We braved the 4th!!! AND the rain...and the crowds??? 7/1-7/8 BOOKED NEXT TRIP!!!!

[PopArtGal]

Nikki, you have to join facebook for me We have to be able to share even more

 

[BippityBoo]

Nikki---HOW did almost your entire TR pass me by?! Well, I was off DIS for a month or so--but must have forgotten to sub! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! SOOO happy that you had low crowds--I am literally in awe at American Pav. on 4th of July. What?!

Love all of your outfits (especially the 4th of July), your description of the fireworks put a tear in my eye and your food porn is amazing! Can't wait for more! How is your popcorn throat? Sorry that happend.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Day 6 cont. AK, Jellyrolls and a little Epcot thrown in!
July 6, 2010​

Where did we leave off?! Sorry for the delay...I've got this popcorn kernel shell stuck in my throat, see, and I really haven't been able to even THINK of anything else! Good thing school is out for the summer! Do you think it'll be gone by September?

Anyway....

After our breakfast and Safari, I wanted to ride Everest. Tom was really not feeling that well this morning (remember the neck and back pain?) so he decided to skip it which meant I was going to do my FIRST Single Riders Line!!!

Everybody sing along!!!

All the single riders, all the single riders....

OH, by the way...didn't work out for me to make that Single Riders video that I had planned. Sorry...maybe next time.

So I get in the Single Riders line (humming the song). There were only a few people in front of me and it went fairly quickly. NOT as quickly as FP line but not too bad. It was a little weird riding next to a stranger because I like to clap and cheer and scream and I felt a little odd doing it. I held back a little bit but it was still a wonderful ride!!

So while Tom stayed out he took THIS picture....

and I was on the ride taking these pictures!! And video!!

Here is the video I took on Everest. SUCH an awesome ride!

Here's the picture they take...see I am holding my video camera in my hand!!

Pics from the bridge near Everest. The photog asked if we wanted this background or that background. Our answer, of course...BOTH!

And we made our way to Dinosaur with a quick stop in Dinoland.

Now even though Tom was not feeling well, he sucked it up for Dinosaur...because it's freaking awesome!!

After Dinosaur, we decided to go old school to the Maharajah Jungle Trek.

There was not a tiger in sight this time!! But that was okay because we'd seen them before and we were lucky we got such great gorilla shots a few days before on Pangani.

We made our way back to Everest so I could ride again!
This is what Tom does while I'm in the bathroom....

Another ride on Everest...

And we were ready to go back! Tom was really not feeling well. The temperature was getting a little warmer and I think I may have even felt a drop or two of sweat that morning! We also had Jellyrolls planned for that night and we wanted to be well-rested so we could enjoy a late night out. So we decided the best thing to do was go back.

I kept trying to take pictures of obvious "disney world" sights that we see all the time but never think to take a picture of. So I took a picture of the bus stop while we waited for the POR bus to come.

Tom wanted to take a nap so I grabbed my logic puzzle book and headed to the pool bar! I got myself a mango margarita and spent a good hour just relaxing...which is SOOOO hard for me to do! But it was nice...

After an afternoon of relaxing, we got showered, dressed and ready and headed to Epcot. Tonight's plan was dinner at Kouzzina followed by piano music at Jellyrolls!!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

We were upset to see SE STILL looking like something was wrong with it.

We went through bag check and the gates. TIP: After going through bagcheck, you are automatically walking toward the turnstiles on the left but there are a LOT of turnstiles to the right!! Most people just follow the crowd and the right turnstiles are usually empty. For an impatient person like me, it's sooooo nice to just walk right through without having to wait for this one to push the stroller through, or that one to put her ticket in 8 times before being asked to move to the side......

We hadn't really bought souvies at this point so we stopped in MouseGear (our favorite!) and just went nuts! We bought a picture frame, a t-shirt for my niece, some home things (snacks and brownie mix) for my sister, etc..... We had all of the items sent back to our room, which is an AWESOME service, btw! On our way out we realized we had about 8 of those 20% off coupons that we totally forgot to use! We could only use it in the morning anyway so we would've had to find another time to do the shopping. Normally I would have gotten really mad at myself for not saving money that way but we were on vacation! F it!

