Ready, Set, Let the Games Begin! - Link to new PTR/TR!

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

Then we headed over to Goofy’s Sky School.



I had never been on this coaster and I was amazed at how much it scared me! CA Screamin’ is one of my most favorite coasters and so many people have told me how it is too much for them to handle. With the turn backs and things, this one had me “white knucking it!”













We headed around Paradise Pier and since TSMM was closed we went right on to CA Screamin’. Me and the boys rode this one and I got a front row car, but rode in a different train than the rest of them. RSR was still down at this point, but our guide thought it would be about an hour until it was back up. PIO’s DS was dying to get wet, and had been suggesting water rides all day, so we finally gave in and rode Grizzly River Rapids. I was pretty soaked after that ride, but nothing in comparison to the rest of them! Both Fran and Brett opted to sit this one out.

I was starting to get fiercely hungry at this point, Fran and I each had a yogurt and a V8 (which you will find seems to be our “on the go” DVC Villa breakfast of champions. Easy peasy and you can take it with you. In fact I seem to remember that’s about what we had for breakfast on our Expo Trip. What ever happened to that TR? Don’t worry, it will get finished!

After this we decided lunch was a must. I suggested the Garden Grill (selfishly as I really enjoyed the Mediterranean style cuisine when I dined there in Feb 2012). The only one who didn’t seem to agree with my choice was PIO’s DS. Her DH took him next door to the Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta where he ordered some pasta and marinara sauce that was to his liking. The rest of us went with either kebabs, salad or pita sandwiches.

In our mode of always sharing for the most flavor options, Fran and I split the Gyro sandwich with Tabouleh, and the chicken kebab with Tzatsiki. All the skewers came with cucumber salad, rice, pita and your choice of protein and sauce.





I believe that both PIO and Brett got the Chimichurri Saice. but Brett got Steak and PIO got Chicken.





Again we had the flurry of shutter clicks while everyone was taking pictures of the food. I imagine that we will need to get used to this again as I prepare to meet up with PIO once again!

Her DH ordered the Greek Salad.



I didn’t get a picture of the pasta, but that will make PIO’s report all that much more exciting! Not to mention her pictures are much more artistic! That’s about it for now, I’ve been trying to post this update since the night I got off the plane, so I’ll cut it off here and be back soon!

 

[rentayenta]

Ha! Only 6? I was on the 8 year plan!

Look Jenny! You got new tags! I told you strange things happen on the Boo Boo thread! Those are all things you said on Pam's TR!

Omg!!! I got a spinning diamond tag!! No therapy for this girl, just new tags.

Back to catching up.

 

[Pinkocto]

Lunch looks delicious! That's another one that was on the list but I never got to.

Oh my on Goofy's Sky School, I will never ever do that again.

 

[dolphingirl47]

What bad luck for both RSR and TSMM to be down. I love the sound of the VIP tour. Lunch looked delicious. I wonder if I could do California Screamin after all. I did Goofy's Flying School when it was still Mulholland Madness and I was OK with this.

Corinna

 

[rentayenta]

Love the car wash adventure! And at $5 a car, that's a bargain! We know how Fran loves her bargains.

lisaviolet, I'm sorry things are rough with your mother. I work gero psych and its so trying on the family.

Love the Monster's U door. I didn't see that in August but with our one day rush through, I barely had time to breathe.

Tour guide = human FP =

Joshua's loves Goofy's Sky School but I always feels as if its going to tear around the corner and flip us all off.

We should have tried Garden Grill. I was less than impressed with Boardwalk PP. your lunches look delicious. Lesson learned.

 

[mvf-m11c]

That was a fun day at DCA that morning to the afternoon. We did quite a number of rides that day at DCA. It was a shame that TSMM and RSR was down that morning where we could have gone on them. I wished that we got a picture when we rode California Screamin but we didn't have our cameras on us when we rode.

After all the years I have been to DCA, I have never eaten at the Paradise Garden Grill. I can't believe I have never ate at this restaurant until this trip. If I was going to eat at this restaurant for the first time and I was glad that it was with all of you. The grilled steak Mediterranean with the Chimichurri sauce was good. I did had that at the food truck during the D23 Expo in August.

Very nice update Alison.

 

[franandaj]

Omg!!! I got a spinning diamond tag!! No therapy for this girl, just new tags.

