UPDATE 10/20 *Everybody's Got a Laughing Place* BWV/MNSSHP/Lunch with an Imagineer!

[sarcasticblonde]

WELCOME!!​

If you are reading this, I'm excited! I attempted a trip report last year and it fell somewhat flat. Mainly due to the fact that I didn't update it after the first day...

But THIS year will be different! I'm totally dedicated to telling mine and Adam's adventures in Walt Disney World. So, if you are ready...Here we go!

Who are we??

Lori​

I'm 25 and was so super excited about this trip. I never was a Disney nut. When I was 9, my parents took my older brothers and I there and I just remember Splash Mt and Space Mt were both broken/closed at the time. Seemed like a babyish place to me. But now, I have been with Adam a total of 3 times and love it! We even once considered getting married there. In fact, that is why I joined the DIS, because I was on the Wedding Boards.

Adam

My 25 year old fiance. How he loves Disney. He has been to Disney World more times than he can count. His family was founding DVC members way back in the day, so he's been pretty spoiled with Disney trips. There are 2 things in life that Adam wishes he could do: Be a movie producer or be a Disney Imagineer. If it were up to him, we'd pack up and move from the Windy City to live in Orlando.

Here are a few pics of us from our previous Disney Trips...

Chapter Listing
Chapter 1: The Journey to WDW
Chapter 2: Animal Kingdom
Chapter 3: Yak and Yeti
Chapter 4: More Animal Kingdom
Chapter 5: Dinner at Jiko
Chapter 6: Breakfast at Boma
Chapter 7: Trick or Treating at MK
Chapter 8: All Day Epcot Day



To Be Continued...

 

[sarcasticblonde]

Chapter 1: The Journey to WDW

We have been planning this trip almost since we got back from our last trip in October 2007. That trip was our first time at the Food and Wine Festival and also our first MNSSHP. We loved the crowd levels that first week of October, so we decided that that was when we would book our trip.

We booked 7 months out for Boardwalk Villas. Since it was just the two of us, we didn't worry about having a room bigger than a studio and since we didn't plan on being in the room other than to sleep, we didn't care about our view. We ended up with a Preferred Water/Garden view for 8 days and 7 nights (October 1-8).

I made all of our ADRs 180 days out like a good girl. Got all the reservations we wanted at the times we wanted. Also signed up for the Deluxe Dining Plan. It was perfect.

Our flight was set to leave O'Hare at 6:30am so we need to be up at 4:30am. Well, neither of us are really morning people, so we tried our best to get to sleep very early. Worked...for the most part.

Woke up bright and early and finished packing up our toiletries. Called for a taxi and then we were off to O'Hare.

Oh, and I want to mention that while Adam and I have no children, we do have an adorable kitty named Linus. He's about a year old and this was the first time leaving him alone for more than a day. I asked my friend Kara to watch him. She stayed at our house for our entire trip. Linus is very affectionate and I knew that he would need someone there to give him lots of petting and attention Here are some pictures of Linus...

The last one is of him the night before we left. I was trying to pack my suitcase and he climbed in.

So, after we said our goodbyes to Linus, we headed to O'Hare. Now, we had booked our flight back in early June and chose seats near the very front of the plane and on the side of the plane that has only 2 seats together because we do not like sitting beside strangers on planes...those seats are just too close together. Unfortunately when we got our boarding passes, our seats were not the same. We were now sitting on a side with 3 seats together and we were farther back in the plane. They explained to us that since the flight departure time had changed a few months ago, all the seat reservations were up in the air and randomly reassigned. Boo

The flight to Orlando was very uneventful. We touched down and got on a Hertz bus to get our rental car. This was our first time with a rental car and it was great.

The lady at the Hertz counter kept trying to upsell us. We had reserved the smallest car possible and she tried to upgrade us to a "hardtop Mustang convertible" which was of course more expensive. Then she was irritated that we didn't want their insurance because our car insurance covers rentals. Then she offered to fill our gas tank back up at $3.57 a gallon. Adam declined and said we would take our chances. She replied, "Believe me, you aren't going to find it cheaper."

The car we got ended up being a blue Toyota Corolla sedan. Plenty large for us and our luggage. Took off towards Disney World!

