GreatMovieRideFan
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2020
- Messages
- 1
Loving this trip report! Also, I think we have similar senses of humor. I, too, frequently say "Look at all those chickens."
The Trip With The Highway Cows and Polecat Detectives, A WDW/UO Feb/March '22 TR ***Completed 2/26***
- Thread starter DisneyyDaydream
- Start date
DisneyyDaydream
Adventure is Out There
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2018
- Messages
- 279
I always think about recreating that Cobb salad but sooo much chopping. Looks like a fun day so far!
P. S. I went back and read your past trip reports. Love your vacation style! It’s so cool that you have a friend like Mel to go on all these fun adventures with
It's definitely one of those things that you think, "Wow this is easy! I could do this at home and save myself $20" and then you get about a quarter of the way through chopping a hard boiled egg and decide the $20-something price tag is worth the effort alone lol.
And thanks! Mel and I have been best friends for........13 years (?) and while I don't see her as often as I used to due to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, we always manage to have a fun adventure when together.
And thanks! Mel and I have been best friends for........13 years (?) and while I don't see her as often as I used to due to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, we always manage to have a fun adventure when together.
Mel will 100% agree with you. It's in her top 3 Disney Foods.
I think I'm one of the funniest people I've ever met, so if we have similar senses of humor, that makes YOU one of the funniest people as well.
DisneyyDaydream
Adventure is Out There
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2018
- Messages
- 279
Day 6, Part 2
March 1, 2022
"That Kid Has Hypothermia. That's How Cold It Is"
After our lunch at Mel’s new found obsession, we headed to Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway which we had a DAS reservation that we had set up earlier.
Kermmie
MMRR was posted at a 105 minute wait but we were through in slightly over 20 minutes.
“Slightly over” since just as we were next to board our train like a couple of drifters, the ride broke down and good old Engineer Stanley entered the scene. A couple of twists of his screwdriver, a few turns of his magic wand, a little this, a bit of that and we were back in business, baby!
I think MMRR is a very, very fun ride and a much needed new addition to a dying park (Hollywood Studios pre Star Wars Land). Do I miss the Great Movie Ride? Slightly. Do I think it needed to finally go? Yes. It was aging, and aging fast.
We stopped in to watch Vacation Fun after. Mel and I both love the newer style Mickey and Co cartoons- which is a slightly unpopular opinion I believe. But they’re fun! And Mel has an annual pass for Potatoland.
Vacation Fun only runs for about 12 minutes, so after the show was over, Mel and I still had time to catch the 4:30 showing of Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, which was the last show of the night.
We got into the theater at 4:16 and wouldn’t you know it, just like Muppets, Indiana was CROWDED. There were no seats. Not a one. So Mel and I sat along the back wall, until some older middle aged woman tried to scootch me out of my own seat by sitting halfway onto my lap. She won though, I did get up and move.
The show has changed over the years, I’m guessing mostly from Covid. There weren’t any audience participants this time around which I thought was weird. I don’t know if they have any plans to bring that part back in the future, or if it’s gone for good.
After we raided a couple of arcs and doomed an entire temple, Mel and I headed back to Star Wars Land to fully appreciate the depth and range of Harrison Ford’s acting career. Also to use our Smuggler’s Run DAS.
We got there slightly before our DAS return time, so we got a couple of drinks from a nearby cart and enjoyed our thermal detonators.
Coke for me
Water for Mel
After our quick hydration break, we geared up and entered Smuggler’s Run.
The wait was posted at 75 minutes, but we only had to wait 15. Mel and I were both Engineers- like our new found buddy Stanley. I didn’t mind being an Engineer, it sounded the least stressful. That’s all I cared about. Give me the easy role.
We managed to get (fill? Deliver? Pick up?) 2 coaxium and were ranked pirates. This means nothing to me, but hopefully to you dear reader, it means something.
After Smuggler’s Run, Mel was craving a root beer float so we stopped by Woody’s Lunchbox. And well, well, well. Well. Well, well. Woody’s Lunchbox lacks a lot of seating. Please keep this in mind.
Mel set off to order her root beer float and a Frozen Mystic Portal for me while I attempted to find us a couple of seats so we could eat our icy drinks and relax our aching feet. There was not a single seat to be found inside the Woody’s Lunchbox area. And this did not please Mel one bit.
I waved Mel down to where I was outside of Woody’s and she meandered over to me, grumpy, and carrying both drinks.
Ice Cream Float with Barq’s Root Beer: “made with Vanilla Soft Serve Ice Cream” $5.99
Frozen Mystic Portal Punch: “POWERADE® Mountain Berry Blast with flavors of Lemon-Lime and Tangerine” $5.49
Mel handed me my drink and then turned and chucked her float right into the garbage.
Oh?
I looked at Mel, she looked at me. I looked at the garbage, Mel looked at me.
“I know. I had a moment. There were no seats, I’m hot, it started overflowing and dripping down my arms. I don’t even want it anymore.”
I sipped my punch in response. It was good and hit the spot.
Slight tantrum over with, Mel and I headed into TSMM using a LL we had picked up earlier. The wait was posted at 60 minutes but we only waited around 10.
Mel guessed Potato Head, I guessed Bo Peep. Wheezy F Baby
And for the 2nd time that day, Mel not only beat me by a lot (187,000 to my 155,500) but she was also best in car.
Show off.
After we destroyed all of Andy’s mom’s good China, we headed over to Rock N Roller Coaster for a DAS reservation Mel had made earlier. The wait was posted at 100 minutes, which is 100 minutes worth of time to talk yourself out of riding Rock N Roller Coaster. I almost did it 457372 times during our 15 minute wait.
I like Rock N Roller coaster. After I’m finished riding. But as I’m waiting in line? I panic the entire time. There’s something about the anticipation of that launch that makes me weak in the knees and sweaty in the everywhere.
From there, we decided to head out of the park for our 8:10pm dining reservation.
At where, you ask? Why, at Beaches and Cream, of course.
We decided to finally try out the Skyliner. We were able to walk right up, trade the Skyliner cast member 17 goats for access to the little flying metal boxes, and board our Pirates themed Skyliner car. We stopped mid ride for a couple of minutes and Mel almost entered meltdown mode (she has a terrible fear of heights. It’s a good thing she’s only 5’3”, if she was any taller she might be afraid to look at her own feet from wayyyyy up there).
A quick transfer at Carribbean Beach later, we ended up at Epcot about a half hour after we first boarded the skyliner. Is that good, bad, or average? No clue.
I checked in for our reservation at 8:05 and Mel and I sat near the Beach Club pool while we waited for our table ready text, which came through at 8:16.
I'm soooo cute, I know lol
I ordered a coke, the grilled cheese and tomato soup, and a side of onion rings. Mel went for a root beer, the grilled cheese, and the No Way Jose to wash it all down. She also subbed a side of fries for the tomato soup.
Beaches & Cream Grilled Cheese: “with Creamy Tomato Soup. Add Bacon or Ham $5.00 each” $15
Onion Rings: $7
No Way Jose: “A Peanut Butter and Hot Fudge delight featuring Chocolate and Vanilla Ice Cream, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Morsels, Whipped Cream, and a Cherry” $11.50
We both thought Beaches and Cream was a nice way to end our Hollywood Studios day but felt no need to rush back. In fact, I actually canceled our dinner reservation for the trip we just were on (like, I’m talking I got back yesterday kind of just were on).
Mel ordered a Lyft at 9:23 and by 9:40 we were back at our luscious kingdom. Aka Greenpoint Hotel. By 11, I was showered, icy hot-ed, and drifting off into dream land.
***Coming up next: The Most Magical of Kingdoms. Now with deodorant***
March 1, 2022
"That Kid Has Hypothermia. That's How Cold It Is"
After our lunch at Mel’s new found obsession, we headed to Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway which we had a DAS reservation that we had set up earlier.
Kermmie
MMRR was posted at a 105 minute wait but we were through in slightly over 20 minutes.
“Slightly over” since just as we were next to board our train like a couple of drifters, the ride broke down and good old Engineer Stanley entered the scene. A couple of twists of his screwdriver, a few turns of his magic wand, a little this, a bit of that and we were back in business, baby!
I think MMRR is a very, very fun ride and a much needed new addition to a dying park (Hollywood Studios pre Star Wars Land). Do I miss the Great Movie Ride? Slightly. Do I think it needed to finally go? Yes. It was aging, and aging fast.
We stopped in to watch Vacation Fun after. Mel and I both love the newer style Mickey and Co cartoons- which is a slightly unpopular opinion I believe. But they’re fun! And Mel has an annual pass for Potatoland.
Vacation Fun only runs for about 12 minutes, so after the show was over, Mel and I still had time to catch the 4:30 showing of Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, which was the last show of the night.
We got into the theater at 4:16 and wouldn’t you know it, just like Muppets, Indiana was CROWDED. There were no seats. Not a one. So Mel and I sat along the back wall, until some older middle aged woman tried to scootch me out of my own seat by sitting halfway onto my lap. She won though, I did get up and move.
The show has changed over the years, I’m guessing mostly from Covid. There weren’t any audience participants this time around which I thought was weird. I don’t know if they have any plans to bring that part back in the future, or if it’s gone for good.
After we raided a couple of arcs and doomed an entire temple, Mel and I headed back to Star Wars Land to fully appreciate the depth and range of Harrison Ford’s acting career. Also to use our Smuggler’s Run DAS.
We got there slightly before our DAS return time, so we got a couple of drinks from a nearby cart and enjoyed our thermal detonators.
Coke for me
Water for Mel
After our quick hydration break, we geared up and entered Smuggler’s Run.
The wait was posted at 75 minutes, but we only had to wait 15. Mel and I were both Engineers- like our new found buddy Stanley. I didn’t mind being an Engineer, it sounded the least stressful. That’s all I cared about. Give me the easy role.
We managed to get (fill? Deliver? Pick up?) 2 coaxium and were ranked pirates. This means nothing to me, but hopefully to you dear reader, it means something.
After Smuggler’s Run, Mel was craving a root beer float so we stopped by Woody’s Lunchbox. And well, well, well. Well. Well, well. Woody’s Lunchbox lacks a lot of seating. Please keep this in mind.
Mel set off to order her root beer float and a Frozen Mystic Portal for me while I attempted to find us a couple of seats so we could eat our icy drinks and relax our aching feet. There was not a single seat to be found inside the Woody’s Lunchbox area. And this did not please Mel one bit.
I waved Mel down to where I was outside of Woody’s and she meandered over to me, grumpy, and carrying both drinks.
Ice Cream Float with Barq’s Root Beer: “made with Vanilla Soft Serve Ice Cream” $5.99
Frozen Mystic Portal Punch: “POWERADE® Mountain Berry Blast with flavors of Lemon-Lime and Tangerine” $5.49
Mel handed me my drink and then turned and chucked her float right into the garbage.
Oh?
I looked at Mel, she looked at me. I looked at the garbage, Mel looked at me.
“I know. I had a moment. There were no seats, I’m hot, it started overflowing and dripping down my arms. I don’t even want it anymore.”
I sipped my punch in response. It was good and hit the spot.
Slight tantrum over with, Mel and I headed into TSMM using a LL we had picked up earlier. The wait was posted at 60 minutes but we only waited around 10.
Mel guessed Potato Head, I guessed Bo Peep. Wheezy F Baby
And for the 2nd time that day, Mel not only beat me by a lot (187,000 to my 155,500) but she was also best in car.
Show off.
After we destroyed all of Andy’s mom’s good China, we headed over to Rock N Roller Coaster for a DAS reservation Mel had made earlier. The wait was posted at 100 minutes, which is 100 minutes worth of time to talk yourself out of riding Rock N Roller Coaster. I almost did it 457372 times during our 15 minute wait.
