Pop Century, Pachyderms and a Proposal - May 2011 Trip Report

Hello fellow Disney lovers!
After years of lurking and randomly posting here and there on these boards...I figured it was time to write a trip report. This is my second attempt at writing a TR - my first came to a stop when my computer crashed and I lost a bunch of pictures. But I vow to finish this one! (Hell, I'm only starting it 4 months late - I've had enough prep time!) I was really on the fence about writing one but it seemed Holly (Hollybelle) nudged (more like pushed) me over the edge. :lol: So here I am. And who am I?

I'm Jess.

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23 year old self proclaimed Disney expert. This is my 7th trip…about 6th since I’ve been obsessed. My first trip in 1997 – First ride was Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Absolutely terrified me. I was scarred for the rest of the trip, scared to ride almost every ride. I was scared to ride Peter Pan’s Flight…no joke. My parents are still shocked that I now adore the place. The only ride I can remember riding and not being scared of was Spaceship Earth. Therefore I felt incredibly brave for riding the slow moving journey through time and rode it many times and this ride is still my favorite ride in all of Disney. So Spaceship Earth not only signifies my bravery but now it just SCREAMS “you’re at Disney World” to me. The sight of the mural paired with that SSE smell…gives me that feeling of “yep, you’re in Disney…feel free to tear up a bit.” And I usually do.

Anyway…traveling with me on this trip is my boyfriend(?) of 3 ½ years Bill.

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25 year old medical student, avid Haunted Mansion fan and tolerater of my Disney obsession. This is Bill’s 5th trip to the World…1st being with his high school class, the subsequent 3 being with yours truly. His 1st trip – he was not impressed (clearly he hadn’t met the right girl yet). Even after his 2nd trip he was not convinced. But the 3rd trip did the trick. He is still not obsessed to the point of posting on a Disney forum but he is hooked. Just thinking about how much he brags about how clean Disney is and how good the food is and how amazing everything is just brings a tear to my eye. He bragged about it so much to his family that joining us on this trip are….

Bill’s sister Samantha and her boyfriend Anthony.

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This will be both of their 2nd trips. Both of their trips were (separately) when they were in high school or middle school. Both were coming to Disney with one thing on their minds – FOOD. We had the dining plan on our last trip (free dining pin) and we got the pin again and Bill was bragging about the fantastic food we have encountered on our previous trips. Both were excited to stuff themselves full. (spoiler alert - mission accomplished)

This trip took place from May 17th – 24th. We were on the basic dining plan. And we were staying at the gorgeous, extravagant, larger than life, everyone’s favorite resort…you know it, you love it…starts with a P….O….takes you to a place you’ve never been. Say ‘Aloha’ to….

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POP CENTURY!!! Where else? :lookaroun We are avid Pop fans because we spend little time at the resort and can’t really justify shelling out the bucks for a place to sleep and shower.

So let’s get on with the show, shall we?

Monday May 16th“Do I really have to go to work today? Don’t they know I need to prepare for Disney tomorrow?”

Early morning work meetings are like getting jammed at the end of PoTC by the treasure room – always longer than expected. After listening to my boss and clients talk about something that was not Disney and therefore not interesting…I headed home to finish packing. Bill had just finished his first round of medical school boards (tests) so he was relaxing at home…leisurely packing. We finished up and headed to his parents house who live about 30 minutes away from the airport. We had a nice dinner with his parents and other siblings celebrating Bill being done with his boards. Then after a trip to the bar to REALLY celebrate…I put myself to bed for we had to get up early for our 7:50 flight.

