Team Renfroe trip report with TONS of pics & reviews

[TCKK]

Thanks, TCKK. Of course, I never saw the old version of Spaceship Earth, but the new version includes a video screen at your seat, where you can get a "virtual" idea of the future as you see it. Our kids really enjoyed that.

DW LOVED the green version of Mission Space. She's a big Gary Sinese fan anyway. (She thinks he's hot, in that Texas kind of way!) Anyway, she really enjoyed it, but probably would not have liked the orange version. DS said the green version was basically the same thing except the liftoff was not as "fun." Have you ever ridden Star Tours? If you're okay with that ride, you should be fine with the green version of Mission Space.

I had read about the Beverly drink at Cool Club....so I avoided it altogether. However, I let my DS be the guinea pig! I LOVE watching the classic look on people's faces as they experience the Beverly drink for the first time! What are those Italian's thinking?

I have done Star Tours several times, so maybe I will try the green version of Mission Space. Thanks for the info

I tasted it the last time we were there because for some reason I was thinking the Beverly was the one I liked. That's my DSis's name and I was thinking that was the good one. Boy was I fooled!! That is some nasty stuff.

New pictures and report addition are great. Don't you just love Mexico. I can't wait to eat lunch at the San Angel Cantina. We love the food there.

 

[alan_renfroe]

yippee the pictures are back, and they are fab your report is getting us so excited for our trip.Epcot is one of our favourite parks cant wait to be strolling around the world showcase.

Thanks, jjk. We enjoyed Epcot also, and we knew we would probably need 2 days to see it all. We definitely needed 2 days!

I have been a lurker on your trip report but I had to say that I am enjoying your report so much. Your family is beautiful and your pictures are great. I just had to post to thank you for allowing us to experience your vacation with you and your family.

Hi, disneyfun2007! Glad that you posted! Thanks very much for your kind compliments! It is my pleasure to share our vacation on this thread. Prior to our trip, we really benefitted from reading the trip reports of others, so we wanted to make sure to share our experience also.

Just found your trip report and Love it!!
I really enjoyed the pics from TL, since I didn't get to go last time with Dh & DD4, b/c that day DD6 was sick, so it was great to see the pics....
Can't wait for the next installment.

Welcome, vassar36! We had a great time at Typhoon Lagoon! I would go back there in a heartbeat. Crush 'N Gusher is the best waterpark attraction I've ever experienced.

I have done Star Tours several times, so maybe I will try the green version of Mission Space. Thanks for the info

I tasted it the last time we were there because for some reason I was thinking the Beverly was the one I liked. That's my DSis's name and I was thinking that was the good one. Boy was I fooled!! That is some nasty stuff.

New pictures and report addition are great. Don't you just love Mexico. I can't wait to eat lunch at the San Angel Cantina. We love the food there.

Cool....if you're okay with Star Tours, the green version of Mission Space shouldn't be a problem for you at all.

That's hilarious that you were equating your sis Beverly with the drink! I'm sure if she has tasted the drink, she'd be offended!!

San Angel looked great...and smelled good as we walked by! We didn't get a chance to try it, though. I could spend a month at Epcot eating and drinking my way through each country!!

 

[alan_renfroe]

After making our way through Mexico, Norway, China, and Germany, it was getting close to time for our lunch reservation at Teppan Edo in the Japan Pavilion.

We had reservations for lunch at Teppan Edo at 12:30pm. We arrived right about 12:30pm.

We were seated at about 12:40pm.

Teppan Edo was great! It was exactly what we expected it to be...your basic Japanese teppan-style restaurant. Our server was very sweet and made sure that our drinks were kept filled. Our cook's name was Tom and he was very personable. He was from Hawaii and told us a lot about his grandchildren. We enjoyed his company as he cooked a wonderful meal for us.

The only thing I would have liked better would have been to have fried rice. The noodles were good, but DW & I love fried rice.

Since our reservation was a little late, we didn't bother to stay for dessert. We were all full from the meal, and the dessert menu at Teppan Edo was very limited. This is just not a meal that is conducive to eating a gourmet dessert afterwards. Also, (and you all will have to forgive me for saying this,) that guy in the green shirt sitting at our table was obnoxious!! Geesh...he talked and talked and talked! We were ready to just get away from him!

