A Toddler at the Grandparents + Two Parents = An Amazing Disney Vacation

My husband texted me the other day to remind me that a year ago he began to plan our first vacation ever (we have been married for 13yrs) and our first trip to Disney World. Like many of you, we spent countless hours poring over books, brochures, blogs, podcasts, DISCUSSION BOARDS and articles about the World to aid us in having a trip of a lifetime. Now that our amazing trip is over – we are going through withdrawals and other than planning for another trip to Disney the only thing I could think of to cure this withdrawal and depression is to write a Trip Report.

So, here we go!!!

Who: me (Catherine 38yrs) and my DH (Rob 35yrs – yep, I married a younger man..LOL). We were leaving our 3yr old with Grandma and Grandpa for the week… yippee!!!!!!

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When: Oct 16th (happened to be my bday) thru Oct 21st
Resort: All Star Movies

Before I begin… thank you everyone who have posted trip reports in the past (HollyBelle, Fractal, Blackthidot, WDWFigment, MillerPoppins, etc…) you helped us make the time go by fast as we counted down to our vacation. Well… with that – my first trip report….

On Saturday morning, October 15th we packed up the car and strapped our 3yr old in and headed “downstate” Michigan. (that is what us folks from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan say when we head below the bridge) We were headed for my husband’s folk’s house, where we would be spending the night and leaving our little boy while we traveled to Walt Disney World. (we decided to go by ourselves since he is young and since we’ve never been on a vacation together) Our trip downstate for the most part went well. Despite a traffic jam due to construction on the Mackinaw Bridge that slowed us down CONSIDERABLY, it took us an hour to go a ½ mile.!!!
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But, we made it to Rob’s folk’s house and after a long day called it a night.



Day I
A journal entry on Sunday, Oct 16th at 5:45AM (while we were waiting to board our plane)
Happy 28th Birthday to me! (ugh, 38???)
We said goodbye to Jonah last night at bedtime. He was not phased at all and didn’t care that we wouldn’t be there when he woke up. He was more interested in grandma and grandpa and all they had planned.
We left the house at 4:50am and headed to Flint! What a gorgeous fall morning! It was still dark out of course but it was calm, no snow and no deer!!! It was a quick drive! Our arrival at the gate was just as smooth! We didn’t have any issues at security and didn’t get a pat down or a body scan…. darn! haa haa (note the sarcasm)
Oh, I’m so excited! I feel so close to my husband now – we are on an adventure together and the only goal is that we enjoy being together and we have fun. I’m pretty much at the point where no words are even needed.

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The flight was smooth (it seemed to take forever though – even though we arrived earlier than scheduled). We paid a little extra to board early, which was a great decision! As the morning sun was rising over the clouds, I couldn’t help but feel like a child – amazed at what I was seeing and jumping inside with excitement due to our destination!
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We made our way down to ME by 10am and waited in line for maybe 20min. It was amazing to see in person all that we had read about and seen from everybody else’s trip reports. We couldn’t believe we were finally there! We hopped on our bus and we were off.

The obligatory photo of the airport..
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Trying to stay cool and collected on our monorail trip to the terminal.
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Yay!
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Off we go!
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Now, the ME was not quite what we had heard it was or could be. Our poor driver couldn’t really speak English well and his loud speaker didn’t work either. So, he spent the whole trip talking into this speaker that he KNEW wasn’t working and then in this accent that us Northerners could not make out exactly. to add to it, the movie on the bus wasn’t working either. It only played the opening and then would get stuck. This bus had issues. It didn’t bother us though – I felt real bad for the driver but I entertained myself with looking out the window at all the wonderful birds, vegetation and sights! I was overwhelmed already and we hadn’t even made it to Disney World. haa Yea, we’re from a small isolated area up in the U.P.
 

catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
Day 3 – Disney Hollywood Studios

Morning came quickly and also unexpected. So unexpected that we didn’t hear the alarm go off and didn’t get up until about 9am. We flew out of bed, got ready and made coffee and grabbed our breakfast. Yummy trail mix! We were on the bus by 10am and at the park at 10:35am. We had another hot and cloudy day. But, it wasn’t raining, so we weren’t going to complain.