I like Rock N Roller coaster. After I’m finished riding. But as I’m waiting in line? I panic the entire time. There’s something about the anticipation of that launch that makes me weak in the knees and sweaty in the everywhere.
From there, we decided to head out of the park for our 8:10pm dining reservation.
At where, you ask? Why, at Beaches and Cream, of course.
We decided to finally try out the Skyliner. We were able to walk right up, trade the Skyliner cast member 17 goats for access to the little flying metal boxes, and board our Pirates themed Skyliner car. We stopped mid ride for a couple of minutes and Mel almost entered meltdown mode (she has a terrible fear of heights. It’s a good thing she’s only 5’3”, if she was any taller she might be afraid to look at her own feet from wayyyyy up there).
A quick transfer at Carribbean Beach later, we ended up at Epcot about a half hour after we first boarded the skyliner. Is that good, bad, or average? No clue.
I checked in for our reservation at 8:05 and Mel and I sat near the Beach Club pool while we waited for our table ready text, which came through at 8:16.
I'm soooo cute, I know lol
I ordered a coke, the grilled cheese and tomato soup, and a side of onion rings. Mel went for a root beer, the grilled cheese, and the No Way Jose to wash it all down. She also subbed a side of fries for the tomato soup.
Beaches & Cream Grilled Cheese: “with Creamy Tomato Soup. Add Bacon or Ham $5.00 each” $15
Onion Rings: $7
No Way Jose: “A Peanut Butter and Hot Fudge delight featuring Chocolate and Vanilla Ice Cream, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Morsels, Whipped Cream, and a Cherry” $11.50
We both thought Beaches and Cream was a nice way to end our Hollywood Studios day but felt no need to rush back. In fact, I actually canceled our dinner reservation for the trip we just were on (like, I’m talking I got back yesterday kind of just were on).
Mel ordered a Lyft at 9:23 and by 9:40 we were back at our luscious kingdom. Aka Greenpoint Hotel. By 11, I was showered, icy hot-ed, and drifting off into dream land.
***Coming up next: The Most Magical of Kingdoms. Now with deodorant***
DisneyyDaydream
Adventure is Out There
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2018
- Messages
- 279
Day 7
March 2, 2022
"Ma'am, Eyes Over There, Eyes Over There! I Know I'm Cute But Eyes Over There!"
I started my morning bright and early. 4:45 bright and early to be exact. I drifted off back to sleep around 5 and woke up with my alarm at 6:30.
Mel and I planned to leave by 8:30 but:
So by 8:50 we were on our merry way to the TTC.
More highway cows!
About 20 minutes later, we were dropped off at the TTC to embark on our luxurious sea cruiser to the Magic Kingdom. Caroline weeps in the background from her Disney prison cell.
The line for security was pretty beefy and as usual, Mel was thoroughly searched like a common criminal. Our ferry boat was loading by the time we were released on security line probation and set sail exactly at 9:30.
They piped in Under the Sea through the speakers, which seems like an odd choice when the main goal is to stay above the sea- or the Seven Seas Lagoon rather.
We docked a few minutes later and by 9:42, we were watching the Dapper Dans sing Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow in the middle of Main Street USAAAAAAAA.
We headed towards Adventureland where Mel enjoyed a nice people watching session while I explored and snapped a few pictures.
Now a historic relic
Who would've known that one day this water would be worth hundreds $$$
We decided to use our DAS reservation for Pirates when I meandered back to Mel. The wait was posted at 60 minutes, but with DAS we only waited about 6 before we were pirating and plungering from the back row of our dinghy.
Well, I did the pirating. Mel was in charge of the plunger.
Once we were spit out of the Dump Shop, we ventured towards Haunted Mansion to use our LL.
These are so cool! Part of me wants to buy them, part of me knows I do not need them. In any sense of the word.
Or we attempted to, rather. We couldn’t outrun the cavalcade.
You can never outrun a cavalcade.
The LL gods were on our side and instead of having to wait the posted 60 minutes, we were boarding our Doom Buggys only 10 minutes after scanning into the line.
It was on this ride, I realized the Ghost Host laughs at his own jokes 7 times.
We must be related. I also laughed at my own jokes 7 times during the ride.
We headed to Big ThunThun after to use our next DAS reservation.
But not before being forced to watch another cavalcade.
I told you, you can never outrun a cavalcade.
***Continued in Next Post***
March 2, 2022
"Ma'am, Eyes Over There, Eyes Over There! I Know I'm Cute But Eyes Over There!"
I started my morning bright and early. 4:45 bright and early to be exact. I drifted off back to sleep around 5 and woke up with my alarm at 6:30.
Mel and I planned to leave by 8:30 but:
So by 8:50 we were on our merry way to the TTC.
More highway cows!
About 20 minutes later, we were dropped off at the TTC to embark on our luxurious sea cruiser to the Magic Kingdom. Caroline weeps in the background from her Disney prison cell.
The line for security was pretty beefy and as usual, Mel was thoroughly searched like a common criminal. Our ferry boat was loading by the time we were released on security line probation and set sail exactly at 9:30.
They piped in Under the Sea through the speakers, which seems like an odd choice when the main goal is to stay above the sea- or the Seven Seas Lagoon rather.
We docked a few minutes later and by 9:42, we were watching the Dapper Dans sing Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow in the middle of Main Street USAAAAAAAA.
We headed towards Adventureland where Mel enjoyed a nice people watching session while I explored and snapped a few pictures.
Now a historic relic
Who would've known that one day this water would be worth hundreds $$$
We decided to use our DAS reservation for Pirates when I meandered back to Mel. The wait was posted at 60 minutes, but with DAS we only waited about 6 before we were pirating and plungering from the back row of our dinghy.
Well, I did the pirating. Mel was in charge of the plunger.
Once we were spit out of the Dump Shop, we ventured towards Haunted Mansion to use our LL.
These are so cool! Part of me wants to buy them, part of me knows I do not need them. In any sense of the word.
Or we attempted to, rather. We couldn’t outrun the cavalcade.
You can never outrun a cavalcade.
The LL gods were on our side and instead of having to wait the posted 60 minutes, we were boarding our Doom Buggys only 10 minutes after scanning into the line.
It was on this ride, I realized the Ghost Host laughs at his own jokes 7 times.
We must be related. I also laughed at my own jokes 7 times during the ride.
We headed to Big ThunThun after to use our next DAS reservation.
But not before being forced to watch another cavalcade.
I told you, you can never outrun a cavalcade.
***Continued in Next Post***
DisneyyDaydream
Adventure is Out There
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2018
- Messages
- 279
Day 7, Part 2
March 2, 2022
"Ma'am, Eyes Over There, Eyes Over There! I Know I'm Cute But Eyes Over There!"
Big Thunder was posted at 70 minutes, but we only waited a little over 10 with DAS.
After we rode the self-proclaimed Wildest Ride in the Wilderness (rumor has it it’s actually those pesky cavalcades), Mel and I chose to listen to a regular ol’ jamboree.
I poked around in Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe after, which I honestly don’t think I’ve been in since 2006.
It will probably be just as long until I go back.
It was time for us to use our Winnie the Pooh LL after so we headed up Fantasyland next.
And then off to Neverland after with a DAS reservation Mel had made a bit earlier.
I picked Blue and Red, Mel picked Green.
Green isn’t even an option.
Tummies rumbling and pixie dust quickly wearing off, we waddled off towards Main Street and checked in to our Plaza Restaurant 1pm reservation at 12:52. By 1:04, our table was ready and we were ready.
To eat.
Mel decided on a Mint Chocolate Chip milkshake and the Plaza Turkey Club with no tomato. I stuck with a coke, ventured out to try the BLT Salad, and also decided on the Plaza Turkey Club with no tomato.
Milk Shake: “hand-dipped milkshake topped with whipped cream and a cherry.” $7
Plaza Turkey Club: “roasted turkey, house-made bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise on toasted sourdough bread.” $18.50
BLT Salad: “crisp lettuce, tomatoes, herb croutons, pickled onions, and warm bacon dressing.” $10
The Plaza Club is no longer on the menu, in case you thought it sounded good. And it was, so that’s a shame.
We both liked our clubs and Mel loooooved her milkshake. I thought the BLT salad was tasty and gave me some much needed veggies. I could go for that salad right now, tbh.
Once we were full up to our eyeballs and paid our bill (not in eyeballs, that was frowned upon), I sat in the hub grass to soak up some sun and warmth that Jersey had been severely lacking.
I also somehow scratched up my sunglasses.
Must’ve been on that pesky plastic hub grass. Real grass would never.
Warmed to my core, we headed over to the Mine Train to use a DAS reservation Mel had made a bit earlier.
The wait was posted at 150 minutes, which is crazy. For a 30 second ride. Over 2 hours. Madness.
We waited about 10, thanks to DAS.
From Snow White to Timothy Q. Mouse, Mel and I wandered over the Storybook Circus to use our Dumbo LL.
Wait times were pretty high across the park. Dumbo was posted at 40 and the Little Mermaid (our next destination) was posted at 45.
Jeesh.
Luckily we only had to wait about 8 minutes before we got to take our flying pachyderm for a spin.
Once we returned from our tour of the circus, we joined a drunken seagull on a bumbling retelling of the Little Mermaid from our cozy clamshells.
Imagine coming back to your balloon and finding it like this. Ding dang.
Scuttle, good sir, lay off the bottle!
***Coming up next: A little more Coco in my life!***
March 2, 2022
"Ma'am, Eyes Over There, Eyes Over There! I Know I'm Cute But Eyes Over There!"
Big Thunder was posted at 70 minutes, but we only waited a little over 10 with DAS.
After we rode the self-proclaimed Wildest Ride in the Wilderness (rumor has it it’s actually those pesky cavalcades), Mel and I chose to listen to a regular ol’ jamboree.
I poked around in Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe after, which I honestly don’t think I’ve been in since 2006.
It will probably be just as long until I go back.
It was time for us to use our Winnie the Pooh LL after so we headed up Fantasyland next.
And then off to Neverland after with a DAS reservation Mel had made a bit earlier.
I picked Blue and Red, Mel picked Green.
Green isn’t even an option.
Tummies rumbling and pixie dust quickly wearing off, we waddled off towards Main Street and checked in to our Plaza Restaurant 1pm reservation at 12:52. By 1:04, our table was ready and we were ready.
To eat.
Mel decided on a Mint Chocolate Chip milkshake and the Plaza Turkey Club with no tomato. I stuck with a coke, ventured out to try the BLT Salad, and also decided on the Plaza Turkey Club with no tomato.
Milk Shake: “hand-dipped milkshake topped with whipped cream and a cherry.” $7
Plaza Turkey Club: “roasted turkey, house-made bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise on toasted sourdough bread.” $18.50
BLT Salad: “crisp lettuce, tomatoes, herb croutons, pickled onions, and warm bacon dressing.” $10
The Plaza Club is no longer on the menu, in case you thought it sounded good. And it was, so that’s a shame.
We both liked our clubs and Mel loooooved her milkshake. I thought the BLT salad was tasty and gave me some much needed veggies. I could go for that salad right now, tbh.
Once we were full up to our eyeballs and paid our bill (not in eyeballs, that was frowned upon), I sat in the hub grass to soak up some sun and warmth that Jersey had been severely lacking.
I also somehow scratched up my sunglasses.
Must’ve been on that pesky plastic hub grass. Real grass would never.
Warmed to my core, we headed over to the Mine Train to use a DAS reservation Mel had made a bit earlier.
The wait was posted at 150 minutes, which is crazy. For a 30 second ride. Over 2 hours. Madness.
We waited about 10, thanks to DAS.
From Snow White to Timothy Q. Mouse, Mel and I wandered over the Storybook Circus to use our Dumbo LL.
