Wait while I take a picture, I cant eat any more, NO KIDS! Sept 2012 Trip Report

If you need a little background on me any my wife please visit my Pre Trip Report HERE.

So with no more delay here it goes.....

We had counted down from 344 days for our arrival day. Finally it was here and all was set. So we hit the road around 8am EST and headed I-75 Sound Bound!!

Not too eventful during our trip. However I must point out while needing to fuel up before leaving Georgia we decided to visit what we felt was a pretty good deal on fuel. $3.69 per gallon.

After I swiped my card and started fueling I noticed the price was a lot different from what was on the sign. I told my wife. Wow this gas is $3.74 a gallon. Confused I kept pumping and started looking around. Then my eyes were finally able to focus on the VERY tiny notice on the right side of the HUGE Citgo sign. Notice picture zoomed in below...

Needless to say when you first get into Valdosta, GA and see a Citgo gas station, just drive a few mile further down and you will find plenty of gas stations with the same pricing and no need to pay with cash or a special gas card. Stay away from Citgo!!

Anyway nothing was going to get me upset so off we go with a tank full of gas and before we knew it....

The Florida State line and Ron Jon Surf shop signs!!! Ahead of schedule and making great time!

Of course my first stop when entering Florida is...

Thats right!! The I-75 Florida Welcome Center!!

Nothing like finally being back in Florida! This is by far my most favorite State Welcome Center!

Pat was kind enough to offer me a free cup of Orange Juice and Grapefruit Juice.

After that its always fun browsing the brochures.

So we are back on our way and once we get on the Florida Turnpike the signs point the way!

But before you can get there you have to pay the toll!!

And once you go through a lengthy countdown and make all your ADR's and travel all that way...

You arrive here........

 

[Tiggerific]

Once we were finished with the Great Movie Ride the rain was starting to slack off so I was finally able to take pictures outside! Here is another shot I played around with HDR again.

I lovedd the pop pictures but I do believe this is by far my favorite HDR picture you've taken yet awesome pic!

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

Ohhh how I love the Poly, Kona and Ohana!!! Ill be enjoying all three in a month!!! (Isnt Ohana wonderful?!??) Terrific pics, you two look like you had a blast!!!! Keep it coming!!

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

I'm loving your TR, especially your Great Movie Ride and Pop photos!!

 

[nngrendel]

I lovedd the pop pictures but I do believe this is by far my favorite HDR picture you've taken yet awesome pic!

Thanks. I have more from AoA that I haven't worked with yet.

Ohhh how I love the Poly, Kona and Ohana!!! Ill be enjoying all three in a month!!! (Isnt Ohana wonderful?!??) Terrific pics, you two look like you had a blast!!!! Keep it coming!!

Ohana is one of my favs! I love both bfast and Dinner. Although I am leaning more toward Dinner on our next visit.

Working on shots from our Epcot and Wishes Dessert Party now.

 

[clee687]

Wasn't going to start the full day 1 of my report for a few days as I have so many shots to go through. However I couldn't resist sharing my sun rise of POP Century with everyone.

Day 1.....

It almost cant get any better.

Oh but it does............

Just got started on your report but loving it so far!! I don't think I've read a trip report that included Night of Joy before...I would love to do that one year!! This sunrise pic is gorgeous! I loooooove waking up at WDW! Sunrise in my same old boring back yard will be depressing in the morning now LOL! Only 76 days til my next one at Disney though Can't wait to read the rest!

 

[Minnie1976]

In the Great Movie Ride you captured a picture of John Wayne in the Searchers. I love that movie and always hope it comes on when we are in line. Love to see it on that big screen.

Great report. We will be there in less than a month and staying at POP, too.

 

[jdnetone]

Great trip report and I am enjoying the pictures. We are going in 33 days and taking a new Cannon T3i I hope I can take a lot of good pictures. (If I can learn this camera quickly enough)

 

[nngrendel]

Just got started on your report but loving it so far!! I don't think I've read a trip report that included Night of Joy before...I would love to do that one year!! This sunrise pic is gorgeous! I loooooove waking up at WDW! Sunrise in my same old boring back yard will be depressing in the morning now LOL! Only 76 days til my next one at Disney though Can't wait to read the rest!

You know I asked here on these forums about anyone going to Night of Joy and only had 1 person said they were going. It was a great event and the crowd there was awesome. Everyone that we ran into was very nice. Total different experience.

In the Great Movie Ride you captured a picture of John Wayne in the Searchers. I love that movie and always hope it comes on when we are in line. Love to see it on that big screen.

Great report. We will be there in less than a month and staying at POP, too.

I had more shots of that part of the queue. This was my favorite though.

