That platypus is LOOKING at me! A Memorial Day 2012 Trip Report TR FINISHED 7/23!!!

[MelMel11]

Love the purses!! Count me in!!!

 

[skysmom99]

Loving your TR! You caught my attention with the platypus reference in title, but the first post hooked me. You got married on my birthday, and I'm also an English teacher.

Great bags! I'd love a Disney Dooney someday. Some of those drinks in Epcot look really good. I want one of those orange slushy drinks!

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

Glad to hear its your favorite...we are reallllyyy excited about it! I can't wait to try the pool and I'm excited to be close to EPCOT and the Boardwalk and everything.

We are staying on the regular side, garden view. That is our last 4 nights...the first 6 are Port Orleans Riverside in a Royal Room!

I've never gone in the summer and this is also our first time with park hoppers, so I have been spending an unhealthy amount of time making plans and changing them, and making ADRs and changing them!!

Oh fancy!!! Well, I pretty much ONLY go in the summer, and I have never been without park hoppers, so if you need any advice, hit me up!

Great update. You crack me up!
You truly captured what it means to "drink around the world" in your pictures. DH and I are not really drinkers but, I must say some of those drinks look downright delicious! Too funny about the forgetting to pay for the shots, I bet it happens more often than you think though.

Some of them were soooo good! I am really in love with the English Rose. Definitely grab one--- they don't taste strong at all either, so they're good for us lightweights.

I am enjoying your report!! I love your new purse!! Where did you get it?

Oh thank you!!! I got it at Mouse Gear. I also saw them in the MK.

Let me get started, since I'm like a week behind!!

1:2
-Epcot, my least fav park. Don't judge me.
-You're ball pic looks great!
-Dooney staring.. I do that often!
-Love the Beverly pics!
-I love Nemo, and I want them to do a sequel. Ellen also has to be in this one!
-Never done The Land
-I don't like Soarin. Am I strange?
-We really need to go on The Land!
-Did they give you any money for your fruits??
-I really need to check out those touch screen boards!! That's pretty snazzy!!
-Loves Chris' effort at helping you take that cute pic!
-You would think any kind of strawberry drink would be good.
-Charley and I are apparently a match made in heaven, because we seem to be the only ones in the entire world who didn't fall head over heels for Via Napoli. More on that in my own Memorial Weekend TR...that's if I ever finish the bday one!!
-We heard them sing the bday song to someone. I def know how he feels on that.
-I almost choked on my coffee when I saw the most racist bag ever!! That's crazy!!!!
-I think we should break away from the group in Feb and have a picnic at SBP.. just sayin!
-I can't believe yall separate from each other! I NEVER let Charley out of my sight. I have an intense fear of being lost in the parks and having to pay $20 to use the pay phones!!! LOL
-You make me sick with your Dooney's and your cute Belle shirt. I tried on like 4 different dresses and didn't like any of them. I think I'm just too picky or judgmental of myself. ha
-Yay!! Our meet up!! I have mad ninja skills!! It wasn't as awkward as the meet up we had my bday weekend!! I think that's because there were more girls at that one. We had a good time though.. even with that "choir" "singing"!! I can't believe we didn't take any pics of the desserts.. or Andrea's side of banana!!! LOL!! I was really amazed that time went by that fast! I told Charley afterwards that we would all be BFFs if we lived near each other!!! lol
-I think our pics turned out great! Why am I so short?!?!
-I've really got to learn to take pics of our room. I so suck at that. BTW looking at your room pics makes me want to cry. It reminds me sooooooooo much of our HM at Jambo!!! Why didn't you steal those curtains for me?!?!
-Was your couch comfy?????

2:1
-Don't you hate when your lost upon waking??!
-I got angry every single time the animals weren't out on our savannah. I paid for them to be there!!! LOL
-And again I say.. You make me sick with your pretty pretty Dooney! And you're snazzy Belle shirt! I feel like those kinds of shirts just don't look good on me. Of course I always go shopping with Charley, who tells me everything looks good. Maybe we'll go shopping in Feb, and you can give me your opinion!! (that's if I take care of those CCs.. haha)
-Yay MK!! We made it for opening too!!!!!! We got there about 8:10am, but we went in on the right side!
-You went to Splash, that's why we didn't see you! We went to Space!
-I can't wait for the new Fantasyland to be done!
-I haven't done Dumbo either. The line is always ridic!
-Haunted Mansion!!!
-You should've punched Chris where the sun don't shine. I hate when Charley makes comments like that. You can beat your sweet mmhmm that the day wouldn't be pleasant afterwards.. just ask Charley! He says that I don't have to physically harm someone. I can cut a person to their core with my words!! LOL! Maybe I shouldn't be proud of that.. but... I AM!
-I saw that window sticker!
-I would've done the same thing on JC! He deserved it!! ha
-We went on Snow. It didn't take long to get through the line.
-Oh yummmmmm BBQ pork sandwich. I could live off of that for the whole trip!

