(Complete!! 2/23) How Bougie Can We Be? - Nov 2024 TR

Should I show all 30 photos of the Wicked Store?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 9 100.0%
  • Just a couple

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    9
  • Poll closed .
Pictures and Snacks! - Monday Nov 18, 2024 (part 8)

As we walked into the lobby of the Grand Floridian, we saw that they had photographers out in front of the tree and the gingerbread house! I don't remember seeing photographers out the year before, and the lines were surprisingly short so we took some pictures.
2024-11-18 - Disneys Grand Floridian Resort and Spa - Disneys grand floridian resort  spa_33.jpeg
2024-11-18 - Disneys Grand Floridian Resort and Spa - Disneys grand floridian resort  spa_29.jpeg
2024-11-18 - Disneys Grand Floridian Resort and Spa - Disneys grand floridian resort  spa_24.jpeg
And from the gingerbread house:
2024-11-18 - Disneys Grand Floridian Resort and Spa - Disneys grand floridian resort  spa_22.jpeg
2024-11-18 - Disneys Grand Floridian Resort and Spa - Disneys grand floridian resort  spa_18.jpeg

We finished taking pictures just a little bit before 5, so we headed upstairs, with a quick stop at the lounge on the way, just to see what the dinner offerings were:
IMG_4608.jpg
Mini hot dogs and Tater tots

IMG_4609.jpg
Potato cakes with prime rib, and then I think it was salmon cakes on the right.

IMG_4611.jpg
Charcuterie

IMG_4612.jpg
Veggies with ranch

IMG_4613.jpg
Caprese salad and a Pineapple Coconut shrimp ceviche.
 
Good Soup! - Monday Nov 18, 2024 (part 9)

I apparently didn't take a picture of it, but they also had small cups of the strawberry soup! So had to grab one of those:
IMG_4614.jpg

And we couldn't not try some of the food!
IMG_4615.jpg
I don't remember if they were good or not - I apparently didn't take any notes or anything on this one. :) But they looked good! I'm sure they were good.

I also took advantage of the ice cream freezer cause it was beginning to seem like a waste to not take advantage of it:
PXL_20241118_220100086.jpg
Maybe not our best idea to eat snacks before dinner but it's Disney, whatcha gonna do. :) Also notice all the bags - that's like all Merry Menagerie merch. :D

Anyways! At this point actually time to head back to the room to get cleaned up a bit for dinner. We changed and such - I had to use the bathroom and look what I found on the toilet paper!
IMG_4618.jpg
Faaaaaancy housekeeping!

At about 5:30 we were ready to head out, though I got ready before Trevor so I took a video in the lobby for my sister, but I'm a giver so I'm gonna share it here too:

Its just of the lobby but man so nice, with the music and the whole atmosphere. I'm so glad they had all the Christmas decorations up when we were there - happy birthday to Trevor indeed!

Anyways, off we went!
IMG_4620.jpg
This aesthetic may not be for everyone (massive florals on the carpets?) but I do love these chandeliers that look like hanging plants. :)

We had a little bit of time before we needed to get in the uber to go to dinner, and since we were slightly dressed up, we went and took some pictures on the second floor with Cinderella's glass slipper!
2024-11-18 - Disneys Grand Floridian Resort and Spa - Disneys grand floridian resort  spa_4.jpeg
2024-11-18 - Disneys Grand Floridian Resort and Spa - Disneys grand floridian resort  spa_2.jpeg
2024-11-18 - Disneys Grand Floridian Resort and Spa - Disneys grand floridian resort  spa.jpeg
If you've never wandered over to the Grand, you should - just up on the second floor they have a photo area and a couple props, including Cindy's glass slipper. Highly recommend!

We finished just as it was about the time to hop into the uber, so that timing worked out pretty well. Where were we going? To the Bull & Bear at the Waldorf Astoria. It's been one of favorite fancy restaurants, so we figured it'd be good for Trevor's birthday dinner. They did have a card for him, which was nice:
IMG_4623.jpg

The picture limit here comes at a weird place so I leave you with my drink:
IMG_4624.jpg
I thought it was supposed to be a coconut strawberry drink, but it did not look (or taste) like strawberry. It tasted like pineapple, which is a consistent thing with Bull and Bear - all their mocktails are so citrusy.
 
