Trip Report Food & Wine/Horror Nights - September

My daughter lives in Jacksonville. She convinced her brother to move down as her roommate so he can help pay the very expensive, rising townhome rent. He's looking forward to the change. While scheduling this tricky move from PA we realized that we had some DVC points that need to be used before the end of the year. My other son is a huge fan of Universal Horror Nights so we hashed it out last night on what we can do. We managed to book AK for three nights and one night at the Grand Floridian. This satisfies both my wife and daughter's wishes. My wife always wanted to stay at an AK Savanah view and my daughter always wanted to stay at the Grand Floridian. We'll schedule Horror Nights for Thursday since we learned from previous visits that it's not as packed as the weekend. Also looking forward to the Food and Wine menu release. We'll be there from 9/15 through 9/19.

 

[macefamily]

I know you think it's probably stupid to eat all that food and then go ride Guardians. We had to take the Genie time given so we had no choice. Last time we rode it we did Lighting Lane so we didn't have the opportunity to go through the queue and see the displays. My wife insisted that she never rode this before. My daughter and I know for a fact she went on it with us. My wife took a Dramamine about one hour before, but it still kicked her butt. She said that she rode it, but she'll never ride it again. Kind of me with Velocicoaster at Universal. I got off that and just like Detective Murtaugh said, "I'm gettin' too old for this $hit."

 

[macefamily]

We made it back to our room for a few hours rest and digestion before our first visit to the Hoop Dee Doo dinner show.
Quite a bit of animals were grazing in the warm, moist afternoon weather. Also, it you notice in the distance, the feed-mobile was making its late day rounds. It was interesting because every animal breed knew it. After the truck stopped and filled the giraffe boxes up with feed in the trees you can see the giraffes all making their way across the yard to claim their dinner.
When my daughter worked in the Disney College program Hoop Dee Doo was a favorite place for them to go to because she was struggling with expenses and rarely had a good meal. Occasionally, Disney would give the CP members coupons for Hoop Dee Doo for $25 which meant they can go and gnosh out for a relatively cheap price. I guess they just pump out massive amounts of sides and meats so they figured it was no loss to Disney to feed a few kids. We didn't get any photos, except for the one, because quite honestly, the show was really, really good. If you weren't eating, then you were enthralled with the great performance.
My daughter had the sly smile on her face because she knew what was coming. She knew it was an interactive show meaning the cast would be out in the audience throughout the show interacting with the crowd. I hate that. Of course she volunteered me since my birthday was coming up in a week, and my wife and I just celebrated an anniversary. We didn't know it was coming. I'll get her back someday.

 

[fractal]

Those darn kids!

 

[macefamily]

Disney Day 3. Sunday. My wife and kids got me a Keys to the Kingdom ticket (as well as themselves of course) for Fathers Day. We had to be at MK to register for 8:30 AM. So, I didn't get many pics at MK this trip because there were ABSOLUTELY no pictures allowed to be taken anywhere on the tour. The tour would be 4 hours which included a 30 minute lunch at Pecos Bill's. My daughter saw some of the stuff because she worked the Disney College program and had access to some areas. The first part of the tour focused on the Main St. office windows and who the people were who had their names on those windows. We worked our way over to Splash Mountain where the first entrance to the backstage was. Along the way there were 'fun facts' about some of the attractions. We got a walk-on for Jungle Cruise as part of the tour with some interesting facts revealed by our guide. We already knew some of the info. We were told as we entered the first backstage area to not interact with any of the CM's.
It was interesting to see the technical and mechanical areas that supported the rides and the parade floats. I did notice the one backstage parking lot I saw on a Disney Christmas special where the Christmas dancers were rehearsing their parade moves in August. Workers were scurrying around and getting ready to move a float out for testing. The float bays had massive clearances for the taller units. We saw the back of all the Frontierland rides. They showed us an old cut-out in the back of the Pirates ride where they had to cut a portion of the building out to rig a large part of the ride and then cover it up. We walked the route where the floats come up to the gate to start every parade.
That was where we walked to Pecos Bills for a pre-arranged lunch. We were asked at check-in for a lunch preference which was already prepared and in a private room.
After lunch we walked up to Haunted Mansion where we were given a behind the scenes walk on entrance to the ride along with some interesting facts. We walked through Fantasyland and had a few stop offs with background info on some rides.
As we got past the castle in between the food stand and ice cream stand there was a door that I never noticed. That was an entrance to the utilidors. We had some people on scooters so there was an elevator for them while we used the stairways. I've worked in manufacturing most of my career and it reminded me of a lot of the facilities I used to be at. The paint was just caked on layer over layer in the stairwells and the hallways; nothing pretty, just practical. The electrical, water, and waste piping was exposed. You can also tell that there isn't much attention paid to the offices or conference rooms. Old flakewood doors were all over the place. I thought that big metal fire doors would be required, but not down there. The place was a concrete maze. There were signs at every turn indicating where each 'land' was. The only character we ran into was Peter Pan. Of course we were told not to address the CM's, but there were a few in the group giving big 'hellos' and waves to him. There were some white boards indicating upcoming weather and crew listings. Typical backscenes employment information.
I guess if you look at it from another perspective it's magic for many people, but it's a job for many others. Very interesting though. I've read about the park configuration on many occasions, but it was interesting to see it first hand.
I must admit that I was embarrassed to learn that the front entrance Main St statue sitting on the bench was Roy Disney. We all thought for years that it was Walt. I guess we're not the true Disney-ites that we thought we were.
Disney Day 3. Third day of rain, of course. Technically 4th since it rained for Horror Nights as well.

