022 and hope to rectify that! I laughed at your droid building - my almost 5 year old grandson shows me up all the time!

 

[igrsod]

Your day on Batuu was amazing. I loved the new baby pictures. I may have to build a purple droid now.
I wonder if you had gone to the cast member at RotR and explained your reservation situation, if they couldn't have done something for you?
Or the opposite? Anyways, looks like you had a great time.

 

[Bama Mom]

Just now joining in. Great trip report so far. Going way back to the beginning of it, when you watched the Full House episodes before you left, I'm pretty sure Full House is the reason I dream of staying at The Grand Floridian at least once in my lifetime. When Unlce Jesse plays the piano and sings for Aunt Becky...be still my heart!!!

 

[Newsies]

Oga's looks like a good time! Your drinks look refreshing. Did you feel rushed to give up your seats? Loved your interaction with Chewie and Rey - slowly things are turning around. Everything about the Ronto wrap appeals to me. Our last trip this past March, HS was so darn busy I feel like we missed so much. Lines for everything were so long. I've yet to ride SDD - going again March 2022 and hope to rectify that! I laughed at your droid building - my almost 5 year old grandson shows me up all the time!

It was a lot of fun! We did not feel rushed to give up our seats either time we've been there-- you're reminded that you have 45 minutes in the bar when they seat you, but we have been done with everything in about 30 both times. With so much to do at DHS, we don't feel compelled to sit and linger in the bar, even a bar as cool as Oga's.

You gotta make it onto SDD this March, it's in my top 3 rides at Disney! Such a fun one!

Your day on Batuu was amazing. I loved the new baby pictures. I may have to build a purple droid now.
I wonder if you had gone to the cast member at RotR and explained your reservation situation, if they couldn't have done something for you?
Or the opposite? Anyways, looks like you had a great time.

We had a GREAT time! You bring up a great point-- the CMs at RotR probably would have accommodated us if we had explained the situation post-Droid Depot. If it had been any other day, we would have explained the situation to the CMs up front. We, however, ran into further timing problems when we got out of Droid Depot closer to 2:00 and our 'Ohana reservation back at the resort was at 4:00. Could we have made it from RotR to 'Ohana? Probably. Would we have enjoyed rushing from RotR to the front of the park, stressing out while we waited for the bus, and going right to 'Ohana in our park clothes? Probably not. However... it would have been an EPIC Studios day!

Just now joining in. Great trip report so far. Going way back to the beginning of it, when you watched the Full House episodes before you left, I'm pretty sure Full House is the reason I dream of staying at The Grand Floridian at least once in my lifetime. When Unlce Jesse plays the piano and sings for Aunt Becky...be still my heart!!!

Thank you so much for joining in!! And YES... that was the BEST Full House episode!!! We have to watch it before we go every time, it is so magical... I love the part where Jesse sings to Becky, too! So sweet!!!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

KAITLYN I MISSED YOU



I have been away from the boards for a long time and had no idea you returned and when I saw this pop up I got so excited. It warms my cold shriveled heart to see your beautiful family having more Disney adventures again

 

[Newsies]

KAITLYN I MISSED YOU

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I have been away from the boards for a long time and had no idea you returned and when I saw this pop up I got so excited. It warms my cold shriveled heart to see your beautiful family having more Disney adventures again

HELLO MY LOVE I LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND THE LOCA SCENE GIF AND THE SWEET MESSAGE PLEASE!!!! Sorry for the late reply, you are my favorite human being and it warms MY cold shriveled heart to see YOU ON THESE BOARDS!!! Bestie!!! I love and miss you so much!!!

 

[Newsies]

Press Conference: (Now Defunct) 'Ohana Dinner
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We get back to our hotel and quickly get changed before we head over to the Grand Ceremonial House for dinner. Now, my family has been a family of 'Ohana fans since we started coming to the parks-- as I'm sure many of you can relate! And at this point, we had been going on three years since our last dinner there, so we were very excited to return.

We had a 4:30 reservation, so one of the earliest dinner time slots. We checked in at the podium and were promptly directed to the seating area.

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We get seated and our "cousin" for the evening brings out the bread and salad as he greets us, setting it down on the table before he even takes our drink orders.