Trevor's Birthday Dinner - Monday Nov 18, 2024 (part 10)

Trevor's drink was lavender infused something - probably lemonade?
IMG_4625.jpg
Also citrusy. :)

The amuseboosh was a ceviche:
IMG_4626.jpg
I liked it but mostly cause I could taste onion and I like onion. :)

Then the bread service!
IMG_4627.jpg
I got the rosemary brioche (that looks like the flower thing) and then parmesan focaccia. The bread is SO good. Just yum.

IMG_4628.jpg
Trevor also got the brioche but then the japanese milk bread as well, which he liked. I liked the focaccia better but different strokes. :)
IMG_4632.jpg

See look at that lovely focaccia. :)

Trevor picked the pasta explosion for his appetizer:
IMG_4630.jpg
It's their take on a carbonara and it's super rich and yummy. The only thing is that its such a small portion (which I guess makes sense cause it's so rich) but I wanted just a few more raviolis!

Then the main! Part of why we wanted to come back after just having been here in May was that we wanted to try their fried chicken. We'd seen the reviews that called out how good it was, and they certainly talk it up - from their website: "First, the chicken is brined for 24 hours, resting for another 24 hours, then cooked sous vide for an hour and fifteen minutes at exactly 145 degrees, then flash fried with the skin on and finally fried again with a cornmeal, cornflake, buttermilk batter. The result is a fried chicken dish unlike any other, tender on the inside yet crunchy and flaky on the exterior, served with a Yukon gold mashed potato and gravy." So we ordered that to split plus a steak (we got the wagyu but the waiter asked if we wanted it Pittsburgh style with a char on the outside and rare on the inside...we said yes).
IMG_4633.jpg
IMG_4635.jpg
So...the mashed potatoes were amazing. And I feel like starting with that tells you about the rest. We shouldn't have gotten the steak so charred - it overwhelmed the steak flavor and at times was just tasting carbon. :( And the chicken was good but weirdly enough, kind of dry?! Which is not what we expected with the whole preparation but it was. *shrugs*

Dessert though we had to get the lemon (and yes Trevor did pick it. :) )
IMG_4637.jpg
IMG_4638.jpg
The lemon is so good - just so light and refreshing. Yum.

Overall, it was kind of disappointing - We'll probably skip this one for a while - the food was good but not outstanding, and at that price point I want it to be outstanding. Also about 5 min after we were seated they sat a family with a tiny little girl (like 2) right next to us (and the restaurant was still suuuuuuuuper empty) and the family was just super loud the whole night. Which I expect at Disney, but again not at a restaurant at this price point - even if they'd been seated a bit further away that would have been nice, instead of us being right next to each other. Oh well!
 
Fireworks for the Birthday Boy! - Monday Nov 18, 2024 (part 11)

IMG_4639.jpg
Happy Birthday to Trevor! :)

We finished dinner a little before 8 pm, so we decided to take an uber to the Contemporary 'cause I wanted to see the gingerbread house, as well as see if they had the 5-legged goat magnet. So off we went!
IMG_4642.jpg
The Contemporary Christmas tree is so cute. ;)

As we arrived, we heard the first notes of Happily Ever After and I was like "oooh it's fireworks time!!" so we hurried up to the fourth floor and out to the balcony to watch the fireworks! Unfortunately we only found a slightly obstructed view:
IMG_4644.jpg
So we moved over to the start of the bridge between the main building and Bay Lake Tower, and got a slightly better view:
IMG_4648.jpg
Monorail!!


Hard to hear the music in the video but A+ to the Contemporary cause in person you could.

After the fireworks, we were looking at the gingerbread castle:
IMG_4650.jpg
So pretty!
PXL_20241119_012132748.jpg
(oh I forgot to say earlier - we'd stopped by the gift shop at the Grand Floridian and I bought that Beauty and the Beast crossbody :) )
IMG_4653.jpg
I love the decorations here and all the frills. :)

Sadly though the gift shop did not have my 5-legged goat magnet. Womp womp. Oh well!

