Trip Report the "I can't eat anymore steak!!!, Wishes vs HEA, snake incident" Trip report. May 2017

*Flynnderella* · Feb 4, 2018

I can fully appreciate that this picture does not make the Falafels look appetising, HOWEVER they were quite delicious. Not quite as good as my dad makes them

but still good!
While we were getting our food from the stall, we thought the guys who were serving us were being a little bit....rude and leery? (is that a word) turns out they were. What they didn't realise is that we actually understand Arabic. Pretty sheepish faces all round when we made them aware of this fact.

The baklava was also good but a little dry. I didn't eat most of it! I'm not sure the chocolate sauce is a traditional thing for the middle east but we went with it!

Views for days :inlove:

Japan time. POKEMON GO! (no I don't play it)

I don't actually think i've ever been into Japan before so this was a new one for us! I ended up buying a little trinket dish which @RedNoseMickey photographed during her trip report. I will take a picture and post it after! We stayed and watched the drummers for a little while. They're amazing!!!!! I got a video but no photos!
Wasn't long before we decided to try some MORE food... (I know what you're thinking...we have a signature dining booked soon) yes I know. Our stomachs had stretched some what since we got here!!

Who knew Frushi was a thing?!?! It was really good. We went back for more later in the evening but the stall was closed :cry:

It was really light and refreshing. Heres hoping it will still be on the menu next year!

I make ABSOLUTELY no apologies for this next photo attempt. Do not judge. I felt it had to be done. :joyfull:

I mean ITS NOT EVEN A GOOD EFFORT :joyfull:

I've basically squashed it. I'll just leave it there.

It was soon time for our reservation at Monsieur Pauls. We booked a ADR so we would have enough time to come out and find a good place for Illuminations. Although in the end we didn't actually watch it properly.

Hey there France. I see you!!

Roasted duck breast, caramelized kumquats, turnip purée, grilled salsify, duck jus. Really nice but quite rich! I think mum had the chicken and possibly so did sis. Our server was VERY dishy (if I'm even allowed to say that. :inlove:

) something about the French accent haha! ANYWAAAAYYY!
We had to wait quite a while for our food but other than that it was great. I wish I'd had a starter so I could have tried the Escargot but never mind! I'm surprised I was even able to eat this after all the food we'd eaten throughout the afternoon!!

Meringue, mango and coconut sorbets, vanilla Chantilly, exotic fruits coulis.

This was really tasty!! Not too sickly at all as the Mango balanced it out! Definitely recommend if you're not a chocolate fan!
Sis had the chocolate sphere which she said was VERY alcoholic (so mum happily swapped :joyfull:

) and mum ordered the warm almond cake. YUM. No pictures though sorry!

Summary of Monsieur Pauls. I wouldn't be rushing to go back. The food was nice but I think personally there are nicer signature restaurants. I would definitely try Chef de France though if I was in the mood for the French cuisine.

macefamily · Feb 4, 2018

Your snake story was very amusing. I have one from October 2017 when we were down visiting my daughter who was working in the Disney College program. We were walking from the Contemporary Resort to Magic Kingdom and it was a balmy, humid morning. We just crossed the intersection and hit the sidewalk when someone from our party yelled, "Snake" ! To the right where the park is and there is some fern plants close to the ground, there was a HUGE, fat, grayish snake slithering through the plants. He had to be four feet long. There was a security guard there and I said to him that there's a big snake slithering along side the sidewalk. He didn't even move. He asked, "Is it shiny or dull colored ?" I said that it's dull. Then he said, "No worries, they're not poisonous." I then said, "Well I guess they're OK to keep all the critters out of the park, like rats and mice." The security guard immediately responded, "Not ALL mice." My family immediately started laughing. It took me a few seconds, but I caught on.

