The Greatest Hits: A Trip Like This Needs a Soundtrack!-A July 2012 TR Upd. 5/5!

[Curiouser&curiouser!]

I had heard that a lot of the tumble monkeys are former Olympians.

I love Festival of the Lion King! I'll be so sad if they cancel the show. I did make it a point to see it on my last trip, just in case though.

I think the penny looks like a Turkey!- But that is probably just me thinking about all the yummy food to be eaten tomorrow.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 

[amandaw]

Happy Thanksgiving!!

So glad y'all were able to make it to FotLK! It will really be a travesty if Disney does away with that show. Even though I don't love that park, I think that show is one of the best things at Disney.

I love that pillow in the picture! I need it!

Can't wait to hear about lunch!

 

[therussells08]

I had heard that a lot of the tumble monkeys are former Olympians.

I love Festival of the Lion King! I'll be so sad if they cancel the show. I did make it a point to see it on my last trip, just in case though.

I think the penny looks like a Turkey!- But that is probably just me thinking about all the yummy food to be eaten tomorrow.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

That is so awesome! They're all so talented!

ME TOO! I'm glad I saw it in July too, just in case. It's such a great show!

Hahaha I can see a little bit of turkey in there...

Thank you so much!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

So glad y'all were able to make it to FotLK! It will really be a travesty if Disney does away with that show. Even though I don't love that park, I think that show is one of the best things at Disney.

I love that pillow in the picture! I need it!

Can't wait to hear about lunch!

Thank you!

I know, I completely agree with you! It is so amazing!

Aren't those pillows the best? I want them all!

 

[therussells08]

"Carl Goes Up"- Michael Giacchino (Up Soundtrack)​

July 9, 2012

Instrumental ​

Having skipped breakfast, John and I were both ravenous as we made our way up to Yak & Yeti! We were half an hour early for our ADR, so we were both hoping desperately that they would go ahead and seat us!

SUCCESS! The place was almost empty, and we were seated immediately! Our table was upstairs next to the railing, which is almost exactly where we sat last time!

Here’s our view from the table:

Our waitress came over immediately to get our drink orders. Her name was Ellen, and she was from Monterrey, CA. I though it was funny that her name was Ellen, because she looked EXACTLY like Ellen Degeneres!

We both knew what we wanted to eat, so when Ellen brought our drinks we went ahead and ordered our food. After she left I went to the bathroom so I could wash my hands and take pictures of some of the décor!

HAHAHA I love that John photo bombed that picture. That’s my boy!

I love all the statues!

This guy blends right in with the wall.

While I was in the bathroom, I had a major D’OH moment…I dropped my camera! We’re talking about my almost brand new camera that I had only owned for like six months at the time. I was devastated, because it had an obvious dent in the side, but after some careful inspection I realized it was still functional. The only thing that messed up was the spring that made the flash pop up. Now when I want to use the flash I have to pull it up with my fingernail. This is pretty inconvenient and it took some practice to master, but at least I didn’t have to get a new camera!

When I got back to the table I ashamedly admitted to John what I had done. I was embarrassed because he had JUST told me that I shouldn’t take my camera with me to the bathroom, but luckily he is kind hearted enough that he didn’t say “I told you so.” He’s so good to me!

I didn’t have long to mope about my camera, because our food arrived almost immediately after I got back!

John ordered the shaoxing steak and shrimp, which is “skirt steak, tempura-battered shrimp, jasmine rice, stir-fried vegetables, and chili plum dipping sauce.”

I ordered the crispy honey chicken, which is “tempura chicken, broccoli, carrots, and honey sauce.”

We gobbled our entrees pretty quickly, because we were both eager to get to the best part of a meal at Yak & Yeti- DESSERT! We both ordered the fried wontons- “skewers of fresh pineapple and cream cheese wontons, vanilla ice cream, and honey vanilla drizzle.” AKA, one of my absolute favorite desserts on Disney property!

When it was time to settle the bill, I realized that since it’s independently owned, Yak & Yeti wouldn’t accept the TiW card. They did, however, offer a 10% AP discount!

Alrighty, it’s that time again…time for a dining review!

