TUT TUT...It Looks Like RAIN! A Nikki and Tom August Adventure! BABY PIC pg. 23!!! :)

[ronnmel]

Thanks for the info about the mushrooms. And the beer really is Trois-Pistoles. It's a real city in the province of Quebec.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

oh those le Cellier pics make me drool!!!!

I know, right?!

Now I have Listen to the Land STUCK IN MY HEAD. Awesome.


I tried the cheddar cheese soup at Le Cellier and it was good but too much bacon for me too.

I’ve done pick a pearl twice, let’s just say because the first time I lost my pearl, but that’s another story. So I just did it again on my past trip and I got an 8 and ¼! It wouldn’t fit into the ring I wanted because it was so big.

Glad it seems that many people feel the same way as I did about the soup. I was so disappointed because I was ready for it to be amazing.

Nikki, I've always wanted to do the Pick-a-Pearl thing! I may have to drink more next time we go to Epcot!!!

Haha! Oh yeah, you have to!

Lovely day in Epcot.. I don't think I could ever spend enough time in World Showcase!

I got one of the pearls in Japan last year, and this trip all the other ladies in the family got them too... I bought the necklaces with pearl cages from ebay seller "kzgc08" - they are really reasonable, only a few dollars It was interesting to see four pick-a-pearls happen at once too, one was gold & one was pink! All were 7mm or 7.5mm.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Emma x

Thanks for the ebay info. I'll have to look into it. Yeah, the person before me got a very rare colored one - I forget exactly what it was, something like blue-ish silver maybe.

I'm amazed at how much you can drink...I'd have been loopy after the 2nd drink!

Glad I saw the pics of your food at Le Cellier.. I won't be going there. Too complicated. Anything with bacon on it it is out..and any beef with a dairy product on it..like cheese or a white sauce is out..not kosher. Ah well, if I ate at Le Cellier I'd be stepping out on some of my favorite restaurants like Chefs De France, Restaurant Marrakesh or Rose & Crown.

What time did you get for your Fast pass? Seems like hours and hours went by..did you go back and ride it?

I never considered the pearl thing..I have a pearl in a cage necklace that I got when I was 8 or 9 years old..and I still have it. I guess I'm in the downsizing time of life. I look at things at WDW gift shops and think.."boy isn't that nice...but I have no idea what I'd do with it" I guess when I buy my retirement home in Florida, I can decorate the whole place in Disney souvenirs!

If I was walking around Disney with just Henry...I'd feel someone was missing. I can't think of a time I didn't have either children or a whole crowd of family with me. I have no idea what that's like... I think its time to find out.

Last trip, I forgot to have a grey goose... but I did have my Yak Attack and my Fiesta Margarita. I haven't sampled the coffee IN the parks.


I just noticed that the text at the bottom of my cruise countdown is not showing up...but when I go to User CP..its there!! ????

Too bad you don't think you'd be able to find something at Le Cellier. You know they would accommodate you if you wanted to give it a try. But I understand it's easier to just stick to what you know!

Actually, I don't think we did go back and ride Soarin' that day!!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Thanks for the info about the mushrooms. And the beer really is Trois-Pistoles. It's a real city in the province of Quebec.

Yes, she told us that is where it was from! We're going to try to find it around here. We have a really nice liquor store that has a lot but if they don't have, they will order. We've gotten cases of Tusker from there before (which we've only ever seen in Disney World) and that comes from Kenya so I'm sure they'd be okay with ordering beer from Quebec!

 

[Nermel9]

OMG I can't wait to eat at Le Cellier again!!! I'm sorry you didn't like the cheddar cheese soup, I love it, I could drink it by the gallon!

I've always wanted to do Pick a Pearl, but then I wonder what I'll do with the pearl! I'm so not a pearl person! I do like those little Cinderella pumpkin coach cages you can get to make a necklace out of, but other than that, I don't know what I'd do with one!

I love the America Pavilion, but yeah, that's a good place for all that alcohol to catch up with you!

Glad your Xanax finally kicked in and you got some sleep!

 

[Mindy5767]

Oh, I'm SURE they'd work with us to create a meal that we could eat, but since its such a TO-DO (one of my mom's favorite phrases) to get an ADR, and you have to put down a credit card guarantee...and risk that you might not be able to make it within the 24 hour window...its just easier to go with something we know and already love...plus, that leaves the ADR to someone who REALLY REALLY wants it

Henry won't take a seat on the bus until absolutely everyone else is seated..so I can see him not taking an ADR at Le Cellier until everyone who super loves the place has been accommodated!

We also haven't tried La Hacienda because the menu at San Angel Inn looks better to us, and we've eaten there several times. I do want to try the Hacienda Cantina, but every single time we check it out, the line is long and the seating looks filled. Some day...I'll catch it at an off moment.

