Trip Report Completed: Seven Seas Lagoon Patrol: Plotting Our Escape to Florida!

Courtney6682 · Jan 11, 2018

I'm always in!!

dclfan · Jan 11, 2018

I’m in. Great list of restaurants.

12in12 · Jan 12, 2018

Looking forward to another trip report and the restaurant reviews.

LowesChevy · Jan 24, 2018

Lucky 13 days to go!

Reality is setting in on this trip and we are getting excited! The weather is on the cool side now, so planning on bringing jeans and pants for evenings out. Last year was wonderfully mild in February, so hoping for that type of weather again. Not going to worry about it too much because it beats being here, but definitely want to be prepared.

APs are good to go. The plan is to head to Disney Springs for lunch and Guest Services to buy our TiW card. Depending on if the room is ready by the time we arrive maybe we will go to Miller’s Ale House then Publix for our week’s worth of goodies. So many choices at DS now for meals it is wonderful. The Disney run restaurants, despite the variety of cuisines, tend to be predictable and repetitive. Sorry they are-salmon dish, pasta dish, braised short rib, boring chicken, maybe a pork or fish dish.

At the moment I am looking forward to relaxing on the patio with a Dole Whip or a Pina Colava! Maybe tonight I will work on our t-shirt design. Opted for long sleeve royal blue with a Polynesian inspired print. I have an image similar to the Tangeroa Terrace mask and I think I will add an outrigger with the date on the sail. The possibilities are endless. Just get me there!

See you real soon

93boomer · Jan 25, 2018

Sitting by and waiting patiently for your TR. Have a wonderful time!!!!

LowesChevy · Jan 31, 2018

6 to go!

Had a fun weekend as two of my little cousins spent the night Saturday evening. We popped popcorn and watched Maleficent and Peter Pan. It was a lot of fun and my mom really enjoyed seeing the films. The kids have seen just about all of the movies, but not all of the older originals.

I did some housekeeping with dinner plans and changed out the first night at the Wave for Splitsville. Now on arrival day Tuesday we can either go to Disney Springs have lunch and get our Tables in Wonderland card then or get it later when we return for dinner in the evening. Really it all depends on when the room is ready. If it is before we arrive on property we can hit the grocery store and head to the resort and off to the Magic Kingdom. I am open to playing it by ear or it’s up to what my parents would like. Sometimes a little flexibility is nice with all of this pre planning. Sometimes flexibility will drive you crazy if no one can make up their mind or agree.

New Magic Bands arrived today too. I have the vinyl printing for our t-shirts. I will have my bff help me since I haven’t gotten my press up and running yet. We are doing to rennos in the basement to accommodate workspace so I haven’t had full time to set up and jump in. I have St. Patrick’s Day stuff in process, so that is eating up my time as well. It is a busy time of year, but I can’t wait to step out for a week!

The weather is looking good for right now, pants for evenings if we plan to be out, but shorts are my jam most of the time. Although in my aging process here I have become less tolerant to being cold. Still a week away and it could change, but I need to get the rest of my clothes laid out.

I printed out paper copies of our reservations to have just in case. My phone’s battery life has been killing me lately. I do not really want to go get a new one yet because of the trip. Ideally I would like to wait till after my taxes are done, but maybe it won’t last that long. It is nice to have a paper FP+ schedule though so you don’t have to be on your phone all of the time.

Busy evening tonight with signs, shirts and packing. Hoping to get what I want done and not have to spend the night just on one of those things! Wish me luck!

Talk to you all real soon

LowesChevy · Feb 5, 2018

Tomorrow we fly out from Cleveland--this afternoon we be heading down the Ohio highway. I will definitely do some live reporting for your viewing pleasure. I know you spring breakers will love getting some teasers!

The plan is to head right to Disney Springs for lunch and exploration

. It is so large now, we tend to go to the same places when we arrive. October was so hot you didn't want to walk around too much lol. Check back-see you real soon and don't forget to follow me on Twitter @cheferikag or Instagram @theerikagrimm

Susan Savia · Feb 6, 2018

LowesChevy said:
Tomorrow we fly out from Cleveland--this afternoon we be heading down the Ohio highway. I will definitely do some live reporting for your viewing pleasure. I know you spring breakers will love getting some teasers!

