Our August 2006 TRIP REPORT (with lots of Pictures) ***COMPLETE***

[Mic_n_Min]

I can totally understand not being able to see pics, but what I wouldn't give to be able to see some of the same things that you were able to see. Maybe I'll have to fork out the $200 next Fall when I am coming to the World again. Thanks for the great review!!

 

[kimbac3]

Loving your trip report!! I can't wait for more!!
Kimba

 

[UtahMama]

I was RIVITED to this last post!

The tour sounds amazing!

When my kids are older, I am definately going to do this!

And the seguay lessons....eeek!

I love knowing all the secret inner workings. I wonder if there's a book on it all or a web site???

Sounds like you had a wonderful time that day! Well worth the cost. The info gained will stay with you forever!

LOVE IT SO FAR!!!!

UtahMama

 

[Ms. Heimlich]

We knew the kids were already back at the resort, so we hopped on the monorail and went back to the Contemporary. We cleaned up, did a little laundry, and headed out to our ADR at the Whispering Canyon Café at the Wilderness Lodge.

From the contemporary, you can walk out back and catch a boat over to the wilderness lodge. We stopped to feed the fish some crackers and loaded up onto the boat.

My DB who is a bass fisherman remarked that the Bay Lake would be a good place to catch bass. As we were walking up to the resort, I basically argued, saying the water was too shallow, too hot, and it would be too open for a fish to swim around in. About that time I saw a fish in the water to the right of the dock, and asked him what it was… He said “about a 3 pound bass.”

Good grief, I am a dummy.

I won’t dwell on this meal because it was by far the worst meal and experience we had at Disney. The server was funny but our glasses went empty, our plates weren’t picked up, and I definitely did not enjoy the food.

As far as appetizers go, the nachos were the best. DN got them and barely touched them, so they got passed around. DD got the hot wings. She seemed pleased and finished them.

For dinner DH and I got the skillet. It comes with “barbeque” meat, beans, corn etc. The barbeque was gross (IMHO) and had little flavor. Again we are from Texas… it just didn’t measure up. DB got a fish dish. I tried a bite… it was pretty good. DD got the grilled chicken pasta dish. She hated it. She wouldn’t even eat it. We gave her some sausage out of our skillet.

DD and I got the chocolate cake to go and DH got the bananas, tortilla, ice cream dessert. It was all good.

I suppose if you had younger, outgoing children that could get into the atmosphere here, you might enjoy it more. Due to the location of our table, the age of us and our kids and maybe the fact that we were totally wiped out, we didn’t enjoy this meal as much as I hoped. By no means did we leave hungry… It’s not possible on the DDP, but the experience left something to be desired.

The Wilderness Lodge on the other hand is glorious. I was having MAJOR resort envy while we were there. The lobby is beautiful. The pool is great. The themeing is perfect. I want to stay here. NOW!

On the way out we smashed a coin and shopped a bit in the gift shop. DB got a shirt. We hopped on the boat, went back to the CR and vegged out. The kids experienced the pool. Everyone was happy. Until my DSIL got sick.

DB and I decided to see if we could cancel our plans to see the Hoop Dee Doo Revue. We didn’t want to go if everyone couldn’t go. We went down to the concierge. We were trying to see if we could cancel our reservations with out having to pay for the tickets anyway. The REALLY nice CM there allowed us to cancel with out penalty. We were relieved. Good SHOW!!

We headed to bed with the hopes that DSIL would feel better tomorrow.

Up Next: Animal Kingdom - Without an Extraction Mission.

 

[Ms. Heimlich]

Day 5

The next morning (with no SIL - still sick ) we headed over to the Animal Kingdom (again --- no extraction mission this time…). Unlike a number of people, I like this park. It allows Disney to explore the world, nature, and the outdoors. For those of us who consider ourselves Nature Folks, this is a great park.

We got there JUST after the opening and had no time to stop. We were on a different kind of mission this time. We had a date with a mountain.