 

[ronnmel]

Yes, she told us that is where it was from! We're going to try to find it around here. We have a really nice liquor store that has a lot but if they don't have, they will order. We've gotten cases of Tusker from there before (which we've only ever seen in Disney World) and that comes from Kenya so I'm sure they'd be okay with ordering beer from Quebec!

That's cool that they will do special orders!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

OMG I can't wait to eat at Le Cellier again!!! I'm sorry you didn't like the cheddar cheese soup, I love it, I could drink it by the gallon!

I've always wanted to do Pick a Pearl, but then I wonder what I'll do with the pearl! I'm so not a pearl person! I do like those little Cinderella pumpkin coach cages you can get to make a necklace out of, but other than that, I don't know what I'd do with one!

I love the America Pavilion, but yeah, that's a good place for all that alcohol to catch up with you!

Glad your Xanax finally kicked in and you got some sleep!

Yeah I'm not a pearl person either. It's still in the bag on my kitchen table!

Oh, I'm SURE they'd work with us to create a meal that we could eat, but since its such a TO-DO (one of my mom's favorite phrases) to get an ADR, and you have to put down a credit card guarantee...and risk that you might not be able to make it within the 24 hour window...its just easier to go with something we know and already love...plus, that leaves the ADR to someone who REALLY REALLY wants it

Henry won't take a seat on the bus until absolutely everyone else is seated..so I can see him not taking an ADR at Le Cellier until everyone who super loves the place has been accommodated!

We also haven't tried La Hacienda because the menu at San Angel Inn looks better to us, and we've eaten there several times. I do want to try the Hacienda Cantina, but every single time we check it out, the line is long and the seating looks filled. Some day...I'll catch it at an off moment.

La Hacienda was very good! I ate there with Stephanie in February.

That's cool that they will do special orders!

I know!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Day 3 - Saturday August 18

After having taken the xanax the night before, I was STILL up bright and early with no alarm. I showered and woke up Tom and Bri and went to get coffee to give them a chance to get up and get ready.

Couldn't help but take a picture of CBR on the way. It really is a beautiful resort.

Unfortunately, just as I got back to the room, it started to get a bit rainy. So when we were ready to go, we put on our ponchos and headed out. We weren't going to let a little bit of rain ruin our day. And this morning, we were headed to DHS.

Bri wasn't feeling that well this morning so we let her sleep in and Tom and I were off!


Rainy morning bus pic!

Tom had been itching to get on Star Tours so that's where we headed first.

After the ride and a little window shopping in Tattoine Traders, I was getting hungry and, even though I had never been there before, I somehow knew that the Writer's Stop would be a good stop for breakfast.

Tom met me there and we got a chocolate chip muffin to split and some coffee.

The muffin was SOOOOOO good!! And just the right size to split.

We wandered the Streets of America for a while, just trying to have a "take it easy" kind of morning.

You can see by this picture, eventually the rain did stop as we were wandering.

We then headed into the little store near Indiana Jones. I had to use the bathroom so I went to the bathroom between Indiana Jones and Star Tours and when I came out, the sky had opened up and it was pouring like mad!! I made a run for it back to the Indiana Jones store.

While we were in there a young girl was chasing her brother and she slipped and fell so hard! Her mom was giving her the "See?? I told you not to run" spiel but she was wailing! She was even getting mad at the dad for comforting her. It was quite awkward!

It wasn't stopping and since we had our rain jackets on, we figured we'd make a run for the stores up and down the main street. We were only in there for a little while when Brianne called to say that she just got off the bus so we told her where to meet us.

Brianna had cut her finger on something so before doing anything else, we headed to first aid for her to get a band-aid. Tom took a picture of me with this old-timey truck while we were waiting for her.

We were all dying to get on Tower of Terror so we headed that way. At this point, it was still raining lightly but not too bad. TOT said 20 mins but it was a total walk-on. And I don't even just mean into the first room, I mean there wasn't even a line in the boiler room! It was awesome.


I love this ride so much! We were sitting in the back so not sure you can see us in this picture.

After TOT, Tom and Bri headed to One Man's Dream while I went and got FPs for RnRC. By the time I made my why to meet them, they hadn't really gotten that far! There's just so much to see in One Man's Dream!


Who doesn't love Walt?!

New Fantasyland model.

We didn't really get to see too much because they made an announcement that the movie was starting soon and I really wanted to see it.

After the movie, we headed into the Magic of Disney Animation.

We kind of just walked through and into the store. I was really cold from having wet feet so I went outside while Bri did some shopping.

By now, it was time for our ADR at Sci Fi!!


We had quite a long wait after checking in and there's always so many people in the check-in area. Supposedly, 50s Prime Time Cafe had closed that day so there was a lot of overflow.

While we were waiting, I took this, "Where in the World am I" picture.

