ONE YEAR of WDW starts NOW! Nov. 2015 WDW trip & beyond! Now with JANUARY & MAY!

[Abro1975]

I really enjoyed reading this trip report ! Sounds like the 2 of you had a blast eating, drinking and having fun all over WDW. We leave this coming Monday , and this whole thread reallly got me excited. I, too have done a ton of planning, but realize that traveling with 4 of us (my wife, my 19 year old son, his 18 year old GF and mysefl) flexibility will be a key. I love all your comments on what you ate and drank, my wife and I will definitely using some of your tips, especially at San Angel Inn and La Cava ! We stayed at POFQ last time we were at WDW, but that was 8 years ago when my son 11, we definitely need more room now, so we decided to stay in a 2 BR condo at Wyndam Bonnet Creek, but it's still on Disney property and it's very close. We're in Northern NJ and while we gave a brief consideration of driving since I have a company car w free gas and maintenence , it's still would be sooo uncomfortable w 4 of us in Ford Escape I splurged for plane tix from Newark NJ Airport. We will hit MK, AK, and HS during the mornings and Epcot late afternoon til closing. That's IF I can get the other 3 out of bed early enough to make Rope drops. We shall see, lol.
I have been to Germany's BeerGarten probably 5 times for dinners, and fun, but for this trip our 4 evenings will be San Angel Inn, Chefs du France, Rose & Crown (tough decision w this one over some others) and Saana at AK Villas, we have never been to the AK Lodge or villas or any of it's grounds, so excited about this .
It's funny , our last time here, staying at POFQ, which we loved ,especially the boat to Raglan Road), the TV in our room kept running the Disney Vacation Club commercials and my son begged us to buy into it, lol. We knew it would be hard to travel down fequently enough to make it worth our while but we did talk about it.
I just heard that at HS Backstage Tour was done away with, and bummed over that, really liked it. Oh well.

Again, enjoyed reading all your posts and the responses.

 

[Chicago Mo]

Oh my oh my was i BEHIND! As is two trip behind!
I don't even know where to start. First and foremost i ADORE your pictures you both are such a great couple!!! Adore you guys!
Victoria Albert's! That was amazing to read! So beautiful, and a bit of pixi dust for your song!
Oh man there was so much i wanted to comment on and now i am drawing a blank.
November was insanely crowded. to the point it was uncomfortable. in 2011 it was wonderful- this time not so much
Sorry Nigel wasn't feel well. I do hope Nigel's dad is doing better?

you flew through your January trip! talk about a food blog! You guys are AMAZING! you made my food list longer!

A VLOG?!?! You guys are on YOU TUBE NOW?!?! Well call me a subscriber!

On to watching!

 

[Li Li]

This is crazy cool, who would have thought they still have merch for three mile island. I'm pretty sure a majority of Americans don't even know what it is.


Is that leg room, or short legs?


Do you ever use car rentals as basically an extended test drive for the next car you purchase?


Publix (and the adjacent liquor store) are one of the first things we do. We hate to leave the bubble unless we have to and try to stock up with everything we need. We try to save some cash and tend to eat breakfast and most lunches in our room. (All bets are off for F&W) The one bedrooms at OKW have an awesome kitchen and cooking is not a problem, even the studios are fine but I usually bring along an electric skillet to make eggs and hot sandwiches with. (might try a crock pot some day) the more money we save on food & booze, the more money for merch!!! I have a feeling that will become a big expense in the next 18 years or so.


Yes I have seen the underground teapot (curious how that name came about) and now I'm addicted to Disney vlogs

Isn't that the truth, pretty soon no one will remember Three Mile Island incident!

Definitely like trying out different cars. My favorite so far was probably our red VW bug; it was really fun to drive around.

Yep, one stop at beginning of trip and then into the bubble! (complete with liquor store stop). Lots of stuffed animals in your future, I imagine!

