Social Disney-ing...a Feb/March 2021 Chunky Birthday trip! COMPLETED 8/28!!
- Thread starter chunkymonkey
- Start date
lovegrumpy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2007
Loved seeing the pictures on Instagram. Looks
Like you guys had a blast.
Like you guys had a blast.
MaleficentMe
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2021
I'm very new to this blog (been on MousePlanet for a few years) and I'm just amazed by these trip reports and the camaraderie DIS folks have! Warms my heart - and looking forward to catching up on all the trip reports! chunkymonkey, you have awesome friends and family! I'm a bit verklempt reading your TR! Happy belated Bday to you and your sister!
chunkymonkey
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 27, 2009
Whew it's been a crazy week since I got back. I think I am almost recovered from my sister's birthday trip but still could use another day where I can just sleep, LOL. I will start that TR at some point soon! For now, here's the next chapter of my own birthday trip!
Part 7: Smyze we got on Rise!
OK everyone I'm going to reveal some of the special pixie dust that we have been receiving on our recent trips, and normally you cannot do this even with a park hopper nowadays. On certain days of our trips we get some special privileges that allow us to park hop at any time, not just after 2pm. Because of this, even if we don't have a park pass for DHS, we can still get a RoTR boarding group at 7am. We are VERY lucky, I know!
Thanks to our amazing friend, this is exactly what we got to do that Monday! We originally had park passes for AK but we were able to secure a RoTR boarding group that morning! I think it was like #68 or something. So that gave us enough time to do some rides and have lunch at AK and then park hop over to DHS. We were READY!!
We began that morning with my favorite Almond Cold Brew from Le Petite Cafe!
Once we got into AK, we met up with our friend Chunkydust and headed straight for the Safari! We were hoping to get the same safari driver that we had one day during our November trip, his name is Lowell and he was seriously the best driver we've ever had! So fun, so informative, and since we sat in the front we had some fun conversations. Unfortunately there is no way to really guarantee a ride with a specific driver (unless someone knows something different?!?) so we will just keep riding until we get Lowell again, LOL. Not that that's a bad thing as we love the Safari!
OK so we didn't get Lowell, but we got some fun animal pictures!
After our Lowell-less but still great safari, we headed into Pandora and onto FoP!
Such a good ride, I think we did it twice!
After Pandora we were getting a little rumbly and we wanted to grab lunch at Yack n Yeti. I couldn't get an ADR but Steve has a Landry's card so we thought we should head there early (think it was a little after 11am) in order to secure a table with better luck. Sure enough we were able to get our names down and the wait was about 10 minutes. They took Steve's number and we headed to the Jungle Trek.
The tigers were out! This one was in this position for the longest time! Looks likes he's...airing out his junk?
For the record, I don't know if it was a make or female.
Love this area of AK as the little details in often overlooked corners makes it seem like you're in a foreign country.
After oogling at the tigers a bit we got the call that our table was ready! Yay! We headed back to Yak n Yeti where we were quickly seated.
So it's been a long time since we've been here, and we have never tried the Ahi Tuna Nachos, yes I know, how could I not as I love ahi so much?!? Guess I just didn't know about them before but since being on the DISboards it has been on my must-do list for a while.
We started with some cocktails:
On the left you have Steve's Yak Attack: Mango Daiquiri, Don Q Cristal Rum and Wildberry Flavors and on the right is my drink, Pink Himalayan: Tanqueray Gin, Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice, Passion Fruit and Lemon Grass Flavors, Salt Rim. I looooved my drink so much! It's one of those drinks that is nice and light and fruity initially and just hits you towards the end, LOL.
And here, the mighty ahi tuna nachos!!
Ahi Tuna Nachos: Sushi grade Ahi tuna, Asian slaw, crispy fried wontons, wasabi aioli, sweet soy glaze
They did live up to all the hype! They were so good! I love the large fried wonton skins and all the sauces they used. Between the three of us we made good work of it. I think if it were just me and Steve we would share that and maybe a few sides and call it our meal. Maybe we could even have room for dessert!