We hopped on the monorail and 15 minutes later were back at the Grand Floridian, heading up to our room. But first, lounge for late night snacks! :)
IMG_4662.jpg
Cannoli Mousse Dome
IMG_4663.jpg
Almond Berry Fruit Tart and some kind of shooter.

IMG_4664.jpg
Vanilla cupcakes and brownies.

I grabbed a brownie cause yes I have no self control. It was yum. :) Then to the room to crash and rest. :)

Overall, a fantastic day, even if the birthday dinner was slightly on the disappointing side. We rode so much at Hollywood Studios, had a great time at Animal Kingdom with the Merry Menagerie and Nomad Lounge, and then got to see the fireworks too! Tomorrow, Magic Kingdom.

Fun with Metrics:
Steps walked: 17239 steps (7.5 miles)
Ride count: 9 (Tower of Terror, Rockin Roller Coaster, Star Tours, Rise, Millennium Falcon, Slinky x2, Toy Story Mania, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway)
Savings with AP discount: $126.00
 
I wouldn’t call that steak “charred”…to me that would suggest a good sear with some dark crispy spots. Your steak looked black and like they burned it. Not surprised it wasn’t your fave!
 
I wouldn’t call that steak “charred”…to me that would suggest a good sear with some dark crispy spots. Your steak looked black and like they burned it. Not surprised it wasn’t your fave!
Yea, it was definitely black! We just thought it's how it was supposed to be when you cook it that way... :(
 
Breakfast of Champions - Tuesday Nov 19, 2024 (part 1)

We slept in a bit this morning - I woke up at 7 to get a boarding group for Tiana's and got boarding group 8, yay!!! but we didn't really get up until about 8/8:30ish. We got ready and then grabbed breakfast!
IMG_4669.jpg
So magical to walk out of our room to this view - the lobby is so much quieter in the morning. :)

The breakfast spread!
IMG_4670.jpg
Scrambled eggs, and then a Feta, roasted tomato and spinach scramble. And sausage and bacon.

IMG_4671.jpg
Pancakes and cinnamon roll type things.

IMG_4672.jpg
Croissants and muffins.

IMG_4673.jpg
Charcuterie type things.

IMG_4674.jpg
Citrus cake, hardboiled eggs, and apple filled crumb cake.

We sampled a bunch:
IMG_4675.jpg
IMG_4676.jpg
IMG_4677.jpg
and of course, fruit! :) It was all really good - a yummy start to the day.

After breakfast we went down to the concierge and placed our order for gingerbread - yet another bougie thing. :) Not sure how it always is, but they were offering a service where you tell them what you'd like from the gingerbread house and they'll go pick it up for you and deliver it to the room, so you don't have to wait in line at the gingerbread house. Faaaaaaaancy. :)

By 9:40, we were on the monorail heading to Magic Kingdom!
IMG_4681.jpg
We had a 9:40 fastpass for Tiana's, but Tiana's hadn't yet opened, so that turned into an Anytime fastpass. But it was also time for our Haunted Mansion fastpass, so that was the tentative plan. :)
 
From the AfterLife to Neverland - Tuesday Nov 19, 2024 (part 2)

We tapped in at the Magic Kingdom and were walking in by 9:45. :)
IMG_4685.jpg
Only 36 days til Christmas! I love this sign before Christmas but it always seems a bit sad after Christmas when they have the "360 days til Christmas" or whatever up.

We took it slow walking up Main Street, taking pictures and such.
2024-11-19 - Magic Kingdom Park - The plaza restaurant.jpeg
2024-11-19 - Magic Kingdom Park - Cinderella castle_8.jpeg
We also got to see the Dapper Dans a bit:

2024-11-19 - Magic Kingdom Park - Liberty square.jpeg
We kept walking over to the Haunted Mansion and hopped in line.
IMG_4691.jpg
I feel like they must have roses in the hearse every time but I only notice every once in a while. :)
IMG_4692.jpg
And a rose on Leota's tombstone. Love the little touches. :)

2024-11-19 - Magic Kingdom Park - Haunted mansion_11.jpeg
2024-11-19 - Magic Kingdom Park - Haunted mansion_12.jpeg

When we rode the hatbox ghost's head was just staying in the hatbox - it wasn't switching between his body and the hatbox, which was not how it was supposed to be. Hopefully it's not broken already! (spoiler - it was working fine when we went in January but I was concerned at the time that it was broken or they wouldn't fix it).