Tuesday May 17th“Yes I do plan to ride SSE again and again…”
The alarm at 4 came quite quickly and we were showered and ready to hit the airport. We arrived without problem and got in line for TSA. And walking to the back of the line we spotted this man in line…

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(we didn't take a pic of him - too star struck - so this is from the internet)

Yes that is hockey legend Mario Lemieux. Former player and current owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Yeah…he’s kind of a big deal. So after our first (and only…unless you count Mickey Mouse…which, who am I kidding? You do.) celebrity sighting we headed through TSA. Samantha and Anthony were selected for body scans – Bill and I were not. True of our flight back to Pittsburgh as well. BUT who cares about heading back to Pittsburgh…we’re on our way to (as John would say) Walt F’in Disney World! We stopped for a delicious McDonalds breakfast before boarding our flight.

Flight was a bit bumpy – Samantha was not impressed, actually feeling rather sick from the bumps. When we landed the pilot informed us it was 70 degrees and sunny in Orlando, as well as 55 degrees and rainy in Pittsburgh. That’s what I love to hear! We got off the plane and bolted for Magical Express. This is when Anthony commented that all he saw through MCO was the back of my head as I was pretty much sprinting through the airport.

We’ve got places to go…Magical Expresses to catch. We walked through DME without problems and got the next bus that came. On the bus and off The Most Magical Place on Earth!!!!

We got to POP a little after 11 and our rooms were not ready. So after a quick change and checking our carry ons with the baggage people...we were heading out to the parks.

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plaz10

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Ah...we're finally here!
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We (read: I) was very excited to see some topiaries left over from the Flower and Garden festival as it had technically ended 2 days earlier. This would later send us on the path to explore World Showcase to catch other topiaries as they could be down tomorrow!!! (They would stay up our whole trip but I couldn’t take any chances!) :D

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Before we ventured in search of topiaries...we had to pay homage to my Disney bravery.

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Ah isn’t it just the most beautiful geosphere you’ve ever seen? I can’t take enough of pictures of this structure. Love it. So naturally it would be our first ride

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Ahh the smell of SSE. I’m home. So we board our time travel vehicles and begin…”Like a grand and miraculous spaceship…” and I’m crying. Not crazy bawling tears but yes tearing up. I’m back in Disney World. A year of waiting and planning is over…I’m here. The ride was magnificent as always (though I do believe the smell of Rome burning was turned down a bit as I really had to sniff to smell it).

After the best ride in EPCOT, we headed to Test Track as Anthony was really looking forward to this ride…either he was too small to ride it on his first trip or it wasn’t quite open yet or something…I never really caught why he wanted to ride it so much. The line was a bit long for us…35ish minutes so we rode single rider waiting about 5. We also grabbed Fastpasses for later. Then we were in search of lunch. So we leisurely walked around taking in the scenery (and topiaries!) as we made our way to Sunshine Seasons.
 

plaz10

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I was so FREAKIN' excited that there were tons of flower and garden displays all over EPCOT.

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Finally we made our way to the land and into Sunshine Seasons for something to eat.

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I wasn’t very hungry so Bill and I split the half chicken, mashed potatoes and beans and the key lime pie for dessert.

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Anthony also had the chicken but with crème brulee for dessert.

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Samantha had Cashew chicken and chocolate cake for dessert.

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Everyone enjoyed their meals. I personally liked Samantha's cashew chicken better than my chicken. Something to add for the Disney list for next trip!
 

plaz10

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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As everyone was finishing up their meals...I took it upon myself to do my Disney duty and take some food pictures!

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YUM. It all looked so good. After lunch we hit up Living with the Land.

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Anthony especially enjoyed this ride as he is quite the gardener. He plants a bunch of different types of peppers that take over their home (Samantha is thrilled). So he was especially excited at the “hottest pepper” as he has planted that pepper at home.

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(This unknown Egyptian pounding reeds flat...)
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plaz10

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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After that we headed over to the Imagination Pavilion to catch up with Figment.

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Yes I know this attraction is not as good as its former self…but I still enjoy it. And once again Bill and I blanked on the name of Professor Nigel Channing in real life and remember about 5 seconds into the ride (Eric Idle!!) Then we browsed the gift shop where I thought about buying some Figment merch but passed on the purple dragon gear.