*Flynnderella* · Feb 4, 2018

macefamily said:
Your snake story was very amusing. I have one from October 2017 when we were down visiting my daughter who was working in the Disney College program. We were walking from the Contemporary Resort to Magic Kingdom and it was a balmy, humid morning. We just crossed the intersection and hit the sidewalk when someone from our party yelled, "Snake" ! To the right where the park is and there is some fern plants close to the ground, there was a HUGE, fat, grayish snake slithering through the plants. He had to be four feet long. There was a security guard there and I said to him that there's a big snake slithering along side the sidewalk. He didn't even move. He asked, "Is it shiny or dull colored ?" I said that it's dull. Then he said, "No worries, they're not poisonous." I then said, "Well I guess they're OK to keep all the critters out of the park, like rats and mice." The security guard immediately responded, "Not ALL mice." My family immediately started laughing. It took me a few seconds, but I caught on.

Oh my gosh!! I bet they see them all the time but still I would have thought he might of reacted

I do like his sense of humour though

Now to be fair, I bet I would have reacted the same way to my mum but since it wasn’t me I thought it was hilarious! Karma has a funny way of catching up though :cautious:

sheriffwoody · Feb 5, 2018

Did you see the snake that Richard saved me from outside the Grand Flo in August?

Show that to your mum :hilarious:

. She may never want to go to the Grand Florian now.

*Flynnderella* · Feb 5, 2018

sheriffwoody said:
Did you see the snake that Richard saved me from outside the Grand Flo in August?

Show that to your mum . She may never want to go to the Grand Florian now.

Let’s just start by saying what a cutie patootie Richard is :inlove:

in general and for saving you from the snake!!!!

I’m surprised you stuck around long enough to take a picture; I will make sure to show her :joyfull:

although, come to think of it, id quite like to go back

sheriffwoody · Feb 6, 2018

*Flynnderella* said:
Let’s just start by saying what a cutie patootie Richard is in general and for saving you from the snake!!!!

I’m surprised you stuck around long enough to take a picture; I will make sure to show her although, come to think of it, id quite like to go back

He's totally my hero! I have never been scared of snakes, so I was fine. Now if it had started coming at me, I would have flipped, but it was just crossing the path. Poor, dumb snake :hilarious:

Yeah maybe you're wise to not show her that or she'll never be open to staying at the Grand Flo

*Flynnderella* · Mar 17, 2018

Just a couple more photos from our evening at EPCOT!

We were coming up to our last few days and we had SO MANY snack credits left so this is what happens when you're left without a responsible adult in Karamell Kuche!! :hungry:

I say without a responsible adult even though I am 26, sis is 32 and mum...well she was egging us on to buy more!!!! :joyfull:

UP next......our last full day :cry:

*Flynnderella* · Mar 17, 2018

Our last day. Where else would we spend it but Magic Kingdom?

The day started off VERY well with this BEAUTIFUL Bounty Platter. :hungry:

We wanted to keep our energy up so we could go from dawn until dusk and take in every last bit of magic that we could. Although we had seen the first night of HEA from the Cali Grill, we still hadn't seen the full spectacle down in the park so tonight was the night. (side note: had we known it was SO amazing in front of the castle, we would have seen it EVERY NIGHT)

So we got filled up on breakfast and then headed off to the park. It was just me and sissy for the morning and mum decided she was too tired to do any more park time (she had surgery on her back a couple of years ago and she struggles walking so much). She was more than happy enjoying the sunshine at the resort and then eating at the POR restaurant on the evening.
The rest of the gang went elsewhere for the day and we met up in the afternoon/evening for HEA and a few rides!

So on with the day:

Hello Beautiful :inlove:

After a little photoshoot in front of my favourite castle, we moved on.

We headed for Adventure land first and on the way, the castle show was on. The last time we visited in 2016, it was Dream along with Mickey which we really enjoyed and love the soundtrack. Mickeys Friendship Faire.....? Not so catchy. We watched a couple of minutes and kept going.
After a little wander through went straight through to Frontierland and on to Splash Mountain.

LOVING.LIFE.

Now I am pretty much drawing a blank....(I mean it was nearly a year ago. Yes I know, I should have finished this sooner but... I'M SORRRYYYYYYYY :facepalm:

)
I do know we went on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.....verdict....I'm glad we had fast passes! It was fun but kind of like..much too short!! You're just getting into it when it finishes!! The gang were supposed to meet us for this ride but again, they didn't make it in time and I was NOT losing this fast pass!!