Our main courses:
I got the special that day which was shrimp and hibachi steak. It was very good, with nice deep fried shrimp, and a decent steak in a sweet teriyaki glaze. I don't normally like sweet glazes on my steak but I ate a good chunk of it and thought it was pretty good for a "surf n turf" platter. The shrimp were nice and crunchy and I like that! Steve got the Chicken Tikka Masala on the right and he thought it was pretty good. I do not have a picture of Chunkydust's entrée which was a burger. But she did say it was very good! It was a lot of food though, combined with the ahi nachos and we didn't even get dessert yet we were definitely rolling out of Yak n Yeti!
We had just gotten notification that our boarding group was called so we briskly made our way to DHS, thank goodness Chunkydust was driving as it would have probably taken us a while to get to DHS with the slow buses nowadays!
Parked at DHS, we made our way in, though security (which has become a breeze now! Although if you are like Chunkysis, you get stopped every time LOL), and headed to RoTR just making it before our group had expired!
Time to save the day Rey!
What an awesome ride and how lucky that we got to ride it today!!
Since we were in Galaxy's Edge we might as well try our hand at piloting again.
And a turn on Slinky Dog:
Combined with some other of our favorite rides:
Pretty sure I won the above in TSMM. I think I only take pictures when I win, LOL. Still a very close win!!
And got stuck in some traffic:
Wow we managed to do all the good rides at DHS! The night was still young so we said goodbye to Chunkydust as she made her way home but we headed to Magic Kingdom! Think we waited a bit for the buses but we had a late dinner at GF Cafe so we had some time to kill in the park.
Hello Castle!
@mollydolly34 and @paradesintherain were already in MK so we headed to Fantasyland to meet up. I used the rest of my birthday starbucks card to pay it forward and bought them some Starbucks, although Kara decided to venmo me without me knowing, LOL.
Here we are on Pooh doing our best smyze although Molly still needs to work on hers she says.
We also did Mine Train!
And since it was so pretty out we got Steve to take some pictures of us.
I love this one as Kara looks like she's cracking up really hard!
And she looks the same way on Pirates, too cute!
It was almost park closing so we headed out as we had to get to the Grand Floridian for dinner.
Mass exodus at park closing:
I figured we could walk over to GF but the walkway was closed because of maintenance issues! Seriously, every time we try and get to GF from MK the walkway is closed. Argh. So our options were monorail or boat. The monorail had a huge line so we opted for the boat. There wasn't much of a line but the boat was so damn slow! And it only fit like 8 people due to distancing so it was a while minutes before we even got on a boat. I was so tired then, and I probably should have tried to cancel the reservation and just head back to the resort but it was already past our reservation time and we had waited so long already.
Only redeeming thing about waiting so long for the boat is witnessing the return of the Electric Water Parade:
OK finally after 30 minutes we get a seat on a boat, and another like 10 minutes or so to get loaded and across the lagoon to GF. It should not take this long to get to the GF!!
When we finally sat down I was like, just give me food and let me sleep! I was more tired than hungry!
Rolls to save the day:
For my meal I got the Buttermilk-fried Chicken: Hand-breaded Chicken Breast with 'Loaded' Smashed Potatoes and Warmed Bacon Vinaigrette. I usually get the breakfast version which is the Chicken n Waffles but wanted to try the dinner version. It was very good but I kinda missed the waffle and spicy honey. I'm glad I tried the dinner version but I know that you can order the waffle at dinner too if I'm not mistaken.
Steve got the Lobster 'Thermidor' Burger: Artisanal 7-oz Burger Patty and Lobster-Parmesan Thermidor Sauce on a Seared Brioche Bun served with Cafe Signature Seasoned French Fries. The fries are so good here! Steve enjoyed his burger too.