2:2
-I love how yall aren't big drinkers until it's time to go to Disney!! LOL Yall did way better than we would've!
-I like the Lemonade Slush over the Orange, but both are too strong for me! Awesome fun fact BTW
-You're asking him for some money?!
-Don't try to scam the Morocco Guys. They can't have underage girls running around all 'willy nilly'!!
-Straws in nose pic brings back my question from FB yesterday... are you really mature now?!?!?!
-You should've punched that CM and told her congrats! I'm glad Chris was so sympathetic!! LOL
-I want a Mickey pretzel. I still haven't had one!
-Is that frozen lemonade strong?
-I seriously LOLed when I read that part about you taking off without paying for your shot! That's freakin hilarious, and you better be glad I wasn't with you at the time!
-Chris looks reeeeeeaaaaaaalllllllyyyyyyyyyy DRUNK!
-I LOLed even harder about the receipt comment!! That's something I would do sober!
-I LOVE THE BAT!
-I'm pretty sure you were judging him.
-Dooney girl, you make me sick!
-Yall def need to go take a nap!!!

YAY I'm caught up now!! Aren't you soooo happy?!?! Did I comment enough?

-Awww I love Epcot. Frown.
-I think you might like Living with the Land. There are (fake) animals!
-Nah, Chris doesn’t love Soarin’ either.
-I know, you said you didn’t like Via Nap that much! My grandparents didn’t like the pizza all that much either, if it helps.
-Yeah, I think the small group helped with our meetup, especially because you, me, and Andrea all admitted to being shy. So we fed off of each other!
-If you had ASKED me to steal the curtains, you know I would have.
-Yes. I am SO mature now. You’re just jealous.
-The frozen lemonade in Americaland isn’t too strong. It has 2 and a half shots in it though!
-I could TOTALLY see you getting confused about the receipt sober. BAHAHA
-Good comments, Lady Jane!

What other Belle shirt did you see????? Okay, so in Feb, we are doing The Land, seeing the opening show and going to Jellyrolls! (among other things)..yay!

Ok..found another thing we're doing that I haven't done...getting a Mickey pretzel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There's a Belle shirt where she's wearing a dress with little roses on the bottom. It's artsy and pretty--- I think you would love it. I saw it at Sunset Couture in your park, actually! Go check it out. I am sooo excited for Jellyrolls, and your butt is getting a pretzel.

OMG! I love that Doombuggy sticker! I gasped when I saw it and Rob thought something was wrong. He was right! It's wrong that I don't have that sticker! Anyways, I would totally hold a grudge as well. Don't mess with me in my happy place! Glad you got him back on the JC. The pictures from drinking around the world are priceless with the ones towards the end being especially amazing. I am definitely envious of your Dooney collection. How on earth do you decide which one to use everyday?!

Do you have the old Doom Buggy license plate too? I do! It's in the window of my Gray VW Bug, so I think it REALLY works. I got so excited when I saw the sticker that I didn't even look at the price. I looked at my receipt and said "Wow! I just paid $15 for that?!" and was fine with it. Then Chris looked at the receipt and said "No... that's the balance on the giftcard. You paid $4." So I felt dumb, but $11 richer! (And I decide on the dooney at random. The brown one is going to be my new grown up bag though.)

Love the purses!! Count me in!!!

Woo! Thank you!

Loving your TR! You caught my attention with the platypus reference in title, but the first post hooked me. You got married on my birthday, and I'm also an English teacher.

Great bags! I'd love a Disney Dooney someday. Some of those drinks in Epcot look really good. I want one of those orange slushy drinks!

The platypus reference will be explained on the last day of the TR. And that's so awesome that I got married on your birthday!!! What grade do you teach?

I first saw the slushies on one of the Samantha Brown travel specials. She raved about it, and I like her a lot, so I tried it out, and she did not disappoint!

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

Day 2, Part 3:

Chris and I headed up to the room and relaxed for awhile. Luckily, the animals on the Savannah were out and about!

Chris kept waving to the zebras and they would turn their heads away from him. I guess they didn't like him much.

This was the only time we saw giraffes! (He's hidden a little, but he's there.)

I would have stayed on the balcony and looked at the animals more, but it was just so hot. I curled up on the sofa (which was surprisingly comfortable, especially for a pullout!) and watched Stacy's Must Do Disney. I liked the original Top 7 better, but that's just me. (Look at all the lazzzzy people in the lazzzzyyyy riv-ah! Yes? No? Anyone?)

Chris laid on the bed and played with his DS.

Although, actually, this photo was taken after he was dressed for dinner... Oh, whatever.

