We're ALL 50 here! And maybe a little MAD too.....a 50th anniversary/celebration/ Party TR *WHO 'DIS? Update 12/20*

[luvpoohandcompany]

Your meal sounds fantastic and I totally agree that there are some awesome cast members out there. We love Nicola at the ale and compass bar and Thomas from the Yachtsman steakhouse. There was also a really amazing manager called Roberta at the YC a few years back (2010++) and if it hadn’t been for the way she handled a somewhat horrible incident we would never have returned but thanks to her we did ( every year until stupid covid) and it remains our favourite place so they really can make ir break an experience

 

[suse66]

We've also been able to introduce Rony to friends as well as hanging out with our BFF's @Jenny Sanders and Joe at Geyser Point quite a few times now and introduce them to Josh and Rob, a super friendly/sarcastic/sweet server who feeds of Josh's smart remarks that we LOVE. The moral of this story is get to know your servers and other Disney CM's! Even if you aren't feeling the love right now with the recent changes, cancellations, etc. the Cast Members - maybe not all but certainly many - still make the experience

Oh my gosh, you are so right! As you know, we absolutely loved Rob at GP. He made our trip so special. We had a fabulous server at Three Bridges too named Tabitha. She made our first night back at Disney completely magical.

And now back to our regularly scheduled CruellaNY! Bottom line is the food and views at Toledo are fantastic. Miguel knew we were coming and when we checked in the hostess told us he'd reserved a great table for us, and lo and behold I got to stare at my TOT while eating and drinking:

Love that view!

Miguel said they used to have one on the menu but it's no longer there, however he'd make one for Steve and he made 2. All I remember is fresh cucumber and lime, vodka, and some Spanish cucumber liquor and I will be getting this next time around

That sounds similar to a drink I had at Dahlia Lounge in August. It was so delicious!
El Pepino
Xoriguer Gin de Mahón, Ancho Reyes Verde Chile Poblano, St~Germain Elderflower Liqueur, Lime, Cucumber

Except mine was gin based instead of vodka but was so good!

If you are a charcuterie fan you need to order the Spaniard for 2! By the time you're done there will not be enough left to feed a baby of 1. Steve also had that nasty octopus he loves and we both went with MEAT for our entrees, Steve's with a side of shrimp. Then because we weren't full enough we had to have dessert and that was incredible!

Yum, yum! What a fabulous meal you had!

 

[Wood Nymph]

take for instance Rony at Citricos

We always look for Roni when we eat at Citrico's. You've made him famous.

This is the case with 2 fantastic CM's at Geyser Point as well!

I love it when CM's remember you. We had a server at GP named Lucas who remembered us. He was fun to talk to and we learned a lot about his life. We also had a server named Chelsea at Territory Lounge who would greet me by name. I guess that shows that we've spent a lot of time at WL.

Miguel knew we were coming and when we checked in the hostess told us he'd reserved a great table for us, and lo and behold I got to stare at my TOT while eating and drinking:

I love that view!

 

[nascargirl]

Following along. I feel the same way about the fried green tomato sandwich at the Plaza. Such a disappointment that it was removed from the menu. We are trying Toledo for the first time in Dec. One of our favorite CM is Izi. He started out at Artist Point but had transferred to the flying fish. Once Covid hit and FF didn't reopened, he went to Trattoria.

 

[missjackiemcg]

CMs really do make the experiences so much more special!! I love that he was nice enough to reserve you a table at all, let alone with the perfect view!! Did he know about your love for ToT?!

 

[CruellaNY]

I like your idea of enjoying some MK time before it got crazy. Everyone kept reporting how empty it was before the 1st.

Yes it was! We had 2 park days before the 1st and both were super low crowds. It did pick up afterwards but still nothing like we expected!

Can't wait to see those golden statues next month

Where are you staying and when are you going? I'm at GDT the 11-16th but for work, so not much free time but I will still be in the parks a bit.

 

[CruellaNY]

We love Nicola at the ale and compass bar and Thomas from the Yachtsman steakhouse. There was also a really amazing manager called Roberta at the YC a few years back (2010++) and if it hadn’t been for the way she handled a somewhat horrible incident we would never have returned but thanks to her we did ( every year until stupid covid) and it remains our favourite place so they really can make ir break an experience

Love hearing about all these servers! For some reason I feel like I've read about Roberta on the Yacht Club resort thread here on the DIS!

As you know, we absolutely loved Rob at GP. He made our trip so special

Isn't he awesome? He was just as great this time around and we look forward to seeing him in Dec.

That sounds similar to a drink I had at Dahlia Lounge in August. It was so delicious!

Ooh yes I think I need that lol, and gin is my preference so it's right up my alley! I'm at GDT next month so Dahlia is on the agenda!