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Now, when I woke up I did not feel well at all. Not only was my low back killing me (I think the walking and the rides were catching up to me) but the biggest problem was the bottoms of my feet. They were COVERED with blisters! Not only the bottoms were hurting by the tops of my toes were also full of them. Tylenol had helped the previous day – but on Tuesday, they were full blown blisters. I had a total of 5 on my left foot and 6 on my right foot. OUCH! It hurt every time I stood, took a step or moved. I just didn’t know how I was going to do it – but I didn’t want to say too much because I didn’t want to bum my husband out. We had been looking forward to this trip and it was a dream come true – I did not want to be the one to hold us back. I fought off the tears for the first half of the morning and with every step I bit harder on my lips.

My feet before we took off in the morning….
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We made a good decision at that point to rent a locker so that we could just put our big backpack in there and then carry our camera. This ended up helping Rob so much and if Rob is happy then I could deal.

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Rob wanted this picture of me. Here’s a little secret – I am bummed that I am too old to be a contestant for American Idol. I know that I would never win, but I would love to try out. If only I had the guts, the confidence, the time and the good feet – I would have done the AI experience. This is the closest I got to it.

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Walking down Hollywood Blvd Rob I was surprised at how much it had changed since I had been there years ago. Back then it was called MGM, so not only has the lay out and attractions changed but so has the name.

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We decided that the first thing we would do is to grab a fast pass for Star Tours. This was the biggest thing on our DHS list. So, we grabbed those and then headed to Muppet Vision where I could forget my feet and worries. We didn’t even reach Muppet Vision when I just kinda decided to sit on a bench and I started crying. Oh yea, not the happy overwhelmed cry – but the “I’m a baby” cry. I was feeling sorry for myself and just didn’t know how I was going to last the whole day. A simple look from Rob told me it was ok and that we were just going to take it one step at a time. So, that we did and as the morning went on – my attitude had changed, my Advil/Tylenol kicked in and I was starting to have fun again.
 

catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
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There really isn’t anything like being surrounded by the heroes and heroines that you grew up with. Every weekend my family would gather around the TV to watch the Muppet Show. It was tradition! Here I was, 38yrs old and I could almost hear my brother doing his impression of Fozzy and my sister cackling at The Chef. What memories – Thank you Disney for stirring up those memories in me again!

We spent some time in the Muppet gift shop. Here is where the “kicking myself” begins. I saw these stuffed Muppets – and I loved them! So much, that I took pictures of them. I thought about getting one, but I knew that if I got one I would want a few of them. Plus, I just figured it was a waste of money – they would just collect dust and end up in our son’s toy box. (which he needs more toys like he needs a hole in the head) So, I didn’t buy them. Do you know I think of those blasted things all the time????? Why didn’t I get them!!!!! AWH!!!!!!!

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As we left the gift shop it was beginning to sprinkle and we noticed that the Cars meet and greet was going on. CARS is our son’s favorite (well, it was that week… you know how toddlers are about favorites). So, we knew we HAD to show him how we had a picture taken with Lightening McQueen and Mater. If I had thought I felt awkward to get our picture taken with Donald or Pooh/Tigger – then this was mortifying! It was so strange! I mean, at least with the other characters they interacted with you a bit. The photopass guy/entourage kinda gave us a look like, “uh, you know these are not people right, they’re just pretend right???”. But, we posed and smiled. We were right – the photo really impressed our little guy too! We are now “Cool” in his eyes.

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catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
Cute TR! Looking forward to the rest :wave:

Thanks for following!!!! More to come... I'm just getting started!


Loving your trip report! I think we have all been there at the end of A long night and waiting for the next bus.
Great recap of your night in Epcot. Looking forward to more of you and
Rob's adventures!

Thanks! It was a long wait - I just think we were spoiled though. Because we didn't have to REALLY wait for anything. So, when we had to wait for more than 20min for anything I was caught off guard. But yes, those lines for the bus are true birth control!!! All those tired little ones!!! Yikes.

OK, well now you've got me hungry for food that goes well beyond what's in the house and drinks that would require a trip to the liquor store. :lol: Great TR- can't wait to read more!!!