Great trip report and I am enjoying the pictures. We are going in 33 days and taking a new Cannon T3i I hope I can take a lot of good pictures. (If I can learn this camera quickly enough)

Good luck with your pictures. Keep hitting that shutter button and practice practice practice. The sun rise shots of course are HDR shots and enhanced at home. Be sure to share when you get back. Things I can suggest is read your owners manual and learn settings on your camera. Another thing I did before I really got into Photography is visit my local library and check out about every book they had on digital photography. Learn to shoot in manual mode and dont depend on Automatic. And when you take a great shot dont give the credit to your camera. Its you who takes the picture, not the camera! Its a great hobby. Have fun!

 

[jdnetone]

Thanks nngrendel for the info thats my plan

 

[nngrendel]

Time for the next installment of my Trip Report. We are still on the first full day of our trip. I know I know. Hurry up already!
If you are just now joining us you can go back to my Arrival Day, Ohana, Night of Joy and 1st Day at HS by clicking on the links to catch up.

Now on to the evening of our first day. I am a bit excited as the rain has stopped now and we are headed to Epcot. My most favorite place at Disney! Not to mention 7:50pm ADR's at the Rose and Crown! Its going to be a great night!!

So after a short rest at the hotel room we freshen up, I clean off my memory cards for the camera, grab some fresh batteries, get my tripod and were off to Epcot! And before we know it here we are!

OH how I have missed you Spaceship Earth! There are a few pictures that are begging to be taken. Thank you to my wife for being so patient with me!

Since the line was not long we decided to go ahead and hop on! Always something I enjoy doing when arriving at Epcot in the afternoon.

Smile for your picture!

Thought this would be funny but it didnt capture my face for the designing my future thingy. Oh well we will just have to ride again to get it. No problem its my first day!

Here are a couple of on ride shots I got.

After this we built up quite a thirst. So there is only one logical place to go.....

Coca Cola Cool Spot to grab me a swig of that drink everyone loves!

Thats right!!

Notice the description for Beverly that it "stimulates the appetite before dinner." Glad I going to get some of this before my dinner at Rose and Crown!

And here we are!

Our ADR's were not for about another hour so we explored shops around the UK. We found Mary Poppins and Alice having a nice chat.

Shortly after this we heard the music start up. No longer the British Invasion its the British Revolution.

They even played Crazy Train. Too funny. Never would have thought you would be listening to Ozzy Osborne music at Disney World. Times change!
After the show I go ahead and check in for our ADR and explain to the cast member that sitting on the veranda is our desire. She was very understanding and said she would put that request in but couldn't guarantee it. However I wasn't worried and knew they would work us in.

We decided to go inside the pub to wait as the crowd was fairly light.

Then its time to order my Carl's Combo. Carl was not here this week.

If you do not know what a Carl's Combo is its listed as a Golden under the Pub Blends on the Beer Menu. It is Half Stella Artois and Half Bass Ale. I very much enjoyed this.

While enjoying my Golden I grabbed a few shots before they called us to our table.

More to come.....

 

[ExtinctJenn]

After this we built up quite a thirst. So there is only one logical place to go.....
Coca Cola Cool Spot to grab me a swig of that drink everyone loves!
Thats right!!
Notice the description for Beverly that it "stimulates the appetite before dinner." Glad I going to get some of this before my dinner at Rose and Crown!

I joked with my DH on our last trip that it stimulates the appetite by making you lose lunch and therefore needing to refill your stomach.

 

[nngrendel]

I joked with my DH on our last trip that it stimulates the appetite by making you lose lunch and therefore needing to refill your stomach.

Hahah. True.

I did however have a cup full. Just gotta have one cup when your there.

 

[nngrendel]

Continuing where I left off....

After a very short wait inside the pub our table was ready. As usual were were seated out side on the veranda and requested. Although they had closed the tables with the umbrella's we were told once Illuminations started we could move to those tables if it wasn't raining. There was a pretty good rain threat that night however the rain held off.

Sorry for the next couple pictures. Was very dark outside on the veranda and I wasnt about to use my full flash. So the pictures are darker than they should be.

First thing is first. Our waitress wanted our drink order.

Yes Please!

I always enjoy my Imperial Sampler when at the Rose and Crown. I can never really decide on just one so this fits the bill. All of them are my favs.

After checking out appetizers my wife and I decided to get the Trio of United Kingdom Cheese
with Accompaniments.

Dont ask me what all cheeses these are but I will tell you what I do remember.
The accompaniments are as follows...

• Left - Caramelized walnuts and raisins. Drizzled with honey.
• Center - Cranberries
• Right - Radishes

My favorite was the one in the center. Very good. I never thought those two things would go together but they did wonderfully. I would order this again!

Next up Entreés.

Wife got the Pork Duo - grilled brisket with mushroom ragout and braised pork with mashed potatoes and red wine sauce.

