The Trip With An Abundance of Steven, A WDW Jan '23 TR ***Completed 8/8***

[Joy70]

Taking a moment to come out of hiding in Lurkersville to let you know how much I am enjoying your trip report. It looks like a lot of work and it is appreciated! I especially love your sense of humor. You and your friend must have so much fun together! Also, Happy Belated Birthday!

 

[Paulaparm]

Glad to see you're back!

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Taking a moment to come out of hiding in Lurkersville to let you know how much I am enjoying your trip report. It looks like a lot of work and it is appreciated! I especially love your sense of humor. You and your friend must have so much fun together! Also, Happy Belated Birthday!

I am truly honored that you came out of hiding in Lurkersville for lil ol' me!

​

I'm glad a lot of people are finding me funny because I find myself to be absolutely hilarious so it's nice to know I'm not sitting here laughing by myself lol. And thank you for the belated birthday wishes!!

Glad to see you're back!

Thank you! I'm glad to see me back too

​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Day 5, Part 4
January 26, 2023
"You Give Bulldog Energy"

Africa, Asia, Dinosaurs alive and well- you name it, it lives here at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park

Africa? Check.

Asia? Check.

Dinosaurs?

Steven, what did you do with the dinosaurs?!

Mel and I had been in AK for nearly 7 hours and have yet to step foot in the theme park sideshow, Dinoland USA.

I have a soft spot in my heart for Dinoland. Mostly for Dinosaur and that one episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch that takes place in AK, but mostly for Dinosaur.



Mel and I had a DAS reservation to play hide ‘n go seek with an iguanodon that allowed us to wait only 17 minutes of the posted 30 standby.







I absolutely love Dinosaur, but I’ve never seen what the ride looks like. I mentally, physically, and emotionally can’t handle jump scares and because of this, I close my eyes and hold on for dear life. Every single time, I hype myself up and tell myself, this time I’m going to keep my eyes open and actually SEE what Dinosaur looks like, and every single time we get to the pterodactyl, as if on instinct, my eyes squeeze shut and I duck my head down. Every. Single. Time.

Don’t get me wrong- Dinosaur is one of my absolute favorite rides. I love how it jostles you and throws you about, but I’ve literally never seen the entire ride. Maybe one day. Fingers crossed.

Safely back from the Cretaceous Period, Mel and I picked up our Time Rover, aka the ECV, and headed back across the park for our next DAS reservation.



The Safari had a posted wait of 10 minutes, and we ended up waiting about just that since we decided to ask to wait for the 1st row. Which is the superior move for rides like the Safari and Livin’. Some may wait for the 1st row on roller coasters, but not Mel and I. Nay, nay. Roller coaster? We’ll take what we can get. A nice slow mover? Give us the 1st row! Let’s get crazy!

Our Skipper Odin was unmemorable since I don’t remember a single thing about them and there were far less animals out on the safari then there were this morning. All in all, it was a decent trek across the African savanna, but I’ve been on better safaris.






I tried to bribe Walt himself to let me take these home but he didn't budge. What a stiff!
















Steven, please! Get out of the lion pit!



Back from our harrowing journey, we decided a snack was in order as we slowly made our way out of the park.



Mel had seen a couple families waltzing past us with ice cream and as if she was a cartoon character being wafted over by scent, she floated over to the Anandapur Ice Cream Truck and scanned the menu before ultimately deciding on:


Yeti Sundae: “chocolate soft-serve topped with vanilla soft-serve, blue cake crumbs, sugar, sweet snowflakes, and a chocolate yeti image.” $6.29

Me on the other hand?

I opted to try a fan favorite over at Mr. Kamal’s:


Mr. Kamal’s Seasoned Fries: “Served with curried honey mustard or Korean chili Ketchup.” $5.99

Mel absolutely loved her sundae- she said it was the perfect mix of classic ice cream with interesting toppings that brought the sundae up a notch.

How were my fries, you ask? They were ok. By the time I finally dived into the fries, they were already slightly cold. I thought the dipping sauces were decent but neither one I absolutely head over heels in love with. The dish together wasn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination, they were just fine. A nice salty snack to keep those pesky Hunger Demons at bay, but not something I would actively seek out.

Snacks thoroughly demolished, we continued on our way out of the park and on to our next destination.






My favorite floating cavalcade





We had a 7:45 dinner reservation in Disney Springs and opted to take a Lyft back to Saratoga. But don’t be fooled, we weren’t going to be dropped off at any ol’ spot at Saratoga. Mel carefully pinned her dropoff location to be in the parking lot as close to the bridge from SS to Disney Springs as she could get. She was not about to be fooled by SS again. She surely was not.

Our Lyft driver scooped us up from AK at 6:10 in a completely different car than was listed. “Sorry, my wife has the SUV,” our Lyft driver called out of his passenger side window as he slowed to a crawl next to us in a rusted mini van.

Mel looked at me, I looked at Mel.

“Morimoto’s better be worth getting kidnapped.”

Thankfully, we made it to SS a mere 20 minutes after getting picked up.

DS security was a walkthrough. For one of us.

We both know it was not Mel.

A complete CAT scan and DNA test later, Mel and I waddled on up to Gideon’s to get ourselves put on their virtual queue for the 3rd time that week.

“Virtual queue’s closed! Turn back! Leave! Shoo!” the Gideon’s henchmen snarled and growled at us. Apparently our Gideon’s luck had run out, 2 times in one week is all Master Gideon would allow us to enter his cookie fortress.

We took one last mournful look at the masterpiece that is Gideon’s before we opted to check in for our dinner reservation early.

From the time Mel and I checked in for our Morimoto’s reservation to the time we were seated, this little pocket of central Florida became akin to Dodge City or Tombstone.