Overall, the food was good but we were just tired and would have enjoyed it even more had it not taken us forever to get there!
We Uber'ed back to the Riviera as there was no way we would be heading back to MK after that lengthy wait.
Thank goodness our next day was a rest day! We're headed to Disney Springs!
Do we get Gideon's? Stay tuned.
Part 7: Smyze we got on Rise!
OK everyone I'm going to reveal some of the special pixie dust that we have been receiving on our recent trips, and normally you cannot do this even with a park hopper nowadays. On certain days of our trips we get some special privileges that allow us to park hop at any time, not just after 2pm. Because of this, even if we don't have a park pass for DHS, we can still get a RoTR boarding group at 7am. We are VERY lucky, I know!
Thanks to our amazing friend, this is exactly what we got to do that Monday! We originally had park passes for AK but we were able to secure a RoTR boarding group that morning! I think it was like #68 or something. So that gave us enough time to do some rides and have lunch at AK and then park hop over to DHS. We were READY!!
We began that morning with my favorite Almond Cold Brew from Le Petite Cafe!
Once we got into AK, we met up with our friend Chunkydust and headed straight for the Safari! We were hoping to get the same safari driver that we had one day during our November trip, his name is Lowell and he was seriously the best driver we've ever had! So fun, so informative, and since we sat in the front we had some fun conversations. Unfortunately there is no way to really guarantee a ride with a specific driver (unless someone knows something different?!?) so we will just keep riding until we get Lowell again, LOL. Not that that's a bad thing as we love the Safari!
OK so we didn't get Lowell, but we got some fun animal pictures!
After our Lowell-less but still great safari, we headed into Pandora and onto FoP!
Such a good ride, I think we did it twice!
After Pandora we were getting a little rumbly and we wanted to grab lunch at Yack n Yeti. I couldn't get an ADR but Steve has a Landry's card so we thought we should head there early (think it was a little after 11am) in order to secure a table with better luck. Sure enough we were able to get our names down and the wait was about 10 minutes. They took Steve's number and we headed to the Jungle Trek.
The tigers were out! This one was in this position for the longest time! Looks likes he's...airing out his junk?
For the record, I don't know if it was a make or female.
Love this area of AK as the little details in often overlooked corners makes it seem like you're in a foreign country.
After oogling at the tigers a bit we got the call that our table was ready! Yay! We headed back to Yak n Yeti where we were quickly seated.
So it's been a long time since we've been here, and we have never tried the Ahi Tuna Nachos, yes I know, how could I not as I love ahi so much?!? Guess I just didn't know about them before but since being on the DISboards it has been on my must-do list for a while.
We started with some cocktails:
On the left you have Steve's Yak Attack: Mango Daiquiri, Don Q Cristal Rum and Wildberry Flavors and on the right is my drink, Pink Himalayan: Tanqueray Gin, Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice, Passion Fruit and Lemon Grass Flavors, Salt Rim. I looooved my drink so much! It's one of those drinks that is nice and light and fruity initially and just hits you towards the end, LOL.
And here, the mighty ahi tuna nachos!!
Ahi Tuna Nachos: Sushi grade Ahi tuna, Asian slaw, crispy fried wontons, wasabi aioli, sweet soy glaze
They did live up to all the hype! They were so good! I love the large fried wonton skins and all the sauces they used. Between the three of us we made good work of it. I think if it were just me and Steve we would share that and maybe a few sides and call it our meal. Maybe we could even have room for dessert!
Our main courses:
I got the special that day which was shrimp and hibachi steak. It was very good, with nice deep fried shrimp, and a decent steak in a sweet teriyaki glaze. I don't normally like sweet glazes on my steak but I ate a good chunk of it and thought it was pretty good for a "surf n turf" platter. The shrimp were nice and crunchy and I like that! Steve got the Chicken Tikka Masala on the right and he thought it was pretty good. I do not have a picture of Chunkydust's entrée which was a burger. But she did say it was very good! It was a lot of food though, combined with the ahi nachos and we didn't even get dessert yet we were definitely rolling out of Yak n Yeti!
