PamNC
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 19, 1999
- Messages
- 4,597
CAST OF CHARACTERS: Me, 42 and my DH, 34. First Timers at the Swan.
Day Four - Sunday, 11/28
We woke up on our own, no non-Mickey wake-up call. We woke up around 9:00. Since my DH had deemed the coffee in the room "nasty," we didn't waste too much time getting ready for breakfast. Plus, it was kind of late. For us anyway, we're early risers even at home on the weekends. After the soaking rain last night at the CP, we defintiely had to take showers. We got ready as quickly as possible and walked over to the Dolphin to try Fresh for breakfast. Wow! What a find! We will definitely have breakfast here every time we visit. Just like Garden Grove, it's a buffet, and I don't like buffets. I now have a new found respect for them. I'd say Fresh is even better than Garden Grove. The pancakes, waffles, french toast and eggs are cooked to order. They have the best breakfast potatoes I've ever had. The usual offerings are available, along with fresh squeezed oj and Starbucks coffee. Another big plus! We thoroughly enjoyed our breakfast.
The plan for the day was to start with Animal Kingdom. We got there around 11:00. This is usually a dangerous time to arrive, but it wasn't very crowded. The tree at the entrance is magnificient! Maybe even my favorite "park tree." We strolled through the oasis and on to the bridge, stopping to let them take our picture in front of the Tree of Life. They take 2 shots, one "regular" and one shot where you place your hands together, palm side up, in front of you. We decided to start with Dinosaur. We were worried there would be a big wait because we arrived so late, but that wasn't the case. It was 5 minutes. Well, it said 5 minutes but I would say it was more like 1 minute. We were seated in the back, which to me is the bumpiest and scariest, and BEST position. We enjoyed the ride as usual. I'd really like to go to Disneyland in CA and ride Indiana Jones, since it's similar.
After Dinosaur, we decided to try something that we really didn't like the first (and only) time...Tarzan Rocks. I believe we saw the show about 3 years ago and absolutely hated it. I convinced my DH to give it one more try and he happily went along with me. MISTAKE! We were right the first time. First, it's too loud and "Who Let the Dogs Out" is not Disney material. They paly that, and some other un-Disney tunes while you wait. The show isn't timeless, it's dated, unlike Festival of the Lion King. It's missing the Disney touch IMHO. The only part we enjoyed were the in-line skaters and Tarzan and Jane flying through the air. The music was horrible, couldn't understand what they were saying. In short, we left early. As did many others.
There is a new path open between Dinoland and Asia. It goes right by the new Expedition Everest (not sure if that's the name) rollercoaster. We got a real good look at it, and I took a few pictures. I think this ride will be awesome! Can't wait until it opens.
We turned around and went back to Asia to do the Maharajeh Jungle Trek. We absolutely love to see the tigers. They were in rare form - playing and running. We got lots of good pictures. All of a sudden we heard a loud whistle and the tigers were gathering around staring up at all of us, as if we were all big slabs of meat. A CM was getting ready to feed them. She threw the meat down to them. You could tell there was an alpha cat, as he did most of the eating. This was an amazing experience. We took our time throughout the trails enjoying all of the animals.
Next, we headed for Africa to do the safari. The wait was only only 30 minutes, but we decided to get a Fastpass whiich allowed us to come back within 20 minutes. We did the Pangani Exploration Trail first. We had some great views of the gorillas. We took our time there as well, then hopped on the safari. The best part of the safari was the baby elephant...they are absolutely the cutest creatures on earth. Our driver wasn't very good. He didn't have very good diction. Couldn't understand what he was saying and he was trying to sound like a radio DJ. Anyway, we enjoyed it just the same because we know the spiel by heart.
After the safari, we stopped for a snack at Tusker House. Junk food. We wernt to the bakery and got a cupcake and a cinnamon bun. Junk food junkes R US. We had really done everything we wanted to do, and knowing it was out last day we were anxious to see some more decorations at the resorts. On the way out, we stopped to view our pictures. The reason for the strange pose with the palms up and hands in front was a nice surprise. Simba is sitting in your hands. Very cute, but we didn't buy the pictures because I thought I looked awful. We women are so hard on ourselves.