At this point, we were quite happy not waiting in line for more things as most of the queues were quite long and we wanted to head down to Main Street and do some browsing and snacking since we STILL had so many snack credits!! I don't have any photos of what we ate (shocker), but I know it was very sugary and very calorific. :hungry:

Is there any other snack to have in Disney?!

I don't think we bought anything in the shops but there was definitely a lot I COULD have bought had I not needed to get it back to the UK

I know this day wasn't that informative but I mean....there's pictures!!

Up next... Our last evening!

fractal · Mar 17, 2018

Snake story is cracking me up!

Definitely eating in Morocco next trip.

*Flynnderella* · Mar 17, 2018

Time for food.
We didn't have any more TS credits left which was fine by us so we just headed to Pecos Bills for Nachos and the all important strawberry slushy & Mickey Straw. :hungry:

I could 100% eat this right now. It was so YUM! Totally went to town with the toppings...don't judge. :hungry:

Whilst we were eating, the rest of the gang FINALLY made it to the park!!!!!

There was about an hour or so before the fireworks so we decided to head on over to MS to get a good space to so we could see the castle. We ended up in the same place as we were for the last night of Wishes.. just off the the right of the castle.
This is my favourite part of the day at Disney. When the sun is almost set, the lamps are on and its still warm :inlove:

I type this whilst sitting with my heating on full, a mug of tea, wearing my scarf and looking at the blizzard out the window :cautious:

I thought it was March guys?!

What I would give to be back there now

(It really does't help that the family we went with last year are heading back in a few weeks but just the mum dad and little girl. :cry:

)

Anyway... here we go with HEA..full version! I also write this while listening to HEA soundtrack :inlove:

Just for the full affect and to transport me back!!!!

This is a bit blurred as it was taken from part of one of the videos I took!
SHOCK HORROR...MY IPHONE MEMORY BECAME FULL HALFWAY THROUGH HEA :cyclops:

!! At the time I was devastated but it also made me look away from my screen at the true beauty that was going on at the castle!!! Oh and how I cried!! I thought I loved it from Cali Grill but that was nothing in comparison to seeing it up close! It was truly amazing and it gave me ALL the feels. I know I've read that some people don't like how modern and pop-y the actual HEA song is but I really do love it- it adds a new edge to it IMO. There is something similar with the castle projections in DLP which we saw a few years ago but that is nothing in comparison! I really loved Wishes! but this just blew me away! The incorporation of old Disney with new was perfect. Especially Tarzan because... best ever soundtrack. Oh and Pirates!!!! (can I have two faves?) :cat:

This one didn't quite work out as the castle was just transitioning but that firework though :inlove:

So after many tears ... we weren't ready to leave yet. One of the girls got us fast passes for Space Mountain so we headed that way to avoid the crowds.

I do have a photo of us on this however......the way i'm sat is VERY unflattering and it's making me question whether I should have eaten those nachos :cautious:

#pigrolls

After this we saw that you could sit in the Rose Gardens so we decided to get Ice Cream from the Parlour on Main Street and spend our last hour in MK just admiring the view and enjoying a sweet treat. The garden was basically empty except for us and the park was clearing out quite quickly so it eventually felt very calm.

Mint Choc Chip for me! Nom. And what a perrrrfeccttt view :inlove:

We sat and admired for a while- some guys went off to ride SM again but I was more than happy staying put. We then were welcomed with the "Kiss Good Night". *sigh* I could have stayed in that moment forever! Alas it was time to leave. But not before absorbing every last bit of MK and Main Street into my memory. Until next time MK :inlove:

Up next...our final morning and the Tragical Express :cry:

*Flynnderella* · Mar 17, 2018

Final Morning i.e. worst day ever.

