'Pin Queen's' 80th Birthday! Combined TR/DR (lots of pics)(Update: 12/22)

[mizzoutiger76]

I'm so glad you posted pictures of WWoHP!!! We're going in January and I CAN'T wait! My sister and I are absolutely beside ourselves at the thought of visiting!

Keep up the good work, I've subscribed!

 

[oboedm]

Great pictures of DTD! I like that you took pictures there... I forgot last year but wish I had more! Love the pictures of Universal as well!

 

[nocomment711]

I'm so glad you posted pictures of WWoHP!!! We're going in January and I CAN'T wait! My sister and I are absolutely beside ourselves at the thought of visiting!

Keep up the good work, I've subscribed!

I bet it will be beautiful when it's not as stinking hot... or crowded. And by then all the bumps should be ironed out with the rides.

Great pictures of DTD! I like that you took pictures there... I forgot last year but wish I had more! Love the pictures of Universal as well!

Thanks! I'm a photo-aholic, so I take pictures everywhere... hence how I wound up with nearly 3,000 pictures. >.>


The next morning we woke up bright and early to head over to the Grand Floridian to check in, then to make our way over to the Magic Kingdom for the morning. In Nana's eyes, the Magic Kingdom IS Disney, so we had to go there first thing.

On our way there, we see a guy writing stuff in the sky:

Getting Closer...

And closer...

Closer yet...

Almost there:

And finally we get to the Grand Floridian and check in.

I loved the morning dew on the plants.

And we checked in...

As expected, the room isn't ready yet, so we hopped on the monorail and made our way over to the Magic Kingdom.

COMING UP: Morning in the Magic Kingdom!

 

[heaven2dc]

Hurray!! You're finally at WDW - loved the pics on the monorail and in GF. GF is so beautiful

 

[oboedm]

Love the pics leading up to MK as well! You have given me so many good ideas for pictures.... I need to take more pictures of the environment so when I get home I really feel like I am there!

 

[nocomment711]

So, off into the Magic Kingdom!

We managed to catch one of the little shows the inhabitants of Main Street do in the morning. It was quite enjoyable (and I don't remember ever seeing it before).

Then we continued our way along.

To Adventureland!

Then, for the first time ever (and I've been to WDW probably over 12 times) my dad and I went through the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. We had almost two hours to kill before our lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern, so we decided to check it out.

I like lighting fixtures. I like them a lot.

It was a bit warm to hike around, but I can't believe that it was something I've never done before.

Then, we went on Jungle Cruise. This is my dad's favorite ride in all of WDW (and it's the only ride we went on three times in our duration of the trip). My grandma loved how they loaded us in.

"You get three rides in one!" the cast member smiled. "You get the tea cups, the Tower of Terror, and the Jungle Cruise! Ready!?"

Step 1: Dad pushes Nana onto the boat.

Step 2: The Tea Cup. The platform swings around so that she's facing forward

Step 3: The Tower of Terror. The platform lowers so it is even with the floor of the boat.

As usual, the Jungle Cruise is always good fun. I can't remember all of the great quotes (that aren't the usual spiel), but it was good fun. Good fun indeed.

Then, with even more time to kill, we realized that Pirates had a ten minute wait. And off we went.

Hurray!! You're finally at WDW - loved the pics on the monorail and in GF. GF is so beautiful

It's the only place my Nana will stay for that reason. (=

Love the pics leading up to MK as well! You have given me so many good ideas for pictures.... I need to take more pictures of the environment so when I get home I really feel like I am there!

Yay! I have a tendency to take pictures of everything. I wound up with like eight pictures leading up to each of the signs. Oops. But I'm glad I could give you ideas! (=

COMING UP: Pirates, Lunch, and What is this Pin Trading you speak of?

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

What a great TR - I adore your grandma being 80 years old & wanting to go to WDW to celebrate

My kind of woman

I can only hope to have a granddaughter like you one day that'll take me to WDW to celebrate my 80th!