We decided to dress early so I could wander around the Jambo gift shop for awhile. If you haven't noticed, I have a slight obsession with Disney gift shops. I was hunting for the Alex and Ani Disney bracelets, so at least I had a purpose.

I had Chris take a picture of me in my pretty blue dress... but he is not good at taking pictures. I think I am doing the Disbride Signature Clenched Fist post here too. Sigh.

Anyway, so we arrived at Jambo house pretty early. I searched for my bracelet but, alas, no luck. We checked into Jiko early, but had to wait for a good half hour--- no big deal. I always seem to take pictures of my shoes though when I am really bored.

After awhile we were seated at one of my beloved half-booths, and Jiko definitely gave off an adult atmosphere. I was disappointed that we had drank entirely too much earlier in the day--- I am not a big wine fan, but Jiko is known for their wines! I just couldn't stomach (see what I did there?) the thought of any more alcohol that day. We ordered soft drinks, and our hostess came over with coconut-scented washcloths for us to wipe our hands on. La-de-dah!!

Our server arrived, and he was prompt and nice. We ordered some sort of chicken flatbread to split for an appetizer.

It was delicious!!! Not as good as the chicken and fig flatbread I had at the Cali Grill in December, but almost. Disney Signature restaurants definitely do their flatbreads very well.

We were also given some bread

that came with some sort of... African spiced butter. It was different, to say the least. I didn't like it too much, but I ate it because I was making myself be different.

After awhile, a couple was seated next to us, and they seemed a little uppity. However, at one point I looked over and the girl had taken off one of her shoes!!! Her bare foot was on the same booth I was sitting on! Yet another reason why I hate the stupid half booths. I also noticed that the people at Jiko were rather underdressed: lots of t-shirts and denim short shorts. Our server had actually asked me if we were celebrating something special because I was dressed up... I just like wearing dresses, but I did tell him it was just Chris's birthday. Still, rather odd.

Anyway, our entrees arrived after an... acceptable amount of time, I suppose. Chris, as usual, got the "oak grilled filet of beef," as that is how it is always written on Disney menus.

He said it was very good. I don't like steak, so I couldn't tell you. His mashed potatoes were underwhelming!

I ordered the Peri-Peri chicken.

While I didn't tell Chris this, my chicken was underwhelming. It was seasoned okay, but the potatoes that came with it were herb seasoned--- but to the point that they were green! And, I don't know, I just don't think potatoes should be green. Everything was fine, but it wasn't the amazing-ness that I had heard about Jiko.

Oh, for those of you who remember my wedding trippie, at one point Chris turned to me and said "Jack! Tony is back!"

(Chris had two drinks, just like he was brought by Two Drink Tony at The Wave!)

Anywho, I did order dessert--- the Strawberry Marscapone Cheesecake.

And this, my friends, was some of the best cheesecake I have ever had. It was light and fluffy, and the serving was just right. Our waiter also brought out some sort of chocolately goodness for Chris's birthday. We sang to him quietly at the table, so it wasn't nearly as embarrassing as at Via Napoli.

Extremely satisfied and full, we stumbled out of Jiko and waited for a bus back to Kidani. (Don't judge us--- we were full and just way too tired to walk!) Unfortunately, we ended up sitting in front of four VERY drunk girls on their way to DTD singing "Call Me Maybe." At least Chris and I were CHARMING drunks. Right??? Right.

We got back to the room and fell asleep almost instantly. We were off to brave Star Wars Weekend next!

 

[jlocmac]

Comments on comments
-Did you seriously just compare us to your Grandparents who are stuck in the 70's while on vacay.. take blurry *** pics..and videotape random people?!?! I told you we were old people!
-2 and a half shots is VERY strong! Are you trying to kill me?
-Are you making fun of me too?! This is just a little more than I can handle!

2:3
-I'm jealous of your zebras! Chris was waving right.. that was the problem.
-You need to stop. That sofa was WAY comfortable. I'm wondering now if you had the same one.
-You took a pic of Chris' butt and posted it for the world to see.
-Cute dress!! I NEVER wear dresses! I own 4. My wedding dress and the 3 dresses I got for trading in the original dress. None of which have been worn.. except for the wedding dress!
-GLITTER TOMS!!
-I'm so excited yall got a half-booth!
-How freakin fancy?!
-I probably wouldn't like that.. just from the looks of it. I wish I wasn't so picky! And that bread doesn't look all that tasty.
-Did you rub the girl's feet while you were waiting for your food??????
-I don't like the fact that "signature" means putting a little bit of food in the middle of the plate and slapping a $50 price on it! LOL
-MmmMmmm.. green potatoes... my fav!
-hahaha Two Drink Tony!
-Charming?!?! HAHAHAHA!!! Did you punch these girls?? Or tell them you wouldn't call them??
-Yay!! I saw you at SWW!!