Our original plan was for me and sis to head over to HS for another go on RnRC since we only managed to go on it once :cautious:

but when we woke up we decided we wanted a relaxing morning so we could get packed up and soak up that last bit of sunshine by the pool. We all decided to do the same so after our last breakfast, we packed up and left the bags in the room...we secretly hoped that Mousekeeping wouldn't come by till a little later so we could sneak back into our rooms for showers before the TS picked us up...and the hoping worked because thats exactly what happened :jawdrop:

Naughty I know, I know but they hadn't been cleaned yet and we literally were in there 20 mins max!!!!!!! No judgement!!

I made sure to get an "At the Castle" bottle of Coke before we left just...because!

After a few hours enjoying the pool we got packed up, ready and then went to the Food Court to have lunch before we left for the airport. I've seen that recently you are picked up 4 hours before your flight now??!?!?!?! What the?! Who needs to be ripped away from the magic so soon!? Not me I tell you!!! :cautious:

Big bullies!!

And that's it guys! If you have managed to stick with me since the beginning then I thank you so much! If you came in half way through I also thank you and if you haven't been here at all......well you should have been

This has been a year in the making and I hope it didn't disappoint too much! I know for next time to MAKE NOTES AND TAKE MORE PICTURES!
I will probably be back with some final thoughts and probably a couple more pictures that I find along the way but I think I will leave you with one of my favourites....

I posted it very early in the TR but this one has the magic added to it :inlove:

Thanks again everyone!! Flynnderella OUT!! *drops mic*

Songbird76 · Mar 21, 2018

So how would you say it went, with such a big group? Did it pose any problems at all? We are planning a trip for next Summer and I have been trying to get my brother and his family to do Disney with us for YEARS, AND I just found out my cousins are semi-planning to go next Summer as well, and we want to coordinate. While we'd all be with our own families, we'd do a lot of stuff together, and we're talking about 20 people here. 4 in my family, 3 in my brother's, my cousin and his girlfriend, his 3 children and their spouses and 5 kids between those 3 children. So 12 adults and and 8 children if everyone goes. We'd be staying on property, but the rest of the family is looking at a condo offsite. I'm just wondering if it's doable? Did you make ALL the fastpasses for your whole group? And now I need to go back and read the beginning because I don't remember if you made a bunch of ADRs or played it by ear.

fractal · Mar 22, 2018

Agree on HEA. Loved it (and yes you can have 2 favorites; 1A and 1B).

great report, thanks for sharing!

Fankle · Mar 24, 2018

Really enjoyed reading your trip report.

amjt660 · Mar 24, 2018

Good things come to those who wait

Great things come when you are waiting for @flynnderella to finish up her story

Great report
Loved the pics and the snake story

Max

*Flynnderella* · Mar 24, 2018

amjt660 said:
Good things come to those who wait

Great things come when you are waiting for @flynnderella to finish up her story

Great report
Loved the pics and the snake story

Max

Thanks Max!! You’re a true trooper & stayed along for the ride! Glad you enjoyed reading! Now I don’t have to feel as guilty for just reading everyone else’s adventures whilst mine is half done

*Flynnderella* · Mar 24, 2018

Songbird76 said:
So how would you say it went, with such a big group? Did it pose any problems at all? We are planning a trip for next Summer and I have been trying to get my brother and his family to do Disney with us for YEARS, AND I just found out my cousins are semi-planning to go next Summer as well, and we want to coordinate. While we'd all be with our own families, we'd do a lot of stuff together, and we're talking about 20 people here. 4 in my family, 3 in my brother's, my cousin and his girlfriend, his 3 children and their spouses and 5 kids between those 3 children. So 12 adults and and 8 children if everyone goes. We'd be staying on property, but the rest of the family is looking at a condo offsite. I'm just wondering if it's doable? Did you make ALL the fastpasses for your whole group? And now I need to go back and read the beginning because I don't remember if you made a bunch of ADRs or played it by ear.