The Underground Teapot was all @NigelSTW, so he can chime in on that. I know, we've been watching Disney vlogs for a year or two now and it can be addicting (and I guess inspiring).

I really enjoyed reading this trip report ! Sounds like the 2 of you had a blast eating, drinking and having fun all over WDW. We leave this coming Monday , and this whole thread reallly got me excited. I, too have done a ton of planning, but realize that traveling with 4 of us (my wife, my 19 year old son, his 18 year old GF and mysefl) flexibility will be a key. I love all your comments on what you ate and drank, my wife and I will definitely using some of your tips, especially at San Angel Inn and La Cava ! We stayed at POFQ last time we were at WDW, but that was 8 years ago when my son 11, we definitely need more room now, so we decided to stay in a 2 BR condo at Wyndam Bonnet Creek, but it's still on Disney property and it's very close. We're in Northern NJ and while we gave a brief consideration of driving since I have a company car w free gas and maintenence , it's still would be sooo uncomfortable w 4 of us in Ford Escape I splurged for plane tix from Newark NJ Airport. We will hit MK, AK, and HS during the mornings and Epcot late afternoon til closing. That's IF I can get the other 3 out of bed early enough to make Rope drops. We shall see, lol.
I have been to Germany's BeerGarten probably 5 times for dinners, and fun, but for this trip our 4 evenings will be San Angel Inn, Chefs du France, Rose & Crown (tough decision w this one over some others) and Saana at AK Villas, we have never been to the AK Lodge or villas or any of it's grounds, so excited about this .
It's funny , our last time here, staying at POFQ, which we loved ,especially the boat to Raglan Road), the TV in our room kept running the Disney Vacation Club commercials and my son begged us to buy into it, lol. We knew it would be hard to travel down fequently enough to make it worth our while but we did talk about it.
I just heard that at HS Backstage Tour was done away with, and bummed over that, really liked it. Oh well.

Again, enjoyed reading all your posts and the responses.

Thanks for reading and glad you enjoyed! Your upcoming trip sounds fabulous! Great restaurant picks. I don't blame you on the plane, that's probably better than 4 adults in the Ford. Dreaming of DVC buying, I know the feeling! Have fun on your trip, and let me know if you do a TR!

Oh my oh my was i BEHIND! As is two trip behind!
I don't even know where to start. First and foremost i ADORE your pictures you both are such a great couple!!! Adore you guys!
Victoria Albert's! That was amazing to read! So beautiful, and a bit of pixi dust for your song!
Oh man there was so much i wanted to comment on and now i am drawing a blank.
November was insanely crowded. to the point it was uncomfortable. in 2011 it was wonderful- this time not so much
Sorry Nigel wasn't feel well. I do hope Nigel's dad is doing better?

you flew through your January trip! talk about a food blog! You guys are AMAZING! you made my food list longer!

A VLOG?!?! You guys are on YOU TUBE NOW?!?! Well call me a subscriber!

On to watching!

Mo! Hi! I've been keeping up on your TR and PTR so I know you've had lots going on.
Nigel's dad has made a great recovery through physical therapy so no surgery needed, yay!
Yep, we're vlogging now. Just for fun really. Thanks so much for watching and subscribing, hope you enjoy!

 

[Li Li]

Park time!

Since Hollywood Studios was the park closest to Coronado, we decided to start there.

I’m going to digress here and gush about the location of Coronado. It was basically a straight shot out to DHS, Epcot and Disney Springs. Even getting to MK was not that long of a drive. It was insanely easy to get to all Disney properties from Coronado Springs. As long as I had a car, I think Coronado would probably be my top pick, perhaps even surpassing Port Orleans French Quarter.

Moving on, we took a left out of Coronado resort and then went straight down the road to DHS. We call it the back entrance to DHS, not sure if that is official or anything. But it only has two lanes and is usually not busy at all. We had actually accidentally discovered it on a previous trip, but we’re not sure how.