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I don't know if the pineapple coconut bread has returned yet, but tonight we had pineapple coconut biscuits (left) bacon cheddar scones (right). They were both okay. The pineapple coconut biscuits were pretty good, actually, but the bacon cheddar scones were not as good here as they are at Red Lobster.

Salad was fine as usual-- nothing to write home about but the vinaigrette is pretty good.

To drink, dad, mom and I all got the Polynesian Mai Tai:

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It's dark rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, and sour mix. It was pretty good! It was VERY strong, as most rum drinks here are.

You can see Grace sipping a vibrant drink the background-- our cousin was very nice and offered to make her a special mocktail. It had orange juice, pineapple juice, sprite, grenadine, and I think one more ingredient?

A few minutes later, the stars of the show were brought out to us... THE 'Ohana wings and pot stickers!

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I love both of these items so much it is INSANE. And they were just as good this year as they've been in the past. Those potstickers have NO RIGHT being as tasty as they are. And the wings... If you have never been to 'Ohana, I would say these are worth the trip alone.

This is wear things get funky, as a few minutes later, the cousin brings out the skillet of "new" dishes.

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Chicken with some type of garnish, kielbasa sausage, broccolini, and I believe that's pork in the corner? And of course: the traditional noodles are at the bottom of the skillet.

I will be very honest with you all: the noodles were the only thing in this plate I even tried (and I loved them as usual). I'm not even going to comment on these offerings at this point, since they restored the original menu (or close to it?) almost a week after we came home. This photo doesn't do justice to the objective fact that this was the most unappetizing skillet of food I had ever experienced in my 11 years going to Disney.

I didn't even take a photo of the "shrimp casserole" that they served. My dad was the only one brave enough to try it and he hated it. When Thomas Victor hates something... that's when you KNOW it's a mistake.

We did get steak, though, and the steak was pretty good. I had a piece of it, it was charred well, but I was mostly filling up on wings, noodles, and potstickers tonight (which is my right!)

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We had a separate cousin come around to bring us the steak and he asked us what we thought of the new menu. We told him that it was weird and he was like "yeah lol it IS weird... we don't know why they're doing this." So it was good to know that the 'Ohana staff was standing in solidarity with our confusion.

There was a final silver lining to this meal, and it was this luscious, gorgeous slice of pineapple bread pudding:

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When I tell you that this is THE only dessert I ever want to eat... it is the ONLY dessert I ever want to eat in my entire life. It is so delicious. I eat it and forget about the world around me. It is just so perfect, in all of its vanilla, caramel, banana glory.

Anyway: I posted at the beginning of the thread to skip 'Ohana until the original menu had been restored and I think we are now pretty much there. At least-- I have not seen or heard of the shrimp casserole in at least three months, which is a positive sign. Wings, potstickers, noodles, and bread pudding = good. Kielbasa, undefined pork, shrimp casserole = bad.

Mom, Grace, and I headed back to Hollywood Studios for a few more hours after we were done with dinner. Look who we caught as we walked inside!

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We did Toy Story Mania! Grace sat alone.

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Slinky Dog Dash was only a 50 minute wait, so we did Slinky Dog Dash next, then we headed back to the front of the park. We did a little bit of window shopping, but we didn't really see anything we liked, so we headed back to the hotel. Mom and I once again went swimming for a little while, then we all went to bed ready for our Animal Kingdom/Disney Springs day.

(Click here to continue!)

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[rdkeim]

Oh Disney why mess with a menu that works and people love. I'm glad they listened to the negative reviews. I agree the skillet looked very unappetizing. Glad it wasn't a total bust and that you enjoyed the rest of your evening!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

This photo doesn't do justice to the objective fact that this was the most unappetizing skillet of food I had ever experienced in my 11 years going to Disney.

So it was good to know that the 'Ohana staff was standing in solidarity with our confusion.

Well I mean, there's at least that.

undefined pork

'Ohana used to have such a big part of my heart but now... At least you got pot stickers and bread pudding??

 

[Newsies]

Oh Disney why mess with a menu that works and people love. I'm glad they listened to the negative reviews. I agree the skillet looked very unappetizing. Glad it wasn't a total bust and that you enjoyed the rest of your evening!

We had a good night and we're excited to try some of the newer Disney dining offerings, like Steakhouse 71, next time we visit the parks!

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Well I mean, there's at least that.


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'Ohana used to have such a big part of my heart but now... At least you got pot stickers and bread pudding??

