Some people ARE worth melting for ….. 40 Disney days – the trip of a lifetime updated October 10

[franandaj]

Both your drinks looked good and it sounds like you got just the right amount of food.

Sounds like a nice leisurely afternoon with a few rides, sorry you baked in the sun, but it sounds like you got back to the room just in time!

 

[dizneeat]

I have never had a Bloody Mary but the one Tom got looked great! Your drink looked good as well!

I am not a huge fan of Bloody Marys, but Tom really liked his. I was VERY happy with mine, though - so happy that I had another one another day.

That is awesome you get to stay at the Grand Floridian!!!!

It was such a steal we had to book it. We have stayed at the VGF shortly after they opened and loved it, so we are now excited to find out how the hotel compares to the VGF.

Glad to hear you got your annual passes straightened out.

I had tried to book online, but it would not let me (guess because we still hold active APs) and I really don't like calling in - long distance calls with being on hold for a while AND in a foreign language - not what I fancy very much. But at least it worked out in the end - so it was worth it.

Wow, you already have your 2017 and 2018 vacations figured out. I love reading your trip reports so that assures me they'll me more.

2017 is all booked and just needs the "fine tuning", 2018, well that is still open, but at least we have an AP that covers my school holidays and there will not be extra cost for tickets. 2017 is a short vacation (just 3 weeks) because the cat hotel is closed during the height of the summer - if she sticks with those vacations we will have to look for something else for our fur princess because three weeks just isn't enough if you think about the cost of the flight in high season.
AND - I always need some vacation to plan and think and dream about. It will be VERY hard to top last years, but at least 2017 will hold some new experiences - so yes, there will be another TR.

They will start to release information between May and August, usually on the Disney food blog. At first it is just a few announcements about "what's new!" or "what's returning!". I'd have to go back and look at my TR to see when I posted about finding them out. Generally by 1st of August they're released and then about a week or so later they have a call in to sign up. It's crazy. Events sell out in 20 minutes. Think first day of DCL booking crazy!

Thanks for the insight - I googled F&W events on Disney Food blog and came across a lot of information. There were a few things that sounded interesting and it will be fun to phone in, if it is like DCL on release day.

As far as others, I have done the tequila pairing, (although I would only recommend that if you like to sip tequila), we did a Mediterranean lunch this trip, and I've also done the sake pairing in Japan. Italy has beer and wine lunches, but I've never done those. Trader Sams had an event, but it was not while we were there. There are also events like Party for the Senses, dessert parties, burger bashes and all kinds of stuff including American Celebrity chefs. I'll try and post a link to last year's listing so you get an idea. Every year is similar with only a fee tweaks and changes.

Thanks! I found overviews of 2015 and 2016 and they sound similar. It will be interesting to see what they will offer for 2017. Now that I know where and when to look I have something to look forward to.

Both your drinks looked good and it sounds like you got just the right amount of food.

It was just perfect - the drinks were very nice and the food was just perfect with it.

Sounds like a nice leisurely afternoon with a few rides, sorry you baked in the sun, but it sounds like you got back to the room just in time!

We got back just in time to chill out and recharge our batteries for the rest of the day.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 8, August 10

High Score!! - Part 3

Time went by fast and soon it was time to get ready to head out again.
We had booked dinner at The Wave and after we had ridden Tower of Terror I had booked one more FastPass for Peter Pan for that night, so around 6pm we headed down to our car and off we went over to the Magic Kingdom. It is quite the drive from Kidani and we arrived at the restaurant shortly before our 6.45 reservation. We signed in and were told to take a seat, but within 5 minutes we were called and a host took us to our table. The server was quick to come by and make recommendations before leaving us to get our drinks. When she returned with our Diet Cokes we had made our minds up and were able to place our order. Very soon after doing so we were served a tray with three slices of

multi grain bread and some

butter with Hawaiian sea salt. We both took a piece each, broke off a piece and spread it with butter and it was really nice. Being occupied with nibbling on the bread, time just went by quickly and our main courses were brought out. Tom had decided to try the

Grilled Pork Chop, served with bacon-braised rainbow chard, seasonal fruit compote, and herb spaetzle, while I was craving something I had had before, the

Seared Potato Gnocchi, with Porcini mushrooms, peas, blistered tomato, chardonnay-herb butter, and pecorino romano. They were just as delicious as I had remembered them and Tom really enjoyed his pork chop as well. We were far too full for dessert, so after finishing our main courses, we asked for the bill, handed the server our gift card, signed the bill and off we went. Didn’t take long and we had made it to the security check and soon we found ourselves scanning our magicbands and heading into the Magic Kingdom.