 

[macefamily]

After getting back to our room, the first thing we usually did was head out to the balcony to see what the animals were doing. It was pretty active later in the day as you can see the 'feeding truck' going around and filling the feeding hoppers. The giraffes were quite majestic and beautiful to watch. Dinner that night was scheduled for Boma.
I'll just say it right here because I was too disgusted to take any pictures. We made reservations two months in advance for 8:00 PM. We arrived 10 minutes early. We were told to take a seat and wait for our calling. 8:10 PM and nothing. 8:20 PM, nothing. I told my wife I would give them until 8:30 PM which I found ridiculous anyway since we had a solid reservation for 60 days. By 8:30 I was in a bad way. 8:32 we were called. I refused to buy any mark up beverages or anything additional other than the basic buffet with crappy Florida water. It wasn't the waiter's fault, but the schedulers behind the front desk obviously screwed up. Maybe it was the sour taste in my mouth of the way we were treated, but I found the food to be average. The "South African delicacies" seemed like they were poured out of a Sysco bag and reheated. Prime rib...now we're talking. I asked for a slice. It looked like something my local deli would cut off a Boars Head roast; paper thin. $50 per person. I had three plates that probably would have cost $35 total. Big mistake taking my youngest son there. He had two plates that were half full; he eats like a bird. At best, his bill was probably around $20. We made the wrong choice. Our fault. Horrible service, and very average food. Goodbye Boma; never again.

 

[JamieLee18]

I think I was at AKL around the same time as you. I tried Boma for breakfast and was also disappointed. A woman near me in the food line said they don't have nearly as many African inspired foods as they used to, and that's probably true. It was my first time at AKL, but I got the sense that they're serving wimpy-er menus post covid.

 

[fractal]

After getting back to our room, the first thing we usually did was head out to the balcony to see what the animals were doing. It was pretty active later in the day as you can see the 'feeding truck' going around and filling the feeding hoppers. The giraffes were quite majestic and beautiful to watch. Dinner that night was scheduled for Boma.
I'll just say it right here because I was too disgusted to take any pictures. We made reservations two months in advance for 8:00 PM. We arrived 10 minutes early. We were told to take a seat and wait for our calling. 8:10 PM and nothing. 8:20 PM, nothing. I told my wife I would give them until 8:30 PM which I found ridiculous anyway since we had a solid reservation for 60 days. By 8:30 I was in a bad way. 8:32 we were called. I refused to buy any mark up beverages or anything additional other than the basic buffet with crappy Florida water. It wasn't the waiter's fault, but the schedulers behind the front desk obviously screwed up. Maybe it was the sour taste in my mouth of the way we were treated, but I found the food to be average. The "South African delicacies" seemed like they were poured out of a Sysco bag and reheated. Prime rib...now we're talking. I asked for a slice. It looked like something my local deli would cut off a Boars Head roast; paper thin. $50 per person. I had three plates that probably would have cost $35 total. Big mistake taking my youngest son there. He had two plates that were half full; he eats like a bird. At best, his bill was probably around $20. We made the wrong choice. Our fault. Horrible service, and very average food. Goodbye Boma; never again.




