The Speed Walkin',Triple Split Stay,Holly Jolly Holiday**NEW 1/12 Last Day

[glennbo123]

It's great to see you and Bubba (it's funny just to type that, "Bubba") expanding your tastes in food. I was a picky eater as a kid, but I got to travel a lot early-on in my career, so since meals were paid for I was determined to try new things. I'm glad I didn't let myself miss out.

I think your picture of the castle turned out great -- you did a good job compensating for the glare.

And "Trio of Temptations". I'd buy it just on the name alone.

 

[redlight]

Great that you and Bubba could get together!

I love the descriptions of your meals. The cheese platter looked really good. How was that wine? I love ravioli!

 

[jenbear123]

It's great to see you and Bubba (it's funny just to type that, "Bubba") expanding your tastes in food. I was a picky eater as a kid, but I got to travel a lot early-on in my career, so since meals were paid for I was determined to try new things. I'm glad I didn't let myself miss out.

Isn't it?! BUBBA! Yeah I've learned from my mistakes and not trying new things. You only live once so why not give everything a try? Most recently, I've tried octopus and BBQ Eel. Still need to muster up the courage to try escargot. All in good time....

I think your picture of the castle turned out great -- you did a good job compensating for the glare.

Thanks

And "Trio of Temptations". I'd buy it just on the name alone.

Oh yes, it sure did live up to it's name! Disney thinks up some great names for their food.

Great that you and Bubba could get together!

I love the descriptions of your meals. The cheese platter looked really good. How was that wine? I love ravioli!

Thanks I try to give as much information as possible so if anybody considering these places, will have a good idea of what's good and not so good. The wine was delicious! You have to like sweet, sparkling wine of course in order to enjoy it. I highly recommend the one we tried! Ravioli is soooooo yummy! But you can never go back to Chef Boyardi after Disney's ravioli....

 

[glennbo123]

Most recently, I've tried octopus and BBQ Eel. Still need to muster up the courage to try escargot. All in good time....

I meant to post, but forgot while I was typing, that eel is my favorite in sushi, which is very surprising to me, but it's really good.

And escargot....that's something I thought I'd never try, it seems like a very good place to draw the line, but....we were on a cruise in 2008 (another incentive trip) and my daughter Marlene ordered it as her appetizer one night. We all decided that since she was brave enough to order it, we'd each try one. It wasn't bad, probably due to the delectible buttery sauce it was in.

 

[redlight]

ou have to like sweet, sparkling wine of course in order to enjoy it. I highly recommend the one we tried! Ravioli is soooooo yummy! But you can never go back to Chef Boyardi after Disney's ravioli....

I don't eat chef boyardi now - it's bland and salty. I'm part Italian and have several older relatives who can cook good ravioli.

 

[jenbear123]

I meant to post, but forgot while I was typing, that eel is my favorite in sushi, which is very surprising to me, but it's really good.

And escargot....that's something I thought I'd never try, it seems like a very good place to draw the line, but....we were on a cruise in 2008 (another incentive trip) and my daughter Marlene ordered it as her appetizer one night. We all decided that since she was brave enough to order it, we'd each try one. It wasn't bad, probably due to the delectible buttery sauce it was in.

Eel is your favourite? Wow, my hat goes off to you my friend. I have to say it's an acquired taste. But I'm still happy I tried it. To give you an idea of the kind of sushi eater I am, only now am I starting to tune my tastebuds to sashimi and the more "raw" fish side of sushi. Of course, that's what sushi is but at first, I was only eating the vegetable rolls or shrimp. That was it.

Go Marlene! What a brave girl! I wonder if escargot is another one of those things (like squid) that tastes like whatever it is cooked in....

I don't eat chef boyardi now - it's bland and salty. I'm part Italian and have several older relatives who can cook good ravioli.

Oh yes Chef Boyardi is very icky. I was only using it as an extreme example to compare to. I'm sure being part Italian you have eaten some very very good ravioli! My boyfriend's father is Italian and he is an incredible cook! Now if only my boyfriend could inherent those talents....

 

[redlight]

I haven't inherited any cooking talent, just eating talent!

 

[jenbear123]

I haven't inherited any cooking talent, just eating talent!

I think I can relate to that statement.

 

[jenbear123]

Sorry for taking so long to continue our adventure. Life just happens sometimes. I've also rediscovered my love of video games. I had the urge to play Zelda: Majora's Mask the other day, and now I'm hooked again! But this isn't a Nintendo report, now is it? On with the show!

After a quick, inconspicuous change of clothes in the car we hopped on the monorail to GF to see what all the hype was about with the giant gingerbread house.

But before we got there, we were distracted by the cartoons that they play for the kid's, to keep them entertained when parents are checking in.

This was one of my all time favourite classic Disney cartoons as a kid. The one with Pluto and the little turtle. It makes me tear up EVERY TIME. I just love that little turtle. If anyone is interested, I was actually able to find the cartoon on YouTube. Take a look

After getting all teary eyed and reminiscing with my childhood, we turned our focus to the gingerbread house. This thing was pretty neat! Apparently there is a store (open during the day) that sells lots of yummy, yet pricey, sweets. We only had the chance to come this one time when it was closed so no yummy treats for us. Oh well. Still got some neat photos though

The GF lobby was pretty quiet, except for the constant BANG, BANG, BANG-ing of some construction going on.

I was a little shocked that these guys were working this late in the evening. I'm sure some families were trying to sleep! Being such a high-end resort, you'd think they wouldn't allow this kind of thing. Bubba later advised me that they were working on spiffing up the floor tiles. Like this place needs to be any more spiffy?! Here's a look at some of the already completed tiles:

Wouldn't mind having those put in my kitchen or dining room

Satisfied with our Giant Gingerbread house exploration, we headed upstairs to catch the monorail to MK.

