Value Resorts and Inside Staterooms? Bah Humbug! 30 days of Disney fun! 02/10 Day 30

[Linda67]

Morning Karin

Just caught up.

It's wonderful that you had a great Dis Meet, it's so nice to meet Dis people face to face and what better place to do it!!

I've never been in the parks so late at night/early morning!!

It must be great fun

 

[DaveInTN]

Tom had a Safari Amber and I enjoyed a cold Diet Coke.

I like Tom's style! When on vacation, why not refresh yourself with a BEER!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Good Morning, Karin! (Good Afternoon in Austria!)


What fun to play “bus roulette". We've done that several times. Great pics of the Safari - was sooo looking forward to this in November, since it is one of my favorites, but sooo sorry afterward. Learned something new: not the best attraction 7 weeks after major surgery. Live & learn, I guess!

Great update, Karin! So much fun to be an armchair traveller.

 

[Stefy]

Random days are cool aren't they, when you just decide to do things spur of the moment. Looks like you had a great safari ride though, some cool pics

 

[jenseib]

I love the bus roulette. It sounds like fun!

 

[dizneeat]

Morning Karin

Just caught up.

It's wonderful that you had a great Dis Meet, it's so nice to meet Dis people face to face and what better place to do it!!

I've never been in the parks so late at night/early morning!!

It must be great fun

Wonderful that you are all caught up, Linda!
The DISmeet was so much fun! I wish we would have spent more time together.

You should try to go for EMH and stay that late - it is the most fun. It feels like you have the park all to your own towards the end of the EMH! We had a blast!

I like Tom's style! When on vacation, why not refresh yourself with a BEER!

Yes, he really enjoyed that ....... and a few more!

Good Morning, Karin! (Good Afternoon in Austria!)


What fun to play “bus roulette". We've done that several times. Great pics of the Safari - was sooo looking forward to this in November, since it is one of my favorites, but sooo sorry afterward. Learned something new: not the best attraction 7 weeks after major surgery. Live & learn, I guess!

Great update, Karin! So much fun to be an armchair traveller.

That was only the second time we played the "bus roulette" and it worked out fine!
We loved the safari but I can see that it is a bit too bumpy for someone who had major surgery!

More armchair travels coming up soon (guess tomorrow morning as it is past 11.30pm here!)

Random days are cool aren't they, when you just decide to do things spur of the moment. Looks like you had a great safari ride though, some cool pics

We just love to go with the flow sometimes. And it was just one of those days .......
The Safari was fun and we were to witness something pretty special a little later!

I love the bus roulette. It sounds like fun!

You need to try it one day, Jen! It WAS fun!

Oh, and BTW - I googled Vistaprint yesterday and was amazed to see that there is one in Austria. I spent quite some time figuring out what else they do.
So, guess who's going to get new shirts for our summer trip? ...... and few FE gifties as well!
Thank you for letting me know about Vistaprint!

 

[jenseib]

So glad you found one!
I've gotten shirts, and magnets, and postcards (for X-mas cards thank you cards and invites), Calanders, flipbooks, and a few other things here and there. I have had goodluck with them so far. And they have sales alot, or introdcutory rates.

 

[YukiPhnx]

Dooney and Burke bags! I can't wait to get the wristlet in your picture.

Ahh, what a nice relaxing day. It's just what you need after a long night/early morning at the Magic Kingdom!

How was the food at the Contempo Cafe? There doesn't seem to be much mahi mahi in that entree....Oooh, a lime muffin? Was it tart?

 

[englishrose47]

I am gonna google vista print right now !!!

 

[dizneeat]

So glad you found one!
I've gotten shirts, and magnets, and postcards (for X-mas cards thank you cards and invites), Calanders, flipbooks, and a few other things here and there. I have had goodluck with them so far. And they have sales alot, or introdcutory rates.

We will get a few items for our FE exchange on the Dream. Tom and I are going to have another look at what can be done, then will decide on a design - Tom is very clever when it comes to creative ideas!
Thanks again!

Dooney and Burke bags! I can't wait to get the wristlet in your picture.

Ahh, what a nice relaxing day. It's just what you need after a long night/early morning at the Magic Kingdom!

How was the food at the Contempo Cafe? There doesn't seem to be much mahi mahi in that entree....Oooh, a lime muffin? Was it tart?