Trevor had a new phone, so we both filmed the hitchhiking ghosts to compare them - just for fun. :) Mine is the first half, Trevor's is the second half.

2024-11-19 - Magic Kingdom Park - Haunted mansion.jpeg
Hitchhiking!

As we left the Lightning Lane for Haunted Mansion was SUPER long, so we had good timing there. :) It was also getting hot - all the clouds had burned off. Oh well!

We looked in Memento Mori for a bit (my favorite gift shop!) and then started heading towards our Lightning Lane for Seven Dwarfs. BUT! On the way, we saw Peter Pan AND WENDY out meeting and greeting, with a line that wasn't closed and wasn't too horribly long. So we hopped in. :) We ended up waiting about 10 minutes, but we got to meet both of them! Wendy liked the crown on my ears and we talked about Peter getting a crown and putting it on his shoes which then segued to Wendy having bows on her toes. All sorts of chaos :)

PXL_20241119_154729966.jpg
But such a fun little surprise to see them there and get to meet them. :)
 
Will the Bayou Ever Open? - Tuesday Nov 19, 2024 (part 3)

After the meet, we continued over to Seven Dwarfs, where the Lightning Lane was super empty - we were boarding 4 minutes after entering the line which is not at all usual for that ride. But I'll take it!
PXL_20241119_155604631.jpg
We did wait for row 10, cause it's a way better ride in the back.
2024-11-19 - Magic Kingdom Park - Seven dwarfs mine train.jpeg
Also just for fun - they really need to recalibrate the ride video:

It's not us on the first shot but it is us on the second lol.

Afterwards Tiana's was STILL down (it was basically 11 am now), so we were heading towards the Jingle Cruise, but we saw the Stepsisters out meeting, and it's basically the law that you have to meet them if they're out. It helped that their line was super short - only 3 people ahead of us. We started a trend though - right after we hopped in line about 6 or 7 other groups jumped in line too. :)
PXL_20241119_161225322.jpg

We had a really fun meet - they are definitely two of Trevor's favorite characters to meet. Anastasia liked my ears cause it almost matched the brocade on her dress, which we all thought was funny cause my ears are definitely Sleeping Beauty. :) And then we talked about how mean Cinderella is to keep Anastasia and Drizella standing out in the cold all the time.

Also my favorite part was at the end when we were leaving and I said "Thank you" to Anastasia and her response was "Your pleasure". I about died laughing. :)

As we started walking to Jingle Cruise, Tiana's came back up! So we changed our plans and headed over to Tiana's instead, hoping that the virtual queue line would be short. It kind of reminded me of an instagram reel I'd seen the night before - the caption was "When you're Disney rich" and it was buying all the lightning lanes but it ends with flying home in the middle seat on Frontier :D. The soundtrack was just the guy in the reel saying "walk with wealth, walk with wealth". And Trevor and I identify with that - so we're hustling over to Tiana's and I'm just muttering "walk with wealth" to Trevor as we hustle. :D I'd link the reel here but I can't find it anymore - Trevor and I send too many reels back and forth and this particular one is long buried. :)

Anyways! Over at Tiana's, the line indeed was super short. :) This was our first time riding it so we were really excited to experience it. There are going to be lots of queue pictures - sorry in advance.
IMG_4711.jpg
IMG_4712.jpg
IMG_4717.jpg
I love this sign! They should sell it!
IMG_4721.jpg
And all these cute adorable family photos and things on the walls in the queue - I love it.
IMG_4728.jpg
Salt mines reserved for seasoned veterans...#toptierdadjoke

Getting to the part where you can see the loading area -
IMG_4731.jpg
Got me all excited! This is like the one part I remember from the Splash queue, so it was super exciting to know we were getting close. Though to be fair, the queue was basically empty so it was like 3 minutes to walk through it to that point:
IMG_4732.jpg
The only people ahead of Trevor are CMs - woot!!
 