The plan is to head right to Disney Springs for lunch and exploration . It is so large now, we tend to go to the same places when we arrive. October was so hot you didn't want to walk around too much lol. Check back-see you real soon and don't forget to follow me on Twitter @cheferikag or Instagram @theerikagrimm

Have a wonderful time. The weather is Great!

LowesChevy · Mar 5, 2018

Prepare for launch

Monday February 5th

A rather abnormal departure day for us, but with the flexibility of our work schedule it is been helpful. Flying Tuesday to Tuesday was actually a great airline price, despite having to stay in the lagoon view rooms, which at the time were the lowest price category available, it still wasn’t hard to twist my arm. We still have valid Annual Passes and we just need to pick up our TiW card for meals.

I worked a half day at the office and made sure all of our custom orders were accounted for and on schedule. The past couple of weeks were busy getting things off for the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras and it had slowed down as if every knew I would be gone. It was also submarine fundraiser day, so no need to worry about lunch either. My coworker’s son is a fire chief and they have submarine fundraisers sales a couple of times a year-great timing.

I finished up packing my carry on bags and we packed up the car to hit the road. The weather was cloudy, but no snow or rain forecasted till later through the night. Our first stop was Beachwood Place for some coffee and a little shopping. Dinner was a much better experience than we had the previous time we visited as well.

We arrived at the hotel checked in and got settled for the night. We were feeling awfully tired this evening and couldn’t wait to hit that warm weather mid morning. Forensic Files was put on the sleep timer and lights out.

Our long sleeve t shirts turned out wicked sweet

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LowesChevy · Mar 6, 2018

Tuesday

The airport was not extremely busy and we arrived plenty early to avoid any delays. It had snowed a good bit overnight, but this is lake effect country. We were raring to go. Flight was great, not much turbulence. De icing took a good 25 minutes, but we still landed a few minutes early because of estimated flight times. Just happy to land in sunny and warm Orlando!

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Alamo changed their process again and apparently we were supposed to wait in line inside, but we went straight to the parking ramp, which is what we have done for years. Finally we packed up and were on our way to Disney Springs for lunch and to pick up our TiW. We waited about 20 minutes at Guest Services to purchase our card. Of course it would be nice if Disney had faster way to make simple issue rather than waiting for CMs to deal with ticket problems and other issues. It is first come, first serve though I suppose.

The Boathouse
This is a great place to stop for lunch. We tried dinner a couple of years ago and it was big parties and loud guests galore. Our steaks tasted of liquid smoke and were simply ok. Lunch is less crowded than dinner and the menu more to our liking with a good variety of quality sandwiches, salads, appetizers and fish and chips. Lobster roll is solid for a non New Englander. It is a mayonnaise based roll with a buttery toasted bun served with thin French fries. Big Daddy fancies the Gibson’s Sandwich King burger and Mom always orders the club sandwich, yawn. I have yet to try some oysters, but one of these days I will try them again. In any case it is fun to watch people eat them for the first time! Our server was also very sweet and made the experience quite pleasant.
Our room notification came through while we were eating lunch around 1 PM. That was a nice surprise. Now we could head over to the Polynesian and get settled then come back later to shop and have dinner at Splitsville.

Later on Splitsville & the Polynesian

LowesChevy · Mar 9, 2018

Splitsville

So originally I had an adr for The Wave for dinner, but I ended up switching it out so we could spend some time at Disney Springs and get mom a chocolate caramel covered apple. It worked out since we didn’t make it to the Magic Kingdom, but relaxed in the room instead. If the room hadn’t of been ready early we probably would have headed to the park. Since Disney Springs is so massive now, there is plenty of reason to visit a few times during the trip. Not to mention so many of the restaurants are excellent.

I was anti parking ramp when they first began the talks of building them at DS. I thought it would take away from the quaintness of the former Downtown Disney and former Lake Buena Vista Village. A visit to Universal Parks will drive you parking ramp crazy as well. They are big, ugly and industrial. However, I remember many nights and rainy days trolling for parking spots from my youth. After we have used the Lime Garage several times now, they have really grown on me and the convenience is out of this world. No more barren concrete wasteland in the 90 F heat in September.