We arrived at Boardwalk Villas around noon. Darn! Our room wasn't ready. Last year, our room was ready when we checked in at 11am. Guess I was spoiled We decided to enjoy some time on the Boardwalk and then we drove to Animal Kingdom!

Next: Animal Kingdom

 

[Hillary12.8.07]

cute pics!!

I'm in!!

ETA-I posted while you were posting! And realized we were there the same time, we were the 2-6th!

 

[sarcasticblonde]

Chapter 2: Animal Kingdom

We went to Animal Kingdom Lodge to take the bus to Animal Kingdom. It was so blasted hot that day. When we left Chicago that morning, it was 50 degrees so we were both wearing jeans and Adam had on a long sleeved shirt. Unfortunately, we were now in 90 degree Florida heat. And it was HUMID. It was making my camera fog up, as you will notice in some of my pictures.

Since it was so hot, Adam thought we should take a momentary reprieve from the heat by ducking into the Lodge for a bit. After a few minutes sitting on the couches in the lobby, we headed out to the bus stop.

About half way to Animal Kingdom, I realize I cannot find my cell phone. I looked all through the messenger bag that we use during our Disney trips and couldn't find it. I told Adam I must have left it on the couch in the lobby. I was panicking. My phone is one of the new iPhones and I was afraid someone dishonest would find it before we got back. So, we stayed on the bus and headed back to the Lodge.

I ran to the couch and saw two people sitting there. They immediately said, "Are you looking for an iPhone? I just turned it in to the front desk." Luckily, my background picture is a pic of Adam and I from our last trip, so it was easy to claim. I offered the people who found my phone $20 but they refused it. I'm very thankful to them though. I believe they were a middle aged British couple.

After my panic attack was over, it was back to AK!

Notice how steamy my lense was from the humidity??

When we got to the park, it was DEAD! I had told Adam that I had heard on the boards that it was pretty slow at the parks, but he was still surprised when he saw it firsthand.

Animal Kingdom for us is a half day park. We only go there on EMH nights and for the most part we only ride 3 rides: Expedition Everest, Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl. Well, Primeval was closed for refurbishment so we knew we would be having a "quick" visit.

I told Adam we could ride the Safari since it was so slow and we knew the lines would be short. Yeah, it was short alright. We walked right on!

After the Safari, we headed to Expedition Everest.

Yeah, I think we were in line 2 minutes before we got on Rode it twice and then went to our lunch at Yak and Yeti!

Next: Yak and Yeti

 

[lucas]

Can't wait to read more. Love your pics!

 

[mickeysmyboy]

You and your DH are adorable and so is Linus!! Your report is great so far! Can't wait to read more!

 

[jmskinner]

Thought I would join in also. Glad you got your phone back!

Our flight got changed back in June and just by chance I got bored one night and went on the airline website and realized our seats had been lost. At least I found two that were together so I could sit with my DS.

Great pics!
Melissa

 

[sarcasticblonde]

Thought I would join in also. Glad you got your phone back!

Our flight got changed back in June and just by chance I got bored one night and went on the airline website and realized our seats had been lost. At least I found two that were together so I could sit with my DS.

Great pics!
Melissa

Luckily, they automatically put people together who were originally supposed to be sitting together, so I did get to sit beside Adam.

 

[sarcasticblonde]

Chapter 3: Yak and Yeti

I decided it would be easier to just copy and paste this from my dining review, so...

(My reviews are in pink, Adam's are in blue.)

We dragged our tired bodies to our 3:30 reservation at Yak and Yeti. Well, actually, we go there at like 2:45. I was so dehydrated that I wanted to get in early for lunch. They were dead. I mean, the parks in general were very empty so they had TONS of tables to seat us at.

Our server was a young guy named Bo. Bo was...interesting. I'm not sure if it was because we were similarly close in age but Bo was very "honest" with us. We thought he was a good server - though he disappeared on us for a while at one point - but he seemed like a very personable guy.


The decor of the restaurant somewhat sparse and generic (according to Adam). While I enjoyed the mismatched chairs at the tables, Adam found it odd. He also thought the tables sat abnormally low But overall, it was neat. We sat downstairs and near a window.

