Trip Reports
01-07-2007, 07:52 PM
Marna D. E. Gatlin -- January 2000 -- Dixie Landings
Well, we finally are back from our long awaited trip to WDW. We planned for a year, and left on the 28th of January, and stayed until the 11th of February. I had vowed to write a journal, but that went out the window. I was happy to write postcards.
This time, we met up with fellow RADPer Bruce Wayne. He's a personal friend of ours. We honeymooned at WDW in September of 98, and he came with us on that trip as well. ( He slept in his own hotel room ). I have been part of RADP since Sept of 96, but I am a professional lurker, always reading, never posting.
I am not sure how trip reports are supposed to be written, but here's my version. Please note, that all opinions expressed are my own, and as always I am very candid regarding how I feel. So if you don't like what I have to say, feel free to email me privately and yell at me.
Getting There
We left on a very early and frost Friday morning, and flew to Orlando with a connection in Salt Lake City without a hitch. While we stopped over in SLC, we were amazed at the 60 degree weather they were having, and not a trace of snow, but Spring time conditions and green grass. There were plenty of ticked of skiers who disembarked our jet.
Our Limo (Mears - the best in our book ) met us at MCO on time, and as usual did a fabulous job of shuttling us to Dixie Landings. We chose this property to stay on this time, as we adore New Orleans, and heard good things about this property. Our previous trip we stayed at the Contemporary. We will "not" ever stay at Dixie Landings again.
The housekeeping was horrible. Now, we are not unreasonable, or picky people. But there are a few basic things we expect when we stay at Disney. That is that our bed it made correctly, ( I mean come on who the hell wants to make beds on vacation?) and the trash needs to be emptied each day. I also think for what we spent on our room, the shampoo should be restocked each day, especially if we are using it, and that our ice buckets should be dumped out each day, and that we shouldn't have to do that. I don't think we should have to hunt for the remote control to the television, only to discover that he housekeeper made it up in the bed. ( I am not sure how it even got there in the first place).
We are non smokers, and it was not pleasant for us to smell cigarette smoke coming from the next room through the crack in our door. (We did call management about that). Anyhow, we did call the housekeeping manager, Broc. He was incredible. We explained to him our concerns, and asked him honestly if we were being too picky or were our concerns reasonable. Needless to say, he was appalled, and assured us the rest of our stay would be better. It was for about 4 days, then things slid back to the way they were, and we just gave up. We talked to Todd the manager, who apologized, but short from standing over housekeeping with a stick to make sure they do their jobs, what can you do?
When we arrived, our hotel room that the controller released to us, had been inadvertently given away to another party (The Cheerleaders were there for a competition, rah rah rah , so they overtook the park for about 10 of the 14 days we were there). So they shuffled us to another room, until Sunday, when they could unravel their error. So we didn't get off to a great start.
We met Bruce Wayne in the Dixie Landing bar around 7ish, and he was decked out Hawaiian style. He looked great. We all hugged, said, "Kungaloosh" and headed out to the Poly and dined at O'hana's. If you haven't done this, oh please do it. The food is incredible. I am still salivating over pineapple chunks dipped in Carmel sauce. Anyhow, there was great food, and plenty of it.
Bruce decided that we needed to see the Magic Kingdom first, before we hit the hay. Now mind you, we had been up since 2:30 PST and it was already 8:30 EST, so we had been up a while. So even though we were bushed, he didn't have to twist our arm a whole bunch. So we got into the MK, and headed of course straight to Space Mountain. (Bruce loves to hear me scream on this ride for some ungodly reason, and I do so, involuntarily) So anyhow, up we go, and scream I did. I wailed, and Bruce was happy:)! We then headed over to PoC, and enjoyed that, then we hit the Haunted Mansion, and harassed Athena for a bit. Boy was I glad to see her, she was just as sharp and crass as ever. I had forgotten how much I missed her! She remembered me by name too:) and that made me feel good:)
Ok by now it's going on 10 and I need to sleep, so we head back to our room, say good night to BW, and head to bed. Manny my hubby needs ice, so I volunteer to get it. I get the ice, take a left out of the ice room, and come face to face with a very large snake. I am not sure who was more frightened, the snake or me, but this 200+ body, ran all the way back to her room, and I am sure, shook the entire building as I pounded my way back to safety. My hubby thought the whole thing was a scream of course. I called the snake guy, and he's a sweetie, he's from Nigeria, and said, " I will find snake, tell me how big" So of course I am sure I said it was bigger than it was, but dang, at 10:00 pm at night, and you see an expected snake, they all look big. So he went searching. Good news: I never saw the snake again. Bad news: He never found the snake. So it's still around. So that was the end of our first night at WDW. The rest of our trip report is going to highlight food, the park, and other stuff. If I did a daily report, I'd be here until we go back to WDW next year:)
"The Food"
There were so many neat places we had meals at that were wonderful! The California Grill was and is our favorite place. We had two meals there. Both were good food wise. One was bad service wise. So a word to the wise, do not sit in the bar and eat a meal. Sit at the bar that is the sushi bar, or get a table, but do not sit in the bar, the service is lousy, these are cocktail servers, not regular wait people.