Service: Honestly, at first I really wasn’t impressed with Ellen. She was in a big rush, she mixed up our drink orders, and she took a long time to bring us refills. Then, toward the end of our meal, she started trying to sell us some discount card for the Landry’s chain that owns Yak & Yeti and other restaurants like Rainforest Café. We were not interested, and we told her several times that we didn’t live near any of their restaurants so it would be a waste of money, but she was persistent. Finally she gave up, and I kind of expected her to be short with us after that, but it was the opposite. She came to our table before we left and talked to us for a little while. She wished us a happy anniversary and told us that her parents had just celebrated their 50th anniversary. That redeemed her a little bit in our eyes!

Atmosphere: I always love the atmosphere at Yak & Yeti! It’s such a beautiful restaurant, and there’s so much to look at! I highly recommend exploring all the décor if you eat there! Plus it was early in the day, so there was hardly anyone there, which was nice!

Food Quality: As far as our entrees go, John was really happy with his. Mine was pretty good, but I thought the sauce on my chicken was a little too sweet, and the broccoli and carrots were a little rubbery. Dessert TOTALLY made up for it, though! The cream cheese wontons were fantastic, as always!

Overall Dining Experience: Overall it was a nice experience. Being seated immediately was awesome, but we did feel a little uncomfortable when Ellen tried to get us to buy the discount card. I don’t like pushy servers.

Overall, this meal receives the following rating:

Category Two- Emile​

Don’t get me wrong, it was a great lunch, but it just wasn’t good enough to be elevated to Remy status. Will we eat there again? Absolutely, but probably not on our next trip!

When we left Yak & Yeti we were both feeling pretty satisfied with our AK morning. We were just getting ready to leave when we noticed Dug and Russell from Up doing a meet and greet! I love Dug so much, and that’s one of my absolute favorite Disney movies, so I couldn’t resist! The line wasn’t too long, so we hopped right in!

The line moved pretty quickly, but when it was almost our turn, the CM with Russell and Dug announced that they needed to go “check on Kevin” and would be back in just a few minutes. Since we were next in line, he stood and chatted with us while we waited. He was obviously a CM who loved his job, because he was super cheerful! John was standing there like Mr. Tough Army Guy with his sunglasses on, and the CM asked him if he was excited. John said yes in a very unconvincing tone, and the CM said, “I can see that! Your tattoos are just dancing with excitement!” That was pretty fun. He was really random too, because he asked us where we were from and if we had palm trees in NC. I told him we did at the coast. Then he asked what the state tree of NC was, and I told him the dogwood. It was an interesting conversation, to say the least!

I was so excited to meet Russell and Dug when they came back! They both gave me a big hug, and when I hugged Dug he “licked” me and made a loud slurpy noise! It was so cute!

Here’s the picture from our camera:

And here are all of the PhotoPass pictures!

It was a great meet and greet, and the perfect way to end our morning at Animal Kingdom, so we headed out of the park and made it back to the Beach Club at 1:15! Another productive morning!

Up Next: An awesome evening at DHS! Stay tuned!

 

[marDgreen88]

Awww Joni, I feel the same way about you and my DIS friends! Someday we will meet in person and it will be spectacular! I hope you're having a wonderful early Thanksgiving!

AHHH Festival of the Lion King. Why is it the most perfect show ever? I mean, really. Every time I watch it it's like the first time all over again! AND YES!!! I read that at least one of the tumble monkeys was on the US Men's team in 2008! SO COOL.

I'm so glad you bought some of the pillows! I really wish I had purchased some. I WILL.

AHHH PERFECT SONG CHOICE for the second update! Ahh, that movie.

OH MAN. That same thing happened to my first digital camera. I was especially sad because I had paid for it with my own money and someone stepped on it during a school pep rally. Hahha, sigh. I'm so glad yours was still functional!

Yum! The food looks delicious. There has been a serious lack of Asian food in my life for far too long! It's so good. Anything tempura is an immediate winner in my eyes.

LOVE your Dug and Russell photos! They're adorable!

I feel a cupcake coming on... :

 

[cindianne320]

Happy Thanksgiving to you as well!