For our appetizers, we decided to share the Dim Sum basket. It is meant for sharing and includes: char siu bao, pork potstickers, pork siu mai, shrimp siu mai and a soy lime dipping sauce.
Price - $12.99

I'm not a huge fan of char siu bao. It reminds me too much of a uncooked Pillsbury biscuit. I also don't care for the sweet flavor of the dough. I prefer something more savory. That being said, I did try one and thought it was "good" (that says a lot coming from me on this subject). The pork pot stickers were very delicious, not over cooked. The pork and shrimp siu main was good but not great. I did prefer the pork siu mai to the shrimp siu mai

Char siu bao was very good. Pot stickers were fairly typical but good. Both siu mai were a little on the disappointing side but still quality. Definitely not bad.

Next, we move on to Entrees.

I chose the Shaoxing Steak and Shrimp. The dish is comprised of a full skirt steak, tempura-battered shrimp, jasmine rice, stir-fried vegetables and a chili plum dipping sauce.
Price - $22.99

I am sorry to say that I was not overly pleased with this dish. They didn't take a temp on my steak. The standard is apparently well done. The tips of the steak had a distinct burnt flavor. The shrimp were very good and decently sized. The rice was a bit gooey. Vegetables were good.

Adam chose the Pho which is a rice noodle dish served in lemon grass scented broth with poached shrimp and traditional Vietnamese garnishes. On the side are dishes of fish sauce and sweet chili sauce.
Price - $16.99

The broth itself is fairly flavorless, so you need to add the accompanying fish and chili sauces that comes with the dish. Shrimp were good. I made mine pretty spicy - but I enjoy spicy food. I was pretty pleased with it but I think you need to like that kind of dish (Classic Asian style noodle bowls) to truly enjoy it. It's not something you are going to find on a Panda Express menu. I would definitely order this again.

Dessert! The best part - usually

My dessert was the Mango Pie. The pie consists of a shortbread cookie crust and whipped cream. The plate is dressed with raspberry sauce and a fruit salsa (strawberries and mangos pieces).
Price - $6.99

I liked this! But I'm a sucker for desserts and mango. Granted, its pretty generic and nothing special about it, but it was still good.

Adam's dessert was the Fried Wontons. These are skewers of fresh pineapple and cream cheese wontons served with vanilla ice cream and a honey vanilla drizzle.
Price - $7.99

I made the mistake of ordering this without realizing it was filled with cream cheese so I will say that the pineapples and the sauce were very good, as was the ice cream (but how do you mess up vanilla ice cream?) But if you love cream cheese filled things, you'll love this!

Decor - 6/10
Service - 8/10
Food - 7/10

Next: More Animal Kingdom

 

[Tikifan67]

Loving your report so far. You two are very cute and Linus is just precious.

 

[sarcasticblonde]

Chapter 4: More Animal Kingdom

After our lunch at Yak and Yeti, we headed to Dinosaur and walked right on. Like I said, AK was DEAD that day. We walked past Primeval Whirl and I pouted. I know it's just a "carnival ride" but I really like it. We refer to it as the "Toothchipper" because its hard to believe you can ride it without banging your teeth together.

There was really very little for us to do there. I'm not big on shows (FotLK) and I didn't like Tough to be a Bug so we didn't really have a lot of options. We did go to the observation path and watched some ducks in the water for a bit.

It was 5pm and EMH was just starting. We decided to hit up EE a few more times.

Yeah, in that first pic I was trying to get the landscape and Adam's face was in the way. He tried to scrunch down and the sun was in his eyes as well.

After our 2 rides, we decided that it was super hot and that it was time to go back to the hotel. Plus, our clothes were sticking to us and it was gross.

Once we were back to BWV, we headed to our room 4059. We had a preferred/water view but when we stepped out onto the balcony, we saw that we also had a partial boardwalk view and could also see Spaceship Earth at Epcot.

Next: Dinner at Jiko

 

[sarcasticblonde]

Chapter 5: Dinner at Jiko

We had a 8:45 reservation at Jiko and yet again, we got there early, so we stopped at the bar upstairs that looks down over Boma for a few before dinner drinks.

I had the Piña Colava which is made from Bacardi Razz, Piña Colada mix and raspberry puree.

I'd had this last year and loved it. This year it was good, but it was a little meltier (yes, meltier) than it is supposed to be. It was still delicious and I recommend it

Adam chose the Antioxidant Cocktail which is basically vodka, chambord, açai and lychee juice.

