"Woooooo!!" .. "Where's Adam?" - A Spring 2012 Trip Report

"Wooooooooooo!!" .. "Where's Adam?" - A Spring 2012 Trip Report

Ladies and gentleman.... Boys and girls... Welcome to my wonderful trip report!! From April 26th - May 7th, my sister, my mother and I went on a grand adventure to Walt Disney World. We laughed.. we cried.. we argued.. we ate lots of food, rode lots of rides and even met a character or two. It was the longest trip we have been on but felt like it went by in the blink of an eye. Always seems that way, right?

Anyway, I hope you enjoy my story tonight; "Wooooooooo!!" .. "Where's Adam?" - A Spring 2012 Trip Report!


Overview:
This trip carries the same cast of characters as all my previous trip reports: Ashley (sister - 26) Terryn (Mom - 21 again..) and me (Darolyn - 29)

Me, Marie and Ashley - November 2011

Mama Dukes! - November 2011

If you have read my PTR, you know most of what I'm about to review. So you can skip to Thursday if you want. If not, here's a little bit of info:

This trip, we decided to drive to save more money so we could attend the Tower of Terror 10 Miler in September. While driving wasn't that bad, I'd definitely rather fly. Unfortunately flights were all $300+ per person with terrible times and I think we ended up driving for about $500 total! We left Thursday evening April 26 and left the world on Sunday May 6th. Our timeshare is located off property and since its within 30 miles of WDW, we cannot exchange it for DVC! Such a bummer. And since we didn't book our resort until January, our home resort was booked. Sooooo we ended up at Orange Lake Resort on 192. It was on the AK side of 192 and we could see the top of Expedition Everest and fireworks from Epcot outside our room. More on how we liked the property at the end of the report!

We were staying at the timeshare Friday 4/27-Friday 5/4. We weren't leaving to head home until Sunday so we needed a room for the last 2 nights. There was no question that we would stay on property. We had originally decided to stay in a regular room at the Wilderness Lodge. After a bit of researching though, I figured out we could rent DVC points at get a studio room at the Wilderness Lodge villas for $140 less. WOOT WOOT!!! So we changed over and rented the points. I'll review how well we liked this process vs dealing with Disney direct at the end. (All of my reviews will be done at the end including resorts, dining and just general things)

So now that the recap is out of the way.... My friend is dropping off a copy of Photoshop for me so I can edit my photos! I will hopefully post some more tonight or tomorrow. I have a busy weekend planned so I can't promise anything!! I just wanted to get it started!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Lunch today was at..... Le Cellier!! Yummmm!!!

We were seated in the far right back corner of the restaurant. Like many people have said, the tables are too close together, especially if you are on the perimiter of the room.

Our waitress was really nice and friendly. Mom and Ashley split the cheddar cheese soup. I have issues with cheese... I don't like certain cheeses in liquid form and other cheeses I don't like AT ALL (Ricotta, blue cheese, brie..) So I was hesitant to order the soup but I tried it and it was really good. Thinking I'll get a cup next month to dip the bread in.

I ordered a Tropical Mojito. If there’s a mojito on the menu, chances are, I’m going to order it.

Ashley got a Sangria of some sort. Looked good but I didn’t try it. Not a huge Sangria fan.

Mom got a Key Lime Martini which I did try and it was REALLY good!

No real challenge here as to what to order for our entrees. Mom and I got the filet with risotto and Ashley got the filet with cream cheese mashed potatoes.

Another excellent meal at Le Cellier. The filet was tender and cooked perfectly (I like mine medium) and the risotto was truly superb. We all finished every bite!

 

[ExtinctJenn]

OMG that closeup of the filet makes me want to seriously consider a meal here. We're gonna have to one day but DS6 just wouldn't get it! LOL

 

[DWLove]

Haha, yayyy I got the first shout out!

and DOUBLE YAY for country music... I'm obsessed with Luke Bryan atm.

OMG jealous of those tickets! OBsessed with country music! I had tickets for Brady Paisley, The Band Perry, and Scotty McCreery last week end but ended up not being able to go

 

[DWLove]

Ashley and I decided to use our FP for Tower of Terror before heading towards the front of the park. Tower is our favorite ride and it did not disappoint. There was one super scary part at the end though. Right after you've finished dropping up and down 5,937 times and you back up and the car turns so you can get out, everything went black. We sat there for a few seconds and I thought it was just going to be a couple seconds and the doors would open and we would get out. But we sat there for like 30 seconds. We were in the top row and I was all the way over to the left (if you're looking at the car) so I was closest to the drop shaft in our row. I could hear the screams from the passangers in the elevator that was dropping. The emergency lights came on and I looked to my left and a couple workers appeared and looked like they were looking at some "fuse box" type of thing. All of a sudden, I look to my right and the doors where the drops happen open and I see the elevator behind us start backing up.. and it wasn't stopping. I swear to you I thought it was going to back up into us. Just short of hitting our car, it stopped. I'm not lying when I said I thought my last moments of life were going to be waiting to get off the Tower of Terror and I was going to be crushed. I KNOW that ride probably has a bazillion sensors and all but I still got scared. If I had been able to reach through the cage I could have touched the other elevator.