Overall, we really enjoyed the food and the service at Teppan Edo.

After lunch, we decided to return to our room at Coronado Springs for an afternoon break. On our way back to the front entrance of Epcot, I stopped in the Norway area and picked up a Carlsbad beer. It was just awesome!! We did a little shopping at the Disney Gear store, then we caught the bus back to Coronado Springs.

We had reservations for dinner at Tutto Italia, so we will be back at Epcot later.



Next installment - DS & I decided to go to Blizzard Beach on our own and let the girls get some rest.

 

[TigerKat]

Great installment Alan! DH & I LOVE World Showcase and plan on spending lots of time there on our next trip Food & Wine Fest!! This will be our first adult only trip!!

 

[mama2girls]

You take such great pictures!! You are really helping me sort through all the restaraunts. We are headed back "home" to Pop Century for 10 nights in 14 MONTHS!! I have already started to make my wish list for my ADRs. Thanks for all the info!! This TR is GREAT and your kids are beautiful!!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Another great chapter! Looks like the weather was a bit cloudy but sounds like you guys didn't let it get you down. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Tutto Italia as I have an ADR there in October.

 

[bennythepug]

thanks for the latest installment...your a great storyteller

I couldn't believe you only had 5 min wait on malestrom. I believe that was the longest line i waited in- in all the parks. those deceiving lines that make you think the entrance is "just around the corner". we waited *forever.....but we did like the ride

 

[englishrose47]

Hi Alan great update as usual ! I loved Maelstrom too! Did you ride the Mexican Boat ride? I liked that, kinda like It's a Small World without THAT song!!The cups at Klub Kool are build your own, they cost $8 in Feb and weere neat looking!!

 

[stepdisney]

I sooo enjoy having my morning tea with the Renfroes at Disney World .

Me too!!

 

[PoppyAnna]

Another great installment we love the CS restaurant in "Japan" so do our two children. Never been to Tepan Edo, hope to give it a go someday when I get through all my other choices.....
Can't wait to hear what you boys think of BB my family love water parks, although my two girls are younger than your children they particularly love BB.

 

[Dcanoli]

Hey Dcanoli! I didn't realize that the free version of Photobucket only allows for a certain number of views each month. I had no idea our thread would been seen by so many people!

Are you even kidding me? That is insane and RIDICULOUS!

I never knew that about them! I guess we might all have that problem then one day!

 

[CHEK]

We love the World showcase, it's lovely to have a slow wander around, last year my DD's did the passport's and thoroughly enjoyed it , I knew my DD's learn't basic french at school, but even I was shocked when my eldest DD engaged in a Fench conversation with the lady at the French Kidicot stop . Looking forward to your thoughts on BB

 

[SunnieRN]

I'm so glad Teppan Edo was so good! I love teppan cooking! Your pictures are great! The whole family looks like they were having so much fun!
I love the way you always photograph the menu. What a wonderful idea to remember everything throught the explainations on the menus!
Looking forward to more.

 

[alan_renfroe]

Great installment Alan! DH & I LOVE World Showcase and plan on spending lots of time there on our next trip Food & Wine Fest!! This will be our first adult only trip!!

Thanks, TigerKat! I think the World Showcase definitely has more appeal for adults. I am going to make a revision to the previous post because I forgot to mention that after lunch, on our way back to the main Epcot interest, I stopped by and picked up a Carlsbad in Norway. It was GREAT!

You take such great pictures!! You are really helping me sort through all the restaraunts. We are headed back "home" to Pop Century for 10 nights in 14 MONTHS!! I have already started to make my wish list for my ADRs. Thanks for all the info!! This TR is GREAT and your kids are beautiful!!

Thank you SO much, mama2girls! I hope my restaurant pictures will help you make great decisions for your upcoming ADR wish list!

Another great chapter! Looks like the weather was a bit cloudy but sounds like you guys didn't let it get you down. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Tutto Italia as I have an ADR there in October.

Hi, Christine! The weather was cloudy, but the downpour never came. It was pretty nice, actually! Tutto Italia info will be forthcoming.

thanks for the latest installment...your a great storyteller

I couldn't believe you only had 5 min wait on malestrom. I believe that was the longest line i waited in- in all the parks. those deceiving lines that make you think the entrance is "just around the corner". we waited *forever.....but we did like the ride

Thank you very much, bennthepug! I know what you mean about those "just around the corner" lines! Fortunately, we just cruised right up to the front! I think the weather kept many people away from the World Showcase area on this particular day.