What a great morning! We've never eaten at Yak and Yeti, but it always smells so incredible! Up was on Disney Channel this morning, but my 3 year old wasn't interested. We are trying to watch all of the Disney movies before our trip next year- we're on The Rescuers!

Sorry that Ellen was pushy- not a good way to end a meal!

 

[monica23535]

Sounds like a great morning at AK!


We love the Festival of the Lion King show too and would miss it so much, it's not my husbands favorite park so I would struggle to get him there if that closed lol

We saw Russell and Dug too, wouldn't it be great if Carl was there too?

Yum I need to get to Yak & Yeti one of these days, your honey chicken looked right up my street!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[heathsf]

Oh no! I hadn't heard anything about FOTLK ending! I really enjoy that show! I would have to say it's my favorite show at AK. I hope it's not true.

I enjoyed your Yak & Yeti review. I've never eaten at the restaurant but it looks good. The steak & shrimp looked really yummy.

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Happy Thanksgiving Joni!! I am so thankful to have met you!

I SO hope the rumors are untrue! I would be heartbroken if that show got shelved!

I love the stores in Animal Kingdom. They're all so well-themed.

AHH THE PILLOWS. I'm obsessed with mine.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[flyergrad09]

I have the exact same thought about FotLK! That and Finding Nemo: The Musical are both so amazing.

Your food at Yak & Yeti looks so good! That's a bummer about your server bothering you with the discount card. That's one thing that I usually enjoy about Disney - most of the time, I never run into people trying to upsell.

“I can see that! Your tattoos are just dancing with excitement!” - I love it when CMs say things like that! There should be a blog of the hilarious things that people hear CMs say at Disney. I can see it now: "CMs Say The Darndest Things!"

 

[WEDWDW]

Great update!

DAK is so awesome!

I agree about FOTLK!Hopefully it will receive a last minute "stay of execution"!

Yak and Yeti is SO detailed and your pictures really showed that!

I am thankful that I recently discovered yoiur wonderful TRs and also those of 508 and 616 and am thankful for all of the amazing DISers who love and appreciate the Walt Disney World Resort the same way that I do!

AND I am EXTREMELY thankful that,in 8 days,I will be:

"WALKIN' RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE OF MAIN STREET USA!"

Look out New Fantasyland-Here I come!

 

[Nermel9]

Happy Thanksgiving to one of my first DIS friends!

Great AK updates! FOTLK is one of my favorite things at Disney, period! I LOVE the Tumble Monkeys so much, it always makes me wish I didn't give up gymnastics in 3rd grade!

I have that same Lion King shirt, and I wore it to AK on this trip! And I bought those Minnie ears that you are modeling too! They have so many fancy Minnie ears now, I want all of them!

Yak and Yeti looks good, I really want to go there to try the fried wontons, everyone raves about them! Ugh, I can't believe you dropped your camera! I'm glad it still worked! Brandon dropped mine last year, on our October trip, right after I first got it, and it got all dented and scratched, I was sooo mad at him for a while!

Can't wait to read more! I started my new TR by the way...

 

[Curiouser&curiouser!]

I really want to try the Yak & Yeti. I have rarely read about anyone having a less than decent meal- and usually the reviews are practically glowing! Unfortunately, I doubt it'll happen for a while. With an antsy 3 year old boy, I don't see many table service meals in our future for a while.

I have never seen Dug and Russel out! That's great! I noticed in your pics though that Russel doesn't have the grape soda pin on his sash- I wonder why that is?

 

[MagicShell]

Well I was WAY behind! What a great 2nd day so far. I love you shirt, love AK, love EE, love the lions and tigers, love the FotLK. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE! Basically, my idea of a perfect Disney morning.

 

[saintstickets]

FOTLK is closing temporarily in January 2013. The space it occupies, as well as Camp Minnie-Mickey are being moved to make way for Avatar. FOTLK is being moved to a new theater in the Africa section of the park.

 

[cindianne320]

FOTLK is closing temporarily in January 2013. The space it occupies, as well as Camp Minnie-Mickey are being moved to make way for Avatar. FOTLK is being moved to a new theater in the Africa section of the park.