Wait times were pretty high across the park. Dumbo was posted at 40 and the Little Mermaid (our next destination) was posted at 45.
Jeesh.
Luckily we only had to wait about 8 minutes before we got to take our flying pachyderm for a spin.
Once we returned from our tour of the circus, we joined a drunken seagull on a bumbling retelling of the Little Mermaid from our cozy clamshells.
Imagine coming back to your balloon and finding it like this. Ding dang.
Scuttle, good sir, lay off the bottle!
***Coming up next: A little more Coco in my life!***
DisneyyDaydream
Adventure is Out There
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2018
- Messages
- 279
Day 7, Part 3
March 2, 2022
"Ma'am, Eyes Over There, Eyes Over There! I Know I'm Cute But Eyes Over There!"
Now feet firmly back on dry land, Mel and I went off to something I was really looking forward to- Mickey’s Philharmagic. Believe it or not, I actually really was. This was right around the time they just added in the new Coco scene and I absolutely love Coco. I also do enjoy Philharmagic, even if I have always called it Philmarmagic instead.
That new Coco scene? Oh, she was lovely. A nice little refresh to a slightly stale show.
Drying out like a raisin in the sun, I decided a nice refreshing LeFou’s Brew was in order over at Gaston’s Tavern.
LeFou’s Brew: “Frozen Apple Juice with a hint of Toasted Marshmallow and topped with All-Natural Passion Fruit-Mango Foam” $6.29
I absolutely love LeFou’s Brew and consider it to be a must-do for each trip. Is it sickeningly sweet? Of course. But is it tasty? Also, of course.
Now that I was sugared up, Mel and I headed to Tomorrowland to use a DAS reservation for Space Mountain Mel had booked previously.
Space Mountain used to be my all-time favorite ride, when I was 15. I still think it’s a fun ride, but now it hurts me a little bit to ride it. Just a little bit though. For now.
The wait was posted at 60 minutes, but thanks to DAS, we only waited about 10.
After our rough landing back to Earth, Mel and I decided to cross off the rest of Tomorrowland from our list and headed to the Carousel of Progress.
Luck was on our side as we walked up right as CoP was loading. And then luck promptly ran the heck away.
We saw the 40’s scene twice. It just kept going. And then when the 2nd time finished?
Well, wouldn’t you know. It started for a 3rd time.
We were cursed to stay in the 40’s scene of CoP for the rest of our lives, we were doomed to haunt this area of the park for all of eternity.
Or just until the attraction moved on to the next scene.
Buzz was next. I think we had a LL we used that allowed us to only wait about 8 minutes of the posted 50.
As much of a fan (Phan, if you will) of Phiharmagic that I am, I am the exact opposite of Buzz. I will ride it once a trip, but that’s all. No more.
And I will only ride it alone. My thoughts are that whoever isn’t steering the vehicle is out of luck, since the steerer has the advantage to move the car wherever they need to get points. And the other person is just along for the ride, happy to be included.
So I make Mel get her own vehicle, and I get my own. Makes me less grumpy.
It didn’t matter much though, Mel still beat me. 183,400 vs 204,100.
It was close, at least! It’s usually not even close.
To round out our tour of Tomorrowland, Mel got on line for the People Mover (TTA) while I decided to stop at a nearby popcorn cart for a popcorn and 2 Smart Waters before joining her.
Popcorn Pocket
$300 and 25 minutes later, Mel and I were cruising around Tomorrowland via the TTA.
JK, it was actually $16.50, but it felt like $300.
We meandered back to Adventureland after using our DAS reservation for Jungle Cruise. The wait was posted at 60 minutes.
Mel guessed Anaconda Annie, I guessed Tortuga Tavern.
Both of us were wrong. One of us was very wrong.
20 minutes later, we boarded Senagal Sal and set sail with our absolutely fantastic skipper, Skipper Fred.
“I’m going to tell you what my mother told me. She said ‘Skipper Fred.’ I said ‘Yes, Skipper Mom.’ It’s a family name”
A standing ovation for my man Skipper Fred.
We had to make a couple of trades to Trader Sam for our safe return. He really does always end up ahead. But back on land, we moved on over to Pirates to use our LL.
The wait time was posted at 35 minutes, but we were back to pillaging and plundering in only 6 minutes.
Our time at Magic Kingdom was starting to wind down since we had a dinner reservation at 8:45, so we decided to close out the night at the park with 2 classics.
First? Well, I was wearing my Tiki Room ears so of course we had to go say hello to some birds.
We only had to wait for the previous showing to finish up but Mel made herself comfy anyway.
Schmidt has no hair!
Our last stop of the night was for a DAS reservation at the Haunted Mansion.
My fave.
The wait was posted at 35 minutes but we were meeting our Ghost Host and 999 Happy Haunts only 4 minutes later.
We decided to head out after and scurry to our dining reservation. The fireworks were going off as we left, which seemed like a nice distraction for the masses while we snuck onto the monorail before the swarm of people decided to mass exodus.
Where were we headed? Why to Kona of course.
Mel and I were first introduced to Kona on our last trip, and we have fallen in love.
We checked in for our reservation at 8:30 and lounged for a couple of minutes until I got our table ready text at 8:50.
Mel went simple with a water with lemon while I went for my new usual, a Sparkling No-Jito.
Sparkling No-Jito- lime juice, pure cane sugar, and mint topped with soda water- $4.99
For her meal, Mel went classic with a spicy tuna roll and the potstickers while I decided to try out the California roll and the pork belly noodle bowl.
Spicy Tuna Roll: “Ahi tuna, spicy mayonnaise, cucumber.” $18
Crispy Pork-Vegetable Pot Stickers: “Soy-vinaigrette dressing” $10
California Roll: “Jumbo crab, citrus mayonnaise, cucumber, avocado” $18
Pork Belly Noodle Bowl: “Bone broth, rice noodles, soy egg, mushrooms, bok choy, hot sesame oil” $24
Both the Sparkling No-Jito and the Pork Belly Noodle Bowl are no longer available, which is a bit of a bummer since I thought both were really yummy. I did end up picking out most of the pork belly from the bowl which shook our server Jabar. I like pork belly, but too much pork belly does not like me.
Mel enjoyed both her spicy tuna roll and her potstickers. She said the spicy tuna was very fresh and she had never met a potsticker she didn’t like.
The California roll? She was basic, but done well.
We wrapped up our meal, paid our bill, and ordered our Lyft around 9:45.
And wouldn’t you know it, John, our Lyft driver from the day before- the one who couldn’t figure out how to get to the RideShare drop off at HS wa- was our Lyft driver. Again.
Things went better this time. He only made a wrong turn once.
By 10:15 we were back at our swamp away from swamp.
Showered, icy-hoted, and in bed by 11:30 to make sure I was nice and ready for a wiiiiiild tomorrow.
***Coming up next: The Wiiiiildest Ride in Africa!***
March 2, 2022
"Ma'am, Eyes Over There, Eyes Over There! I Know I'm Cute But Eyes Over There!"
Now feet firmly back on dry land, Mel and I went off to something I was really looking forward to- Mickey’s Philharmagic. Believe it or not, I actually really was. This was right around the time they just added in the new Coco scene and I absolutely love Coco. I also do enjoy Philharmagic, even if I have always called it Philmarmagic instead.
That new Coco scene? Oh, she was lovely. A nice little refresh to a slightly stale show.
Drying out like a raisin in the sun, I decided a nice refreshing LeFou’s Brew was in order over at Gaston’s Tavern.
LeFou’s Brew: “Frozen Apple Juice with a hint of Toasted Marshmallow and topped with All-Natural Passion Fruit-Mango Foam” $6.29
I absolutely love LeFou’s Brew and consider it to be a must-do for each trip. Is it sickeningly sweet? Of course. But is it tasty? Also, of course.
Now that I was sugared up, Mel and I headed to Tomorrowland to use a DAS reservation for Space Mountain Mel had booked previously.
Space Mountain used to be my all-time favorite ride, when I was 15. I still think it’s a fun ride, but now it hurts me a little bit to ride it. Just a little bit though. For now.
The wait was posted at 60 minutes, but thanks to DAS, we only waited about 10.
After our rough landing back to Earth, Mel and I decided to cross off the rest of Tomorrowland from our list and headed to the Carousel of Progress.
Luck was on our side as we walked up right as CoP was loading. And then luck promptly ran the heck away.
We saw the 40’s scene twice. It just kept going. And then when the 2nd time finished?
Well, wouldn’t you know. It started for a 3rd time.
We were cursed to stay in the 40’s scene of CoP for the rest of our lives, we were doomed to haunt this area of the park for all of eternity.
Or just until the attraction moved on to the next scene.
Buzz was next. I think we had a LL we used that allowed us to only wait about 8 minutes of the posted 50.
As much of a fan (Phan, if you will) of Phiharmagic that I am, I am the exact opposite of Buzz. I will ride it once a trip, but that’s all. No more.
And I will only ride it alone. My thoughts are that whoever isn’t steering the vehicle is out of luck, since the steerer has the advantage to move the car wherever they need to get points. And the other person is just along for the ride, happy to be included.
So I make Mel get her own vehicle, and I get my own. Makes me less grumpy.
It didn’t matter much though, Mel still beat me. 183,400 vs 204,100.
It was close, at least! It’s usually not even close.
To round out our tour of Tomorrowland, Mel got on line for the People Mover (TTA) while I decided to stop at a nearby popcorn cart for a popcorn and 2 Smart Waters before joining her.
Popcorn Pocket
$300 and 25 minutes later, Mel and I were cruising around Tomorrowland via the TTA.
JK, it was actually $16.50, but it felt like $300.
We meandered back to Adventureland after using our DAS reservation for Jungle Cruise. The wait was posted at 60 minutes.
Mel guessed Anaconda Annie, I guessed Tortuga Tavern.
Both of us were wrong. One of us was very wrong.
20 minutes later, we boarded Senagal Sal and set sail with our absolutely fantastic skipper, Skipper Fred.
“I’m going to tell you what my mother told me. She said ‘Skipper Fred.’ I said ‘Yes, Skipper Mom.’ It’s a family name”
A standing ovation for my man Skipper Fred.
We had to make a couple of trades to Trader Sam for our safe return. He really does always end up ahead. But back on land, we moved on over to Pirates to use our LL.
The wait time was posted at 35 minutes, but we were back to pillaging and plundering in only 6 minutes.
Our time at Magic Kingdom was starting to wind down since we had a dinner reservation at 8:45, so we decided to close out the night at the park with 2 classics.
First? Well, I was wearing my Tiki Room ears so of course we had to go say hello to some birds.
We only had to wait for the previous showing to finish up but Mel made herself comfy anyway.
Schmidt has no hair!
Our last stop of the night was for a DAS reservation at the Haunted Mansion.
My fave.
The wait was posted at 35 minutes but we were meeting our Ghost Host and 999 Happy Haunts only 4 minutes later.
We decided to head out after and scurry to our dining reservation. The fireworks were going off as we left, which seemed like a nice distraction for the masses while we snuck onto the monorail before the swarm of people decided to mass exodus.
Where were we headed? Why to Kona of course.
Mel and I were first introduced to Kona on our last trip, and we have fallen in love.
We checked in for our reservation at 8:30 and lounged for a couple of minutes until I got our table ready text at 8:50.
Mel went simple with a water with lemon while I went for my new usual, a Sparkling No-Jito.
Sparkling No-Jito- lime juice, pure cane sugar, and mint topped with soda water- $4.99
For her meal, Mel went classic with a spicy tuna roll and the potstickers while I decided to try out the California roll and the pork belly noodle bowl.