Hope you found something to satisfy your hunger! Thanks for reading!!!
 

catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
The rain was slowly coming down as we left the meet and greet but good news… our Star Tours FPs were up!!!! We ended up walking straight on – and actually could have just walked on without a FP. The que (from what we saw of it since we were racing through the line), looked awesome! I tried getting some pictures but I am no Tom Bricker or HollyBelle so all of my pictures were blurry. (I have yet to be able to understand nor perfect the whole ISO and Shutter speed science)

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I LOVED LOVED LOVED Star Tours!!! Now, I like Star Wars but I’m not a big fan of it. Let me be real honest, I have never seen the original Star Wars nor the “best SW movie” Empire Strikes Back. This is something I would like to do though in the near future. I loved the attraction though. It was a blast! My husband, the real fan in our small family, also loved it but was not interested in riding it again without a “break”. So, we spent some time in the conveniently placed gift shop!

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We walked down the Streets of America when we heard some great music – MULCH SWEAT AND SHEARS!!!! They were great! Not only did they sound good but in addition to that, they were great entertainers!!!!

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Well, it was time to keep moving… the Backlot Tour was calling our names. Actually, it was my way of getting some time to sit down and give my blisters a rest! I was really surprised that the Backlot Tour had a line! It was practically silent everywhere else at the park – probably because they were all in line at the Backlot Tour. We waited about 15min to move and then it was time to get some people wet!!!

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So, there was a fella and his wife/girlfriend that were sharing the seat with us in the tram. It was really strange… the guy was much much older than the young woman but they were affectionate (so I’m pretty sure they weren’t father/daughter). That wasn’t the strange part – the strange part was how the guy was freaking out at the prospect that he may get wet on the tour when they show the explosion/flood. He was acting like a child. It was obvious that he had been on it because he was getting ready for it before we got that that section. He had his umbrella and he was irritated that they were on the left side of the tram. He didn’t want to be on that side. He may have had some issues…but it was really strange. Just one of those things where the outside looks nothing like reality. You know?

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It was great to be so close to something that was a part of Disney history!

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I loved looking through the “museum” of all the different artifacts!

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catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
The gift shop after the tour was very cool! There were so many cool things in there! I could have spent a long time in there, but our tummys were rumbeling!

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As we were walking out of the gift shop and down the little sidewalk we noticed Mike standing all by himself with no line! Ok, it was time to enter the “weird zone” again… but there was no line. We HAD to!

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After our photo, we walked out into the street and BAM!!! The Studio Catering Co. was staring at us!!!

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Now, from the first day we started researching DHS, we had heard all kinds of things about how the food at the Studio Catering Co. was horrible!!! But frankly, we chose it because it was right there – and I didn’t have to do a ton of walking to get there! Pretty sad huh? That sad, I am SO GLAD that we ate there! It was great! Now, I didn’t have anything difficult – I had the Greek Salad and Marble Cheesecake. Rob had the Pressed Turkey Club, Fries and the Marble Cheesecake. My greek salad was AMAZING!!! Ok, so here comes the confession. Out of all of the food we ate at WDW – this Greek salad is what I think of weekly!!! There was just something about it! Maybe it was the day or the cold crunchy food on a hot humid day, but it was amazing! Rob loved his sandwich and we both enjoyed the dessert as well. We thought it was great and would SO go there again!

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With full tummies, more energy, rested feet and hope – we continued on!!!!

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Welcome to Pixar Place!

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I was so impressed by this “entrance” to Pixar Place. Being from a small town in Michigan I am used to a LOT of greenery! I didn’t realize how much I had been missing it until we walked into Pixar Place. It was just so green! I felt at home suddenly and calm.

We didn’t do anything here – I know…shame shame. But, the FPs were into the evening at this point and the wait time was 50min. So, we decided to keep moving. Although, not without taking some photo opps!