The Pork Tenderloin is to die for. So is the wine. We had Jarvas and Mosacto di Asti, and I think I drank an entire bottle. Wonderful, wonderful! The sushi was super, as was the foccia.
The lousy service in the bar, has a story: Bruce and Manny ordered Lemon Soufflé's. as they take 25 minutes to prepare and bake. So our server brought one out. So we asked her where the other was, and she said, "Oh I thought you said, Lemon filet", and we looked at her like she was from Mars, and we all said, "You don't offer a Lemon Filet on your menu", so she just looked at us blankly, and said, well I will go put another order in, and make sure I tell the chef to hurry. Well, you can't hurry a soufflé. So when another came out in five minutes, we were sure, some poor person lost his soufflé to us. So we thank you who ever you are.
Both nights we watched Fire works and that was such a treat.!
Ok - next, Alfredo di Roma's -- we are Italian, so we always stop here for a bite. We took Bruce and another friend Lindi with us, and we were worried because they were full. As always there was a line, and I forgot the PS us, so this was my fault. Manny and I speak Italian, and it just so happened the host was from the town Manny's mother is from, or near it, so we struck up a conversation, and "bada bing", we were in, sitting at a lovely table, looking at menu's. Vito was our waiter, and he was superb. The wine selection here - LOVELY -- drank another bottle of Moscato di asti here -- I can't get enough of that stuff. Manny had gnocchi to die for, and I had lasagna, and veal, and this wonderful salad, followed up by gelato. I thought I had died and gone to Italy heaven. During dinner, the entertainers came by our table and sang to us, and we knew the songs they sang in Italian, and sang along. Our friends, were laughing themselves silly, as they hadn't ever seen us speak anything other than English:) So after supper, we strolled through Italy, speaking to the shopkeepers, and watching the Tapestry of Nations.
Ok - We had sushi in Japan -- we are big time sushi fans, so we were really surprised that they didn't serve Toro here. But anyhow, we enjoyed Sushi, and we sat in the bar, and watched Illuminations and ate, it was a neat place to be.
We checked out Canada's newest steak house. Now you HAVE to go there. We had lunch there with Bruce, and I had a shrimp salad that was delightful, and I was introduced to Crème Brule. I am totally a fan now. I could eat that stuff all the time. Their cheese soup rocks. Their bread rocks, as does their beer, Trois Pistole, 9% alcohol. One bottle, I was "happy" - hee hee. Anyhow this place is a nice little secret:)
We did Akershus- and that is a buffet worth doing. The food is so filling and interesting. So is the beer. I had this dark brown goat cheese, that had the best flavor -- the salads were really great, as was the salmon, and meats. Oh and the desserts in Epcot are just incredible.
Fifty's Prime Time Café - This is the best place to go if you want to have fun and get lippy with the staff. If they catch you with your elbows on the table they holler at you. Your wait staff is either your aunt or your uncle. You must say please before you order anything. If you go to the restroom remember that he borax soap is white, or they will make you go back to wash your hands. And what ever you do, don't tell them you are too full. Clean your plate! If you don't, they will pull you out into the middle of the room, and make you take one more bite in front of everyone. Needless to say, you need thick skin, as they pick on everyone, and no one is safe. The portions are huge! And the white gravy over fries is super!
Wolf Gang Pucks -- the best pizza on this planet. The best calamari! The strongest drinks I have ever tasted! Just all around YUMMY! Takes forever to get in, even with PS's. Spendy but worth it.