We drove to the Grand Floridian to check out their decorations. I was worried that the security guard wouldn't let us in because when you stay at the S/D, you don't get the little flyer that goes on your dash giving your resort name and check-in/check-out dates. But, we simply told the nice man we wanted to check out the decorations and he let us right in. We self-parked, and the lot was almost full. We noticed that CMs park back there. Interesting to have them park where guests park. We walked up to the Grand and were so delighted! This resort definitely has the Christmas spirit. They were roasting chestnuts over an open fire and handing them out. Get this...FOR FREE! Neither of us had ever tried a roasted chestnut. And, we never will again. They tasted like dull, plain potatoes, not nuts. We discretely threw them away so as not to hurt the nice CMs feelings who was handing them out. He was so cute and jolly. Even though the chestnuts disgusted our taste buds, we thought this was a nice touch.
I must give the GF the #1 award for decorations. We were blown away with the tree. It's such a beautiful resort anyway, but it's extra special at Christmas. People were milling about and enjoying themselves. It had a great feeling. We explored the shops and took some pics, and then hopped on the monorail to see what the Contemporary did for Christmas. I hate to say it because we like the CR, but they really don't go all out with decorations. There's a nice tree outside. Other than that, nothing special. However, the CR will always have the magic. We've stayed there once, and it was nice. Not our favorite resort, but we had a great time there. We love the California Grille and the Concourse Steakhouse.
We decided to head back to the Swan and get ready for our 6:00 PS at Spoodles. Okay, Spoodles. This is a story within itself. We've been going to Disney for 10 years, many times twice a year, even three times a couple of years (this year included). We had never tried Spoodles before. Don't know why. On the first day of our trip, we strolled the boardwalk and as we walked by Spoodles we noticed the wonderful smell and the smiling CMs at the entrance. It impressed us so much that we stopped to read the menu and decided that perhaps we had been missing something all these years. NOT SO! This was the worst sit-down Disney meal we've ever had. It started out fine. The service was great. We were freezing so we asked the manager if it would be possible to turn off the air and he happily obliged. Our server was very attentive. We started with the flatbread, which was great. So far we were very pleased. My husband ordered a roasted chicken breast dish. When he ordered it, the server said "excellent choice sir, it's so tender." I ordered the NY Strip with sundried tomato butter and horseradish cream drizzle. Medium Rare. It came Well Done. I can understand it coming a little over-cooked, but well-done is a far cry from medium rare. No big deal I thought, I'll just send it back. My husband's so called "tender chicken" was as hard as a rock...stringy and pathetic. The server asked if he liked it and he politely told them it was really dry and that he wasn't very happy with it. They took it back and promised to make it right. In the meantime, here comes my steak. This time medium. Good grief. I hate it when you send something back and it still comes back wrong the second time. I didn't have the strength to send it back again so I ate it anyway. The potatoes were horrible. When my husband got his second round of the chicken dish, he said it was a slight improvement, but he too didn't have the strength to worry about it. We didn't order dessert because we couldn't bare another disappointment. We got out of there as soon as we could and headed for World Showcase. I hope others have had better experiences with Spoodles, but I can tell you we will NEVER give it another chance. Even if it were the only place open on the property to eat, we would leave and go to McDonalds. Which I don't even like.