In the car on the way, I made a FP for Great Movie Ride. There was actually a fair amount available, but a classic is a classic.

And it was the Gangster scene once again.

As we were exiting the movie ride, we were held by a CM while the Star Wars characters were walking to the main stage for this little show that they do every half hour.

We watched a bit of it, and it was basically movie clips with music and character appearances spelling out the Star Wars story. I looked at MDE, and Indiana Jones had a show coming up and we could grab a FP for that. While walking over, I asked Nigel if he wanted to grab a snack before the show. We stopped at Min and Bill’s Dockside Diner.

Good thing we split this! Grabbed a foot-long chili cheese dog with a Yuengling beer and water. It was a nice snack.

We walked over and found seats in the middle about halfway down. Did we need the FP? Not really, but it does get you in the middle section, which was a nice view. As we were walking down and getting our seats, a woman behind me asked where I got my iced tea, it looked good. Lol, had to confess that it was beer! She laughed and said that sounded good too.

There was this cute little blond boy (about 4 or 5?) in front of us who kept turning around and talking with us. Telling us about the rides he was on with space truck and monsters and one where he drowned! At that point, his dad overheard and said to his son, “What ride were you on?” The little boy also watched me drinking my beer and while looking straight at it and then me said he was thirsty. His dad gave him some water, and the little boy asked if I had dad soda. The parents explained that ‘dad soda’ and ‘mommy juice’ were off limits. I just thought he was cute especially with his ride descriptions.

The show was fun. We probably haven’t watched it since our first trip together back in 2008. After watching it, we both discussed how it was really more for the theme of when DHS was a working studio, giving you behind the scenes look at how to do an action sequence. I can’t imagine it will remain at DHS much longer given the move away from the studio aspect. We’ll see.

After the show, we walked over to One Man’s Dream and walked around.

#thanksShanghai


They were actually showing the Walt Disney movie for once instead of a movie preview! Of course, we sat down to watch that. The movie is getting a little rough, pretty scratchy and splotchy in places. But it was good to see.

As we walked around and back out through Animation Courtyard, we saw the end of the Stormtrooper walk back to the Launch Bay. As we were walking, I overheard a dad say to his son, “I’ve never seen the movie, so I’m not sure if they’re good guys or bad guys.” UM WHAT??? Now, I know not everyone is a fan, but even without seeing the movies, I’d think you’d have a general knowledge of stormtroopers being the bad guys. Maybe I expect too much being the pop culture fan that I am.

We also stopped for some pics.

After this, we decided to head out to Disney Springs. Had a little bit of an adventure as we missed the correct off ramp with all the construction, but once we backtracked, we were able to get to the parking garage. I do like how the lights and signs tell you how many and which spots are open.

Continuing the Indiana Jones’ theme, we headed to Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar.

Since we had sat outside our last time there, I wanted to hang out inside. So, we grabbed a table in the corner.

I ordered the Cool Headed Monkey and Nigel got a beer (Hefe-Weizen).

I tried to do a Monkey Face to match my mug, but I think I only ended up with duck lips.

We moved on and just wandered around Disney Springs taking everything in.

Rather than sit down, we decided to grab something to go and head back to our room. We swung by Wolfgang Puck Express on the West Side to pick up something to go. We ordered a bacon-wrapped meatloaf sandwich that came with chips and a California roll.

They tasted good, but without being too TMI, something didn't agree with us that night. No worries, we were right as rain by morning.

Uh oh, did I mention rain??

 

[Joben]

Grabbed a foot-long chili cheese dog

holy frijole that is a monster!!!!

Yuengling beer

As a non-east coaster I just don't get the love of Yuengling. I lived in NC for a stretch in a big college town that a lot of North Easters came to and they would rave and rave about how good that beer was, never could acquire a taste for it

I can’t imagine it will remain at DHS much longer

I agree. I enjoy the Indy show, but only because I love the movies so much (I'll even watch the last one....shhhh don't tell anyone) But the show just seems really irrelevant now. I do hope that there is an Indiana Jones presence remaining in DHS.

