The 5 trips of My "Disney Free Year" - A Mermaid, A Buzz, A Boat and A Steak - 7/8

[portobello_rd]

i cant remember if it was this trip or a different one but im pretty sure youve rented a car through swan/dolphin resort right? i think we are going to go this route, can you tell me how you booked it?

 

[not_Joanna_eggs]

I totally missed your report!!! How did that happen!

So anyway.....

I'm so sorry that your experience at the Bistro was bad. We ate there on our last trip, and the experience and food was great, so I'm sorry it wasn't good for you.

WWoHP......CRAZY! I would have turned around myself! I too loved the butterbeer too. I would suggest if you guys can make it back, definitely go during a time of year that it's not as busy.

Love that you guys ate at Victoria's and Alberts. That's a dream place for me. One day, I will make it!

Epic Mickey? I totally have that game.....and Toy Story Mania!

Haha - See we're even! I'm glad you made it over!

I was quite bummed about our Bistro Experience because I'd read such good things - but really every trip has to have a least one less than stellar dinner, right? We just chalked it up to that. I'm not sure we'll be running back anytime soon, but it wasn't so awful that we'll never ever be back.

I do want to try WWOHP when it's not so crowded. We are maybe going in September with my friend and her son, and were talking about going to IOA. My fear is that I would suck it up, go again and not be able to ride (my DDD's were awfully squashed on the Hulk - I almost didn't make it on that one!) But either way, it would be worth it just for the Butter Beer and Pumpkin Juice!

Victoria & Alberts is a wonderful treat! We were fortunate enough to go there twice this year, and both times the meals were out of this world - like both are on our "top 10" meals ever list. My parents said that same. It is a wonderful way to celebrate - I do hope you make it some day!

I love those two wii games. They're so fun - and even more fun to play while in Disney!

Love your "bad" pictures! Looks like you all were enjoing the moment. I have a couple of reall doozies when I let the kids play with one of my cameras. I do think one picture is from up one of their noses Now thats bad!

Haha. Too funny about your girls! That makes me think of all the eyeball pictures I have of DH because I forget to take the zoom off

We were all so cold and kind of punchy, I'm sure the other people at the bus stop thought we were nuts, but we were entertaining ourselves.

I guess she's proven that if you never stop wearing something, eventually you'll be a trendsetter!


Good work, it's important to continually take such prophylactic measures to avoid the "coolness" germ! I just ordered myself the first season of Torchwood, I'm hoping it will be a good Dr. Who substitute. I'm still trying to get over my crush on David Tennant as the doctor. It's been a difficult time.

Portabello looks great!

Don't hate me, but I just haven't been able to get into Torchwood - I'm not sure why since I love me some Dr. Who. Maybe I need to give it more of a chance...

I do agree with you about David Tennant's yummyness, though I'm warming to Matt Smith. Not really crush-worthy, but I like the quirky mad-scientist thing he brings.

Portobello was good. I'm surprised that I don't read more about it. Because I think it is one of the better DTD options.

Portobello Road looks like it was yummy! There's nothing I love more than a huge giant roasted head of garlic. I'm such a lovely dinner companion, aren't I?

Love your attempted shots at the bus stop! We once tried to get my parents and DBF and I into one shot while waiting for a Friendship boat...but we gave up after two tries! I admire the perserverence!

I'm right there with you about the garlic. I figure someone at the table has to be responsible for keeping the vampires away - right?

I'm not sure why I was so persistent. Usually something comes along to distract me. I guess it was too cold for the butterflies that day.

Back to catching up! Oh how I love my weekends spent with you, Joanna!

Ooo, we didn't get a chance to ride the train this time. I do very much like the ride. It's so soothing. I like that you can stay on it for as long as you want. I'm at that stage where I need to rest (ahhh, the distant memories of abundant energy during childhood ...), but I still want to do something. The train is just perfect for that.

Love the detail of the Monsters Inc garbage can! I've never seen it before.

Who yelled at you for taking that pic in Monsters Inc? A CM? I always wonder why you can't take pictures in there. I mean, most attractions say no flash photography, but this one says no photography at all. I would understand no video recording because it is a "live" show, so it could be for legal reasons. Oh, I guess that's why they say no pics too then? Because you could be recording? I could've just made that up, btw.