We always look for Roni when we eat at Citrico's. You've made him famous.

Haha I think he has quite a few fans

I love it when CM's remember you. We had a server at GP named Lucas who remembered us. He was fun to talk to and we learned a lot about his life

Is he younger? I think we may have had him this trip after Josh left for a cruise and Rob wasn't working. If it's who I'm thinking of he was super friendly as well!

Following along

Hey there glad you're here!

feel the same way about the fried green tomato sandwich at the Plaza. Such a disappointment that it was removed from the menu

Glad you understand lol. SO many menus have the same offerings and that was a different one that was really good; I hate when items are replaced by the SAME things that every other place has

We are trying Toledo for the first time in Dec. One of our favorite CM is Izi. He started out at Artist Point but had transferred to the flying fish. Once Covid hit and FF didn't reopened, he went to Trattoria.

I hope you love it! We're there in Dec. also, I think the 4th or 6th? It's interesting to hear where our favorites ended up when they came back but their home restaurant didn't open. Rony was at Crystal Palace while Citricos was closed; Josh and Rob were lucky they got to go right back to Geyser Point although Rob has filled in a few other places. We also got to know a server at Three Bridges who was from 'Ohana and couldn't wait to get back!
BTW we love Trattoria breakfast and will be there in Dec. as well. Now I'll look for Izi!

CMs really do make the experiences so much more special!! I love that he was nice enough to reserve you a table at all, let alone with the perfect view!! Did he know about your love for ToT?!

I knew he was going to be sure we got sat in his section because he'd told me to text him whenever we'll be there! But I didn't realize he could actually pick our table! Apparently he got Melinda and R the same table a few weeks later after I texted him they were going! And no TOT was lucky lol but I was sure to tell him how happy he made me!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Love hearing about all these servers! For some reason I feel like I've read about Roberta on the Yacht Club resort thread here on the DIS!

Think Roberta has moved on but she was really good at making up for a distinct lack of customer care after a pretty dire situation involving raw sewage and my then 2 1/2 year old falling into it! . Nightmare but he’s 14 now so lived to tell the tale. You may be thinking of Teena who was a lovely greeter at BC and well known and loved in the Dis thread. She moved to Vegas after her husband died but had recently moved back to Florida and popped into that thread to let everyone know. Definitely a much loved lady who was also fabulous at her job.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

We've also been able to introduce Rony to friends as well as hanging out with our BFF's @Jenny Sanders and Joe at Geyser Point quite a few times now and introduce them to Josh and Rob, a super friendly/sarcastic/sweet server who feeds of Josh's smart remarks that we LOVE. The moral of this story is get to know your servers and other Disney CM's! Even if you aren't feeling the love right now with the recent changes, cancellations, etc. the Cast Members - maybe not all but certainly many - still make the experience

YES! 100% Every single server we have gotten to know has remembered us and has gone above and beyond to make every experience where we've seen them special. Shout out to Rony, Josh and Rob. They are all FANTASTIC!!!!!!!

 

[kittylady1972]

OMG LOVE LOVE LOVE Toledo and your selections were outstanding. My family also gets the octopus...but I pass on that one myself.

Ooh that's right I remember you saying that! So March right? What do you think your dates might be? We're already booked!

Well right now the plan is likely the second week in March or so...not sure exactly yet and we have yet to book rooms but it's on for sure!

 

[disneyAndi14]

I love hearing about your connections and wonderful service from hthe CMs!
Andi and I had bonded with several PhotoPass CMs, for many years Andi loved meeting the Princesses over and over and each visit some of our favorite CMs would be taking her pictures! We would visit a little with them!
Toledo sounds and looks really good! I have a reservation there in December for us!

 

[CruellaNY]

You may be thinking of Teena who was a lovely greeter at BC and well known and loved in the Dis thread. She moved to Vegas after her husband died but had recently moved back to Florida and popped into that thread to let everyone know. Definitely a much loved lady who was also fabulous at her job

That could be! It wasn't someone who posted themselves but a person that others posted about ALL the time saying how wonderful they were But you totally know what I mean!

OMG LOVE LOVE LOVE Toledo and your selections were outstanding. My family also gets the octopus...but I pass on that one myself.

Yeah after a horrible scungilli experience as a kid I won't touch that lol. I now have a reservation for Nov. AND Dec. and cannot wait!

Well right now the plan is likely the second week in March or so...not sure exactly yet and we have yet to book rooms but it's on for sure!

Ugh we'll probably end up missing each other by like a day or two as usual.....but once you're booked you'll have to lmk!

ndi and I had bonded with several PhotoPass CMs, for many years Andi loved meeting the Princesses over and over and each visit some of our favorite CMs would be taking her pictures! We would visit a little with them!