At LEAST we got pot stickers and bread pudding, so true!

 

[Newsies]

"Animal Kingdom" and Disney Springs: July 14
This is a Game Called, "Red Hot Chili Peppers"​

Temperatures were brutal this trip, so we knew that we weren't going to spend a lot of time at DAK this morning. We woke up a little after 8 and decided to get on the waitlist for Kona Cafe. We ended up getting a table 15 minutes later and were seated at a surprisingly quiet Kona.

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I <3 Tonga Toast! What is there left to say about it?

We had a pleasant experience. I wanted to rope drop DAK, but the rest of the family all needed to go back to the room for various reasons, so off I went by myself to experience my favorite ride, Expedition Everest.

I took a pretty quiet bus ride to the park and stopped at Joffrey's on my way in for an iced coffee, and once I got in, I took some photos in front of the tree.

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Temperatures were obscenely brutal (as they always are, in DAK's case) and crowds were at a level 9 already (which they rarely are, in DAK's case), so I knew this would be a short lived adventure.

I made my way to Expedition Everest and did it twice with the Single Rider line, then got the text that my parents had arrived, so I went back to the front of the park to greet them. Mom wanted to see Pandora, so we made our way over. The lines were far too long to do either ride, but we got in line for a Pongo Lumpia and a Night Blossom!

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The Night Blossom is now just a little too sweet for me, but I still stand by my opinion for the Pongo Lumpia-- I think it's one of the best snacks in Disney World! Kind of like a little pineapple cream cheese egg roll. It's definitely one of my favs.

We had seen enough of Animal Kingdom for the day-- it was super hot and super crowded, and there really wasn't a whole lot for us to do there, so we decided we'd rather go back and hang out at the pool.

We got on a bus back to the Poly and relaxed by the pool for a few hours. I got a really good drink: it was a lime dole whip margarita and it was phenomenal! We also got lunch at Capt. Cook's. I got a burger which was fine, but dad got the Thai Coconut Meatball plate, which was really good!

After we finished lunch, the sky opened up, so it was back to the room we went!

We relaxed for a few hours and got ready for our trip to Disney Springs.

I think we ended up leaving the hotel close to 4. We've been burned by Disney Springs buses too many times, so we drove to Disney Springs and parked in one of the garages. Grace didn't get anything for lunch that day at Capt. Cooks, so she was really hungry and grabbed a snack at Chicken Guy while I put our name on the virtual queue for Gideon's.

We surprisingly got called back from the virtual queue about 20 minutes after I put our name on the list! Grace finished her chicken tenders (she liked them) and we entered the line to get into Gideons.

This was my family's first time in there and they loved every aspect of the theming.

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And I will say this until I die... I LOVE the Gideon's Cast. They are SUCH awesome people, and I tell them that every time I go here.

We got a few things-- I finally got a slice of red velvet cake, we got six cookies, and I got a peanut butter cold brew.

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This is my favorite coffee in Disney World, period! It's so good. It tastes just like peanut butter somehow. I highly recommend it next time you visit Gideon's.

We shopped around a little bit and then we had to check in for our reservation to the Boathouse. This was our first time eating there and we were really excited!

We checked in for our reservation and took a seat outside. And while we were sitting... well, we kind of ran into a legend.

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This is Eddy Maserati, the man who dances his way through life and through Disney Springs. If you don't know him, you can just google "Eddy Maserati" and you'll find videos of him absolutely DESTROYING the dance floor in his amazing outfits. He is a living Disney legend, and as soon as I saw him coming towards him I knew I had to stop him to tell him what a fan I was. I asked him for a selfie, he kindly obliged.

"Eddy, it is an honor to meet you. Thank you so much for spreading joy throughout Disney Springs-- never stop dancing!" I said.

"Thank you. You too." He said before he walked away to spread more amazingness into the world.

It was legendaric, iconic, etc. and once it was over, it was time for us to go get dinner. We returned to the host table and promptly got seated at our little table. We had the nicest waiter, who started things off with these rolls:

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They were really good. I don't think they were as life-changing as other DISers think, but I certainly enjoyed them, as did the rest of our table.

To drink, I had to order the Duck-Duck-Razz. Naturally.

