A Private, Romantic 30th Anniversary Trip- Just Ask My Friends! Last Afternoon: EP p. 37 9/19

I am reading along. I love looking at old pictures!!! I know what you mean about loosely supervised lol. I don't remember a chaperone on my class Disney trip either. hmmm
You got me thinking about my first trip. I went to Disney once each decade of my life until 2005. Once in the 70's (first trip) once in the 80's (class trip), once in the 90's (honeymoon). And starting in 2005 we have gone every year.
 
I absolutely adore your 1983 pictures!!! :cutie: Sorry to hear that day was somewhat "yak"-worthy for Mark though! ;)
 
Those 1983 photos are priceless! Where does the time go?

Loosely supervised! My, how times have changed!

Katsura Grill is a great counter service in Epcot. My husband is a sushi lover, so we've eaten there several times.

That's great that you were able to meet up with Nanette and Janet and send some love to Teena!


Hard to believe that was 34 years ago! YIKES! And that my oldest son is that age now.

The difference between the middle school class trips I have been on (even the chaperones are not permitted to drink alcohol) and this senior class trip is striking!

We really liked Katsura Grill. My boys would love it too. Some of their favorite foods.

It was nice spending time with Nannette and Janet and to let your friend know she was in our thoughts.

::yes::
 
You guys look so young. Epcot would have been fairly new then.

We WERE young!

Yes, EPCOT opened in Oct 1982 and our trip was April 1983. Mark and I loved it. The rest of the class spent more time in Magic Kingdom, but we spent extra time there.

DH still won't go to see it, even though I told him that they have regular seats, not like the 360 theaters.

The show really takes me back to our first few Disney trips- the movie in France was always part of our itinerary. The music from Debussy takes me back to the show every time I hear it. I think there is an airline commercial that uses one of the pieces that I always associate with Impressions de France.


That was a very surreal day. We had gone back to the Yacht Club by then.

It is still hard to believe that happened, and that everything can change in an instant.

:(
 


I'm glad that Mark had a better reaction to Katsura Grill than he did to Yakatori House.

Very nice that you got to meet up with Nannette and Janet for a little bit! I know the day that Bob passed away was hard for all of you, and it's great that you got a chance to re-experience Impressions de France without having that sadness and shock around you.

I am too!!! We have joked since that trip about "Yak"atori House.

It was good to see the show again.

:goodvibes


Love those old photos!

Nice that you got to meet up with Nannette and Janet!

Crazy aren't they? Can you believe, we were around your age at the time of the trip. You probably can. I know you have displayed maturity on your trips, and despite that one night of debauchery, the two of us were pretty responsible.

I love visiting with friends at Disney.

::yes::


Great update! Love that you have those old pictures to remember your high-school trip. You haven't aged a bit! :)

One of the best things about having Disney friends is being able to bump into them for a quick meet up in the parks. I hadn't seen the France movie before so it was a great way to spend time together.

Ha! Thanks for that! (And maybe schedule that overdue visit with the optometrist...)

It was great to see you that afternoon.


Food and Wine Festival is awesome. Can't wait to experience it again, and sharing it with you would be even better!

Stay tuned!

popcorn::
 
We WERE young!
The show really takes me back to our first few Disney trips- the movie in France was always part of our itinerary. The music from Debussy takes me back to the show every time I hear it. I think there is an airline commercial that uses one of the pieces that I always associate with Impressions de France.

Are you thinking of "Rhapsody in Blue" that used to be in the old United commercials?
 


My apologies for my disappearing act here. It has been over a month since I have posted an update and even responded to everyone's comments.

I was about 20 pages behind on the Beach Club FAQ thread and just caught up there yesterday.

May and June were very busy for me- I was at the farm for school programs almost every school day in May and June. Somewhere in between I helped with the Fast Passes with the middle school class trip. Which meant I needed to add 130 people to 10 different My Disney Experience Accounts, add and link tickets for everyone and then make the FP. Mostly without help from the people who were actually going on the trip.

But the main reason I have not been here is that I have been too sad to come to the trip report boards to read about trips and to write about mine. As most of you saw on either the Beach Club FAQ thread or the Antics of the Orange Banded Monkey report, my dear friend Rebecca lost her brief, but difficult battle with brain cancer earlier this month. Before and just after her diagnosis, we were holding out hope that she would be able to join Nannette, Janet and ~Ninja for this October trip. The blurred shoutout sign I have posted- at The Seas with Nemo, with Bo, at Stormalong Bay and in the French wine shop with Nannette and Janet, were for her.

I can't look at this trip, or any future trip, without thinking of the two trips I had as Rebecca's roommate and "partner-in-misdemeanors".


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:grouphug:
 
It never seems to work out that way for me...