Splitsville is in the old “West End” area taking over the previous space occupied by the Virgin Mega Store. It is a longer walk from the garage, but no farther than anywhere you walked at the park. It wasn’t busy, for early on a Tuesday night we went in to see if we could be seated early. Lo and behold it wasn’t a problem and we were whisked away up the escalator. I expected just an open bowling alley with lots of lanes and crazy noise, but it wasn’t the case at all. The lanes are segmented into smaller sections with lots of areas for sitting and eating.

We were seated right by the windows on the 2nd floor with the panoramic view of the people down below. Taylor greeted us shortly after we were seated and offered to take our drink order. I actually got a little crazy and got a frozen drink sans the specialty glass. I didn’t need to get that crazy!

The menu is large and has a bit of something for everyone in the family. Pizza and sushi sounded good, but a buffalo chicken sandwich was right up my alley for the night. Mom ordered a chicken salad and an order of nachos to start.

Rum Runner & Nachos & Jaleo Construction at the old Wolfgang Pucks

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It was cloudy, but the view was great. You could see much of Saratoga Springs and the boats speeding around in the water. Occasionally an Amphicar would go by from the Boathouse launch. The nachos arrived in a heaping pile of red and yellow corn chips with hot steamy meat, cheese, tomatoes, pickled jalapenos, corn, black beans and scallions. Normally I am a straight melted cheese person, but these nachos had both regular melted cheese and queso style cheese. Great tasting sharing food, although I could make them a meal if need be. The three of us couldn’t finish them before our entrees arrived. The buffalo chicken sandwiches were monsters-enough for two to share most likely, at least that is kind of what we thought after they were placed in front of us! It was a large chicken breast battered and fried then doused in Buffalo sauce served with fries and ranch dressing. Really tasty and messy like a good buffalo chicken sandwich should! My mother enjoyed her giant salad with diced chicken, pecans, bacon, red onion over mixed field greens with creamy balsamic dressing.
The manager stopped by to make sure everything was to our liking as well. The place was still very quiet and empty, but nice and pleasant. The service and food were both excellent. I am sure it would be slightly different on a busier night, but this is a great place to come in and indulge and share well done American fare.

Food: 5 stars
Service: 5 stars
Atmosphere: 5 stars
Overall experience: 5 stars
We will be back—you bet!

After dinner we wandered over to the Witch’s Candy Cauldron for an apple and checked out the soccer shop. First day at the park tomorrow, time to rest up!

Magic K coming your way…& The Polynesian review

LowesChevy · Mar 14, 2018

Epcot

I had scheduled an Epcot day today because I figured we would have been yesterday, but we have two full back to back days at the MK Friday and Saturday, so no worries. We started our morning at Kona Café. Macadamia nut pancakes and Tonga Toast were great, BD omelet was good, nothing amazing. This place has become a food factory due to its popularity. Jam packed with people and the omelets and egg dishes are served just so so, rather disappointing as long time fans. We made our way over to the TTC to catch the monorail to Epcot. You now have to go all the way over to where they trams drop people off to get your bags searched by the way. If you get caught while one is unloading , it is a frenzy. At Epcot you are checked once again and once again if a tram drops people off right in front of you it is a drag.

Luckily we were rewarded with a shorter than average Annual Pass holders line to get into the park. I can’t believe the people that just hop in a line without looking at over head signage or big signs right in their face. Maybe they just don’t care or they are oblivious, sometimes it is hard to distinguish. People have a tendency to just follow whoever is in front of them. It is not always the shortest line, but normally it moves fast since almost everyone knows exactly what to do.

Off to Soarin’ and then the Land. Rode Journey into your Imagination then went up and had a beverage and snack in the DVC Lounge. Soon after that it was time to cruise Mouse Gears then head to the World Showcase. I had brought my new lens with intention today! This little puppy is heavy, but I loved the photos it took in the fall. I am still working on editing, which I need to find time for, but here are the rough drafts.

