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

Day 21, September 3

A little bit of Africa and Asia, with a taste of Greece and a visit to Spaceship Earth - Part 4

When we got off the vehicle we still had some time to kill before our Fast Pass, so we decided to walk along the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail.
But before we could embark on that adventure we needed a drink, so we picked up a bottle of water and emptied it right away. Then we entered the trail

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and slowly walked along, exploring all the different stops and viewing points of the animals there were.

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When we finally left the trail our Fast Pass for Everest had already kicked in and we walked over to the Asia again.

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On the way we noticed that they had now started to offer shrimp egg rolls as snack credits, so we got a Diet Coke and an egg roll to share.

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There were tables close to the water nearby and we sat and enjoyed our food and drink.
Once we had finished our snack we headed over to Everest

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and found that the standby line was just 20 minutes, so we jumped into that line first and were seated within 15 minutes. We even asked for front row and there was no wait for it whatsoever.

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When we got off we walked right around the building and this time entered through the Fast Pass line.
 
Don't you just love the views from the top of EE! Some of the best in all of Disney I think!
 

Day 21, September 3

A little bit of Africa and Asia, with a taste of Greece and a visit to Spaceship Earth - Part 5

When we got off we walked right around the building and this time entered through the Fast Pass line. The standby line had grown again, so we were happy with the decision we had made earlier. In no time we were seated again and off we went on our ride to the Forbidden Mountain.

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There was no way we were going back into the standby line, so we decided to walk towards the exit,

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but once we passed by Dinoland

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we remembered that we had not been on the Dinosaur ride in a long time. So we walked over and had a look at the wait time, which said 10 minutes and so we got in line.

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We walked right through the circular room and onto the pre-show.

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Then it was on to the loading zone. There were two seats left on a car and we were next in line, so no wait at all and off we went in search for that particular dino. I still think that the ride is a tad too dark and it would be nice to see just a little bit more, but it is still a fun ride.

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Once we got off we really headed towards the exit and left the park. It was mid afternoon and pretty hot and we decided to head back to Old Key West to relax for a while. We stopped at the General Store

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to pick up a few bottles of water with our snack credits before we headed back to our villa. After a cold drink Tom relaxed in the Jacuzzi for a while, while I checked the mail and loaded the washer one more time. We both did not feel like dinner at the Yachtsman Steakhouse, so I cancelled it and we made another reservation at a restaurant that appealed more to both of us, Kouzzina.
We were lucky and got a 7.45 reservation there. So around 7pm we got ready and drove over to the Boardwalk.

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We were again pointed towards the self parking lot and once we had found a spot we headed towards the resort. We were a bit early checking in, were handed a buzzer and off we went to enjoy the entertainment on the Boardwalk. After about 20 minutes we were called back and soon enough seated at a table towards the entrance of the restaurant.

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Our server was there to greet us quickly and to offer help with the menu.
 
Those are some excellent Everest pictures. I never realized the veiw before...I'm to busy holding my breath.....which is what I do instead of screaming. :rotfl:
 
Love Everest, such an awesome ride :)

Yes it is! And going front row is just awesome! :thumbsup2

Those are some excellent Everest pictures. I never realized the veiw before...I'm to busy holding my breath.....which is what I do instead of screaming. :rotfl:

It's so easy to take pics when you are in front row! And these were all taken with my point and shoot - came out pretty nicely, didn't they?

Don't hold your breath on the ride, scream and scare the Yeti! :rotfl2:
 
Day 21, September 3

A little bit of Africa and Asia, with a taste of Greece and a visit to Spaceship Earth - Part 6

Our server was there to greet us quickly and to offer help with the menu. We placed our order for drinks, two Diet Cokes and

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a Pitcher of Sangria and while our server went to get them, we decided on what we wanted to order.
Our server came back with our drinks and we placed our orders. But before we were served our starters our server brought out

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a basket full of Multi Grain Bread and

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some butter sprinkled with salt. We snacked a little on the bread, but it did not take long for our appetizers to arrive.
Tom had

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Spiro's Greek Salad, very fragrant vine-ripened Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Red Onions, Kalamata Olives and slightly salty Feta. I wanted to try something not as light as this. I had

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the Traditional Phyllo Pie - (Spanakopita) Spinach, Feta, Leeks, and Dill, which was wonderful. It was so good I had to finish it.
For my main course I wanted to have something I had enjoyed so much when I had had the sampler earlier in the trip.

