BEST. DAY. EVER. May '17 w/Chunkymonkey and Chubbyhubby NEW 8/28 x2 THE END!!

[chunkymonkey]

May 20th - Boma, Tiffin's (Again) and AK

We woke up and leisurely strolled down to our breakfast at Boma. I've never had breakfast here before, only dinner, so I was very excited for this as I really love this restaurant.

The food here was delicious for breakfast, as I expected it to be. Everything tasted fresh and not like it was sitting out for hours.

We got coffees and jungle juice (POG) to drink. It was a really great start to the day!

We spent some of the morning by the pool. It was crowded and very humid. There were also all these little bugs flying everywhere. It was annoying so we didn't stay out for too long.

I decided that since we had the express bus for the weekend that we'd go to DHS and watch the Beauty and the Beast show which I hadn't seen in years, then head over to AK for our Pandora Preview. We got there a little late for the show though so we had to sit in the upper tier of the theater because it was packed. It was a little too warm there for me and didn't provide adequate sun shade, so next time I'd show up earlier.

Still a cute show, thankfully it was short!

10 points for Gaston!

Since we had no FP+ at DHS we really couldn't do much. I think we wandered around Launch Bay a bit, and watched the SW Path of the Jedi to get out of the heat. Then we express bussed it over to AK. While on the bus I managed to make a same day ADR for late lunch at Tiffins! Yay!

While we were walking out of the Express Bus area and walking to Tiffins we ran into @ariane37 and Steve who were making their way to FoTLK! They said they loved their Pandora preview that morning so we were getting really excited! They said they would stop by to check on us as we were on line to get into Pandora for our 6-8pm preview (which means we'd be lining up by 4:30pm)

On the way to Tiffins:

Tiffins was a really nice break in the day. It was cool and not crowded, with great food, a perfect respite before our time spent lining up for Pandora.

To drink Steve got a Kungaloosh Ale, which we both thought was really good. I got one of their flavored iced teas.

The foccacia with pomegranate molasses and olive oil dipping sauce. Make sure you stir it up well so that you get a bit of molasses and olive oil together or else the molasses itself is very sour.

The menu offered a Tiffin's "pick two" for lunch and it had about 6-8 selections that you can mix and match. Unfortunately this has changed since May as last week there was only a choice of two things as entrees (Fish or beef, both served with the veggie curry).

I got the octopus (duh) which is single-handedly some of the best octopus I've ever had. And the fried fish. I am not sure what fish it is but it was very tasty, and the portions were a good size.

I made DH get his own octopus because I wasn't sharing so he got the octopus and the veggie curry as his "pick two" choices.

It came with a side of rice. It tasted like a rice and quinoa blend.

The pick two was a great choice as it was cheaper than getting the full-sized apps and entrees and also the portions were lighter than a full-sized entree, which means more room for dessert!

My friend Betsy @tankgirl427 had just arrived at AK and so she met us at Tiffins for dessert.

I cannot leave here without the passionfruit tapioca creme. It is single-handedly my favorite dessert on property, much more so than the 'Ohana bread pudding (by a smidge only).

This dessert has chunks of fresh grapefruit on top of passionfruit infused tapioca pudding, with a creamy topping and chocolate shavings. It is divine.

Note: They still had this dessert as of last week! They did mention they are going to change it to some other fruit at some point, but they have been saying that since February LOL. As long as they still have it, I will continue to go to Tiffins, haha.

Betsy got the sorbet trio. It had some exotic flavors like Lychee and Passionfruit.

After our delightful lunch we headed outside and go on line for our preview right on time at 4:30pm. You have probably read my Pandora Posts by now but if not, here they are: Pandora Part 1. Pandora Part 2.

After our amazing preview of Pandora, Betsy went back to CBR and we stayed for our late Safari FP+. I don't really recommend a night safari for your first time on it as it is hard to see any animals and I barely got any pictures at all. But the one animal we did see was pretty cool.

where are you, animals!?!

