October 2012 - Spooky, Wild, Exotic and a lot of food!

[Dugette]

Good start to your trip. That tray is really cool and useful!

 

[ronnmel]

Up for 24 hours straight? Wow!

 

[saintstickets]

I thought I recognized this jersey!!

DH wanted to watch his NFL team (New Orleans Saints!) play – After a while we noticed that the bar was much emptier, so we went inside – we sat at the bar and DH got talking to another Saints fan.

We're everywhere! WHO DAT!!!

Great TR...can't wait for more!

 

[khertz]

Great start to your TR, Emma!! I can't believe y'all were up for 24 hours! DH and I would be at each others throats if our travel day consisted of 24 hours awake. And I just have to say, I still think it's so funny (and awesome!!) that you come from England and your DH is excited to watch the Saints game! We missed 2 games while we were there and the week before we left was their bye week, so it had been three weeks since we had seen a Saints game by the time they played this past Monday night! Did you notice there were a lot of Saints fans in the parks while you were there? Don't know what it was but they seemed to be everywhere while we were visiting. It was awesome!! Who dat!!

 

[cindianne320]

Great start to your report! I can't believe you were up 24 hours straight! The food looks soooo good!

 

[disneybarbie]

I don't think i've ever seen one of those F&W trays before! Such a great idea and a marvelous price. Is that a wine cup holder in the corner?!

I, too, get so jealous when I see other peoples gardens flourishing and mine doesn't. At least you have an excuse to use! Our weather was perfect and my garden still didn't grow great at all!

Wow, 2 beers in one day for you? I feel like I know you well enough now that this is quite unusual for you.

Can't wait to hear your next update!

Hi Lesha, I think the trays are new for this year - such a great idea, and yup you can put a wine glass in the corner section!
Yes it was rare for me to have two beers! Usually I drink wine, but I decided that wasn't going to mix well with the jet-lag, so I had a beer at ESPN and then pomegranate lemonade, we were sitting at the bar so the server kept the free refills coming

Good start to your trip. That tray is really cool and useful!

Thank you! I brought the tray home with us.. not quite sure what I can use it for, but it's a nice souvenir

Up for 24 hours straight? Wow!

I know! Although thinking about it, I must have slept a little on the plane because I can't remember all of Madagascar 3 that I watched

I thought I recognized this jersey!!

We're everywhere! WHO DAT!!!

Great TR...can't wait for more!

Thank you for reading along so far!

Great start to your TR, Emma!! I can't believe y'all were up for 24 hours! DH and I would be at each others throats if our travel day consisted of 24 hours awake. And I just have to say, I still think it's so funny (and awesome!!) that you come from England and your DH is excited to watch the Saints game! We missed 2 games while we were there and the week before we left was their bye week, so it had been three weeks since we had seen a Saints game by the time they played this past Monday night! Did you notice there were a lot of Saints fans in the parks while you were there? Don't know what it was but they seemed to be everywhere while we were visiting. It was awesome!! Who dat!!

Thank you! Many times DH will get talking to people when we're at Disney and he's wearing a Saints jersey or shirt, they're always surprised we're from England. I was pleased he found another fan at ESPN that night as they were chatting away about the players and the season so far - I know a little about NFL but not enough to hold a conversation
We saw quite a few Saints fans (I noticed more Steelers though?!) at WDW - and DH got a few 'Who Dats' while we were walking around

Great start to your report! I can't believe you were up 24 hours straight! The food looks soooo good!

Thank you! The F&W dishes were all so good - in fact I think we only had one item that neither of us were keen on (I'll get to that later on)



Emma x

 

[jwwi]

Yum, Yum, Yum. Don't your just love the F&WF at Epcot? So many fun choices, just the perfect size for sharing, and trying many new dishes. The wristlet gift card is such a great idea too. Perfect for stopping at the many booths.

 

[monica23535]

Sounds like a great first day

 

[Sweet Pea UK]

Great update!!! We didn't get to do any of the F&W Festival as the friends we went with aren't keen on EPCOT!!!! Luckily we are there for it next year and I can't wait for Jonathan, Amber and I to look round it properly!!!

 

[Aussiesalad]

Great start Em!

Your room looks so beautiful- We really want to stay there one of these trips.

Can't wait to hear all about your trip!

 

[jecskc]

Loving your TR !! Looking forward to reading more !!

 

[scottny]

Great update and pics.
Oh the escargot was incredible.
That tray was great. Wish I saw it when we went.
Sounds like a good time but long time at ESPN.

 

[disneybarbie]

Yum, Yum, Yum. Don't your just love the F&WF at Epcot? So many fun choices, just the perfect size for sharing, and trying many new dishes. The wristlet gift card is such a great idea too. Perfect for stopping at the many booths.

Hi! Yes the festival is fantastic, definitely makes September/October our favourite time to visit WDW. I actually have a little bit left on the giftcard so I can use it again next year!

Sounds like a great first day

Thanks, it was really great - it's always going to be a long day but I'm glad we both had enough energy to go to Epcot and then to ESPN!

