Snacks, Sips & Spooks in October 2012... and a Mexican Fantasy cruise in June 2013!

[ronnmel]

Yay, you started! How did you like the vacation home? This is something Ron and I have been discussing, should we go with a big group. I think we'd rent our own car though, we wouldn't want to be tied down to someone else's schedule.

 

[disneybarbie]

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[ronnmel]

Thanks for the information. We rarely ever use EMH (we don't park hop in order to save money, so we tend to avoid EMH because it makes the parks more crowded during the rest of the day), so that is not a big issue for us. The families we would be going with (as well as us) are on a budget, which is why we'd consider a vacation home instead of renting points. But obviously, parking and renting a car adds costs, so we'd have to see. Taking up to an hour to get back to the house after the parks close though, that's worse than what it would take us by bus to get back to POP!

 

[disneybarbie]

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[disneybarbie]

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[disneybarbie]

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[disneybarbie]

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[smile4stamps]

Wonderful first day! We will also be doing Tusker House for breakfast! Were you able to go back after you got the Photopass+ card and get your pictures from there added?

 

[monica23535]

I love Animal Kingdom!

Your villa looks lovely, we've stayed in that same neighbourhood before.

Can't wait to hear where you went next

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

This is such a beautiful picture of you!

Great start to your trip!

 

[disneybarbie]

Wonderful first day! We will also be doing Tusker House for breakfast! Were you able to go back after you got the Photopass+ card and get your pictures from there added?

As we'd missed seeing Donald before breakfast, we didn't actually get offered the photo package - but if we had I could have come back to the restaurant later on to pick up our photos (once I had the PP+ card)

I love Animal Kingdom!

Your villa looks lovely, we've stayed in that same neighbourhood before.

Can't wait to hear where you went next

This is such a beautiful picture of you!

Great start to your trip!

Thanks both



I'm really sorry everyone but due to a few reasons I'll have to put this TR on hold for now - also I'm not sure too with the next trip approaching and my revision for my final exam if I'll have time to write it all up! Promise to share our October trip though




Emma x

 

[monica23535]

I'm really sorry everyone but due to a few reasons I'll have to put this TR on hold for now - also I'm not sure too with the next trip approaching and my revision for my final exam if I'll have time to write it all up! Promise to share our October trip though

Emma x

Don't worry Emma, I understand! The most important thing is to concentrate on your revision!!

Maybe after it's all over you could write a mini-review of the trip without any pics? But then again, I'm just nosy and wanted to hear about all the special tours you booked and if your family liked all the surprises you arranged for them lol

 

[ronnmel]

Oh no! I'm sad to hear that. I was already enjoying your TR. At least I'm glad that I got to see the pics of the vacation home before you edited them, to give me a better idea of what it's like. Also had a chance to read your AK update before it got deleted. Thanks for the mention.

 

[Dream426]

Oh no. I had went to read your update the other day and then had to run to do something and when I came home it wasn't there. I thought I was losing my mind. I kept saying now I know there was an update. I went back a few pages and noticed your other updates were taking down so I figured something happened. Hope everything is ok.

 

[disneybarbie]

Don't worry Emma, I understand! The most important thing is to concentrate on your revision!!

Maybe after it's all over you could write a mini-review of the trip without any pics? But then again, I'm just nosy and wanted to hear about all the special tours you booked and if your family liked all the surprises you arranged for them lol

Oh no! I'm sad to hear that. I was already enjoying your TR. At least I'm glad that I got to see the pics of the vacation home before you edited them, to give me a better idea of what it's like. Also had a chance to read your AK update before it got deleted. Thanks for the mention.

Oh no. I had went to read your update the other day and then had to run to do something and when I came home it wasn't there. I thought I was losing my mind. I kept saying now I know there was an update. I went back a few pages and noticed your other updates were taking down so I figured something happened. Hope everything is ok.

Hi all!

Sorry for the sudden stop to the TR - I won't be able to write it up like I normally would, but hope to do a dining review and highlights soon



Less than 5 weeks until our October trip now!! When we first got back from our last trip, I was a little worried the two were booked too close together (not that DH and I could go away any later this year as I have an exam 22nd November!) - but the more we talk about our next vacation I've realised just how different the two will be... really looking forward to being onsite again, and we have a lot of 'extras' to do like MNSSHP, F&W and the Wild Africa Trek!!

DH & I have been looking on the Disney Food Blog at the F&W booth menus this year, there is going to be sooo much we will want to try! We hope to have at least three afternoons in World Showcase

I'm also starting to think about 'must do' attractions in each park that we maybe missed in August, or haven't done for a while.



Hope everyone has a great week!


Emma x

 

[cindianne320]

Oh, no! I'm sorry that I missed the report! I hope everything is ok. Can't wait to hear the highlights at some point, and a full trip report on your next trip!