The majestic, nocturnal lion!

Before we left AK, one last PP Shot:

Coming up - last DISMeet at DHS, Narcoosee's brunch, and Photopass Ops at Disney springs​

 

[chunkymonkey]

Really enjoy reading your TR and had to LOL about the 'crack' popcorn. That's my addiction as well and I do NOT leave home for a Disney trip without my popcorn bucket. I haul that thing to the park and refill it EVERY chance I get. In fact I told my kids during our last trip that it would be DINNER...they ended up asking for real food anyway. The NERVE!

(me and my dinner)

Hi!!! Thank you so much for reading! That popcorn was wonderful - and saved us while on lines at so many rides. I used it on both May trips but I'm sad to say they changed the color of the bucket last week from the green. I could only refill the bucket once before they told me I couldn't use it anymore . The new bucket is very similar though, it's a metallic blue handle and lid. In the dark I can barely tell the difference. But I bit the bullet and got a new bucket. I still kept the old bucket though and just kept filling it up with popcorn and gave it to the kids, they absolutely loved the popcorn at Disney!

Sorry the dessert party was so disappointing. We did one years ago and I'd love to do another one someday...maybe. We'll see. The Star Wars one sounds pretty good though.
Hoping we finally catch HEA this trip in it's entirety. We saw brief moments of it during our May trip but this next trip...it's on my MUST DO list for sure!
Can't wait to read more and read about your bigger family trip also!

It wasn't that great of a dessert experience but we still loved the show. We managed to see it last week with awesome views of the castle and we got there around 8:30pm for a 9pm show. Although we saw it again later in the week and got there at 8:59pm and had to see it from behind a tree, lol. So you don't need the dessert party as long as you're willing to wait around for a bit in a good spot. The popcorn bucket came in handy though!

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

As always, a lovely update. Too bad you didn't get to do much at DHS, but your PP pictures are beautiful.

 

[pkondz]

But there is no other way to take a selfie.

Yes any popcorn stand will sell the refillable bucket - think it is about 10 bucks and change, and you can fill it up in any park for 1.50 each time.

Not bad! And definitely sounds like you got your money's worth!

It is actually not as coconutty as you think. It was more...lemony I thought from the lemongrass.

You have no idea.

"Here eat this."
"No. I can't. I can smell that it has coconut."
"What?" <sniffs.... takes another bite... thinks...> "Nope! Definitely no coconut. I'd taste it for sure."
"Uh, huh... read the ingredients... I'm sure."
<reads> "Sugar, Milk Solids, Vegetable Fat, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Barley Malt Extract, Cocoa Powder, Soy Lecithin, Salt , Egg White, coconut.... Holy crap! How did you do that!"

It's my Kryptonite.

It's like those cooling towels like frogg togs but in a headband form. You wet them and they supposedly cool you off. Supposedly because those cooling towels didn't really work well last week in the August heat. I think it's beacuse we were all wet to begin with, rubbing wet towels isn't really helping.
Sadly DH lost his headband on the bus last week too. Grr.

Too bad. You say "supposedly". It didn't work? Or you're not sure?

This past weekend was Photopass day and I changed my tank top a few times to fit the magic shot!

It's super cute. The strawberry lemonade slushie was pretty good too.

I totally forgot about what was in the mug!

Look, DEM JUGS already causing so much trouble.

If they start panting and running around then we'd really have no desserts to eat!

No! This is brilliant!!!

"Come to our dessert party and don't worry about packing on the pounds as you will be forced to run to catch any dessert you consume."

Going back to read the update.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Not bad! And definitely sounds like you got your money's worth!

Oh I sure did. I managed to squeeze in one more refill before they switched out the color of the buckets from May to their new fall bucket color which is a metallic blue instead of green. Sigh.

You have no idea.