Enough about that. Our plan was to see Illuminations so we walked over to World Showcase. We love the Mexico pavillion and we didn't get to see it yesterday so we walked on over, shopped a little, and then decided that no trip to Disney would be complete without a ride on Spaceship Earth. Not to mention we needed to see the Epcot Tree. It's quite impressive. I'd say my second favorite "park tree." Spaceship Earth had zero wait and we enjoyed the trip through time as usual. We did notice that during the descent back to Earth, the sound was bad. Jeremy Irons kept going in and out. After the ride, we stopped at Mousegear to shop. My husband bought the cutest pair of Christmas boxers, and he's awful cute in them. We then watched the fountain do it's dance to Christmas music and then walked back to World Showcase to secure a spot for Illuminations. We lined up at 8:30 at a location we've never tried. It was in between Mexico and the center...right behind the tree. We always feel like we have to watch from the other side, say around France, Japan or Italy to get a good viewing. This is absolutely not the case. The location was perfect. We thought we only had a 30 minute wait, but Illuminations didn't start until 9:30. Which was okay, because we got a great spot. It was wonderful as usual and there is a surprise Holiday portion at the end, set to Joy to the World. I was so excited when it was over that I started clapping and jumping up and down. Illuminations truly has the Disney magic. Knowing it was our last night, we walked a little slower back to the Swan. My husband was feeling kind of sick from the awful dinner, kept burping it back up. YUK! I told him the only cure was to stop at Seashore Sweets and get a chocolate treat to drown the taste. He agreed, and so we did.
We took our treats back to the Swan and laid our heads down for our last night on the heavenly bed. I arranged for a 6:45 non-Mickey wake-up call as we wanted to get started early and miss the work traffic in Charlotte, NC, which is about 1 hour from our home. It turned out we didn't need the wake-up call. Around 6:15 we awoke to the sound of a crowd outside talking and bustling about. They were in between the Swan and Dolphin. It looked like some type of walk-a-thon. We wished we could join them, and then enjoy another breakfast at Fresh, but that wasn't possible. I had to be back at work the next day. So, we gathered our stuff and took that sad elevator ride down to the lobby, all the while saying "we'll be back before you know it" to each other.
The ride home was uneventful, thank goodness. There was heavy traffic in the a.m. through Orlando but it never stopped completely. Highlights of this trip included the beautiful decorations throughout the resorts, Illuminations, Kimonos, and Holidays Around the World at Epcot. Oh, and walking right on the attractions that first morning at the Magic Kingdom. It was a great start to our Christmas season.
PamNC
Day Four - Sunday, 11/28
We woke up on our own, no non-Mickey wake-up call. We woke up around 9:00. Since my DH had deemed the coffee in the room "nasty," we didn't waste too much time getting ready for breakfast. Plus, it was kind of late. For us anyway, we're early risers even at home on the weekends. After the soaking rain last night at the CP, we defintiely had to take showers. We got ready as quickly as possible and walked over to the Dolphin to try Fresh for breakfast. Wow! What a find! We will definitely have breakfast here every time we visit. Just like Garden Grove, it's a buffet, and I don't like buffets. I now have a new found respect for them. I'd say Fresh is even better than Garden Grove. The pancakes, waffles, french toast and eggs are cooked to order. They have the best breakfast potatoes I've ever had. The usual offerings are available, along with fresh squeezed oj and Starbucks coffee. Another big plus! We thoroughly enjoyed our breakfast.
The plan for the day was to start with Animal Kingdom. We got there around 11:00. This is usually a dangerous time to arrive, but it wasn't very crowded. The tree at the entrance is magnificient! Maybe even my favorite "park tree." We strolled through the oasis and on to the bridge, stopping to let them take our picture in front of the Tree of Life. They take 2 shots, one "regular" and one shot where you place your hands together, palm side up, in front of you. We decided to start with Dinosaur. We were worried there would be a big wait because we arrived so late, but that wasn't the case. It was 5 minutes. Well, it said 5 minutes but I would say it was more like 1 minute. We were seated in the back, which to me is the bumpiest and scariest, and BEST position. We enjoyed the ride as usual. I'd really like to go to Disneyland in CA and ride Indiana Jones, since it's similar.