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We stopped by France for lunch. The Boulangerie Patissiere was quite busy, but we eventually found a family that was ready to leave as we did the same when we were done eating. We love the sandwiches and a sweet for a simple meal. We have Teppan Edo dinner later, so no need to gorge ourselves now! The best counter service food, on property, in my opinion, if you enjoy French food. The croissants and baguettes are so good. The desserts aren’t bad either

Liverpool Football Club is back at the Sportsman Shoppe!! Supes excited I bought the long sleeve red and grey shirt. There are lots of changes again in the WS shops since fall, which I enjoy. Germany really changed up their store with toys and sportswear. Less Adidas clothing and mainly Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich gear. They added some authentic dirndls and lederhosen as well. Canada had removed the NHL gear a year or two ago and went with more pajamas and sleepwear. I was looking forward to grabbing an Oilers cap. Conner McDavid played his minor league hockey right here in Erie, so I like to follow him. Always lots of good stuff to buy though!
We put in a good first day and will be back later for a little teppanyaki fun at Teppan Edo!

LowesChevy · Apr 25, 2018

Sorry for the hiatus!!

LowesChevy · Apr 25, 2018

Teppan Edo

While not a particularly unique to Disney restaurant, TE is one of our absolute favorite dining spots. I know the food is always going to be hot and delicious, many places can’t guarantee 1 of those qualities. It is also fun for the beginning of the trip because you get to meet other people and see how their trip has been. We have had some friendly table mates the last few times and this time was no exception.

Our dinner mates were from New York City and the woman happened to be a food blogger, so we hit it off talking about food and Disney of course. This was one of their first trips and they were enjoying it, but really looking forward to the beach part of the trip in the next few days. I do enjoy the beach, but I love Disney more and getting me to take time from my trip to head to the beach, nah. Beach Club maybe J However, the Florida beaches are lovely.

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I wanted to get some sushi since the portions are smaller. California Grill sushi is boss, but eating a large roll takes away from other items I wanted to try. Dad and I split the volcano roll, which I watched be prepared at the other table. Sure enough Yuma comes out and introduces herself and begins the preparation. The portion was large enough for the two of us and we offered some to our neighbor. She in turn offered some tofu, which we all found pretty boring. I am happy I enjoy meat. California roll is heated and topped with sautéed scallops and shrimp then sauces with spicy mayonnaise right on the teppanyaki grill.

The shrimp were really fresh and steak cooked perfectly. I cleaned my plate, but that was all the eating I was going to be able to do. Yuma was a lot of fun and she enjoyed the CM card I gave her. She would be heading back to Japan within a few months, but really enjoyed her time here.

Service and food were excellent as usual.

Food: 5 stars
Service: 5 stars
Atmosphere: 5 stars
Overall experience: 5 stars
We will be back—Hai!

Time for a pleasant walk and back to the Polynesian

Tomorrow is Hollywood Studios Day

LowesChevy · Apr 30, 2018

Hollywood Studios

After breakfast at Kona, we hopped in the car and headed to DHS. The construction has everything jammed up at the entrance, but soon we were walking across the concrete abyss to catch the tram. If we were smart we would walk to the entrance to the smaller bag check, but with DM’s bad knee cutting down on the initial walking is a better solution. With the addition of FP+ you no longer feel the need to rush, rush, rush as much. However it creates a huge wait time for rides that used to be practically walk on attractions, the headliners are easy to manage now. Sorry Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion should never have more that a 20 minute wait in non holiday periods.

Upon exiting the security portion of the park front, we made our way to TSMM for stand by. It was only about a 25 minute wait-quite manageable in my opinion. There aren’t that many attractions at DHS now that you can really be choosy about wait times. You might as well pick one and think of something fun to talk about with your friends and family. Our FP+ wasn’t for an hour from now, so we hopped on over to check out Star Tours

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I found the last updates to ST repetitive since it always seemed like we saw the same scenes, but with the newest movies out we have noticed a difference in the shows. It appears they added a lot of new scenes are adventures. I can’t keep up with all of the Disney news, but I am sure it was mentioned. Still a great diversion and looking forward to the massive expansions that looms behind the walls nearby.

We jumped back over to TSMM and used our FP+. The stand by line was a solid 45 minutes, not bad.