One Man’s Dream

I love one mans dream. It is kind of my people mover for DHS. When it's really hot or we need to kill thirty minutes I love to head in there and just chill and look at stuff. I read on rumor and news and thought they said that OMD was gone from DHS, but they had just removed Walt's office from it. When we went in march I was very happy to see it was there, Unfortunately they were chowing a movie clip instead of the proper movie which bothered me, but considering I thought the whole thing was gone I was okay

We also stopped for some pics.

This is a great pic of you guys. I never went to DHS before the "Hat". And I couldn't understand the uproar over it, but once I saw the original look I got it.

I only ended up with duck lips

You did a duck face selfie....for shame

something didn't agree with us that night.

I suspect the "gas station" sushi in the picture

did I mention rain??

nice transition

 

[Joben]

I think Coronado would probably be my top pick

Forgot this one. That is a pretty convenient location. I think it is funny that you seem to be driving you rental car more than you drove your own car on your last trip.
So I have been meaning to ask you this for awhile and this kind of gives me a chance. Have you stayed at OKW? It has become our favorite and we recently just became DVC there so I am clearly biased. We grew to love it so because we went with the in-laws and stayed at a POP family suite. When we went back with the two of us afterward my better half discovered that renting points from a DVC was about the same price as staying at a value resort. Once we stayed at OKW we were so blown away we never saw any point to not renting points. I guess the points go farther at OKW then they would some of the newer DVC, which would account for the cost being the same. Anyway you guys should look into renting points. Or just give in like us and buy DVC. Oh we bought re-sale but it was just before they took away the DVC perks from the re-sale buyers, so dodged a bullet there. What am I saying we would still by re-sale

 

[NigelSTW]

Yes I have seen the underground teapot (curious how that name came about) and now I'm addicted to Disney vlogs

No real story. When I was a kid I thought it would be a cool rock band name, and it always stuck with me.

As a non-east coaster I just don't get the love of Yuengling. I lived in NC for a stretch in a big college town that a lot of North Easters came to and they would rave and rave about how good that beer was, never could acquire a taste for it

Heresy! It is weird. Yuengling was the local brew alternative to Miller and Bud as a kid in these parts. Their HQ is only 45 minute drive from our house, and now that it has spread from here to Florida in twenty years is kinda weird but very small town guy hits it big. We are quite proud of it really. The owner Dick Yuengling is a curmudgeon and awesome.

 

[Chicago Mo]

Mo! Hi! I've been keeping up on your TR and PTR so I know you've had lots going on.
Nigel's dad has made a great recovery through physical therapy so no surgery needed, yay!
Yep, we're vlogging now. Just for fun really. Thanks so much for watching and subscribing, hope you enjoy!

Totally not going to lie. we binge watched several of the video's! Love it! Excited to see them all.. it's also good to get to 'know' you both! although i was bamboozled- I really thought Nigel's name was Nigel.. DOH!
Especially when your all knocking down small children and elderly to get to the bus or lines. I WAS LAUGHING SO HARD! So was Tom. kids too... Cannot tell you how much we enjoyed them..
Glad to hear about Nigel's dad! Great news!

We had actually accidentally discovered it on a previous trip, but we’re not sure how.

Was it from your GPS getting you lost? Ours did the same a few times..

His dad gave him some water, and the little boy asked if I had dad soda. The parents explained that ‘dad soda’ and ‘mommy juice’ were off limits.

This...
Is exactly something our family would say and do!

 

[NigelSTW]

So was Tom. kids too... Cannot tell you how much we enjoyed them..

We're not the best example for those with little mouse ears. I am just saying.

 

[Chicago Mo]

We're not the best example for those with little mouse ears. I am just saying.

My little mouse ears are not suitable for other little mouse ears...