As soon as we were done shopping, we strolled out the International Gateway and towards the Boardwalk. We got to Kouzzina a little earlier than our ADR but we checked in anyway. We had a pretty good wait (don't remember exactly how long) but we found ways to pass the time...

A not about Kouzzina...it was FREEZING inside!! I absolutely HATE being cold and when I'm that cold, I find it hard to think about anything else. So as soon as I sat down, the napkin went across my lap as a blanket and we ordered this!!!

The sangria was absolutely delicious! Our waiter's name was Tim and when he saw Tom getting out the camera to take pics of our food/drinks, Tim said something to the effect of, "I had a table the other day that was taking pictures of their food....they called it "food porn.'" DISERS!!! Thought that was really funny!

I ordered the Greek salad for an appetizer.

For my meal, I had the flank steak and Tom had the Lamb Shank.

Before...

After....

We also had a side of Sweet Potato Fries...

Needless to say, our meal was soooooo delicious! We both cleaned our plates. Tom's lamb shank was so tender, he ate it with just a fork and all that was left was the bone!

A picture of the kitchen on the way out...

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

After our dinner at Kouzzina, we walked down the boardwalk to Jellyrolls! It was pretty empty when we got there so we took a seat up front. We had been there once before in 2006 and had such a great time but just didn't put it in the schedule for any trips after that. We were excited to see the same 2 players at the piano when we got there. They asked us where we were from and what we wanted to hear. We told them last time we were here, you played Billy Joel's Vienna and Summer Highland Falls for us, so he played it again! I feel awful that I don't remember these 2 guys names.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QctnDFo2bsmM4

Then Ray and Scotty came out.....they were the "funny guys." Their interaction with the audience was much more of a cabaret act and they did a great job playing off of each other but something about them (especially Ra) came across as cocky. We really preferred the other two (which is why I feel so bad about not remembering their names!!!) but regardless of personality, all four players were amazingly talented and entertaining!! Some more video from the night...

(They did a few TV theme songs!)
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QctnDFo2bsmNP
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QctnDFo2bsmNe
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QctnDFo2bsmNt
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QctnDFo2bsmN8

We requested this song. (See how he seems kind of cocky and disinterested? I don't know...maybe it was just us. The other two guys just seems more real. Like they just wanted to play good music for us...)
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QctnDFo2bsmOD

This is something that they do with the wait staff. I remember it from last time. And this was the point that I was tapped on my shoulder and told I wasn't allowed to take videos! Too late for that, buddy!!

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QctnDFo2bsmOS
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QctnDFo2bsmOh

At some point, I took a picture of this giant wall mural by the bathrooms.

So what happens at Jellyrolls, is the pairs of players alternate every hour. We caught about 30 mins of the first pair, the whole hour of Ray and Scotty and about 30 mins of the first pair when they came back. Why, oh why did we only stay for another 30 mins after Ray and Scotty left if we preferred the first pair????

MEAT-HEAD ALERT! MEAT-HEAD ALERT! Oh yes...at some point while Ray and Scotty were playing (the place had been filling up pretty quickly) a group of about 4 or 5 obnoxious, drunk, loud meat-heads come in and sit...where??? RIGHT behind us! They were being so rude, calling out to the piano players, cursing a lot. The players ask for and expect crowd participation but these guys were being really obnoxious and just rude. Ray and Scotty kept making comments about them and they didn't even realize they were being made fun of. We wanted to stay a little longer so, like I said, we stayed for about half of the other guys' set before we just couldn't take it anymore and had to leave. They were that unbearable. They were clearly in the wrong bar....

When we got up to leave, the guy who played the Billy Joel songs for us (in the middle of his song!) was shaking his head at us and trying to wave us to stay. Even a woman who we passed on the way out grabbed Tom and said, "He wants you to stay!" We really wanted to stay and it was obvious to the piano player WHY we were leaving and I think he felt bad...but we just couldn't take it anymore.......