Back to catching up.

I love your new tags!

Lunch looks delicious! That's another one that was on the list but I never got to.

Oh my on Goofy's Sky School, I will never ever do that again.

I really like the Garden Grill, so far I've had three of the menu items, and they have all been fantastic so far!

What bad luck for both RSR and TSMM to be down. I love the sound of the VIP tour. Lunch looked delicious. I wonder if I could do California Screamin after all. I did Goofy's Flying School when it was still Mulholland Madness and I was OK with this.

Corinna

I think CA Screamin' is much more smooth and fun than Goofy's Sky School!

Love the car wash adventure! And at $5 a car, that's a bargain! We know how Fran loves her bargains.

lisaviolet, I'm sorry things are rough with your mother. I work gero psych and its so trying on the family.

Love the Monster's U door. I didn't see that in August but with our one day rush through, I barely had time to breathe.

Tour guide = human FP =

Joshua's loves Goofy's Sky School but I always feels as if its going to tear around the corner and flip us all off.

We should have tried Garden Grill. I was less than impressed with Boardwalk PP. your lunches look delicious. Lesson learned.

That's exactly what I felt, like we were all going to go flying out of the car, not fun!

That was a fun day at DCA that morning to the afternoon. We did quite a number of rides that day at DCA. It was a shame that TSMM and RSR was down that morning where we could have gone on them. I wished that we got a picture when we rode California Screamin but we didn't have our cameras on us when we rode.

After all the years I have been to DCA, I have never eaten at the Paradise Garden Grill. I can't believe I have never ate at this restaurant until this trip. If I was going to eat at this restaurant for the first time and I was glad that it was with all of you. The grilled steak Mediterranean with the Chimichurri sauce was good. I did had that at the food truck during the D23 Expo in August.

Very nice update Alison.

I'll have to try the steak with chimichurri, that looked pretty good too. So far I've only had the kebabs with the tzatziki, chicken and the kefta last time. The Gyro was good too, but not as much as the kebabs. I really like the rice that comes with it!

I'm glad you could join us for the fun!

 

[franandaj]

After lunch we found that RSR was back up and running. We boarded through the HA area since Fran had never been on this ride before, and I wanted to make it a point to get her on this ride, especially since we had a guide.







We took our first ride and went through Ramon’s. Much to our surprise when we got back the ride operator asked if we wanted to go again. Everyone said “yes!” but PIO’s DS wanted to trade so that he could be in the front row. We started on our journey and just as we started to get to Radiator Springs (not quite yet to town) the ride went down. We were stuck for quite a while, but we consoled ourselves in that we were a) in the dark in the air-conditioning (it was a pretty hot day), and b) not banked on a turn in the hot sun and c) we were seated on the ride and not standing in line.

After a slightly long wait, the ride started up again and we finished the race. Since we were stuck on the ride for a period of time they offered us to ride again without exiting the vehicle!

Here is our redneck shot.



Around this time, we started to have more scooter problems. Now Fran’s scooter was dying, so Brett helped me push it back to the room and we traded for the scooter that I put in there earlier that day. I plugged the other in, just in case! While Brett and I were doing scooter change duty, Fran and the others went on Soarin’ over California. She was really tired because while the scooter wasn’t working she walked all the way from Cars Land over to Soarin and through the queue.

At that point we decided to hop over to DL and ride Haunted Mansion Holiday. By this time it was getting a little later and Brett had to drive back to Sacramento, so we bid him goodbye on Main Street and the rest of us resumed our adventure. So Haunted Mansion Holiday with the Jack Skellington, Nightmare before Christmas overlay, this is one that people seem to either really love it or really hate. We like it and think that the overlay gives a whimsical look to the classic ride. Again, the only shot that didn’t come out completely blurry.



It was a really hot day and PIO’s DS really was enjoying the whole concept of the water rides, so they headed over to Splash Mountain. Fran and I checked out the Haunted Mansion shopping cart. Now, I will have to comment here, we all know that Fran likes to shop, and I’m not even sure how she did it, but while we were riding so many rides, she still managed to shop up a storm! You’ll see what I’m talking about later.

Because the scooter battery was starting to run low again, Fran didn’t go over the hill to the end of Splash! to wait for PIO and her family. Instead she waited outside the front of the ride taking pictures of every ride vehicle that came along. Here is their car.