Thanks for following along

As for planning for everyone, we thought it would be easier than it was. We had all our ADR’s booked before we arrived but as you will have seen in the report, about halfway through the holiday myself, sis and Mum decided that since the other family weren’t really sticking to the plans we had all made together I.e. they would miss a lot of fast passes for things that we had found hard to get therefore a couple of things we only managed to go on once (RNRC & SDMT) because we waited around for them to arrive etc, and also because us 3 changed our strategy on how we wanted to dine.
If I was to do it again I would be less fixated on everyone doing everything together because it’s just not how it goes, including dinners. We did a lot less Park time this time and enjoyed the resort whereas the rest did their own thing. It made it easier making fast passes and dining for 3 and then fitting in meeting up with everyone else if and when it suited! We did do most of our fast passes before we arrived but when we were all together it was quite stressful trying to make EVERYONES fast passes for them :cautious:

we would end up not doing the ride at all because we felt bad that there was only 3 fastpasses.
Separating off a little allowed us to get some nice ADR’s like CG, Monsieur Paul’s, Tiffins as there was less of us and the rest of the group we’re happy with 1TS places like Rainforest cafe, T-Rex & Sci-fi dine in. However if you do all want to eat in the same place, we found booking separate reservations within the same time slot worked out well aslong as we were sat near each other!

I’m not sure if any of that makes sense

BUT my tip of the day would be, do what YOU want to do and don’t try so hard to make everyone do the same thing because it’ll just make you sad when people are moaning because they’re not happy. I would say, make your plans of must dos and then fit everyone else in around you.

I hope this helps and thanks again for following!

*Flynnderella* · Mar 24, 2018

fractal said:
Agree on HEA. Loved it (and yes you can have 2 favorites; 1A and 1B).

great report, thanks for sharing!

Thanks Fractal!

Now to chose which is 1A & which is 1B :joyfull:

Songbird76 · Mar 24, 2018

*Flynnderella* said:
Thanks for following along
As for planning for everyone, we thought it would be easier than it was. We had all our ADR’s booked before we arrived but as you will have seen in the report, about halfway through the holiday myself, sis and Mum decided that since the other family weren’t really sticking to the plans we had all made together I.e. they would miss a lot of fast passes for things that we had found hard to get therefore a couple of things we only managed to go on once (RNRC & SDMT) because we waited around for them to arrive etc, and also because us 3 changed our strategy on how we wanted to dine.
If I was to do it again I would be less fixated on everyone doing everything together because it’s just not how it goes, including dinners. We did a lot less Park time this time and enjoyed the resort whereas the rest did their own thing. It made it easier making fast passes and dining for 3 and then fitting in meeting up with everyone else if and when it suited! We did do most of our fast passes before we arrived but when we were all together it was quite stressful trying to make EVERYONES fast passes for them we would end up not doing the ride at all because we felt bad that there was only 3 fastpasses.
Separating off a little allowed us to get some nice ADR’s like CG, Monsieur Paul’s, Tiffins as there was less of us and the rest of the group we’re happy with 1TS places like Rainforest cafe, T-Rex & Sci-fi dine in. However if you do all want to eat in the same place, we found booking separate reservations within the same time slot worked out well aslong as we were sat near each other!

I’m not sure if any of that makes sense BUT my tip of the day would be, do what YOU want to do and don’t try so hard to make everyone do the same thing because it’ll just make you sad when people are moaning because they’re not happy. I would say, make your plans of must dos and then fit everyone else in around you.
I hope this helps and thanks again for following!

That helps a lot, and is pretty much what I was thinking. My cousin would be planning for their family, my brother for his, and me for mine, so we wouldn't be doing everything together. Some things we'd plan to do together, but it's more a matter of coordinating than trying to plan everything for everyone. I think I'd go crazy. And I just talked to my brother tonight and he is talking about bringing his inlaws along, so that adds 3 more adults to his group. I'm not insane enough to try to get ADRS for 23 people. No way. But I do want to do SOME things together....I only see everyone once every few years. We all live so far apart...cousins in Iowa and Illinois, my brother in Wyoming, and us in the Netherlands. This really would be a once in a lifetime family reunion!!! So I hope it works out, but at least now I know not to try to force everyone into doing everything together. What you described is much more realistic.

LisaBelle · Mar 25, 2018

Loved your TR! Thanks for sharing it with us!

Trip Report the "I can't eat anymore steak!!!, Wishes vs HEA, snake incident" Trip report. May 2017

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Attachments

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Active Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member