Graduation Celebration: HOT days, fun times, and plenty of food

I have only been home for 20 hours, and I am already missing the most magical place on earth, ESPECIALLY the weather. When I left Florida it was 95, and now I'm stuck with a high of 67. What's with mother nature? Anyway, I had an awesome 10 days at WDW, and I am excited to share my vacation with the wdwmagic family!

If any of you haven't read my pre-trip report, you can read it at this link: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=750730

WARNING: There may be some grammar mistakes in this report. I am a very fast typer, and I sometimes skip words or make spelling mistakes. I'm only human. Also, I am no Tom Bricker (WDWFigment), which means my photos aren't fantastic, but I try.

After 5 months of planning, June 11th was finally here. I was supposed to wake up at 4:30 am, but I hit the snooze which caused me to sleep in till 5:30. After getting all of our stuff together, we hit the road. Goodbye boring/cold Illinois! Hello warm/tropical Florida!

Here is a fantastic (sarcasm) photo of me and my disney girls. Don't I just look so alive? At least I'm representing my team.


IMG_0251 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

Here is our crazy amount of luggage, but hey were women! We need a lot of stuff!


IMG_0253 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr
At 6 am, we hit the road. Because everyone in our group has their license, we were all able to take turns driving. And guess who drove first? The one who has the least experience driving! My 16 year old sister, Jodi. I will admit, she is a pretty decent driver, but she scares me sometimes. With that said, my mom watched her very closely. She drove about 5 hours. Then, my mom took over until the middle of Tennessee.

AHHHHHHHH

IMG_0255 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

Goofing off in the car:

IMG_0958 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

Rock on!

IMG_0260 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

I'm so glad Katie was excited for the car ride. Good thing she doesn't know about this website, or she probably would kill me.

DSC_0447 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

YAY for Kentucky!

DSC_0462 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

Hello Nashville! Sadly, I fell asleep, and was not able to take a picture of "Welcome to Tennessee!".

DSC_0469 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

After driving through Kentucky and a little bit of Tennessee, my mom needed to rest her back, so I took over. I have a fear of driving in the mountains, and I was a tad freaked out about driving through them. Even though there not that bad, the mountains still freak me out. My mom talked me through, and I successfully drove through them. Phew! That was a relief.

Hello Atlanta! Katie took the picture because I was driving. Yes, I missed the Georgia welcome sign, but I was driving.

IMG_0267 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

After Atlanta, I got tired, so my mom took over. We made it to the border of Georgia at about 11:00. We decided to stay in a hotel for the night. We made our exit in Valdosta, GA. Finding a hotel was a NIGHTMARE. Every hotel was booked because Lady Antebellum was in town for a concert. WOW, we would choose to stay in a town with every hotel booked. It was insane! We were so desperate we even tried staying in this crack motel...


IMG_0959 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

HA! You gotta love the name. Unfortunately, they were booked, but the guy offered that we could stay downstairs... Oh my gosh. I don't even want to know what goes on downstairs. So we got the heck away from that place. Luckily, the sleep inn had one room left. It was a "suite" with a whirlpool. Woohoo! How fancy! You should have seen this place. It was no suite. Jodi and Katie were forced to sleep on the pull out couch, but they survived.

Stay tuned!!!!

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Congrats on your graduation! And I must say your pictures are really really good!

And I will definitely agree with you on Typhoon Lagoon being better than Blizzard Beach, I haven't been to the water parks in a few years (I'm not a big water park person) but I've gone to both and I love Typhoon Lagoon much more than Blizzard Beach!

And thanks for your little bit on the secrets! I actually didn't know that Lady and Tramp's prints were outside Tony's! Me and my mom go to Disney World together and in September when we go we have decided to eat at Tony's since it's been a looong time since we have eaten there and I am definitely going to look for those footprints thank you!

Can't wait to read the rest!

 

[disneygirl1]

So Tony's was good huh??? I was dedating eating there on our Aug trip but opted to book Grand Floridian Cafe instead. But lately I been hearing not so great things about the GF Cafe so now I'm nervous I had a mistake! :shrug:

 

[HouCuseChickie]

ok- well, your dinner at Tony's is far more exciting than the dinner I just had. The desserts look incredible!!! Can't wait to read more!:wave:

 

[foreverbelle]

I have no idea what you were talking about when you said you took bad pictures, because I am finding it hard to find one bad one. Seriously they are really good!

And you shouldn't feel silly about hating roller coasters. They aren't for everyone at least you went on one once upon a time and can say you did it. There are several people I know that say they don't like them but don't want to try it either.

Looks like you guys are having/had a blast!!

And your food looks amazing. You are making me hungry....

 

[Disneygal1]

Ok , after eating my oh so boring oatmeal (bathing suit season, stinks eating healthy crap!) I cannot wait to go and have that taco salad at Peco Bills's ! I forgot they have that there and I so miss the one they use to have at POR dining hall!!! Although all your pics are making me Hungry!!!!!Great pics by the way!!!

