"We seem to be made to suffer. It’s our lot in life" - Feb/April 2017 - 5/9 Half/Grand Floridian Ca

[Dis_Yoda]

I will cross my fingers for you on the shot I haven't tried KT tape, yet! You are the second person to recommend. I would have no idea on where to put it. But maybe I'll buy some to see if I can figure it out. I just picked up a bunch of those knee straps to try out. They seem to help a bit.

I read about the weird overload of F. Not sure why they did that. Seems like if they are going to go in waves they'd be better off with more corrals. Light side sucked waiting around to go--this I suspect is going to be worse.

Yes, very quick trip. That waking up at 3 in the morning (or whatever time we decide to get up) is not going to be fun. But I travel a lot and usually don't have too much problem with jet lag. I love Sanaa, too--bread is my indulgence and can't wait for all that naan

We'll be on the look out for you!

At the expo, KT Tape and/or Rock Tape will have a booth. They will tape one body part for like $5 or if you buy a roll - they will tape multiple parts.

http://www.kttape.com/instructions/

My husband has a knee strap he uses on his right knee. It has worked out well for him!

I know they are doing waves - but I'm going to try to be towards the front of F to be in that initial wave. Since well, I'm walking this in the best case scenario - I need as much of a gap between myself and the balloon ladies as possible!

Mmm...Naan! 2 more days until I get my bread appetizer! Just have to get through 2.5 more days of work!

What a shame about your bad waiter at TS. They are definitely more lax about the alcohol at Florida than at the one in California. They let Fran order her own when we were there in October. We were at the Trader Sam's in DL and they let one of our party order an Uh-Ohah while the rest of us had drinks in front of us.

I didn't know Mizner's got their appetizers from Citricos, I would totally order that Pork Belly there! When you do your updates in small chunks, I sometimes forget what you had done earlier in the day. Probably enough alcohol right there.

The Grand Floridian Cafe looks great. When I went there last I was debating between the Reuben and the one that you ordered. I love the Onion Soup there! Awesome choices!

At least the great company made up for the horrible waiter! They are a lot more lax about alcohol in Florida and I'm thankful for that! Give me my no state tax, 6% sales tax rate, amazing weather and all my alcohol! I'll put up with the risk of hurricanes, brush fires and the seasonal residents for that! Nice they let one person order the Uh-Oa! at DL - maybe they figured someone would finish their other drink soon to help?

Doing the small chunks helps me keep organizing as it breaks up the day between everything we did (although this is a dining report so each restaurant gets their own post) I had a lot of alcohol on Saturday - I'm shocked I didn't end up with a hangover but I guess I was good with water and food to prevent that!

I never ordered the Reuben there. I'm just too stuck on my Grand Sandwich! Sometimes you just gotta stick with what you love!

I wish I had 422 points! That's super! We really need to narrow it down for oct/nov. SSR had 4 consecutive days I think?! we could split stay which we do a lot. We shall see! We go two weeks a year with the kids spring and fall and lately I've been sneaking in a jan/feb trip! Gotta love run Disney! I followed your aulani trip report. I think we may try to get to aulani in the spring or fall because we're at our lake house jun-aug and my husband refuses to give up winter snowmobiling time. Ugh! So if you ever find yourself in the fingerlakes in upstate NY let me know! We have 50 wineries in a 30 mile radius. Jeri actually was in my town at our favorite winery last summer! Oh my gosh I'm rambling extremely off topic, which is nothing new!

I hope your ankle feels better. Hopefully you get that cortisone injection tomorrow!

Well - the lack of children helps me spend more money on Disney. We've never done the split stay thing - I just like to get to my hotel and settle down for the entire trip. We do have a car though so that helps not feel contained.

Run Disney totally gives enough excuses for more Disney trips!

I think I would pick Fall over SPring for Aulani as I bet it isn't as crowded then! Spring - you get too many spring breakers! I was in Buffalo last August but sadly it was a short work trip! Next time I'm up that way, I'll totally let you know

I'm hoping that cortisone helps! Come on 3:30pm!

 

[TeeterTots]

Well - the lack of children helps me spend more money on Disney. We've never done the split stay thing - I just like to get to my hotel and settle down for the entire trip. We do have a car though so that helps not feel contained.

Run Disney totally gives enough excuses for more Disney trips!

I think I would pick Fall over SPring for Aulani as I bet it isn't as crowded then! Spring - you get too many spring breakers! I was in Buffalo last August but sadly it was a short work trip! Next time I'm up that way, I'll totally let you know

I'm hoping that cortisone helps! Come on 3:30pm!