Spicy Tuna Roll: “Ahi tuna, spicy mayonnaise, cucumber.” $18
Crispy Pork-Vegetable Pot Stickers: “Soy-vinaigrette dressing” $10
California Roll: “Jumbo crab, citrus mayonnaise, cucumber, avocado” $18
Pork Belly Noodle Bowl: “Bone broth, rice noodles, soy egg, mushrooms, bok choy, hot sesame oil” $24
Both the Sparkling No-Jito and the Pork Belly Noodle Bowl are no longer available, which is a bit of a bummer since I thought both were really yummy. I did end up picking out most of the pork belly from the bowl which shook our server Jabar. I like pork belly, but too much pork belly does not like me.
Mel enjoyed both her spicy tuna roll and her potstickers. She said the spicy tuna was very fresh and she had never met a potsticker she didn’t like.
The California roll? She was basic, but done well.
We wrapped up our meal, paid our bill, and ordered our Lyft around 9:45.
And wouldn’t you know it, John, our Lyft driver from the day before- the one who couldn’t figure out how to get to the RideShare drop off at HS wa- was our Lyft driver. Again.
Things went better this time. He only made a wrong turn once.
By 10:15 we were back at our swamp away from swamp.
Showered, icy-hoted, and in bed by 11:30 to make sure I was nice and ready for a wiiiiiild tomorrow.
***Coming up next: The Wiiiiildest Ride in Africa!***
Counting Stars
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2022
- Messages
- 403
Love your trip reports and your sense of humor 
Thanks for taking the time- and sharing your reviews...
Thanks for taking the time- and sharing your reviews...
ThreeBoyMama
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2014
- Messages
- 1,206
Glad you’re not still stuck in the 40s on CP! 
DisneyyDaydream
Adventure is Out There
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2018
- Messages
- 279
Love your trip reports and your sense of humor
Thank you for reading my ramblings!! And appreciating my jokes. I make myself laugh as I’m typing them, so it’s nice to others find them funny too
Glad you’re not still stuck in the 40s on CP!
Some days it feels like I’m still stuck there lol
DisneyyDaydream
Adventure is Out There
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2018
- Messages
- 279
Day 8
March 3, 2022
"Bring Back Blersten!"
My alarm was set for 6:30, but I was up and moving around by 6:25.
Mel?
Our plan for today was to get to Animal Kingdom for their 8am park opening.
Lol jk, you must be new here. While DAK did open at 8am, Mel and I have never made it to a park opening a day in our lives. So we settled on getting to the park no later than 9am. 8am, out of the question. 9am? Sounded doable.
By 8:30, Mel and I were both ready to head out and a mere 3 minutes later we were being whisked away by good old Cesar in his Lyft chariot.
Highway cows!
Now Cesar’s main goal should’ve been to get us to Animal Kingdom in one piece. It should’ve been his main goal, but it was not. Cesar proceeded to call the radio station he was listening to over and over and over again. And then he would try a couple of more times, in an attempt to win an SUV.
Cesar, sadly, did not win.
20 minutes and multiple radio station phone calls later, Cesar kicked us to the curb at DAK. Security was relatively easy and we were in the park by 8:57. 3 whole minutes to spare! Look at us!
The first thing that caught our eyes was DiVine was out and about. I’ve never seen DiVine previously, and I immediately wished to never see DiVine again.
Nightmare fuel, as my notes say.
Moving further into the park, Mel and I caught a quick glance at the better version of the calvacades. The ones out of the way and on the water. The ones that don’t stop any and all traffic from moving, Animal Kingdom does their calvacades right. Magic Kingdom should’ve taken a hint.
I also think seeing Pochahontas and Meeko is a lot more interesting than any of the ones that MK offered.
Maybe I’m biased because the one time I got stopped by a cavalcade with Clarabelle on it. Clarabelle, of all characters!
/rant.
We couldn’t stop and watch for too long though. We had to get that Dino!
And by that Dino, I mean Mel and I jumped onto the posted 5 minute standby line for Dinosaur. We waited just about that.
I love Dinosaur, I do. I haven’t been on it since 2018, but I love it. I also love its fraternal twin out in DLR, Indiana Jones. I’ve never actually seen the Dinosaur ride though- I’ve ridden it every single time with my eyes closed. I just like being shaken and jostled around.
I like it so much that I forced Mel to turn around and head right back onto the standby line. In my defense, it was still only posted at 5 minutes and we managed to walk right into a loading preshow.
Some people make Avatar a priority. I make Dinosaur.
Properly shook and shaken, Mel and I decided two times were enough to risk possible life and limb and we decided to move on.
Not before catching another cavalcade though. This time was Rafiki and Timon.
Still better than Clarabelle.
We also managed to catch a little sneaky peak of Kevin.
And wouldn't you know it, another calvacade.
Donald, Daisy, and Lunchbox…sorry, Launchpad.
We headed over to the safari next to use a DAS reservation Mel had made earlier. The standby wait was posted as 50 minutes at 10am. Oooof.
Avocado toast is quacking.
Luckily, we only had to wait around 10 before our driver, tour guide, and swim instructor Steven was oooh-ing and ahh-ing right along with us.
Honestly, it might have been the best safari I have ever been on. A solid 11/10.
By now it was time to feed the animals. And by animals, I mean Mel and myself. I stopped at the Harambe Fruit Market outside of the safari and grabbed 2 Mickey pretzels (with the plastic cheese of course), a coke for Mel, and a juice for me.
Mickey Pretzel with cheese dip $7.49
Juice $4-$5. Not totally sure. Sorry to disappoint, juice enthusiasts.
***Continued in next post***
March 3, 2022
"Bring Back Blersten!"
My alarm was set for 6:30, but I was up and moving around by 6:25.
Mel?
Our plan for today was to get to Animal Kingdom for their 8am park opening.
Lol jk, you must be new here. While DAK did open at 8am, Mel and I have never made it to a park opening a day in our lives. So we settled on getting to the park no later than 9am. 8am, out of the question. 9am? Sounded doable.
By 8:30, Mel and I were both ready to head out and a mere 3 minutes later we were being whisked away by good old Cesar in his Lyft chariot.
Highway cows!
Now Cesar’s main goal should’ve been to get us to Animal Kingdom in one piece. It should’ve been his main goal, but it was not. Cesar proceeded to call the radio station he was listening to over and over and over again. And then he would try a couple of more times, in an attempt to win an SUV.
Cesar, sadly, did not win.
20 minutes and multiple radio station phone calls later, Cesar kicked us to the curb at DAK. Security was relatively easy and we were in the park by 8:57. 3 whole minutes to spare! Look at us!
The first thing that caught our eyes was DiVine was out and about. I’ve never seen DiVine previously, and I immediately wished to never see DiVine again.
Nightmare fuel, as my notes say.
Moving further into the park, Mel and I caught a quick glance at the better version of the calvacades. The ones out of the way and on the water. The ones that don’t stop any and all traffic from moving, Animal Kingdom does their calvacades right. Magic Kingdom should’ve taken a hint.
I also think seeing Pochahontas and Meeko is a lot more interesting than any of the ones that MK offered.
Maybe I’m biased because the one time I got stopped by a cavalcade with Clarabelle on it. Clarabelle, of all characters!
/rant.
We couldn’t stop and watch for too long though. We had to get that Dino!
And by that Dino, I mean Mel and I jumped onto the posted 5 minute standby line for Dinosaur. We waited just about that.
I love Dinosaur, I do. I haven’t been on it since 2018, but I love it. I also love its fraternal twin out in DLR, Indiana Jones. I’ve never actually seen the Dinosaur ride though- I’ve ridden it every single time with my eyes closed. I just like being shaken and jostled around.
I like it so much that I forced Mel to turn around and head right back onto the standby line. In my defense, it was still only posted at 5 minutes and we managed to walk right into a loading preshow.
Some people make Avatar a priority. I make Dinosaur.
Properly shook and shaken, Mel and I decided two times were enough to risk possible life and limb and we decided to move on.
Not before catching another cavalcade though. This time was Rafiki and Timon.
Still better than Clarabelle.
We also managed to catch a little sneaky peak of Kevin.
And wouldn't you know it, another calvacade.
Donald, Daisy, and Lunchbox…sorry, Launchpad.
We headed over to the safari next to use a DAS reservation Mel had made earlier. The standby wait was posted as 50 minutes at 10am. Oooof.
Avocado toast is quacking.
Luckily, we only had to wait around 10 before our driver, tour guide, and swim instructor Steven was oooh-ing and ahh-ing right along with us.
Honestly, it might have been the best safari I have ever been on. A solid 11/10.
By now it was time to feed the animals. And by animals, I mean Mel and myself. I stopped at the Harambe Fruit Market outside of the safari and grabbed 2 Mickey pretzels (with the plastic cheese of course), a coke for Mel, and a juice for me.
Mickey Pretzel with cheese dip $7.49
Juice $4-$5. Not totally sure. Sorry to disappoint, juice enthusiasts.
***Continued in next post***
DisneyyDaydream
Adventure is Out There
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2018
- Messages
- 279
***Continued from previous post***
Mel decided to park herself outside of Harambe Market (which is different than the fruit market), while I ventured out to explore the Gorilla Falls Trail.
The first thing I saw?
A wild buffalo.
The 2nd thing I saw?
A lady openly smoking a cigarette out on the trail. I looked at her, she looked at me. She puffed away. She stamped out her cigarette right onto the side of the trail and nearly blew her smoke right into the face of an innocent Okapi.
Talk about an o-crap-i moment.
I’m not one who usually cares about who is smoking what where, but it really bothered me that this lady did that. Instant perma-ban if it was my call!
I tried to not let it keep bothering me and enjoyed the rest of my time on the trail.
You ok, bud?
I did make a friend on the trial though- and no, it was not the cigarette lady. I deemed her an instant arch nemesis. One of the cast members by the gorillas must’ve been incredibly bored, because they tried to match wits with me.
And if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s quick wit.
Cast Member: Are you looking for the gorilla of your dreams? People go ape over them!
Me: No, I think I’m still just monkeying around.
Cast Member: Do you know where gorillas order their food from? Amazon Primate!
Me: That’s bananas!
Shooed away by my new jokester friend and reunited with Mel, we hoped back onto the safari for a 2nd ride thanks to an LL we had booked. The standby wait was posted at 65 minutes, but we managed to only wait about 8.
Some days LL is just worth it.
We were blessed with Row 1 again and before we knew it, Martha was bumping and thumping us across the lush African savanna.
Baby hippo!
From Africa to Pandora, Mel and I headed over to Flight of Passage next to use a DAS reservation Mel had booked while I was shootin’ the breeze with ol’ monkey boy.
The standby was posted at 105 minutes.
About halfway up, Mel decided to ditch her banshee and I bravely continued on my own.
I don’t know how I managed to catch this but according to my notes I was the “2nd DNA match, must be good DNA”. So there’s that.
I was on FoP a mere 15 minutes after first entering the line and I’ve gotta say, I really think Disney gets their scents from the Glade aisle at Target. Between FoP and Soarin’, you can smell the whole line of Aqua Waves ®, Hawaiian Breeze ®, and Clean Linen ®.
You get a $2 coupon if you manage to catch a whiff of Cashmere Woods ®.
I met back up with Mel outside of Satu’li where she informed me our mobile order was ready, and we headed on in the restaurant.
We haven’t been to Satu’li since April 2018 but we both remembered genuinely enjoying our meals we had. This time?
Well, I decided on the same thing that I had the first time:
Slow-roasted sliced grilled beef bowl: "slow-roasted sliced grilled beef marinated in a blend of garlic, herbs, red pepper spice, and red wine vinegar topped with crunchy vegetable slaw and boba balls served with your choice of base and sauce." $14.49
I chose the red and sweet potato hash as my base and the creamy herb dressing as my sauce.
To wash it down, I opted for the Pandoran Sunrise.