After Dinosaur, we decided to try something that we really didn't like the first (and only) time...Tarzan Rocks. I believe we saw the show about 3 years ago and absolutely hated it. I convinced my DH to give it one more try and he happily went along with me. MISTAKE! We were right the first time. First, it's too loud and "Who Let the Dogs Out" is not Disney material. They paly that, and some other un-Disney tunes while you wait. The show isn't timeless, it's dated, unlike Festival of the Lion King. It's missing the Disney touch IMHO. The only part we enjoyed were the in-line skaters and Tarzan and Jane flying through the air. The music was horrible, couldn't understand what they were saying. In short, we left early. As did many others.
There is a new path open between Dinoland and Asia. It goes right by the new Expedition Everest (not sure if that's the name) rollercoaster. We got a real good look at it, and I took a few pictures. I think this ride will be awesome! Can't wait until it opens.
We turned around and went back to Asia to do the Maharajeh Jungle Trek. We absolutely love to see the tigers. They were in rare form - playing and running. We got lots of good pictures. All of a sudden we heard a loud whistle and the tigers were gathering around staring up at all of us, as if we were all big slabs of meat. A CM was getting ready to feed them. She threw the meat down to them. You could tell there was an alpha cat, as he did most of the eating. This was an amazing experience. We took our time throughout the trails enjoying all of the animals.
Next, we headed for Africa to do the safari. The wait was only only 30 minutes, but we decided to get a Fastpass whiich allowed us to come back within 20 minutes. We did the Pangani Exploration Trail first. We had some great views of the gorillas. We took our time there as well, then hopped on the safari. The best part of the safari was the baby elephant...they are absolutely the cutest creatures on earth. Our driver wasn't very good. He didn't have very good diction. Couldn't understand what he was saying and he was trying to sound like a radio DJ. Anyway, we enjoyed it just the same because we know the spiel by heart.
After the safari, we stopped for a snack at Tusker House. Junk food. We wernt to the bakery and got a cupcake and a cinnamon bun. Junk food junkes R US. We had really done everything we wanted to do, and knowing it was out last day we were anxious to see some more decorations at the resorts. On the way out, we stopped to view our pictures. The reason for the strange pose with the palms up and hands in front was a nice surprise. Simba is sitting in your hands. Very cute, but we didn't buy the pictures because I thought I looked awful. We women are so hard on ourselves.
We drove to the Grand Floridian to check out their decorations. I was worried that the security guard wouldn't let us in because when you stay at the S/D, you don't get the little flyer that goes on your dash giving your resort name and check-in/check-out dates. But, we simply told the nice man we wanted to check out the decorations and he let us right in. We self-parked, and the lot was almost full. We noticed that CMs park back there. Interesting to have them park where guests park. We walked up to the Grand and were so delighted! This resort definitely has the Christmas spirit. They were roasting chestnuts over an open fire and handing them out. Get this...FOR FREE! Neither of us had ever tried a roasted chestnut. And, we never will again. They tasted like dull, plain potatoes, not nuts. We discretely threw them away so as not to hurt the nice CMs feelings who was handing them out. He was so cute and jolly. Even though the chestnuts disgusted our taste buds, we thought this was a nice touch.
I must give the GF the #1 award for decorations. We were blown away with the tree. It's such a beautiful resort anyway, but it's extra special at Christmas. People were milling about and enjoying themselves. It had a great feeling. We explored the shops and took some pics, and then hopped on the monorail to see what the Contemporary did for Christmas. I hate to say it because we like the CR, but they really don't go all out with decorations. There's a nice tree outside. Other than that, nothing special. However, the CR will always have the magic. We've stayed there once, and it was nice. Not our favorite resort, but we had a great time there. We love the California Grille and the Concourse Steakhouse.