Everest looms. It dominates the skyline at AK. We couldn’t wait. As DSIL was the only one in our party with a true aversion to roller coasters, we jumped in line while my DH and DB went on a fastpass mission. We were moving very rapidly and they barely made it back to us before we went into the main ride queue.

Everest rocks. We rode it four times. The kids rode 5 (we gave them all the fast passes so they could ride two more times then gave the extra 2 to a random family). We took lots of pictures of the theming in the queue as well as several “self portraits” on the way through.

I LOVED this little Yeti with Mickey Ears on...

I took lots on the ride (while the coaster was going).

After we were tired of Everest (did I just REALLY type that?) we headed over to the Kilimanjaro Safari. On the way over we stopped for ice cream. My entire family is obsessed with these Nestle Tollhouse ice cream sandwiches. DB calls them “Crack –y Cookies”.... Come on... try just one... you'll like it! Once and we were ALL hooked!

I liked the safari. The story line is a bit campy, but I always enjoy seeing the animals (especially the elephants and baby elephants).

Next we headed to DINOSAUR. The lines were not long at all so we could basically walk on to most of the rides. It was still early in the day so I suppose a lot of people were still sleeping. We rode without incident. I didn’t, however, remember this ride being quite so herky-jerky. I felt like a piece of microwave popcorn when it was over.

DD begged to ride the Primeval Whirl. I surrendered. I was jerked, swirled, smacked, and basically thrown in directions a human being shouldn’t go for about 2 minutes. This is the exact same ride she fell in love with at the Texas Livestock Show and Rodeo Carnival a few years ago called the Crazy Mouse. The ride car looked like a piece of cheese. I hated it then. I hate it still in Disney’s incarnation.

We hit It’s Tough to be a Bug. Always a winner for me. I AM an Entomologsit... I even experienced ALL of the special effects this time. A first for me.

I love this park for the small things... The hidden suprises. One of my ABSOLUTE favorites are these lights... They are COOL!

We decided to call it a morning. We were all tired and DB wanted to check on DSIL.

We left AK having seen only a portion of it... Would we make it back? Will I ever go on the Trail? Will I EVER see the gorillas/monkeys?

Stay Tuned!

 

[ReneeDisney]

Great updates! I too agree with you that the Wilderness Lodge is a great resort and my family loves the Toll House Ice Cream Sandwiches too!
THANKS!!!

 

[Jennifer48]

wow, resurrected after 5 months and I'm still here! Great update

 

[kimmar067]

......We left AK having seen only a portion of it...Would we make it back?? Will I ever go on the Trail?? Will I EVER see the gorillas/monkeys??....

...will I ever finish MY Trip Report?? [ ]

....great report.....

 

[Ms. Heimlich]

...will I ever finish MY Trip Report?? [ ]

Sorry~

Things got intense at home and I coudn't devote the time... I hadn't forgotten about the good ol' trip report!

thanks for sticking with me!!!

Ms. H

 

[kimmar067]

Sorry~

Things got intense at home and I coudn't devote the time... I hadn't forgotten about the good ol' trip report!

thanks for sticking with me!!!

Ms. H

...guess it means I gotta finish MINE, eh???

 

[dreamsofdisney]

Woo hoo! Glad you resurrected your TR. I'd missed it the first time around, but you're doing a great job helping me deal with my WDW withdrawal!

It's especially fun for me to read a TR with 12 & 13-year-olds. My DS was 13 when we went last year and he's always convinced that he's the only one his age that still has fun there.

Looking forward to more!

 

[Ms. Heimlich]

It's especially fun for me to read a TR with 12 & 13-year-olds. My DS was 13 when we went last year and he's always convinced that he's the only one his age that still has fun there.

Looking forward to more!

Travelling with the t'weens (?) was.... interesting. There were moments when they acted "too cool" for WDW and other moments when they let the kid in them escape for a minute or two. Overall, my DD had a great time... She is begging to go back! My work here is done!

Thanks for reading along. I will try to post an update today!

Ms. H

 

[Ms. Heimlich]

...guess it means I gotta finish MINE, eh???

...will I ever finish MY Trip Report?? [ ]

....great report.....