"Here eat this."
"No. I can't. I can smell that it has coconut."
"What?" <sniffs.... takes another bite... thinks...> "Nope! Definitely no coconut. I'd taste it for sure."
"Uh, huh... read the ingredients... I'm sure."
<reads> "Sugar, Milk Solids, Vegetable Fat, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Barley Malt Extract, Cocoa Powder, Soy Lecithin, Salt , Egg White, coconut.... Holy crap! How did you do that!"

It's my Kryptonite.

Hahaha, that's like me and bell pepper. I can detect it a mile away and won't touch it or anything that touches it. I can do hot peppers but not bell peppers, weird.

Too bad. You say "supposedly". It didn't work? Or you're not sure?

Yeah I'm not so sure since we were all just so wet from sweat that putting more wet towels on us didn't really help that much. I mean it was refreshing for a second or so...
I found the cooling fan that I hung around my neck was much more effective.

No! This is brilliant!!!

"Come to our dessert party and don't worry about packing on the pounds as you will be forced to run to catch any dessert you consume."

Going back to read the update.

See? Disney can be healthy too. They can market this as a DIY dessert party and it'll harge you an extra 20 bucks so you can chase around for your dessert before your consume it.

 

[chunkymonkey]

As always, a lovely update. Too bad you didn't get to do much at DHS, but your PP pictures are beautiful.

Thank you! It was just because we had the express bus transport that we decided to go to DHS on a whim. Sad to see it go, but we would never have been able to just go from park to park so casually if we didn't have it.

 

[pkondz]

We woke up and leisurely strolled down to our breakfast at Boma. I've never had breakfast here before, only dinner, so I was very excited for this as I really love this restaurant.

Have eaten there once... dinner... with the family. DD#1 had... Mac 'n Cheese, DD#2 had... Mac 'n Cheese but DW had!!..... Mac 'n Cheese.

Everything tasted fresh and not like it was sitting out for hours.

Always a plus.

Can't. Stop. Drooling.....

We spent some of the morning by the pool. It was crowded and very humid. There were also all these little bugs flying everywhere. It was annoying so we didn't stay out for too long.

Oh. Too bad. Looks very inviting.

Still a cute show, thankfully it was short!

What a great show!!! When will it end?!?!?!?

Cute!

Tiffins was a really nice break in the day.

I've heard good things about this place.

I got one of their flavored iced teas.

Which would be not nearly sweet enough for this Canadian.

The foccacia with pomegranate molasses and olive oil dipping sauce. Make sure you stir it up well so that you get a bit of molasses and olive oil together or else the molasses itself is very sour.

If I ever get there... thanks for the tip!

I got the octopus (duh) which is single-handedly some of the best octopus I've ever had.

But multi-limbed.

I cannot leave here without the passionfruit tapioca creme. It is single-handedly my favorite dessert on property, much more so than the 'Ohana bread pudding (by a smidge only).

Really! Wow!

Betsy got the sorbet trio. It had some exotic flavors like Lychee and Passionfruit.

mmm.... sorbet.......

I don't really recommend a night safari for your first time on it as it is hard to see any animals and I barely got any pictures at all.

Well, that sucks. Thanks for that tip, too!

 

[pkondz]

Oh I sure did. I managed to squeeze in one more refill before they switched out the color of the buckets from May to their new fall bucket color which is a metallic blue instead of green. Sigh.

Unfair! They should be lifetime buckets!

Hmm... I wonder if they'd sell those for say... $20.
It'd still be profitable as $1.50 is still way more than what the popcorn cost is.

Hahaha, that's like me and bell pepper. I can detect it a mile away and won't touch it or anything that touches it. I can do hot peppers but not bell peppers, weird.

Then you know.

Yeah I'm not so sure since we were all just so wet from sweat that putting more wet towels on us didn't really help that much. I mean it was refreshing for a second or so...
I found the cooling fan that I hung around my neck was much more effective.

I've heard a lot about those fans... but never used one. I just go as quickly as possible to the next air conditioned environment.