We had just gotten notification that our boarding group was called so we briskly made our way to DHS, thank goodness Chunkydust was driving as it would have probably taken us a while to get to DHS with the slow buses nowadays!
Parked at DHS, we made our way in, though security (which has become a breeze now! Although if you are like Chunkysis, you get stopped every time LOL), and headed to RoTR just making it before our group had expired!
Time to save the day Rey!
What an awesome ride and how lucky that we got to ride it today!!
Since we were in Galaxy's Edge we might as well try our hand at piloting again.
And a turn on Slinky Dog:
Combined with some other of our favorite rides:
Pretty sure I won the above in TSMM. I think I only take pictures when I win, LOL. Still a very close win!!
And got stuck in some traffic:
Wow we managed to do all the good rides at DHS! The night was still young so we said goodbye to Chunkydust as she made her way home but we headed to Magic Kingdom! Think we waited a bit for the buses but we had a late dinner at GF Cafe so we had some time to kill in the park.
Hello Castle!
@mollydolly34 and @paradesintherain were already in MK so we headed to Fantasyland to meet up. I used the rest of my birthday starbucks card to pay it forward and bought them some Starbucks, although Kara decided to venmo me without me knowing, LOL.
Here we are on Pooh doing our best smyze although Molly still needs to work on hers she says.
We also did Mine Train!
And since it was so pretty out we got Steve to take some pictures of us.
I love this one as Kara looks like she's cracking up really hard!
And she looks the same way on Pirates, too cute!
It was almost park closing so we headed out as we had to get to the Grand Floridian for dinner.
Mass exodus at park closing:
I figured we could walk over to GF but the walkway was closed because of maintenance issues! Seriously, every time we try and get to GF from MK the walkway is closed. Argh. So our options were monorail or boat. The monorail had a huge line so we opted for the boat. There wasn't much of a line but the boat was so damn slow! And it only fit like 8 people due to distancing so it was a while minutes before we even got on a boat. I was so tired then, and I probably should have tried to cancel the reservation and just head back to the resort but it was already past our reservation time and we had waited so long already.
Only redeeming thing about waiting so long for the boat is witnessing the return of the Electric Water Parade:
OK finally after 30 minutes we get a seat on a boat, and another like 10 minutes or so to get loaded and across the lagoon to GF. It should not take this long to get to the GF!!
When we finally sat down I was like, just give me food and let me sleep! I was more tired than hungry!
Rolls to save the day:
For my meal I got the Buttermilk-fried Chicken: Hand-breaded Chicken Breast with 'Loaded' Smashed Potatoes and Warmed Bacon Vinaigrette. I usually get the breakfast version which is the Chicken n Waffles but wanted to try the dinner version. It was very good but I kinda missed the waffle and spicy honey. I'm glad I tried the dinner version but I know that you can order the waffle at dinner too if I'm not mistaken.
Steve got the Lobster 'Thermidor' Burger: Artisanal 7-oz Burger Patty and Lobster-Parmesan Thermidor Sauce on a Seared Brioche Bun served with Cafe Signature Seasoned French Fries. The fries are so good here! Steve enjoyed his burger too.
Overall, the food was good but we were just tired and would have enjoyed it even more had it not taken us forever to get there!
We Uber'ed back to the Riviera as there was no way we would be heading back to MK after that lengthy wait.
Thank goodness our next day was a rest day! We're headed to Disney Springs!
Do we get Gideon's? Stay tuned.
vamassey1
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2005
I'm tired after reading about your day, I can't imagine actually living it. But it did sound so fun. Just got my Landry card in the mail. I'm hoping it helps get us a table at Yak n Yeti next week. Happy your food was good and you stuck it out at the end of the night.
