My attempt at a trip report (a week late)

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nwalsh's picture
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My attempt at a trip report (a week late)

We left on Saturday, May 19th, flying from Philly to Orlando on Southwest. Took Disney's Magical Express to Pop Century, arriving around 4pm. Checked-in, picked up John's birthday cake, and went to room. We did get a quick bite to eat in the food court. Since it was still early, and we wanted to get some Disney excitement, we went to Epcot and strolled around Future World. We rode Spaceship Earth, Mission:Space, and Journey into Imagination. No fast passes available for Soarin'. More about that later. Then we went to Boardwalk, walked around a bit, got a CUPCAKE!!!, and then stopped in Big River Brewery for a few adult beverages. Then back to our hotel.

Sunday, May 20th: We went to Epcot again, this time we went to the World Showcase. I got my passport stamped by all but Italy :-/ We had lunch at Le Cellier. It was good, but not somewhere we'd have to visit again. We rode pretty much all the (few) rides in that area. We both got a Grand Marnier slushie!!! We did the Wine Walk around the World (Italy, Germany, and France). We then caught the monorail to Polynesian for dinner at 'Ohana. That was an amazing meal, and John got lei'd for his birthday!!!

Monday, May 21st: We went to Magic Kingdom. Went through Main Street. Made our way backwards through time. Went on Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Astro Orbiter. Ate lunch at Cosmic Ray's, good for plain chicken sandwiches. Made plans to meet up with MrHub and Scrappy later that night after dinner. Did Hall of Presidents and Carousel of Progress. Walked in and back out of Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. Rode around on the People Mover for a quick break. Missed doing Pirates, and a little upset about that, but we'll have to plan another trip for that. Rode around the monorail system for a while. Went to Contemporary Resort for California Grill for dinner. AMAZING!!!!! Left to go back to Magic Kingdom to meet up with MrHub and Scrappy for fireworks. Great people!!! They even invited us on a fireworks cruise with them on Tuesday night!!

Tuesday, May 22nd: Kind of a relax day (didn't completely work out that way though). I let John sleep in while I did some laundry. Gave me something to do anyway. We went to Typhoon for a little less than 2 hours. Went on all 3 slides of Crush 'n' Gusher, Storm Slides, and Humunga Kowabunga (HOLY WEDGIE!!!!!!!). And I didn't spaz on any of them, so thanks for the reassurance. Already pushing time, we head back to hotel to change for dinner. John then was hit by bird turd, and had to shower. So our relax day ended up with us half running to our ADR at Le Chefs de France in Epcot. Saw Remy at another table, and I asked our waiter if he will come to our table, and he assured us he goes to every table. Later, I asked again, and he assured me again, but said he would check anyway. Well, he had already gone back into the kitchen, and the waiter felt awful. So he took my camera and got me a couple of pictures of Remy and him standing with Remy. At least he put forth the effort, and I appreciated very much!! No fast passes for Soarin' again. I know they go quick, but I really wanna go on this ride!! We take monorail to Polynesian for a few drinks before our fireworks cruise. The most amazing thing ever is watching the fireworks from the water!!! So thank you to MrHub and Scrappy for the invite!!!

Wednesday, May 23rd: Hollywood Studios. Went on Tower of Terror, got fast pass for Rock 'n Roller Coaster, then went to Lunch with an Imagineer. We had Melissa Jeselnick, who was great!! She spoke of her schooling and interests, how she got involved with Disney, and which projects she's been involved with. Very much worth the time and money. Got our signed plates, and headed back to Rock 'n Roller Coaster. Did Star Tours twice (just stayed on ride since there was no line). Did The Great Movie Ride, and Muppets 3D. Found the Singin' in the Rain umbrella on the street corner. Then headed out to our ADR at Biergarten in (where else?) Epcot. Really good food and atmosphere. Then headed back to hotel to relax.

Thursday, May 24th: Animal Kingdom. Wild Africa Trek at 9:30am. Walking to get there, we saw DiVine. I was so excited to have spotted her!!! Watched a short amount of her routine, but had to get moving. The Trek was great!! Very informative, and a great adventure. Their scripts are a bit corny, but it was fun. After Trek was done, we went on Expedition Everest (single rider line, but ended up on same ride, just different cars), Dinosaur, It's tough to be a bug, Primeval Whirl (I love bumpy rides, but that was a bit too rough), and checked out the Tree of Life. Gave away our fast passes to Kali River Rapids. Got to bus stop just in time for the downpour!!! Went to dinner at Sanaa. We were really looking forward to it, and it was the only place that was a let down. The atmosphere was just ok, and the food was eh...