 

[Li Li]

My little mouse ears are not suitable for other little mouse ears...

LOL! That cracked me up!

 

[PinkyBean]

I just spent the past couple of hours reading your hilariously entertaining trip reports....had to take a break to eat supper and do dishes so it took me awhile. My husband keeps looking up from his work to ask me what the heck I'm laughing at but I can't explain because I keep getting the giggles. You have worked you tail off on these TRs and I just want to say thanks.

 

[Chicago Mo]

LOL! That cracked me up!

I will ONLY admit that little piece of information here.. Unless you know them.. LOL!

 

[Li Li]

holy frijole that is a monster!!!!

I know, right?!

As a non-east coaster I just don't get the love of Yuengling. I lived in NC for a stretch in a big college town that a lot of North Easters came to and they would rave and rave about how good that beer was, never could acquire a taste for it

Yeah, I think it might just be an east coast/mid-atlantic states thing. Unexplainable.

I agree. I enjoy the Indy show, but only because I love the movies so much (I'll even watch the last one....shhhh don't tell anyone) But the show just seems really irrelevant now. I do hope that there is an Indiana Jones presence remaining in DHS.

I do hope they keep Indiana Jones around somehow.

I love one mans dream. It is kind of my people mover for DHS. When it's really hot or we need to kill thirty minutes I love to head in there and just chill and look at stuff. I read on rumor and news and thought they said that OMD was gone from DHS, but they had just removed Walt's office from it. When we went in march I was very happy to see it was there, Unfortunately they were chowing a movie clip instead of the proper movie which bothered me, but considering I thought the whole thing was gone I was okay

Yes! People mover of DHS!

This is a great pic of you guys. I never went to DHS before the "Hat". And I couldn't understand the uproar over it, but once I saw the original look I got it.

Thank you! Eh, I never totally hated the hat, but I didn't shed a tear over its removal either.

You did a duck face selfie....for shame

I am ashamed.

I suspect the "gas station" sushi in the picture

Yes, I blame Nigel as that was his pick.

nice transition

Come for the food porn, stay for my attempts at witty segues.

Forgot this one. That is a pretty convenient location. I think it is funny that you seem to be driving you rental car more than you drove your own car on your last trip.
So I have been meaning to ask you this for awhile and this kind of gives me a chance. Have you stayed at OKW? It has become our favorite and we recently just became DVC there so I am clearly biased. We grew to love it so because we went with the in-laws and stayed at a POP family suite. When we went back with the two of us afterward my better half discovered that renting points from a DVC was about the same price as staying at a value resort. Once we stayed at OKW we were so blown away we never saw any point to not renting points. I guess the points go farther at OKW then they would some of the newer DVC, which would account for the cost being the same. Anyway you guys should look into renting points. Or just give in like us and buy DVC. Oh we bought re-sale but it was just before they took away the DVC perks from the re-sale buyers, so dodged a bullet there. What am I saying we would still by re-sale

Yeah, we definitely drove the rental more this trip. I think it has to do with location. When we were at Wilderness Lodge, I was more inclined to take Disney transport, but I loved the rental car at Coronado. No stay at OKW yet. We've definitely looked into renting points but have just seemed to end up with either bounceback or AP rates which have been good. I think we may end up renting points at some point in the future.

Totally not going to lie. we binge watched several of the video's! Love it! Excited to see them all.. it's also good to get to 'know' you both! although i was bamboozled- I really thought Nigel's name was Nigel.. DOH!
Especially when your all knocking down small children and elderly to get to the bus or lines. I WAS LAUGHING SO HARD! So was Tom. kids too... Cannot tell you how much we enjoyed them..
Glad to hear about Nigel's dad! Great news!

Thanks for watching and glad you enjoyed! Yeah, I should probably just say Howard but I like using his internet name too.

Was it from your GPS getting you lost? Ours did the same a few times..

Yeah, GPS and just weird construction entrances.