See? Disney can be healthy too. They can market this as a DIY dessert party and it'll harge you an extra 20 bucks so you can chase around for your dessert before your consume it.

Disney's Half Marathon Dessert Party.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Have eaten there once... dinner... with the family. DD#1 had... Mac 'n Cheese, DD#2 had... Mac 'n Cheese but DW had!!..... Mac 'n Cheese.

but mac n Cheese in considered exotic food...in some countries.
The truth though, when I was young, I spent a lot of time in Japan and Singapore which is where I was born, and I never had mac n cheese before until I returned to the US when I was 10, so I was dying to try it as it seemed like the most delicious thing to me. I think the first time I had it, it was Kraft, and it still holds a soft spot in my heart. Hahaha.

Can't. Stop. Drooling.....

sooo goood.

What a great show!!! When will it end?!?!?!?

My thoughts exactly!!

Which would be not nearly sweet enough for this Canadian.

Ah, but Tiffins goes one step further by offering you a simple syrup on the side so you can sweeten to your heart's desire.

But multi-limbed.

Really! Wow!

OK, I must admit, they are very different desserts. Ohana is pure comfort food. I could probably polish off an entire portion myself. But this passionfruit thing is like an explosion of texture and flavor. It's creamy and tart and fruity and sweet and topped with chocolate all at the same time. It's just great. OK maybe I like them about the same.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We ran into the presenter and her husband at Epcot later that day too. She signed the book for DH too.

That is super cool. I am sure DH was pretty excited about that!

so Steve had to wear his cooling headband for the ride.

I was going to ask how well it worked. We go in September and I am worried with how hot it will still be... I think I need something for DH to stay cool. He just cranky... (but don't tell him I said that)

Supposedly because those cooling towels didn't really work well last week in the August heat. I think it's beacuse we were all wet to begin with, rubbing wet towels isn't really helping.

And then I saw this...

Tiffins sounds great! One day we will try it out.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Unfair! They should be lifetime buckets!

Hmm... I wonder if they'd sell those for say... $20.
It'd still be profitable as $1.50 is still way more than what the popcorn cost is.

I'd pay 3x that for a lifetime bucket! Here in NYC, popcorn at the movies cost 10 bucks...so really anything is better than that!

Then you know.

I know.

I've heard a lot about those fans... but never used one. I just go as quickly as possible to the next air conditioned environment.

I used these neck fans. They were pretty lightweight and we used rechargeable batteries. I used them all the time, even in the air conditioning to cool myself down even faster. When it's that hot, every little bit counts.

Disney's Half Marathon Dessert Party.

Ladies and gentleman! A new event for us to spend countless $$ on! APs get 20% off though.

That is super cool. I am sure DH was pretty excited about that!

He was! He likes all sorts of green thumb books.

I was going to ask how well it worked. We go in September and I am worried with how hot it will still be... I think I need something for DH to stay cool. He just cranky... (but don't tell him I said that)

And then I saw this...

Haha, for sure though every little bit helped. The neck fans (picture above) were were nice as you didn't have to hold the fan. It blows the air up onto your neck. We had misters, cool towels, and the fans. Everything helped a little but just be prepared for it to be very hot and humid, LOL. Steve did like the headband though, which he sadly lost on one of the buses. But they are cheap enough to replace.

Tiffins sounds great! One day we will try it out.

It's soo good!

 

[annie170]

I've never had breakfast at Boma, only dinner. Boma and Tusker House are my two favorite buffets in WDW because of their unique options. Between Boma and Tiffins, you had a really good food day!

I love the Beauty and the Beast show at HS. I fear it will be gone too soon.

Do you know why the express bus is no longer operating? Once more people knew about it, I thought it would be crazy popular.

That's great that you were given a time for your Pandora preview so you weren't in line forever. I can't wait to experience Flight of Passage myself!