OMG how sweet

Toledo sounds and looks really good! I have a reservation there in December for us!

Yes I want to know if we're there the same night; that would be funny! We'll be with Jenny and Joe and the Stones!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Is he younger? I think we may have had him this trip after Josh left for a cruise and Rob wasn't working. If it's who I'm thinking of he was super friendly as well!

Lucas is younger. We didn't see him when we were at WL last month. The last time we saw him he was planning to leave Disney and move to Sarasota with his wife. She had developed an online business during the pandemic shutdown and it was going very well. See what I mean about how friendly he was.

 

[CruellaNY]

After that delicious and HUGE dinner complete with multiple beverages, these bodies that had been up since 3am needed to sleep! We also didn't need to rush the next morning as we were going to AK and had a 9:45 breakfast scheduled to boot.
I forgot to mention in my previous update that on our first day as we got off the boat from MK at the Lodge we ran in to Sue @Wood Nymph and her husband Dana! We've had the pleasure of meeting them a few times now and while we knew we were all going to be there we hadn't set anything up so this was a luck coincidence It was another lucky coincidence the following morning when we ran into them again in the lobby! We also finally saw Jen and Joe and even though it had been less than 2 months since we were last together -it's always too long We said hello and hugged, chatted a bit but then we were all heading in different directions - the J's went to MK, we were catching a bus to AK and Sue and Dana walked us out as they were killing time exploring before the ME took them to the airport.

I said we had breakfast today and you may be wondering where since we were going to a park! Nope, not Tusker House; we were having breakfast here:



Strange for us right? We haven't eaten there in about 6 years when Ricky requested lunch as it's not really our type of place but we saw the menu on our August trip and it looked good; different for a change! I'm so glad we did as it was really good; hot fresh food and you really can't deny it's adorable inside!





Here's a BIG fungus for ya @kastoney!

Steve had a ham and cheese omelette that was fluffy and full and I had this:
Breakfast Sliders*
with Egg, Bacon and American Cheese served with Breakfast Potatoes






I don't know what was on the slider rolls, maybe just butter? But while these were basic sounding they were absolutely delicious! We both agreed the eggs were fantastic and we'll return for sure.

With full tummy's we thought it best to start our adventures on safari! This was probably the best safari we've done in years as we saw babies babies and more babies; hippo, zebra, elephant and giraffe and rhino! And the gifaffes but on a show for us as they ALL, as in like 10 together, ran across the road and savanna and one guy was running circles around the others like he was on something good lol. We followed that up with EEx2 and then thought ourselves lucky to catch a viewing of the new KiteTails!

Ahem. We may have quickly realized lucky was not the word; guinea pig fit better. I feel the idea is cute but presentation and content needs to be worked on. We saw Baloo and King Louie balloons and other kites and in videos I've seen Simba as there are 2 different shows around either Lion King or Jungle Book. I adore JB so was thrilled when the show started but there just isn't enough to it? And the kites/balloons are neat but don't always work. But we got to add it to our "50th events and special things we did" list lol!









We found the statues there and decided we needed ice cream and the Plaza would be the perfect place! MK here we came for ice cream sandwiches that lasted about 2 minutes in the heat, more walk on rides and a newer cavalcade. Then it was a little rest time followed by DS shopping and Jock Lindsay's with Jen and Joe where I failed to get pictures of our drinks (food delicious as always) but Jen turned me on to one she's had the day before that was a new seasonal offering! Timmy (their CM son) joined us as well and I enjoyed talking with him about his job.





New cavalcade had Moana, Peter and Wendy and another friend on the back I'll share in the next post!

 

[CruellaNY]

So we hadn't seen this cavalcade in June early August so not sure when it started, but besides Moana and Peter it had Mary on the back as well as Aladdin but sadly I only got his good side:



Jock Linsday's queso, Medjoul Date and Manchego Cheese Flatbread, Tacos Al Pastor and the drink Jenny and I had was this:
Autumn Smash
Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, Lemon Juice, Pear Nectar, Simple Syrup, and a touch of Cinnamon








The 4 of us ended the night at our beloved Geyser Point! I had sworn it would be an early night since the next day was the 1st and would be an early morning and while it wasn't super late, it did involve dock dancing, drinking (drinking before dancing lol) and a viewing of the new 50th anniversary EWP floats which all equaled lots of fun! My pictures of the EWP came out horrible but I'll share the best of the bunch:



A totally great and relaxing day with lots done but no rushing! Next up we celebrate being 50 in a totally different way than we expected!

 

[suse66]

Strange for us right? We haven't eaten there in about 6 years when Ricky requested lunch as it's not really our type of place but we saw the menu on our August trip and it looked good; different for a change! I'm so glad we did as it was really good; hot fresh food and you really can't deny it's adorable inside!