From there we all rode POTC, and then the girls rode Indy. The scooter was really starting to fade at this point, so we were all pushing Fran in neutral to get from point to point. We rode Peter Pan and then headed to Tomorrowland. Everyone rode Buzz, and then Fran was pooped at this point. She asked if she could just sit on the bench at the end of Star Tours and we rode that and Space Mountain. By this time it was getting late and we needed to hop back to DCA for our 8:15 WoC show.

We hadn’t eaten since lunch and we agreed that we were hungry, but didn’t want to lose what little park time we had left with a meal, so we grabbed some of these. Hand Dipped Milk Chocolate covered vanilla ice cream with sprinkles.



We had pushed Fran in her scooter all the way across to DCA, so while PIO and her family went off to watch Carsland light up, I went back to the room and switched her scooter once again, and she had enough power to make it over to the WoC showing area.







So I just sat back, relaxed and watched the show. I gave up on photographing WoC when it opened. I just never got any good shots, so now I don’t worry about it. We had agreed that since the parks closed at 8PM, we wouldn’t waste valuable park time on dinner. However, DTD was open for quite some time, so we decided on the Uva Bar for dinner. They have one of my most favorite on property Disney foods there and I had that on my mind. So did PIO. We both got Lamburgers. This is mine, I think hers was cooked a little bit more.



Fran got the Fish & Chips, we were going to share a little, but the portion wasn’t all that big and she was hungry. That’s OK, I was plenty happy with my burger!



I’m not exactly sure what PIO’s DH got now, I think it was pita and guacamole, but he had something else in the cone there. I guess we’ll have to wait until her report for her to tell us what it is!



DS got a Beefburger. I’m pretty sure he liked it and ate pretty much all of it. You know, growing boy and all! And I caught PIO's Lamburger in the shot as well!



We sat around in the warm California evening, chatting and enjoying the fact that it had finally cooled off for the day. It was pretty hot and I’m just glad that we in CA do not have the humidity found in Florida! By the time we finished up and settled the check it was probably around 11PM, I don’t really remember, but Fran and I were exhausted. Neither of us can remember a day that we did so much. As So Cal residents and passholders (me for over 15 years, her for over 30), we never do a commando day. I remember the realization of becoming a passholder how relaxing it was just to come out, have lunch, ride the Haunted Mansion, shop on Main Street and go home. Next time we would ride Pirates, next time Star Tours….etc. Today we did all of those and THEN some!

We bade each other farewell and looked forward to meeting up again in a couple weeks. Fran and I made it back to the room, having switched scooters one more time before dinner, I didn’t have to push her, but we really needed to replace those batteries before going to WDW. Although even THAT didn’t work out as planned (cue the evil foreshadowing music, dum.... da, dum, dum, DUMMMMMMMMMM).

We slept so hard that night I was barely able to wake Fran up to get out of the room by the 11:00AM check out. I stayed in bed until 9:30AM, noting around 7:30 that the PIO family probably was on their way to LAX for the next part of their adventure! We called the bellman to pick up our loot and even though, this trip was about riding rides and not shopping, Fran still managed to pick up this much loot (while we were riding rides that she backed out on due to various reasons). She conveniently had me take packages back to the room each time I exchanged scooters so I really didn’t notice how much we had really purchased!



We finally headed home, and I knew we overdid it because as soon as we arrived home, Fran climbed into her chair and fell asleep. Unfortunately that evening we had to go to band because our concert was the weekend before and we had taken the previous Tuesday off, plus with our WDW trip coming up, we needed to make as many rehearsals as possible (being in charge and all!).

So that wraps up the first part of our gamers meet! I should say that the one game I still play over there, “LAST to POST”, closed it’s most recent edition while PIO was enroute, we have since started a new game.

I’ll be LAST here, until someone decides to comment. I hope that I lose this game!

 

[Leshaface]

Wow what a busy day! First with Pam and now with PIO!! What fun though.

He drove all the way back to Sacramento that night?! That's quite a drive. I guess i'll stop complaining about the 3 hour drive from here

Not gonna lie. I like when Fran shops since I can't too much I want to see what she got, especially if she did some shopping at the Haunted Mansion kiosk

 

[franandaj]

Wow what a busy day! First with Pam and now with PIO!! What fun though.

