Another LONG Birthday, Dining and Pictures Trip Report 4/29-5/6

Check-in at our hotel, Port Orleans French Quarter, was pleasant, and they sent us on to our room, which ended up being in building 6 – not too close, but not too far from the food court.



We dropped our bags and headed off for Epcot. We started a tradition last time we were down, of having Spaceship Earth be our first ride of the trip. I called my mother while on board and sent her an “audio post card” so she could listen to the music and narration of the ride. It seemed to be in pretty good shape. The steam was going off in the Rome burns scene, as well as the steam engine scene. Unfortunately they were not working towards the end of the trip. Oh, and I did get to peek behind this wall, and we saw a lot of cables and wires around, so something is going on. Don’t have any idea what, though.




The flowers all around were absolutely beautiful, and thanks to the festival, I am now de-sensitized towards flowers back home. Nothing here is even close to as nice.







We tried to get Fastpasses for Soarin (90 min wait), but the return window was smack in the middle of our dinner reservations, so we had to regroup.

So instead we caught a showing of the Jammitors,




and then headed off to Energy to see it before it went down for a rehab. I took a good hard look at the carpet that was supposedly going to be replaced, and it had indeed seen better days. I’m glad it’s getting some TLC. We picked up Fastpasses for Test Track (60 min standby line), since M:S went down for some unknown reason. We had stood in line for a few moments at M:S before deciding to bail out. After hearing the delay announcement several callus people in line made comments about how now they hoped someone else died, so that way there’d be one less person to wait in line. Some people.

While waiting for our return window to approach, we headed over to the new Character Connection. DH intended on being the photographer, while I was to be the only one in the pictures, but I couldn't let him get away with that. I informed Goofy, Pluto, and Chip and Dale of how camera shy he was, especially since this was his birthday trip, and they marched right over and insisted that he be in the pictures. Nobody can say no to a character.




I must say, while I do miss the Characters on Holiday, and all the charm that brought, the format and the organization of the new Connection was greatly appreciated. No more lines forming everywhere, and less chaos. Although they could improve the background a bit, or up the lighting somewhat, IMHO. It makes for dark pictures.

By then it was Test Track time, and we headed back to use our Fastpasses. The ride was in good shape, with the cones working!

After all this, it was time to head to dinner in China. I mostly let DH pick the places where we ate this trip, and he wanted to concentrate his focus on places with good meat. I’m not sure why he picked China, except that he really seemed to enjoy it last time.

I tried my hardest, but with my awful camera, these were the best shots I got of our food. There are better pictures in my last trip report of some of the same things.For appetizers, I got the Shao Mai, with DH ordering the Beef Skewers.

My Shao Mai were super yummy. I just wish there had been more than 4 of them! DH’s beef looked awful small to me, and I compared it to the same skewers that my mother got the last time we were there, and it seemed that it was one skewer less this time, plus they were a bit on the small side. But he said they were good, and had no complaints.

I got the Sichuan Sea Treasures for my entree. Because I remembered how much I enjoyed it on our last trip, I didn’t even bother to look at the menu. Unfortunately when it arrived I discovered that they had removed the lobster from the mix, and added tofu instead. Upon a closer examination of the menu later, I also saw that they lowered the price by $5, so at least they weren't charging you for the lobster you weren't getting. Anyways, I’m not the biggest tofu fan hurl: ), so I ended up leaving most of them. DH enjoyed his Pepper Beef.





And the best news was that I finally got to try Red Bean Ice Cream! They wouldn’t give it to us last time, since they claimed that it wasn’t included on the Dining Plan. Yet last time they let us get a smoothie, and this time they didn’t. Go figure.

But the ice cream was really very yummy. It tasted like a mildly nutty vanilla, and both of us actually enjoyed it greatly.




After dinner we headed out of the park towards our car… but neither of us remembered where we parked, or what exactly our rental car looked like. So we spent a good 15-20 minutes wandering around the parking lot with the car key fob hoping that the alarm would go off. It turns out that the range on the panic button is awful. It only started honking when we were within 15 feet of it. (thank goodness we didn't actually have to use the panic button for an emergency. I don't know what would have happened :lookaroun ) We wearily climbed in and headed back to the hotel to unpack and get some shuteye.






And what should I find on my bed when we got back? My very first towel animal! So cute.




Day 2 coming as soon as work lets me.