Hi Alan great update as usual ! I loved Maelstrom too! Did you ride the Mexican Boat ride? I liked that, kinda like It's a Small World without THAT song!!The cups at Klub Kool are build your own, they cost $8 in Feb and weere neat looking!!

Hi englishrose47! We didn't get to ride the Mexican Boat ride. As we were going through the Mexico area it started sprinkling, so we sort of passed it rather quickly. We found shelter in Norway, and the sprinkling soon stopped. Oh well....another thing to put on my "gotta do next time" list!

Oh, I would have LOVED to have one of those cups. I love Coca-Cola ad art anyway - those cups would have been right up my alley!

Me too!!

LOL!!! Thanks, ya'll.

Another great installment we love the CS restaurant in "Japan" so do our two children. Never been to Tepan Edo, hope to give it a go someday when I get through all my other choices.....
Can't wait to hear what you boys think of BB my family love water parks, although my two girls are younger than your children they particularly love BB.

Thanks, Joanne! If I were on the regular dining plan, I think having the CS in Japan would be a good choice for us.

Are you even kidding me? That is insane and RIDICULOUS!

I never knew that about them! I guess we might all have that problem then one day!

It's true, it's true! Oh well....who would've thought that I would have the pictures to be viewed more than 20,000 in one month! I think it resets after each month.

We love the World showcase, it's lovely to have a slow wander around, last year my DD's did the passport's and thoroughly enjoyed it , I knew my DD's learn't basic french at school, but even I was shocked when my eldest DD engaged in a Fench conversation with the lady at the French Kidicot stop . Looking forward to your thoughts on BB

I wanted my kids to do the passport thing, but they didn't seem to be that interested. DW & I decided that our next trip to WDW is going to START with Epcot, and particularly the World Showcase area.

That's awesome that your DD was speaking French with the lady in the France Pavilion! Tres Bien!

I'm so glad Teppan Edo was so good! I love teppan cooking! Your pictures are great! The whole family looks like they were having so much fun!
I love the way you always photograph the menu. What a wonderful idea to remember everything throught the explainations on the menus!
Looking forward to more.

Hi SunnieRN! I've gotta go back and edit the Teppan Edo post to add a little more information. I did not say it in the original post, but I just can't help myself....the people that you see in the picture at Teppan Edo that we sat with were obnoxious!! Geeesh. That guy in the green shirt talked and talked and talked. That's the ONLY downside to the Teppan experience...you never know who you'll be sitting with!

Thanks for your wonderful comments! I'm sure people were looking at me funny for taking photos of the menus. Hey, I'm on vacation! Sue me!

 

[alan_renfroe]

After getting back to Coronado Springs, it was about 2:45pm. Our dinner reservations were for 6:15pm at Tutto Italia, so we wanted to be at the bus stop by 5ish. DS & I decided to go check out Blizzard Beach, since it was so close to our resort. DW & DD stayed in the room to get ready for dinner.

We drove to Blizzard Beach and arrived at about 3pm. I told DS that we could stay until about 4:30pm at the latest, so that only gave us an hour and a half.

Once we were inside the park, we were shocked at how busy it was! It had been sprinkling at different times throughout the day and the skies had been threatening all day. However, the sun was out now and the park was packed.

We found a lounge chair to set up our "home base" and proceeded to the chair lift.

Once we got off the chairlift, we decided to try Teamboat Springs. As we were planning our family trip in the previous months, we were trying to decide between going to Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon. One argument for Blizzard Beach was that we could ALL ride Teamboat Springs together. Anyway, we ended up choosing Typhoon Lagoon because of Crush 'N Gusher. Now DS and I were at Blizzard Beach on our own, so we decided to try Teamboat Springs for ourselves.

Teamboat Springs requires a minimum of 4 riders per raft. DS & I were placed with a group of three. Check out the look on DS's face as he is seated by the portly gentleman to his right!

Also, notice that you can see Tower of Terror and the mouse ears from the water tower at Disney's Hollywood Studios over DS's head.

down we go!