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The Greek-style Lasagna - with Bucatini Pasta, Cinnamon-stewed Meat Sauce, and Bechamel (Pastitsio). It was one of the best pasta dishes I had during that trip, but it was a huge helping and I was not able to finish it.
Tom tried

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the Fisherman’s Stew - Scallops, seasonal Fish, Shellfish, Fennel, Grilled Bread, and Ouzo Butter, which he really enjoyed and even managed to finish.
We also ordered a side of

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Sautéed Brussels Sprouts - with Capers and Lemon, which we love. Again, we were still left with the decision of what to have for dessert.
Tom was full and didn't really know what to order, but then he decided on trying

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the Greek Cookies - A selection of Cora family favorites and some iced coffee. He really enjoyed the coffee, the cookies were a bit on the dry side! My decision was much easier. Even though I was pretty full I knew that I wanted

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the Loukoumades - Freshly Made Greek Doughnuts drizzled with Warm Honey, which I love and which are so good. I managed to enjoy about half of them dipped into the fruit coulis.
When we finally left the restaurant we felt more like rolling out than walking out, but the meal had been wonderful. We knew that Epcot had Extra Magic Hours that evening and we wanted to just walk over to enjoy the rest of them. So we walked to the International Gateway, where we were asked for our room keys before we were able to enter the park.
It was a nice and leisurely stroll through the countries

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and up to the the tip board. We could not believe our eyes when we saw the wait times.
Well at least there were a few rides with a somewhat short wait time, so we walked over to the Journey into Imagination

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and then we went in search of Nemo.

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The other ride that we always enjoy and that usually has a very short to no wait is Living with the land. And yippie we could walk right on.

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When we got off the ride there was about an hour left so we tried if we could still get in line for Soarin. Yes, and the wait was only 15 minutes.
It didn't take long and we were seated in our gliders and off to California we went. When we got off the ride, there was about 20 minutes left until the park officially closed. Spaceship Earth looked great all lit up at night,

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so we stopped for a few more photos. The CM at the entrance was still telling people to get on the ride so we followed his advice and got on too!

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When we got off it was time to leave the park and we hurried over toward the International Gateway to get back to our car. About 20 minutes later we were in our car and on our way back to Old Key West.
 
Karin your pictures of the Greek food looks wonderful! That is one place I would like to try. Sounds like you and Tom had a wonderful evening.
 
Karin loved your review of Kouzzina's !!I had the fishermans stew there too and it was good !!I can't remember the name of the dessert but it came with some of the best ever icecream I have had !!!
 
Karin your pictures of the Greek food looks wonderful! That is one place I would like to try. Sounds like you and Tom had a wonderful evening.

You really should try Kouzzina, Teri! The food is so good, even though it can get pretty loud in that restaurant.
We had such a fun evening that day! :thumbsup2


Karin loved your review of Kouzzina's !!I had the fishermans stew there too and it was good !!I can't remember the name of the dessert but it came with some of the best ever icecream I have had !!!

Kouzzina is one of the restaurants we try to eat at every vacation - the food is just really good and I LOVE the Loukomades. Never had ice-cream there, I guess I need to read the menu more carefully! :laughing:
 
Day 22, September 4

A happy reunion! - Part 1

Today was another exciting day, the day Mary Ellen and Joe were to arrive and we would all spend the rest of our vacation together.

Since we were only to meet after lunch we slept in quite a bit, had some snackish breakfast out of our well stuffed fridge, washed a load of laundry and by 11am finally left the villa to drive to the Polynesian resort for our lunch reservation.
We signed in at the Kona Café right on time, were handed the infamous buzzer and off we went on a little walk over to the gift shop. After a little browsing we headed back to the restaurant and right when we got to the entrance our buzzer went off.
We were led to a table near the front of the restaurant, got our menus and a few minutes later our server was at our table to introduce herself. We both ordered Diet Cokes and were discussing what to order as we both weren’t really hungry and knew that we would meet Mary Ellen and Joe at Beaches and Cream for ice-cream in the afternoon.
Tom ordered

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the Kona Salad - Mixed Greens, Blue Cheese, fresh Fruit, Red Onions, and Smoked Almonds with Citrus Vinaigrette as his starter.
We were stunned as it was quite a huge helping but at least it was a light starter. I ordered

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the Lump Crab Cakes - with Asian Tartar Sauce and Pineapple Relish. These were really very good, we both liked the tartar sauce and the relish was very refreshing. Our main courses were

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the Beef Teriyaki Salad - mixed greens, vegetables tossed with Asian vinaigrette and grilled beef in a taco shell for me, which I ordered I ate and ate and ate and barely made a dent in it! My only complaint - the vinaigrette could have been a bit more spicy! It was very light and there could have been a bit more of it. Tom went for

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the Kona Club Sandwich - served with Asian Vegetable Slaw. This was huge!! There was loads of lunch meat in the sandwich and they were really tasty - just too much to finish. We were both stuffed, but since dessert was included we wanted to at least try some. I chose

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the Chocolate Fondue, which came with fruit and cookies and was very good. What's not to like about fruit and chocolate? Tom had a hard time deciding and ended up ordering

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the Kona Kone, which was such a nice treat. A fresh waffle cone, Vanilla and Chocolate ice-cream, chocolate sauce, sprinkles, M&Ms and some cotton candy. Unfortunately he was really full and I ended up having most of it.
Once we were finished with our meal we paid with our Dining Credits and left the restaurant.
There was just a little time left until we were to meet Mary Ellen and Joe, so we walked back to the car and before we wanted to go and meet them at the Beach Club, we went to Hess, to fill up the car and have our car washed. There was quite a row of cars before it was our turn,

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but once we had gone through we had just very little time until our meeting. So we drove over to the Beach Club, parked the car quite close to the entrance and off we went. We walked around Cape May Café, and usually we are able to “creep” up on them and take fun photos of them, but this time they surprised us.
They were already waiting and once we had made our way over to them and were done hugging and kissing we headed towards Beaches and Cream.
 