Here's how determined I am to make sure I ride it this time... I booked RnRC for our DHS Tier 1 FP. If everybody else wants to ride TSMM (and they do) they'd better get their butts in gear so we don't miss rope drop because I'm done letting RnRC be the sacrificial lamb! :rotfl2:

I can't remember exactly when your trip is but I know it is coming up soon. I'll make it over to your report soon.

Did you make RnR FP for everyone, or did you book TSMM for some?

Love rollercoasters! Love Aerosmith! Helloooooooo!!!!

:goodvibes


Well, that was a brave move. I'm glad it seemed to go better this time around.

It was nice of Mark to offer the invite to dinner at Boma. Too bad she couldn't join you.

Well, Mark was older (much older) and wiser and not hung over, so we figured we were safe.

It would have been nice to have Nannette join us at dinner, but I'm glad it was her choice to decline. We ended up having a lovely anniversary meal at Boma, though.

::yes::


One of the best reaction shots EVER! :worship:

Thanks! :rotfl:

Oh no!! What are you, some kind of Disney rookie??! :laughing:

Apparently! :rolleyes1


Are you kidding me?

Wish I was! It was really disappointing to leave HS that day without riding RnR!

:furious:

Can you imagine the clogged shower drains from that guy? (Chewbacca, not Mark.)

Phew! Glad you clarified that. :chewy:


My senior year also. But you've got me beat by a few months on the first trip to Disney. Mine was Christmas day, 1983.

It was pretty cool to visit EPCOT so soon after it had opened.

::yes::
 
I love the old photos. And it seems only fitting that you guys finally retry the restaurant on your anniversary. You all were celebrating your life together, after all. And what's a walk down memory lane without reminiscing over the younger and less-wise years. :rotfl2:

Great way to look at it. Disney really has played an important part in our lives throughout the years. My first trip was the class trip we took together when we were "newly" dating- it had been about a year. Part of our honeymoon was a trip to Disney. We had several trips just the two of us before the boys were born and then several family trips with them. Now, back to traveling to Disney as a couple again!

:love2:

Aw love all the old photos of you and Mark. Proof indeed that young love can and does last:love:
Great update and how lovely of you all to brighten a friend's day by letting them know they were in your thoughts:goodvibes
Glad your dinner was more successful this time around. Looking forward to hearing all about the cruise :)

Thanks!

You know, Mark and I came to an agreement long ago- neither one of us is going to do any better, so we might as well stick together!

:love::love:

We wanted to include Rebecca and let her know she was on our minds and with us in spirit, even if she couldn't be there in person. But we didn't send too many pictures to her. I think one every day or so.

It was a really yummy lunch!

:thumbsup2
 
La Hacienda de San Angel

In the time since our last family trip in July 2013, Mark has been dreaming about going back to La Hacienda. Our meal there was amazing. When I wrote about it in my trip report I described it as something out of When Harry Met Sally, since we were MMMmmmm-ing and moaning with every bite.


La Hacienda, July 2013 review



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After we were seated, we were visited by our waiter, Enrique from the Yucatan. We talked to him a little bit about his home in Mexico. He lived close to a place we have vacationed a few times, the Barcelo Beach Resort in the Rivera Maya, about an hour south of Cancun. We also talked about Boston- he has some connection there.

Although we typically don’t drink much, I believe it is a crime to eat at a Mexican restaurant and not order a Margarita or a cervesa (beer), so we split a Corona.


Before the trip, I had read a review in the Disney Food Blog- the writer was obsessed with the corn soup he ordered. Normally, I don’t think I would have gotten this, but I was intrigued, so Mark and I shared the soup. It was very good, although I don’t think I was as blown away as the recommendation led me to believe I would be.


Disney Food Blog Review


The soup is served in two parts, with the Corn, Tortilla Strips, Seasoning, Sour Cream, and Hot Sauce in the bowl (like in the review above) and then the waiter pours the soup over. I guess I didn’t get a picture of the bowl- Mark said it happened too quickly.


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Last time we were here, we got the mixed grill and a fish special. Both were excellent. We went with something a little lighter this time, a mixed seafood combo:


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Parrillada - Del Mar (serves 2) - Mixed grill offering shrimp, fish, scallops and vegetables, served with beans and fresh salsas; $58


Everything was good, but it wasn’t the over-the-top spectacular we had experienced our first time dining here.


Our original reservation had been at 6 pm, but I changed it to 5:30 because tonight was the only night we would be able to see the Star Wars fireworks at Hollywood Studios. The show started at 8 pm and we finished dinner sometime after 6:30.

We needed to get to Hollywood Studios, but how?

We were too tired, and it was a little too hot to walk all the way from EPCOT to the Studios.