Thanks for spending time with me

You were at the MK and didn't ride the train???? What's that like? I don't think I've ever experienced that

Don't tell my DH, but I totally agree with you. The train is a nice little "break" from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the park. Shhhh....

I wouldn't have seen that garbage can either if I hadn't had to stand against the wall to re-tie my shoe! I just love the attention to detail on something that most people won't even notice!

Yes, it was a CM that (okay didn't really yell, but snappily) told me no photography. I don't know why that is either. I didn't have the flash on. The recording thing makes sense though...

I love the idea of just going to a restaurant and having appetizers to share. I could probably do that at every restaurant on property and just not order an entree at all.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the pic of you and DH looking at each other with the fireworks in the background! Hehe, a normal happy pic of the two of you (haha, as compared to the wacky faces DH makes now when you take a pic of him)! And you look absolutely stunning.

I'm with you when you said the Cobb salad was disappointing. I was expecting something life-changing, especially I love Cobb salad! Strangely, I prefer it elsewhere. Maybe the fact that everything was so chopped it didn't entice me. I'm not sure what it was that just didn't sit well with me.

Food Rocks really was "delightfully creepy"! I miss it because I want Howard to watch it, but at the same time, I'd just have to make sure we were sitting FAR away from the stage! I liked it as a kid though! I don't remember that Epcot display case at One Man's Dream. I was a little creeped out by the place because of Kingdom Keepers. Plus, there's the submarine from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (I'm afraid of that!), so I stayed away from certain areas.

What an interesting set-up of having the sushi in the cardboard box! It's a good thing Howard and I are already planning to get sushi tonight (haven't had it in so long!) otherwise I'd yell at you for posting that yummy-looking sushi pic! Too bad it wasn't as good as it looked.

How hilarious is it that Queenie bought the jacket for herself at BouTiki!!! Haha, I started cracking up when I read that.

Up to page 11!!! Will continue some other time!

We do the appetizer thing at home a lot too - mostly with chain restaurants like Chillis or Friday's. It's a great (and pretty cheap) way to experience a place and sample a bunch of stuff without getting too much food!

Thanks for the compliment on the wedding pictures. DH and I had a little "chat" about how he had to smile and not look like a goofball for the pictures we were paying a lot of $$$ for I like the firework pictures a lot too. Some of my favorites, I'm so glad we chose the California Grill for the reception so we could get those!

I totally agree with you on the Cobb Salad thing. For me the biggest thing I didn't like about that cobb salad was the INSANE amount of parsley. It was like they used parsley instead of lettuce. I LOVE chopped salads, but it just wasn't tasty in my opinion.

I LOVED Food Rocks as a kid too. But when I saw a clip of it on YouTube recently, I thought it was kind of creepy. Funny that I didn't when I was little! I totally have fond memories of that attraction! I was so excited to see them in One Man's Dream I was "OOOO ing" and pointing like a crazy person.

I didn't even think of how weird it was to eat sushi out of a cardboard box. If it was anywhere else, I'm not sure I would have done that. Hope your sushi was yummy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! Hope you have a fabulous day!!!

Thanks! I am off to have a free "birthday margarita" in a souvenir glass, so what could be bad about that

Although, the I think about my birthday 2 years ago and we were having dinner at Le Cellier and I remember exactly what could be better

i cant remember if it was this trip or a different one but im pretty sure youve rented a car through swan/dolphin resort right? i think we are going to go this route, can you tell me how you booked it?

It was this trip. We rented from National. I just went to the national website The location code for the Swalphin is ORLR13.

Grumpy is an Emerald Club member, so we used that discount instead of a coupon code, but there is a place to put the coupon code if you have one online.

I'm one of those people that HATES booking stuff on the phone, so I stuck to the internet, but I believe they have a 1-800 number too.

HTH

After we booked, everything was really easy to do - we took the ME to our resort, and then took Disney Transportation to the Dolphin. It was really really easy!

 

[not_Joanna_eggs]

So after heading back to the room, we did something that a year ago I would NEVER imagine being okay with, we had a fantastic afternoon chilling in the room and watching the football game!