Can you send me the link? I'd like to check it out!

Ms. H

 

[Ms. Heimlich]

Day 5 - cont.

DSIL was feeling better, but not up to commando touring of a theme park. We departed “THE PLAN” a little and headed for Blizzard Beach. DSIL said she could handle that, plus we didn’t have dinner plans anymore so we were free to do whatever, wherever.

It was late in the day when we got there and the park closed in 2 hours. We didn’t care. We shared a locker between the 6 of us and headed for the water slides. We didn’t have the brass ones to ride the Summit Plummet. We rode Slush Gusher instead (its milder cousin). By the end of the ride more of my swimsuit was UP my rear than OVER my rear. It was VERY uncomfortable. Overall it was fun though.

Next we headed to the Lazy River. This ride is more my speed. We floated and relaxed for quite some time, until the kids got restless. My DD wanted to see the Wave Pool. We split up and headed in our own directions. She and I went to the pool and I couldn’t tell you where everyone else went.

Taking my DD swimming is always stressful for me. She wears contacts and is blind as a bat with out them. She can barely recognize me at 2 feet much less at 50 feet. I tried to keep an eye on her without drowning... I was glad when the announcement came over the loud speaker that the park would be closing. I sent up smoke signals, waved, danced, shouted, and finally swam out and wrangled my DD out of the pool and headed towards where I thought everyone else was. We got our stuff out of the locker and headed for the buses.

That is when I noticed it.

My previously black Teva’s were now GREY. The chlorine from the pool water had bleached them to a light grey color. I hustled us home and forced DD to wash her hair. I was in right behind her. No bleach blonde for us!

 

[Ms. Heimlich]

It was Extra Magic Hour at the Magic Kingdom and everyone was feeling okay so we headed out. We got there in time to see SPECTROMAGIC and still had time to get our wrist bands.

We waited around for Wishes, ate hot dogs from Casey’s and just enjoyed. After Wishes, we went to ride BTMRR and Pirates. Always a crowd pleaser.

We then had, for a snack….

A DOLE WHIP.



This was my first experience with the pineapple treat. Everyone agreed. These are FANtasTIC. All you Dis-sers were right.... Again.

It had been a long day, we were wiped. We rode back over to the CR and hit the hay.

 

[Ms. Heimlich]

Today is our last full day at Disney….

This morning we had an ADR at Chef Mickey’s at 7:00 am. It came obscenely early. Really early. I am NOT a morning person… at all. Neither is DD. A kid after my own heart.

This is our crew waiting for check in... don't they look excited!?!

We got to Chef Mickeys and I saw this…

A beautiful sunrise outside of the CR. What a way to wake up… If you HAVE to!

Admittedly, I was disappointed with this meal. The early time made it very… subdued. Something I am not used to at Chef Mickey’s. Even the character interaction was off. Goofy was absent all together… Maybe he had a rough night?? Too much … what???… Candy??

We ate, we saw Mickey, Minnie, Chip, Dale, and Pluto. No Goofy for you!

After breakfast, we decided we all needed a little extra rest. Especially DD.

After a quick snack of pastries from France yesterday, we decided to take it easy that day and headed back to DTD. We hadn’t gotten a chance to shop or browse yesterday so we took this opportunity to look around. We went in just about every shop. DD got a really pretty Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) Christmas ornament from the Christmas Shoppe as well as a poster of this painting. We framed it and it now hangs in her room.

DSIL and DD each got a pearl from the pick an oyster place by the pin trader mecca.

After SDIL chose her pearl she was telling the lady behind the counter that she had done this many times and had gotten almost every color pearl there is except black. The lady working the counter said that black is VERY rare and very few oysters make them. Just about that time the oyster was cracked open to reveal…. A BLACK PEARL. We were all shocked.

It was really pretty and she had it set in a really nice piece of jewelry courtesy of my DB. DD stepped up and got another oyster. She got a HUGE pearl that we had set in a “cage.” Basically, the pearl floats freely around in what looks like a silver round bird cage. She loves it and wears it regularly as a necklace.