Splits stays are kind of a pain but it changes the scene and allows us to stay at our favorite places in one trip. We drive from VA so having the car is great. DH hates the buses.

I'm thinking aulani in November will be awesome. I did read the local kids have break in Oct or nov so we'll try to avoid that.

I went to college in Buffalo! It's about 2 hrs from my house. Yes...let me know next time!

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

At the expo, KT Tape and/or Rock Tape will have a booth. They will tape one body part for like $5 or if you buy a roll - they will tape multiple parts.

http://www.kttape.com/instructions/

My husband has a knee strap he uses on his right knee. It has worked out well for him!

I know they are doing waves - but I'm going to try to be towards the front of F to be in that initial wave. Since well, I'm walking this in the best case scenario - I need as much of a gap between myself and the balloon ladies as possible!

Mmm...Naan! 2 more days until I get my bread appetizer! Just have to get through 2.5 more days of work!

That is great about the tape--maybe I'll wait and see if one of those guys can put it on. Thanks for the link, too!
We're going to try to be in the front, too--along with everyone else, I suspect. Not looking forward to the early bus rides.
And bread is my weakness. LOVE naan, sourdough, name it. It will be perfect after the race!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Splits stays are kind of a pain but it changes the scene and allows us to stay at our favorite places in one trip. We drive from VA so having the car is great. DH hates the buses.

I'm thinking aulani in November will be awesome. I did read the local kids have break in Oct or nov so we'll try to avoid that.

I went to college in Buffalo! It's about 2 hrs from my house. Yes...let me know next time!

That is true about split stays - plus if you don't come as much as we do so you can't just switch hotels each trip as much (although my next 3 DVC trips will be Boardwalk)

That is a long drive from VA! My husband and I would strangle each other if we had to be together in a car that long!

I'm excited for you about Aulani! It was such a wonderful vacation It will be years before we go back, but at least I have some other awesome vacations in the works instead.

If I have to go back to Buffalo, especially since I know the supplier we visited in Canada will be becoming more important in the next couple years, I totally will let you know!

That is great about the tape--maybe I'll wait and see if one of those guys can put it on. Thanks for the link, too!
We're going to try to be in the front, too--along with everyone else, I suspect. Not looking forward to the early bus rides.
And bread is my weakness. LOVE naan, sourdough, name it. It will be perfect after the race!

Yeah - having one of them put it on totally makes it less scary as you know they know what they are doing! I've learned the ways for my ankle + knees so that helps.

Yeah - the bus rides will be early but that's part of the excitement of the race weekend! I love the people watching!

Mmm...bread! Less than 12 hours until I get my naan! 4 more hours of work to go before we get on the road!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Sanaa

I left work sometime after 10AM and headed home. We had to take to dogs to camp and then we finally were on the road towards Disney at 11AM. We did go through the drive thru at Wendy’s for lunch. We never eat Wendy’s but it served its purpose of filling us up. We had zero traffic on the drive so we made it in 2 hours and 45 minutes and headed straight to the Wide World of Sports. Bib Pickup was easy and we bought 3 things at the expo - an ornament, a new 19.3 Mickey Magnet (mine is dead from the sun and the ear is broken) and the kessel run medal pin. My husband didn’t really want to be there so we were rushing it felt like.

Well - rushing did us no good as when we arrived at the Grand Floridian our room wasn’t ready and we got to wait an hour until 4:02pm before we got our room number. We settled in and waited until it was time for dinner! Our room did have the best view though as it was a great view of Space Mountain and at the end of the short hallway so we didn't have a lot of noise around us. At 6:00PM, we left and drove over to Animal Kingdom Villas and headed to Sanaa. We had eaten here for lunch a couple times but never dinner but it seemed like it would be a decent option as we were trying not to spend a ton on food this trip (we did better than I thought we would!)

As it is vacation, even if we were here for a run, I started with a single cocktail. I got the watermelon margarita off the generic Disney bar menu. It was refreshing and not too strong which for this trip, I’m ok with! I also had lots of water!

Watermelon Margarita

We knew we would get the bread service as well, how can you not get the awesome bread service at Sanaa? We only get 3 of the sauces as we know there are some we just won’t like - we usually get the two safe options for us - the red chili sambal (yes it is spicy but a good spicy) and the cucumber raita. The new option for us this time was the tamarind chutney. Well that one was a winner! It was on the sweet side but when you balanced it with switching off with a bite of the red chili sambal, it worked really well. I think we won’t be getting the cucumber anymore!