I just spent the past couple of hours reading your hilariously entertaining trip reports....had to take a break to eat supper and do dishes so it took me awhile. My husband keeps looking up from his work to ask me what the heck I'm laughing at but I can't explain because I keep getting the giggles. You have worked you tail off on these TRs and I just want to say thanks.

Oh wow! Thank you so much for reading and for the kind words! I'm really happy you enjoyed and got some giggles out of it!

 

[Li Li]

If it’s raining, it must be an Epcot day

As usual for an Epcot day, we eat all the food. This was our first ADR of the trip, and I was really excited. We were going to Garden Grill for breakfast. I have to confess, breakfast is definitely my favorite meal. And at Disney, forget it. I haven’t met a Disney breakfast that I haven’t loved.

We arrived at Epcot with gray skies and sprinkles. It was definitely going to be a rainy start to the morning. Arriving at Epcot, we went over to the pre-open breakfast line and scooted right in.

We started back to Garden Grill. And wow, Sunshine Seasons is a ghost town when Soarin’ is down.

We were seated almost right away for our 8:30 reservation. We were seated at a table on the second level, not one of those booths on the first level. And I have to say, I was happy about that. I was worried about having to awkwardly scoot out of a booth for pictures, so the table was perfect.

Our server came over right away, and he was great. Attentive but not too attentive for the whole meal, he was really nice. We started with a fruit bowl and the warm cinnamon bake.

So good! Not the fruit obviously. But the cinnamon bake was amazing!

After the cinnamon bake, the main course arrived.

A platter of scrambled eggs, ham, bacon, “potato barrels” (tater tots, let’s be real), and Mickey waffles. Also, condiments of chocolate hazelnut sauce (again, Nutella for real) and three sauces: Salsa Verde (green), apple butter (no thanks) and red salsa.

Everything was great and so delicious!

And then we had the characters come around.

First was Dale.

Perhaps this is the time to tell you about our random conversation in the rental car the night before. On the way back to Coronado, Nigel turns to me suddenly and says, Chip has the black nose and Dale has the red nose, right? I say, yes and ask why he asked. He said he didn’t want to get it wrong.

Anywho, after that bit of foreshadowing, we met Farmer Mickey next.

Next up was Chip, and he was apparently feeling a bit feisty this morning. Because he requested first a blueberry and then a tater tot to throw at Dale on the level below. Which was funny at the time, but I really hope he didn't hit a random family. Fun fact, I picked up the camera to film him throwing things and he made a “no” motion with his hands (paws?). So, yeah, probably not Disney-approved behavior.

All was going well with Chip, right up until he was about to leave, and Nigel said, thanks Dale. OMG!

For that infraction, someone got their chair taken away.

Yep, that’s Chip laughing at him.

We met Pluto next and then Dale again.

We made some progress.

I have to say it was probably the best character meal we’ve ever been to, and the food was great as well. I would definitely go back for breakfast.

We walked out and were looking at the plant exhibit when we saw this.

That is a squirrel eating a tiny pineapple! Yep, this squirrel was eating the plant display!!

What would Nigel love more than anything after a character breakfast? Why, another character meet and greet of course! Okay, that’s not true. I had booked the character spot for FP as a sort of placeholder thinking if breakfast went over, it would be no big deal if we missed it. Unfortunately for Nigel, we could still make the character spot FP, and I legitimized it by telling Nigel we had never met Goofy, which is true. The last time we did the character spot, we skipped over Goofy to skirt past the family with eight autograph books for him to sign. Seriously, this poor mom stood there switching out eight autograph books for Goofy to sign, with the kids oblivious to it all. I just felt bad for that mom having to take charge and lug all that around, but I’m sure she was happy to do it.

And now, all the character pics!

Goofy hugged me and then decided he needed to bring Nigel into the hug too!

Minnie!

Both Mickey and Minnie noticed my Minnie Mouse shirt.