He drove all the way back to Sacramento that night?! That's quite a drive. I guess i'll stop complaining about the 3 hour drive from here

Not gonna lie. I like when Fran shops since I can't too much I want to see what she got, especially if she did some shopping at the Haunted Mansion kiosk

Unfortunately, for right now most of the stuff gets put right into boxes and get labeled for later. I can tell you we have the candelabras, the hourglass, the coasters, some pillows and throws. The HM stuff won't come out until we build the HM room upstairs, but I'm really hoping that once we move in some of this stuff starts to come out on the shelves in big numbers. We need to pack our shelves and show as much stuff as we can. Today at Theme Park Connection, they needed more in their glass cases in the front. Ours will be much more concentrated!

I did get pictures of the shopping she did tonight before they packed it up to ship back!

 

[jedijill]

I'm exhausted just reading about your day! Too bad about the batteries!

Jill in CO

 

[mvf-m11c]

I forgot to say that I'm glad that you and Fran enjoyed the caramel popcorn that my mom made. She does make good snack foods.

That was a real treat for all of us to ride RSR three times in a row. I had a blast when the ride broke down when we were in the tractor tipping area. We got to see what the background looked like where you don't get to see it clearly when going on the ride. It was a good area to brake down but it would have been better if we were in the town. It was getting warm that afternoon. When I looked back at my pictures during the 2nd time on the ride, we waited about 15 minutes when the ride broke down.

I remember when you and I were bringing your scooter back to the GCV that the neutral lever on the scooter was not staying in neutral. We had to stop to put it in neutral and we were able to get it back to Alison room.

I had a fun time that Monday with everyone and it would have been better if I stayed all day with all of you but I had to go home that day with my DB and his GF since they have to be back in Sactown the next day.

I'm glad that everyone was able to go on a lot of rides the rest of the day. You did mention that the scooters were having battery problems when we got back to your room and charging the scooter.

The food from the Uva Bar and Cafe looks great after watching WoC that night. I don't eat at too many sit down restaurants at DTD where I mostly eat on-site. I have passed by Uva Bar and Cafe a lot when my DA and I eat at the ESPN Zone. After looking at your food porn, I will consider eating at the Uva Bar and Cafe one day.

Fran did buy a lot of stuff during the trip but not as much like the D23 Expo in August.

I hope that you, Fran, PiO and her family have a great time in WDW.

He drove all the way back to Sacramento that night?! That's quite a drive. I guess i'll stop complaining about the 3 hour drive from here:

I didn't drove all the way back to Sacramento by myself. I had to go back to Irvine to pick up my brother and his GF. My brother drove most of the way back to Sacramento while I got to rest while he was driving. I left Anaheim around 3:30pm and got to Irvine at 4pm. We left around 4:30pm and we got back home to Sacramento at midnight since we had to battle traffic when leaving SoCal (good thing Sactown traffic is not as bad as SoCal).

 

[lisaviolet]

In our mode of always sharing for the most flavor options, Fran and I split the Gyro sandwich with Tabouleh, and the chicken kebab with Tzatsiki. All the skewers came with cucumber salad, rice, pita and your choice of protein and sauce.











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Okay, I loved your meet ups. And loved your day. BUT BOY DID I LOVE YOUR FOOD. Nice place! I love gyros. LOVE. All of your choices look fantastic.

Hope you day is wonderful, Alison!

Jenny, thank you. Oh and love your dancing ring.

 

[lisaviolet]

And the food again! Boy, it looks good.

 

[franandaj]

I'm exhausted just reading about your day! Too bad about the batteries!

Jill in CO

You know, I know the shops have meters like that, but I sure wish we did and knew BEFORE we went out to the parks if they were going to die on us. Perhaps we should invest in one of those. We have everything else!

I forgot to say that I'm glad that you and Fran enjoyed the caramel popcorn that my mom made. She does make good snack foods.

That was a real treat for all of us to ride RSR three times in a row. I had a blast when the ride broke down when we were in the tractor tipping area. We got to see what the background looked like where you don't get to see it clearly when going on the ride. It was a good area to brake down but it would have been better if we were in the town. It was getting warm that afternoon. When I looked back at my pictures during the 2nd time on the ride, we waited about 15 minutes when the ride broke down.

I remember when you and I were bringing your scooter back to the GCV that the neutral lever on the scooter was not staying in neutral. We had to stop to put it in neutral and we were able to get it back to Alison room.

