My real life name is Liesa and I live in Salem, Oregon. While I tolerate it, my kids live here so I put up with it until I can re-locate at some point. To where, I do not know, but traveling nursing is something I would be very interested in looking more into. Speaking of nursing, you may have guessed I am an RN who landed a fairytale job at an ambulatory surgical center. I get to work with women all day long who get new b00bs, kiddos who have rarely seen a toothbrush get all fixed up , and with people who get to leave our care with better vision than they came in with. No weekends, no holidays, no code browns. It’s bliss, Folks.
Hi Liesa! I am very late to the party but am so happy to be here!!
Let’s see… what else? I enjoy traveling and love to do photography when I can. I hope you will enjoy the photos of my travels in the parks. I have 5 amazing “kids", 3 of whom will be joining me this time- same 3 as last time. Here's a photo of us on our last trip in 2016 from our Behind the Seeds Tour:
Love this picture!
What is one Disney Restaurant you try to do EVERY trip and what is one you have tried but was a One and Done for you?
Nomad Lounge all the way! I love finding an outdoor table to settle in at and enjoy a cocktail and some yummy food in beautiful surroundings. Coral Reef was our once and done...we ate there on our first trip in 2009 and had such a bad experience that my boys (then 6 & 8) named it "Coral Reek" and vowed to never go back.
9 days is plenty long enough to have some really nice park time together , enough extra to have a day be completely at our resort and enjoy the Florida sun and pool (more on that later), spend time at DTD (sorry, I’m a stubborn woman and it will always be a nostalgic DTD to me) for shopping, some live music, and to enjoy both new and old places to eat, etc…
( days is perfect!
My try-to-get-to-every-time place would probably be Tiffins or the Nomad Lounge. Sigh…. just wonderful memories there, amazing atmosphere, and they have my beloved Pisco Sour and will make it with the egg white. The food is so excellent at both places and it’s quiet enough to have a decent conversation. Plus, at the Nomad, I adore the outside seating area!! COMFY!!!
You and me both!
What was your favorite resort you’ve stayed and why? And what is a little hidden secret or piece of advice you can share about it?
I adore AKL. It feels like a true respite from the parks. I love the grounds, the theming, the food etc. It's just perfect!
As you may know, I’m on a quest to stay at all the Disney resorts so gave the options of Caribbean Beach or Coronado. For 2 reasons: Values are too small since I have my son who needs a 5th sleeper (which will clog up floor space), and Deluxes are too expensive. Also, both are resorts I’ve not gotten to stay at yet. I described both, gave the pros and cons, location, etc… and in the end, they all chose CBR.
Good choice!
But wait, that’s not all! For low price of only the rest of your savings account, Steppe, you too can be the proud owner of a stay in a Deluxe resort for 2 bonus nights! Just call 1-800-ALL-OFIT for a special water view room at the Polynesian Resort!! Hurry now; deals like this will only get more expensive with each passing day!
Hurray! This will be great!
Do you have an arrival day tradition or what is the thing you look forward to doing first and why? In other words, what gives you that feeling of, “I’m finally in Disney!”
For some reason I always end up traveling on a Tuesday. Of course Epcot has EMH that night so I head there. Strolling around World Showcase with a bevvie in hands gives me that "I'm home" feeling.
After checking into CBR around 4:30, we’ll board a bus and head to DTD for our first dinner at a place we’ve done before- Raglan Road. My son fell in love with it last time we went in 2016 and wants to go back to his favorite meal to start the trip. Frankly, I love it too. What’s not to love about Irish Dancing and amazing live music??
The food and atmosphere are so fun there!
And now.... your turn! What is your favorite thing to do or place to go at DTD?
Cherry Tree Lane....Disney dresses, Disney Dooneys and Disney Pandora! All my favourite things in one place....
We’ve got FiPs on 2 other days and we’ll all be happy with that. But on our first day, and being our first ride of the trip, we’ll do the AK Early Morning Marathon and hopefully pound that out quickly and move on to get Navi, a Safari, EE (probably single rider), and Dinosaur- in that order- done before breakfast. I imagine I’ll be able to talk the kids into a cinnamon roll and a breakfast sandwich at Kusafiri’s before hopping to EPCOT for the rest of the day. The goal is to be on a bus by 11:00.