Bongo's - owned by Gloria Estefan, a yummy place, with always a long wait, but worth it. I had Cuban Beef, and sweet plantains. And they make the best cranberry, OJ, rum drinks. They also have this really great stuff called "Mojo" that is garlicky and delicious that you eat with green plantains. YUMMY!
Rainforest Café -
The first time we went with Bruce is was fabulous, then again, I think because Bruce and Manny openly and shamelessly flirted with our waitress, Mickey, (yes that was her name), she gave us great service. The boys would have liked to have taken her home I think as dessert - grin
Cindy's Castle was great. The Prime Rib is perfect every single time. Our waiter David was sort of a nincompoop, but you know, we still had a great time. I did something different this time and had Prime Rib slices in pastery, with vegetables, and it was different, and I am glad I did that. I had a chocolate mousse, chocolate cake, and it was to die for.
Oh how can I forget Chef Mickey's? Besides the food being the best, you haven't lived until you see Bruce Wayne twirl his napkin! He's a hoot! We really enjoyed dinner there, the night we went.
Last but not least -- We stopped into the Liberty Tavern. We were cold, hungry, tired, and did I say hungry? We were tired of eating out. We really were. So we were not looking for anything fancy. So we sat down and just ordered their dinner. We didn't even look on the menu. So they brought out hot rolls and apple butter. Which was a blessing. Then this delicious salad served family style, and then out came platters of food. Meats, and macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, gravy and oodles of butter. This was one of the best meals we had. I ate so much food, but I didn't care. It was just wonderful. It's safe to say we were crabby when we started and happy when we left! Plus we watched the MSEP as it went by while we ate. This is also a character dinner, and Chip, Dale, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto came around as we ate, and we had fun with them as well.
"The Rides and Attractions"
You can't do Disney properly without going on Splash Mountain, at least "once". Well on E-ticket night, Bruce Wayne, Manny and I did Splash Mountain. Manny sat this one out and Bruce Wayne and I rode. The park was dead, (the most delightful point about E-ticket night), so we rode, it was cold outside too, and so getting wet was something we tried to avoid - ha ha, anyhow, we were in the back, (Bruce and I are large folks) and in the front of us was a french couple, who were very tiny compared to us. And as you know, bigger folks who sit in the back, make more the "Splash" that much bigger for those little folks who sit in the front and they inturn get soaked:) So while these folks were getting soaked and we were laughing ourselves silly, Bruce teaches me the universal sign to alert cast members that you want to ride the ride again, if there is no line. So we are doing this as we come back to the beginning, and the Cast Member didn't give the French Couple a chance to decide if they wanted off or not, ( I would have as soaked as they were), and so, they went again. You should have seen the look on their faces. As we proceeded out, the yelling commenced, and this guys wife, chewed him up once side and down the other, thinking it was him who asked to go again. By this time, poor Bruce was laughing so hard, I thought I was gonna loose him, he was gasping for air. So of course, they are soaked once again. So by the time we get back to the starting point, Bruce says, "wanna go one more time"?, and I said, not unless we let these people off first. Well there was no stopping these folks. As soon as the log boat stopped, they were up and out, and she was still yelling at her husband as they walked off the ride. I giggle still when I think about it.
When we first got the to parks Small World was closed for refurbishing. My hubby and Bruce did a happy dance, as they hate that ride. I however, love it. So on Sunday when it re-opened I was delighted, and we all went, and I sang, and they groaned:). I am not sure what's half the fun, watching them groan, and endure this ride, or me admiring all the dolls.
Haunted Mansion was great as usual. And every time we go on this blasted ride, Bruce sits in the car behind us, and I know this, and by know you'd think I'd catch on to this, but I don't, and each and every time he reaches out with his long Texan arms, and touches my arm and scares the crap outta me:) Athena, one of the cast members who we know, was working, and was her incredible, sharp tongued, quick witted self. We really enjoy her.
Big Thunder Mountain, we thought was "Lame" compared to the one at Disneyland, it's much slower, much much slower. I am not sure why either.
The Carousal of Progress was just as I remembered it, and I hear they are shutting her down. I am a sucker for rides like that I love it.
The Tikki Room, I loved this, even if it's under new management.