The bad news was Rock n Roller Coaster was down as well as one side of Tower of Terror. I know it was part of some ongoing work and in fact after we went home they had the scaffolding out trying to fix the other side. It was on and mostly off during the day and the second day we came to DHS. Summer 2018 can’t come soon enough to get some more attractions to this park. With our FP+ we waited about 45 minutes with a lot of the waiting outside. They were telling folks that were getting into the stand by line to basically forget it. Well thanks, this was the park they chose today. I have not noticed recently, but hopefully it has been running more consistently. Luckily we are rather flexible, but if you have dinner plans and are heading to Fantasmic it could be a long boring day. I was able to snap some great photos while we waited and our stay was as good as usual. After that it was latte time.

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We did some browsing and shopping along the main street and then headed towards the Muppet’s for lunch at Mama Melrose[/url][/url][/url][/url][/url]

LowesChevy · May 2, 2018

Mama Melrose’s

Mama’s has always been a reliable spot for a tasty lunch and this time was no different. We arrived at noon and were seated pretty quickly despite the volume of other guests there. The restaurant overall was rather full, but with the limited eateries in the park they can fill up fast. By the time we were done eating it had emptied considerably-what I would expect from a smaller crowd day.

Our server was busy with a larger table and was slower than expected to greet us. She seemed rather preoccupied, but she finally was over to take our beverage orders and welcome us back. We ordered our usually buffet of salads and flatbreads, but I opted for some minestrone soup to begin. I love making soup myself so I have to check out the competition from time to time.

Our food began to arrive a short time later to take over the table. I began with my soup to get the bowl out of the way. The broth was flavorful and vegetables were plentiful. The mixed greens salad lately has been artichoke hearts, tomato, cucumber and mixed greens with a refreshing vinaigrette. The Caesar is the typical mayonnaise based style you will see in most places up north, but mild and delicious nonetheless. The margarita flatbread could simply be as good without the tomato sauce beneath the sliced tomatoes and fresh mozzarella in my opinion. The carne flatbread was fine, I do like the different textures of the meats rather than just some plain old pepperoni that you can get anywhere else.

The food was great and our server was more open after the meal was out and she could spend more time talking to us. She became rather chatty too lol. She had just mentioned that the restaurant hasn’t been as busy and slow season is a tough time financially. Totally understood and I do not get that uncomfortable when people open up to us because I think most folk can sense that we listen and don’t judge. People feel comfortable talking to me and sometimes you have to let it all out. The therapist is in J. I certainly hope spring sprung and things got much better for her.

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Not being on the dining plan is a big plus at times and this is one. The three of us like to share the salads and flatbreads for a satisfying lunch. I can’t imagine trying to eat a steak or big plate of pasta at lunch. The lack of lunch menus overall is frustrating, especially when you are really watching what you are eating and you eat smaller meals in general. Dinner is at California Grill, so I am saving much of my appetite till then!

Food: 4 stars
Service: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 5 stars
Overall experience: 4.5 stars
We will be back—There will be sequel J[/url]

LowesChevy · May 4, 2018

California Grill

After some r & r, it was time to get ready for the California Grill. Travel using the monorail will take time-make sure you leave a good buffer of time to get there even a few stops away. They could be taking a monorail off service or they could be holding at any of the stops. You can always spend your time browsing through Fantasia Gifts or BVG or have a drink at the Wave lounger if you arrive early. Normally they can whisk you up the elevator after checking in on the 2nd floor.

Our table was ready by the time we arrived via elevator and given the tour around. We were seated right by the bar again, same spot we had last, which is a good spot. I enjoy watching the bartenders, especially at a place with great drinks. Beckey was over within a few minutes to pour some water and welcome us. We ordered some libations and relaxed over the view.

New bread…well no more focaccia and salted butter. Now it is simply sourdough rolls, which are okay. I preferred the fluffy focaccia with herbs to the rolls. The new rollout includes diced tomatoes in olive oil, which was okay, but I am a big butter fan.

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Charcuterie, cheese plate and apple salad
My DF and I split the two to have the best of both worlds. He preferred the drier meats while I loved the duck fat whipped liver pate. The salami styles were good as well. When it came to the cheese the Cremont was out of this world! I actually had to order some since our local Wegman’s does not carry it. A perfect creamy goat cheese with the right amount of tang. I did not care for the sweet gorgonzola and I am a big blue fan. I think on a salad or something that begs for sweetness it would be perfect, but not for eating along. I also enjoyed the TeaHive , Harbison and found the Mitica Sardo a nice parmesan alternative. We have all seen a salad and DM enjoyed it all except for the frisee.