 

[belle2211]

Oh, so going to hunt down that Belle shirt! I love the pics of the animals..so cool! And I'm not a fan of Jiko. We went for my bday the first year we were dating. They forgot about us so we didn't get sat for an hour and a half...with no compensation! Plus I didn't care for the food that much. And I love the dress with the sparkly Toms!

 

[skysmom99]

Love the savannah view! That would almost be worth staying there for me. The other woman's bare foot in your dining space is just Ewwwwww! I notice that the food always seems to be served with one thing piled on the others. What happens if you are one of those people (my dd) who hate to have your food items touching?

Oh, I teach at a VERY small school in northern MI, and I've taught English from 7th grade on up. I always have British lit, but other English classes come and go. I also teach Intro. Biology and Human Anatomy & Physiology.

 

[Cinderella16]

I see the giraffe! That resort looks like so much fun! I can't wait to stay there one day.

I love the fancy dress! It is very Cinderella.
What the heck was up with the CM? Is it that unusual to get dressed up for a dinner on vacation?! I notice that people dress very casually at Cali Grill too, but I always get dressed up for it, and for most of the nicer dinners in fact. I'll probably wear a dress to Chef Mickey's this year.

Thanks for your insight on Jiko. I've always wanted to try it, but then think I'd rather spend 2 credits on Cali Grill or Le Cellier. We did have Boma once and thought it was very different from anything else on property, but we liked it.

Lol at the drunk girls singing "Call Me Maybe." Seems to be the drunk girl anthem...at a recent wedding we went to, all the intoxicated bridesmaids were going nuts when this song came on.

 

[librarygeek]

* Love your drinking around the world pictures!! Haha I think you can tell just by the pictures getting more and more blurry and crooked and random what is going on You did better than me though, I don't think I could've handled that many drinks!
* I love those sparkly shoes!
* Mmmm. That flatbread looks delicious!! I really want to try Jiko!

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

Comments on comments
-Did you seriously just compare us to your Grandparents who are stuck in the 70's while on vacay.. take blurry *** pics..and videotape random people?!?! I told you we were old people!
-2 and a half shots is VERY strong! Are you trying to kill me?
-Are you making fun of me too?! This is just a little more than I can handle!

2:3
-I'm jealous of your zebras! Chris was waving right.. that was the problem.
-You need to stop. That sofa was WAY comfortable. I'm wondering now if you had the same one.
-You took a pic of Chris' butt and posted it for the world to see.
-Cute dress!! I NEVER wear dresses! I own 4. My wedding dress and the 3 dresses I got for trading in the original dress. None of which have been worn.. except for the wedding dress!
-GLITTER TOMS!!
-I'm so excited yall got a half-booth!
-How freakin fancy?!
-I probably wouldn't like that.. just from the looks of it. I wish I wasn't so picky! And that bread doesn't look all that tasty.
-Did you rub the girl's feet while you were waiting for your food??????
-I don't like the fact that "signature" means putting a little bit of food in the middle of the plate and slapping a $50 price on it! LOL
-MmmMmmm.. green potatoes... my fav!
-hahaha Two Drink Tony!
-Charming?!?! HAHAHAHA!!! Did you punch these girls?? Or tell them you wouldn't call them??
-Yay!! I saw you at SWW!!

-Yes, yes I did just compare you to the gparents. DEAL WITH IT!
-The frozen lemonade doesn’t TASTE like it has two and a half shots though. And that’s what really matters, no??
-No, that sofa was really comfortable--- that’s what I said. I loved it.
-I love wearing dresses. They’re so comfy! Well, that blue one is really fitted in the chest area, so that one isn’t. But most of the dresses I wear are.
-Actually, I started my own business called “Jackie at Jiko: Footrubbing Extraordinaire.
-I punched the girls AND told them I wouldn’t call them. It was a one-two punch thing!

Oh, so going to hunt down that Belle shirt! I love the pics of the animals..so cool! And I'm not a fan of Jiko. We went for my bday the first year we were dating. They forgot about us so we didn't get sat for an hour and a half...with no compensation! Plus I didn't care for the food that much. And I love the dress with the sparkly Toms!

I kind of hope the Belle shirt is still there in December... I'm starting to have regrets! and OMG they forgot about you like Citrico's forgot about us! I would be bitter too. Have you been to Boma?

Love the savannah view! That would almost be worth staying there for me. The other woman's bare foot in your dining space is just Ewwwwww! I notice that the food always seems to be served with one thing piled on the others. What happens if you are one of those people (my dd) who hate to have your food items touching?

Oh, I teach at a VERY small school in northern MI, and I've taught English from 7th grade on up. I always have British lit, but other English classes come and go. I also teach Intro. Biology and Human Anatomy & Physiology.