Space Mountain - Well Bruce Wayne has this thing about me screaming. He loves to hear me scream, and I do so involuntarily on Space Mountain. So I did a lot of that, he grinned like a fool from ear to ear. I gotta say, this ride compared to Rockin' Roller Coaster, was bumpy, but still love Space Mountain:)
Rockin' Roller Coaster, OH MY GOD - I did this twice. This is a thrill ride and a half. The first time, I screamed all the way through and kept my eyes closed, the second time I forced to keep my eyes open, and couldn't believe how many times we went upside down -- totally blew me away!
Tower of Terror - I love the new drop sequence, and it's just so darn smooth, and make sure you sit in the middle in the seat belt seat, a great ride:)
I am sure I am missing a bunch more rides, but that's ok, we did almost all of them, and there wasn't one I didn't like I don't think, even some of the cheesy ones.
Buzz Lightyear is sorta cheesy, but hey, kids and guys love it, I just suck at stuff like this, I think my score was like 500, ha ha -- and the Hall of Presidents, I hadn't ever done that before, and I loved it. I had goose bumps as I walked out. It was creepy almost seeing these Presidents come alive and speak.
"Miscellaneous Stuff"
Ok I need to comment on one thing. "Pin Trading" -- Bruce got my hubby hooked on this hobby, at first I was like, " Oh come on, why do we need to do this", but by the end of the trip, I was their prime spotter for cast member pins, and rare finds. The social part of this was fun. To all the pin sharks. GO HOME. You are wrecking something fun for everyone. I watched a man buy up an entire group of pins, just to sell on ebay and this is not what this is about. I couldn't believe it. The cast members that we spoke with also said that they were sick and tired of the pin sharks as well, and they were taking the fun out of it for everyone else, who was there really collecting and really wanting to trade.
I will say for every pin shark, there were at least 10 true traders, who took the time to educate us, and share with us their experiences. So we met folks from all over the world. We also did well and in the two weeks, scored some really neat pins, and, and now realize we have some valuable ones as well.
Bruce and Manny bought vests from Africa, they came in handy as they had not only a tons of places to carry pins, they loaded themselves down with all kinds of other stuff, poncho's, first aid kit, etc…and the funny part, they both wore bush hats, and got mistaken for cast members ALL THE TIME. So I am sure, folks thought I was some cast member groupie, hanging out with two male cast members. But they were asked questions about where stuff was all the time. In fact one day, one of the drivers told them the bus to Animal Kingdom wasn't here. They had to tell them they didn't work there.
Ok other things to sum up:
Adventurere's Club on Pleasure Island - All you adults, YOU GOTTA GO -- just so this once. It's a non smoking club. You don't even have to drink, but the shows are HYSTERICAL!!!!! I haven't laughed so hard in my laugh. Bruce Wayne is known there, as it's his favorite place to hang out, and when we were there with him, we were picked on non-stop:)
Bar show at Dixie Landings - DO NOT MISS!! The entertainer there, who performs Tuesday - Saturday is a hoot!
Cast Members: As always they were wonderful. They really do make you feel special. They went out of their way for us, and in turn, we went out of our way for them, and went to guest services and wrote nice things about them, so those comments would be shared with their managers and themselves, and that always helps during review time. We met Melissa from RADP on Tower of Terror, she was a sweetie, she is the only cast member from RADP we met. We kept missing everyone else.
I must say, Thursday night when it was Cast Member night on Pleasure Island, it was a kick to see Cast Members, with their name pins, kickin loose and enjoying themelves:)
The entire Disney Experience - We felt on the grand scale that Disney has lost a bit of it's magic. The Cast Members we spoke to, (Management included), were very candid in their comments, and admit that Disney is cutting corners, that their customer service isn't what it used to be, and that Disney is just getting bigger and bigger. Part of me thinks that's no excuse, the other part of me can sort of understand, but after all it's Disney.
Anyhow, that's our trip report, all in all we logged about 125 miles of walking, in 14 days. We didn't swim once, (we forgot too), We drank a lot, which is unusual for us. My feet didn't hurt near as bad as I thought they would. We all in all had a good time.
So while I am finishing my plain ole bowl of raisin bran, I must say it does feel good to be home, sleeping in my own bed:)
Bruce Wayne, if you are reading -- you were the best host, and we haven't laughed so hard, or so much in years. Thank you again my friend for making our Disney Experience incredible:) -- See you again in WDW, in about 2 years:)
My best - Marna
PS - I must say the Cheerleaders this trip weren't terrible, there were just so many of them, and they cheered for everything. And after 8 hours of hearing cheers, it set my teeth on edge - hee hee
Marna D. E. Gatlin
Well, we finally are back from our long awaited trip to WDW. We planned for a year, and left on the 28th of January, and stayed until the 11th of February. I had vowed to write a journal, but that went out the window. I was happy to write postcards.