Love it so far! You are so good at these girly!!!

Am I the only one who's hungry now? :lol: :lol: :lol:

Nemo14 said:

Am I the only one who's hungry now? :lol: :lol: :lol:

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This is just day 1! Save some room for the other 6 days! :lol:

Awww. How nice. It sounded like you guys had a great trip, and the pictures are great too!

DisneyBunny said:

Well, it’s about time for me to get working on my trip report. I’m sad to be back, and thanks to a work overload, I’ve been tardy on writing this.

As I did last time, I will focus a bit on the food, since for me, and especially DH, Disney is half about the wonderful food! :slurp:

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ROFLMMEO!!! Okay, Okay, I'm going to read it Bunny, I get the hint! :lol: :animwink:

Mm... Disney food...

Like your previous installment, this TR makes me wish I was there.


NOW. :lookaroun

(Especially the food :lol: )

If you ate at Concourse Steakhouse or ESPN Club, I demand oodles of pics.

dandaman said:

Like your previous installment, this TR makes me wish I was there.


NOW. :lookaroun

(Especially the food :lol: )

If you ate at Concourse Steakhouse or ESPN Club, I demand oodles of pics.

Click to expand...

Your wish is my command... Concourse Pics come on Day 3

Great so far, Bunny!
You're very good at this!

I love this trip report!!! Great job! :sohappy:

Great photos - thanks for the report

Day 2

Sunday 4/30

I woke up early, and while DH slept in, I took a walk around the resort with my morning mug of hot chocolate in my brand-spanking new Port Orleans Mug.

The Hot Tub





All the Disney Busses ready to go




The plan for the day was to get to the Animal Kingdom early to ride Everest, then meet up with the one and only MJ and her Posse, but a call from MJ’s mommy, Bonny, (MommytoMJM) changed our plans for the kinder, gentler streets of the Magic Kingdom. I still wanted to get up and going early, but unfortunately DH got several phone calls and pages from work, and we had to wait for some minor crisis to be solved before we could leave. DH is not a believer in parking lot trams, and we had to hoof it all the way to the TTC from the back lot. I was ready for a nap by the time we reached the front gates! So, I guess it was around 11:30 by the time we were walkin right down the middle of Main Street USA.

I called Bonny up on her cell, and after a few “Where are you right now?’s” we greeted the whole family. We were going to head off to Adventureland but Bonny caught wind of the new Cinco de Mayo ears on sale, and we all headed off to add those to her collection.

Once the purchase was completed, we all settled in for… the Trolley Show! Whee! :sohappy: I had always wanted to see the trolley show, but usually we’re off in another part of the park by the time it happens. I’ve heard the music piped in from distant lands taunting me for too long. So I finally got to cross that off my “things I’ve never seen/done at Disney” list. It was a neat show, and half the performers winked or waved at MJ while dancing. Too cute!





Then we all finally headed off for Adventureland and the Treehouse. I passed this one up, while DH took off to climb the stairs with MJ and crew. They came back, and for the second time around a line started to form! A line for the treehouse! Madness. :veryconfu

Bonny and Me, waiting for the adventurous tree-climbers to return





From there we went to catch Pirates before it closed. I was happy to see that it was still open for one last day, and that they didn’t decide to close it on the day of our arrival. I dearly love the Pirates, and have reservations about the changes. Only time will tell, I guess. We had to ride swap on Pirates, with the line being about 15-20 min for each.

I think next up was lunch at Pinocchio’s Village Haus. DH and I were big fans of the Noodle station, and no matter what anyone else says about it, we thought there was very good food to be had there. So we were sorry to lose our favorite place to eat in the MK. We’re not big WDW burger people, so I thought we’d give the new Italian menu a try. I noticed that Figaro fries now count as a snack, but we never did get around to trying them all week.

I ordered the Turkey Panini, and DH got the Italian Sub, with chips on the side and Cannoli’s for dessert.



Turkey Panini

Italian Sub

I loved my panini – it had tomatoes and basil on it, and I’ll eat anything with basil. Yum! DH liked his sub just fine, but felt that it was too much bread, and not enough filler. The chips didn’t fare too well, though. MJ and DH took turns smashing them to bits on the table. We were also warned that MJ likes to play with your drink, and if we wanted to we should sit a bit down the table so we wouldn’t get covered. Well, it didn’t mind us much, but sure enough, DH ended up wearing his Coke. :lol: It didn’t matter too much, though, and ended up drying quickly in the heat.