Heading Down the Bayou! - Tuesday Nov 19, 2024 (part 4)

We ended up getting our own boat:
PXL_20241119_162220466.jpg
We asked the CMs where to sit if we wanted to have the best chance of staying dry, and they said the back row, so there we went:
PXL_20241119_162233071.MP.jpg
PXL_20241119_162245017.jpg
Empty boat!

Trevor filmed the whole thing, cause it was our first ride. I really enjoyed it! I know there's a lot of feelings about it, but I really liked it. The only not great thing that I noticed was the Tiana animatronic in the finale was not working (or at least I hope it was not working) - she was just kind of standing dead-eyed with no real movement. If that's how she's supposed to be then yea, I get the complaints! LOL
2024-11-19 - Magic Kingdom Park - Tianas bayou adventure_3.jpeg
Also how cute that they put the turtle there in the front! :)

We got a little splashed but not soaked, which was nice. Back row does seem like the way to go!

As we exited, I noticed this little cross stitch sign - seems like a Splash nod to me!
IMG_4734.jpg
Adorbs. :)

They had a photographer out at the exit too:
2024-11-19 - Magic Kingdom Park - Frontierland_8.jpeg
2024-11-19 - Magic Kingdom Park - Frontierland_6.jpeg
They have a tambourine prop, and then the magic shot!

We were excited to ride it again, with our lightning lane! The line was still pretty short, which was nice. And Lightning Lane gives some different views!
IMG_4736.jpg
I want Beignet Wednesdays.
IMG_4738.jpg
PXL_20241119_164513742.jpg
 
4 Rides in 90 minutes - Tuesday Nov 19, 2024 (part 5)

IMG_4740.jpg
The recipe for gumbo! I don't like gumbo, but this feels like a valuable thing. :)

There were more people this time, so no empty car for us, but still basically no wait in the Lightning Lane. Woot! We got the second to last row this time:
PXL_20241119_164716813.MP.jpg
We did get stopped at the top of the first mini lift hill where Tiana is like "you need to go find musicians!" but only for like 2 minutes, thankfully. I got a little panicky since I'd heard all the stories about the evacuations, but none of that for us. :)
2024-11-19 - Magic Kingdom Park - Tianas bayou adventure_2.jpeg
Yay!

PXL_20241119_170054271.jpg
This is what I meant by the Tiana animatronic seemed broken - just deadeye staring ahead. But also look at those cute little frog musicians in the front! Love it. :)

After two great rides on Tiana's, we hopped over to Big Thunder for our Lightning Lane there, since it was right there. We got row 12 and while I have no pictures, we had a very wild ride in the wilderness! :)

Then, time (finally!) for Jingle Cruise!
PXL_20241119_173043074.jpg
Such a cute tree. :)

IMG_4757.jpg
I really do love all the Christmas decorations.
IMG_4758.jpg
It's a little snowman!!

IMG_4760.jpg
More #toptierdadjokes - Happy Gnu Year. :D


Jingle Cruise (and regular Jungle Cruise) is just so much fun. I like dad jokes way too much, clearly.

Next up, Pirates! We were doing well with the lightning lane availability, so I wasn't having to have us crisscross the park too much.
2024-11-19 - Magic Kingdom Park - Pirates of the caribbean.jpeg
Hard to see but we were doing hooks with our hands, and "arrrr" faces. Also mad shout out to the guy in the backrow just living his best life. :)


One more shoutout too to the Pirates merch in the gift shop - it was going hard! There was an awesome hat that Trevor found, as well as a couple spirit jerseys, and they even had the keys from the prison scene there for sale. We decided we had to come back when we were getting ready to leave to pick up the stuff (since package delivery to the resort isn't a thing and we didn't want to carry the stuff around all day). It's been a while since we've seen Pirates merch that caught our eye, so props to whatever team is in charge of it. :)
 
I love that pic of the two of you on Main Street with the balloons! You both look so happy!

This is what I meant by the Tiana animatronic seemed broken - just deadeye staring ahead.