We decided to head back to the Swan and get ready for our 6:00 PS at Spoodles. Okay, Spoodles. This is a story within itself. We've been going to Disney for 10 years, many times twice a year, even three times a couple of years (this year included). We had never tried Spoodles before. Don't know why. On the first day of our trip, we strolled the boardwalk and as we walked by Spoodles we noticed the wonderful smell and the smiling CMs at the entrance. It impressed us so much that we stopped to read the menu and decided that perhaps we had been missing something all these years. NOT SO! This was the worst sit-down Disney meal we've ever had. It started out fine. The service was great. We were freezing so we asked the manager if it would be possible to turn off the air and he happily obliged. Our server was very attentive. We started with the flatbread, which was great. So far we were very pleased. My husband ordered a roasted chicken breast dish. When he ordered it, the server said "excellent choice sir, it's so tender." I ordered the NY Strip with sundried tomato butter and horseradish cream drizzle. Medium Rare. It came Well Done. I can understand it coming a little over-cooked, but well-done is a far cry from medium rare. No big deal I thought, I'll just send it back. My husband's so called "tender chicken" was as hard as a rock...stringy and pathetic. The server asked if he liked it and he politely told them it was really dry and that he wasn't very happy with it. They took it back and promised to make it right. In the meantime, here comes my steak. This time medium. Good grief. I hate it when you send something back and it still comes back wrong the second time. I didn't have the strength to send it back again so I ate it anyway. The potatoes were horrible. When my husband got his second round of the chicken dish, he said it was a slight improvement, but he too didn't have the strength to worry about it. We didn't order dessert because we couldn't bare another disappointment. We got out of there as soon as we could and headed for World Showcase. I hope others have had better experiences with Spoodles, but I can tell you we will NEVER give it another chance. Even if it were the only place open on the property to eat, we would leave and go to McDonalds. Which I don't even like.
Enough about that. Our plan was to see Illuminations so we walked over to World Showcase. We love the Mexico pavillion and we didn't get to see it yesterday so we walked on over, shopped a little, and then decided that no trip to Disney would be complete without a ride on Spaceship Earth. Not to mention we needed to see the Epcot Tree. It's quite impressive. I'd say my second favorite "park tree." Spaceship Earth had zero wait and we enjoyed the trip through time as usual. We did notice that during the descent back to Earth, the sound was bad. Jeremy Irons kept going in and out. After the ride, we stopped at Mousegear to shop. My husband bought the cutest pair of Christmas boxers, and he's awful cute in them. We then watched the fountain do it's dance to Christmas music and then walked back to World Showcase to secure a spot for Illuminations. We lined up at 8:30 at a location we've never tried. It was in between Mexico and the center...right behind the tree. We always feel like we have to watch from the other side, say around France, Japan or Italy to get a good viewing. This is absolutely not the case. The location was perfect. We thought we only had a 30 minute wait, but Illuminations didn't start until 9:30. Which was okay, because we got a great spot. It was wonderful as usual and there is a surprise Holiday portion at the end, set to Joy to the World. I was so excited when it was over that I started clapping and jumping up and down. Illuminations truly has the Disney magic. Knowing it was our last night, we walked a little slower back to the Swan. My husband was feeling kind of sick from the awful dinner, kept burping it back up. YUK! I told him the only cure was to stop at Seashore Sweets and get a chocolate treat to drown the taste. He agreed, and so we did.
We took our treats back to the Swan and laid our heads down for our last night on the heavenly bed. I arranged for a 6:45 non-Mickey wake-up call as we wanted to get started early and miss the work traffic in Charlotte, NC, which is about 1 hour from our home. It turned out we didn't need the wake-up call. Around 6:15 we awoke to the sound of a crowd outside talking and bustling about. They were in between the Swan and Dolphin. It looked like some type of walk-a-thon. We wished we could join them, and then enjoy another breakfast at Fresh, but that wasn't possible. I had to be back at work the next day. So, we gathered our stuff and took that sad elevator ride down to the lobby, all the while saying "we'll be back before you know it" to each other.
The ride home was uneventful, thank goodness. There was heavy traffic in the a.m. through Orlando but it never stopped completely. Highlights of this trip included the beautiful decorations throughout the resorts, Illuminations, Kimonos, and Holidays Around the World at Epcot. Oh, and walking right on the attractions that first morning at the Magic Kingdom. It was a great start to our Christmas season.
PamNC