I had a fun time that Monday with everyone and it would have been better if I stayed all day with all of you but I had to go home that day with my DB and his GF since they have to be back in Sactown the next day.

I'm glad that everyone was able to go on a lot of rides the rest of the day. You did mention that the scooters were having battery problems when we got back to your room and charging the scooter.

The food from the Uva Bar and Cafe looks great after watching WoC that night. I don't eat at too many sit down restaurants at DTD where I mostly eat on-site. I have passed by Uva Bar and Cafe a lot when my DA and I eat at the ESPN Zone. After looking at your food porn, I will consider eating at the Uva Bar and Cafe one day.

Fran did buy a lot of stuff during the trip but not as much like the D23 Expo in August.

I hope that you, Fran, PiO and her family have a great time in WDW.




I didn't drove all the way back to Sacramento by myself. I had to go back to Irvine to pick up my brother and his GF. My brother drove most of the way back to Sacramento while I got to rest while he was driving. I left Anaheim around 3:30pm and got to Irvine at 4pm. We left around 4:30pm and we got back home to Sacramento at midnight since we had to battle traffic when leaving SoCal (good thing Sactown traffic is not as bad as SoCal).

Yes! We loved your mom's caramel corn!
Thank you again for your help with the scooter!
It was sort of a neat place to break down. I agree the town would have been better but there were definitely worse places too!
You should try the Uva Bar sometime, they have a lot of really good food there, it's one of my favorite spots foodwise!
Yes, Fran was restrained, but there weren't nearly as many buying opportunities as there were at the Expo.
Thanks for clarifying on the driving back to Sactown. I was going to say the same thing, but even so, I think Alicia is amazed at your ability to travel so far so late. I think her DH does most of the driving!

Okay, I loved your meet ups. And loved your day. BUT BOY DID I LOVE YOUR FOOD. Nice place! I love gyros. LOVE. All of your choices look fantastic.

Hope you day is wonderful, Alison!

Jenny, thank you. Oh and love your dancing ring.

OMG! That place has the best food in DCA as far as I am concerned. Now I want to go there before any other place, even the Corn Dog Palace and that is saying a LOT. Maybe if we get a corn dog and a Kebab and split them both I will be happy!

And the food again! Boy, it looks good.

even with having got stuff from the kiosks at the F&W Festival tonight and including Greece, both of those choices or actually all five look really good! I need to focus less on food and lose some weight!

Tomorrow I am going to Argentina and getting a Beef Chimichurri skewer!

 

[dolphingirl47]

What an amazing day apart from the scooter issues. Now I am worried on how the scooter saga plays out. I hope that your WDW trip is not spoiled by more scooter issues. I absolutely adore Haunted Mansion Holiday and can't wait to see it again. I also would have loved to do RSR three times in a row.

Corinna

 

[franandaj]

Breaking News!

The chocolate "pudding" in Ireland is the same ole molten center chocolate cake as it was in 2009. I guess the use of the word "pudding" was in the British sense of the word, not the American use. The sauce was different than in 2009. I liked it better.

 

[jedijill]

Breaking News!

The chocolate "pudding" in Ireland is the same ole molten center chocolate cake as it was in 2009. I guess the use of the word "pudding" was in the British sense of the word, not the American use. The sauce was different than in 2009. I liked it better.

You just made my day!!!! Does it have Bailey's sauce??????

Jill in CO

 

[franandaj]

You just made my day!!!! Does it have Bailey's sauce??????

Jill in CO

Yes, and it tasted very "Bailey's", that's why I liked it better, I'll post my pics, but it was a white creamier sauce with a little more alcohol flavor than the one I remembered from before. I think I'm going to get another one today when we go over there!

 

[franandaj]

What an amazing day apart from the scooter issues. Now I am worried on how the scooter saga plays out. I hope that your WDW trip is not spoiled by more scooter issues. I absolutely adore Haunted Mansion Holiday and can't wait to see it again. I also would have loved to do RSR three times in a row.

Corinna

Thanks! Yes it was quite fun. I'm just glad we had the scooter issues at DL and this pointed out to us that we needed new batteries before WDW. Trying to address that issue so far from home and where we need to take buses and not just pushing the scooter back to the Grand would have been disastrous!