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catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
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We kept walking, taking it all in and basically RAN into One Man’s Dream. That was on our “wish list” so we went on in and toured around. What a great attraction!!! We LOVED it. It was so exciting just walking around the museum, holding hands and recalling memories of our childhood. Rob really wanted to do the Animators Studio and we were SO lucky… the wait was only like 10min. So, we sat in the little “holding area” and watched the crowds meet their favorite heroes and heroines at the Incredibles meet and greet! We walked into our classroom and found out that our character we were going to draw was TIGGER! Yeah! We both had a great time at this! I am a fairly creative person and this was perfect for me to be able to feed that part of my brain and to SIT DOWN a bit!

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Coming Soon… hitting the wall and you won’t believe the people you run into at WDW!
 

erstwo

Well-Known Member
I love this TR! You guys are just the cutest couple and I can tell from your 'narration' that you are just the sweetest! Can't wait to keep on reading (I'm up to right before the day at DHS!)

Before Illuminations began we noticed that an older couple in front of us were having some problems. The wife was sitting down and didn’t look too good. It was hard not to watch and wonder what was happening. Even when Illuminations started, I had a really hard time watching it. I was worried for them and I guess nosey. It ended up, that they brought in a nurse or NP and then a medical response team. There we were – standing there watching (or trying to watch) fireworks and this woman was being attended to. They ended up taking her out on a stretcher. Now, while all of this is going on, the clouds part and it begins to pour! It’s very sad – but I hardly remember a thing about Illuminations. Again, it will have to wait till next time I guess.

So sorry about this! I hope that lady was okay and I know the next time you watch you will love it!

Oh - and that dad yelling at his little kid. I totally agree! I do keep my kids out late now - but when they were little, they were 'home' in our hotel room by 8!
 

catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
After pretending we were animators, we left and proceeded to get completely turned around and semi-lost in the Animators Courtyard. I don’t know if it was the hot sun and lack of water or what – but we were totally confused. I hope it wasn’t just us.

We wanted to see Voyage of the Little Mermaid but the next show wasn’t going to be anytime soon, so we decided to keep moving.

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We walked up to the Great Movie Ride and figured it was the perfect time to see us some Judy Garland and Fred Astaire, but the waiting time was crazy. It was 30min at that point. It must have been a mistake looking back, because the line wasn’t that long – but we were both at the point where I think our patience was starting to exhaust. As we were walking in the Animators Courtyard, my stomach started not feeling very well at all. I have a real touchy stomach so I figured it was just me so we kept moving. But, as we were standing at the Chinese Theater, I was feeling worse and worse. Again, I didn’t want to say too much because I didn’t want to ruin Rob’s time – but I felt green. Then suddenly, we heard music… FUN music! It was the Countdown to Fun parade. We had not staked out our claim 45min beforehand, so there really was nowhere near the parade route to get a good view. So, we took in front of “The Hat”, up on the steps there and watched it. It was a great place to watch it from! I was able to get some great pictures of the Pixar characters … more head on instead of looking up at them! This parade, I thought, was great!!! The music was fun and who doesn’t get happy and forget their cares when they see Woody, Sully and the alien guys!!!

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Sorry, MillerPoppins – but I really do like Remy.

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After the afternoon parade we headed down Sunset Blvd, where I tried my best to keep my composure and also make our way down to see Beauty and the Beast. There in the near distance was the Tower of Terror – now, I wanted to do this attraction SO BAD!!! Rob didn’t really want to do it, but I didn’t want to be there and NOT do it. The themeing was just TOO good not to do it. But, there I was – green and wanting to drop. I just didn’t have it in me. I was very disappointed but I did my best not to let it get me down. I believe Rob was silently thankful that I wasn’t feeling “up to it”, so it took him off the hook. We came upon a Photo Pass person though, so we had to get our picture taken.

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It is so close…

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catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
We stood at the sidewalk, waiting for them to allow the audience to walk up to the theater for Beauty and the Beast. As soon as they opened the gate (I’m pretty sure there was a gate?), we were focused and we made our way! We were able to get good seats – right in the middle about half way up. (Good for watching the show, not good if you are sick and need to have a plan to get out) Needless to say, we sat and waited. This theater is just so beautiful! I had never been to a theater like this. Up north, we just don’t have this kind of stuff. You’d only be able to use it for 2months. I was overcome by how beautiful it was. I remember the trees around the theater and how they provided (along with the fans) a nice breeze.