 

[disneybarbie]

Hi everyone!

I'm going to make a start on dining reviews for our trip last month we ate at some favourite restaurants, as well as some new places too.



Tusker House – Breakfast

We had breakfast here at 8am on our first morning, before the park opened at 9am. As Tusker House is near Kilimanjaro Safaris, we got to walk through a lot of the park when it was almost empty!

There was a short wait to check-in, and Donald Duck was taking a short break (usually you get a photo with him before being seated) – so we decided just to go straight to breakfast. Our server showed us around the buffet first, the left side was more traditional American breakfast items (bacon, eggs, sausage etc), and on the right were some African dishes. There was a lot of fresh fruit, pastries, cereals as well as a limited supply of Krispy Kreme glazed donuts!

We ordered some coffee and also the delicious 'Jungle Juice' – orange, guava & passion fruit. For my first plate, I tried out some of the African food – beef bobote, corned beef hash and a sweet potato casserole... as well two Mickey waffles!

The characters who came around to our table were Mickey, Daisy & Goofy. They were all really fun and played around with us as well as posing for a lot of photos & signing autographs. During the meal, a song starts playing throughout the restaurant called 'Jambo' and the characters form a conga line around the room with children and parents joining in!


I also tried some fruit and pastries – everything was delicious and we all agreed it was a really fun way to start our day at Animal Kingdom.


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[disneybarbie]

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Wishes Dessert Party at the Tomorrowland Terrace

DH & I did this during our honeymoon last year and really enjoyed it (except the part where I nearly fainted ... but luckily this time I was fine!) - so we thought it would be a nice way to watch Wishes with the family.

We got to the Magic Kingdom about 8pm, it was unusual for me to arrive at the TTC rather than get a resort bus to the park entrance! We chose the ferry rather than the monorail this time, I can't remember the last time I got on one of these and there were some lovely views across Seven Seas Lagoon.

Our check-in time was 9pm (fireworks started at 10pm) – and when we arrived there was no queue at all (DH and I had waited 10/15 minutes before), I checked-in and we were all given pink wristbands to wear, in case we left the terrace area and needed to get back in.
We had a great table in the front row.

We all got some desserts – the selection is fantastic and they are all small portions so you can try lots of different things!

There is also coffee, iced tea, water, lemonade & raspberry lemonade.

It was nice to see Main Street Electrical Parade – it's not the best view but they pipe the music onto the terrace so it's easy to follow along with which float is coming by.

I also tried a scoop of icecream with some sprinkles and a cherry!

At 9.40pm an announcement was made that the 'Magic, the Memories and You' would be starting soon – so we stood up along the railings ready to watch the show. I hadn't told the family much about this 'pre-show' and I think they really liked it, it's hard to describe how amazing it is!

Video of the finale... here


Then it was time for Wishes – I absolutely adore this show & it's the family's favourite fireworks show at Disney. It was really good to be on the terrace and have a bit more space compared to being in the hub or on Main Street USA.

After the fireworks the park was closing, so there was a huge surge of people heading towards the exit. First we thought about staying put on the terrace for a while, so the crowds would die down – but then decided just to make a start on exiting. As it turned out, there was no problem at all! Disney is amazing at moving large crowds of people, and from leaving the Magic Kingdom to getting to the car only took twenty minutes! We took the ferry back to the TTC, and saw the end of the Electrical Water Pageant on the lagoon.

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[disneybarbie]

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Sci Fi Dine In Theater – Lunch

This ADR was my suggestion, I know it's a DHS classic and yet I've never eaten there before! I'd checked the menu and it looked like somewhere everyone would enjoy, as well as the fun theme of being at a drive-in movie!

Our ADR was 12.15pm, and we were seated almost immediately – we were given one full car and two of us sat in the last row of the car next to it (we were the 'back seat drivers'!).
Our server here, Janelle, was excellent – she really seemed to love her job and we had a lot of fun chatting with her.

We all shared some onion rings to start, the men had 'special apple juice' (aka Bud Light!) and I had a magic star cocktail...

I had the Reuben sandwich for my meal, not something that I'd usually order but I really enjoyed it!

Others had chicken sandwiches, the picnic burger and double bacon burgers – all agreed it was tasty and large portions.

I think I'd definitely eat here again, DHS isn't my favourite for counter service options so having a sit-down meal at lunch was a nice break in the day – and I loved the theming, we all commented on how quiet the restaurant was as most people were watching the movie clips on the screen!

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[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Hi Emma! I was just doing a quick peak at my subscriptions and thought I'd see if you had a TR for your recent trip. I'm so sorry you won't be able to finish it, although I completely understand! As fun as TRs are, they can certainly be time consuming and it is hard when life gets in the way! I'm loving the food reviews, though! Can't believe how quickly your next trip is approaching!