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The Duck-Duck-Razz is a cocktail made with raspberry vodka, peach schnapps, blue curacao, lemon juice, and simple syrup. It's also got some cute edible foam on top that looks like bubbles, AND of course it comes topped off with a little rubber duck.

It was very cute and great for pictures, but VERY strong and I was soon feeling very . If you want a drink that will get you fast... this is that drink.



So this is where the evening very quickly derails. For me-- not for the family.



For an appetizer, we got the Hoisin Chili Calamari. We love calamari, especially any type of chili calamari, so we were on board without actually reading the ingredients in the Calamari. I sadly do not have any photos of this dish on my phone, but it was VERY pretty and we promptly started digging in.

We start eating and my immediate reaction is, "Wow! That sauce has some spice to it." The calamari is cooked perfectly with light, crisp coating, and the sauce isn't super sticky but it is VERY spicy.

As I'm eating my calamari, I see a vegetable that looks a bit like a string bean fried up and covered in that glorious, spicy sauce. So I stab my fork with it and I stick the whole "string bean" into my mouth.

"Wow!" I think as my mouth heats up. "That sauce sure is spicy!"

But it soon gets much, much spicier than the rest of the sauce.

And as soon as I swallow the "string bean" I realize I made a huge mistake... because it wasn't a string bean, I just put an entire jalapeno in my mouth.

My mom and dad are now looking at me with great concern as I breath in and out of my mouth dramatically, trying to suck in as much cool air as possible and drinking my entire glass of water.

"Is everything okay?" Mom asked.

"Can you flag the waiter?" I asked. "I need a glass of milk. I just ate a jalapeno."

"Why did you do that?" Grace asked.

"I thought it was a string bean or something!" I told her.

"You're an idiot." She shrugs.

The waiter eventually comes to our table.

"Hi! I think I accidentally ate a jalapeno. Can I please have a glass of milk?" I ask.

"Yeah! I'm so sorry, I should have told you that there were jalapenos in that." He commented.

"No, that's my fault." I explained. "It was on the menu, I literally read it and still took the risk."

Everybody, including our waiter AND myself, are now thoroughly amused at the situation and cracking jokes about it. He eventually comes back with the milk and I drink the entire glass very quickly. It took a good 20 minutes, but eventually, I cooled down.

The sad thing is that I drank that milk so quickly that I was no longer hungry for the coconut shrimp I ordered I don't remember a lot about it-- I am sure it was good, and everyone else loved their meals, but I had no appetite at that point. We didn't get dessert here, despite my waiter's valiant attempt to get my to eat vanilla ice cream "because it would help with the jalapeno."

We actually really want to go back here. Despite it being one of the most chaotic moments of my entire life, it was a pleasant dinner service with good food and good waiters! I will be back to try the prime rib sliders ... but the calamari was a one-and-done for me.


I truly don't remember much about the rest of the night. We went back to the resort, mom and I changed into our bathing suits and watched the fireworks from the pool, then we came back to the resort and I took a few forkfuls out of my red velvet cake:

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I CANNOT stress enough how freakin' AMAZING the cake from Gideon's is. I just has that perfect ratio of dense, moist cake to fluffy, delicious icing. It is incredible and this slice of red velvet cake was one of the best desserts I've ever had at Disney!

Anyway... it was a long, spicy day and we eventually all fell asleep.

(Click here to continue!)​

 

[GDubDIS]

So glad to see an update on this TR! Love following along with them. Perhaps the only thing worse than eating an entire jalapeno is eating a giant scoop of wasabi, but certainly neither is fun!

 

[Paulaparm]

Glad to see you're "back"

 

[Newsies]

So glad to see an update on this TR! Love following along with them. Perhaps the only thing worse than eating an entire jalapeno is eating a giant scoop of wasabi, but certainly neither is fun!

Thank you kindly!! You know I've never tried wasabi? Granted, I don't eat sushi that often, but I think I'm too scared from all of the "I-once-ate-an-entire-spoonful-of-wasabi" stories

Glad to see you're "back"

Thank you so much!! Hope to have the next update by the end of the day!

 

[Newsies]

Epcot: July 15
Food & Wine Opening Day Hoedown
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Jess and I had breakfast reservations at the Grand Floridian Cafe, and since she was driving, she offered to scoop me up for our 9:15 ADR.

We both looooove GFC and I hadn't been there in a few years-- I was very anxious to be reunited with the french toast!