StarWarsMomofGirls!
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2015
Lowell-less sounds so sad...
Oh Dear! Doesn't that tiger know that this is a family establishment!The tigers were out! This one was in this position for the longest time! Looks likes he's...airing out his junk?
I need to go here JUST for this! It looks amazing!And here, the mighty ahi tuna nachos!!
Ahi Tuna Nachos: Sushi grade Ahi tuna, Asian slaw, crispy fried wontons, wasabi aioli, sweet soy glaze
3 lovely ladies!And since it was so pretty out we got Steve to take some pictures of us.
Might also need to go here just so Andy can have that burger!Steve got the Lobster 'Thermidor' Burger: Artisanal 7-oz Burger Patty and Lobster-Parmesan Thermidor Sauce on a Seared Brioche Bun served with Cafe Signature Seasoned French Fries. The fries are so good here! Steve enjoyed his burger too.
Wood Nymph
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2012
That must have been very disappointing. The boats and monorail take forever to get from MK to GF. The only reason we decided to stay at GF in April was because the walkway would make it easy to go to MK at night.
I like the Yak Attack but your drink looks good, too. Is it as sweet as the Yak Attack? I wouldn't mind having a drink that has less sugar than the Yak Attack has.
chunkymonkey
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 27, 2009
Thanks! I ordered the cake and strawberries from outside vendors but they were nice enough to let us bring them into the Martha's Vineyard Lounge at Beach Club.
Hi Lynn! I'm under AChunkyStory on Instagram!
Hi and welcome to my TR! I'm so jealous of your stay at Riviera. It really is such a beautiful and relaxing resort!
I sooo miss Disney Cruising. I absolutely loved Marvel Day at Sea, it was quite possibly the best cruise I've ever been on. Not that I've been on many but I've been on 5 Disney ones and that one was the best of them all!
Thank you!!
Yes! It's Disney, how can you go wrong?
Thank you so much!!!So happy to hear you and your sister had a great time! I loved seeing your daily IG stories! I look forward to reading the TR
Thanks Susan!It was such fun following along on IG! Glad you two had such a fun birthday trip!
These are the best!
Hi Dugette!!
It's been a while but I think the magic is definitely back!
My sister has been planning this trip for a while and has accumulated a bunch of dresses. Sometimes after trips she sells her dresses and buys new ones so she won't wear the same dress again.
Thanks!! We had such a fun but exhausting time!
And I do love Riviera so much!
Thanks!! they were both great trips! There's no better way to celebrate a birthday than at Disney!
Thank you!! We sure did!
Thanks!! It was a lot of fun!
Yup will probably do a TR at some point soon!
Hi and welcome!! Thank you so much for the birthday wishes! I do have the most amazing family and friends. I am very lucky!!
We are a pretty tight group on the DISboards TR page, LOL. Some have come and go but we still remain friends.
I think the camaraderie here is awesome and that's how our Epic Trip came about in 2019! The most unforgettable trip ever lol!
chunkymonkey
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 27, 2009
Yes it was a really packed day! It would have been fine if we didn't have to wait so long for the ferry, at that point I was over dinner, LOL.
I'm pretty sure the card will get you into Yak n Yeti! Enjoy! I'm so jealous!
It was! We asked again on our most recent trip and he apparently WAS working that day but the CM was a bit short with us and didn't really want to hear our questions. Not so magical!
Haha, he's definitely skirting some rules there!!
It's sooo good! You must!
Aw thanks! It was so great to see them again!
That's a good idea!
I do really enjoy the food there! Yes! I was banking on it being up and running but this is the second time we've gone to GF hoping to use the walkway and having it closed.
It has grapefruit and tequila I think and it does have sweetness but definitely not like the Yak Attack. I like tangy things so the Pink Himalayan drink was good for me.
chunkymonkey
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 27, 2009
Thank you! Yes the mask-free photos were awesome!!! I was so excited to get pictures without the darn mask!! I love seeing people smile plus it allowed you to breath normally for a few seconds!
chunkymonkey
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 27, 2009
Well, hi there! Just found this.