This time, we met up with fellow RADPer Bruce Wayne. He's a personal friend of ours. We honeymooned at WDW in September of 98, and he came with us on that trip as well. ( He slept in his own hotel room ). I have been part of RADP since Sept of 96, but I am a professional lurker, always reading, never posting.
I am not sure how trip reports are supposed to be written, but here's my version. Please note, that all opinions expressed are my own, and as always I am very candid regarding how I feel. So if you don't like what I have to say, feel free to email me privately and yell at me.
Getting There
We left on a very early and frost Friday morning, and flew to Orlando with a connection in Salt Lake City without a hitch. While we stopped over in SLC, we were amazed at the 60 degree weather they were having, and not a trace of snow, but Spring time conditions and green grass. There were plenty of ticked of skiers who disembarked our jet.
Our Limo (Mears - the best in our book ) met us at MCO on time, and as usual did a fabulous job of shuttling us to Dixie Landings. We chose this property to stay on this time, as we adore New Orleans, and heard good things about this property. Our previous trip we stayed at the Contemporary. We will "not" ever stay at Dixie Landings again.
The housekeeping was horrible. Now, we are not unreasonable, or picky people. But there are a few basic things we expect when we stay at Disney. That is that our bed it made correctly, ( I mean come on who the hell wants to make beds on vacation?) and the trash needs to be emptied each day. I also think for what we spent on our room, the shampoo should be restocked each day, especially if we are using it, and that our ice buckets should be dumped out each day, and that we shouldn't have to do that. I don't think we should have to hunt for the remote control to the television, only to discover that he housekeeper made it up in the bed. ( I am not sure how it even got there in the first place).
We are non smokers, and it was not pleasant for us to smell cigarette smoke coming from the next room through the crack in our door. (We did call management about that). Anyhow, we did call the housekeeping manager, Broc. He was incredible. We explained to him our concerns, and asked him honestly if we were being too picky or were our concerns reasonable. Needless to say, he was appalled, and assured us the rest of our stay would be better. It was for about 4 days, then things slid back to the way they were, and we just gave up. We talked to Todd the manager, who apologized, but short from standing over housekeeping with a stick to make sure they do their jobs, what can you do?
When we arrived, our hotel room that the controller released to us, had been inadvertently given away to another party (The Cheerleaders were there for a competition, rah rah rah , so they overtook the park for about 10 of the 14 days we were there). So they shuffled us to another room, until Sunday, when they could unravel their error. So we didn't get off to a great start.
We met Bruce Wayne in the Dixie Landing bar around 7ish, and he was decked out Hawaiian style. He looked great. We all hugged, said, "Kungaloosh" and headed out to the Poly and dined at O'hana's. If you haven't done this, oh please do it. The food is incredible. I am still salivating over pineapple chunks dipped in Carmel sauce. Anyhow, there was great food, and plenty of it.
Bruce decided that we needed to see the Magic Kingdom first, before we hit the hay. Now mind you, we had been up since 2:30 PST and it was already 8:30 EST, so we had been up a while. So even though we were bushed, he didn't have to twist our arm a whole bunch. So we got into the MK, and headed of course straight to Space Mountain. (Bruce loves to hear me scream on this ride for some ungodly reason, and I do so, involuntarily) So anyhow, up we go, and scream I did. I wailed, and Bruce was happy:)! We then headed over to PoC, and enjoyed that, then we hit the Haunted Mansion, and harassed Athena for a bit. Boy was I glad to see her, she was just as sharp and crass as ever. I had forgotten how much I missed her! She remembered me by name too:) and that made me feel good:)
Ok by now it's going on 10 and I need to sleep, so we head back to our room, say good night to BW, and head to bed. Manny my hubby needs ice, so I volunteer to get it. I get the ice, take a left out of the ice room, and come face to face with a very large snake. I am not sure who was more frightened, the snake or me, but this 200+ body, ran all the way back to her room, and I am sure, shook the entire building as I pounded my way back to safety. My hubby thought the whole thing was a scream of course. I called the snake guy, and he's a sweetie, he's from Nigeria, and said, " I will find snake, tell me how big" So of course I am sure I said it was bigger than it was, but dang, at 10:00 pm at night, and you see an expected snake, they all look big. So he went searching. Good news: I never saw the snake again. Bad news: He never found the snake. So it's still around. So that was the end of our first night at WDW. The rest of our trip report is going to highlight food, the park, and other stuff. If I did a daily report, I'd be here until we go back to WDW next year:)
"The Food"
There were so many neat places we had meals at that were wonderful! The California Grill was and is our favorite place. We had two meals there. Both were good food wise. One was bad service wise. So a word to the wise, do not sit in the bar and eat a meal. Sit at the bar that is the sushi bar, or get a table, but do not sit in the bar, the service is lousy, these are cocktail servers, not regular wait people.