View attachment 670988View attachment 670991

That sux! We went in 2017 and I found it to be average but I do remember getting a nice slice of Prime Rib.

 

[macefamily]

Been awhile that I tried to finish off our TR so I'm going to slowly jump back in. It was our last day and we were spending it at Hollywood Studios. We did manage Genie times for ToT and RotR. So here we go, we're back at it. First stop...my favorite....Tower of Terror. I did notice some sound issues and blurry videos, but it wasn't too bad.

 

[macefamily]

After a quick on/off from ToT we headed across to Rockin' Rollercoaster. Wait time was 60 minutes so we decided to just take our chances in the single rider line. It moved steadily. My son and daughter managed to get seated together and I was seated with the dad from the other party in front of us. My wife stayed outside. She will NEVER ride this ride again. She strained her neck terribly. Yes, she's the same one you saw struggling in the earlier pics after Guardians of the Galaxy.

 

[macefamily]

This was all I could manage from Runaway Railway. We got through the queue and almost to the boarding lines when the ride stopped. Must have been a doozy because we were all escorted out in groups and given ride passes to be used that day.

 

[macefamily]

I'm not sure where we stopped to eat, but I never ate there. Was it Woody's Lunch Box ? Anyway, for some reason I wasn't in a very good mood so I sat and watched the family eat. That doesn't bother them; they're vultures. My daughter and wife raved about the toasted cheese and tomato soup. It wasn't something I would care for in an open air lounge on a muggy 88 degree day.
My son had an appointment to build his light saber so we agreed that I'd take him. As we walked there, I was hoping it wouldn't be the madhouse that we witnessed at the 'build your own bot' store.

 

[macefamily]

Uh-oh. We've been spotted and I forgot my blaster back with the bags that my wife HAD to check in.

 

[macefamily]

My son is 21 yrs old, but he collects lots of 'stuff.' I think he has every wand from Olivanders at Universal. He has been waiting to get his own light saber for years. He finally got a reservation for this trip which we booked our park visits around. Yes, for a toy, excuse me, "collectible."
I do have to say that the operation is very efficient. You check in, they move you from station to station, then you wait until your group is called. The experience is more like a show, as it should be for $250. I was surprised that my son knew all of the pieces and which ones he wanted for his personalized saber. I thought we'd be hanging out with a bunch of 10 yr olds, but there were dudes there around 40ish along with some fathers that you can tell were more into it than their kids.
I was glad that my son was visibly happy. It was a piece for his collection that he's been waiting for quite some time.

 

[macefamily]

Time for Mania. I don't even try anymore because I can't beat my daughter. It also kills my wrist, and if it's a hot day I end up overheating.
We were moving from AKL to GF this evening for a one night stay. We also had reservations at the Boathouse so we wanted to give ourselves enough time. So we decided to squeeze in a few more rides because we had a free pass from previously in the day and a reservation for RotR.

 

[macefamily]

As the day grew longer we pressed to squeeze everything in. We used our LL for RotR. I still think it's one of the best technically designed slow-ride/queue rides ever. I don't know how Disney will top it someday. Although, it is wise to have a good mix of offerings at the parks. From there, we used our 'fast pass' to head back to RR which is a perfect example of high tech/slow-ride combo. We do miss the Great Movie Ride. Runaway is a totally different theme, and it doesn't replace that GMR space, but it is a very good ride.
It doesn't matter to the 8 yr olds who never experienced GMR. This is their experience now. As for us boomer/millenials, it's Disney evolution as we've seen it. It's not good' it's not bad. It's how an entertainment company adapts to its audience.

 

[amjt660]

Thanks for the details of the tour
I did one similar at Disneyland and now I think I want to do the WDW tour next time

Horrible service, and very average food. Goodbye Boma; never again.

Totally agree - 2018 was our last time and we will never go back as well

Following along

Max