WOW-that would have scared me! Very uncanny valley-ish

Hard to see but we were doing hooks with our hands, and "arrrr" faces. Also mad shout out to the guy in the backrow just living his best life. :)

LOL- the hook fingers are great!
 
I love that pic of the two of you on Main Street with the balloons! You both look so happy!
aw thank you! :) I love that magic shot generally - also makes it nice to those poor balloon sellers so at least some people aren't asking to try and take pics with the real balloons
WOW-that would have scared me! Very uncanny valley-ish
oh yea it was super creepy - i wanted to be like "tiana blink twice! we'll rescue you!!"

LOL- the hook fingers are great!
gotta try something with the ride photos!! next time we should bring props, like that one group that was playing chess on the Splash Mountain drop LOL
 
Tiana's is so fun! It sucks that the animatronic at the end was not working. When we rode it, some of the animatronics would be "talking" but their lips wouldn't move, which was a little creepy. I expected that Disney would have better engineering, so it's a little disappointing.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. I am enjoying your trip report so far!
 
Snack Time! - Tuesday Nov 19, 2024 (part 6)

After Pirates, it was time for a snack! We went over to Golden Oak Outpost for Tiana's beignets!
IMG_4768.jpg
And then while I was at the register I saw the sign for Bayou Lavendar Lemonade: Lemonade with "flavors of Lavender inspired by New Orleans' influence on American Cuisine". Obviously we had to get that too. :)
IMG_4770.jpg
The lemonade was good, but it only had the tiniest hint of lavender. Still refreshing! And the beignets - yum. SO MUCH sugar, but that's not a bad thing, in my opinion. :) They also had a lot of honey, and while not super warm still, still good. I honestly don't know how you would make beignets bad...maybe if you didn't cover them in sugar? :) It was a good snack break.

Next up, we were heading to Tomorrowland to ride Buzz Lightyear, and I just had to take a picture of the Jingle Cruise sign:
IMG_4771.jpg
So cute! I love it. :)

We got distracted by one more snack on the way: the hot cocoa churro! Churro rolled in hot cocoa powder and topped with marshmallows and peppermint candy pieces. This was one of the things I'd seen on the foodie guide and wanted to try, and the popcorn stand in the hub had it and a short line, so we did a quick detour.
IMG_4773.jpg
This was also pretty good - good flavor. The only downside was the peppermint bits- we should have asked for it without that. But otherwise, yum. :) I know everyone loves Disneyland churros (don't @ me but I didn't really get the hype when we went), but I thought this was good.

Over at Buzz, the competition was on!
2024-11-19 - Magic Kingdom Park - Buzz lightyears space ranger spin.jpeg
PXL_20241119_185236352.jpg
I won with 844,700 but neither of us got galactic hero, and Trevor would like me to point out that we both were in the tier one level down: Cosmic Commander!

Next up, Space Mountain! I was doing really good with the lightning lanes and not having to criss cross the park, phew. :)
2024-11-19 - Magic Kingdom Park - Space mountain.jpeg

After Space we wandered back to Fantasyland, cause I wanted to look in the gift shop back there by Gaston's Tavern, and then we ended up taking some pictures by the Beast's castle:
2024-11-19 - Magic Kingdom Park - Belles village_6.jpeg
2024-11-19 - Magic Kingdom Park - Belles village.jpeg
Trevor is VERY SURPRISED. :)

We also got one more Christmas snack: Sugar Plum-Vanilla Soft-serve Sundae from Storybook Treats. Sugar plum-vanilla soft-serve swirl dipped in celebration cake cone dip topped with marshmallows and almonds.
IMG_4781.jpg
This was SO INTERESTING. It didn't look at all like the picture, but it wasn't bad. The topping got hard, like those magic shell toppings, which was kind of fun. It tasted like Christmas smells - the only words I've got. LOTS of flavors with the sugar plum and all, but not bad. We did end up eating all of it - you had to keep eating it cause it was just so interesting.
 