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Beauty and the Beast was wonderful! I was impressed by the quality of their voices and the dancing! (I was a music major in college and so I can be somewhat of a vocalist snob) I made it through the musical but I was just barely holding on. So, I suggested we call it a day and head back to the hotel to rest a bit and then get ready for our ADR (oye – more eating!!!!)

Before we left though, we wanted to stop by a little shop and buy some Mickey ears for our son and his cousin (who was his play buddy the week we were gone). Out of ALL the different kind of ears you can get, we picked the traditional/simple ones and had their names embroidered. They did a nice job on the embroidery and the boys LOVED them!

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We walked back to the entrance and while I waited for Rob to get our stuff from the locker, I took the opportunity to take some photos.

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We headed out to the bus stop and WAITED… about 30min. I was really surprised how far the ASMovie bus stop was … it almost seemed better to have taken you own car. Well, maybe that was the hot Florida sun and squirmish tummy that was talking – but it felt like a long ways away!

We got back to the resort at 5:15pm, rested a bit and then got dressed and ready for our ADR’s at The Flying Fish Café. We boarded the Epcot bus at 7:15pm and we were off. When we got over to Epcot it seemed as though it had rained at some point there – as the air was thick with humidity and everyone had their rain gear out. Luckily though, it wasn’t raining – so we missed it! Of course, as soon as we got to Epcot, we HAD to go on Spaceship Earth. (we can’t pass it without going on it) So, we headed on up and through time and then when we landed back in 2011, we headed over to Club Cool. We didn’t have time the day before to stop there, so since we were walking on by we thought we would take it in.

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Thank you everyone for warning us newbies about the Beverly. Yep, it was UNIQUE. haa haa
 

catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
Off we went, walking past Canada and through the United Kingdom to the Friendship Ferrys. We walked right on our boat and within seconds (it felt) we were docking at the Boardwalk. What a beautiful sight it was! It was dark out, and hardly anyone out. The lights reflected off of the wet ground so everything just shone. As we made our way up the dock, Rob started taking pictures while I headed for “land”. I was at the end of the dock when I heard someone yelling my name (a woman’s voice). Then I saw these two women waving their hands in front of me. Since it was dark I wasn’t sure who it was, until I got closer! It was Rob’s aunt and his cousin!!!!! They live downstate Michigan and it has been almost a year since we’ve seen them. (we normally see them every couple of years) His aunt’s husband had a conference there and so the girls went down with him and had been spending a couple days wondering the parks. I couldn’t believe it! Out of that HUGE park and all those people – I literally walked right up to them! They had no idea we were down there, nor us them. Even though it’s Walt Disney World, it still is a small small world.

We had to get a picture to prove to Rob’s mom that we saw her sister. haa

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After saying goodbye to our family we took some more pictures since we were quite early for our ADRs.

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We decided to see if they could take us in a little early for our 8:40pm ADR, so we headed on in. While we waited a bit we took in the themeing of this restaurant. It really is an amazing place. I loved the art work and the details!

When you walk in the door the hostess’s desk is right in front of you. This wall of hand blown “fish vases” welcome you.

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The lighting is perfect and it feels quaint without feeling stuffy.

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My favorite were the ceiling lights. It was as if you were underwater, and fishermen had dropped their hooks alongside the lilly pads. How cool!!!

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We started out with some drinks… I don’t remember what exactly I ordered – I know it was non-alcoholic though (tummy was better, but I knew it could come back at any point). Rob had the Riesling Flight. We both loved our drinks… Rob’s flight was so good!

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We had known from the first month we had planned this trip that we wanted to eat here. The reviews sounded so good and we loved the location. What was a big selling point to me was the fact that one of their appetizers was called, "Crispy Main Coast Jonah Crab Cake" With a Savory Vegetable Slaw, roasted red pepper coulis and ancho chile remoulade

Since our son’s name is Jonah – we HAD to try this. It was one of the best things I have ever tasted!!!