After just catching the tragic last minutes of the Patriots game the week before, it was great watching our Packer kick the Giants’ butts

It felt really silly because we totally could do this anywhere, and at first we were talking about going to the ESPN club - but we were kind of peopled-out and the game was on TV, and we had great afternoon chilling with the family not worrying about crowds or anything. Just relaxing and fun.

Since we had such a big lunch, we had munchies for dinner.

After watching the Packers win, and packing a little bit, I realized I still hadn’t crossed the last thing off my list, so after much debating, DH and I headed out solo. Well, not solo because we were together, but Panic, Grumpy and Queenie stayed behind to pack and they watched “Along Came Polly”

On the other hand, we headed to the Magic Kingdom, because I couldn’t go to Disney World on Christmas and not see the Castle lit up!

 

[not_Joanna_eggs]

We arrived, and the MSE was going down Main Street, DH was interested in seeing it, but there was a 2nd showing that night, so instead of braving the mass of people, DH suggested we catch the train. (Admit it - you are shocked by this suggestion aren't you!)

We caught the last train out of the Main Street Station. Talk about timing!

I was worried about the crowds since the MK was open until 3 that night, but it was so freaking cold that the crowds were really scarce.

We got off the train at Frontierland, and headed to Big Thunder Mountain, but it was down. We watched a few empty logs go down Splash Mountain. There was a 0 minute wait. No one was going on it because it was so cold and the thought of getting wet was hypothermia inducing in and of itself. Brrr.

So we started wandering, and I realized we were at the end of the MSE route, and it hadn’t arrived yet! So we decided to check it out and there was no one around, so we grabbed a spot!

(I'm sorry something happened and these pictures are super out of order, but I'm too lazy to re-order them now - so prepare to be confused as you're scrolling!)

When I was little, I LOVED this turtle. LOVED. DH thought it was hilarious!

It was so cold, we snuggled together and tried to keep warm and watch the pretty lights!

 

[not_Joanna_eggs]

DH, will you buy me jewelry like these please?

Randomly Patriotic! Gotta love it!

With BTM still down, we didn’t have that much we really wanted to do except watch Wishes, so we kept wandering.

We caught a glimpse of the castle.

We went on HM, and it was almost as empty as the first time, but not quite. After opting to not become the 1,000th happy haunt, it was almost time for Wishes.

 

[portobello_rd]

It was this trip. We rented from National. I just went to the national website The location code for the Swalphin is ORLR13.

Grumpy is an Emerald Club member, so we used that discount instead of a coupon code, but there is a place to put the coupon code if you have one online.

I'm one of those people that HATES booking stuff on the phone, so I stuck to the internet, but I believe they have a 1-800 number too.

HTH

After we booked, everything was really easy to do - we took the ME to our resort, and then took Disney Transportation to the Dolphin. It was really really easy![/QUOTE]





thanks a bajillion! mousesavers.com has the Emerald Club member sign up for free! the website does make it very easy!
my husband wont go for the sweet cadillac so im going with the compact car this time.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Hee hee. I love the turtle during the MSEP too! He's my favorite for sure.

 

[tksbaskets]

I found your trip report now too Can't wait to see how you battled the temps!

I'll be reading late into the evening to catch up

TK

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Fun pics of the Electrical Parade! I totally understand the not wanting to get ice up your nose on Splash Mountain - we were frozen just walking around!! Hope you don't freeze during Wishes!!

 

[not_Joanna_eggs]

thanks a bajillion! mousesavers.com has the Emerald Club member sign up for free! the website does make it very easy!
my husband wont go for the sweet cadillac so im going with the compact car this time.

Yay for booking the car! Bummer that your DH won't go for the Caddy

Hee hee. I love the turtle during the MSEP too! He's my favorite for sure.

Isn't the turtle the bestest ever! I totally remember it from the early 90s. Good stuff!

I found your trip report now too Can't wait to see how you battled the temps!

I'll be reading late into the evening to catch up

TK

Glad you made it over. Happy reading!

Fun pics of the Electrical Parade! I totally understand the not wanting to get ice up your nose on Splash Mountain - we were frozen just walking around!! Hope you don't freeze during Wishes!!