Haha don't you just love the food pictures? Everything at my house seems like crap compared to Disney food. I love Peco Bill's. It's definitely one of the better quick services at wdw.

despite the fact that they aren't the most talented team...I do love the cubs (we live about 8 blocks away from Wrigley)...the games are much more a social event than a sporting event for me

Yay for cubs fans! Even though they're doing terrible this season, I need to get my butt over to Wrigley and go to a game.

Congrats on your graduation! And I must say your pictures are really really good!

And I will definitely agree with you on Typhoon Lagoon being better than Blizzard Beach, I haven't been to the water parks in a few years (I'm not a big water park person) but I've gone to both and I love Typhoon Lagoon much more than Blizzard Beach!

And thanks for your little bit on the secrets! I actually didn't know that Lady and Tramp's prints were outside Tony's! Me and my mom go to Disney World together and in September when we go we have decided to eat at Tony's since it's been a looong time since we have eaten there and I am definitely going to look for those footprints thank you!

Can't wait to read the rest!

Thank you!

I feel like typhoon has a lot more going on compared to blizzard beach. I do like blizzard beach, but since I live up north, I am so sick of the snow even if it is fake. :lol: I also would NEVER go on summit plummet. That slide freaks the crap out of me!

The secrets are so cool! The paw prints are also pretty easy to find.

So Tony's was good huh??? I was dedating eating there on our Aug trip but opted to book Grand Floridian Cafe instead. But lately I been hearing not so great things about the GF Cafe so now I'm nervous I had a mistake! :shrug:

I really did like Tony's. I have seen a lot of mixed reviews on Tony's though. I have also never been to the Grand Floridan Cafe. You should compare reviews on both restaurants, and see which one has more positives. You can always double book, and make a last minute decision. I did that with Boma and Sanaa, We ended up choosing Boma over Sanaa.

ok- well, your dinner at Tony's is far more exciting than the dinner I just had. The desserts look incredible!!! Can't wait to read more!:wave:

The desserts were awesome. I actually liked my sister's cheesecake better than my tiramisu, but I am a huge cheesecake fan. Both were very good.

I have no idea what you were talking about when you said you took bad pictures, because I am finding it hard to find one bad one. Seriously they are really good!

And you shouldn't feel silly about hating roller coasters. They aren't for everyone at least you went on one once upon a time and can say you did it. There are several people I know that say they don't like them but don't want to try it either.

Looks like you guys are having/had a blast!!

And your food looks amazing. You are making me hungry....

Thanks! I got a dslr for the trip. It was definitely well worth it.

I know, I'm really glad I can say I have been on all of the roller coasters at least once. I really want to do all three mountains again, but I chickened out... Maybe next time!

 

[Patrick_Ears]

The wave pool would have been our first stop in TL. :lol:

So mom was dancing in the rain uhh... :sohappy: hey she was having fun.

 

[barrettismyhero]

Another Illinois person here..

Very fun trip report so far!

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Thank you!

I feel like typhoon has a lot more going on compared to blizzard beach. I do like blizzard beach, but since I live up north, I am so sick of the snow even if it is fake. :lol: I also would NEVER go on summit plummet. That slide freaks the crap out of me!

The secrets are so cool! The paw prints are also pretty easy to find.

I live in New England so I hear ya on the fake snow :lol:

 

[oommggitskait]

Just caught up! How fun that you ladies took a girls trip. It looks like it's off to an amazing start already!
The shady hotel made me legit lol! What a creeper, offering the "downstairs", EEK!
The food pics are to die for and you are for sure making me hungry, and I JUST ate dinner!

 

[Disneygal1]

The wave pool would have been our first stop in TL. :lol:

So mom was dancing in the rain uhh... :sohappy: hey she was having fun.

Haha. I don't even remember it being that empty. I should have payed attention haha. Next time I'll be sure to look at the wave pool before I do anything else.

Yes, my mom was so hot. She loved every minute of standing in the rain. She thought it was better than splash mountain!:lol:

Another Illinois person here..

Very fun trip report so far!

Yay for Illinoisans! I'm glad you're enjoying it!

I live in New England so I hear ya on the fake snow :lol:

Haha yes. Especially after all the snow we got this year. I'm snowed out!

Just caught up! How fun that you ladies took a girls trip. It looks like it's off to an amazing start already!
The shady hotel made me legit lol! What a creeper, offering the "downstairs", EEK!
The food pics are to die for and you are for sure making me hungry, and I JUST ate dinner!

That hotel was really something. I can't even imagine what the rooms would look like haha. These food pictures are killing me too! I'm missing Disney food already.

 

[Disneygal1]

Ending of June 14th

After Tony's, we hit some more rides. I am not exactly sure which ones we did. After whatever rides we went on, Jodi and Katie went on space mountain, again. They just can't get enough of that ride! While they were on the ride, the Electrical Light Parade was about to start. So my mom and I went to go find a good spot to watch the parade.

After the parade, my mom and I watched wishes. Jodi and Katie were doing the rides, and they probably couldn't have cared less if they missed the fireworks. As usual, wishes was awesome. It always gives me the chills. Although wishes was awesome, something peculiar happened. Tinkerbell didn't come out! I have no idea why, but she didn't come out. Later in the trip I asked a cast member the reason, so stay tuned!