Sounds like a perfect way to start the day!

With full tummy's we thought it best to start our adventures on safari! This was probably the best safari we've done in years as we saw babies babies and more babies; hippo, zebra, elephant and giraffe and rhino! And the gifaffes but on a show for us as they ALL, as in like 10 together, ran across the road and savanna and one guy was running circles around the others like he was on something good lol. We followed that up with EEx2 and then thought ourselves lucky to catch a viewing of the new KiteTails!

What an awesome safari you had! Love when the giraffes put on a show!

Jock Linsday's queso,

Mmmmm, Jack and I had this in August and loved it.

Tacos Al Pastor

We also enjoyed the tacos... they were really good!

The 4 of us ended the night at our beloved Geyser Point! I had sworn it would be an early night since the next day was the 1st and would be an early morning and while it wasn't super late, it did involve dock dancing, drinking (drinking before dancing lol) and a viewing of the new 50th anniversary EWP floats which all equaled lots of fun! My pictures of the EWP came out horrible but I'll share the best of the bunch:

Dock dancing makes an awesome GP night even better!

 

[Wood Nymph]

forgot to mention in my previous update that on our first day as we got off the boat from MK at the Lodge we ran in to Sue @Wood Nymph and her husband Dana! We've had the pleasure of meeting them a few times now and while we knew we were all going to be there we hadn't set anything up so this was a luck coincidence It was another lucky coincidence the following morning when we ran into them again in the lobby!

We were chatting with Steve and Joe in the lobby while they waited for you. I'm glad we ran into you and met Jen and Joe. I don't think we have any overlapping trips coming up.

then thought ourselves lucky to catch a viewing of the new KiteTails!
....
Ahem. We may have quickly realized lucky was not the word; guinea pig fit better.

It looks like more of a disaster than the evening water show was.

And the gifaffes but on a show for us as they ALL, as in like 10 together, ran across the road and savanna and one guy was running circles around the others like he was on something good lol.

That looks really cool. I love the giraffes.

The 4 of us ended the night at our beloved Geyser Point!

Of course you did. It is the best place to hang out.

a viewing of the new 50th anniversary EWP floats

We never got a chance to see the new floats. But we'll be back at the WL in February and hopefully see them then.

 

[kastoney]

I forgot to mention in my previous update that on our first day as we got off the boat from MK at the Lodge we ran in to Sue @Wood Nymph and her husband Dana! We've had the pleasure of meeting them a few times now and while we knew we were all going to be there we hadn't set anything up so this was a luck coincidence

What a fun coincidence. Though I'm pretty sure Sue just lives at the Lodge at this point

Here's a BIG fungus for ya @kastoney!

Ah gee thanks. Only thing better than fungus is BIG fungus

I don't know what was on the slider rolls, maybe just butter? But while these were basic sounding they were absolutely delicious! We both agreed the eggs were fantastic and we'll return for sure.

Those do look strangely good. I was watching some random cooking show yesterday and they were recreating an egg mcmuffin and this totally remind me of that. I don't think I've had one in 20+ years but between that show and your picture I need some breakfast sandwiches in my life

Ahem. We may have quickly realized lucky was not the word; guinea pig fit better.

I've seen a few videos of this show and if I didn't know any better I would have thought it was intentionally bad in that so bad its good kinda way. I recall a water skiing show at our local amusement park in the 70's and this somehow looks worse than that. Which of course means I want to see it

Oh this looks so good. I've been craving some fig pizza but haven't been able to find figs anywhere

My pictures of the EWP came out horrible but I'll share the best of the bunch:

This and spaceship earth are the things I am most excited to see for the 50th. EWP is my first Disney World memory from when I was maybe 5 so it holds a special place in my heart.

 

[kittylady1972]

Yeah after a horrible scungilli experience as a kid I won't touch that lol. I now have a reservation for Nov. AND Dec. and cannot wait!
Ugh we'll probably end up missing each other by like a day or two as usual.....but once you're booked you'll have to lmk!

Well you never know, we haven't really decided yet but trying to work it around my daughter's Spring Break in case she wants to go...and that is the week of March 13th-19th. However my birthday is the 8th so we may go earlier instead. You never know.

I'm very tempted to do a quick Florida trip in December as well and if so we will have to book Toledo I'm sure.

 

[missjackiemcg]

What a perfect leisurely day! We've never done the Rainforest Cafe at AK or DS since we had 2 in Chicago. Sadly, they both closed during the last couple years. Jimmy's favorite place to celebrate his birthday! I'm thinking we may need to revisit our stance on not bothering with it when in FL!

I'm excited to see the new 50th additions to the light parade! And Kite Tails, too....I'm hoping it's so bad it's good, LOL