That night was so cold, my memories are even just making me chilly! Actually I stole Queenie's jacket for the night - and it was really toasty. Made it even madder that she stole it from me

 

[not_Joanna_eggs]

After HM, we grabbed a spot for wishes near the Christmas Shop. Good spot –close to the Castle but not crowded!

Unlink IllumiNations, the holiday portion of Wishes was AMAZING. I’m so glad we braved the cold for it!

I love this picture. The bird is hilarious - just chilling oblivious to the fireworks

Verdict? I LOVED the Holiday Wishes!! It was so great and holiday-y compared "holiday IllumiNations" I'm sad we waited until the last day to see it because I so would have dragged everyone's butts there a least one more time! So worth the freezing.

Did I mention it was freezing?

Pretty castle, Cold Joanna

 

[wdwgirl03]

I agree, the holiday version of Wishes is awesome. I love all the Christmas songs in it. So festive! Glad you enjoyed it!

 

[not_Joanna_eggs]

I agree, the holiday version of Wishes is awesome. I love all the Christmas songs in it. So festive! Glad you enjoyed it!

Totally agree. It was so holiday-y and awesome. Now I'm determined to see Hallo-Wishes since everyone raves about those too. I used to be like "they're just fireworks..."

 

[not_Joanna_eggs]

So after the crowds from Wishes cleared out, we kind of just hung back and wandered around for a bit. We were kind of just hanging on not wanting the trip to be over.

I went all rogue and snuck into the area that the Princess and the Frog (I’m pretty sure) characters were signing autographs. They weren’t there and the lights were pretty. No harm right? You won’t tell anyone will you?

As we were leaving another group had the same idea. I’m a rule-breaking trend setter!

By this time, we were so cold, we decided to warm up at Mickey’s PhilHarMagic

No matter how many times I see this movie, I just love it it’s so cute!

Next, we headed back to the castle.

Sorry, but it’s kind of Chincy looking that they only light the front.

We were just wandering around enjoying being at Disney and with each other. No pressure for anything – over the last year we’d pretty much done it all – at least twice. It was so nice!

We went to our old favorite the TTA/People Mover/Blue Line/WEDWay whatever it is!

Hey, this is a surprisingly not super blurry Progress City picture!

DH just looks like he’s in pain!

After our ride, we decided to hopped on Buzz Lightyear. My butt was kicked per usual.

So serious…

I asked DH if he wanted to go on Space Mountain, but he said that it was rather choppy and I wouldn’t like it. I told him I’d go anyway. I was on a Disney high – spine be dammed – it was warm in there! But he basically said thanks, but no thanks. My spine let out a sigh of relief.

 

[Princess_K]

I loved holiday Wishes! Definitely puts you into the Christmas spirit

How fun that you got to spend some time in MK with just your DH!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Philharmagic is such a cute show, I love it!! (One of the things I love is that they tossed Peter Pan in the movie mix along with the new ones like Lion King. Gotta love the classics!)

I have like an inability to do well on the Buzz Lightyear ride. And I always try to psych out DBF when we're in line, like "you're going down..." And then I get a new high score of like 800 points. Not even kidding, I think my score last time was 802.

Needless to say, DBF doesn't exactly have to worry about coming in second place to my super-honed aiming skills.

 

[Caretames1]

Nice pics of you and your DH. I someday want to go just me & my DH. although not when it's soooo cold. I get enough cold here

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Great update. I've never seen the holiday version of Wishes but I hear it is awesome. Thanks for sharing.

I love Philharmagic. It just never seems to get old to me.

 

[norybell]

I went all rogue and snuck into the area that the Princess and the Frog (I’m pretty sure) characters were signing autographs. They weren’t there and the lights were pretty. No harm right? You won’t tell anyone will you?

You'd better destroy those photos -- you don't want all this evidence floating around the internet! What if the Disney police find it?

 

[Panic Attack]

Panic, I'm afraid we have to officially revoke your nerd status. Please hand your ID badge in at the desk. Now you will default to "cool," which we hear involves things like wearing stirrup pants.

Absolutely not. While I may not watch Battlestar Gallactica, I have SEEN the Start Wars Holiday Special which is a clear sign of uber-nerd-dom dedication.

It also gives me the authority to say "Joanna... it's Blade Runner! Not bladerunner."
GEEZ. YOUR nerd status is revoked...