Pandoran sunrise: "Refreshing balance of tropical juices blended with powerade (R) melon." $4.99
Mel selected the chicken bowl with the hash and creamy herb dressing as well and a blueberry cream cheese mousse.
Chopped Wood-Grilled Chicken Bowl: Wood-Grilled Chicken Thighs marinated with Garlic and Olive Oil topped with Crunchy Vegetable Slaw and Boba Balls served with your choice of Base and Sauce. $12.99
Blueberry Cream Cheese Mousse: with passion fruit curd. $5.79
I had heard a lot of good things about the cheeseburger pods so Mel and I decided to split them to see what the fuss was all about.
Cheeseburger steamed pods- Bao Buns: "Steamed cheeseburger pod stuffed with ground beef, ketchup, mustard, pickle, and cheddar cheese served with crunchy vegetable slaw and vegetable chips." $13.29
I had originally thought about ordering the tofu with the noodles and honestly in hindsight, maybe I should’ve followed my initial idea. I thought the beef was really tasty, but I wanted something a little bit different. I also remembered liking the beef a lot more the first time we had gone. But maybe I just wasn’t in a roast beef deli meat slapped on some potatoes with ranch dressing kind of mood.
Mel had a little bit more luck with her meal and thought the whole dish was perfect. But Mel has also rarely complained about a potato and ranch dressing combo. And that mousse? Absolutely finger-licking good. Or I guess fork licking, she did not eat it with her bare hands.
Mel and I also thought the cheeseburger pods were very over hyped and probably wouldn’t order them again. I say that and watch me order them again and complain all over again, because I forgot why I didn’t really care for them the first time. Oh well.
After we finished up our lunch, I decided I needed a sweet treat and pongu pongu-ed over to Pongu Pongu to pick up a Night Blossom.
Night Blossom: "layers of apple and desert pear limeade topped with Boba balls. Non-alcoholic" $6.29
Is the Night Blossom sickeningly sweet? Yes. But is it absolutely delicious and an absolute must have every time I’m in DAK? Also yes.
I sipped my liquid sugar while Mel people watched before we headed over to Na'vi River Journey to use a DAS reservation Mel had made while we were enjoying our lunch.
The standby was posted at 30 minutes but only 4 minutes later, we were plopping down in row 4 and being whisked away for our 3 hour guided tour across the Serengeti.
Or rather a 4 and a half minute boat ride down the Kasvapan River.
One of those definitely happened.
Once we were back on dry land, I took a quick look at the Otter Grotter before I decided to check out the Maharajah Jungle Trek to oogle some bats and potentially a tiger while Mel stayed back and kept a watchful eye out for poachers, smokers, and all around bad guys.
The bats? Adorable. The dragons? Definitely of the Komodo kind. The tiger? Well, well, well.
I overheard one of the cast members by the tiger enclosure tell a guest all about Anala the tiger, who was graciously pacing back and forth, keeping an eye out for any potential human snacks. Apparently Anala isn’t the friendliest tiger they’ve ever had. She is a lot sassier than her mom and will try to attack cast members by jumping on the glass that separates Anala from human snacks.
We love Anala.
***Continued in next post***
Mel decided to park herself outside of Harambe Market (which is different than the fruit market), while I ventured out to explore the Gorilla Falls Trail.
The first thing I saw?
A wild buffalo.
The 2nd thing I saw?
A lady openly smoking a cigarette out on the trail. I looked at her, she looked at me. She puffed away. She stamped out her cigarette right onto the side of the trail and nearly blew her smoke right into the face of an innocent Okapi.
Talk about an o-crap-i moment.
I’m not one who usually cares about who is smoking what where, but it really bothered me that this lady did that. Instant perma-ban if it was my call!
I tried to not let it keep bothering me and enjoyed the rest of my time on the trail.
You ok, bud?
I did make a friend on the trial though- and no, it was not the cigarette lady. I deemed her an instant arch nemesis. One of the cast members by the gorillas must’ve been incredibly bored, because they tried to match wits with me.
And if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s quick wit.
Cast Member: Are you looking for the gorilla of your dreams? People go ape over them!
Me: No, I think I’m still just monkeying around.
Cast Member: Do you know where gorillas order their food from? Amazon Primate!
Me: That’s bananas!
Shooed away by my new jokester friend and reunited with Mel, we hoped back onto the safari for a 2nd ride thanks to an LL we had booked. The standby wait was posted at 65 minutes, but we managed to only wait about 8.
Some days LL is just worth it.
We were blessed with Row 1 again and before we knew it, Martha was bumping and thumping us across the lush African savanna.
Baby hippo!
From Africa to Pandora, Mel and I headed over to Flight of Passage next to use a DAS reservation Mel had booked while I was shootin’ the breeze with ol’ monkey boy.
The standby was posted at 105 minutes.
About halfway up, Mel decided to ditch her banshee and I bravely continued on my own.
I don’t know how I managed to catch this but according to my notes I was the “2nd DNA match, must be good DNA”. So there’s that.
I was on FoP a mere 15 minutes after first entering the line and I’ve gotta say, I really think Disney gets their scents from the Glade aisle at Target. Between FoP and Soarin’, you can smell the whole line of Aqua Waves ®, Hawaiian Breeze ®, and Clean Linen ®.
You get a $2 coupon if you manage to catch a whiff of Cashmere Woods ®.
I met back up with Mel outside of Satu’li where she informed me our mobile order was ready, and we headed on in the restaurant.
We haven’t been to Satu’li since April 2018 but we both remembered genuinely enjoying our meals we had. This time?
Well, I decided on the same thing that I had the first time:
Slow-roasted sliced grilled beef bowl: "slow-roasted sliced grilled beef marinated in a blend of garlic, herbs, red pepper spice, and red wine vinegar topped with crunchy vegetable slaw and boba balls served with your choice of base and sauce." $14.49
I chose the red and sweet potato hash as my base and the creamy herb dressing as my sauce.
To wash it down, I opted for the Pandoran Sunrise.
Pandoran sunrise: "Refreshing balance of tropical juices blended with powerade (R) melon." $4.99
Mel selected the chicken bowl with the hash and creamy herb dressing as well and a blueberry cream cheese mousse.
Chopped Wood-Grilled Chicken Bowl: Wood-Grilled Chicken Thighs marinated with Garlic and Olive Oil topped with Crunchy Vegetable Slaw and Boba Balls served with your choice of Base and Sauce. $12.99
Blueberry Cream Cheese Mousse: with passion fruit curd. $5.79
I had heard a lot of good things about the cheeseburger pods so Mel and I decided to split them to see what the fuss was all about.
Cheeseburger steamed pods- Bao Buns: "Steamed cheeseburger pod stuffed with ground beef, ketchup, mustard, pickle, and cheddar cheese served with crunchy vegetable slaw and vegetable chips." $13.29
I had originally thought about ordering the tofu with the noodles and honestly in hindsight, maybe I should’ve followed my initial idea. I thought the beef was really tasty, but I wanted something a little bit different. I also remembered liking the beef a lot more the first time we had gone. But maybe I just wasn’t in a roast beef deli meat slapped on some potatoes with ranch dressing kind of mood.
Mel had a little bit more luck with her meal and thought the whole dish was perfect. But Mel has also rarely complained about a potato and ranch dressing combo. And that mousse? Absolutely finger-licking good. Or I guess fork licking, she did not eat it with her bare hands.
Mel and I also thought the cheeseburger pods were very over hyped and probably wouldn’t order them again. I say that and watch me order them again and complain all over again, because I forgot why I didn’t really care for them the first time. Oh well.
After we finished up our lunch, I decided I needed a sweet treat and pongu pongu-ed over to Pongu Pongu to pick up a Night Blossom.
Night Blossom: "layers of apple and desert pear limeade topped with Boba balls. Non-alcoholic" $6.29
Is the Night Blossom sickeningly sweet? Yes. But is it absolutely delicious and an absolute must have every time I’m in DAK? Also yes.
I sipped my liquid sugar while Mel people watched before we headed over to Na'vi River Journey to use a DAS reservation Mel had made while we were enjoying our lunch.
The standby was posted at 30 minutes but only 4 minutes later, we were plopping down in row 4 and being whisked away for our 3 hour guided tour across the Serengeti.
Or rather a 4 and a half minute boat ride down the Kasvapan River.
One of those definitely happened.
Once we were back on dry land, I took a quick look at the Otter Grotter before I decided to check out the Maharajah Jungle Trek to oogle some bats and potentially a tiger while Mel stayed back and kept a watchful eye out for poachers, smokers, and all around bad guys.
The bats? Adorable. The dragons? Definitely of the Komodo kind. The tiger? Well, well, well.
I overheard one of the cast members by the tiger enclosure tell a guest all about Anala the tiger, who was graciously pacing back and forth, keeping an eye out for any potential human snacks. Apparently Anala isn’t the friendliest tiger they’ve ever had. She is a lot sassier than her mom and will try to attack cast members by jumping on the glass that separates Anala from human snacks.
We love Anala.
***Continued in next post***
DisneyyDaydream
Adventure is Out There
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2018
- Messages
- 279
***Continued from previous post...again***
I scurried back to Mel afterwards where we decided to check out It’s Tough to be a Bug before heading back to our hotel for the afternoon. I haven’t been on It’s Tough to be a Bug since 2006 and for some reason, I felt the need to see what I’ve been missing since then.
We only had to wait for the next showing to start before we piled into the theater with all the other bugs.
I didn’t hate it, but I don’t think I will need to go back on until roughly 3006.
Seeing all we needed to see and experiencing all we needed to experience, we headed back to our bank---I mean our hotel--- for the afternoon before we ventured out for dinner.
We spent about an hour at the pool- or rather Mel spent about an hour at the pool. I spent about 5 minutes at the pool and immediately called it quits when I discovered it wasn’t heated. Call me a pool snob, but unless the pool is roughly the temperature of a nice warm bath, I’m not into it.
Instead I dried off and snacked on a Gideon’s cookie. A fair trade.
Eternal Flame (February Monthly flavor): "Our Velvety Five Flavor Chocolate Cookie is laced with our special house-made Ancho, Cayenne, and Cinnamon Spice Mix, infused with a magical essence of cherry and topped with Chocolate Covered Cherries. It’s a deep chocolate flavor followed by the tingling warmth of a first kiss and the sweet presence of cherries. The one you’ve been waiting for your entire life is here, and it loves you without condition, eternally." $6
At 7 Mel and I, now refreshed and ready to go, crawled into our Lyft and headed to the Grand Floridian for our 8pm reservation at the Grand Floridian Cafe.
We were dropped off a bit early so we moseyed around the Mercantile and Basin before I checked in at 7:42 for our reservation.
A mere 5 minutes later, I received our table ready text and we were plopped right on to our table centimeters away from the entrance.
We did get to see some fireworks though!
I started with a Watermelon Lemonade while Mel asked for a Shirley Temple.
“We have this really cool version of a Shirley Temple if you want to try that instead- it’s made with cotton candy syrup! I think it’s way better than the original,” our server, a cotton candy enthusiast, exclaimed to Mel.
And Mel, who decided to go out on an adventurous limb, agreed to try the Cotton Candy Shirley Temple.
Watermelon Lemonade: "Minute Maid (R) Premium Lemonade and watermelon." $5.49
I don’t have a picture of Mel’s Shirley Temple and maybe with good reason. Mel absolutely hated it. Like, still to this day, she brings up how terrible that Shirley Temple was and how she will never trust any to sway her from her beloved Shirley again.
Our meal kept that same tempo.
I had booked the GFlo Cafe in hopes that they would have MY beloved- the 1900 Park Fare strawberry soup. I had heard since the 2020 closures, that’s the spot to find it.