We bought a few pins (I traded for the last Muppet cast member pin I needed), a hat, and I got a pearl, too. I didn’t have it set in jewelry… I am too cheap. A good time was had by all.

We went back to CR, rested, and cleaned up. We had reservations at California Grill tonight.

 

[dreamsofdisney]

So sorry to see your TR is almost complete! It's been fun reading along and seeing all of your fantastic pictures. The good news is, I noticed in your signature that you're already plaaning your next trip. Please promise that you'll post another TR when you return.

Thanks for sharing the magic!

 

[Ms. Heimlich]

This was the ADR I was looking the most forward to. We had booked it so we should be finishing up right when WISHES starts. I loved the Contemporary. I hope one day we will be able to afford a Deluxe again!

We checked in at the CG and had a drink in the lounge/bar area. I had a few minutes to talk to my DSIL and the guys had a minute to do guy things. Like drink beer.

The kids waited patiently.

We were seated and shown a menu.

We ordered our drinks. I asked the waiter to recommend a bottle of wine he did and we imbibed. It was really good. (A wine connoisseur I am NOT… I drink what I like.) DD got a Madeline (this is what she calls a Shirley Temple). She gets the characters confused and one little girl character is as good as another. The waiter must have taken a liking to her because when he came back the drink had to have had at least 8 – 10 cherries in it. She blushed and giggled.

We ordered our appetizers. DH got the spicy sensation sushi.

DB got the tuna 3 ways sushi.

DSIL, DN, and I had the Goat Cheese Ravioli.

DD had the Heirloom Tomato Extravaganza.

The sushi was really good. The Ravioli was yummers. The balsamic vinaigrette on the tomatoes was out of this world good. DD wasn’t impressed and didn’t eat much of it. I picked at it (including the shaved parmesan cheese bits).

When it came time for entrées, DD was on the fence. She didn’t know what she wanted and had settled (I didn’t know this at the time) on the roasted chicken. When she went to order it, I stopped her and implored her to try something different… To be adventurous. Try the salmon, get the steak… anything but roasted chicken. Then our waiter joined in. He said to DD – “you can get chicken anywhere! Try the steak. You won’t be disappointed.” She was under heavy fire. And her boyfriend (the waiter- who had continued to bring cherry overloaded “Madeline’s”) was on my side. She finally relented and ordered the filet. Dh and I ordered the bone in rib-eye. DB got the filet and DSIL and DN both got the chicken… Good grief…Weren’t they listening?

I am ashamed to say I don’t have pictures of the entrees. I failed as a good Trip Reporter, food porn enabler, dis-er. I don’t have any more pictures the rest of this meal. Which is a damn shame because it was ALL fantTAStic. The ribeyes were HUGE. They were easily the size of my head. There was a lot of red meat there. DD l-o-v-e-d her steak. As a matter of fact, I didn’t even get a taste. She fought me off with her knife. Ungrateful little turd.

We ordered dessert and moments later, the lights dimmed, and Wishes started. DD and I watched from the observation deck. (I forgave her for the filet incident.) We had a beautiful view. This picture just doesn't do it justice!

When we got back inside, our dessert was waiting. DD had the cheesecake, I had a blueberry tart-thingy and that’s all I remember. See… didn’t I tell you I failed. I didn’t even take a picture of the dessert menu. I f-a-i-l-e-d. Miserably. DN was tired of sitting and asked if he could go to the arcade after he finished eating his entrée. No one seemed to mind, so off he went. At some point DB ordered his dessert “to-go” and he got kid’s sushi. It was really cute--- rice krispie treat with fruit roll ups, Swedish fish, shaped like sushi. I loved it. DD was upset she didn’t get the sushi. The waiter brought her 2nd dessert because she was upset.

Spoiled brat.

Overall the experience was beyond wonderful. We had a great time, the food was great, the service was the best I have ever had – anywhere – ever and it was a night no one will soon forget.

 

[Tanya90210]

Great report... I love your pictures!!

 

[Jennifer48]

At least you shared some of your food choices at California Grill. I've never been so its nice to see. Thanks for sharing what you had!