Indian-Style Bread Service - Traditional Naan, Garlic-Ginger Naan, Spiced Naan w/ Tamarind Chutney, Red Chili Sambal, and Cucumber Raita

My husband went with the stewed options. We knew this dish was going to be a win for him as last year when he was still a vegetarian, he found he loved lentils while at Sanaa. Well, he got the lentil dish again and the butter chicken as we know we love the butter chicken thanks to Food & Wine Festival booths. He was a very happy man!

Potjie Inspired - Butter Chicken, Lentil Dhal w/ Basmati Rice

I went with one of my favorite proteins - duck. This duck was perfectly cooked with the right amount of crispiness given to the outer fat layer. The puree under the duck was also great but the duck was flavorful enough you didn’t even need it! I was a very happy Dis_Yoda after this dish!

Fragrant Duck - Garam Masala-Brushed Duck Breast w/ Spiced Confit, Baby Root Vegetables, and Five Grain Pilaf w/ Cranberries and Pumpkin Seeds

We skipped dessert but stopped by the store to get some drinks before we headed back to the room. I picked up zebra domes to have once back in the room. Well when I got back to the room, I was too full to enjoy them that I only ate 1 of them and never finished the 4 pack over the course of the trip! Opps...

Zebra Domes​

 

[TeeterTots]

Looks like the weekend is off to a great start! Yum......bread service! The watermelon margarita sounds refreshing. Your duck dish looks delish! I really need to try it! Can't wait to hear about the races!

 

[DaisyNY]

Zebra domes...yum! Following along!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Looks like the weekend is off to a great start! Yum......bread service! The watermelon margarita sounds refreshing. Your duck dish looks delish! I really need to try it! Can't wait to hear about the races!

It did start off wonderful! You can get the watermelon margarita either spicy or not spicy. I wanted super refreshing so I went the non-spicy route. I'm so happy I did as it was perfect!

You totally do need to try duck one of these days! Disney has some great duck dishes!

The races - well, they weren't pretty. I'm happy that I'm 17 days out from surgery for my left ankle. Its extremely overdue.

Zebra domes...yum! Following along!

Welcome! Glad to have more followers

 

[Dis_Yoda]

1900 Park Fare

When we had returned to the room after dinner, we talked about breakfast in the morning. I tried to convince my husband to join me for a character buffet. He said no way. I said I would go alone hoping he would feel bad and join me. Let me give you a spoiler, he didn’t feel bad and said ‘see ya’

So I woke up at 7:30AM Friday morning and got ready and moved towards the lobby of the Grand Floridian. As I had some time to kill, I looked at all the eggs still in the lobby and here are some photos of my favorite ones (they were a lot of eggs!)

I checked in for my 8:15AM ADR right at 8:00AM when it opened and was shortly seated by myself at a two top. I ordered a water as well, water is important for people doing races, even if they are slow and suck at racing, like myself currently. I attempted to take some photos of the buffet but as I filled my plate - it became harder to take photos so you get 5 instead of the entire buffet. I’m such a bad dining reporter

Here are some photos of the buffet:

My first plate was pretty basic. They had red velvet pancakes with cream cheese icing so I got one of those and it was so wonderful! The bacon was microwave type bacon so I couldn’t finish it. Tater tots are always fun but what I did really love was the make your own burrito section which I made myself an eggless taco with rice, cheese and onions (that I got from the bagel bar section). That might not sound like breakfast food to normal people but I never claimed I was normal. That was the best part of the breakfast!

My first plate:

As characters had not yet come out yet, I went for my second round. I got a small bowl of the cheddar grits. They were just ok. I also got my second plate of food with another red velvet pancake, another Dis_Yoda special taco and watermelon and chocolate.

My bowl of grits:

My second plate:

I was entirely too full to eat anymore after that second plate. This is why buffets are lost on me. I don’t think I really eat enough to get my money’s worth. When I was finished, the characters had started coming out but they weren’t yet at my table. As I was paying $30something dollars for breakfast, I kinda needed to get proof the characters existed so I waited like a goober until at least one or two came around. Eventually Mary Poppins visited me and we made a joke about my husband since I was alone.

Mary Poppins

Alice stopped by and said that tea parties for one are so much fun.