And apparently, I had heard wrong because they said it wasn’t currently available. So a solid Womp Womp to me.
Dejected, I ordered the grilled romaine market salad as a starter and the buttermilk-fried chicken. Mel kept it simple with a ceasar salad and a side of smashed potatoes.
Grilled Romaine Market Salad: "Grilled romaine, in-season vegetables with lemon-coriander vinaigrette (Plant-based)" $15
Buttermilk-fried Chicken: Hand-breaded chicken breast with 'loaded' smashed pototaes and warmed bacon vinagrette." $26
Caesar Salad: Romaine tossed with Caesar dressing." $10
Side of smashed potatoes. Unsure of the price, use your imagination lol
I was disappointed in my entire meal. I didn’t care for the vinaigrette on the salad and thought the buttermilk-fried chicken was underwhelming. Maybe I was just tired and cranky, but to me, this restaurant thoroughly struck out.
Mel was also equally as disappointed because as we were finishing up our meal, Mel asked for a nice hot cup of a certain tea. Which they were out of. And her backup tea she picked out, just in case? Well, they were out of that one as well.
So no tea, no strawberry soup, underwhelming chicken, and oddly flavored salad. We didn’t even eat all the bread (which is rare for us)!
The aforementioned bread
. Terrible
I’m sorry GFlo Cafe, we probably won’t be back any time soon.
Or maybe you’re welcome GFlo. It really depends on how you look at it.
The best part of the night? We were back to GreenPoint at 9:25 and by 10:30 I was showered, icy hot-ed, and tucked into bed.
***Coming up: Our last full day! Figalo, we’re coming for ya!***
I scurried back to Mel afterwards where we decided to check out It’s Tough to be a Bug before heading back to our hotel for the afternoon. I haven’t been on It’s Tough to be a Bug since 2006 and for some reason, I felt the need to see what I’ve been missing since then.
We only had to wait for the next showing to start before we piled into the theater with all the other bugs.
I didn’t hate it, but I don’t think I will need to go back on until roughly 3006.
Seeing all we needed to see and experiencing all we needed to experience, we headed back to our bank---I mean our hotel--- for the afternoon before we ventured out for dinner.
We spent about an hour at the pool- or rather Mel spent about an hour at the pool. I spent about 5 minutes at the pool and immediately called it quits when I discovered it wasn’t heated. Call me a pool snob, but unless the pool is roughly the temperature of a nice warm bath, I’m not into it.
Instead I dried off and snacked on a Gideon’s cookie. A fair trade.
Eternal Flame (February Monthly flavor): "Our Velvety Five Flavor Chocolate Cookie is laced with our special house-made Ancho, Cayenne, and Cinnamon Spice Mix, infused with a magical essence of cherry and topped with Chocolate Covered Cherries. It’s a deep chocolate flavor followed by the tingling warmth of a first kiss and the sweet presence of cherries. The one you’ve been waiting for your entire life is here, and it loves you without condition, eternally." $6
At 7 Mel and I, now refreshed and ready to go, crawled into our Lyft and headed to the Grand Floridian for our 8pm reservation at the Grand Floridian Cafe.
We were dropped off a bit early so we moseyed around the Mercantile and Basin before I checked in at 7:42 for our reservation.
A mere 5 minutes later, I received our table ready text and we were plopped right on to our table centimeters away from the entrance.
We did get to see some fireworks though!
I started with a Watermelon Lemonade while Mel asked for a Shirley Temple.
“We have this really cool version of a Shirley Temple if you want to try that instead- it’s made with cotton candy syrup! I think it’s way better than the original,” our server, a cotton candy enthusiast, exclaimed to Mel.
And Mel, who decided to go out on an adventurous limb, agreed to try the Cotton Candy Shirley Temple.
Watermelon Lemonade: "Minute Maid (R) Premium Lemonade and watermelon." $5.49
I don’t have a picture of Mel’s Shirley Temple and maybe with good reason. Mel absolutely hated it. Like, still to this day, she brings up how terrible that Shirley Temple was and how she will never trust any to sway her from her beloved Shirley again.
Our meal kept that same tempo.
I had booked the GFlo Cafe in hopes that they would have MY beloved- the 1900 Park Fare strawberry soup. I had heard since the 2020 closures, that’s the spot to find it.
And apparently, I had heard wrong because they said it wasn’t currently available. So a solid Womp Womp to me.
Dejected, I ordered the grilled romaine market salad as a starter and the buttermilk-fried chicken. Mel kept it simple with a ceasar salad and a side of smashed potatoes.
Grilled Romaine Market Salad: "Grilled romaine, in-season vegetables with lemon-coriander vinaigrette (Plant-based)" $15
Buttermilk-fried Chicken: Hand-breaded chicken breast with 'loaded' smashed pototaes and warmed bacon vinagrette." $26
Caesar Salad: Romaine tossed with Caesar dressing." $10
Side of smashed potatoes. Unsure of the price, use your imagination lol
I was disappointed in my entire meal. I didn’t care for the vinaigrette on the salad and thought the buttermilk-fried chicken was underwhelming. Maybe I was just tired and cranky, but to me, this restaurant thoroughly struck out.
Mel was also equally as disappointed because as we were finishing up our meal, Mel asked for a nice hot cup of a certain tea. Which they were out of. And her backup tea she picked out, just in case? Well, they were out of that one as well.
So no tea, no strawberry soup, underwhelming chicken, and oddly flavored salad. We didn’t even eat all the bread (which is rare for us)!
The aforementioned bread
. TerribleI’m sorry GFlo Cafe, we probably won’t be back any time soon.
Or maybe you’re welcome GFlo. It really depends on how you look at it.
The best part of the night? We were back to GreenPoint at 9:25 and by 10:30 I was showered, icy hot-ed, and tucked into bed.
***Coming up: Our last full day! Figalo, we’re coming for ya!***
DisneyyDaydream
Adventure is Out There
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2018
- Messages
- 279
Day 9
March 4, 2022
"Now That We Have Clarified Worm Secrets"
I was up on my own at 6:15 the next morning, kicking my 6:30am alarm to the curb and taking the day head on.
Mel on the other hand?
But by 8:40, we were both ready to go and a mere 15 minutes later we were waltzing through security.
Highway cows!
By 9? Oh baby, we were in Epcot!
Mel and I did what any normal, sane person would do and headed straight towards Nemo. The standby was posted at 10 minutes, because we were confused and in fact, NO normal, sane person goes to Nemo first thing in the morning. Which is why Nemo is always a walk on.
Once we were done shhhh-wimming out to shhhh-ea, I popped in to say hi to Mel and make sure my jellyfish tank was alive and well.
Mel please, we have places to go and people to see! Or shhhh-ea, if you shall
....is this....is this me????
My jellies!
We continued our tour of the most popular, nail biting, jaw dropping rides and made our way to the Land Pavilion.
Did we head onto Soarin next?
Oh, you sweet summer child. Of course we didn’t.
We decided to check out Awesome Planet.
Yes, you read that right. Awesome Planet.
There was only 3 minutes until the start of the next show so we thought we would check it out.
We were among the 6 total people who decided Awesome planet was an awesome idea at 9:30 in the morning. We were the youngest in the crowd, by a long shot.
Awesome Planet wasn’t terrible though and seems like a good spot to head to if you need a nice AC break and a little bit of a nap. We didn’t need both at that exact moment but that’s what we got.
We then kept up with the heavy hitters and waddled on over to Living with the Land (which I always just call Liviiiiin), who had a posted 10 minute standby wait. Which we all know is a lie- it was only 3 minutes, which included a short wait for the front row.
If you don’t ask for the front row on Livin, you are doing it wrong.
Always ask for the front row.
This here's the wildest ride in the wilderness.
This is why the only flavor of aqua fresca at Via Napoli is strawberry.
Finally, we couldn’t stall any longer and decided to use our LL Mel had booked that morning for Soarin’.
If you have read any of my other trip reports, you already know how I feel about Soarin’, and I can’t be swayed.
The best part of Soarin’ is playing with Snapchat filters in the line.
And that’s truly saying something.
After we sampled all of Glade’s best offerings, we headed to the Imagination Institute to do a couple of secret wheelings and dealings with a mysterious purple dragon. Some call him Figalo.
***Continued in next post***
March 4, 2022
"Now That We Have Clarified Worm Secrets"
I was up on my own at 6:15 the next morning, kicking my 6:30am alarm to the curb and taking the day head on.
Mel on the other hand?
But by 8:40, we were both ready to go and a mere 15 minutes later we were waltzing through security.
Highway cows!
By 9? Oh baby, we were in Epcot!
Mel and I did what any normal, sane person would do and headed straight towards Nemo. The standby was posted at 10 minutes, because we were confused and in fact, NO normal, sane person goes to Nemo first thing in the morning. Which is why Nemo is always a walk on.
Once we were done shhhh-wimming out to shhhh-ea, I popped in to say hi to Mel and make sure my jellyfish tank was alive and well.
Mel please, we have places to go and people to see! Or shhhh-ea, if you shall
....is this....is this me????
My jellies!
We continued our tour of the most popular, nail biting, jaw dropping rides and made our way to the Land Pavilion.
Did we head onto Soarin next?
Oh, you sweet summer child. Of course we didn’t.
We decided to check out Awesome Planet.
Yes, you read that right. Awesome Planet.
There was only 3 minutes until the start of the next show so we thought we would check it out.
We were among the 6 total people who decided Awesome planet was an awesome idea at 9:30 in the morning. We were the youngest in the crowd, by a long shot.
Awesome Planet wasn’t terrible though and seems like a good spot to head to if you need a nice AC break and a little bit of a nap. We didn’t need both at that exact moment but that’s what we got.
We then kept up with the heavy hitters and waddled on over to Living with the Land (which I always just call Liviiiiin), who had a posted 10 minute standby wait. Which we all know is a lie- it was only 3 minutes, which included a short wait for the front row.
If you don’t ask for the front row on Livin, you are doing it wrong.
Always ask for the front row.
This here's the wildest ride in the wilderness.
This is why the only flavor of aqua fresca at Via Napoli is strawberry.
Finally, we couldn’t stall any longer and decided to use our LL Mel had booked that morning for Soarin’.
If you have read any of my other trip reports, you already know how I feel about Soarin’, and I can’t be swayed.
The best part of Soarin’ is playing with Snapchat filters in the line.
And that’s truly saying something.
After we sampled all of Glade’s best offerings, we headed to the Imagination Institute to do a couple of secret wheelings and dealings with a mysterious purple dragon. Some call him Figalo.
***Continued in next post***
DisneyyDaydream
Adventure is Out There
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2018
- Messages
- 279
***Continued from previous post***
We had a LL, which kept us from having to wait in the harrowing 10 minute standby line.
Once we were off the ride, Mel headed next door to meet the main mouse in charge while I stayed in the dump shop and took a couple of photobooth pictures.
They turned out just how you would expect them to.
I didn’t stay too long shootin’ the breeze with Figalo, as Mel and I had a reservation at the newest restaurant in town.
All by himseeeeelllllffffff
Somewhere earlier in the day, Mel had booked a DAS reservation for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. The standby was posted at 95 minutes, so the DAS reservation definitely came in handy.
Luckily we only had to wait about 7.
Remy is giving Soarin’ a run for it’s money.
In both scent and making me slightly queasy.
I don’t even wear the 3D glasses anymore. Does this mean I’m getting old?
I mean, me having to icy hot my knees every night should have already answered that but I like to feign ignorance.
Being the world travelers that we are, Mel and I jet setted from France all the way to Italy for our 12pm lunch ressy at the one and only Via Napoli.
Mobile Check-in wasn’t working (I don’t think it has ever worked at Via Naps, tbh) so we had to check in the old fashioned way about 5 minutes before our reservation time.