The server mentioned to me beforehand that this cocktail was a mere three days old, and a few of the people who she'd served it to had complained it was too sweet. I decided that I wanted something sweet, and I was hoping the tannin of the açai would cut the excess impurity of the Finlandia (a vodka I wouldn't normally drink), but unfortunately it failed on both counts. Not only was it not sweet at all, but the mediocre vodka overpowered any flavor the fruit might have given it. I couldn't taste the Chambord at all, and I likened the drink at the time to "spiked raspberry kool-aid." I should've gone with the Asian Pear Martini.


After we were done with our drinks, we headed downstairs to check in. We love this restaurant. Been there before, it had to go on our list for this year as well. The resort itself is beautiful, so it's no wonder that Jiko has a really great ambiance to it.It was barely a minute before our buzzer went off. We sat near the color changing wall. The gentleman who seated us told us that its meant to mimic an African sunset as it slowly changes colors. Our server's name was Omar. Omar was the beginning of a trend that we would experience at restaurants. Since we were only 2 people at a table, we were usually ignored by servers because they were more concerned with large parties or people who were heavy drinkers ($$$).

Adam was looking over the wine list and I was feeling a little sick. I get very sick if I get overheated so I excused myself to the bathroom. As I walked in the door, I see these two little girls (maybe 8 years old) running away from one of the stalls and ducking into another one. Well, I walked past the stall they ran from and the door is open. Standing inside is a man urinating in the toilet. I turned around and walked out to make sure that I had walked into the correct bathroom. I saw that I was, indeed, in the women's restroom. I went back in and stood outside his stall and said, "You do realize that you are in the women's restroom, right?" He immediately looks over his shoulder at me and begins zipping up. He seemed embarrassed and I said, "There are little girls in here, you need to get out." He mumbled an apology and ran out. It was very odd.

I felt better after a few minutes in the bathroom and headed back to the table.

For our appetizers, I chose the Barbecued Chicken Flatbread. Its decently sized - could be shared by 2 people - and consists of BBQ chicken, four cheeses, julienne green apple and onions.
Price - $10.00

As you can see from the picture, I got mine with no onions...not a huge onion fan. The apple pieces were tart and played off the sweetness of the BBQ very well. The crust was nicely crisp. The ONLY thing I didn't like was the fact that some of the chicken pieces were very chewy (I think these were ligament pieces?).

Adam's appetizer was the Pokanoket Farm Seared Ostrich Filet. The filet strips are served over creamy vidalia onion puree with rocket cream and spiced cherries.
Price - $13.00

I thought this dish was very good. The ostrich was cooked perfectly rare and had a wonderful coffee and spice crusting that blended seamlessly with the meat. The only drawback was the puree underneath, which seemed slightly muddled and didn't seem to add much to the flavor of the bird. I left most of mine on the plate. The filet itself was pretty small (about 5-6 bites), but for a course like this, I found that to be more of a positive. All in all, a very nice starter that left me pretty excited for the main course.

Portland Pier Scallops was the entree that I chose. The accompaniments were pea and sweet corn succotash, pesto puree and a "fish cake" (which wasn't listed on the menu).
Price - $31.00

I love scallops. These were very succulent and I thought the pesto sauce was great. Not a fan of peas, but liked the veggies it came with. The only thing that seemed out of place was the fish cake. It wasn't listed on the menu, so Adam and I didn't know what it was. Even after tasting it, it didn't even quite taste like...anything. It looks like a crab cake from the outside but on the inside it looked like potatos Oh well, still loved the dish.

Adam decided upon the Kenyan Coffee BBQ-Braised Beef Short Rib. It's served with cheesy crushed potatoes.
Price - $35.00

I could smell this baby the second it hit the table, and I knew I had make the right choice. The meat was so tender that you could've eaten it with a spoon--the first thing I did was pull the bone out with my fingers, and it came out totally clean. The highlight though, is the great sauce it was smothered in. Similar to the sauce on the flatbread, it was the perfect barbecue combination, neither too sweet nor the least bit ketchupy, it gave off this great roasted coffee aroma that made my mouth water. The potatoes were great as well, flavored with some cheese and rosemary that made them irresistable. I was glad I ordered the light starter, because this dish was huge and I refused to let any of it go to waste. 7 days and numerous great meals later and this was still the best single dish of the trip.