You are ambitious!!
Your turn! Have you been to the Food and Wine Festival? If so, what has been your most memorable (good or bad) dish? And more importantly, how can I design my car to beat my son?
No F&W for me sadly. The one bad part about my job is no travel flexibility during the school year.
Day 2 Must-Do’s: 1) Start my Shop-Around-the-World (more on this later for my new readers) 2) Grab a pin from the F&W Festival 3) See VOL 4) Start the Remy Hide and Squeak Hunt. 5) Not die getting on FOP
Must try "Shop Around the World".
Anyway, instead of browsing right off the bat, we’ll ride, jog over to SDD, pound that out, then hit up ToT and RnRC, then go back to SWGE and look around. I’m excited to take in all the, from what I hear is, phenomenal detailing. And yes, I have been watching the movies to bone up. I’ve not really ever been a die-hard SW fan but can certainly appreciate artistry and talent with anything done well. My guess is that the quality the Imagineers put into this will make any average touron an aficionado. The fact that we’ll be back twice more during the trip will make it easier to leave at 10:45 for AK where we’ll spend the rest of the day and evening.
Oh my gosh, that is going to be so fun! Crazy, crowded, chaotic but fun!
That really should feed all 4 of us. As I’ve said before, we’re not big eaters and we'll likely grab a snack or something later if we need or want it. Plus! None of us will want to fill up a lot because we have an ADR at Sanaa for the early time of 5:35.
Sanaa.....mmmmm! Plus that mac'n'cheese from 8 spoons is yummo.
And now, it's YOUR turn: Which trail do you prefer- Maharaja or Gorilla Falls? And why?
Maharaja for sure! I love how calm and peaceful it is. It feels like a whole other world back there.
While it’s not a must-do for me, one of my kids’ favorites is to stop and briefly watch the Jammitors. For F&W, they become the Jammin’ Chef’s I believe, so if we run into them, we’ll enjoy them for a bit before our FiPs for M:S and SE.
Fun!
Today we’ll head clockwise ending in Japan for a Teppan Edo ADR. I hope that there will be plenty of F&W snacking throughout the day, but not so much that it’ll ruin dinner. Speaking of which, I am pretty sure we’ll be splitting 2 entrees between the 4 of us. With an extra order of fried rice (called ‘beef rice’ there) or Tempura it should be ample. Plus, it’s EMH and desserts await just outside the door, no?
Sharing meals is a great option, especially when there are so many snacks to try!
Now it’s YOUR turn: What are your World Showcase traditions? First: Your favorite WS restaurant and, secondly, what non-food-related thing do you love to do? Pick-a-pearl? A certain show or attraction? A particular photo op?
I love Via Napoli for cariofi pizza. The Gran Fiesta Tour is a must do and I have to have a pic by the Japanese pagoda overlooking the lagoon.
At some point, my son will probably launch off on his own to play Sorcerers, and the girls and I might take in a round or two of A Pirate’s Adventure. It’s pretty entertaining and helps one to see some of the finer details of the area.
I really want to try that! Have you gone hunting for Hidden Pascal's yet?
The potential of a colossal waste of time and no rest or nap to show for it or, a massive burnout at 9:00 that night because of too many days of burning the candle at both ends. I just don’t know!!!! The buses can, and often do, take up to and hour or more of roundtrip travel time and I’d like to be back at the park by 4:00. Comments? Thoughts?
This is where Lyft is your friend!! Walk to the Contemporary and order a Lyft/Uber back to the resort. Then do the same in reverse for your return trip. Well worth the $$.
Do you take afternoon breaks and if so (or not) does it depend on whether you have/had little ones along? Do you find you really do recharge if you do? My bus luck stinks so I can count on a 30-minute wait each way. I hate to burn up an hour plus walking time!
Every. Single. Day. I did one open to close day on our first trip in 2009 and vowed to never do it again. That being said, my December trip is only three days so I think it will be full on.