Do the popcorn buckets change color every season? I'm glad you got your money's worth!

Was the lion the only animal you saw that evening? What do the guides talk about when you can't really see any animals? That's got to be tough for them.

 

[pkondz]

but mac n Cheese in considered exotic food...in some countries.

oooh.... exotic.....

The truth though, when I was young, I spent a lot of time in Japan and Singapore which is where I was born, and I never had mac n cheese before until I returned to the US when I was 10, so I was dying to try it as it seemed like the most delicious thing to me. I think the first time I had it, it was Kraft, and it still holds a soft spot in my heart. Hahaha.

You know what's even better than Kraft Mac n Cheese?



Nothing.

Ah, but Tiffins goes one step further by offering you a simple syrup on the side so you can sweeten to your heart's desire.

!!!

I'm thinking I need to go there.

OK, I must admit, they are very different desserts. Ohana is pure comfort food. I could probably polish off an entire portion myself. But this passionfruit thing is like an explosion of texture and flavor. It's creamy and tart and fruity and sweet and topped with chocolate all at the same time. It's just great. OK maybe I like them about the same.

Yeah... I need to try this place.

I'd pay 3x that for a lifetime bucket! Here in NYC, popcorn at the movies cost 10 bucks...so really anything is better than that!

Only $10?

Movie theatre popcorn is insanely expensive.... but you have to buy it. It's a rule.

I used these neck fans. They were pretty lightweight and we used rechargeable batteries. I used them all the time, even in the air conditioning to cool myself down even faster. When it's that hot, every little bit counts.

Where did you get those? Were they heavy around your neck at all?

Ladies and gentleman! A new event for us to spend countless $$ on! APs get 20% off though.

 

[Neverland_Girl]

These sticky buns look amazing!

The menu offered a Tiffin's "pick two" for lunch and it had about 6-8 selections that you can mix and match. Unfortunately this has changed since May as last week there was only a choice of two things as entrees (Fish or beef, both served with the veggie curry).

I got the octopus (duh) which is single-handedly some of the best octopus I've ever had. And the fried fish. I am not sure what fish it is but it was very tasty, and the portions were a good size.

At first I thought you meant you got two choices to split between the two of you, but that's awesome that you get two choices all for yourself. Bummer that they changed it now.

 

[Raeven]

This picture made me want to go back sooo badly

Make sure you stir it up well so that you get a bit of molasses and olive oil together or else the molasses itself is very sour.

I don't think I stirred mine

I got the octopus (duh) which is single-handedly some of the best octopus I've ever had.

I'm still grossed out from my attempt at trying it But Josh would agree with you.

 

[ariane37]

Loved our quick "walk by" when you guys got off the express bus at AK lol. Express bus
So glad you enjoyed Boma breakfast! Pretty sure it's my favorite breakfast on property. And your Tiffins talk is really making me want to go back. I'd love to go in Nov. but we want to do Yachtsman and Citricos and I need lots of free time for F&W

 

[chunkymonkey]

I've never had breakfast at Boma, only dinner. Boma and Tusker House are my two favorite buffets in WDW because of their unique options. Between Boma and Tiffins, you had a really good food day!

I really did! I tend to indulge myself on Disney trips, but I feel like I'm getting a little chunkier from all these trips...with no end in sight. LOL

I love the Beauty and the Beast show at HS. I fear it will be gone too soon.

It's so cute. I just love the music!

Do you know why the express bus is no longer operating? Once more people knew about it, I thought it would be crazy popular.

Based on what every CM working there has told me, they are not even sure why it was cancelled, but yes they said it was never crowded and perhaps not as many people use it as much as they expected. This was true in many of the rides we took where we were the only ones on the bus. Of the thousands of people that take the regular buses every day a tiny tiny fraction would pay for express bus. I don't know why it wasn't more popular but I think most people just didn't know about this option or they didn't have park hoppers, or maybe they just aren't on the DISboards to know such things existed, LOL. They should just make ME the marketer of it and I'll get them the crowds they need, hahaha.