When Wishes ended, we all met up and went back to pop. Tomorrow: Epcot!

 

[Disneygal1]

June 15th: Epcot and Dinner at Teppan Edo

There were extra early magic hours for Epcot at 8, so we got up at 7. We ended up getting there at 8:30.

This picture would be perfect if my white tank top wasn't sticking out.

We took some pictures and then went on spaceship earth. I love that ride! At the end when we chose our future, our faces didn't work! How disappointing! Jodi and Katies' worked, but ours didn't. I also noticed that it didn't work for the people in front of us. I wonder if that is becoming a problem... We still enjoyed it. After that, we checked out Club Cool. I absolutely love to get pop there. I wish they sold the pop from the different countries. I definitely would buy the ginger ale from Mozambique. Also, Katie has never been to club cool. So, Jodi and I decided to be very sneaky buy telling Katie that the best tasting pop was Beverly. She was in for a real treat!

When she tasted Bevery ahahaha.

After club cool we went on Test Track. I also noticed a lot of hidden mickeys this time, very cool. Then, we went over to world showcase. Jodi wore her Spanish shirt from school and took a picture in front of Mexico for her Spanish teacher. Maybe she will get extra credit...

 

[Disneygal1]

We toured some of the other countries until our late lunch/early dinner reservations, which were at 3:40.

While in Germany, I noticed that the cuckoo shop was closed. I almost had a heart attack. I love that shop! No worries, a cast member told be it was under renovation.

 

[Disneygal1]

After touring some of the countries, we stopped in Japan and checked in. We ended up checking in an hour before our reservations. I told you all that we would be doing this a lot! We ended up only waiting for 20 minutes.

Checking in...

I got the filet mingon, Jodi and my mom got the Tori (chicken), and Katie had the Ebi (shrimp). We also got appetizers. Jodi and both had the sushi sampler.

Our chef was awesome! She was so funny and an awesome cook.

Volcano!

 

[Disneygal1]

She called the shrimp Nemo haha.

Noodles

Filet Mingon

Tori

Chocolate Ginger Cake

Green Tea Pudding

Well, I loved my meal and so did everyone else. My steak and noodles were so good. The sushi was good as well. As for the dessert, it was pretty decent. My mom got the green tea pudding, Jodi and I had the chocolate ginger cake, and Katie had ice cream. My mom's green tea pudding was a tad bit weird. It barely had a taste to it. She asked to switch it out and she got the chocolate cake instead. I liked my chocolate cake. It wasn't anything amazing, but it was good. As for the whole experience, I loved Teppan Edo. I never had an empty drink, and the staff was very attentive. Our chef was awesome and so was the food. My mom thought that they portions were somewhat smallish, but I thought it was enough. I definitely recommend Teppan Edo. It's a great experience with great Japanese food.

Up next: Epcot Conclusion. Our day ending earlier than expected.

 

[twodisneyfans]

Teppan Edo

I agree with you on Teppan Edo....awesome place to eat...We have ADR's for our first night there next month!!!

 

[switts]

The pictures from Teppen Edo look awesome....I may have to make a trip there on one of my next trips

 

[jhoff3405]

Just catching up....
What a fantastic time you are having!
Your pictures are great.
Last time I was in Disney I had a check off list as well of the "hidden secrets." You should definitely do the "Keys to the Kingdom" Tour, well worth the money.
Looking forward to more....

 

[Disneygal1]

I agree with you on Teppan Edo....awesome place to eat...We have ADR's for our first night there next month!!!

Great choice! You won't be disappointed.

The pictures from Teppen Edo look awesome....I may have to make a trip there on one of my next trips

You should! It's a great experience.

Just catching up....
What a fantastic time you are having!
Your pictures are great.
Last time I was in Disney I had a check off list as well of the "hidden secrets." You should definitely do the "Keys to the Kingdom" Tour, well worth the money.
Looking forward to more....

Thanks! I really enjoyed the secrets. I had no idea Disney had a ton of little secrets. I am definitely going to look into that tour, it sounds interesting.

 

[Disneygal1]

After dinner, we visited all of the countries. While in Morocco, Jodi and Katie insisted on getting henna. Jodi got two one oner her wrist and the other on her foot. Katie got just one, which was on her wrist.

The sign means music.

This one means believe.

When we were done touring all of the countries, we headed over to nemo and friends. Right when we were about to go in the clams, the ride broke down! What a surprise! It took about 10 minutes for the ride to start back up. Honestly, I am not a big fan of nemo and friends. Shocking because I care for every ride at Disney except for this one. After nemo, Jodi and Katie did turtle talk with crush. My mom and I walked around and we toured the aquarium. I kind of wish I did turtle talk because I do love it, but my next trip I will definitely do it again! We then went outside and we tried to figure out what we were going to do next. I looked up at the sky and noticed a thunderstorm coming our way. It was also lightning. We were going to stay and watch illimuniations, but we knew it was going to rain. So we left. While driving back to pop, it began to pour. So we were really happy we left.

Next: Hollywood Studios!