Alice

I gave up on waiting for Mad Hatter or Tigger as well, it would be at least another 10 to 15 minutes and I wasn’t going to wait that long as I was full and couldn’t eat more and I didn’t want to sit there by myself staring at the phone.

Mad Hatter at another Table

I did get a photo with Pooh on the way out!

Dis_Yoda w/ Pooh!

Overall, I was happy with the food but I was reminded why I really don’t do character meals often. I am glad I got there at opening as the grossness of the buffet hasn’t happened yet since it was the first go around but the characters delayed start in the go around kinda affect the ability to see all the characters when you do that.​

 

[TeeterTots]

It did start off wonderful! You can get the watermelon margarita either spicy or not spicy. I wanted super refreshing so I went the non-spicy route. I'm so happy I did as it was perfect!

You totally do need to try duck one of these days! Disney has some great duck dishes!

The races - well, they weren't pretty. I'm happy that I'm 17 days out from surgery for my left ankle. Its extremely overdue.

I think I would enjoy the nonspicy option.

I definitely am going to consider trying it during our next trip. Food and wine booths may be a perfect portion. I'll wait for your review in the fall!

Oh no! I was worried about your ankle! I get it though, my PHM was a disaster!! Still beating myself up about it, but it was out of my control!

 

[TeeterTots]

We did 1900 Park Fare for dinner once. I agree it is too much food. Plus, being alone would be no fun!

 

[toomuchtv]

I'm glad to see you enjoyed the food at the 1900 Park Fare breakfast. We have an ADR there next month. My son will be 20 months old and hasn't seen Mary Poppins or Alice in Wonderland, but he has seen Pooh, so that should be fun. My husband will probably enjoy the red velvet pancakes. I would enjoy the icing!

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

I am starving right now and dying over your pictures from Sanaa. I love the new way they are plating everything, it looks so nice! Can't wait for our dinner there 143 days from now...I may just order exactly what your husband did!

 

[franandaj]

Interesting take on two of my favorite restaurants. Sanaa, we would probably only go for three of the dips if it was just the two of us, but it would always be the raita. Not sure on the entrees as I think we have liked doing the appetizers only.

1900 Park fare, you didn't even get the strawberry soup! I tried the burrito option for the first time on my last trip and rather enjoyed it. I will do that in the future!

It seems that they rotate the character who is at the exit. When we were there Pooh came around and Alice was at the exit. Interesting.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I think I would enjoy the nonspicy option.

I definitely am going to consider trying it during our next trip. Food and wine booths may be a perfect portion. I'll wait for your review in the fall!

Oh no! I was worried about your ankle! I get it though, my PHM was a disaster!! Still beating myself up about it, but it was out of my control!

Food & Wine booths would be a nice small option to try it - I think France usually has a duck dish that is really good.

Yeah - when I get to Saturday Morning - you'll see just how much of a disaster I was. I've learned I can't beat myself up on these things though or else I'll just stay in a dark place. Disaster races can just happen it seems.

We did 1900 Park Fare for dinner once. I agree it is too much food. Plus, being alone would be no fun!

Alone is ok for me but I'm used to it, especially since my husband works so many evenings. I enjoy people watching but it really was too early for juicy family drama

I'm glad to see you enjoyed the food at the 1900 Park Fare breakfast. We have an ADR there next month. My son will be 20 months old and hasn't seen Mary Poppins or Alice in Wonderland, but he has seen Pooh, so that should be fun. My husband will probably enjoy the red velvet pancakes. I would enjoy the icing!

That will be really cute for your 20 month old with Mary Poppins and Alice. Mary really seems to love interactions with the little ones! I totally enjoyed the red velvet pancakes because of being allowed to put on as much icing as I wanted. It was like cake for breakfast!

I am starving right now and dying over your pictures from Sanaa. I love the new way they are plating everything, it looks so nice! Can't wait for our dinner there 143 days from now...I may just order exactly what your husband did!

I love pretty plating as well! Its like they are trying to be one more step up than originally they were. I'm not starving and I wish I had that duck in front of me right now! My husband was really happy with his meal so I bet you would be too!

Interesting take on two of my favorite restaurants. Sanaa, we would probably only go for three of the dips if it was just the two of us, but it would always be the raita. Not sure on the entrees as I think we have liked doing the appetizers only.

1900 Park fare, you didn't even get the strawberry soup! I tried the burrito option for the first time on my last trip and rather enjoyed it. I will do that in the future!