It was a fun ride, but not a very thrilling one. DD & DW would have loved it.

Okay, here's where it gets confusing. DS wanted to ride Slush Gusher, the second largest slide in the park, and taller than Humunga Cowabunga at Typhoon Lagoon. I told him to go ahead and I would meet him at the bottom. So DS goes in one direction and I go in another. Exiting Teamboat Springs is CONFUSING! I walked towards the exit...and walked...and walked. I could've gotten in the lazy river, but the pathway seemed to lead to nowhere. I ended up basically walking around the entire back side of the park. I came out on the other side, and by this time I was hoping I had not missed DS sliding down Slush Gusher.

I headed to the bottom of Slush Gusher. I couldn't find DS, so I stood there hoping I had not missed him. Thoughts run through your mind at that moment..."what if he came down the slide and couldn't find me?" Anyway, I asked one of the guys who had just come down the slide how long his wait was. He said it was about 15 minutes. (It had only been about 12 minutes since DS and I had seperated, so I felt a little more confident that DS had NOT come down the slide yet.) Sure enough, just a few minutes later DS comes flying down, victoriously!

He had a blast! He was ready to go again, but I told him that we needed to stay together for the rest of our time there.

We tried Runoff Rapids next on individual floats and loved it! Afterwards, we decided to get the double float and ride it again with each other. On the way up the stairs to the top of the slides, some girls started talking to DS....I think they liked the way he looked!! (I'm not proud at all )

After Runoff Rapids, we did Snow Stomers, then Toboggan Racers twice. DS got soooo tickled at Toboggan Racers! When the cast member at the top gave the green light to "GO", I would always have trouble getting started. DS would be WAY ahead of me. However, because I am a big guy, I would come barreling past him and slide about 25 yards past him at the bottom! He thought it was hilarious!

After that, we didn't have much time left, so we chilled out at the wave pool for a few minutes.

We walked back over to our seat where we set up "camp." I checked my watch and it was 4:30pm, so we had to get going.

It was nearly 5pm by the time we got back to our room, but we had a BLAST! I enjoyed Typhoon Lagoon more than Blizzard Beach, but DS enjoyed BB more. Just a word of warning.....Blizzard Beach is very confusing to get around in! I usually have a good sense of direction, but it is hard to get your bearings in that park.

Next installment - We all head back to Epcot and dinner at Tutto Italia

 

[heaven2dc]

What great fun you and your son are having! I'd have never thought to hop over to BB for an afternoon - great idea!

This trip report has been so much fun - I will really hate it when it ends!

 

[Figment's Friend]

Great update, Alan! I loved your pics of Epcot! At Teppan Edo, does the chef make your meal right in front of you? Very cool! Loved hearing about Blizzard Beach.....your DS is so brave!! Can't wait for more!

 

[stepdisney]

We LOVE Blizzard Beach!! (Well I do anyway). My DS 13 loves that wave pool because the wave is HUGE. It IS very confusing to maneuver. The signs are helpful BUT you have to find them and if you don't know the name of the ride, its even harder. I thought I was getting on the slush gusher and ended up on the Summit Plummet . At 65 mph I got a little bit of "burn" on the way down. Think of it as your DD's experience on the Crushin' Gusher at TL.

 

[englishrose47]

Alan as usual a great update !! Atip for your next trip we dissers share info and in Feb I got a great upgrade forthe tickets I was upgraded to include water parks , Pleasure Island and Disney Quest and possibly more ANd I gor money back Mt TA is just amazed !! I alos got the upgrade for a co worker in April plus she saved over $200! So stay in touch with the Dis these people are awesome . I didn't buy a Cup at Klub Kool but will def. get them when the family goes next year!!

 

[gr8tdame]

[
I did not say it in the original post, but I just can't help myself....the people that you see in the picture at Teppan Edo that we sat with were obnoxious!! Geeesh. That guy in the green shirt talked and talked and talked. That's the ONLY downside to the Teppan experience...you never know who you'll be sitting with!

That is one of the reasons my DH and DS would not let me make an ADR for Biergarten. We were sandwiched between obnoxious rude people. We ran out of there without dessert.
I made an ADR for dinner at Teppan Edo for our upcoming trip and I hope it is not a repeat.
I am really enjoying your report.