We started off with warm, house-made biscuits and that gorgeous orange butter:

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The biscuits were the classic breakfast biscuits you'll find all over property, but the orange butter is a winner! Perfectly sweet and citrusy.

We also had iced caramel cappuccinos:

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It was fine. I prefer an iced Joffrey's but it did the trick for a sweet, caffeinated beverage to jump start this big day.

For breakfast, we both got the same thing: the brioche french toast with a side of those glorious cheesy potatoes!

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THIS really hit the spot. The french toast was perfectly sweet and the cheesy potatoes are always a winner.

After breakfast, we took the monorail over to the Contemporary Resort and did a little bit of shopping at Bay Lake Gifts-- we bought matching t-shirts and ears for the next day, since we were planning on meeting up again at Magic Kingdom! Then she took the monorail back to the Grand Floridian to get her car back and go to work, and I took a bus to Epcot to meet up with my family.

I met up with the rest of the family where World Showcase begins at Port of Entry. Mom and Grace were waiting in a long line to get some Food & Wine Festival merchandise-- it was opening day for Food & Wine 2021!

While they were in line for merch, I really wanted something to drink and we were near Shimmering Sips, so I got a Key Lime Margarita in a cute little Corksicle flute:

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It was really good! I tried this at everyone's recommendation and it didn't disappoint me.

Eventually it was our turn to go into Port of Entry for some merchandise:

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I thought the orchard/apple pie motif this year was very cute! I wish we had picked up one of those pie tins or one of the rolling pins!

I ended up snagging the Sweet as Pie/Food & Wine 2021 spirit jersey.

Once we finished up here, we made our way up to France through Canada because Grace wanted something to eat at the Les Halles. We saw the ResortTV1 crew on our way up and ended up on a livestream! Jenna put me on to some pizza ears in Italy and I vowed to grab a pair that day.

I didn't get anything at Les Halles, BUT we soon made our way to Japan and it was really hot, so I indulged in a sweet, ice-cold treat that was new to me:

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It was strawberry kakigori-- I made the last minute decision to add sweet milk topping at the last minute (at the recommendation of the person in front of me) and I'm so glad I did! This was a wonderfully light and refreshing treat that I'm looking forward to getting in the future.

We headed over to Italy and not only did I get my pizza ears, I got my beloved Limoncello Margarita.

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1. First of all, I LOVE these ears-- probably my all-time favorite pair. So comfy, so cute, so squishy, they were the only pair I brought with me on my labor day solo trip.

2. Limoncello Margarita is probably my favorite drink in Epcot. It gets me VERY toasty very fast.

This is where things get fuzzy and I unfortunately do not have my trusty notebook with my trip notes right now We did some cleaning over the holiday season and I misplaced it. I KNOW that we definitely went on Frozen Ever After at some point, then we got a drink and a snack at the China F&W booth.

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This was the ByeJoe Punch and it was SOOOOOOOO bad. Tasted like nail polish remover

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This is the beef bao bun. It was pretty good, but I miss the duck version that I fell in love with back in 2016!

Again, things are fuzzy for the rest of this afternoon but I know for sure that we went on gran fiesta tour and got a margarita in Mexico (the tricolore one), where I ran into one of my closest CM friends, Javier!

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Mom and I also dragged ourselves over to MouseGears for a bubble wand. It was her one wish this trip that I got drunk and carried a bubble wand with me in Epcot, and she got her wish: I was very toasty at this point.

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Anyway. Then we made our way ALLLL the way back to Japan for dinner at one of our favorite showcase restaurants, Teppan Edo.

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Teppan Edo is great and I 10/10 recommend it! Mom and I both got the steak and shrimp and we upgraded the steak to the filet mignon which was a great choice-- the meat was tender like butter. So good.

We were full and tired, so after dinner, we made our way back to the buses. Mom and I once again spent the rest of the evening relaxing at the pool/hot tub, then we went to sleep in preparation for our last full day at the parks!

(Click here to continue!)​

 

[rdkeim]

Glad to see an update! So many great looking drinks and treats. Next trip I will have to try that kakigori - looks so refreshing. We've never been to Teppan Edo but I see nothing but great reviews. Our family trip is in 6 weeks. It will definitely be different traveling with 7 people 3 of which are first timers. I am lowering my expectations and will just go with the flow. Hope your last day in the parks was great!