It seems that they rotate the character who is at the exit. When we were there Pooh came around and Alice was at the exit. Interesting.

I thought about appetizers only but I figured I needed a real meal for the races, even if I knew the races weren't going to be pretty for me. I do like the raita and we may go back to it but there are a couple of the other dips we want to try (really like only 2 more) so until we get through those two - the raita has to take the back burner as we liked the others too so much more. As our next meal at Sanaa will be a lunch - I can get the raita with my sandwich.

I actually thought of you when I was at 1900 Park Fare but I just wasn't in the mood for strawberry soup. I was all about icing on my pancakes and cheese and onion burritos. Goodness I am strange.

Its probably a nice break for the 'friend' that is at the exit. They probably change who it is each day for that 'break'

 

[Dis_Yoda]

The Polite Pig

When I returned from breakfast, I settled back under the covers and took a nap. My husband had a required online training he had to do for work at 10AM so we wouldn’t be able to leave the room until after 11AM. He wasn’t happy about that training as he found out about it on the drive up the day before and didn’t want to give up his vacation time for work stuff but such is the life of exempt salary employees. The amount of times I’ve been bothered on vacation by work kinda is the same thing. I woke up from my nap around the same time his training was starting. It made me giggle that all companies have the same problems when it comes to online meetings and the lack of people being able to follow really simple instructions. Since he was doing work, I decided to look at my work emails as well but I lasted about 10 minutes before I said - “no” That should deserve a prize. I watched Netflix instead as I didn’t want to listen to his stuff.

A little after 11AM, he was done and we were on our way to the car to drive to Disney Springs. We figured it would take a lot less time than the buses and we were right! We parked on the 3rd floor as the 2nd floor was already full. We knew we weren’t going to be drinking a ton that our driving abilities would be impaired.

As it was lunch time when we arrived, we left the parking garage, the Polite Pig was *right* there to our right. Well - it's new so that would be a perfect decision to try something different! We each order an adult beverage and decided to split a sandwich because I had a large breakfast and he wanted to save himself for the movies later and dinner.

Well, the sandwich was disappointing to us. The pork was just ok, even when we had it with our choice of BBQ Sauce. I think living in Georgia for those 4 years ruined us as it's so hard to find BBQ that could surpass The Smoking Pig or a couple other local places. I’m sure those not tainted from living in really good BBQ areas (i.e. Carolinas, Georgia, Texas) would probably enjoy it.

The Southern Pig - Chopped Pork, Apple Slaw, Mustard Sauce

My husband got a beer to drink. It was a nice size beer and he was happy with it. This is something we can get around Naples so he knew it was a safe light option! Since he hasn't been drinking much, the one beer made him buzzed which just made me giggle.

Cigar City Florida Cracker White Ale

I went with one of my favorite cocktails - The Old Fashioned. I could tell this was a pre-mixed cocktail as it came from a tap but it was decently balanced. I’ve had better. I’ve had worse.

Old-Fashioned

We probably won’t be running back to The Polite Pig as there are better counter service options for us (i.e. Blaze Pizza) but I’m glad there are lots of options for everyone around there now! I’m sure others will enjoy it though as they haven’t been tainted like us. Two of my other friends (Briar Rosie & TDC Nala) from this board tried it on Sunday and were much happier with it than me.​

 

[auntfrannie]

Well that's disappointing! I've seen far more negative reviews of the PP than I have of positive ones. Now I know I can skip it and not feel like I've missed anything! Thanks for the review!

 

[TeeterTots]

Bummer about the BBQ, but the adult beverages look good!

 

[franandaj]

I'd be happy to try it, but you're right, they have added so many places there, it will take a while to try them all!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Well that's disappointing! I've seen far more negative reviews of the PP than I have of positive ones. Now I know I can skip it and not feel like I've missed anything! Thanks for the review!

Glad to make you feel like you can skip it without much issue! There are so many awesome spots around Disney Springs that you aren't missing much. My favorites are Homecomin', Boathouse, Hanger Bar and Blaze Pizza!

Bummer about the BBQ, but the adult beverages look good!

Adult Beverages are always good!

I'd be happy to try it, but you're right, they have added so many places there, it will take a while to try them all!

It will take a while! I go so often and I still have places I haven't tried yet! My list is probably a lot smaller than most though and I feel lucky for that! Paddlefish will happen in November most likely.
Paddlefish
D-Luxe Burger
Frontera Cocina

Not Open Yet But Should in 2017
Wine Bar George
The Edison