When we walked under the train station we could hear the train coming in and decided to hurry and try to get on it to ride it to Toontown. We were so happy to see that the train was still sitting there once we had made it up the stairs and inside and we were happily invited to get on board. Once we were sitting in our row and waiting for the train to leave we heard the announcement that the train was supposed to sit there until the Electrical Parade floats had crossed the tracks. Okay, why not.

We sat there for some time watching the Monorail glide in and out of the station,watching people streaming into the park and finally the tracks were clear and we were allowed to move. It was fun to ride the train at night and we got off at Fantasyland, strolled through the Judge’s tent, then walked past Ariel’s ride and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and made it to Peter Pan right in time for our FastPass to start. While we were in line I tried to make a new one and low and behold there was one that started in just 45 minutes. We soon were seated in our little ships and off we went to fly over London and on to Neverland.

When we got off we went straight across to It’s a Small World, which had very little wait

and soon we were on another type of boat and sailed on the Happiest Cruise on Earth.

This time we caught the goodbye greetings at the end

and with that off we went to the exit. By then it had begun to pour down again and everyone was stopping inside It’s a Small World to wait it out.

Once it had left off a bit we headed over to the Jungle Cruise

which we would not have needed a FastPass for, as both the FastPass and stand-by lines were pretty short. And another boat we boarded and off we went to cruise through the jungle and explore the back-side of water. While we were on the Jungle Cruise the fireworks had gone off and once we exited I tried if it was possible to find another FastPass for a ride that we would like to go on. I opened the app and there were several FastPasses to be grabbed and the one that fitted us best, was one for Buzz Lightyear’s Spaceranger Spin.
We still had a bit of time to kill until that FastPass was to open up, so we went over to Tomorrowland and got on our favourite ride, the PeopleMover. And while on that ride we decided that we were far too tired to stay for Extra Magic Hours which would start an hour later, but instead we would just go back to Kidani. Once we got off the PeopleMover we made a restroom stop, strolled through Mickey’s Startraders and then headed over to Buzz Lightyear. The stand-by line was still pretty long, but with FastPass we went through it quickly

and soon found ourselves in one of the little ride vehicles. Now, when we had been on the ride last with Michelle, she had given us pointers on where to aim to get more points and this time we really wanted to better our scores. Tom started out pretty well, but my aim with those guns is close to non-existent and I was quickly loosing hope that I would get a better score and then it happened. We got to the scene that Michelle had told us to aim at a special point and we both started shooting. And then the ride stopped. Tom already had hit his target and his number showed 999999. And with the ride being stopped I was able to focus as well and within seconds my score had gotten to 999999 as well.

Yippie.

I am pretty sure this will be the only time I will be able to hit that number, but it for sure felt mighty good to do so. We got off the ride with big grins on our faces and even though we were on a high we stuck with our decision to head out of the park. It was a leisurely stroll to the exit and then we were on the way to our car. Once we had made it there we got on our way and about half an hour later we arrived at Kidani. It was already 1am when we made it to our room and we were happy to be home by then and fell into bed.

To be continued ....


Don't forget to open the Christmas Calendars!​

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Here are the links:​

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Food Calendar ​

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Hat Calendar ​

 

[Ladyfish77]

Late to the party, but I'm really enjoying your trip report! So far it looks like you did really well with avoiding the rain showers! Having so many disney days sure makes it nice for taking a relaxing approach to your vacation. I always wish we had more time so we could slow down and enjoy everything more!

 

[dizneeat]

Late to the party, but I'm really enjoying your trip report! So far it looks like you did really well with avoiding the rain showers! Having so many disney days sure makes it nice for taking a relaxing approach to your vacation. I always wish we had more time so we could slow down and enjoy everything more!

Not late at all, we still have over a month to go on this vacation ..........

It really is a blessing not to have to rush and being able to stop and smell the roses. But it did get quite busy lateron in the trip.

 

[linetbo]

FOLLOWING!!! So happy to read another trip report from you and Tom

 

[momof3princes]

Love the Wave, so many good choices there you really can't go wrong! We love the train too, always our first MK ride!!

 

[Teri1]

Finally had time to get caught up on your report. Sure hope we get to see you during our Summer vacation in 2017. You get back from your cruise on the first and we leave on ours on the 2nd and return on the 9th. Are you leaving on the 9th? The pictures of Animal Kingdom were beautiful. All the food pictures are a treat!

 

[jenseib]

Karin I am so happy you have been busy because I have too and I only had 2 pages to catch up on. hahaha. Your trip just looks amazing.
Can you share the points to hit on Buzz...if you remember. Every so often I hit something that rakes my score up but I never know what it is. LOL. Have a wonderful Christmas if I don't make it back before then!