Yes, I am hoping for some more D&B bags myself! I wonder if they have some new designs on the Dream - we'll see!

Contempo Cafe was a really nice change from your usual CS restaurant. We really enjoyed it and there was plenty of Mahi Mahi in that sandwich! Believe me!
I like all things lemon and lime and that one was no exception - it was really nice, lime flavour but not tart!

I am gonna google vista print right now !!!

Hope you find what you are looking for!

 

[dizneeat]

Day 8, August 21

Bus roulette and a Disney Fairytale Wedding Part 2

The closest bus stop was the one for the Grand Floridian.
There were only two people in line ahead of us, so we got in line and after about 5 more minutes the bus arrived. By then we were about 10 people who wanted to go to the Grand Floridian and after about 20 minutes we drove through the gates. We all got off the bus and most of us headed toward the entrance of the resort when we saw the horse drawn glass wedding coach coming towards the entrance.

We stopped, looked, took a few photos and right then the bride left the resort and got onto the coach.

We watched the bride and her family get into the coach, watched the photographer take a lot of photos and then we made our way into the lobby. We both freshened up a bit before we headed to the check in desk of the Grand Floridian Café.

We were promptly seated at a two top by the window and our server was fun to talk to and very helpful. We ordered our Diet Cokes and

I got a Pina Colava.

Tom got a Florida Sunshine - Peach Schnapps, Chambord, Skyy Vodka, and a splash of orange and cranberry juices too, which he enjoyed a lot.

While we were still deciding what to order, she brought out a breadbasket and some butter with seasalt.

Tom ordered the Spice-dusted Tuna - with Warm Roasted Pepper-Garbanzo Purée, Fennel-Spinach Salad, and Kalamata Olives and

I had the Salmon - with Asparagus, Julienne Shiitake and Leeks on a Potato-Chive Beurre Blanc. Both looked amazing and tasted even better. It was fun sitting at the window, as we could watch some cast members roll carts with chocolate characters and other treats from one building to another. Unfortunately right before we finished our main course it started to pour. There was still the decision of what to have for dessert. We had tried most of the desserts at the Grand Floridian Café, but there was one I was dying to try and Tom thought it was a good choice and he ordered it too, the

Chocolate Fondue - Dark Chocolate Ganache with Fruit. It was an awesome dessert, the chocolate tasted a lot like a melted Terry’s Chocolate Orange and the fruit went so well with it.

It was still raining hard when we left and before we got onto the Monorail we browsed the shop. We finally made it to the Monorail and rode back to the Ticket and Transportation Center. By then it had stopped to rain so hard, but there was still a light drizzle. We got on the tram and headed back to our car.

It was still early evening and we sat in our villa for a while watching TV, Tom had a dip in the Jacuzzi and I was playing on the internet. At around 10 pm we thought we could do with another treat. So we jumped into the car, drove to Downtown Disney

and picked up a Rotisserie Turkey Club - avocado, bacon, red onion, plum tomatoes, romaine and remoulade, a bottle of water and a brownie for a Counter Service Credit and

a Hearts Of Romaine Salad - parmesan, croutons and caesar dressing.

Once we got back to our villa we indulged on our sandwich and salad.

Tom had one of these as well (not from WPE!).

Being stuffed again we went outside and sat on the balcony for a while and by midnight we finally went to bed.

 

[YukiPhnx]

Ooooh, food at the GFC! It all looks so delicious! And that dessert is drool-worthy!

Glad to hear you had such a great experience there. I've been hearing some not so great things.

Woooow, a fairytale wedding!!!! I always thought the whole carriage thing looked soooo nice, but now that I think about it, I wonder how those coachmen feel about dressing up like that?

OH, I forgot to ask you to send me your pictures from our meet! Just PM them to me please.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

I've had good and bad experiences at GFC, but must go back just to try the Chocolate Fondue!! It looks sooo yummy!!!

 

[Kellybelly777]

All Caught up!!!

Great updates!!!

Can't believe you guys saw the fairytale wedding.... That's where I want to get married Hoping to see it when we visit the GF for our dinner at Narcoosee's!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

How magical to see a glass carriage! And how much more magical for that bride! Mmmm that chocolate fondue looks fabulous!

 

[MaryAz]

Great updates. Really cool pic of the carousel!!