Our cannolis for dessert were really yummy, and I thought on par with those you could find at a sit down restaurant. :slurp:

After we had eaten lunch and recharged, we went off to child swap on the Haunted Mansion and the Big Thunder Mountain. We even got to ride twice in a row on Big Thunder thanks to their running an odd number of trains.

Look who we found in the Pet Cemetary of the Haunted Mansion. I never noticed this before!



From there we headed to see the Country Bears ( with DH and I clapping and singing along with them to our personal favorite “Mama don’t whup lil Bueford”) MJ got out her tiny pink parasol during the Teddy Barra Part so she could be just like the swinging bear. So adorable.

Then it was off to tomorrowland! We all piled onto the TTA, with the guys in one car, and the gals in another. We took a few relaxing laps around, until MJ decided that she wanted us all to lean down with her… then up again. She does have that way of wrapping you around her little finger. So to her insistant “UP!” and “DOWN!’s” we all responded accordingly. DH thought it was a riot to see all of us disappear then pop back up again, only to disappear again. :lol:



When we all piled off, the girls headed for Space Mountain, while the guys went with MJ to the Indy Speedway. It took us much longer than we had anticipated to ride SM, because there were no transfer wheelchairs to be found anywhere in Tomorrowland. We waited for one to be located, or to see if we could get clearance to drive the ECV down the windy pathway. Apparently, being how it was Grad Night the night before, some of the grads decided it would be fun to drag race around the park in the transfer wheelchairs, and leave none for those who needed them the next day.

After that frustration, we rode SM, and met up with the guys in the gift shop. We said our goodbyes and “We’ll see you tomorrow”s to everyone, since it was time for us to head off to Epcot for our dinner at the Rose and Crown.

Upon arrival at the Rose and Crown, we told a really nice CM at the check-in podium that it was DH’s birthday trip, and if there was any way of securing an elusive veranda seat so we could watch Illuminations. She told us what she had been telling the other people who had been asking for the same thing – that they can’t really honor any requests, but I think she saw that it was his birthday, and she went away to see what she could do.
:drevil:

A few minutes later when our pager went off, we were escorted to a PERFECT table smack dab in the middle of the veranda, right next to the railing, and right next to where the first shot is fired for Illuminations. We couldn’t have asked for a better seat in the house. We did miss a little of the inside ambiance, but the view more than made up for it.



For our appetizers we ordered the fruit and cheese plate, along with the prawn cocktail. We were very happy with our cheese plate, and enjoyed sampling the cheese.

Cheese Plate

I didn’t know what to expect with the prawn cocktail. I knew it wouldn’t be a standard shrimp with cocktail sauce, so I wasn’t surprised when they brought it out. It was OK. It tasted like shrimp, which isn’t that bad of a thing, but not much else. Perhaps it was too bland for our spicy palates. I don’t think we’d order it again the next time we go.


The best picture I have of the Prawn Cocktail (frustrating camera :brick: )

DH got the steak and I got the steak and fish. We asked if we could substitute chips for our mashed potatoes, and the friendly server agreed. It took a while to get our entrees, but we amused ourselves by watching the ducks swim by. They arrived about 3 minutes before Illuminations started, so we had a nice bit of dinner theater while we ate. DH’s steak was good, and he was especially thrilled with the Yorkshire Pudding, which he almost never gets at home.



Mine was a bit on the tough side, but that was more the cut of meat, rather than the preparation. Unfortunately mine came with mashed potatoes, and the server noticed and quickly whisked out a little basket of chips, which I quickly saturated with Malt Vinegar. Sooo good. :slurp:





After our wonderful dinner entertainment ended, it was time for dessert. DH and I both ordered the Sticky Toffee Pudding on the recommendation of our server. We liked it OK, with DH finishing his off. I’m not that big on toffee, so I left a little of mine. All in all, we were very pleased with the Rose and Crown and would certainly eat there again.




Another good thing about eating there, was that by the time we were done eating, the crowds had thinned considerably, and there was no hustle to get to the parking lot. Plus the fact that most of the cars had gone, made finding our car much easier than it had been the night prior. So we headed off for another night’s sleep.

Day 3 coming up soon!