Sorry. I forgot a picture. My wife cant even believe I forgot.

I decided to get the Grilled Tenderloin and Fried Fish - with Yorkshire Pudding, Mashed Potatoes, seasonal Vegetables, Cashel blue cheese butter and red wine sauce

I will go ahead and say this was about my favorite dish from the entire trip. I really really enjoyed my dinner this night. I am even going to say the steak was a better cut than the one I got at Le Cellier. Not to say I didn't enjoy the steak at Le Cellier, its just this one was a better cut to me. I also had lunch at Le Cellier and this was dinner. Maybe that had a difference?? More on that visit later. However you are able to see my wifes dish in the background just a tad. LOL. Think I lost concentration when they brought my plate out.

Loved this entire dish. The red wine sauce was fantastic and the fish was awesome. Steak was tender and cooked just the way I liked it. Perfect! Thank you Rose and Crown for impressing me yet again.

Now that were full and waiting for dessert its time to set up for Illuminations. Here is where I set everything up and the unobstructed view we had of the lagoon.

I must say I love the music before Illuminations and it was pretty funny as I was whistling to the music while I was setting up my gear. I'm sure everyone thought I was a nut case. Oh well. Wont be the first time.

Just before the show started they brought our desserts to our table. So I sat down with remote shutter button in hand and fork in the other to watch Illuminations! Not my best work on fireworks but still fun. Enjoy a few shots.

So if you ever wondered what the view of Illuminations was like from the Rose and Crown veranda there you go. I always enjoy watching from here.

After the show was over I finished off the remainder of my cheese cake from dessert (sorry no pics) and made a point to go speak to The Hat Lady.

Very nice talkative woman who made sure I knew that there are many Hat Ladies there however she is the only one from London England! She wanted to know where her picture would end up and I told her about these forums. So if you see The Hat Lady Pam be sure you tell her her picture is up here. I am also planning to send her a copy as she requested. Wonderful lady. Hope we see her there again.

So after 2 weeks my first full day trip report is finally up. I will start on Day 2 soon. Next up Epcot World Showcase and the MK Wishes Dessert Party and my late night waiting for everyone to exit the park so I could take some pictures. LOL.

 

[disney1077]

I think your pictures of Illuminations are beautiful.

 

[nngrendel]

I think your pictures of Illuminations are beautiful.

Thank you! I have seen much better shots of Illuminations from others here on this forum.

I did have a second chance to shoot Illuminations and I haven't been through those shots yet. They will be coming later on in this TR. These were the shots from the Rose and Crown. The second time are at the Japan pavilion. I believe some of those maybe better.

 

[myhappyplace]

Sounds like an awesome time. I was very happy with my meal at the Rose & Crown as well from a few years back, glad you had the same Love the pictures, and can't wait to read more!

 

[nngrendel]

So were up earlier today than we were the day before. We wanted to get an earlier start for our Lunch ADR's at Le Cellier. I will have to agree with most of the comments on waiting for buses this trip. We noticed our wait times to be much longer than in the past. Or at least I thought so. I also have an issue with POP being the last in the long line of bus stops. Why is POP dead last?? Even the All Stars and AoA is closer than POP. Just didnt make me feel like POP got any love in the placement of their bus stop at the parks.

Anyway............ Were back and the first thing I cant pass up when I walk in is.....

Why not right??? Here are a few shots from the ride. This time I have a better lens attached.

So after this we just take a stroll through Innoventions and then work our way though to the World Showcase where we plan to spend most of our day after lunch at Le Cellier.

So here we are at Le Cellier. I was very excited about this ADR. It has been years since I visited and was looking forward to experiencing it again.

We were fairly early for our reservations so we decided to walk around the pavilion and I wanted to take a few pictures. Of course!

I loved the detail on the counters here.

Before they started seating everyone we were invited to sing the Canadian National Anthem, O Canada.

And they all look very thrilled to be singing for us today.

Finally we are seated and first thing is first. I am really wanting to start trying beers from around the world today. So to start things off I have the Moosehead Pale Ale.

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The bread makes it way to our table.​

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I been waiting for my cup of cheedar soup and here it is.​

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Too be Continued................​

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Cliffhanger...​

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[ctosh]

Im loving your TR.. Your pictures are so good.. I can't wait for the next post

 

[Steve-B]

Really enjoying this! Your pictures are pretty great, too. I know it sounds cheesy, but they make me feel like I'm there! I can even smell Rome burning.

 

[nngrendel]

Really enjoying this! Your pictures are pretty great, too. I know it sounds cheesy, but they make me feel like I'm there! I can even smell Rome burning.

That effect was working when we rode by the way. I always enjoy that scene too. Thought when you said cheesy you were referring to the pic of the cheddar cheese soup from Le Cellier.