 

[Pinkocto]

How exciting about staying at the Grand at the beginning of the trip

How odd the CM was having a hard time understanding you don't want to waste months of not using an AP... if you're not going to be there there's no point in renewing a pass. Excellent it will cover both 2017 and 2018.

Can you remind me of your summer vacation dates, I don't want to miss you guys. Hopefully I can fly mom down also and then we can start our vacation after that.

 

[Pinkocto]

Your lunch at the Brown Derby looks mighty tasty. I've wanted to go there for a while now. Nothing better than taking in the rides and just enjoying the day at a nice and leisurely pace.

 

[Pinkocto]

What a lovely evening. Dinner looks pretty good, mom would lovely that gnocchi. Peter Pan is one of my very favorites. Sounds like you had good luck with the FPs that night. How cool about the high scores on Buzz!

 

[Pinkocto]

Please tell Thomas the calendars are fabulous! So many hats I've never seen. And all the yummy food, I am so hungry and several more hours of work to go.

 

[MissPrice]

Really enjoying the report so far. Can't wait to hear about Disneyland and the cruise! -Amanda

 

[Imagineer5]

Hi! I just read through your whole report. Loving it!! What an amazing adventure you had, I can't wait to continue reading about it. Your 2017 plans sound wonderful as well, we had a really great time at DLP last September, although we did do a lot of dining and really enjoyed the restaurants. I am really excited to hear about the Panama Canal cruise!

 

[dizneeat]

Merry Christmas to all our friends here on the DISboards!

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[Pinkocto]

Merry Christmas!!!

 

[franandaj]

Merry Christmas Karin and Tom!

 

[dizneeat]

FOLLOWING!!! So happy to read another trip report from you and Tom

Great to have you here, Linet! This one is going to be a long one too!

Love the Wave, so many good choices there you really can't go wrong!

We love it too! And they offer something different to most of the other restaurants as well. Never had a bad meal there either.

We love the train too, always our first MK ride!!

Tom and I love to ride the train. Unfortunately being at WDW at the height of the summer, the line for the train is always loooooooooong, so getting on without a wait was a real treat!

Sure hope we get to see you during our Summer vacation in 2017. You get back from your cruise on the first and we leave on ours on the 2nd and return on the 9th.

Sure hope to see you too! Will you have time to meet up with us on the first? We should be at WDW at around midday.

Are you leaving on the 9th?

Yes, unfortunately we will have to leave on the 9th.

Karin I am so happy you have been busy because I have too and I only had 2 pages to catch up on. hahaha.

Thank you, Jen! It was my pleasure to be busy and not to update too much. Well, it was not fun for a while, and then last week I came down with the flu. I thought I might be able to update a bit, but I was far too tired to do ANYthing. Thank god, I feel better now.

Your trip just looks amazing.

Thank you!

 

[dizneeat]

How exciting about staying at the Grand at the beginning of the trip

The deal was too good to pass up! And we have only stayed at the VGF, so it will be interesting to stay at the resort.

How odd the CM was having a hard time understanding you don't want to waste months of not using an AP... if you're not going to be there there's no point in renewing a pass. Excellent it will cover both 2017 and 2018.

I was really worried she would just end up selling us a renewal, which would not help us at all. So after a lot of back and forth she finally figured out what I wanted and now we are happy with one that is good for 13 months.

Can you remind me of your summer vacation dates, I don't want to miss you guys. Hopefully I can fly mom down also and then we can start our vacation after that.

We'll arrive late on August 22nd (and spend the night offsite), then from August 23rd to 28th we'll stay at the Grand. We'll then cruise on the Dream from the 28th to September 1st. Not sure yet where we will stay after the cruise (DVC), but we will stay until the 9th, when we have to return home.
I really really hope that we get to see you during this time and if Jeanette could join us as well .... oh my!!!!!!!

Your lunch at the Brown Derby looks mighty tasty. I've wanted to go there for a while now.

I had seen a few reviews of the BDLounge and the drinks and food looked really yummy, so when we got the chance we tried and it definitely lived up to our expectations. So much that we repeated the experience a few days later.

Nothing better than taking in the rides and just enjoying the day at a nice and leisurely pace.

We loved how we could just fit in a few of our favourite rides with FP+ and then just tried to find out what was still available. And it gave us time to leisurely explore too.

Please tell Thomas the calendars are fabulous! So many hats I've never seen. And all the yummy food, I am so hungry and several more hours of work to go.

He was really happy to hear that. It is always fun to hunt for new hats, but this year was easier with a lot of hats we had not seen before at DL. And yes, we DID eat a lot, too.