After the Character Spot, we had some time to look around before our Spaceship Earth FP. So we took some photopass pics with the Chip and Dale topiary.

Does it look like he is saying, "it burns!"

I think we suck at Photopass magic shots.
And finally, took a walk through the Butterfly tent.

 

[Li Li]

Despite the cloudiness, it was very pretty.

We also stopped by to get our free* passholder Flower and Garden picture. It was of Donald. And I am sure it around our house somewhere. Hmm. *Free in the sense of paying to be a passholder.

Spaceship Earth FP

And then I believe we went to Sum of All Thrills. The line wasn't too bad considering all the rain, but we still had time for selfies.

When in doubt, he kisses me to get me to stop with the selfies.

We stopped by the Cars topiaries before heading to Test Track.

I think we seriously lucked out on Test Track. By the time we got out, it started to really pour, so I’m sure they closed down for awhile.

 

[Li Li]

We stopped by Mousegears, browsed and then poncho’ed up and went on to La Cava Del Tequila, cause tequila.

We just saddled up to the bar rather than grab a seat. I got a Blanco tequila, and Nigel got an Extra Anejo.

Life-changing. Seriously, the extra Anejo was so smooth. Seriously good tequila. It had been recommended by the bartender, and it was great.

As we were walking out of La Cava, guess who we saw? Mexican Donald! With the shortest line ever! I guess they move his meet and greet indoors when it is raining. Of course we got pics.

Although, the PP photographer called us out for wearing Mickey and Minnie shirts. Sorry, Donaldo!

We meandered past Norway and saw the Anna and Elsa topiary.

And then, of course we browsed through Germany. I know we got our beloved Oktoberfest beer, but I don't seem to have a pic. We did also decide to hit the Germany Flower and Garden food booth for currywurst and paprika chips, which were very good.

Also, Disney blogger/podcaster celebrity sighting! I don’t know if anyone knows the Disney Hipsters, but we’ve listened to their podcast and read their blog. I recognized them, and called their names, and they were gracious enough to stop and say hi to us. Totally nice and sweet about it; it was really cool to meet them.

Moving on, we said goodbye to the duck in the Germany fountain.

The other F&G item that I really wanted to try was the Burnt Ends Hash at the American pavillion.

Delicious. Although I would have liked a bit more jalapenos, but that is probably just a personal preference.

After more browsing through countries with pictures to show for it, we moved on to France. We were thinking of looking in the bakery, but the Ice Cream shop was absolutely empty while the bakery was crowded. Okay, no brainer there. Ice Cream it is! You may have noticed that we have a love affair with the Croque Glace (I think I spelled that approximately correctly). It’s a brioche bun with ice cream and either chocolate or raspberry sauce. We love them, but I know they’re not for everyone. I believe we got coffee ice cream and chocolate sauce croque glace as well as a chocolate ice cream macaron. So good. If you’d like to watch us eating these in full Technicolor glory (sorry about that), just check out our you tube video.

I also stopped at the F&G booth for their La Vie en Rose slushy drink. I know, I’m a sucker. But France slushy drink with cranberry and St. Germain, that’s my wheelhouse. So, knowing that we were going to keep walking, I asked the CM if I could get my slushy in a regular cup rather than one of those plastic martini glass things as I didn't want it sloshing around. And, I think I got my money’s worth. This is what was still left by the time we got to Canada.

Speaking of Canada, we decided to check out their new “bar.” By bar, I mean the random space they cleared out from their shop area to sell booze. Kind of lame, but the CM there was super nice. She definitely approved of my France slushy, saying it was one of her favorites. Nigel decided to get the bourbon barrel aged Labatt beer. He said it basically tasted like a boilermaker (beer with a shot of bourbon).

After Canada, we decided to hop back in the car to the Coronado to dry off a bit.

It looks like we then hopped a bus to Magic Kingdom, as Nigel needed his ritual Harmony Barbershop haricut. His barber (barberess?) was great. She gave him a phenomenal haircut and really took her time with it.