One day I would love to stay at GF. One day.....

We swiftly arrived at MK. And what better timing too!

SpectroMagic parade was just coming to an end! I was a bit disappointed that I had missed the parade. Bubba picked up on this and started SPEED WALKING to get ahead of the parade. To give you an idea of just how fast she walked, check it out on this video HERE!

At the approx 3 sec mark, you can hear me go "whoa!" That's me tripping on the curb and nearly falling on my face. Guess that's what happens when you're looking at what your camera is recorded instead of where you're walking.

With Bubba's quick walking, I was able to snap so pretty good photos

The parade was magical and all, but we were focused on more important things: SPACE MOUNTAIN! Bubba had to grab some water on our way into Tomorrowland. After all that running around, I don't blame her!

Since the parade was still going on, we thought the lines might be a bit shorter.....

....how wrong we were! I guess the Thanksgiving Day crowds were finally creeping up on us. So no Space Mountain for us that night.... in fact that was our last opportunity to ride it. I only got to ride it once the whole trip but I figured it would be near impossible to get on it multiple times. Especially after such a LONG refurbishment. Next trip, it should be lower crowds and less hype for it. We'll see how many times I get on it then....

Okay so no Space Mountain for us. We were both a little bummed but we still had a long night ahead of us for other rides! Instead, we hopped onto TTA

Got our picture taken in front of the sparkly castle

and rode Jungle Cruise at night. FINALLY!

We actually rode on JC twice in row because Bubba wasn't happy with the first skipper. I'll admit she was a little dull. The next skipper we got, the poor girl had no voice! She was struggling to talk. It made all the jokes that much funnier. This skipper was definitely better than the first. I liked riding JC at night much better than during the day. The cave part is much better and the animals don't look so (dare I say it) fake.

I'm pretty sure we rode some more rides, but my memory escapes me. I didn't take anymore pictures either until we were leaving the park. Let's just assume we rode POTC, Splash Mountain and Haunted Mansion.

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST

 

[jenbear123]

When it came time to leave MK, I started to get all teary eyed. I really did not want to leave the park that night. So we absorbed every detail of Main Street U.S.A

From the cute window displays:

to the holly jolly decorations:

It was then that the whole experience hit me; of being in Disney World, at the Magic Kingdom. The park was practically cleared out by this hour (12:30am) and the park closed at 2am. You could hear the background music. The sights, the smells. It's moments like this that I wish could last forever. You know, we spend so much time on these trips running from point A to point B. We never stop to appreciate the fine details of what WDW has to offer. I was glad we took these 15 minutes to absorb our surroundings.

This had been an awesome, but very long, day. We took one last look at the train station

and went back to our resort for our last night at ASMusic. Had to recharge our energy for the move to the next resort!

UP NEXT:
MOVE TO AKL - "LOOK AT ALL THE ANIMALS!!!"
FIRST STAB AT THE ANIMATION STUDIO - GOOD RESULTS?
LUNCH AT SANAA

 

[redlight]

At the approx 3 sec mark, you can hear me go "whoa!" That's me tripping on the curb and nearly falling on my face. Guess that's what happens when you're looking at what your camera is recorded instead of where you're walking

Glad you didn't fall. I'm also a bit of a klutz.

90 minutes is a long wait.

 

[glennbo123]

What a great day. Glad you had a chance to pause and "soak it in".

I can't wait to hear about all 3 of the topics you mention are coming up: AKL, Animation Studio, and Sanaa.

 

[Elevationist]

I'm finally all caught up! What an awesome time you two are having! It's making me miss WDW so so so much! You're lucky, at least you know when you'll be back. It's looking like 2011 at the earliest for me, meh!

 

[jenbear123]

Glad you didn't fall. I'm also a bit of a klutz.

90 minutes is a long wait.

Yeah, I kinda felt like a klutz. That would've been just what I needed. A scraped knee in Disney....

90 min. was the longest wait for any ride we had seen since we had been there (except TSM) but even then we only saw max 60 min. wait. It's a good reminder NOT to go at peak season, if possible.

What a great day. Glad you had a chance to pause and "soak it in".

I can't wait to hear about all 3 of the topics you mention are coming up: AKL, Animation Studio, and Sanaa.

I think everyone should stop and "smell the roses". Getting on every ride might be one way to get your money's worth, but realizing where you are at that exact moment, in the most magical place on earth is something no amount of money can buy.

I'll try to update soon! The results of my drawings at Animation Studio can't compare to yours....

I'm finally all caught up! What an awesome time you two are having! It's making me miss WDW so so so much! You're lucky, at least you know when you'll be back. It's looking like 2011 at the earliest for me, meh!

Awww, I wouldn't count out 2010 just yet. You never know! I miss WDW every day.... So glad you're still following along. After all, you were with me from the beginning

 

[praisehisname]

All caught up again! Your Cali Grill dinner looked yummy and I love MK at night!

 

[jenbear123]

All caught up again! Your Cali Grill dinner looked yummy and I love MK at night!

Cali Grill was an incredible experience. MK is really special at night. I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe because it seems calmer at night or something. Either way, I love being there when all the lights are on the castle!

 

[jenbear123]

Sorry for the delay in an update folks. It was a crazy week with Christmas, running back and forth between houses, etc. We now have enough turkey leftovers to feed an army!

Working on the next update so it should be up tonight!

 

[glennbo123]

Working on the next update so it should be up tonight!

 

[redlight]

Looking forward to the update!

 

[lovegrumpy]

Can't wait to hear more.