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We cashed in our Test Track FP’s and then headed to the World Showcase via Mexico! We decided to look around inside and perhaps ride Grand Fiesta Tour. Well we didn’t quite make it to the tour for we got sidetracked at the tequila bar. Taking the advice of Karen (MillerPoppins) I got the Avocado margarita. Samantha got the Magic Blue margarita.

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Sorry for the darkness of the pictures (and quality of most pictures…I’m no photography aficionado, and actually quite a few of our pictures got lost somewhere but oh well, the show must go on).

Mine was absolutely delicious. So light and refreshing. Bill and I agreed it was one of the best margaritas we’ve ever tasted…and neither of us are huge on frozen margs, we usually enjoy them on the rocks – but this was heavenly. Definitely a must do for all trips from here on out. Well worth the price tag. Yum! Samantha’s was a little stronger than ours…tasted a bit more like pure tequila on the rocks. The 4 of us did a bit of a “sip and pass” with that one to make it go down. Margaritas in hand we moseyed around the shops a bit.
 

fractal

Well-Known Member
Great start to your TR! Your pictures are fine - I'm especially enjoying the great food pics! :)

Can't wait for more.
 

plaz10

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We continued to walk through a few countries…snapping some pics at Kringla in Norway but did not buy anything…yet. And it was Constitution Day at Norway! WOO HOO! This means….a large amount of flags decorating the pavilion and that’s about it. Bummer. We were hoping for something really cool. Which there may have been but it could not be seen by just glancing around not really going in shops so we may have missed out but it looks like we did not.

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Stopped in Germany to check the new Caramel Kitchen.

I may have been able to fight temptations in Norway but I was no match for the caramel deliciousness. I got the caramel and chocolate covered pretzel rod.

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(I don't know what I'm looking at in this picture...perhaps I was so excited about the upcoming awesomeness of the caramel pretzel that I couldn't be bothered to look at the camera)

Really delicious and not too filling. Not a great snack (ddp) for the price but still very tasty. We waltzed around a few more countries…not really visiting them (read: buying something) but just glancing around. Consider this our preview of the World Showcase…to be better explored at later dates.

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plaz10

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We did stop at Japan in time to catch Miyuki. She is pretty amazing. Really cool to see. This also started my and Samanthas overuse of the phrase “I show you how to make” in a Japanese accent which if you’ve ever seen the show is used many times by Miyuki. This would be the first of numerous overused phrases and the 2 of us still randomly text each other today. After Miyuki “showing us how to make” a flamingo with expensive black boots and a penguin…we headed for the International Gateway for we had ADRs at Cape May Café. Lots of topiaries along the way!!!

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And I took this picture in homage to John as I knew he'd appreciate it....

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Um, ma'am...you forgot something. I know it's mean spirited BUT come on - it's funny.

Anywho...we wandered around the Yacht and Beach club before checking in for our ADRs at Cape May Cafe.

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Our buzzer went off after just a few minutes. We made our way in and then started devouring crab legs!

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This plate x4 was my dinner for the evening. I didn't get a pic of it - but another surprising delicious dish was...the macaroni and cheese off the kids buffet. Seriously...some of the best mac n cheese I've ever had. Aside from those 2 dishes - the star of the show was the oreo bon bons.

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They were just as good as everyone had said. Absolutely delicious! Was one of the top desserts at all of the table service meals all week.

Final Thoughts - The buffet was good - not great. The buffet was also set up pretty poorly…there were numerous starting points so eventually when you got around the square…you were running into people who started somewhere else. I also had a personal disappointment because I saw on numerous people’s TRs pictures of lobster tortellini. It looked heavenly. And it was not on the buffet. I knew they changed the menu on certain items but I was really hoping for them. Oh well…fill the void with crab legs and oreo bon bons! And our waitress here was not very good. You think working a buffet you would really be refilling the drinks and emptying the crab shell bucket because that’s about all you can do to earn a tip…but our waitress did not think so. Meh. We were full and happy about it.
 

plaz10

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Took in the nice views of the boardwalk while waiting for the boat

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So headed back on the boat and were on our way to Hollywood Studios for my favorite nighttime show on property….