We didn't stay too long, but we did ride Pirates and Jungle Cruise. And took random photos.

We walked around and then headed back for dinner at Coronado. We decided to try Maya Grill. So, good and bad about Maya Grill. The food was excellent; the service, not so much.

Our server just sadly did not seem on top of things. We put in an order for a queso dip appetizer and then our main courses. Imagine our surprise when our main courses came out before we saw our appetizer. We told the food runner that we had not received our appetizer and he took the main courses back. If you have any restaurant experience, you can guess what happened next. They held the main courses under a heat lamp while we got the appetizer. I’ve worked as a waitress; I know how this works. Sigh.

So, we got the queso dip, and it was quite good. Our waitress re-appeared and asked if we’d like extra tortillas for the queso dip and we said yes. Yeah, those extra tortillas never came. But our main courses reappeared.

The main course tasted very good, except for the half of my dish that was cold because it was obviously outside of the heat lamp range.

Honestly, if some of these things had just gone better (the order of food, freshness, hot), I would be raving about this place. But as it is, I was extremely disappointed.

Fun facts to add, someone dropped a plate on the floor, and they barely cleaned up the shards. There were shards of the plate around our table and on our way out as we passed other tables. The sangria had unappetizing dregs in it.

I try not to complain too much, but the broken plate pieces just put me over the edge. I asked to speak to the manager, and told him about the poor service and advised him to clean up the broken plate shards on the floor before someone hurt themselves. He apologized for our experience. Hopefully, others will have a better experience because as I said the food actually tasted very good. But bad service can really sour you on a place.

Sorry for the bummer dining report.

We did finish the evening with some fun drinks at the bar, and we have a killer breakfast coming up tomorrow!

 

[Chicago Mo]

As always i am left starving after one of your updates!!!

I adore all the PP and Selfies! Yes rain and Epcot are one of the same.. always. If it doesn't i would think something was very wrong. I am so jealous over your GG Characters! they were a HOOT!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

so way behind, but trying to play catch up

That is cool that you got to board early with the exit row! That is random that they didn't like your gallon sized bag for toiletries ... I've stopped putting things in to a bag entirely and never gotten stopped. Guess I just look less suspicious than you

I've heard very good things about the pool at Coronado .. well, you know, when it isn't undergoing unscheduled maintenance/is May. Your drink looks good and refreshing!

Cute encounter with that kid in Indiana Jones ... we have "Mommy and Daddy drinks" too - which my oldest will then tell the other kids "that means it has alcohol in it!"

If you think that was bad no knowing if the Storm Troopers were good or bad, before seeing the movies when we were walking through the queue for Star Tours my oldest asked if the Ewoks were good or bad

Breakfast at the Garden Grill looks pretty darn good! That cinnamon bake looks amazing! We've only done dinner there but loved the character interactions and Farmer Mickey is pretty darn cute!

Fun meet with Goofy!

Does it look like he is saying, "it burns!"

.. no, no, he's saying Boo-urns, Boo-urns,

I usually go for the reposado tequlias but I might need to try that extra anejo one

I've never heard of the Disney Hipsters but I feel like that is a major fault in my life that needs to be corrected. I realized a while ago that I am an accidental hipster in that I have facial hair, drive a hybrid, lived in Brooklyn, grow my own vegetables, and have a love/obsession with craft beer.

Those Croque Glaces are amazeballz! And that slushy drink sounds pretty good and good call getting it in a regular cup - good tip!

I usually just hit up the beer cart in Canada that sells Unibrau beers, but I will have to remember the new "bar"

Sorry for the bummer of a meal at Maya grill but goes to show the importance of service in that you indicated if a few things had been corrected you would have raved about the place. definitely think speaking to a manager when that many things are off makes sense

 

[NigelSTW]

The accompanying video can be found here. Channel Link is here.