Solo extravaganza with focus on dining

[OfCourseTheresAlwaysMyWay]

In the middle of a solo trip now where I am focused on dining and the little things in the parks that are easy to miss with a large group. I did all four parks and BOG in 2013, but otherwise all the table service is new to me.

A few thoughts so far:

THE GOOD

It’s super easy to get FastPasses now that you can do it on your phone. I was at Magic Kingdom today and it was insanely crowded and I still managed to get a dozen of them. In the 5 minutes between scanning your MagicBand at the front and getting on the ride you can book your next attraction. Amazing.

I was worried with all the construction that it would be tough to get around with my rental car. The construction IS everywhere, but I haven’t encountered any difficulties.

California Grill dinner lives up to the hype for me. I look forward to trying their brunch next time. Best meal I’ve had in a very long time.

THE BAD

Epcot Wine and Food Festival. I’ll admit I was skeptical. I’m from NYC so my options are much broader foodwise than they are for most people. I tried a handful of highly recommended items and wasn’t impressed by any of them. What’s more, I HATED the crowds. Insufferable. I was at Epcot yesterday and it just had this obnoxious, drunk, heterosexual energy. It didn’t feel like Disney. It felt like one of those giant Irish bars in midtown Manhattan from which there is no escape.

Ohana. It was truly God awful. I was seated quickly and the reservation desk woman and the woman who took me to my seat couldn’t have been nicer, but my server was terrible. I was alone and I kept saying “I only want one or two pieces” and she’d pile on seven or eight. She put my steak down so quickly that it splashed all over me and she didn’t apologize. She served my chicken directly into a large pile of shrimp shells. I thought everything was way overcooked and just tasted like char. Noodles were gummy, potstickers basic, and veggies tasteless. The bread pudding was...OK, I guess. Majorly disappointed given how much Ohana was talked up.

THE FUNNY

Walking off the monorail tonight I screamed like a woman (I’m a man, for the record) because something jumped across my foot. It was dark and I was wearing sandals and I’m a New Yorker so instinctually my mind went straight to “It’s a rat.” Thankfully I’m in Florida and it was a frog, but my scream still attracted two security guards to run over.

MORE TO COME...

 

[Nhebron]

Following along. I am doing a food focused solo trip in a couple of weeks. Sad to read that food and wine was disappointing. I am planning to go during the week, so hopefully crowds won't be as bad.

 

[OfCourseTheresAlwaysMyWay]

Today was Hollywood Studios. I was trying to stay positive but it really is a shadow of its former self and if you’ve been any time in the past few years I think it’s more than skippable until all the new stuff comes in.

You just can’t run a theme park with only four major rides. All four were very crowded all day.

Some quick thoughts:

It took me over an hour to get from my hotel room at Pop Century to being through the gate at Hollywood Studios. Magic Kingdom took less time. This is problematic because they are basically next to each other. Driving there was a logistical NIGHTMARE and I hope they get things figured out by next summer.

There were people answering questions by the Toy Story Land and Star Wars Land models in the Walt Disney Presents exhibit. They were very funny and very informative. Ask them a question!

I encountered nothing but awesome cast members all day at every point of my time in the park. Really makes a difference.

I ate at Hollywood Brown Derby and again was super disappointed by another highly anticipated restaurant. The ambiance was incredible but all three courses took extraordinarily long and I noticed that several of the parties around me who were larger and were seated after me got served first. The “cioppino,” which I’ve put in quotes because it was not actually a cioppino, had severely overcooked seafood. The grouper was hard, the lobster was blasted beyond recognition, and the mussel had seen better days. That’s right. Mussel. Not mussels. I would’ve sent it back had I not waited so long for it to begin with.

Two grown women in their 30s were so obnoxious during the Frozen singalong that the 20 or so people around them all moved. Like one of us got up and then saw that one person do it and we all moved in a herd. They knew the ENTIRE show and were doing it out loud in their seats. Down to the hand gestures accompanying every line of dialogue. And they hooted at Kristoff like drunken suburban moms at a Chippendales show. I was embarrassed for them.

MORE TO COME...