The savannah view is pretty much the ONLY reason to stay at AKL! (Although, if you're DVC, I think their studios are bigger than some of the others... it was a lot bigger than Bay Lake, at the very least.)

You know, that's a GOOD point about food touching!!! I guess you'd have to specify that? I wonder if children's meals are served the same way.

And WOW! You've taught a lot of different levels. I've been a college instructor for two years, but I'm going to be teaching HS seniors in the fall for the first time. Eek!

I see the giraffe! That resort looks like so much fun! I can't wait to stay there one day.

I love the fancy dress! It is very Cinderella.
What the heck was up with the CM? Is it that unusual to get dressed up for a dinner on vacation?! I notice that people dress very casually at Cali Grill too, but I always get dressed up for it, and for most of the nicer dinners in fact. I'll probably wear a dress to Chef Mickey's this year.

Thanks for your insight on Jiko. I've always wanted to try it, but then think I'd rather spend 2 credits on Cali Grill or Le Cellier. We did have Boma once and thought it was very different from anything else on property, but we liked it.

Lol at the drunk girls singing "Call Me Maybe." Seems to be the drunk girl anthem...at a recent wedding we went to, all the intoxicated bridesmaids were going nuts when this song came on.

Yes! I actually bought the dress because it seemed like a short, spring-y version of something Cinderella would wear. I bought it for my honeymoon--- my wedding dress was a Disney dress and was named "Cinderella," so it fit! And I actually wore that to CMs in January!

I would DEFINITELY rather spend the two credits on the Cali Grill... and I'd go to Le Cellier for lunch so it was only one credit.

* Love your drinking around the world pictures!! Haha I think you can tell just by the pictures getting more and more blurry and crooked and random what is going on You did better than me though, I don't think I could've handled that many drinks!
* I love those sparkly shoes!
* Mmmm. That flatbread looks delicious!! I really want to try Jiko!

Ha! I didn't realize just HOW progressive they got until I posted them. There was one hilariously unflattering picture of me I didn't end up posting too... but it's really bad.

I think you'd like Jiko! Can you fit it in during your April trippie? If not, I guess you'll just have to take another one!

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

Apparently I forgot to post a cute title for my last entry. Oops!

Also, quick NYE trip update: We bought our flights! Yay!! I wasn't 100% prepared to spend the money just yet, but I'll just work on saving up a bit more money so we can pay our savings account back for them. NYE weekend prices weren't cheap, but it's really important to me that we go on that trip.

Day 3, Part 1: Fastpass?! More like SLOWpass!

DHS opened at 8, and we just knew we wouldn't make rope drop. We considered going to Epcot instead, but Epcot also opened at 8--- so it was just a lost cause for us.

We also woke up to this very sad piece of information...

How could it be time to go home already?! We just got there!

Anyway, so we headed out to DHS. We grabbed fast passes for TSM (they weren't too bad--- just around noonish) and we headed to TOT. The CM working at TOT was delightfully creepy and very into his role. He said things like "Remember, the seatbelts only work one way.......... from left, to right."

I'm not going to lie. I am still slightly deathly afraid of TOT. I don't really like the whole dropping sensation, but I think it's such a well done ride that I brave it anyway. I usually come off the ride shaking a little bit.

We headed over to RnR next (which I can handle much easier than TOT!), and one of the CMs ended up singing "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands" over the loudspeaker. It was silly, but everyone got really into it. During the preshow, I realized for the first time that the guy who doesn't talk at all during the video is Professor Wilder from Dawson's Creek. (He's been in some movies since then, but he'll always be Joey Potter's dreamy professor to me.) I call myself the Dawson's Creek whisperer, so I was really ashamed I hadn't realized it until then.

Anyway, after RnR we realized we were close to the SWW merch tent, "Darth's Maul" (yuk yuk yuk) so we headed over to look.

These two guys were doing meet and greets.

I tried to get Chris to stand in line to meet them, but he wasn't interested. (To say I am not a Star Wars fan is putting it lightly.) We did see a very dressed up family meeting with them though--- a woman had on a full Queen Amidala outfit. She looked fantastic!

Chris also loved this painting... but it was $400 and his wife had just bought two purses. Oops.

(And it was called "Easy Being Green It is Not" GAH! So cute.)

As we were wandering around, we ran into Jennifer and Charley! We wandered around with them for awhile, until we split ways so Chris could go pay. He got a Star Wars weekend t-shirt, and I picked up a Yoda Stitch vinylmation for one of my BFFs.

Then we went over to the Great Movie Ride, where we ran into my other DisBride friend Andrea! I was SO hoping I would get to see her do the tour, but it didn't work out that way. Boooo. Anyway, GMR was good, as per usual.