That's great that you were given a time for your Pandora preview so you weren't in line forever. I can't wait to experience Flight of Passage myself!

Oh it was such a great experience! Worth all the hassle to get back down to Florida, the heat and the exhaustion. Thank goodness they thought about us AP holders!

Do the popcorn buckets change color every season? I'm glad you got your money's worth!

Yes it does seem like it! I can see that because technically they said it's only good for the use of your stay, but it's not like they can change the bucket colors every week so they change them every few months it seems. I really hope it doesn't change by Oct/November!

Was the lion the only animal you saw that evening? What do the guides talk about when you can't really see any animals? That's got to be tough for them.

We did see other animals but it's very dark so pictures won't come out well and it's not like the guides can shine a light on the animals as they'd just run away even further! The lion was pretty cool to see though since during the day we just seem them sleeping. The Guides basically just talked about how we "may" see this or that, LOL.

You know what's even better than Kraft Mac n Cheese?

Nothing.

Yes sir!

I'm thinking I need to go there.

I think you need to go there too.

Only $10?

Movie theatre popcorn is insanely expensive.... but you have to buy it. It's a rule.

I always follow the rules.
and the 10 bucks is for the small size, haha.

Where did you get those? Were they heavy around your neck at all?

I got them from amazon.com here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/O2-Cool-Neck...UTF8&qid=1503547125&sr=8-2&keywords=neck+fans
They are very light and I didn't notice them that much at all, I had to keep remember to take them off for photopass pictures because I didn't want to look like one of "THOSE TOURISTS WHO GO TO DISNEY WORLD IN AUGUST"

These sticky buns look amazing!

They were delicous!

At first I thought you meant you got two choices to split between the two of you, but that's awesome that you get two choices all for yourself. Bummer that they changed it now.

Yeah strange but their menu has changed so now the options are more limited. I wasn't expecting that but you can order a la carte as well so I just did that last week.

This picture made me want to go back sooo badly

Ugh I know what you mean...but you will be going soon, right? I should probably catch up on your PTR, so I can answer my own question.

I don't think I stirred mine

Haha I did the same thing and thought it was quite tart.

I'm still grossed out from my attempt at trying it But Josh would agree with you.

Haha that is funny, I mean not for you of course. But at least Josh liked it!

Loved our quick "walk by" when you guys got off the express bus at AK lol. Express bus

I still am in shock!

So glad you enjoyed Boma breakfast! Pretty sure it's my favorite breakfast on property. And your Tiffins talk is really making me want to go back. I'd love to go in Nov. but we want to do Yachtsman and Citricos and I need lots of free time for F&W

Boma was so good. I would stay at AKL just to be able to eat multiple breakfasts there.
Wait, did I know about this November trip? Are we missing each other by a few days??
Let me know when you're going to Yachtsman and I'll have my guy David check in on you, hehe.

 

[pkondz]

I got them from amazon.com here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/O2-Cool-Neck...UTF8&qid=1503547125&sr=8-2&keywords=neck+fans
They are very light and I didn't notice them that much at all, I had to keep remember to take them off for photopass pictures because I didn't want to look like one of "THOSE TOURISTS WHO GO TO DISNEY WORLD IN AUGUST"

Thanks!

 

[Raeven]

Ugh I know what you mean...but you will be going soon, right? I should probably catch up on your PTR, so I can answer my own question.

Yeah our trip is soon, but we're not going to Boma for breakfast this time..I want to add in a place with bread pudding though

 

[ariane37]

Wait, did I know about this November trip? Are we missing each other by a few days??

Hmm, maybe not lol! We weren't sure, and then as soon as we got back from our Aug. trip we decided I think I mentioned it briefly at the end of my dining report.........Nov. 4-8, quick trip for food and wine! I can't remember your dates off-hand, are we overlapping