OH thank goodness!

 

[WEDWDW]

FOTLK is being moved to a new theater in the Africa section of the park.

WOW!I didn't know a final decision had been made-just the rumors that it may or may not be saved!

Where did you see the official announcement?

That is awesome news!

Thanks again!I LOVE that show!

 

[therussells08]

Awww Joni, I feel the same way about you and my DIS friends! Someday we will meet in person and it will be spectacular! I hope you're having a wonderful early Thanksgiving!

AHHH Festival of the Lion King. Why is it the most perfect show ever? I mean, really. Every time I watch it it's like the first time all over again! AND YES!!! I read that at least one of the tumble monkeys was on the US Men's team in 2008! SO COOL.

I'm so glad you bought some of the pillows! I really wish I had purchased some. I WILL.

AHHH PERFECT SONG CHOICE for the second update! Ahh, that movie.

OH MAN. That same thing happened to my first digital camera. I was especially sad because I had paid for it with my own money and someone stepped on it during a school pep rally. Hahha, sigh. I'm so glad yours was still functional!

Yum! The food looks delicious. There has been a serious lack of Asian food in my life for far too long! It's so good. Anything tempura is an immediate winner in my eyes.

LOVE your Dug and Russell photos! They're adorable!

I feel a cupcake coming on... :

Aww thanks, Twin! Yes, someday we will meet in person, and we will wear matching costumes and RULE Disney World!

I totally agree, it really is perfect! It's so amazing that they have suched talented performers too!

I love those pillows! I wanted all of them, but I'm going to have to buy them in intervals, especially since they cost like $25 per pillow! I hope they don't stop selling them anytime soon!

Thanks! I love that movie!

AHH that's not a very peppy thing to do to someone's camera! I guess they were focusing a little too hard on being AGGRESSIVE. (B-e a-g-g-r-e-s-s-i-v-e, that is.)

There is never a lack of Asian food in my life. However, I'm always happy to welcome more!

Thank you!

YES! I am finally going to get to my first cupcake in a couple of updates!

Happy Thanksgiving to you as well!

What a great morning! We've never eaten at Yak and Yeti, but it always smells so incredible! Up was on Disney Channel this morning, but my 3 year old wasn't interested. We are trying to watch all of the Disney movies before our trip next year- we're on The Rescuers!

Sorry that Ellen was pushy- not a good way to end a meal!

Thank you so much!

I hope you get to eat at Yak & Yeti sometime. It really is delicious!

Awww, I love that movie! I love watching Disney movies to help me get ready for a trip!

Thanks! I'm guessing she has been told by management to push those cards, but still. It was annoying!

Sounds like a great morning at AK!


We love the Festival of the Lion King show too and would miss it so much, it's not my husbands favorite park so I would struggle to get him there if that closed lol

We saw Russell and Dug too, wouldn't it be great if Carl was there too?

Yum I need to get to Yak & Yeti one of these days, your honey chicken looked right up my street!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It was an awesome morning!

It sounds like it's not going to be cancelled, so you can still drag your hubby to AK! Yay!

YES! I wish Carl was there too! I love that old curmudgeon!

It is really good! We eat there almost every trip!

Oh no! I hadn't heard anything about FOTLK ending! I really enjoy that show! I would have to say it's my favorite show at AK. I hope it's not true.

I enjoyed your Yak & Yeti review. I've never eaten at the restaurant but it looks good. The steak & shrimp looked really yummy.

It's my favorite too! It sounds like it's not being cancelled, just moved!

Thank you! It really is a good restaurant. I hope you get to try it someday!

Happy Thanksgiving Joni!! I am so thankful to have met you!

I SO hope the rumors are untrue! I would be heartbroken if that show got shelved!

I love the stores in Animal Kingdom. They're all so well-themed.

AHH THE PILLOWS. I'm obsessed with mine.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Thank you Kristen! I am so thankful to have met you too! My mom and I were just talking about you again the other day!

I know, me too! It sounds like it's safe, though! Thank goodness!

Me too! There's so much unique stuff in them too!

ME TOO! I want to get them all eventually!