Great update!!! We didn't get to do any of the F&W Festival as the friends we went with aren't keen on EPCOT!!!! Luckily we are there for it next year and I can't wait for Jonathan, Amber and I to look round it properly!!!

No Food & Wine Festival Sara? Oh no! Yes you definitely have to do it next year - I love World Showcase but I think the festival makes it even better hehe

Great start Em!

Your room looks so beautiful- We really want to stay there one of these trips.

Can't wait to hear all about your trip!

Hi! Thanks for reading, I need to go over to your TR
We love the Boardwalk, obviously for location but I really like the theming too - the Villas have a very pretty, subtle theme I think - you really have to look for the hidden mickeys in the furnishings!

Loving your TR !! Looking forward to reading more !!

Thank you so much for reading

Great update and pics.
Oh the escargot was incredible.
That tray was great. Wish I saw it when we went.
Sounds like a good time but long time at ESPN.

I really wish I'd tried the escargot now - they were sort of hidden in those little bread rolls too, so I probably could have eaten them... I just can't imagine the texture?!
I'd read about the trays on the Disney Food Blog and couldn't resist buying one when I saw them a the gift shop that evening!



Update coming up....

 

[disneybarbie]

Monday 8th October


One good thing about staying up so late the night before was that we didn't wake up at 3/4am with jet lag like we usually do when travelling to the USA!

I woke up at 6, just before our wake up call from Stitch and Mickey

I made some coffee

And took some photos of the Boardwalk from our balcony, before sunrise!

At 7.30am we left the resort, it was fairly quiet in the lobby.

This morning two parks were opening at 8am – Animal Kingdom had extra magic hours and the Magic Kingdom was also opening early. We agreed we didn't mind which park we went to – so we played 'bus lottery'.. which ever bus came first would be where we visited today!

Very soon a bus arrived, and we were headed to....

The Magic Kingdom!


The Boardwalk was the last bus stop of our route so we were on our way to the park very quickly.

There were no lines at the security bag checks, and just as we got through the turnstiles the opening ceremony began.

I liked how the singers were wearing autumn-coloured outfits!

We wanted to go to Tomorrowland first, so we went through the right entrance under the train station. I got quite choked up as we entered town square – it's amazing that after so many trips to Disney I still get quite emotional, there really is no place in the world like it!

After heading down Main Street USA and waving to all the cast members, we turned right past the noodle terrace and decided to ride Space Mountain first.

There was no line at all, we got to do the right track which I prefer – it has a couple of sudden drops which I don't think the left one has!

Next we went on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.

DH won, on our honeymoon I managed to get 999,999 score but never knew how I did it!


We decided it was breakfast time, so we walked back to Main Street and the bakery.

There were small pumpkins along the side and Sharpie pens for people to write their names on...

The famous cinnamon rolls!

We each got a muffin and a latte, and sat inside to eat.

The coffees were really hot, so we decided to take them outside and walk slowly towards Adventureland.

I noticed this little toy attached to the back of the trolley!

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[disneybarbie]

....

We sat on a bench near the hub for a while – it was nice to sit and people watch for a bit.

Next we went to Jungle Cruise, we'd not done this during our trip in August so I was excited to ride it again – such a classic! Again there was no line, and we actually had to wait for more guests before our boat could leave the dock!

“Speak!”

We had a really excellent skipper called Dan, he did all of the jokes perfectly and even a few that we'd not heard before. At one point he told everyone to duck, which we did – except DH – so then the skipper said “Sir, don't be a hero... duck!”

The back side of water..

Then we walked over to Pirates of the Caribbean, I wanted to ride this today as I knew it was closing the next day for a little update!
By this time it was just after 9am - we'd done four rides and had breakfast!

We wandered around to Frontierland – I like how empty this side of the park is in the early morning...

And we rode one of our favourites – Splash Mountain!

Next was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, usually we'd get a Fast Pass for this and come back later, but the stand-by line said 10 minutes and, again, we walked on. We were definitely noticing the difference in crowds between August and October already!

We walked around the Rivers of America to Liberty Square, and rode another favourite, The Haunted Mansion, the line was minimal so we took the scenic option around the graveyard.

I was about to head to Fantasyland next, when DH said 'shall we do the Hall of Presidents'? I was quite surprised he wanted to do this, I think the last time we saw it together was in 2008! I'm really glad we did though, I don't know as much about American history as I'd like to, so this attraction is a nice way for us to learn about the US presidents.

We walked around the castle and saw part of the castle stage show..

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[disneybarbie]

.....

Then we walked to Fantasyland, and I was excited to see some the walls were visible in the new section!

We wandered over to Storybook Circus – in August only Dumbo had been open, but now the tents and signs were completed too. I really liked the new store here, they sold Dumbo-themed cupcakes that had popcorn on top!

Beyond the construction walls to the Beast's Castle...

We walked back to Tomorrowland, and saw Push the trashcan putting on a show for some guests.

We were going to get Fast Passes for Space Mountain, but again the stand-by line was so short we just got in line! Then we did the Peoplemover – I really enjoy this one...