I was getting full but there's always room for dessert . I had the House-made Lemon Curd served with pomegranate and blueberry compote, sour cream ice cream and a white chocolate biscotti.
Price - $8.00

My big thing this trip was to try and not repeat what I eat. Like, not eating crab cake as an appetizer every meal and no chocolate cake for every dessert. I chose the lemon curd because I love pomegrante. Thought it was very good. The ice cream was great with the compote. Not a big biscotti fan, so... Adam thought my dessert was average. I will say that the picture makes it look phallic

For dessert, Adam had the Jiko Cheese Selection. Here are the cheeses:
Gratte Paille from France (Cow's milk cheese) - soft cheese, mushroom flavor
Purple Haze from the US (Goat's milk cheese) - flavored with fennel pollen and lavender
Torta del Cesar from Spain (Sheep's milk cheese) - creamy, spreadable, smoky flavor
Cravot from Italy (Goat's milk cheese) - aged, brown crust
Brebicet from France (Sheep's milk cheese) - smooth and creamy
The accompaniments were crostinis, fruit jam and miniature red grapes.

The cheeses themselves were all fairly similar, the only true standouts being the Purple Haze (a classic chevre) and the Cravot, which was the only cheese with a little bit of firmness to it. The accompanying fig toast was very nice but slightly greasy, but that was offset by the very nice blackberry jam that complemented all the cheeses nicely. The highlight for me was the mini grapes, which were just simply fun to eat.

Decor - 8/10
Service - 7/10
Food - 9/10

We drove back to BWV and I wanted to check out the Boardwalk area and resort at night.

Next: Breakfast at Boma

 

[jmskinner]

Chapter 5: Dinner at Jiko

I will say that the picture makes it look phallic [/COLOR]

QUOTE]

I had to go back and look at the picture when I read that.

Your pics and reviews are great. Now I'm hungry, must go find food.

 

[mickeysmyboy]

I have to agree, your dining reviews and pics are making me hungry!

Thanks for sharing, can't wait to hear more!

 

[sarcasticblonde]

Chapter 5: Dinner at Jiko

I will say that the picture makes it look phallic

I had to go back and look at the picture when I read that.

Your pics and reviews are great. Now I'm hungry, must go find food.

I don't know, maybe I just have a perverted mind, but that was the first thing I thought when the server brought my dessert out

I have to agree, your dining reviews and pics are making me hungry!

Thanks for sharing, can't wait to hear more!

I know...everytime I look at dining reviews I get really hungry! Luckily, I'm going to dinner shortly

 

[LilGMom]

[

I will say that the picture makes it look phallic

Too funny! Loving the TR and pictures.

 

[sarcasticblonde]

Chapter 6: Breakfast at Boma

What a gorgeous morning!!

Adam was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed

It was the second morning of our trip and we were still trying to adjust to the Eastern time zone...we were definitely still on Chicago time. We had breakfast reservations at Boma for 10am. Adam and I value our sleep and even though I'm the kind of gal that could eat breakfast 3 meals a day, I am not getting up early for it

We drove ourselves, via our rental car, over to Animal Kingdom Lodge. Wow...it's almost like we were just here 12 hours ago... Adam said to me, "Oh man, I bet Boma will be packed for breakfast this morning." I said, "Yeah, right." We walked downstairs and BAM! Crickets were chirping it was so empty. Ah, as I tell Adam, "I'm not always right, but 99% of the time, I am!"

Since Boma is a buffet meal, we don't take pictures. So here is some information about the breakfast taken from mine and Adam's dining review:

BOMA - Breakfast
Our reservation was at 10:10am. The host seated us towards the back of the restaurant near the windows. Our server. Karen, came and took our drink order. Adam had the "mixed juice" drink. It consisted of pineapple, guava, etc. I had the standard orange juice.

I'm a simple girl when it comes to breakfast. I had scrambled eggs (good), toast (yummy), bacon (I didn't like the bacon...had an odd smoked flavor and it was not crispy at all). See, all simple things. Overall, I much preferred it to the only TS breakfast we had during our last trip, which was Crystal Palace. Unfortunately, I think that WDW is lacking when it comes to breakfast meals. There is one exception to that which I will get to later on...