The Pork Tenderloin is to die for. So is the wine. We had Jarvas and Mosacto di Asti, and I think I drank an entire bottle. Wonderful, wonderful! The sushi was super, as was the foccia.
The lousy service in the bar, has a story: Bruce and Manny ordered Lemon Soufflé's. as they take 25 minutes to prepare and bake. So our server brought one out. So we asked her where the other was, and she said, "Oh I thought you said, Lemon filet", and we looked at her like she was from Mars, and we all said, "You don't offer a Lemon Filet on your menu", so she just looked at us blankly, and said, well I will go put another order in, and make sure I tell the chef to hurry. Well, you can't hurry a soufflé. So when another came out in five minutes, we were sure, some poor person lost his soufflé to us. So we thank you who ever you are.
Both nights we watched Fire works and that was such a treat.!
Ok - next, Alfredo di Roma's -- we are Italian, so we always stop here for a bite. We took Bruce and another friend Lindi with us, and we were worried because they were full. As always there was a line, and I forgot the PS us, so this was my fault. Manny and I speak Italian, and it just so happened the host was from the town Manny's mother is from, or near it, so we struck up a conversation, and "bada bing", we were in, sitting at a lovely table, looking at menu's. Vito was our waiter, and he was superb. The wine selection here - LOVELY -- drank another bottle of Moscato di asti here -- I can't get enough of that stuff. Manny had gnocchi to die for, and I had lasagna, and veal, and this wonderful salad, followed up by gelato. I thought I had died and gone to Italy heaven. During dinner, the entertainers came by our table and sang to us, and we knew the songs they sang in Italian, and sang along. Our friends, were laughing themselves silly, as they hadn't ever seen us speak anything other than English:) So after supper, we strolled through Italy, speaking to the shopkeepers, and watching the Tapestry of Nations.
Ok - We had sushi in Japan -- we are big time sushi fans, so we were really surprised that they didn't serve Toro here. But anyhow, we enjoyed Sushi, and we sat in the bar, and watched Illuminations and ate, it was a neat place to be.
We checked out Canada's newest steak house. Now you HAVE to go there. We had lunch there with Bruce, and I had a shrimp salad that was delightful, and I was introduced to Crème Brule. I am totally a fan now. I could eat that stuff all the time. Their cheese soup rocks. Their bread rocks, as does their beer, Trois Pistole, 9% alcohol. One bottle, I was "happy" - hee hee. Anyhow this place is a nice little secret:)
We did Akershus- and that is a buffet worth doing. The food is so filling and interesting. So is the beer. I had this dark brown goat cheese, that had the best flavor -- the salads were really great, as was the salmon, and meats. Oh and the desserts in Epcot are just incredible.
Fifty's Prime Time Café - This is the best place to go if you want to have fun and get lippy with the staff. If they catch you with your elbows on the table they holler at you. Your wait staff is either your aunt or your uncle. You must say please before you order anything. If you go to the restroom remember that he borax soap is white, or they will make you go back to wash your hands. And what ever you do, don't tell them you are too full. Clean your plate! If you don't, they will pull you out into the middle of the room, and make you take one more bite in front of everyone. Needless to say, you need thick skin, as they pick on everyone, and no one is safe. The portions are huge! And the white gravy over fries is super!
Wolf Gang Pucks -- the best pizza on this planet. The best calamari! The strongest drinks I have ever tasted! Just all around YUMMY! Takes forever to get in, even with PS's. Spendy but worth it.
Bongo's - owned by Gloria Estefan, a yummy place, with always a long wait, but worth it. I had Cuban Beef, and sweet plantains. And they make the best cranberry, OJ, rum drinks. They also have this really great stuff called "Mojo" that is garlicky and delicious that you eat with green plantains. YUMMY!