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Bison loin, filet and swordfish
My brother had the bison loin back in October and the few bites that I had of it, I really enjoyed the dish. The served it with the herbed gnocchi and creamy cheese sauce topped with micro greens. Honestly it was one of the best dishes I had all week. Bison is a real treat when it is done this way, just an excellently balanced dish overall. My DF was mowing into his swordfish before I could snap a picture, but you know he likes it hot! Swordfish is a great meaty fish that lends itself to more hearty preparations like grilling, but it does typically run with a high mercury content. It is best not to eat it too frequently, but enjoy occasionally. It was flan ked by the lemon scented greens, mushrooms and potato puree. It had perfect caramelized top and was well seasoned. He didn’t care much for the greens, but the puree and mushrooms was lovely. DM had her boring filet mignon and plain potatoes yawn, but she was very happy.

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We needed a little sweet so we ordered he churros with ice cream. Of course we were returning guests so Beckey brought us a special cupcake as well. Those are excellent by the way-high quality chocolate glaze hiding mousse. Yum! I miss the fritters that occupied the menu for the last few years, but the churros were a playful touch. I really just prefer getting them at a cart to be honest.

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Service was excellent, very attentive and courteous. The food was fabulous-I do not fault restaurants on foods that I personally do not care for. I rate the overall adhesion of the dish and the preparation and execution. My only complaint here ever is why are people so loud?! Use your inside voices lol. Another excellent experience atop the Contemporary.
Food: 5 stars
Service: 5 stars
Atmosphere: 5 stars—inside voices though!

Overall experience: 5 stars
We will be back—Always, maybe twice!

Magic Kingdom tomorrow

LowesChevy · May 8, 2018

Magic Kingdom

We did two days in a row at the Magic Kingdom due to a schedule change. Luckily I was able to flip some days around to get the Flight of Passage FP+ for Monday. Adrs worked out okay so it was not a huge challenge two swap the parks. I will cover our experience over February 9th & 10th here.

Friday was absolutely gorgeous weather wise. A long sleeve t-shirt was all you needed in the morning and before lunch you were down to your short sleeves. We made our way to Tomorrowland to ride Buzz Lightyear, DM favorite, and hopefully do Space Mountain and TTA. SM standby land was manageable so we hopped in line and waited for maybe 20 minutes. It was before all of the FP times started to return so the line was moving swiftly and CMs were adding people to both sides rather than just the left. Buzz was as fun as usual and we rode a couple times in a row. The crowds were pretty light, but Saturday was brutal-the lines and crowds were crazy as people started coming in for the holiday week. We knew going in it would be on the crazy crowd size so planning to get there early really helped us tour what we wanted to. Since Stitch’s Great Escape closed apparently now everyone wants to ride TTA! The lines were insane and I was bummed that we missed out on both days. Combination of long waits and breakdowns kept us from our favorite chill time sadly. It is amazing how one attraction can really alleviate the others. I hope Disney gets something in that space soon.

Saturday we rode Seven Dwarves Mine Ride and had a blast of course. I have lost maybe 10 pounds since Fall and the fit in the ride was less snug or I am getting more flexible lol. Wait times generally were around 60 minutes, but I think it shot up to over 80 minutes Saturday. Even It’s A Small World was rocking a 25 minute wait.

Next, we ventured to Liberty Square and the Haunted Mansion, which is always on my list. They were running the rooms well. I thought there would be a line of people after the atrium room, but it was empty. Not busy yet is what I presumed. I snapped some great shots Friday because the sun was out and creating awesome shadows, especially at park opening. It is a commitment carrying around that lens, so I was going to shoot photos in the whole park. I got some fun angles and countdown numbers too.