(and son, can't forget my son - he's here now )

 

[heaven2dc]

I have a question - what did Nana do while you were visiting Swiss Family Treehouse? She looks so cute on the Jungle Cruise boat - I wish my aunt (who is 82) would join us on our upcoming trip. I told her she could sit in a wheelchair and just relax plus the weather would be cool and if she wanted to just sit out on the balcony and people watch (overlooking the Boardwalk). But she would have to fly out from Oregon and she hasn't flown in years so she is just too nervous to try all this.

 

[nocomment711]

I apologize for my absence. I’ve recently started school and my schedule is driving me insane. I also left my notebook at home, so I can’t put up any of the food reviews because they’re all in there. >.>

Anyways, more of the Magic Kingdom…

Our next stop was Pirates of the Caribbean. We were a bit apprehensive about getting Nana on the actual ride, but she was determined that she was going to make it on. It was a bit more difficult than anticipated, but she was quite glad that she got on it. (=

^The only picture I took on the ride because I knew that they weren’t going to come out all that well, but I really like this one for some reason.

Then we had fun in the gift shop:

After that we walked through Frontier land and I got hung up on this:

I only have a point and shoot, so I messed around until I got the lighting right where I wanted it to be. I realize that with a DSLR it could have been fantastic, but unfortunately, I don’t have that kind of money yet.

We then hit Fantasyland and got on It’s A Small World. I absolutely loathe that ride, but it’s a classic, so we had to.

Then we made our way around to Main St. to stake our claim on a good parade spot. My grandma has “her spot” for parades and thankfully it was still available.

It was at this point that we got her a Pin Trading starter Kit. She’s been collecting pins for as long as I can remember and we thought that this would be a nice way to add memories to our trip (pin trading newbies for the lose). She wore her pin hat everywhere in the park. She had the original seven dwarfs pins from the 100 Years of Magic pin set (those were horrible to get) and she had them in a train around the rim of her hat, other old 100 Years of Magic pins (we were up at the crack of dawn to get them back in the day). She also has “The Key.” She told everyone she came in contact with about her key. She first went to Disney in 1979, she went on the highest level package there was and got this special pin to wear, designating that she was a member of the “Magic Kingdom Club” and it allowed her to do anything and everything in the park.

Anyways, back to the trip report… we had a great spot for the parade (and my camera was being very cooperative with me)…. We watched the “Celebrate a Dream Come True” Parade.

After the parade, we decided to leave the Magic Kingdom and head over to Epcot. The original reason we went to Magic Kingdom first was to “get it out of her system” as my father put it. In my grandma’s eyes, Disney is the Magic Kingdom. While I could give or take it, she loves just meandering down Main Street and taking everything in. She already gave up the first day of the trip so that I could go to WWoHP, so… Yeah, then we went off to Epcot.

Unfortunately, the monorail system was down so for the first time ever, we went on the bus system to get to the Grand Floridian. And what an adventure that was. Getting her into the bus and off of the bus went smoothly but was a bit of a nightmare…

COMING UP: The second half of the day in Epcot!

What a great TR - I adore your grandma being 80 years old & wanting to go to WDW to celebrate

My kind of woman

I can only hope to have a granddaughter like you one day that'll take me to WDW to celebrate my 80th!

(and son, can't forget my son - he's here now )

I hope so too!

I have a question - what did Nana do while you were visiting Swiss Family Treehouse? She looks so cute on the Jungle Cruise boat - I wish my aunt (who is 82) would join us on our upcoming trip. I told her she could sit in a wheelchair and just relax plus the weather would be cool and if she wanted to just sit out on the balcony and people watch (overlooking the Boardwalk). But she would have to fly out from Oregon and she hasn't flown in years so she is just too nervous to try all this.

She sat outside and people watched. She was expecting to do a lot of that on the trip (but we did a very good job keeping that to a minimum). There are a lot of great things for older people to do while the younger people go on the thrill rides. When we were at DHS (I apologize in advance if I call it MGM, that’s what it was the last time I went), she watched Beauty and the Beast while my dad and I went on Tower of Terror. She also had ice cream and water while sitting in the shade waiting for the parade to start while I went on Expedition Everest. Off the top of my head, I think those are the only three things we were ever separated for. My dad and I went out of our way to do the thrill rides in Magic Kingdom during the late EMH so that she wouldn’t be left out.