I'll be back to catch up in a bit!
Well 'bout time you joined the conversation pkondz! *checks watch and taps foot*
Glad to have you here hope you and the family are well!
vamassey1
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2005
I ended up calling them directly and getting a reservation. I knew this could be done at TREX but didn't realize you could do it at Yak & Yeti too. I was asked if I had the Landry card and have to give my number. Looking forward to eating there again.
buzzrelly
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2005
Oh my, I got anxious just thinking about how to do the heimlich on a very pregnant woman. Thank god she was ok!
I love afternoons spent at the pool…just pray you don't run into friends having dinner whilst you're in a bathing suit and cover up
It's so pretty, I love it!
OK that's a seashell, not a finger. It was made from chocolate.
I'm not sure what it looks like, but it doesn't look very appetizing!So he gave me one even though I didn't have a milkshake, LOL. It's huge but it's made from plastic so was easy to bring home. It makes a nice little trinket holder!
That's cute!
She not only had one, but two photoshoots during the week:
Of course! Adorable!
That's a great perk!
And since it was so pretty out we got Steve to take some pictures of us.
I love this one as Kara looks like she's cracking up really hard!
So pretty!
What? I didn't know it ever closed?? I've only ever stayed at The CR/BLT and have never run into that
kastoney
Disney foodie served with a side of sarcasm
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2010
Looks like you two had a blast! I did my 40th in Disney (once upon a time) and there is no place better.
Wow! That is a seriously beautiful cake. Did Disney make that?
Very lucky indeed. I had no idea that was something you could even do.
We are FINALLY going back next month but I'd bought our tickets last year when you couldn't park hop. Hoping I can it to our tickets when we get there because I so want to be in every park as much as we can. But we have discounted tickets so not sure we can do it.
That is a total man pose. Our male dog used to do that all the time and especially when we had people over. Just wanted to make sure everyone knew he was a boyThe tigers were out! This one was in this position for the longest time! Looks likes he's...airing out his junk?
For the record, I don't know if it was a make or female.
So glad to hear you loved these. But how in the world had you never had these before???? One of my absolutely favorite things in AK. And we usually do what you suggested. Share these and a few apps and its a win win for all.
They did live up to all the hype! They were so good! I love the large fried wonton skins and all the sauces they used. Between the three of us we made good work of it. I think if it were just me and Steve we would share that and maybe a few sides and call it our meal. Maybe we could even have room for dessert!
pkondz
Brace yourself for immediate disintegration
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2007
Caught up!
Won't multi-quote everything, 'cause... it'd be a lot!
However...
Good enough excuse.
Won't multi-quote everything, 'cause... it'd be a lot!
However...
Okay, so I'm kinda in love with this photo of you.
Awwww!!!!I got to Facetime my family where my nieces and nephew sang Happy Birthday to me!
The tigers were out! This one was in this position for the longest time! Looks likes he's...airing out his junk?
I'm sorry.... considering your earlier comment... what????
Sorry! I was unavoidably detained.
Good enough excuse.
All good... and nervous... but good!
Steppesister
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2013
I hope someday they can go back to speeding it all up again and sharing cabins. The whole point was efficiency.
So did we.
Everything about the buses was unimpressive. The barges are even worse now. And I have taken to calling that round structure as the Epcot Stargate
They are horrific. They almost completely block the panoramic view now of the WS across the lagoon from just about EVERY angle. I hate them.
How fun!!!
Spoiler alert:
I did!
It sure looked like it! Wished we could have crossed paths... maybe next time.
The tigers were out! This one was in this position for the longest time! Looks likes he's...airing out his junk?
For the record, I don't know if it was a make or female.
Buahaahahahahaha!
Always.
NO, it absolutely should not.
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