Tiana's is so fun! It sucks that the animatronic at the end was not working. When we rode it, some of the animatronics would be "talking" but their lips wouldn't move, which was a little creepy. I expected that Disney would have better engineering, so it's a little disappointing.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. I am enjoying your trip report so far!
OOOH HEY! That happened to us this most recent trip - Tiana was working but the mouths weren't working on several of the animatronics and I was like "hey that's weird" but I think that's a b mode! When I looked at the video Trevor took the first time their mouths were moving. So that's maybe somewhat slightly comforting? and don't apologize!! I love it.
 
We tend to do the rides and then Nomad but someday I do want to do the nature trails. And I want to see the Finding Nemo show - we've never done that one!

The nature trails are lovely. I think I prefer the Mahrarjah Jungle Trail in Asia, but both are great. And YES, you need to see the Finding Nemo show! I actually prefer that to The Lion King - it’s so well done and the visuals are stunning!

I hope you get a chance to try Nomad! :)

Thanks! It would be a great place to enjoy some downtime in the middle of the day, so I think we have a shot!

Onto your report…

My goodness, the pre-dinner snacks in the lounge look awesome! I’m glad you took advantage of the GF photographer - we happened upon him before our 1900 Park Fare dinner and got some great shots of our daughter in her Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique getup. It was a nice surprise!

I’m sorry your meal at Bull and Bear was disappointing! That steak looks… terrible. I don’t know how that method is supposed to work but surely that isn’t it.

But WOW on killing it at MK the next morning! You are the queen of getting prime boarding groups (Group 8!) and glad you noticed the ride was back up before the crowd grew. You were doing a great job grabbing lightning lanes that morning! The snacks look pretty tasty, too. I’m excited to try the beignets!
 
The nature trails are lovely. I think I prefer the Mahrarjah Jungle Trail in Asia, but both are great. And YES, you need to see the Finding Nemo show! I actually prefer that to The Lion King - it’s so well done and the visuals are stunning!
ok that makes me feel better cause *whispers* I don't like Festival of the Lion King, mostly 'cause I don't like Lion King. Next trip!

Thanks! It would be a great place to enjoy some downtime in the middle of the day, so I think we have a shot!

Onto your report…

My goodness, the pre-dinner snacks in the lounge look awesome! I’m glad you took advantage of the GF photographer - we happened upon him before our 1900 Park Fare dinner and got some great shots of our daughter in her Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique getup. It was a nice surprise!

I’m sorry your meal at Bull and Bear was disappointing! That steak looks… terrible. I don’t know how that method is supposed to work but surely that isn’t it.

But WOW on killing it at MK the next morning! You are the queen of getting prime boarding groups (Group 8!) and glad you noticed the ride was back up before the crowd grew. You were doing a great job grabbing lightning lanes that morning! The snacks look pretty tasty, too. I’m excited to try the beignets!
aw that'd be so cute, pics there with the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique outfit!! adorbs. Can't wait to see them!

You all are making me feel better - I thought maybe it was just us that we didn't like how it was prepped!

Ooh the beignets were great - I hope you get to try them and that they're still up to par :D And I think the Lightning Lane luck is partially just easier with a group of two vice 4, but yea i was having great luck that morning!!
 
Animal AND Human Bands - Tuesday Nov 19, 2024 (part 7)

We were flagging a bit, but I'd managed to grab another Tiana's fastpass (the earlier one we used was the one that had turned into a multi-experience pass, which means we could book another Tiana's, and one appeared!), so we were heading that way, looking in shops and eating our sugar plum sundae.
IMG_4783.jpg
Pretty castle Christmas decorations!

We looked in one of the shops there in Fantasyland and they had a usb-powered "lamp" in the shape of the poison apple, so of course we had to get that. Totally got sucked in, but it's definitely gonna be a fun Halloween decoration to have the lightup little pumpkin and the lightup poison apple!

As we were walking to Tiana's, there was a photographer out in front! I was so excited for this - I love the new theming on the outside with all the greenery so was like "YES". Though let's be real, have I ever said no to a photopass photographer? :)
2024-11-19 - Magic Kingdom Park - Frontierland_3.jpeg
2024-11-19 - Magic Kingdom Park - Frontierland.jpeg

The Lightning Lane for Tiana's was still pretty empty, which was nice. One more dad joke for you:
PXL_20241119_195330329.jpg
"caught in a pinch" lol. Imagineers were having fun there. :D

We got the last row again, which was nice:
PXL_20241119_195852986.MP.jpg
This time we didn't film but took a couple pictures:
PXL_20241119_200603373.jpg
this little guy is my favorite band member. I think. :)

PXL_20241119_200911566.jpg
Also no idea who this guy is but I love his little parasol!