Also, feel free to critique some of the pictures. I mean obviously some of them are just meant to be snapshot images, but some of them I was actually trying to be artistic.

 

[magichusky]

I'm loving your TR so far! And your pics are really awesome!!! I especially enjoy this one, for obvious reasons haha. Why hello there! What a great guy to turn around and flash a smile just for you! I also particularly loved the Potter photos- they were beautiful! And I'm totally w/ you about the back to school thing; I hate this time of year!

 

[oboedm]

I think I fully love your grandma after the "key" pin story! I love the picture of the prince as well! Does Snow White's prince have a name? Does anyone know?

 

[pookersmom]

I'm really enjoying your trip report. Your Nana sounds awesome.

We're going in January and I've already planned just the 2/3 of one day for WWoHP.

 

[karebear23]

Looks like you all had fun at MK! Can't wait to see whats up next.

 

[nocomment711]

So a little fact about me, World Showcase is my favorite place in all of Disney World. Out of our 5 days at WDW, we wound up in Epcot/World Showcase for 3 days... o.o;; Anyways, on this jaunt, we made it through France, the UK, and Canada.

We would always enter through the International Gateway. We first ran into Donald Duck. He didn't like the fact that Nana had no Donald on her pin hat or lanyard.

(as the vacation continued, we learned that Nana didn't like looking at the camera...

France

We love France. I mean, if I could I would go to Disney for an entire week and just spend the time in World Showcase. There are so many little hidden areas full of wonderful things to photograph and it's just that insane attention to detail that makes me fall in love over and over again.

We even found Belle's Library!

UK

(I love human evolution and legit started fangirling over the skulls...)

Canada

This is one place I wish we could have spent more time in.

By this point, we were all pooped:

And worked our way back to the Grand Floridian for our dinner at Citricos.

COMING UP: Grand Floridian (finally checking in)...

 

[nocomment711]

I'm loving your TR so far! And your pics are really awesome!!! I especially enjoy this one, for obvious reasons haha. Why hello there! What a great guy to turn around and flash a smile just for you! I also particularly loved the Potter photos- they were beautiful! And I'm totally w/ you about the back to school thing; I hate this time of year!

Thanks! <3333 I remember one of my greatest Disney memories from when I was younger was when Cinderella's prince blew me a kiss when I was like six or seven (earliest Disney memory).

I think I fully love your grandma after the "key" pin story! I love the picture of the prince as well! Does Snow White's prince have a name? Does anyone know?

I don't think he has a name other than Prince Charming... -runs to wiki- Nope. He doesn't have a name.

I'm really enjoying your trip report. Your Nana sounds awesome.

We're going in January and I've already planned just the 2/3 of one day for WWoHP.

Oooo that sounds like it'll be so much fun!

Looks like you all had fun at MK! Can't wait to see whats up next.

Thanks!

 

[oboedm]

Great WS update! The last time we went, I realized how great it really was! Last year I wasn't sure "what to do", but this year I felt like we didn't have enough time! I can totally see how you can spend three days there!

I love that Donald took issue with the pin thing! What a great character-- that is why he is my favorite!

Your grandma should definitely get a Donald pin-- it is a tragedy that she doesn't have one...

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

Yeah I'm glad to see you're back!

Your pictures are great, we always zoom through everything to ride attractions since I have a teen so I love seeing all the detailed pic's of EPCOT. Keep em' coming

Your grandma is so sweet I'm glad to see her having such a great time to celebrate her 8oth birthday (and good for your dad joining the fun)

 

[Tink rules]

I'm in!!! My mom's 78 and still loves going to Disney... she likes to people watch too when she's there... but she's active so there's not alot of that going on!!!

 

[nocomment711]

SO SO SO SO SO SORRY... I had computer problems and school is like hell right now... but I'm going to combine this and my dining report (cause I think that one has long since expired)...

So we moved worked our way home and finally got into our room.