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Big Thunder was crazy crowded since Splash was down, so a FP was needed to enjoy this once again. Looks like the boulders no longer a shaking in the cavern. Not sure it was not working or if they removed the function after the refurb. Anyway both sides were moving along well and the fastest ride in the wilderness didn’t disappoint. I enjoy Splash Mountain, but not a wet bum and shoes all day. Perhaps in the September heat we will give it a ride again. It is hit or miss whether you get soaked or not, I just didn’t want to take the chance in this less weather, although it was toasty and humid after that PM shower.

Pirates of the Caribbean was next, it was fun this time not breaking down! Well it was time to grab a bite to eat. Dinner was at Homecomin’ early, so no need to fill up with a big meal now. Heading to Casey’s.

Casey’s

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Casey’s seems to be a place that everyone agrees to eat at. Hot dogs are well loved in our house. However we do not eat at a lot of counter service restaurants because the food is lackluster and the service is slow. Unfortunately, Casey’s didn’t cut the mustard this time either. The French fries are good, but you cannot service lukewarm hot dogs. It is gross and unacceptable. I am not really sure what the CMs are complaining to one another about through the little kitchen holes that the food comes from the kitchen, but apparently it is not about any pertinent to making the place run smoother. In fact I never see a manager there moving the CMs and guests along like you do at Columbia Harbor House. It is probably one of the smallest eateries and one of the most crowded. It needs to be managed a lot better than it is. End rant

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LowesChevy · May 11, 2018

Homecomin’

The disappointment from Casey’s was short lived considering dinner was going to be a real treat. We have dined at Homecomin’ each trip since it opened and have had great experiences. The only problem was last time we were seated in the bar area and there were some 40-50 something drunks making noise and causing a ruckus. I know it is vacation, but to be that annoying and drunk at 5:00 PM is pretty bad. They were Facetiming a friend and being obnoxious, finally the staff realized they were a big problem and refused to serve them anything but water. Much of the act may have been just that, but unacceptable for an inside bar area. I could see it in the outside bar at 10 PM possibly, but not during the dinner hour. Finally they calmed down and moved along. If you want to party like that I suggest Key West! Now that’s always a good time : )

We arrived slightly early, but were seated within a few minutes. The restaurant isn’t huge inside, everything is compact, but there is wrap-around patio seating behind the bar and off the main dining room. It is covered well and block from breezes and inclimate weather, but I really like the air conditioning. Outdoor seating in Key West or Phoenix is up our alley with the coastal breeze and lack of fast changing weather, but in central Florida that humidity is killer.

Dominic was over to greet us and offer us southern hospitality. I actually ordered a Blue Moon tonight, my DM a cherry Gin fizz and DF a Cigar City. For dinner my parents both had the fried chicken. My DM was going by the fact that she loved it last time and Big Daddy was trying it for the first time. It is a real treat being from Pennsylvania where we have KFC and Giant Eagle (Grocery Store) actually makes some decent fried chicken in their stores. It is a great portion and extra delicious. The only thing that annoys me is the fact that my mother will eat Art’s mashed potatoes and not mine. She likes those disgusting powdered foam potatoes from KFC, but avoids real mashed, unless they have bacon, cheese and scallion lol. My shrimp and grits was rib sticking goodness. Tender shrimp over creamy grits in a tomato based gravy with tasso ham rendered down with it. A great meal for those folks who want to fill their bellies with down home goodness. It was on the heavy side for me (remember no gallbladder folks-Moose out front should have told you that), but my personal preference wouldn’t rule out recommending this item. I could totally see my brother cleaning his plate on this one. Overall, the menu offers items we certainly do not see where we live. I find the variety wonderful and like the fact that you can order anything from a salad, appetizer, a sandwich to a full entrée a dinner or lunch. A sandwich here is really like a full meal. It truly embodies Florida cuisine with old favorites prepared with a modern twist.

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We couldn’t leave without at least trying a dessert, so we went with this big ol’ chocolate cake. Dominic and the rest of the staff were great and perfectly attentive all night. Homecomin’ was probably the best addition to Disney Springs for dining in my opinion.

Food: 5 stars
Service: 5 stars
Atmosphere: 5 stars
Overall experience: 5 stars
We will be back—going grouper next time nom nom

A little walk around the Springs then back for fireworks and sleep. MK again tomorrow.[/url][/url][/url]

Trip Report Completed: Seven Seas Lagoon Patrol: Plotting Our Escape to Florida!

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