After GMR, we checked the line for Star Tours, but it was 30 minutes and we just didn't feel like waiting that long. We're very impatient Disney fans, if you haven't noticed. We went over to Muppets instead. The thing I like about Muppets is I always seem to notice something different in the holding area. Like this picture.

After Muppets we were pretty hungry, and I regretted not making a dining reservation somewhere. The QS options in DHS are just awful. We checked at Sci Fi and 50s Prime Time but, alas, there was no room at the inn. We ended up going to the Backlot Express, and I had your standard Disney chicken nuggets again. Chris had a hot dog. They weren't terribly interesting, so I didn't take any pictures.

It was time to use our fastpasses, and so we headed over to Toy Story Mania. The standby line read 140 minutes, so we were thankful for our fastpasses....

Until we saw this.

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, the fastpass line was backed up outside of the building and to the fastpass machines.

I have never seen a fastpass line that long. It must have something to do with the new fastpass enforcement, which I think has just revealed a problem with the whole FP system. We had never been FP rule breakers, so I didn't see what the big deal was when the system changed, but do you see that line?! Geez louise! We said forget it, and we headed over to One Man's Dream instead.

One Man's Dream had the FLE model out from last year's D23 convention, and it was absolutely beautiful. I stared at it for a good ten minutes. I just can't WAIT to see Fantasyland in person.

After One Man's Dream, we decided we were pretty much done with DHS--- it was hot, unbelievably crowded, and we wanted to go relax so we could stay at the MK late! We strolled through the stores leisurely to get in some air conditioning, and then headed back to AKL.

 

[MrsDuck]

Holy FP lane! WOW. That is cray.

Dontcha hate how time seems to go at warp speed when you're at Disney? UGH. It stinks! It seems like you two had an amazing trip though! Plus, you got new babies (purses, duh) and that trumps all.

 

[jlocmac]

-yes, you do wear a lot of dresses. They're cute though.
-I knew you rubbed that girl's feet!!!

Moving on!
-I will pray for you and Chris at NY!! We sure needed some prayers last Christmas!
-We went to HS too!!
-We didn't make rope drop either!! Lol
-ToT rocks!! We love the back row! We can hold our hands up and not block anyone's scary face!
-Yay! That was us at 'Darth's Maul'. (Autocorrect changed that to Earth's Mail....) That family in costume was crazy! She probably had a heat stroke later that afternoon.
-Chris needed that painting. I told him to get it on Facebook. Apparently he listens to me as well we you do.
-Andrea said we just missed you on GMR.
-There's something wrong with the FP line being that long.
-I'm so ready for the new Fantasyland!!!
-yeah..our oh so late night at MK!!

I'm done. Need more now!

 

[Cinderella16]

That FP line!!!!! I wonder if something happened that they were honoring all FPs from the day? Maybe it broke or something...that line just seems too excessive!

Not a Stars Wars fan either, but that Yoda/Kermit painting made me smile.

DHS really doesn't have good QS places does it? It all seems the same to me.

Can't wait for MK!

 

[librarygeek]

* I doubt we'll make it to Jiko in April... my parents aren't quite as adventurous eaters, and I feel like the cuisine there would not be their favorite! But definitely someday. I think Jason would love it. Jason said that I should make it my goal to eat at every Disney World restaurant
* Oh, and I'm still pushing for Via Napoli! My parents have a lot of restaurants in Epcot they want to try and we didn't get park hoppers (though we can still upgrade, but we'll see if we want to do that), so right now we're fighting over British/Mexican/pizza. At least there's both lunch and dinner!
* Congrats on booking your flight! I still haven't bought mine for my Harry Potter con trip in less than a month. Bing keeps telling me the prices will go down, but I think I'd better do it soon!
* I feel the same way about ToT. I hate that feeling in my tummy when it drops, but the themeing is awesome.
* Wow, that FP line is ridiculous. I wasn't hardcore against it but I had a feeling it was going to be a problem, and that photo proves it. I'm dreading the new system where you have to book in advance.

 

[elleinad16]

I've just caught back up!

•Your view from AKL is just great--I would stay there all day!
•Oh my, all of the drinking around the world pictures are hilarious! Particularly the one where Chris thought he bought schoolbread!
•Your blue dress and blue toms are sooo cute.
• Ahh, I love Jiko, but I'm so upset they changed the filet sides. It used to come with this wicked good mac and cheese. Boo for underwhelming mashed potatoes.
•I'm so jealous you got to see the DIS girls again at HS! Too bad Chris and I didn't stay longer.