Oh well........good thing Epcot had EMH that night!!! It was around 10:30. We had such good luck with Test Track having no wait during EMH on the 4th, we decided to go there again.

Tom in front of his favorite store!

We made it to TT!

Again it said it had a 30 minute wait but I'm onto you, Test Track! On the 4th, 30 mins meant NO wait at all!! But unfortunately tonight, 30 mins meant.....30 mins!

Tom was having fun with this "dummy" picture!

Even though we had a 30 min wait, we didn't really mind because we had an entertaining group of kids in line behind us. It was 3 guys and one of them was an expert at the rubix cube!! Both his friends would mix it up REAL good and then give it to him to solve. He couldn't be stopped! It was really fun to watch. We were hoping we'd be in the same car as them because there was talk of some sort of pose with the cube in the picture (and you KNOW how I LOVE the posed pictures) but unfortunately, we were split up...

Doesn't mean WE can't still pose!

One last pic in front of SE on the way out!

Up Next: THE SUN COMES OUT!!! And we do World Showcase RIGHT!!!

 

[trinaweena]

Ugh! How annoying that you had to leave because of rude people! I hate that!

My boyfriend can do a rubix cube in a couple minutes. It always amazes me, especially because he is color blind! I bought him a black and white one one year and he still solved it in just a few minutes!

Can't wait to hear more about your world showcase adventures!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Ugh! How annoying that you had to leave because of rude people! I hate that!

My boyfriend can do a rubix cube in a couple minutes. It always amazes me, especially because he is color blind! I bought him a black and white one one year and he still solved it in just a few minutes!

Can't wait to hear more about your world showcase adventures!

No way!! Tom bought me a rubix cube for Christmas one year (at my request!) and I can solve it following the given directions! If I practiced enough, I'm sure I could eventually figure out how to solve it without the help! I should make that my New Year's Resolution this year!

Oh get ready! WS was FUN that day!

 

[PopArtGal]

Now my throat hurts. Sympathy pain?

I love that you can send your purchases to the resort. We often do that!

We did a few early mornings for thr 20%. I think in all our purchases we saved around 50-60$. One of those shopping trips was to get me stuff for my apt. Which I hope to be getting before x-mas hehe Don't worry, you'll be one of the first to get my addy lol.

Kouzzina didn'T seem that tempting to me. But after seeing those pics I may have changed my mind.

 

[onelilspark]

First of all, OUCH for the kernel shell. I can't imagine having one stuck for that long! I hope it gets better soon!

Secondly, that's Cinderella's Castle in WDW--and it's been photoshopped with the sword in the stone.... which isn't by the castle.

Third, I can't believe that they printed out the pictures of Donald and then told you you'd have to pay $30 to get them!! What a rip-off!! You should have asked what trash can they'd be throwing them away in.

Your shirt is really cute! How did you get the Mickey to be on there? I've never been very good at Tye Dye.

Woo-Hoo for blue skies! I hope they stay that way!

It's the back of the castle. You can tell by the windows, so it's definitely just a weird angle on the shot. And obv. in FL, not CA.


We're finally heading back to Jellyrolls in October. Hopefully there will be no obnoxious people around!!

 

[PopArtGal]

I'm sorry about the rude guys.

But at the same time, I like to tell myself that everything happens for a reason. You had fun at Epcot's EMH wich might not have been planned .

 

[tksbaskets]

A not about Kouzzina...it was FREEZING inside!! I absolutely HATE being cold and when I'm that cold, I find it hard to think about anything else. So as soon as I sat down, the napkin went across my lap as a blanket and we ordered this!!!

We've never eaten here either. If I can be so bold how expensive were the entrees? Do they participate in the dining plan?

I loved the PP pic of you and your hubby in front of the bridge at AK. I agree with the single riderness decreasing one's propensity to scream 'wahoo!' My DH tends towards motion sickness. If you work it right that means more FPs for you for those type of rides too

Is the popcorn husk out?

 

[tksbaskets]

I love your TT PP pic! You do what my family does - we know where the pics are being taken and act accordingly. FUN! I wish all ride pics were able to be added to the pp card....sigh. I've become skilled taking ride pics with my Blackberry.