The Friendship Boats were an option, but we were afraid if we had to wait up to 20 minutes for a boat, and with the 30 minute ride, we would be risking the chance to get a good spot for the show.

We could take a bus from the front of EPCOT to HS. IS there a bus that runs between the two parks? Probably but didn’t know for sure. We asked a Cast Member as we walked towards the exit. He looked at us with confusion and said “I think so” Not the ringing assurance I was looking for!

But we continued on to the bus stop. We looked at the bus board listing and saw where to go for the bus. We waited just a few minutes for the ride, and since it isn’t very far between the two parks, we made it there with just a little less than an hour to wait for the show. We got a nice spot right in the middle of the street, not too far back from the theatre.



Up next: The Force Was With Us- Fireworks! And Fireworks!
 
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One of our favorite things to do when visiting WS is to talk with the people that work there. It's always fascinating to find out where they're from and talk about their experience.
Looking forward to hearing about the Star Wars fireworks.
 
Everything was good, but it wasn’t the over-the-top spectacular we had experienced our first time dining here.
We had a similar experience with La Hacienda. The first time we ate there was in March of 2014. DH and I ordered the meat platter and my sister and friend ordered the fish platter. and we shared them. We also had the queso dip. All of it was fantastic. Then we ate there with our daughter and grandchildren in Oct 2015. It just wasn't as good the second time. The corn that was delicious our first time wasn't very good the second time. The entrees weren't as good, either. I think it is off our list, especially since they don't accept any discounts.

But we continued on to the bus stop. We looked at the bus board listing and saw where to go for the bus. We waited just a few minutes for the ride, and since it isn’t very far between the two parks, we made it there with just a little less than an hour to wait for the show. We got a nice spot right in the middle of the street, not too far back from the theatre.
We don't like riding the Friendship boats from Epcot to HS. They take forever. We haven't tried to bus yet, but its good to know that it was a short wait for the bus.
 
We have never been to La Hacienda. My DH likes Mexican better than I do. That seafood platter did look really good though. I'll have to go back and read your review from last time to see what you got.
We love the SW fireworks. The 1st time we saw it my DH and boys were humming the theme song really loud at the end of the show. It was so hysterical some people probably thought they were nuts, but some people were laughing. It made a lot of people smile. I wish I had gotten it on video.
 
Sorry to hear that your experience at La Hacienda didn't live up to your first experience.

For the fact that EPCOT and HS are so close together, it can sometimes take way too long to get from one to the other. I'm glad your bus idea worked out and you got there with plenty of time before the fireworks!
 
One of our favorite things to do when visiting WS is to talk with the people that work there. It's always fascinating to find out where they're from and talk about their experience.
Looking forward to hearing about the Star Wars fireworks.

It was great finding something in common to talk about with our waiter.

I'll have the fireworks post soon- but spoiler alert... LOVED THEM!!!!

:chewy::darth::yoda:



We had a similar experience with La Hacienda. The first time we ate there was in March of 2014. DH and I ordered the meat platter and my sister and friend ordered the fish platter. and we shared them. We also had the queso dip. All of it was fantastic. Then we ate there with our daughter and grandchildren in Oct 2015. It just wasn't as good the second time. The corn that was delicious our first time wasn't very good the second time. The entrees weren't as good, either. I think it is off our list, especially since they don't accept any discounts.

Hmmm... disappointing. Mark said he wasn't in a rush to return either.

:(


We don't like riding the Friendship boats from Epcot to HS. They take forever. We haven't tried to bus yet, but its good to know that it was a short wait for the bus.

I like taking the Friendship boats on trips when I am not staying at the Beach or Yacht Club (like on the middle school class trips) because I can at least get a glimpse of "home" from the water.

:sail:
 
We have never been to La Hacienda. My DH likes Mexican better than I do. That seafood platter did look really good though. I'll have to go back and read your review from last time to see what you got.
We love the SW fireworks. The 1st time we saw it my DH and boys were humming the theme song really loud at the end of the show. It was so hysterical some people probably thought they were nuts, but some people were laughing. It made a lot of people smile. I wish I had gotten it on video.

The meal was still better than our local Mexican places, but our expectations were so high from our last meal that we were let down.

That is really funny about your family and the fireworks. I thought the show is so well done!

:yoda: :darth: :chewy:

Sorry to hear that your experience at La Hacienda didn't live up to your first experience.

For the fact that EPCOT and HS are so close together, it can sometimes take way too long to get from one to the other. I'm glad your bus idea worked out and you got there with plenty of time before the fireworks!

I was really happy with our choice, especially since we didn't have to wait very long for the bus and the trip was very short.

We had a longer wait for the fireworks than we expected, but that was ok. I was happy with the spot we had.


::yes::
 

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