 

[belle2211]

~If I get the Belle dress, do you want me to get one for you too and send it to you?
~I have been to Boma's twice but dont' remember much about it. So it wasn't bad but I don't think it was spectacular either (well, that's not true. At the time they used to give deep fried oreos for bday celebrations and I was obssessed with them so both times I asked if I could have some and they said yes. So they're nice there )
~Yay! So excited for you about your NYE trip!
~I was so excited to see you at GMR! I wish I had been doing a tour for you too!
~I agree about QS at DHS...I don't like any of them! (although I did try one of the sandwiches at Starring Rolls recently and I think if I had to have lunch at the park again, that's where I'd go...although I think I read somewhere about corn dogs over by TOT and RnRC...I need to check that out)

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

Holy FP lane! WOW. That is cray.

Dontcha hate how time seems to go at warp speed when you're at Disney? UGH. It stinks! It seems like you two had an amazing trip though! Plus, you got new babies (purses, duh) and that trumps all.

Time DOES go at warp speed in Disney... but our Memorial Day trip was also our shortest trip to date. Still, a short trip at WDW is better than no trip at WDW!

-yes, you do wear a lot of dresses. They're cute though.
-I knew you rubbed that girl's feet!!!

Moving on!
-I will pray for you and Chris at NY!! We sure needed some prayers last Christmas!
-We went to HS too!!
-We didn't make rope drop either!! Lol
-ToT rocks!! We love the back row! We can hold our hands up and not block anyone's scary face!
-Yay! That was us at 'Darth's Maul'. (Autocorrect changed that to Earth's Mail....) That family in costume was crazy! She probably had a heat stroke later that afternoon.
-Chris needed that painting. I told him to get it on Facebook. Apparently he listens to me as well we you do.
-Andrea said we just missed you on GMR.
-There's something wrong with the FP line being that long.
-I'm so ready for the new Fantasyland!!!
-yeah..our oh so late night at MK!!

I'm done. Need more now!

Yes, please start your NYE prayers now. I don't want to punch anyone! And you're right--- she MUST have had heat stroke. That costume did NOT look comfortable. And GAH! we should have just headed over to GMR together. Boo.

That FP line!!!!! I wonder if something happened that they were honoring all FPs from the day? Maybe it broke or something...that line just seems too excessive!

Not a Stars Wars fan either, but that Yoda/Kermit painting made me smile.

DHS really doesn't have good QS places does it? It all seems the same to me.

Can't wait for MK!

Something MUST have happened with the FP line--- I've never seen anything like that. Like, ever.

* I doubt we'll make it to Jiko in April... my parents aren't quite as adventurous eaters, and I feel like the cuisine there would not be their favorite! But definitely someday. I think Jason would love it. Jason said that I should make it my goal to eat at every Disney World restaurant
* Oh, and I'm still pushing for Via Napoli! My parents have a lot of restaurants in Epcot they want to try and we didn't get park hoppers (though we can still upgrade, but we'll see if we want to do that), so right now we're fighting over British/Mexican/pizza. At least there's both lunch and dinner!
* Congrats on booking your flight! I still haven't bought mine for my Harry Potter con trip in less than a month. Bing keeps telling me the prices will go down, but I think I'd better do it soon!
* I feel the same way about ToT. I hate that feeling in my tummy when it drops, but the themeing is awesome.
* Wow, that FP line is ridiculous. I wasn't hardcore against it but I had a feeling it was going to be a problem, and that photo proves it. I'm dreading the new system where you have to book in advance.

My goal is DEFINITELY to eat at every WDW restaurant. I'm trying to figure out what new place I want to try in December. And I hope you buy your HP flight soon. A trip just doesn't feel real to me until a flight is booked--- you know?!

I've just caught back up!

•Your view from AKL is just great--I would stay there all day!
•Oh my, all of the drinking around the world pictures are hilarious! Particularly the one where Chris thought he bought schoolbread!
•Your blue dress and blue toms are sooo cute.
• Ahh, I love Jiko, but I'm so upset they changed the filet sides. It used to come with this wicked good mac and cheese. Boo for underwhelming mashed potatoes.
•I'm so jealous you got to see the DIS girls again at HS! Too bad Chris and I didn't stay longer.

HA! Yes, Chris is really, really silly when he is drunk. (All three times he's been drunk...) And I think they actually will still give you the mac and cheese if they ask for it, but Chris was too shy to ask. I wanted to try it!

~If I get the Belle dress, do you want me to get one for you too and send it to you?
~I have been to Boma's twice but dont' remember much about it. So it wasn't bad but I don't think it was spectacular either (well, that's not true. At the time they used to give deep fried oreos for bday celebrations and I was obssessed with them so both times I asked if I could have some and they said yes. So they're nice there )
~Yay! So excited for you about your NYE trip!
~I was so excited to see you at GMR! I wish I had been doing a tour for you too!
~I agree about QS at DHS...I don't like any of them! (although I did try one of the sandwiches at Starring Rolls recently and I think if I had to have lunch at the park again, that's where I'd go...although I think I read somewhere about corn dogs over by TOT and RnRC...I need to check that out)

Oohhh. Yeah, I might want you to pick up the Belle dress shirt for me if you find it. Disbride friends are the BEST! OMG! I WANT DEEP FRIED OREOS! I've never had one. It sounds amazing. And actually, I never think to go to Starring Rolls. Like, ever. Maybe next time I'm stuck.