Rainforest Café -
The first time we went with Bruce is was fabulous, then again, I think because Bruce and Manny openly and shamelessly flirted with our waitress, Mickey, (yes that was her name), she gave us great service. The boys would have liked to have taken her home I think as dessert - grin
Cindy's Castle was great. The Prime Rib is perfect every single time. Our waiter David was sort of a nincompoop, but you know, we still had a great time. I did something different this time and had Prime Rib slices in pastery, with vegetables, and it was different, and I am glad I did that. I had a chocolate mousse, chocolate cake, and it was to die for.
Oh how can I forget Chef Mickey's? Besides the food being the best, you haven't lived until you see Bruce Wayne twirl his napkin! He's a hoot! We really enjoyed dinner there, the night we went.
Last but not least -- We stopped into the Liberty Tavern. We were cold, hungry, tired, and did I say hungry? We were tired of eating out. We really were. So we were not looking for anything fancy. So we sat down and just ordered their dinner. We didn't even look on the menu. So they brought out hot rolls and apple butter. Which was a blessing. Then this delicious salad served family style, and then out came platters of food. Meats, and macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, gravy and oodles of butter. This was one of the best meals we had. I ate so much food, but I didn't care. It was just wonderful. It's safe to say we were crabby when we started and happy when we left! Plus we watched the MSEP as it went by while we ate. This is also a character dinner, and Chip, Dale, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto came around as we ate, and we had fun with them as well.
"The Rides and Attractions"
You can't do Disney properly without going on Splash Mountain, at least "once". Well on E-ticket night, Bruce Wayne, Manny and I did Splash Mountain. Manny sat this one out and Bruce Wayne and I rode. The park was dead, (the most delightful point about E-ticket night), so we rode, it was cold outside too, and so getting wet was something we tried to avoid - ha ha, anyhow, we were in the back, (Bruce and I are large folks) and in the front of us was a french couple, who were very tiny compared to us. And as you know, bigger folks who sit in the back, make more the "Splash" that much bigger for those little folks who sit in the front and they inturn get soaked:) So while these folks were getting soaked and we were laughing ourselves silly, Bruce teaches me the universal sign to alert cast members that you want to ride the ride again, if there is no line. So we are doing this as we come back to the beginning, and the Cast Member didn't give the French Couple a chance to decide if they wanted off or not, ( I would have as soaked as they were), and so, they went again. You should have seen the look on their faces. As we proceeded out, the yelling commenced, and this guys wife, chewed him up once side and down the other, thinking it was him who asked to go again. By this time, poor Bruce was laughing so hard, I thought I was gonna loose him, he was gasping for air. So of course, they are soaked once again. So by the time we get back to the starting point, Bruce says, "wanna go one more time"?, and I said, not unless we let these people off first. Well there was no stopping these folks. As soon as the log boat stopped, they were up and out, and she was still yelling at her husband as they walked off the ride. I giggle still when I think about it.
When we first got the to parks Small World was closed for refurbishing. My hubby and Bruce did a happy dance, as they hate that ride. I however, love it. So on Sunday when it re-opened I was delighted, and we all went, and I sang, and they groaned:). I am not sure what's half the fun, watching them groan, and endure this ride, or me admiring all the dolls.
Haunted Mansion was great as usual. And every time we go on this blasted ride, Bruce sits in the car behind us, and I know this, and by know you'd think I'd catch on to this, but I don't, and each and every time he reaches out with his long Texan arms, and touches my arm and scares the crap outta me:) Athena, one of the cast members who we know, was working, and was her incredible, sharp tongued, quick witted self. We really enjoy her.
Big Thunder Mountain, we thought was "Lame" compared to the one at Disneyland, it's much slower, much much slower. I am not sure why either.
The Carousal of Progress was just as I remembered it, and I hear they are shutting her down. I am a sucker for rides like that I love it.
The Tikki Room, I loved this, even if it's under new management.
Space Mountain - Well Bruce Wayne has this thing about me screaming. He loves to hear me scream, and I do so involuntarily on Space Mountain. So I did a lot of that, he grinned like a fool from ear to ear. I gotta say, this ride compared to Rockin' Roller Coaster, was bumpy, but still love Space Mountain:)
Rockin' Roller Coaster, OH MY GOD - I did this twice. This is a thrill ride and a half. The first time, I screamed all the way through and kept my eyes closed, the second time I forced to keep my eyes open, and couldn't believe how many times we went upside down -- totally blew me away!