Friday, May 25th: Sad cause it's check out day. We went to breakfast at Cape May Cafe. Very good, and I'm glad I added it last minute. Then to Epcot for our LAST CHANCE at Soarin'. We pretty much knew we weren't going to do it, but wanted to give it one last shot. As we were walking along behind a REALLY SLOW couple, and about to pass them, they turned around and said "would you like fast passes to Soarin', we're not staying long enough to go". Um... YES!!!!!!!!!!!! We couldn't believe it!!! I mean, what are the chances?!?! We had about a 30 minutes wait, and it was sooooooo worth it!!! I do believe it was my favorite ride there. We catch the bus back to our hotel, and spot a huge brush fire in the near distance. That fire apparently diverted all the highway traffic through Disney property, which caused big traffic delays. Our DME bus was scheduled at 4:45pm. The 4:15pm bus arrived at 4:50pm. Our bus arrived at 5:30pm. Got to the airport at about 6:45pm. Huge lines at security checkpoint, and by the time we got to our terminal, it was 7:25, and we walked right on the plane, scheduled for 7:45pm. Glad we didn't get there any later.

So, that was our trip. And I can't wait to start planning the next one!!!

I'll try to add some pictures soon, or at least a link to them.

Since this was my first trip report, let me know what I missed or need to add Smile

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finngirl's picture
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Great report. I felt like I was there again. laugh

You gave away your fast passes for Kali River Rapids, and you got rewarded by having someone give YOU their Soarin' fastpasses. How awesome was that! I look forward to your pictures.

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great report, sounds like a fun trip

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Finngirl- i did feel as though i was rewarded with the fast passes. I couldn't believe our good fortune! !

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What fun!

I am getting that Disney bug again. . . Big smile

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Great trip report Smile

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Yay! Awesome trip report, sounds like you got a good trip in there. I can't wait to see some of your pictures!

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I left out one big detail... On Monday, after getting back from our fireworks cruise, John and I got DOLE WHIPS!!!!! I ate most of them though, he took too long getting our drinks from the bar, and it would have been a shame to let them melt laugh I had forgotten about where to get it, and I spotted the machine walking past restaurant in Polynesian. I think I yelped and/or screeched a little (MrHub was witness to my excitement), and he got a pic of me dispensing them hahaha

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Here she is! First Dole Whip!

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Great job on the trip report! You got yours done before me.

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Nice TR, I'm sad you didn't enjoy Sanaa its one of my favorite restaurants.
Dee mickey

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Hopefully this link works to my facebook pictures.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3686300789683.158823.1040045536&type=3

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That link takes me to a message that says the page in unavailable. I'm not authorized to view.

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I thought I changed it from 'friends' to 'public', but apparently that was all it was, a thought... lol... I changed it so if you don't mind trying again??? Sorry...

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Yes! That worked, I was able to view them, but not like them or comment on them.

Looks like a great time!

The sauteed potato gnocchi looked so good to me right now! Where did you have those? You ate at lots of my favorite places (Cape May, Sanaa, Ohana). So sad to hear that Sanaa was a let down for you, I prefer it at lunch time rather than dinner. It's less crowded at lunch, and the animals on the savanna are active and yo can see them. I also think the Sanaa lunch menu is more friendly for people that aren't used to Indian/African flavors (like me). The one time I was there for dinner the Happy Birthday drumming went on for 20 minutes and it drove me batty, I also missed being able to watch the animals right out the window.

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The gnocchi was from Le Cellier. It was very good!!! I think we will have to try Sanaa at lunch time. Maybe that was the problem. And the fact that I think I just thought it was going to be Cali Grill quality, and it just wasn't. We got to see some animals roaming around before we ate though. I think next time we go, Cali Grill and Ohana are definates for repeat visits. Maybe Chefs de France too. Will be looking forward to trying new places too. Gonna be planning a group trip with friends in Fall/Winter 2014, but we may be able to swing another trip next year too. Already have another vacation planned for next year... friends destination wedding in Florida, into a cruise I had already planned (not DCL sad ) , into a few days in Florida Keys. Ugh, I better start saving my pennies!!

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California Grill is signature dining, so not really a fair comparison for Sanaa. Jiko is the AKL restaurant that would be comparable to the fine dining at California Grill. Give it a try for lunch if you have a chance!

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I didn't really mean to compare them that way. I know Sanaa isn't a signature restaurant, so I guess it wasn't really fair. It's just that I hyped myself up so much and it wasn't what I expected. It wasn't bad food, just wasn't what my mind thought it was going to be lol. I will try it again for lunch, as you suggest.

Also, on a really good note... We got our Wild Africa Trek photo CD a few days ago. And our regular Photo Pass CD came in the mail today!!! mickey Hurray for more Disney pictures!!!!!!! I made a few of the pictures with a border, and now I'm having them printed up at walgreens for much cheaper than I would have paid on their site.

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Yay more pictures!

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A few for starters...

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A few for starters...

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Oops... now it's not letting me add attachments again... I'll try again tomorrow

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OK...Where did you get the Mickey Phillies T-shirts? They're awesome!

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I got them at the Phils game last year in one of their stores in the stadium. I don't know if you can get them online, or if they even carry them any longer as I haven't been to a game yet this season. You may be able to call them?? They're men's shirts. I think the ladies had minnie mouse on it, and was a more form fitting cut. :-/

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