I have the exact same thought about FotLK! That and Finding Nemo: The Musical are both so amazing.

Your food at Yak & Yeti looks so good! That's a bummer about your server bothering you with the discount card. That's one thing that I usually enjoy about Disney - most of the time, I never run into people trying to upsell.

“I can see that! Your tattoos are just dancing with excitement!” - I love it when CMs say things like that! There should be a blog of the hilarious things that people hear CMs say at Disney. I can see it now: "CMs Say The Darndest Things!"

I agree completely! Although I almost always skip Nemo- not sure why!

It was really good! Yeah, I didn't appreciate her pushiness. I guess that just shows that it's not a Disney owned restaurant!

Yeah he was really funny! I love that idea- I can't believe no one has done it yet!

 

[therussells08]

Great update!

DAK is so awesome!

I agree about FOTLK!Hopefully it will receive a last minute "stay of execution"!

Yak and Yeti is SO detailed and your pictures really showed that!

I am thankful that I recently discovered yoiur wonderful TRs and also those of 508 and 616 and am thankful for all of the amazing DISers who love and appreciate the Walt Disney World Resort the same way that I do!

AND I am EXTREMELY thankful that,in 8 days,I will be:

"WALKIN' RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE OF MAIN STREET USA!"

Look out New Fantasyland-Here I come!

Thanks!

Yes, it is! I totally agree!

I'm so glad to hear that it's not being cancelled, just moved!

Thanks! There's so much to photograph in that place!

Aww you're so kind! I'm thankful that you stumbled across my reports!

AHHH I'm thankful for that too! I'm so excited for you!

Happy Thanksgiving to one of my first DIS friends!

Great AK updates! FOTLK is one of my favorite things at Disney, period! I LOVE the Tumble Monkeys so much, it always makes me wish I didn't give up gymnastics in 3rd grade!

I have that same Lion King shirt, and I wore it to AK on this trip! And I bought those Minnie ears that you are modeling too! They have so many fancy Minnie ears now, I want all of them!

Yak and Yeti looks good, I really want to go there to try the fried wontons, everyone raves about them! Ugh, I can't believe you dropped your camera! I'm glad it still worked! Brandon dropped mine last year, on our October trip, right after I first got it, and it got all dented and scratched, I was sooo mad at him for a while!

Can't wait to read more! I started my new TR by the way...

Thanks Jen! We do go way back, don't we?

Me too! Haha they are really impressive. All of the athleticism and skill in that show really makes me feel bad about myself. Then I go eat a jalapeno cream cheese pretzel and I'm over it!

AHH! Great minds think alike!

Yak & Yeti is definitely worth it for the dessert alone! Ughh don't you hate when stuff like that happens, especially on vacation?!

I really want to try the Yak & Yeti. I have rarely read about anyone having a less than decent meal- and usually the reviews are practically glowing! Unfortunately, I doubt it'll happen for a while. With an antsy 3 year old boy, I don't see many table service meals in our future for a while.

I have never seen Dug and Russel out! That's great! I noticed in your pics though that Russel doesn't have the grape soda pin on his sash- I wonder why that is?

I hope you get to eat there sometime soon, it really is good! They have a pretty decent kids menu, so hopefully when your little guy gets a bit bigger you'll be able to go!

That's weird! I didn't notice that until you said something! Maybe because Carl wasn't there to give it to him?

Well I was WAY behind! What a great 2nd day so far. I love you shirt, love AK, love EE, love the lions and tigers, love the FotLK. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE! Basically, my idea of a perfect Disney morning.

Thanks! I'm so glad you love everything! It really was an awesome morning!

FOTLK is closing temporarily in January 2013. The space it occupies, as well as Camp Minnie-Mickey are being moved to make way for Avatar. FOTLK is being moved to a new theater in the Africa section of the park.

Yay! Thanks so much for the information! That is great news, although my sister will not be happy to miss FotLK in March! She loves that show as much as I do!

 

[therussells08]

"Come Sail Away"- Styx

July 9, 2012

Come sail away,
Come sail away,
Come sail away with me​

When I left off, we were just returning to the Beach Club after a long and successful morning at Animal Kingdom! It was about 1:15 when we got back, and we were both more than ready for an afternoon nap! That heat is draining!