The plus side? We were seated right away.
We had a guest.
We ordered the exact same thing as the last time we went, right down to the same drinks.
We, of course, started with the garlic focaccia
Garlic focaccia: $4.95
For drinks, I went with the my usual, the strawberry aqua fresca, while Mel kept it simple with a coke.
[I apparently don't have a pic of this, use your imagination please. Thank you]
Aqua Fresca: “House-made seasonal fruit juice coolers” $6
They say seasonal, but it’s always strawberry. Always
For our actual meals, Mel and kept with the usuals. Individual Margherita for Mel and the Indivudual Prosciutto E Melone for me.
Margherita: “tomato sauce, mozzarella, basil” 10” individual (serves 1) $21
Prosciutto E Melone: “white pizza- fontina, mozzarella, prosciutto, cantaloupe, arugula.” 10” individual (serves 1) $26
Properly stuffed (with fluff), we rolled on out of Via Naps and towards our next destination. But not before checking out some more Flower and Garden topiaries.
Kermie!
Me
Believe it or not, she is not a topiary.
***Continued in next post***
We had a LL, which kept us from having to wait in the harrowing 10 minute standby line.
Once we were off the ride, Mel headed next door to meet the main mouse in charge while I stayed in the dump shop and took a couple of photobooth pictures.
They turned out just how you would expect them to.
I didn’t stay too long shootin’ the breeze with Figalo, as Mel and I had a reservation at the newest restaurant in town.
All by himseeeeelllllffffff
Somewhere earlier in the day, Mel had booked a DAS reservation for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. The standby was posted at 95 minutes, so the DAS reservation definitely came in handy.
Luckily we only had to wait about 7.
Remy is giving Soarin’ a run for it’s money.
In both scent and making me slightly queasy.
I don’t even wear the 3D glasses anymore. Does this mean I’m getting old?
I mean, me having to icy hot my knees every night should have already answered that but I like to feign ignorance.
Being the world travelers that we are, Mel and I jet setted from France all the way to Italy for our 12pm lunch ressy at the one and only Via Napoli.
Mobile Check-in wasn’t working (I don’t think it has ever worked at Via Naps, tbh) so we had to check in the old fashioned way about 5 minutes before our reservation time.
The plus side? We were seated right away.
We had a guest.
We ordered the exact same thing as the last time we went, right down to the same drinks.
We, of course, started with the garlic focaccia
Garlic focaccia: $4.95
For drinks, I went with the my usual, the strawberry aqua fresca, while Mel kept it simple with a coke.
[I apparently don't have a pic of this, use your imagination please. Thank you]
Aqua Fresca: “House-made seasonal fruit juice coolers” $6
They say seasonal, but it’s always strawberry. Always
For our actual meals, Mel and kept with the usuals. Individual Margherita for Mel and the Indivudual Prosciutto E Melone for me.
Margherita: “tomato sauce, mozzarella, basil” 10” individual (serves 1) $21
Prosciutto E Melone: “white pizza- fontina, mozzarella, prosciutto, cantaloupe, arugula.” 10” individual (serves 1) $26
Properly stuffed (with fluff), we rolled on out of Via Naps and towards our next destination. But not before checking out some more Flower and Garden topiaries.
Kermie!
Me
Believe it or not, she is not a topiary.
***Continued in next post***
DisneyyDaydream
Adventure is Out There
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2018
- Messages
- 279
Day 9, Part 2
March 4, 2022
"Now That We Have Clarified Worm Secrets"
Mel had booked a DAS reservation for Frozen sometime earlier in the day so off to Norway we went! The standby line was posted at 85 minutes but we only had to wait around 8.
My notes say nothing about getting absolutely destroyed with water so I assume we had a nice normal, non-tsunami level of water this go around, which I can always appreciate.
And as usual, Mel got caught picking the troll nose in the dump shop.
From Norway to Mexico, our next stop was to sail through a lush Mexican jungle and careen past a world class dining establishment, all to check whether or not Donald Duck was a potted plant or not again.
Spoiler alert, he was not.
Satisfied with our Donald spotting, we headed over to Test Track to use a DAS reservation Mel had booked earlier.
The standby line was posted at 50 minutes but we were building our car a mere 12 minutes after entering the line.
My notes also say “Carl” and I have no idea what that’s about, since this happened almost a year ago. But Carl, I suppose.
Our design ended up being not very efficient (it was a 4…not a 40. A 04), but oh baby was she powerful. Just like me. Not very efficient, but oh so powerful.
Except I’m not really powerful either.
Not bad for a day in the life of a dog food company
I stopped at a cart nearby to grab water and a Powerade, which we all know costs about the same as buying a small island off the coast of Indonesia.
Steven! Get down from there!
Mel parked herself on a bench outside of Creations Shop to contemplate all of her life choices while I headed on in to do a little bit of shopping.
We headed towards Spaceship Earth next, since the standby line was only posted as 5 minutes.
Spaceship Earth is truly one of my favorite ways to relax in the parks- SE and the Peoplemover, those are the tippy top of the list.
Even when the photos don’t work, which I do think is akin to highway robbery.
While we were thanking the Phonecians and slowly returning back to Earth, we placed a mobile order for the finest, most regal of all Eagles in the land.
I absolutely love Regal Eagle, it very well might be my favorite all around quick service in WDW. No matter how much I stuff myself in Epcot (which we all know we do), I will find even the tiniest pocket of stomach space for Regal Eagle.
But first, we had to get there. That was nothing a little Friendship Boat to Morocco couldn’t solve.
Mel and I both ordered the same exact thing: the kids’ BBQ Rib meal.
BBQ RIb: “served with coleslaw and watermelon and a choice of small lowfat milk or small Dasani ® water.” $9.49
We both opted to swap out the coleslaw and watermelon for beer-battered onion rings and house-made pickles.
Sam Eagle, the fine connoisseur of BBQ sauce that he is, provides 4 different kinds of sauce: Sizzlin’ Pit Dry Rub Coalition (classic smokehouse sauce), Blue Ribbon Brisket Sauce (savory spice sauce), Blue Ridge Vinegar League (vinegar base sauce), and Old Glory Mustard Guild (sweet mustard sauce).
I, of course, sampled all 4. After much debate, I deemed the Sizzlin’ Pit Dry Rub Coalition as the best sauce but really, all 4 were fantastic.
You can’t go wrong with the finest, regal-est, eagle-est Regal Eagle.
You can’t.
After our 2nd lunch, we headed over to Japan to take a look around Mitsukoshi. I don’t watch anime, but I know a lot of people who do and usually pick up some anime things from Mutsukoshi as a pretty safe gift idea. Back in October, the anime section was lackin’ and slackin’. But today?
Packed! They had lots of little things that I contemplated picking up for one person or another but ultimately, decided against it.
Instead, I picked up a pair of training chopsticks for my friend (we had gone as a small group to a KBBQ spot the week prior to me flying to Orlando for his birthday and found out he can’t use chopsticks) and a handful of the black Lucky Cats.
I have a black cat who, if you know me in real life, you know he is my absolute world. So why not buy little tiny black cats so everyone can be blessed with a reminder of MY black cat.
And also the black cats are said to protect you from illness and evil spirits.
Perfect.
We continued our trip across the globe next and headed to England, where Mel decided to people watch while I wandered around the shops and the tea garden.
Also not a topiary.
***Continued in next post***
March 4, 2022
"Now That We Have Clarified Worm Secrets"
Mel had booked a DAS reservation for Frozen sometime earlier in the day so off to Norway we went! The standby line was posted at 85 minutes but we only had to wait around 8.
My notes say nothing about getting absolutely destroyed with water so I assume we had a nice normal, non-tsunami level of water this go around, which I can always appreciate.
And as usual, Mel got caught picking the troll nose in the dump shop.
From Norway to Mexico, our next stop was to sail through a lush Mexican jungle and careen past a world class dining establishment, all to check whether or not Donald Duck was a potted plant or not again.
Spoiler alert, he was not.
Satisfied with our Donald spotting, we headed over to Test Track to use a DAS reservation Mel had booked earlier.
The standby line was posted at 50 minutes but we were building our car a mere 12 minutes after entering the line.
My notes also say “Carl” and I have no idea what that’s about, since this happened almost a year ago. But Carl, I suppose.
Our design ended up being not very efficient (it was a 4…not a 40. A 04), but oh baby was she powerful. Just like me. Not very efficient, but oh so powerful.
Except I’m not really powerful either.
Not bad for a day in the life of a dog food company
I stopped at a cart nearby to grab water and a Powerade, which we all know costs about the same as buying a small island off the coast of Indonesia.
Steven! Get down from there!
Mel parked herself on a bench outside of Creations Shop to contemplate all of her life choices while I headed on in to do a little bit of shopping.
We headed towards Spaceship Earth next, since the standby line was only posted as 5 minutes.
Spaceship Earth is truly one of my favorite ways to relax in the parks- SE and the Peoplemover, those are the tippy top of the list.
Even when the photos don’t work, which I do think is akin to highway robbery.
While we were thanking the Phonecians and slowly returning back to Earth, we placed a mobile order for the finest, most regal of all Eagles in the land.
I absolutely love Regal Eagle, it very well might be my favorite all around quick service in WDW. No matter how much I stuff myself in Epcot (which we all know we do), I will find even the tiniest pocket of stomach space for Regal Eagle.
But first, we had to get there. That was nothing a little Friendship Boat to Morocco couldn’t solve.
Mel and I both ordered the same exact thing: the kids’ BBQ Rib meal.
BBQ RIb: “served with coleslaw and watermelon and a choice of small lowfat milk or small Dasani ® water.” $9.49
We both opted to swap out the coleslaw and watermelon for beer-battered onion rings and house-made pickles.
Sam Eagle, the fine connoisseur of BBQ sauce that he is, provides 4 different kinds of sauce: Sizzlin’ Pit Dry Rub Coalition (classic smokehouse sauce), Blue Ribbon Brisket Sauce (savory spice sauce), Blue Ridge Vinegar League (vinegar base sauce), and Old Glory Mustard Guild (sweet mustard sauce).
I, of course, sampled all 4. After much debate, I deemed the Sizzlin’ Pit Dry Rub Coalition as the best sauce but really, all 4 were fantastic.
You can’t go wrong with the finest, regal-est, eagle-est Regal Eagle.
You can’t.
After our 2nd lunch, we headed over to Japan to take a look around Mitsukoshi. I don’t watch anime, but I know a lot of people who do and usually pick up some anime things from Mutsukoshi as a pretty safe gift idea. Back in October, the anime section was lackin’ and slackin’. But today?
Packed! They had lots of little things that I contemplated picking up for one person or another but ultimately, decided against it.
Instead, I picked up a pair of training chopsticks for my friend (we had gone as a small group to a KBBQ spot the week prior to me flying to Orlando for his birthday and found out he can’t use chopsticks) and a handful of the black Lucky Cats.
I have a black cat who, if you know me in real life, you know he is my absolute world. So why not buy little tiny black cats so everyone can be blessed with a reminder of MY black cat.
And also the black cats are said to protect you from illness and evil spirits.
Perfect.
We continued our trip across the globe next and headed to England, where Mel decided to people watch while I wandered around the shops and the tea garden.
Also not a topiary.
***Continued in next post***
DisneyyDaydream
Adventure is Out There
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2018
- Messages
- 279
***Continued from previous post***
There wasn’t much I was interested in snacking on from the Flower and Garden offerings, except for the Violet Lemonade and now seemed like a good time to head over to Pineapple Promenade, which was across from the Port of Entry.
I grabbed the delicious slushy lemonade for myself and 2 dole whips with fanta and shuffled back to Mel so we could enjoy them in the back of England, which is a prime spot for snacking and relaxing.