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catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
Our waiter, Curley, was a big guy! Just had a big build and was bald. The nickname was a hoot. Anyway, he was fantastic. Very sure of himself and knew the menu and the food very well. Come to find out he was from Michigan as well. So, we had a nice talk and I think he was interested in what was happening in Michigan with the economy and all.

For our entre’ I decided to go with the Our Signature Flying Fish Café “Potato-wrapped Red Snapper” Leek Fondue with a Veal Glace, Red Wine, and Cassis Butter Reduction. Rob ordered the Oak-grilled Maine Diver Scallops Celery Root, Wild and Cultivated Mushrooms, Vermont Mascarpone, and Pecorino- laced Risotto di Carnarolli with Jamon Serrano Cracklins.

My snapper…

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Rob’s scallops…

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I have to say that my snapper was ok. It wasn’t bad but the leeks really had a strong taste and frankly overpowered the fish, in my opinion. It just wasn’t exactly what I was hoping it would be. Rob’s meal, however – was AMAZING! (Ok, there’s that word again, but I just don’t know what else to say) I had never tasted scallops so good before and the risotto was perfect!

Curly came out with a dessert for me (Remember, they had my bday and our anniversary dinners switched). It was a Key Lime cheesecake.

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I only had a bite or two because I really had my heart set on another dessert. We had the dining plan so it came with a dessert and I had my heart set on their “Trio of Concession Sweets: “Out on the BoardWalk ” (Popcorn Mousse and Caramel Corn, Cherry-Limeade Popsicle, and Peanut Butter-Chocolate-Marshmallow “Moon Pie”
and Pound Cake “Fries” So, I ordered it and Rob ordered the Spiced Red Anjou Pear Upside-down Cake Candied Ginger Ice Cream, Apple Cider Reduction,
and a Matcha-Green Tea Tuile.

Rob’s dessert…

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Mine…

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Ok, so after I ordered my dessert – my stomach started back up. ugh!!! So, I smiled when Curley brought out the FABULOUS Trio. But inside – I wanted to cry. I tried everything and ate the entire popsicle. Oh gosh – it was all SO good! I wanted to eat it all, the spirit was willing but the body was weak.

We left the Flying Fish at 10:30pm and walked over to the Boardwalk Resort. There was NO ONE outside and it was gorgeous out. We walked into the resort and somehow found our way to the bus stop. We were going to take the bus to the Magic Kingdom and then switch busses to ASMovies. There was one other family at the stop with us, they were going to be doing the same thing but they were staying at Coronado Springs. When we boarded the bus our two families were the only ones on the bus. So, the other family (who seemed to be WDW veterans) asked the bus driver if he would just drive them to their resort. He asked if we minded and we said no. So, he was good with it… while he was dropping them off he asked if we were going to a resort – we said yes and asked if he would take us to our resort. We had another pixie dust moment… there at like 10:50 at night – our lovely bus driver saved us from standing in a long line at MK and instead brought us straight to our resort. What a great man!!!

We were in bed by 11:15pm and we slept like rocks!

Coming up… Animal Kingdom!!!!!
 

DisneyBergh

Member
I must say...it's fun to relive our trip through your eyes! I was there, and have seen the pics, but to have the story from your perspective is great!!

Of course it really just makes me want to go back (NOW). To bad we have to wait at least 2 years.
 

catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
Day 4 – Animal Kingdom!!

Animal Kingdom was the one park that neither one of us had ever been to. We were both really looking forward to experiencing this first together! I had heard so much about it but one consistent thing I understood was it was a huge park and spread out (not as much as Epcot – but spread out enough). I have to admit that with the blister issue, I was a little nervous that I would not be able to do what I wanted.