OMG Karin I have to get one of those desserts Tom had!! I saw the picture and thought tell me that is a waffle cone sundae with cotton candy and M&M's. I have to get that next time I am there! I have only been to Kona Cafe for breakfast once for the Tonga Toast and we had a terrible waiter, (we thought he was on drugs or something) it took for ever to get our meal. Needless to say we never went back. I have to give it another try for that dessert alone.
 
Toms dessert looks like a little bit of heaven....You are really making me want to go back to Disney...skip the parks and do a restaurant tour. LOL :lmao:
 
OMG Karin I have to get one of those desserts Tom had!! I saw the picture and thought tell me that is a waffle cone sundae with cotton candy and M&M's. I have to get that next time I am there! I have only been to Kona Cafe for breakfast once for the Tonga Toast and we had a terrible waiter, (we thought he was on drugs or something) it took for ever to get our meal. Needless to say we never went back. I have to give it another try for that dessert alone.

We always wanted to try the Kona Cone, but never got around to really order it, because there was always something else. ;)
You really should get it, Teresa, it was really good and so much fun with all the M&Ms and the cotton candy! :thumbsup2

Kona Cafe can be hit or miss. While we always liked the food, service can be lacking, but it sure is worth it to give it a second shot. :goodvibes

Toms dessert looks like a little bit of heaven....You are really making me want to go back to Disney...skip the parks and do a restaurant tour. LOL :lmao:

I make YOU want to go back to Disney? Maybe I should be the TA? :rotfl2: Nothing wrong with wanting to go back to Disney. I want to go back the minute I set foot on the plane going home! :laughing:
The Kona Cone is a fun dessert and I think, Claire would love it too. ;)
 
Day 22, September 4

A happy reunion! - Part 2

They were already waiting and once we had made our way over to them and were done hugging and kissing we headed towards Beaches and Cream. This has been a tradition for us ever since the first time we met. They told us that it would be a 30 minute wait and so we went off to explore the resort grounds.
About 20 minutes after we had received our buzzer it went off and we were seated in a booth. Usually we go for a Kitchen Sink but Tom and I were stuffed from lunch and Mary Ellen and Joe had just had a snack. So we settled for something different.

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Joe had his favourite -

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a Hot Fudge Sundae! He really loves them and kind of "inhales" them. I think he finished first even though we all got our treats at the same time. Mary Ellen and I had sweet little treats -

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Mickey Mouse Sundaes!! Mary Ellen had Vanilla and I had my favouite - Mint Chocolate Chip.

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They were nearly too cute to eat! Well, we DID eat them in the end. Tom just had a Diet Coke! He could not take any more sweets right there and then! When we had finished our sweet treats Mary Ellen and Joe decided to walk to the parking lot with us to take a look at our rental car. Now we were pretty happy that we had driven it through the car wash.
They were both pretty impressed with our Camaro and we jokingly said that if they could squeeze into the back we would drive them over to the Wilderness Lodge to find out if their room was ready.
Low and behold they WERE able to squeeze into the back of the car. So we all got in and off we went to the Wilderness Lodge.

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When we arrived their room was ready and we all went in search of it and finally got lucky. They had wanted a room in the bearface and had been granted their wish. They called down for their luggage and we all checked out the room.

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After a while they noticed the gift bag that had been put into their room and they were eager to see who had sent them a few treats. Well, they were surprised to find out that it was us! Joe emptied the bag and had a look at the goodies, before he tried the first one right away. While we were having fun their luggage arrived and after they had unpacked what they immediately needed they decided to take a shower and change and Tom and I went downstairs to check out the lobby and gift shop. About 20 minutes later, they both came downstairs

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and we headed back to the car and drove over to our villa at Old Key West.

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The boys had some coffee and Mary Ellen and I had some drinks too and we all chatted, Mary Ellen and Joe got the presents we had brought for her birthday and we just had a good time. Time just flew by and we had to leave again to drive to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner at Jiko.
 
fun day...I love beaches and creams...I think it will be a must do every trip now.
 
Just found your trip report a few days ago and finally got caught up! I'm hooked, am subscribing and looking forward to the rest of your 30 *gasp* days!! I'm so jealous I'm green :thumbsup2 with envy!!
 
Karin, you do more DISmeets than anyone I know. You have a lot of friends from the boards. It's so nice that always have people to meet with on your trips. :hug:
 














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