After our brush with death we headed towards the exit


[/quote]

My sister and I had this happen to us too except no workers appeared and no emergency lights came on! We were in the front row and I swear the other car came an inch from the front of us...I still get nervous when the car hesitates before backing up/turning

 

[NemoRocks78]

Great report so far! Those Le Cellier pics are sure making me hungry and thirsty, haha. Definitely enjoyed the BGT stuff, too… huge Sheikra fan here and can't wait to try Cheetah Hunt! Glad to hear it's a good one.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

OMG that closeup of the filet makes me want to seriously consider a meal here. We're gonna have to one day but DS6 just wouldn't get it! LOL

If I had to pick one last meal to have, it would definitely be the Le Cellier filet with the risotto. SO. GOOD!!

OMG jealous of those tickets! OBsessed with country music! I had tickets for Brady Paisley, The Band Perry, and Scotty McCreery last week end but ended up not being able to go

Awwww, what a bummer! I LOVE Scotty McCreery. Brad Paisley played here last year but I didn't get to go.

My sister and I had this happen to us too except no workers appeared and no emergency lights came on! We were in the front row and I swear the other car came an inch from the front of us...I still get nervous when the car hesitates before backing up/turning

Yeah, I get nervous too when it doesn't back up right away. I think the other elevator is gonna come crashing down on us!!!! lol

Great report so far! Those Le Cellier pics are sure making me hungry and thirsty, haha. Definitely enjoyed the BGT stuff, too… huge Sheikra fan here and can't wait to try Cheetah Hunt! Glad to hear it's a good one.

Thanks!! Cheetah Hunt is GREAT!! It's very smooth and has some really cool dips by some rocks and waterfalls. We saw some animals too when we went over the "plains"

PS - I'm a HUGE Gators fan too!!

 

[ctosh]

loving the report.. sorry about your memory card.. Looks like ya'l had a great time

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

loving the report.. sorry about your memory card.. Looks like ya'l had a great time

thank you! We had a blast!!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

After Le Cellier we wandered around a little bit and checked out how long Duffy’s line was.

Duffy’s line was too long for our liking so we decided to ride Spaceship Earth.

Mom was trying to get a picture of the Peter Pan topiary display from the front but people kept walking up and getting in front of her while she is waiting. She is not the type to push her way in, either, even if she has been waiting. I had already walked up ahead but had I known she was waiting I would have comeback and marched right up front, stood there and told people she’s been waiting and to get out of her way so she could get her picture. I’m not mean at all, but I’m not a pushover either. People who are rude like that just make me really mad.

This was our first time this trip riding Spaceship Earth and usually it’s one of the first rides we hit up at Epcot. SSE is a favorite for everyone in the group. Yes, they have dumbed it down, and yes the descent needs a LOT of work (even though I don’t mind it that much.) it’s still a classic Disney dark ride. We walked right on.

After SSE we stopped in Club Cool to try the sodas. We’ve NEVER been in there before. I kept mentioning to Ashley and my mom to try the Beverly. They didn’t go for it at first. I kept saying “Everyone says The Beverly is really good” and “John really likes the Beverly!!” (Sorry John, I had to use your name!!) Finally my mom tried it and her face was priceless. Ashley finally tried it as well and she was grossed out. I had perfect pictures of their faces but alas, they are gone… oh well.

Then we went over to use our FP for Soarin (I forgot to mention we grabbed another FP when we went back to use our first ones.) Soarin is always an attractive we hit 3-4 times a trip. I have the Soarin score on my iTunes and listen to it frequently. It’s actually one of the top 25 played on my iTunes.

After Soarin, we went and met Duffy. Such a cute little bear. We hadn’t gotten to check out much of World Showcase so we started in Mexico and rode Gran Fiesta Tour. We checked to see if Senor Donald was out, but he wasn’t yet so we walked over to China (don’t know why we skipped Norway) we looked around the shop in China. I really like some of the lanterns they have there. I’m redoing my room in black and white and hopefully soon on one of these trips I’ll pick up one of those lanterns for my room.

It was getting hot so we decided to make our way out of the park. Walking back by Mexico, Senor Daonald was out in his fiesta finest so we stopped for a pic. The line was very short. Ole!!!

 

[ShookieJones]

Love the report and I'm glad you're able to keep it going with your Mom's pics.

Your meal at the California Grill sounded like a blast. One of my favorites.
I had the pork last time but I can't wait to try the filet this time around.
that Pic had me salivating.

You're mom's cake? Wow they did a great job - it looks great.
The 3 young ladies getting ready to enjoy it aren't that shabby either!

One thing I'm confuse on about you mentioned in your LeCellier trip -- can you please explain these words to me?:

I have issues with cheese... I don't like certain cheeses in liquid form and other cheeses I don't like AT ALL (Ricotta, blue cheese, brie..)

I understand the words individually but they don't make sense in the order you've put them...


Keep Rolling with report...just keep that confusing talk out of it.

 

[diddy_mouse]

Ooooh those pictures from Le Cellier have me so excited for my lunch reservation there next Sunday! I might just have to order the fillet and risotto (love me some risotto!)