Finally, we were seated. Sci-Fi is not the best place for a party of 3 because we had to sit 2 in one row and one behind.

We just wanted to get drinks and apps. We both ordered the Sam Adams Summer Ale.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip for Two - A blend of Monterey Jack, swiss, and parmesan with spinach, artichokes, and corn tortilla chips $7.99

Crispy Onion Rings - with horseradish dipping sauce $8.49

Chicken Wings with honey-chipotle barbecue sauce, blue cheese dressing, and celery sticks $11.49

Bri got....

Buffalo Chicken Potato Skins - with Blue Cheese topping and celery sticks $9.99

....but since she was sitting behind us, we didn't get a picture. We had them last time we ate there and liked them. She didn't really like that the blue cheese was right on them instead of on the side so we gave her some of our wings and onion rings.

Overall, lunch was good but I think we've had enough Sci-Fi for a while. We've eaten there almost every trip so it's time to take a break.

 

[jenseib]

rain sucks...but you made the best of your time. I get cold in some of the stores too.

 

[smile4stamps]

Except for the rain it looks like a fun day! I'm praying for no rain in October!

Your apps look good. I've heard the burgers are good there but haven't been and no plans for this trip. Maybe sometime!!

I wonder why 50's was closed? That seems weird!

 

[NMW]

subscribing

 

[cheekypoppins]

i can't take it anymore I want delicious Disney food now!!!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

rain sucks...but you made the best of your time. I get cold in some of the stores too.

Rain totally sucks. I usually get cold but add wet feet into the mix and it's bad!

Except for the rain it looks like a fun day! I'm praying for no rain in October!

Your apps look good. I've heard the burgers are good there but haven't been and no plans for this trip. Maybe sometime!!

I wonder why 50's was closed? That seems weird!

The burgers are good but not out of this world. Just better than the average Pecos Bill burger I guess.

Yeah it was weird that 50s was closed. I'm sure there was a reason but no one could say.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Day 3 - Saturday August 18

After lunch at Sci-Fi, we had to book it over to RnRC for our FP.

Bri LOVED it. She had never been on a roller coaster like this or really any of the ones we'd been on and she was just LOVING it.

After our ride, we made it back to the hub to take a few photopass pictures. I haven't even ordered the CD yet so I'll have to post all those together once they come but I just HAVE to share this one!

So after we took the obligatory pictures with the hat, I noticed some Streetmosphere and who do I see but ANOTHER former Adventurer's Club castmember!! I ran over to take a pic and the photopass photographer who had just taken our picture asked if he wanted us to take it.

When I approached him, I asked if we could take a picture and when we were about to, I said something like, "We can pretend we're at the old club." Again, it seemed like it took him a second but he got really excited and started doing the fishy tail which was the beginning of the Kongaloosh salute! You can see him doing it in the picture!

Right after the picture, we all did the salute and shouted, "KONGALOOSH!" It was awesome!


I wanted to do the Backlot Tour since we hadn't done it since our first trip in 2006. Well, I remember why we haven't done it since then. It's TERRIBLE!!! It's really like nothing. There's no back lot. There's no costume department. It's nothing like what it used to be - an actual working studio with an actual back lot.

Aside from the ride itself being terrible, we stood in line, after the special effects part, for a good 30 minutes. NOT fun and soooo not worth the wait. There were TVs and I must've seen the trailer for the Secret Life of Timothy Green or whatever it's called, probably 18 times.


Don't they look thrilled to be standing in this line?

And don't we look thrilled that we are finally in the tram?

But wait! We can't go yet because we have to wait for the Lights Motors Action car to move out of the way. Ugh!

Here are some pics I took on the ride...

I loved this when I was a kid. Now, not so much. They don't even do the "Oh no! We weren't supposed to be here in the middle of a shoot" thing they used to do. In fact, there isn't even a person guiding the tour anymore!!!

So sad. And don't even get me started on the Golden Girls house being missing...


When we got off the ride, we stumbled upon an area I don't think I've ever been in...that park is so confusing! But there was Mike W. so we got a pic with him.

To lift our spirits, we went on Star Tours again, which is always a good time!

I really wanted to do the Animation Academy since we really enjoyed it so much last time so we headed back that way. We actually watched the little movie about animating Mushu. It was kind of lame but cute.

When we went inside, there were two characters in some random room - the penguins from Mary Poppins and....


The Genie!! I don't think I've ever seen him outside of the parades.

While we were waiting in line, we were looking at the movie stuff behind the glass counters and they had a Wreck It Ralph display.

Look closely! Who does this guy in the middle remind you of?

By the time we got to the animation class, we had just missed the start of the show. Well actually, we were there on time but they had just filled up. The wait was 1/2 hour but I really wanted to do it so we decided to wait. At least there was a comfy place to sit!

Finally, we went in and were ready to draw!