 

[Schoolbread]

Cool wedding pics! I like the GFC too. I PROMISE I'll get my dining review done asap. I keep getting distracted with things like life......LOL!

 

[dizneeat]

Ooooh, food at the GFC! It all looks so delicious! And that dessert is drool-worthy!

Glad to hear you had such a great experience there. I've been hearing some not so great things.

Woooow, a fairytale wedding!!!! I always thought the whole carriage thing looked soooo nice, but now that I think about it, I wonder how those coachmen feel about dressing up like that?

OH, I forgot to ask you to send me your pictures from our meet! Just PM them to me please.

We love the GFC! Both lunch and dinner have always been spot on and the service was always real good! No complaints from us!

We were really surprised to see the wedding! We have spent so much time at WDW and never saw the carriage - so when we saw it coming it was like - where's the camera, where's the camera?
And I was thinking the same thing about the coachmen - poor guys having to dress up like that!

I'll PM you the photos later tonight!

I've had good and bad experiences at GFC, but must go back just to try the Chocolate Fondue!! It looks sooo yummy!!!

We only had good experiences at the GFC - and the Chocolate Fondue was the best ever - you have to try it!

All Caught up!!!

Great updates!!!

Can't believe you guys saw the fairytale wedding.... That's where I want to get married Hoping to see it when we visit the GF for our dinner at Narcoosee's!

I am glad you caught up!
I really know how it feels to fall behind if you don't have time to read every day!

The wedding was cool!

How magical to see a glass carriage! And how much more magical for that bride! Mmmm that chocolate fondue looks fabulous!

It was such a magical surprise to be there just when the bride got on the carriage!
And that Chocolate Fondue was just the very best! So good - worth going back to the GFC, just for the fondue!

Great updates. Really cool pic of the carousel!!

Thank you, Mary! Tom loves playing with his camera setting!

Cool wedding pics! I like the GFC too. I PROMISE I'll get my dining review done asap. I keep getting distracted with things like life......LOL!

It was really such a surprise to see the wedding. We have gone by that wedding pavillion so often and never seen a wedding - and then just right before our eyes the carriage appears!
Getting distracted by real life is something I can relate to, Happens to me ever so often!

 

[KatMark]

As I posted on your other thread, I am too far behind to comment on everything. All I can say is that when Mark and I stay at the AKL in September, we are going to Earl of Sandwich TWICE. I can't believe we've missed it all these trips.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 9, August 22

Seeing the parks through Walt’s eyes and another late night at the Magic Kingdom - Part 1

Today was one of the days we had really looked forward to. We had to get up early as we had signed up for the “Through Walt’s Eyes” tour. While I was in the shower Tom prepared some breakfast and we had sandwiches, tea and some sweets out of the fridge.
By 8am we were out of the villa and on our way over to Epcot. We got a parking spot really close to the park entrance, went through bag check and over to the Tour Garden. We were the first people to sign in for the tour, got nametags

and listening devices and talked to the guides for a while until the rest of the group showed up and signed in. Once everyone was there we walked over to the bus parking lot and got on a bus that was taking us to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

There we walked to the area where Fairfax Fair is and even though we had been there lots of times before, the guide pointed out a lot of war related items that had influenced Walt Disney.

The guide was really knowledgeable about anything Walt and was able to tell lots of interesting stories. We than walked towards the hat and there he spoke about Hidden Mickeys and had anyone ever heard about Hidden Mortimers. He then proceeded to show us one!

Back we went on the bus to drive to an area where the warehouses are and we looked into a workshop where they keep and repair props. It was quite a walk through it all and not all that interesting, since we had been taken there before on other tours. Our next and last stop was the Magic Kingdom, where we used the entrance behind Main Street and our guide took us into the Utilidors. Another visit we had already made on other tours.

We then walked along Main Street and our guide pointed out a lot of the windows on Main Street and who the people were and how they had worked and influenced Walt. Even though our guide was very knowledgeable there was not really much new information on Walt we could gather, but then we have taken a lot of tours and have already seen a lot.

In the end we went back to our bus, which took us back to Epcot, where we were given a commemorative pin

and a rain poncho as it looked a lot like rain.

We were even asked to pick another bottle of water out of the cooler they had. Tom and I were hungry by then, having had breakfast very early in the day. So we got into our car and drove over to the Polynesian resort to have some lunch.