Thanks for sharing!

TK

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Now my throat hurts. Sympathy pain?

I love that you can send your purchases to the resort. We often do that!

We did a few early mornings for thr 20%. I think in all our purchases we saved around 50-60$. One of those shopping trips was to get me stuff for my apt. Which I hope to be getting before x-mas hehe Don't worry, you'll be one of the first to get my addy lol.

Kouzzina didn'T seem that tempting to me. But after seeing those pics I may have changed my mind.

Haha! Sympathy pain! Not funny that your throat hurts though. Oh, we ALWAYS send back to the resort! Who can be bothered carrying things around all day!!

DEFINITELY try Kouzzina! You won't be sorry!

It's the back of the castle. You can tell by the windows, so it's definitely just a weird angle on the shot. And obv. in FL, not CA.


We're finally heading back to Jellyrolls in October. Hopefully there will be no obnoxious people around!!

Oh they were so obnoxious! I don't know where they thought they were but they were not behaving appropriately AT ALL!

I'm sorry about the rude guys.

But at the same time, I like to tell myself that everything happens for a reason. You had fun at Epcot's EMH wich might not have been planned .

So true!

We've never eaten here either. If I can be so bold how expensive were the entrees? Do they participate in the dining plan?

I loved the PP pic of you and your hubby in front of the bridge at AK. I agree with the single riderness decreasing one's propensity to scream 'wahoo!' My DH tends towards motion sickness. If you work it right that means more FPs for you for those type of rides too

Is the popcorn husk out?

From AllEars...

Spiro's Greek Salad - Vine-ripened Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Red Onions, Kalamata Olives, and Feta $7.49

Slow-cooked Lamb Shank served with Oven-baked Gigantes Beans and Pepper Sauce $26.99
Graff Family Vineyards, Grenache, Chalone Appellation, Monterey County

Wood-grilled Flank Steak - with fresh Herb Saltsa and Kouzzina Potatoes $23.99
Brassfield Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon, High Serenity Ranch, High Valley


I think they take the DDP but I"m not positive. We had the Tables in Wonderland card so we had 20% off.

 

[tksbaskets]

Thanks for the info on the dinner. Feeding adult sons we like to know before we go!

 

[JenSop]

We also just tried Kouzzina out on our trip two weeks ago and LOVED it!!!!!

It was excellent. And yes, they are on the DDP - it was just one TS credit.

I highly recommend it to anyone!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Love, love, love your Dinosaur picture! So stinkin' funny.

Sorry to hear about those rude guys at Jellyrolls. Ugh. I haven't watched the video yet because my little one will be crawling all over my lap the second I start it....so it's being saved for nap time.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Thanks for the info on the dinner. Feeding adult sons we like to know before we go!

We also just tried Kouzzina out on our trip two weeks ago and LOVED it!!!!!

It was excellent. And yes, they are on the DDP - it was just one TS credit.

I highly recommend it to anyone!

So good, right?! We will definitely be going back there again.

Love, love, love your Dinosaur picture! So stinkin' funny.

Sorry to hear about those rude guys at Jellyrolls. Ugh. I haven't watched the video yet because my little one will be crawling all over my lap the second I start it....so it's being saved for nap time.

Haha! You know how we love to pose for pictures!

Hope you enjoy the videos!

 

[Luvmepluto]

The food at Kats looked yummy!

I would have gone Bon Qui Qui on the group behind you guys.
I absolutely hate people that act that way....drunk and obnoxious to boot. We were in NYC, at a Yankees game memorial weekend and had that problem.......it was miserable.

 

[stacikristine]

Your dinner looks AMAZING!! My parents and sister ate there earlier this summer and said it was the best meal of their trip. I can't wait to try it someday!

Sorry the guys at Jellyrolls were SOOOO obnoxious. I absolutely hate it when people get like that. And unfortunately they're so drunk that they don't even get it when people are clearly bothered by them.

 

[brookelizabeth]

Just watched the videos - Jellyrolls is going on the "When Henry is old enough for Kids Care" list! That looks like so much fun!!!