I should say that Tom and Bri are both EXCELLENT artists. Like really, really good. So they didn't need this class to be able to draw a character. But it's still fun!

The woman who was running this class said she wasn't going to tell who the character was before we started but if anyone wanted to know, she would show us the name written on a piece of paper. Because I hate surprises, I have no patience and I can't stand not knowing, I raised my hand for her to show me.


Ooooh, goodie! I was happy with this character! (Last time we had Grumpy, btw.)

Here was the start of my drawing...

Getting closer....

Ta Da!! It's Jiminy Cricket!

And look at Bri's drawing...look closely. Do you see what she's doing there?

Everyone really enjoyed it and unlike the Backlot Tour, it was definitely worth the wait!


At this point, we decided we had had enough of DHS and were ready to go on over to Epcot!! Yay!!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

We exited DHS and made our way to the boat dock just as the boat was pulling up. It was wonderful not to have to wait although that boat ride is kind of long with all those stops.

Finally, we made it to Epcot and in through the International Gateway. We went straight to the UK because Tom and I both had a hankering for some beer. He went inside the pub to get his beer. I want to say he got a Guinness but it doesn't look like it in this picture...

It might be a Boddington.

I stood on line at the Fish and Chips stand because they have Harp and that's just what I wanted! I also wanted some of those delicious chips!!

We pulled up a seat right there in middle of it all. It was so nice to just sit and drink and eat and chat and people watch and just soak it all in.

While we were sitting there, I noticed a group of people with cards hanging around their necks. They listed every country and they were clearly meant to mark off each one after they've had a drink - like an unofficial "drinking around the world" thing. I thought that was really neat and actually the second time I saw something like that. The day before, I saw a group of people with tshirts with all the countries on the back and they were using sharpies to mark them off.

Neither of the groups were loud, obnoxious or at all disturbing the other guests. They were just having a good time in Epcot, as adults should!


Looks like we hung around long enough to finish our first beers and go for another! This time, I think Tom does have a Guinness.

We finally made our way clockwise and ended up in China by the time Illuminations started. Tom and I kind of hung back. I love Illuminations so much but I don't have to be right up against the railing. I just need to listen to it and it's enough for me. I was just smiling the whole time and especially seeing Bri slowly inch her way closer and closer to try to get a better look!

Now anyone who knows my style knows what we did when the show ended. We're in China - only the 3rd country in so most people just head towards Norway, Mexico and then out.

Oh no. Not us! We like to take the looong way around! So that's what we did! No crowds, lovely Epcot music playing and beautifully lit pavilions.

By the time we left Epcot, there were still a lot of people there but not nearly as many as if we tried to leave as soon as the show ended. We got right on a bus and we were home in no time!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

subscribing

Welcome!

i can't take it anymore I want delicious Disney food now!!!

Oh I know!

 

[cheekypoppins]

ooooohhh I've never thought of going around the lagoon in the opposite direction ,such a cool idea i might have to steal it !!! OPMG was Bri drawing cleo????LOVE IT!!!

 

[disneybarbie]

Another great day Nikki - we were at Epcot that morning and the rain was really unexpected!

I have One Man's Dream and Animation Academy on our 'must do' list for October, missed both on the last trip

I love your tip of taking the 'long way' out of Epcot after Illuminations, my sister and I did it on our girls-only trip and it was so much fun being among the last people in World Showcase!


Emma x

 

[anjalee6]

Really makes me want to some it all in when we go without the kids in November. I don't want them to be sad that we aren't taking them, but I do want to enjoy the adult perspective on things.


Hope your first day back at school is a good one! My kids so far are much better than the last group. They were rough. Here's to an easy year for us both!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

ooooohhh I've never thought of going around the lagoon in the opposite direction ,such a cool idea i might have to steal it !!! OPMG was Bri drawing cleo????LOVE IT!!!

Oh we've been doing it that way for YEARS!! Sometimes we've stayed as late as 11pm! No one tells you to leave, it's the best!

Another great day Nikki - we were at Epcot that morning and the rain was really unexpected!

I have One Man's Dream and Animation Academy on our 'must do' list for October, missed both on the last trip

I love your tip of taking the 'long way' out of Epcot after Illuminations, my sister and I did it on our girls-only trip and it was so much fun being among the last people in World Showcase!


Emma x

Yeah that rain was the pits! You must must must do both One Man's Dream and Animation Academy. Both awesome!

Really makes me want to some it all in when we go without the kids in November. I don't want them to be sad that we aren't taking them, but I do want to enjoy the adult perspective on things.


Hope your first day back at school is a good one! My kids so far are much better than the last group. They were rough. Here's too an easy year for us both!

Oh you are going to have a blast!! Will you be there for Food and Wine? Amazing time!

Thanks for the well wishes! I start tomorrow, kids start Wednesday. I'm not ready for summer to be over yet!