We ended up napping for about two hours and then we got up and got ready for the evening. We left the room at about 3:30 for Disney’s Hollywood Studios!

You can’t go to Hollywood without a wardrobe change!

We were in no particular rush, so we decided to stop in the BC gift shop so John could trade a Vinylmation and I could do a little pin trading.

The CM let John pick three little “doors,” and he ended up deciding on the police officer Vinyl on the far right. I think he traded it for something else later, though.

If you’ve never stayed at the BC, here’s a helpful tip- they keep this really cool life vest behind the counter that is COVERED in pins for trading! I asked to see it, and I ended up nabbing a pin I had been searching for!

Yay Statler!

After we finished trading we made our way out of the resort. Like I said before, we weren’t in any kind of hurry, so we decided to take advantage of the friendship boat to DHS!

It was such a beautiful day!

I love the lighthouse! It’s so pretty!

John sat down on a bench to wait for a boat…

but he didn’t have to wait long! It literally arrived three minutes later!

We were ready to sail away!

Helloooo, Ya-CH-t Club! (Where my Frumps at?! )

I was really impressed by the size of the Swan and Dolphin as we sailed up to it! It seems really huge!

The friendship boat ride was surprising quick, and we were arriving at DHS at about 4:10!

Zoom time! Remember, doing the creep? Yeah, that’s me! Some things never change!

Once we were in the park we headed straight for ToT! John was itching for an elevator ride!

The standby line was pretty long, so we formulated a new plan- John would get us FPs for ToT while I raced over to see if Starring Rolls was still open! I was craving a cupcake, and it was only 10 minutes after 4 during the middle of summer! Surely they would be open, right? Right?!?!

Wrong. They were closed. BOO. So I just hung around waiting for John to come back with the FPs. While I was waiting I saw some little performance going on. I love how these are always happening in DHS!

Even though we didn’t get our cupcake I still really wanted a snack, so we decided to go to Writer’s Stop and try the famous carrot cake cookie!

On the way I had to pay homage to one of my favorite shows!

Yes, I am obsessed with the Bachelor/Bachelorette smut. Can we just talk for a minute about how ridiculously excited I am that Sean Lowe is the next bachelor? If anyone watched Emily’s season of the Bachelorette and saw the episode where they went to see Brave and played the Highland Games, you’ll totally understand why. HE BROKE A TREE, Y’ALL.

I digress. Anyway, we went in Writer’s Stop and it was practically empty! The CMs behind the counter, and older lady and a yound lady, were really nice. We ordered a carrot cake cookie to share and two bottled sodas. While we paid I chatted with the younger of the CMs, who was doing the DCP. We talked about how obsessed we both are with Disney. We had a lot in common!

We found an empty table and sat down to enjoy our carrot cake cookie that I had heard so much about!

Here’s our view from the table:

The place was practically empty!

And here’s the snack itself:

You know what that means! It’s time for a DINING REVIEW!

Service: The service was great! Both of the CMs were very friendly, and the younger of the two was extra nice! We talked about Disney for a while, which is always awesome!

Atmosphere: If you’ve never been in the Writer’s Stop, it’s a great place to stop and relax. It was nice and empty, and we could just sit for a few minutes and enjoy our snack together in peace!

Food Quality: Okay DISers, please don’t hate me for this, but…I didn’t really love the carrot cake cookie. I know, I know, I’m crazy! It had a good flavor, but it was just a little too dense for me. Plus the icing in the middle was ice cold, which I didn’t really like for some reason. I’m glad I tried it, but it’s not something I will order again! John agreed with me. He gladly ate his half, but he told me later that it wasn’t his favorite.

Overall Dining Experience: It was nice to sit and relax in a quiet place for a while, but the actual snack wasn’t our favorite. If you can handle REALLY dense and sweet treats, then the carrot cake cookie is for you! It was just a bit much for us!

Overall, this snack receives the following rating:

Category 2- Emile​

It was okay, but just okay! Definitely a Category 2!

Up Next: More adventures in Hollywood! Stay tuned!