I had heard a lot about the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game on podcasts and blogs, so decided to go to the firestation and sign up!

Walking back down Main Street – there were a lot of street characters out with a band and the Dapper Dans.

Fire badges...

There were a few people in line for the Sorcerers, but soon it was our turn to get a map and introduction to the game. The cast member explained everything to us, and we found out that our first portal was in Frontierland.

Our cards...

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[disneybarbie]

...

We walked back to Frontierland to find our portal – there was another man playing at it when we got there so we waited a few minutes. When I held the card up to the window, it said 'almost there – you're not at your portal'.. we'd got the wrong one!
By this time it was nearly 12pm so we decided to get some lunch instead, and come back to the game later – I think we could actually have played it any day, it's not on a time limit.
As we were in Frontierland, we went to one of our favourite Magic Kingdom counter service restaurants – Pecos Bills!

DH had a pulled pork sandwich and I had the taco salad.

I love this salad! Although with all the meat, cheese and sour cream.. it's not a very healthy salad


After lunch we went back to the portal, but there were a few people in line to play it – so I decided to leave it; we didn't get around to playing again during our trip so it's still on my WDW 'to do' list!

Instead we walked to Adventureland for dessert... a Disney must-do... Dole Whips!

While we waited, Peter Pan came skipping past us and said 'Hey, I'd like an icecream too!' then he ran off.

We found some empty tables nearby and sat down to enjoy the delicious pineapple treat.

We went to Fantasyland and saw Philharmagic, and then decided to head back to the Boardwalk. It was about 1.30pm and we decided to go and have some time by the pool relaxing – I was surprised just how much we'd got done in the morning.

There was a Yacht and Beach Club bus waiting so we got on that rather than wait for the Boardwalk bus, we ended up being the only people on it!

It's nice to get off the bus at the Yacht Club and walk around to the Boardwalk.

We stopped at the store on the Boardwalk for some drinks and snacks for our room.

We got changed and headed down to the pool, in the photos it looks cloudy but it was so warm – high 80s – perfect!

There were some pool games going on for the kids, so it was quite a lively atmosphere with music playing, but we both agreed it was still nice to sit and sunbathe – I read my book and DH used his iPad (great thing there is free wifi by the pool!).



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[disneybarbie]

...

About 4pm we headed back up to the room, it looked like it was about to rain (but it never did, not once during our whole stay!).
Tonight we had dinner booked at Jiko at 7pm, and we wanted to go to Animal Kingdom Lodge a little earlier so we could see the animals before.
The weather still looked like it was going to rain/thunderstorm, so rather than use Disney transport we decided it would be easier to get a taxi. The bell services at the Boardwalk called us a taxi and soon we were on our way!


First we went out to the viewing area to look at the animals.

The lobby (last time we were here we were waiting for our Disney Cruise Line bus to Port Canaveral!)...

It was still about an hour until our ADR so we went to Victoria Falls for a pre-dinner cocktail.

I got a white sangria and DH got a Bahama Breeze (I think)...

I like the view down to Boma from this lounge, and the lovely smells that rise up from the buffet!

It's such a lovely place to sit and relax, in fact we'd sat at the same table on the first night of our honeymoon last summer!

Soon it was time for dinner, so we walked downstairs to Jiko.

We had a nice table towards the back of the restaurant, our server was called Simo and he was from Morocco – he was so friendly, and gave me a birthday card signed in lots of different African languages from the servers!

The bread course was here was delicious, two types of soft bread with a curried butter.

We shared the duck confit & balsamic flatbread to start – it was really tasty and a good size for the two of us.

(Our server saw my camera on the table, and offered to take a photo of us – really the camera was out so I could take pictures of the food!)

Then for our entrees, I had Berkshire pork tenderloin...

This was so good, really tender pork and tasty accompaniments.

DH had peri peri chicken, he enjoyed it but said it was a bit salty. We don't add a lot of salt to our food at home so I wonder if maybe that was why it seemed salty to him?

We looked at the dessert menu for a while, everything sounded delicious but we were too full up!


Instead our server brought us a surprise... a scoop of birthday icecream for me!

Overall it was a great meal, we've now eaten at Boma, Sanaa and Jiko and loved all three.


We decided to get the buses back to the Boardwalk, one came for Downtown Disney quite quickly but it stopped at Kidani Village and then seemed quite a long drive – then we had to wait a little while at DTD for a bus to the Epcot resorts... I think in total it took us an hour to get back to our resort! So in future I think I would get a taxi back from Animal Kingdom Lodge rather than the buses
The first stop for the Epcot Resort buses is always The Swan, so we get off the bus there and walk over to the Boardwalk.

We headed back to our room, it was only about 10pm but we were so tired – and had a fun day at Epcot planned tomorrow!

 

[ronnmel]

Wow, you really got a lot done at MK that morning! I too get choked up with the opening show and walking down main Street for the first time.

Too bad you didn't get to try the Sorcerer game. I have read some good and some so-so reviews, but I still want to try it.

I'm not surprised you were tired by 10pm.

 

[wigeboo]

great read