 

[DoomBuggy0922]

Whew! Sorry I've been gone for so long. (Is anyone still out there?! I hope so.) My Teach for America Induction ended this afternoon, and I was insanely busy all week. Some of the events were great, some were a little silly. I'm mostly struggling because I'm older than everyone else there because most of the people who participate in the program are fresh out of undergrad. I graduated three years ago, and I'm married, settled in Milwaukee, and due to this year, have matured a LOT in the past five months. I'm just in a completely different place from everyone else, so it's difficult for me to relate, you know? They're all eager to make friends and be all buddy buddy--- and while I like talking and meeting new people, I am also comfortable and happy with my life now.

Okay, I just had to get that out! Now, let's get on with the show.

Day 3, Part 2: A Dinner with a View

Chris and I rested in the room for awhile. I tried to take a nap, and I fell asleep for a few minutes with my contacts in, but as soon as I took my contacts out I was wide awake. (Don't you HATE it when that happens???) After awhile, we dressed for dinner.

Jack, you're not gonna post this in your trip report, are you?

Of COURSE I am.

I considered taking a cab to the Contemporary because Deena said so, but I decided to risk it and rely on Disney transportation. This actually ended up working out wonderfully for us because we lucked out. As soon as we got to the bus stop a MK bus pulled up, and as soon as we walked up to the monorail, a monorail showed up. Woohoo! We ended up arriving at the Contemporary almost an hour early. We wondered in the gift shop, and I found the awesome throw pillow I had been looking for everywhere.

We checked in to the Cali Grill, and we were brought up to the restaurant in the fancy shmancy elevator. We sat down in the bar area, but we just couldn't drink anymore after the previous day's events! Which, again, was a shame.

OH! So, on the bus, and then on the monorail, and then in the Cali Grill bar, we encountered a rather interesting trio. There was one man with two women, and the two women did not seem to like each other: the man kept holding hands with one of them but talking to the other one. All three of them had wedding rings on, and Chris and I kept referring to them as the sister wives. We seemed to end up in the same places, and they probably thought we were stalking them.

Anyway, so we were eventually seated, and we were given a gorgeous window seating.

We met our server, Ron, and he was absolutely amazing. He anticipated our every need. At one point, he said to us that he would be "watching us" and we laughed and asked him if he was a stalker, but it turned out to be completely true. We didn't SEE him watching us, but he always knew when we were done with something or when we needed a refill. It was sort of amazing.

We ordered flatbreads for appetizers.

I had an Heirloom tomato flatbread, and there was a lemony mayo-type sauce on top. It was an interesting combo of flavors--- not as good as the chicken and fig flatbread I had in December, but still good.

Chris had the four cheese one. It was, as expected, great.

Ron told us he put our orders in when our appetizers came out so that our dinner would be spaced out--- which I was thankful for. Last time, our entrees came out when we were halfway through our flatbreads!

We also managed to polish off a basket of bread in between the flatbreads and the entrees. The Cali Grill puts sea salt in their butter, which makes it really flavorful. SO much better than the butter at Jiko.

For entrees, I had pork tenderloin with cheese polenta.

The pork was medium rare, which a lot of places won't serve--- but it's so good. The pork was moist, and actually better than it was in December. I was in love.

Chris had the filet which, apparently, had some sort of terrific BBQ sauce on it. He practically licked the plate when he was done--- and, again, Ron must have heard Chris talk about the sauce, because he asked us if we wanted the recipe! Of course we did! He ended up bringing us out recipes for everything we ate that night. I haven't made them yet, but hopefully sometime soon.

All in all, it was the best service we have ever experienced at WDW--- or anywhere else for that matter. After dinner, we told Ron that and we chatted with him for awhile. He told us he had been with Disney for 16 years, but he was going to go to California for the summer and try to sell some of his screenplays. I normally scoff at people who want to become writers, but I really think he can do it. We ended up tipping him almost 40 percent, and our dinner there was worth every penny. If the rumors are true and the Cali Grill is going under refurb, I am so going to miss this place!

Happy and full, we headed towards the monorail to spend the next 7 hours at the Magic Kingdom!

 

[MrsDuck]

I can never nap. It sucks, lol.

Love your princess crown-- gorg!

LOL at Chris! HIGHlarious!

OMG. The HM pillow is awesome! Love it!

FOOD porn! Delicious! You guys had a great view!! Hmm.. the Sister Wives sound.. inneresting..

YAY-- can't wait to hear more!!