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Love the report and I'm glad you're able to keep it going with your Mom's pics.

Your meal at the California Grill sounded like a blast. One of my favorites.
I had the pork last time but I can't wait to try the filet this time around.
that Pic had me salivating.

You're mom's cake? Wow they did a great job - it looks great.
The 3 young ladies getting ready to enjoy it aren't that shabby either!

One thing I'm confuse on about you mentioned in your LeCellier trip -- can you please explain these words to me?:

I have issues with cheese... I don't like certain cheeses in liquid form and other cheeses I don't like AT ALL (Ricotta, blue cheese, brie..)

I understand the words individually but they don't make sense in the order you've put them...


Keep Rolling with report...just keep that confusing talk out of it.

Cali Grill really was awesome! I was debating on the filet or the pork. I love pork tenderloin but I couldn't pass up the filet!!

The cake truly was great. Mom was super happy!!

My cheese comment... lol.... I'm very picky about cheeses. Like if I go out to dinner and a meal has melted cheese on it, sometimes if it's too "liquidy" I can't stand it. Like cheese soups or queso dips... And then some cheese I won't eat period. I can't stand blue cheese or brie or ricotta at all, melted or not.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Ooooh those pictures from Le Cellier have me so excited for my lunch reservation there next Sunday! I might just have to order the fillet and risotto (love me some risotto!)

I had never had risotto in my life before I had it there (I always ordered mashed potatoes instea) and I was super sketched about trying it but it was AMAZING! Perfect compliment to the filet!

 

[ShookieJones]

Cali Grill really was awesome! I was debating on the filet or the pork. I love pork tenderloin but I couldn't pass up the filet!!

The cake truly was great. Mom was super happy!!

My cheese comment... lol.... I'm very picky about cheeses. Like if I go out to dinner and a meal has melted cheese on it, sometimes if it's too "liquidy" I can't stand it. Like cheese soups or queso dips... And then some cheese I won't eat period. I can't stand blue cheese or brie or ricotta at all, melted or not.

I've never met a type of cheese I didn't like. melted, solid, gooey, chewy, burnt or otherwise. Therefore this makes no sense to me.

However this sentence makes perfect sense:

".......I tried it and it was really good. Thinking I'll get a cup next month to dip the bread in."

 

[Uncle Lupe]

Lovin' the TR! I have to agree Blue cheese is yucky.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

After meeting Donald, we stopped for a water and to grab an ice cream treat and made our way out of the park. We hopped on the monorail and went to MK. When we got there, the express monorail was down (shocker) so we took the ferry over.

When we got there, we had about 4 hours til our dinner ADR so we walked onto Haunted Mansion, hit It’s A Small World (about a 15 minute wait) rode the Tea Cups (no wait) and cruised around
on the PeopleMover. We also rode Buzz which was a 5 minute wait. No pics from this time in the parks though.

At that time we headed to the front of the park to take the monorail over to the Poly. We had an 8:30pm ADR for Ohana and we got there around 8pm. That was good though cause I wanted to walk around the property and take some pics. I got some really good pictures but, oops, they’re gone!! Mom took some though so not all is lost….

I could get used to this!!

We started walking back to the GCH. The Poly really is such a beautiful property. I love all the tiki torches along the pathways.

Woooooooooooo!!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

We checked in at around 8:20pm and I went over to the Tambu Lounge to get me a Lapu Lapu!

And we waited…. Ashley took some pics with my camera, just to get the feel of it in case she ever wanted or needed to use it. We were finally called at 8:50pm. Good thing we didn’t mind waiting.

We were sat to the left if you walk in, kind of behind the fire pit area. It seemed a little off the main dining room and a little more secluded. We were ok with this. If we had kids who might want to participate in the activities, we might have an issue.

They brought us out the welcome bread and salad.

They were both as delicious as before. Then came the chicken wings and pot stickers.

No pics of the meat from the skewers but I had pork, steak and chicken and they were all moist and flavorful.

Then the dessert. I don’t love it as much as some people do, but I made sure to leave enough room to have some. It really is delicious.

This was our second meal at Ohana and it was just as delicious as the first time. It has now made it on our must do list for every trip. We’re having dinner next month before MNSSHP and then we’re going to give breakfast a try as well.

After dinner, we decided rather than sit on the beach and watch Wishes, we were all kind of tired so we hopped on the monorail and watched Wishes from there. It wasn’t as good as watching on the beach, but we beat the crowd and were back to our resort by 10:30 and in bed by 11.

Tomorrow: Downtown Disney, a new place for lunch and some Hoop-Dee-Doo action.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Lovin' the TR! I have to agree Blue cheese is yucky.

Thank you! And yes, I do not like blue cheese at ALL!! lol

 

[GeekDad]

Thank you! And yes, I do not like blue cheese at ALL!! lol

I'm enjoying your TR and loving what pictures you do have but I just don't understand the cheese hate... especially the blue cheese hate

Looking forward to reading more TR!

 

[fractal]

Love the hammock pics! it always seems like you wait at Ohana's, but it is worth it. can't wait to hear about Hoop de doo