2024-11-19 - Magic Kingdom Park - Tianas bayou adventure.jpeg
I love how each row gets progressively more exuberant. :)

At this point we were about ready to head back to the hotel for a break, so we did our shopping (Pirates merch, etc) and then made our way to Main Street, where we caught some of the Dapper Dans!
IMG_4798.jpg
I've literally never seen this show of theirs - I've only ever seen them in the mornings on the trolley or the Cadaver Dans, so this was fun to see. I love their dad jokes too. :)

I feel like I should own up that the person who yelled out Blitzen! at the beginning was me. My bad! Trevor was filming but we weren't standing next to each other, so that's why it's kind of far away. :)

As we left it was after 4 pm, so we decided to head back to the Grand by way of the Poly (cause it was basically on the way), to stop at Tambu Lounge and see if we could get some of those Ohana noodles! When we were at Trader Sams earlier in the year someone had brought them into Trader Sam's and they looked so good - I wanted to get them again. Our one experience at Ohana wasn't amazing but I'm a noodle fan, and when the couple in Trader Sam's said they got the noodles from Tambu Lounge, I knew I wanted to stop and try it.

Once at the Poly, I hopped in the to go line, only to find out that while you could get drinks to go, you couldn't get food. Womp womp. Thankfully they did have some room at tables there, so we got seated and placed an order of noodles, and then a couple mocktails. :) I got a raspberry no-jito:
IMG_4808.jpg
In case you haven't realized that I love raspberries yet. :)
 
Noodles and Lime Chicken Cones - Tuesday Nov 19, 2024 (part 8)

Trevor got their zero proof cocktail: Lychee Ginger Lemonade (lyre's pink london non-alcoholic spirit, lychee, lemonade, and lemon juice topped with ginger beer) but asked them to add in orgeat syrup. :)
IMG_4809.jpg
It was yummy!

Then the noodles:
IMG_4810.jpg
They were DELICIOUS! So good. Trevor said they would have been better in our room, and he's not wrong, but since they don't do noodles to go, having them at all was delicious. :)

We did eat kind of quickly though, we wanted to head back to the room and rest even just for a little bit, before our nighttime plans. Unfortunately we both alerted at security so we missed the monorail and had to wait a WHOLE 5 MINUTES for the next one. :)

On our way back to our room, we of course had to stop at the lounge and see what the dinner offerings were:
IMG_4816.jpg
Chicken nuggets and mac and cheese.
IMG_4817.jpg
Plant based zucchini cake and stuffed gulf shrimp.

IMG_4818.jpg
Strawberry soup and uncrustables.

IMG_4819.jpg
Charcuterie!

IMG_4820.jpg
Veggies

IMG_4821.jpg
Ginger something pork (i can't read the card!) and lime chicken salad with tomato cone. The lime chicken salad thing was SO good.
IMG_4822.jpg
It had an apricot jam or some kind of fruit jam on top and it was SO delicious. Yum. The rest was not super exciting to me, but that lime chicken just had a great zing and the sweetness of the jam...love it.

Finally at 5:10, we were back in our room. Look at our towel animal:
IMG_4823.jpg
Cindy's carriage!! I've never seen one like this before so not gonna lie we totally saved it on the counter for the rest of the trip. :)

Then, naptime! For 30 minutes or so. :) The pianist was playing in the lobby so we propped the door open a bit to listen as we rested. It was really nice.
 












Save Up to 30% on Rooms at Walt Disney World!

Save up to 30% on rooms at select Disney Resorts Collection hotels when you stay 5 consecutive nights or longer in late summer and early fall. Plus, enjoy other savings for shorter stays.This offer is valid for stays most nights from August 1 to October 11, 2025.
CLICK HERE







New Posts



DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest

Back
Top