Tower of Terror - I love the new drop sequence, and it's just so darn smooth, and make sure you sit in the middle in the seat belt seat, a great ride:)
I am sure I am missing a bunch more rides, but that's ok, we did almost all of them, and there wasn't one I didn't like I don't think, even some of the cheesy ones.
Buzz Lightyear is sorta cheesy, but hey, kids and guys love it, I just suck at stuff like this, I think my score was like 500, ha ha -- and the Hall of Presidents, I hadn't ever done that before, and I loved it. I had goose bumps as I walked out. It was creepy almost seeing these Presidents come alive and speak.
"Miscellaneous Stuff"
Ok I need to comment on one thing. "Pin Trading" -- Bruce got my hubby hooked on this hobby, at first I was like, " Oh come on, why do we need to do this", but by the end of the trip, I was their prime spotter for cast member pins, and rare finds. The social part of this was fun. To all the pin sharks. GO HOME. You are wrecking something fun for everyone. I watched a man buy up an entire group of pins, just to sell on ebay and this is not what this is about. I couldn't believe it. The cast members that we spoke with also said that they were sick and tired of the pin sharks as well, and they were taking the fun out of it for everyone else, who was there really collecting and really wanting to trade.
I will say for every pin shark, there were at least 10 true traders, who took the time to educate us, and share with us their experiences. So we met folks from all over the world. We also did well and in the two weeks, scored some really neat pins, and, and now realize we have some valuable ones as well.
Bruce and Manny bought vests from Africa, they came in handy as they had not only a tons of places to carry pins, they loaded themselves down with all kinds of other stuff, poncho's, first aid kit, etc…and the funny part, they both wore bush hats, and got mistaken for cast members ALL THE TIME. So I am sure, folks thought I was some cast member groupie, hanging out with two male cast members. But they were asked questions about where stuff was all the time. In fact one day, one of the drivers told them the bus to Animal Kingdom wasn't here. They had to tell them they didn't work there.
Ok other things to sum up:
Adventurere's Club on Pleasure Island - All you adults, YOU GOTTA GO -- just so this once. It's a non smoking club. You don't even have to drink, but the shows are HYSTERICAL!!!!! I haven't laughed so hard in my laugh. Bruce Wayne is known there, as it's his favorite place to hang out, and when we were there with him, we were picked on non-stop:)
Bar show at Dixie Landings - DO NOT MISS!! The entertainer there, who performs Tuesday - Saturday is a hoot!
Cast Members: As always they were wonderful. They really do make you feel special. They went out of their way for us, and in turn, we went out of our way for them, and went to guest services and wrote nice things about them, so those comments would be shared with their managers and themselves, and that always helps during review time. We met Melissa from RADP on Tower of Terror, she was a sweetie, she is the only cast member from RADP we met. We kept missing everyone else.
I must say, Thursday night when it was Cast Member night on Pleasure Island, it was a kick to see Cast Members, with their name pins, kickin loose and enjoying themelves:)
The entire Disney Experience - We felt on the grand scale that Disney has lost a bit of it's magic. The Cast Members we spoke to, (Management included), were very candid in their comments, and admit that Disney is cutting corners, that their customer service isn't what it used to be, and that Disney is just getting bigger and bigger. Part of me thinks that's no excuse, the other part of me can sort of understand, but after all it's Disney.
Anyhow, that's our trip report, all in all we logged about 125 miles of walking, in 14 days. We didn't swim once, (we forgot too), We drank a lot, which is unusual for us. My feet didn't hurt near as bad as I thought they would. We all in all had a good time.
So while I am finishing my plain ole bowl of raisin bran, I must say it does feel good to be home, sleeping in my own bed:)
Bruce Wayne, if you are reading -- you were the best host, and we haven't laughed so hard, or so much in years. Thank you again my friend for making our Disney Experience incredible:) -- See you again in WDW, in about 2 years:)
My best - Marna
PS - I must say the Cheerleaders this trip weren't terrible, there were just so many of them, and they cheered for everything. And after 8 hours of hearing cheers, it set my teeth on edge - hee hee
Marna D. E. Gatlin