However, I did bring out the big guns! Where we live, there is a LOT of activity. People are constantly doing outside activities and we get tons of tourists who do hiking at the National Park (only 40min from our town). So, when you are surrounded by a lot of hikers you pick up on their tricks. One of their tricks (as I’m sure all runners know as well) is to use duct tape on your feet to prevent or help blisters. Now, I did not pack duct tape, but I knew that I needed to find some; otherwise I would have another rough day. So, I called the front desk and asked for duct tape. The lady offered to fix whatever was broken and said she would send a maintenance man up to our room to fix whatever we needed. When I explained that it was for my feet there was silence on the other end of the phone. LOL She didn’t know what she could do but she said she would try. 20min later, a guy shows up at our door, once HE found out what I needed the tape for his eyes bugged out of his head and he said he didn’t know if he could help me. But, he offered to talk to his supervisor. Another 5min goes by and he comes back with a roll and says that he is allowed to give me some tape. So, I take a bunch of tape give him a HUGE thank you and start taping up me feet! NOTE… I have never seen duct tape on a “Must Pack” item – but after this trip – it will be on our packing list for sure. I just wrapped the whole front of the foot and then threw socks on (so no one saw the tap) and threw on my sandals. (Yes, I wore socks with sandals… I HAD to – it was not a pretty sight but I was able to walk, and that is all that matters)

Onto the park…

The alarm didn’t go off, and so we woke up late (8am), By the time we goof around with the duct tape situation and are out the door, we didn’t get to the park until 9:30am. That morning at 8:30am, the weather channel was reporting that it was already 85degrees out and it was 99% humidity. CRAZY! We didn’t believe it because it wasn’t raining, but holy wah – it was humid!!!! Couple the humidity with the plants and water at Animal Kingdom and you can imagine what it was like. Yikes!

The first thing I notice before even going through the turnstiles were the topiaries. I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was! The colors were wonderful!

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Before we took off – I had to fix my flippin feet! AWH! So, I sat down to do some moleskin/tape adjustments when a little duck decided to see what this crazy lady was doing. I felt like such a moron, but I hurried up and then I was ready, finally!

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This park is just gorgeous! I love the way it is laid out – although, Camp Mickey is kinda by itself… but other than that, I thought the layout was great!

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There wasn’t many people at the park that day. Wait times were minimal… yay October!

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We walked through the Oasis and checked out the animals. It was so peaceful in some of this little nooks and crannies – it was silent. I loved being able to hear the trees move in the breeze and the sound of the water and the animals. It was a nice moment.

My breath was taken away when we got to the Africa Bridge. I forgot that I was in Florida, and I felt like we were actually in Africa! Great job Disney – you prove that your creativity is your only limitation! (Unless, of course it has to do with a Yeti)

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catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
Once we got over the bridge between the shops and the sounds I couldn’t believe that we were in Africa. I think we were both just so stinkin’ excited that when we came up on a cast member who was playing the African Drum and singing, “Welcome to Africa” I started laughing and my DH, who is fairly reserved, started dancing!!! It was a riot! The cast member started singing/chanting, “Shake your head if you mean it, shake your head…..” I couldn’t take a photo quick enough – but I do have the memory in my heart. It was ANOTHER great moment at Disney!

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First thing on our agenda was to grab FastPasses to Kilamonjara Safari. While we waited to go on the Safari we decided to walk Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. It was a great little trail, so much to see and lots of hands on types of information!


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That is one big dude!

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Rob and I were walking through the quiet trail when all of a sudden we got a whiff of something VERY strong. Almost like an ammonia smell. We went through a little tunnel and there was the smell. A large Silverback Gorilla.

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He was sitting right there not far from the trail. He then moved and went into a clearing. He turned and faced the now forming crowd, and just sat there. As if he was like, “Ok folks, I know y’all want a picture. Here’s your photo-op, take it so I can go back to eating. Hurry up.”.

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We finished up the trail and since we had some more time left we decided to do some shopping. Rob’s grandmother collects giraffe things. So, we were looking for something for her. We knew exactly what we wanted to get her. A giraffe printed scarf. So, we went in the shops looking for something like that. We could not find a thing! They had every other print but not giraffe. Poor grandma. No giraffe souvenir for you.

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It was now time to climb aboard our truck and hit the Savanna on the Safari!!!!

Coming up… Lions, Tigers and Kali River Rapids… oh my!
 

fractal

Well-Known Member
Great report! Still reading...


Sorry to hear about your stomach issues - sounds like you handled it as best as you could.

That's crazy that you ran into Rob's aunt and cousin. What are the odds?
 

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