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I can’t get enough of this show. If it wasn’t for the having to wait in line for an hour to get a good seat…I’d want to see this show every night. I love the music and the use of villains as they seem to be gone from just about everywhere. I took a few pics of the surroundings while standing in line but this is the only one that didn’t get lost.

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We herded into the theater and found some sweet seats.

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The show started. I got a little teary eyed. Mickey got attacked by some bad@$$ villains but took them down with his own awesomeness. I might have shed a tear again when Steamboat Willie and his buds came rolling through. Guilty.

Now it was time for operation Potato Head – aka briskly strolling to Toy Story Midway Mania before it closed at 10 and it was about 9:30. The sign said 40 minute wait but we walked in and saw it would be closer to 20 and we were right!

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We rode and it was awesome as usual. Bill and I finally got the monster in the ring toss scene which really uped our scores. Unfortunately it uped Bill’s more than mine and he was victorious. I still demolished Samantha and Anthony’s scores. (hey wait isn’t it their first time riding and like your 10th or 12th? What? No…yes…SO!)

No longer shrunken to the size of a toy – we took a few pics as we strolled out of the park.

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The bus line was long but moved quickly. We headed back to POP, bought refillable mugs and promptly passed out. What a great first day – accomplished 4 of my favorite things in all of Disney World = SSE, margaritas/snacks in WS, Fantasmic! and Toy Story Mania. Successful first day in Disney indeed!

Next up: Probably the last time we visit Animal Kingdom for a while…
 

tink65

Active Member
Hey Jess, Loving your TR so far! Thanks for posting all the topiary pics. We've never been during the flower & garden fesitival but would love to one day. Your pics are great! Thanks for sharing and can't wait to read more!
 

plaz10

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Great start to your TR! Your pictures are fine - I'm especially enjoying the great food pics! :)

Can't wait for more.

Thanks so much! I promise there are many more food pics to come! Stay tuned!

+1

Great write up and pics so far!

Thank you!!

looking foward to more TR!! Im hooked!:D

Woo! Thanks so much for reading!

ahhh! All these yummy dessert pictures are killing me!!

nom nom nom!

There's plenty more where that came from! More food pics to come!
 

plaz10

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Hey Jess, Loving your TR so far! Thanks for posting all the topiary pics. We've never been during the flower & garden fesitival but would love to one day. Your pics are great! Thanks for sharing and can't wait to read more!

Aw thanks so much for reading! It really means a lot. This was our 2nd trip taking place right after the F&G festival and we got really lucky this year - last year there weren't 1/2 the topiaries we saw this year. Hence my urgency to see as many as possible the first day!
 

HopLow

Member
Stopped in Germany to check the new Caramel Kitchen.

I may have been able to fight temptations in Norway but I was no match for the caramel deliciousness. I got the caramel and chocolate covered pretzel rod.

Oh, how I love the caramel store... My friend generously donated one of her snack credits to me on our last trip because I couldn't decide on what to get in here. The chocolate covered caramel squares were GLORIOUS!!

You guys were so lucky, only waiting 20 mins for TSMM!!

I'm so enjoying the TR - your excitement is infectious!! Can't wait for more!
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
ZOMG!!! A trip report from Jess?! Can it really be??? I'm so excited. Fabulous start, my friend, I'm loving the commentary. Of course, I'm going to take full credit for the awesomeness that is this trip report... seeing as how I *pushed* you over the edge - no looking back now. Back! Back! Over de Falls!! :lol:
 

switts

Member
great report so far. Its helping me count down the days until i go...92 days to go. Also the food pictures are killing me right now. I am going to eat so much when I'm there:D
 

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