Frozen Desert Violet Lemonade: “non-alcoholic” $4.50
Dole Whip with Fanta: “non-alcoholic” $6.25
The dole whip was alright, but the Violet Lemonade stole the show. As usual.
I don't know why I always find this a little creepy, but I do.
Properly sugared, we headed back to France to use our Remy DAS reservation Mel had booked earlier. How did I wind up going on Remy’s twice when I don’t even want to go on Remy’s once, usually?
Mel loooooves Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. And since she is a good sport and puts up with my needing to look at everything and anything, I will accompany her on Remy a second time.
But if she wanted to go on Soarin’ twice?
I’ll be on Livin instead.
Anyway, Remy’s standby was posted at 90 minutes, but we only had to wait around 8 due to DAS.
Before long, we were scooting and scurrying all around the finest French kitchens.
Back to human size, we decided to check in to our 7:30 dinner reservation at La Creperie de Paris around 7:15.
I hadn’t heard much about this spot yet but I was intrigued by the newness so jumped at the chance to book a reservation when I saw one.
We were seated right away and given a brief explanation of the menu.
Both Mel and I ordered the exact same thing- right down to the drinks.
We opted for the Prix Fixe Menu, which was a “choice of soup of the day or salade maison; choice of one Galette with a glass of hard cider, soda, or juice; choice of one dessert crepe.” ($35.95)
The soup of the day was potato leak so we both chose that as our starter, we decided on the classique for our Galette, and ended the meal with the banana crepe.
Soupe du jour: “soup of the day” $8.50, if ordered separately
Classique: “ham, egg, swiss cheese” $17.50, if ordered separately
Banane: : “banana, caramel beurre sale” $9.95, if ordered separately
Maybe the French food life wasn’t for us, but both Mel and I weren’t happy with our meal. The soup was tasty and the banana crepe was decent but the buckwheat galette was nearly inedible. I’m pretty sure both of ours were burnt on the bottom.
Oh well, you live and you learn.
Ending our Epcot night on a slightly sour note (slightly buckwheat-y note I should say), Mel and I headed towards the Beach Club where we ordered a Lyft from. That’s a fun little cheat for you, if you are having difficulty getting a Lyft from the usual ride share area in front of Epcot.
We were back to our grand abode around 9 and I got right to packing.
Mel?
By 10:45, I was showered, icy hot-ed, and in bed.
***Coming up: Do we make it back to Jersey? Did we get swallowed whole by our neighbor, the swamp?***
There wasn’t much I was interested in snacking on from the Flower and Garden offerings, except for the Violet Lemonade and now seemed like a good time to head over to Pineapple Promenade, which was across from the Port of Entry.
I grabbed the delicious slushy lemonade for myself and 2 dole whips with fanta and shuffled back to Mel so we could enjoy them in the back of England, which is a prime spot for snacking and relaxing.
Frozen Desert Violet Lemonade: “non-alcoholic” $4.50
Dole Whip with Fanta: “non-alcoholic” $6.25
The dole whip was alright, but the Violet Lemonade stole the show. As usual.
I don't know why I always find this a little creepy, but I do.
Properly sugared, we headed back to France to use our Remy DAS reservation Mel had booked earlier. How did I wind up going on Remy’s twice when I don’t even want to go on Remy’s once, usually?
Mel loooooves Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. And since she is a good sport and puts up with my needing to look at everything and anything, I will accompany her on Remy a second time.
But if she wanted to go on Soarin’ twice?
I’ll be on Livin instead.
Anyway, Remy’s standby was posted at 90 minutes, but we only had to wait around 8 due to DAS.
Before long, we were scooting and scurrying all around the finest French kitchens.
Back to human size, we decided to check in to our 7:30 dinner reservation at La Creperie de Paris around 7:15.
I hadn’t heard much about this spot yet but I was intrigued by the newness so jumped at the chance to book a reservation when I saw one.
We were seated right away and given a brief explanation of the menu.
Both Mel and I ordered the exact same thing- right down to the drinks.
We opted for the Prix Fixe Menu, which was a “choice of soup of the day or salade maison; choice of one Galette with a glass of hard cider, soda, or juice; choice of one dessert crepe.” ($35.95)
The soup of the day was potato leak so we both chose that as our starter, we decided on the classique for our Galette, and ended the meal with the banana crepe.
Soupe du jour: “soup of the day” $8.50, if ordered separately
Classique: “ham, egg, swiss cheese” $17.50, if ordered separately
Banane: : “banana, caramel beurre sale” $9.95, if ordered separately
Maybe the French food life wasn’t for us, but both Mel and I weren’t happy with our meal. The soup was tasty and the banana crepe was decent but the buckwheat galette was nearly inedible. I’m pretty sure both of ours were burnt on the bottom.
Oh well, you live and you learn.
Ending our Epcot night on a slightly sour note (slightly buckwheat-y note I should say), Mel and I headed towards the Beach Club where we ordered a Lyft from. That’s a fun little cheat for you, if you are having difficulty getting a Lyft from the usual ride share area in front of Epcot.
We were back to our grand abode around 9 and I got right to packing.
Mel?
By 10:45, I was showered, icy hot-ed, and in bed.
***Coming up: Do we make it back to Jersey? Did we get swallowed whole by our neighbor, the swamp?***
DisneyyDaydream
Adventure is Out There
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2018
- Messages
- 279
Day 10
March 5, 2022
"Ya'll Come Cat"
Shockingly, my alarm wasn’t set for 6:30 this morning. It was set for 8, thank you very much,
I woke up at 5:30 though naturally but managed to drift off back to sleep until 7:30.
Mel on the other hand?
Once she finally stirred from her slumber, we placed an Uber Eats order from Starbucks for just a light breakfast.
And by light breakfast I mean I ordered a venti Iced Shaken Espresso, a bacon, gouda, and egg sandwich, and a chocolate croissant to round it out. Mel treated herself to a sausage, egg, and cheddar sandwich, a tall caramel frappuccino, and a venti Iced Cinnamon Dolce Latte.
I only have pictures of the drinks- I can only assume the food was all consumed in shame.
Caffeinated and fed, Mel finally started packing while I lounged around the room, watched the trailer for Fantastic Beasts: the Secrets of Dumbledore and played around with Snapchat filters.
As one does.
By 10:30, we were saying goodbye to our swamp and climbing into our overstuffed Lyft.
Goodbye highway cows, you will be missed!
About 30 minutes later, we were pulling up to the airport and all chaos ensued.
It was actually very controlled chaos, but it felt more chaotic in the moment.
We were guided over to Southwest’s full service check-in and baggage check. The line did not budge. The line for self-service though? Oh, she was moving. So we jumped the full service ship and headed over to self-service.
And the line for self-service stretched on for what felt like miles and miles.
So even though it was moving, it would’ve taken us well over an hour to check-in.
Back to full-service it was. And back to the end of the line, which to be fair we pretty much were at anyways.
All in all, the line for full-service took about a half hour.
The line for security was claiming a 10-14 minute wait but we only had to wait about 5 using pre-check.
Mel was given her usual pat down.
A front seat ride on the faux monorail and a quick stop at Hudson News for snacks later, Mel and I were parked by Gate 128 to wait patiently for pre-board.
Look at this packaging- bright, crisp, full of life.
What in the world happened here?!?! Why are they still up when they have ones right next to it that look edible?!?! Hudson News, what is you doin' baby!?
A lil somethin' somethin' for the journey.
Pre-board started right around 12:30 and as usual, we made ourselves comfy in the 5th row. I always pick the 4th or 5th row, but since this trip (and our flight last May to Las Vegas), I have found the 2nd row is actually low key the sweet spot. But I digress.
Steven!
The flight back to New York was uneventful and I spent the time watching Trailer Park Boys and snacking on what I picked up from Hudson News.
My birthday! At this point in time, we had no idea we would be spending that day in Vegas lol
We landed right on schedule at 3:18.
Luggage claim was a breeze and our bags were out relatively quick.
My dad, luckily, was able to pick us up from the airport and by 4, we were on our way back to Jersey where I stopped for Chinese food on the way home.
Right around 5, I was home and Mel left for Philly shortly after.
All in all, not a bad vacation for a dog food company.
************
Thank you everyone who read this trip report! Even during my multiple month long absences lol. Mel and I went back to Disney last month (Jan 2023) and I'm going to try to get that report up and running in the next couple of days.
See you over there!
March 5, 2022
"Ya'll Come Cat"
Shockingly, my alarm wasn’t set for 6:30 this morning. It was set for 8, thank you very much,
I woke up at 5:30 though naturally but managed to drift off back to sleep until 7:30.
Mel on the other hand?
Once she finally stirred from her slumber, we placed an Uber Eats order from Starbucks for just a light breakfast.
And by light breakfast I mean I ordered a venti Iced Shaken Espresso, a bacon, gouda, and egg sandwich, and a chocolate croissant to round it out. Mel treated herself to a sausage, egg, and cheddar sandwich, a tall caramel frappuccino, and a venti Iced Cinnamon Dolce Latte.
I only have pictures of the drinks- I can only assume the food was all consumed in shame.
Caffeinated and fed, Mel finally started packing while I lounged around the room, watched the trailer for Fantastic Beasts: the Secrets of Dumbledore and played around with Snapchat filters.
As one does.
By 10:30, we were saying goodbye to our swamp and climbing into our overstuffed Lyft.
Goodbye highway cows, you will be missed!
About 30 minutes later, we were pulling up to the airport and all chaos ensued.
It was actually very controlled chaos, but it felt more chaotic in the moment.
We were guided over to Southwest’s full service check-in and baggage check. The line did not budge. The line for self-service though? Oh, she was moving. So we jumped the full service ship and headed over to self-service.
And the line for self-service stretched on for what felt like miles and miles.
So even though it was moving, it would’ve taken us well over an hour to check-in.
Back to full-service it was. And back to the end of the line, which to be fair we pretty much were at anyways.
All in all, the line for full-service took about a half hour.
The line for security was claiming a 10-14 minute wait but we only had to wait about 5 using pre-check.
Mel was given her usual pat down.
A front seat ride on the faux monorail and a quick stop at Hudson News for snacks later, Mel and I were parked by Gate 128 to wait patiently for pre-board.
Look at this packaging- bright, crisp, full of life.
What in the world happened here?!?! Why are they still up when they have ones right next to it that look edible?!?! Hudson News, what is you doin' baby!?
A lil somethin' somethin' for the journey.
Pre-board started right around 12:30 and as usual, we made ourselves comfy in the 5th row. I always pick the 4th or 5th row, but since this trip (and our flight last May to Las Vegas), I have found the 2nd row is actually low key the sweet spot. But I digress.
Steven!
The flight back to New York was uneventful and I spent the time watching Trailer Park Boys and snacking on what I picked up from Hudson News.
My birthday! At this point in time, we had no idea we would be spending that day in Vegas lol
We landed right on schedule at 3:18.
Luggage claim was a breeze and our bags were out relatively quick.
My dad, luckily, was able to pick us up from the airport and by 4, we were on our way back to Jersey where I stopped for Chinese food on the way home.
Right around 5, I was home and Mel left for Philly shortly after.
All in all, not a bad vacation for a dog food company.
************
Thank you everyone who read this trip report! Even during my multiple month long absences lol. Mel and I went back to Disney last month (Jan 2023) and I'm going to try to get that report up and running in the next couple of days.
See you over there!
ThreeBoyMama
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2014
- Messages
- 1,206
Thanks for finishing this report! Looking forward to hearing about your January trip too.
Counting Stars
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2022
- Messages
- 403
Great trip report! Loved the pictures you took at AK- unique and beautiful details. Seems the two of you have a great travel mojo- You know what you want to do and don't stress much. Thanks for taking the time and sharing your trip.
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