Having dined at Boma for dinner many times before, I was eager to try some of the breakfast fare at Disney's most popular character-free buffet. To my disappointment, there was little unique about this breakfast buffet. Your standard fruit and cereals all make an appearance, as well as some nice pastries. One nice touch is the option of a "jungle juice" beverage, a combination of some more exotic juices, which I found a nice alternative to a tangy orange juice or a super sweet apple juice. The big winner here was the quinoa, which is a great alternative to oatmeal, especially with a variety of dry toppings like cinnamon. I was a little miffed to find the breakfast potatoes were missing their afritude, but that's just a personal choice, and my distaste for bland roasted things. If you're dead set on having breakfast, you could do a lot worse than Boma, but if you're only planning one meal there, choose dinner.

Price - $16.99 per person

Decor - 8/10
Food - 7/10
Service - 6/10

With our tummies full, we headed back to BWV. I wanted to swim! And tan. I'm a fairly light complected person...blonde hair, blue eyes, paper white skin And last year when we stayed at OKW, it seemed like we never spent anytime at the pool or exploring the hotel. This year was going to be different! We headed down to Luna Park Pool and staked out a pair of sunloungers. Adam didn't remember to bring his sunglasses, so he was grumpy from the get-go.

We laid out and began to get our tan on. There were plenty of kids in the pool and it was very happy and loud.

Look at how unhappy Adam looks! He kept pulling his chair back farther and farther until his face was in the shade...but his eyes are still squinty, even shut! If he knew I posted this picture of him...

It was blazing hot so we took a dip in the pool for a bit. We were heading to MK for MNSSHP that night and didn't have reservations at LTT until 7pm so we decided it was time to get something to eat for lunch.

We headed back to the room to freshen up and I took this picture of myself in the mirror. I'm the picture-taker in this relationship, so I am forced to take pictures of myself.

After a short walk down the boardwalk on a beautiful day, we stopped at ESPN Club. Here is the review from our dining report:

ESPN CLUB - Lunch
Never been here before, but we weren't having dinner until 7pm and went there out of convenience. It's right on the Boardwalk and we were staying at BWV...you can see the logic Neither Adam nor myself had high expectations of the place.

We walked in and waited a few minutes to be seated despite the fact that they were pretty slow at about 3pm. We were seated and our server Aaron came to greet us. He was very nice and social. Kept calling us "team" - which I'm sure is something that all ESPN servers are supposed to do.

If you like sports, there are about...40 TVs in there? Just an estimate. Gives you something to do. I personally like sports - for the most part - so I didn't mind.

Since we were on the dining plan, we still did 3 courses for lunch. I started with Dingers, which are basically just like the boneless wings you could get at Buffalo Wild Wings. Got them with the medium sauce, which was the mildest. They were still fairly spicy for my taste. I ate half of them. When Aaron saw this, he offered to bring me a whole new plate of Dingers plain. I declined, but it was nice of him. My entree was a Triple Play Turkey and Brie Sandwich and it was awesome! Seriously, I loved this thing. I loved it so much that we made a late night stop there a few nights later and I picked one up. Its turkey, brie, arugula and cranberry mayonnaise on multigrain bread. Even though I had no room for dessert, I did dessert...I'm such a trooper, I know. I chose the Rocky Road cake. I'm a sucker for chocolate and marshmallows. Large portion and tasty.

The chili has a solid flavor, not overwhelmingly tomato, not very spicy. The portion is quite large, so light eaters could make a full meal out of it. The server recommended Mahi Mahi sandwich came blackened, but was relatively bland before application of the side of spicy tartar sauce. Decent overall, but not anything special (particaularly compared to the next day's meal). As for dessert, I sampled the brand new Banana Cream Pie which was nothing short of delicious, despite my inability to remember the other main ingredient (I'll change it if I remember). My strawberry banana smoothie was nondescript and had no traces of real fruit.

Decor - 8/10
Food - 7/10
Service - 8/10

After lunch, it was time to get ready for MNSSHP!!

Next: Trick or Treating at MK

 

[ReneeDisney]

I love your trip report! Great photos and great writing!
Can't wait to read more .....

 

[hlrababy]

Hey!! I just found your report!!! Great start and I am ready for some more!!

 

[KayLuvsMickey]

I just stumbled upon your Trip Report, and have found it very entertaining! Great pictures of the food, and you guys are such a cute couple!

Can't wait for more!