But we didn't have much time before our run to Citricos.

Citricos… quite easily one of the best meals we had all week. It set the standards quite high. The service was the best of the trip, the food was the best. The view of the fireworks… it was just magical all the way around. Anyways, ONWARDS to the review!

Hidden Mickey <3

APPETIZERS:

Duck Confit ($14.00)

Smoked Dust Breast with Tomato and Egg Fettuccini and Opal Cream
Probably the single best thing I had to eat from the entire vacation (and I’ve never had duck before). The pasta was perfectly cooked and tasted perfect. It was the only appetizer I had where when it was finished I wanted more. The duck was a bit tough, but having never had duck before I wasn’t that was normal for the bird.

Gateau of Crab ($12.00)

Lump Crab, Orange Fennell Cream, and Tomato-Fennel Slaw
Once again, Kim still dislikes crab cakes. Dad liked it and adds that with the tomato, the flavors just explode. Very creamy. Not fully a crab cake though. The sauce finished it off well. Not really lump crab though.

Arancini ($10.00)

Crispy Risotto with Crimini Mushrooms, Asiago Cheese, and White Ruffle Aioli
Different. A good different. Not traditional, but very good.

MAIN COURSE:

Roast Chicken Breast ($29.00)

Tanglewood Farms Chicken with Roasted Mushroom Risotto
Holy crap. The chicken was good and tender. With the polenta it was like “Wow!” The fact that we shared it helped, we couldn’t finish it all. The sauce was extremely rich, but fantastic.

Braised Veal Shank ($46.00)

Carrot-Potato Puree, Roasted Vegetables, and Toasted Citrus Gremolta
Dry. Wasn’t as much sauce as expected. The sweet potatoes complimented the veal. The combination of the two was very good. At this point, I was beginning to realize that I’m not the biggest fan of red meat.

Pan-seared Florida Black Grouper ($33.00)

Prince Edward Island Mussels, Fregula Pasta, Tomato, Fennel, and Saffron Sauce with Olive Oil Crostini
Very very good! I decided to take a risk and go with the grouper. I’ve never had it before, so I had absolutely no idea what to expect. The combination of the grouper, the bread, and the “small round thingers” (which I believe was the pasta) was a superb combination of tastes and textures.

During the main course, the fireworks went off at the Magic Kingdom.

DESSERT:

Tropical Fruit Crème Brulee ($9.00)

Once again, dessert was the down point of the entire meal. It was far too sweet and too fruity.

OVERALL:
Service: 5. Very personable and knowledgeable. He realized that we wanted a slow dinner and catered to us as such diners. Lonzy was superb and could answer any question asked without a thought.
Environment: 5. Could see the fireworks. It was dark, but not too dark. Wonderful.
Food: 5

Our bill was $235.72 including drinks, $191.97 without (two classes of wine and three mixed drinks). It was two credits rather than one, but very very good.

After that... we crashed, excited for our next day of vacationing.

By the end of the day, we had walked 5.62 miles (according to the odometer).

Great WS update! The last time we went, I realized how great it really was! Last year I wasn't sure "what to do", but this year I felt like we didn't have enough time! I can totally see how you can spend three days there!

I love that Donald took issue with the pin thing! What a great character-- that is why he is my favorite!

Your grandma should definitely get a Donald pin-- it is a tragedy that she doesn't have one...

She had one, but it was on her other hat. XD World Showcase is my favorite and we were in there three days out of our five in WDW... >.<

Yeah I'm glad to see you're back!

Your pictures are great, we always zoom through everything to ride attractions since I have a teen so I love seeing all the detailed pic's of EPCOT. Keep em' coming

Your grandma is so sweet I'm glad to see her having such a great time to celebrate her 8oth birthday (and good for your dad joining the fun)

Will keep them coming!

I'm in!!! My mom's 78 and still loves going to Disney... she likes to people watch too when she's there... but she's active so there's not alot of that going on!!!

Hey! We tried really hard to keep it so that she wasn't alone for long periods of time.



So I'm gonna try really hard to keep this going... kick me if I don't...