I checked in for our reservation at 7:23 and we pulled off to the side as a party of 3 behind us bellied up to the host stand.

“Table for 3,” the man in the faux fur vest told the host, waving 3 fingers in front of him.

“Do you have a reservation?”

“No, we are here for sushi.”

“Sorry, we aren’t accepting walk ups at the moment, but there is a quick service window right outside if you would like to order something from there.”

“No, no. I don’t think you understand. We want sushi. Just sushi. We need a table for 3.”

“Sorry, there are no tables available.”

“We want sushi!”

At this point, a man who I believe to be the manager walked up to the faux fur vested gentleman now throwing a hissy fit about not being able to bully his way into the restaurant for sushi and that’s when Mel and I decided to wait outside to avoid somehow getting stuck in the crossfire.

A few minutes later, ol’ faux fur vest and his 2 companions waltzed out of the front door of Morimoto’s and headed to the quick service spot right around the corner.

I don’t think they have sushi there.

It was at this point I realized that the host never asked for my phone number and our reservation in MDE was still saying we needed to check in. They had said they would let us know when our table was ready, but how? We aren’t in the restaurant, they don’t have my number, and the app isn’t going to send me a notification if it doesn’t even know I checked in.

Begrudgingly, Mel and I headed back into the restaurant. The manager was still at the host stand.

“Hey, I’m sorry. We just checked in but I realized I never gave you my phone number and the app says we still haven’t checked in.”

The manager literally rolled his eyes at me and sighed. “The app reservation system doesn’t work since we are third party. We will tell you when your table is ready.”

“Yeah, that’s fine. I just didn’t leave you my number or anything. I didn’t want you to think we left.”

“We will tell you when your table is ready!”

I stared at him, he stared back at me.

“Your table is ready.”

I blame this on faux fur vest man for riling up the manager in the first place.


Side note: While all of this was going down, the lady working the host stand was literally just standing there FOLDING PAPER CRANES! Ma'am. The restaurant is burning down around you. The ancient art of paper folding can wait!

Mel and I were lead to our table- a 2 top on the 2nd floor and perused the menu for a few moments before placing our order.

I had been wanting the peking duck but the dish is ideal for 2 people. Mel has had duck one time in her life, and thought it was ok at best. But sometimes, even 13/14 years into our friendship, Mel can surprise me. “Do you want to split the peking duck?” she asked me.

I was shocked.

Besides the peking duck, Mel ordered the pork dumplings as a starter and a coke to wash it down; while I decided on the spicy yellowtail roll and the lychee lemon soda.


Lychee Lemon Soda: “fresh mint leaves, lemon juice, lychee puree, and soda.” $6.50


Pork Dumplings: “4 pieces; pork, Napa cabbage, scallion.” $15


Morimoto Peking Duck: “carved house-roasted whole duck, served with steamed flour pancakes, apricot sweet chili and hoisin miso.” $79


Spicy Yellowtail Roll: “Japanese yellowtail, spicy mayo, scallion.” $17

Mel and I both agreed our starters were very, very delicious. The sushi was incredibly fresh, but I would have been more surprised if it wasn’t; and Mel always adores a tasty dumpling.

But the peking duck?

Oh man.

You HAVE to get the peking duck. It was “lick your fingers and the plate” delicious. We ate every single drop. Is it expensive? Without a doubt. Was it worth it? Without a doubt.

The duck was tender and the accompaniments provided both a salty and sweet component that really brought out the flavors of the dish well. And those little steamed pancakes? They rolled everything up just right.

Now bursting at the seams, Mel and I paid the angry Morimoto’s manager with solid chunks of gold and the promise to never step foot in the restaurant again and hightailed it out of there.

By 9:05 we were back at the hotel.

I did the usual- a nice bath bomb moment, a shower, and icy hot on the knees.


A returning champ:
Disco Queen bath bomb: “orange, pineapple, jasmine, melon, and coconut.” $9.99
Also side note: I was starting to get a little bit of a heat rash on my hands and chest, so if you see it. That's what that is lol

Mel on the other hand?

By 11, I was out like a light.

***Coming up: The Poly for breakfast? The Poly for breakfast!

​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

I present to you a special treat, me hiding on Dinosaur through the years (or at least the ones I could find):









And also this absolute GEM I found of Mel on Splash Mountain:

​

 

[nw6675]

I kinda feel like a stalker since I'm always on when you post. LoL

And also this absolute GEM I found of Mel on Splash Mountain:

​

So, the plastic top might be a bit questionable...

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

I kinda feel like a stalker since I'm always on when you post. LoL

So, the plastic top might be a bit questionable...

Birds of a feather browse Disboards together lol

Hahah!! This was years ago but I still remember the laugh roar that escaped from both Mel and I when we saw her ride photo​

 

[Mich123]

I am so enjoying your report. I almost cried when Mel asked if you wanted to share the duck because I’d totally be wanting that and then struggling with the concept of a 2 person entree.

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

I am so enjoying your report. I almost cried when Mel asked if you wanted to share the duck because I’d totally be wanting that and then struggling with the concept of a 2 person entree.

Listen, listen. No one needs to know it’s meant for 2. That secret can stay between you and the waiter. But if you reallllllly need someone to split it with you, I volunteer as tribute!

 

[TaraS29]

Love the ride photos…and I admire your consistency.
I’m glad the delicious duck was worth dealing with the carnage when checking in! Cracked up at the origami

 

[M303871]

Morimoto Peking Duck: “carved house-roasted whole duck, served with steamed flour pancakes, apricot sweet chili and hoisin miso.” $79
​

Oh-my-god must try this on our next trip in October.

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

That meal at Morimoto looks awesome! I seriously do not understand the fur vest guy. Like, dude, sushi is still food that needs to be prepared and served. WTH? People are so strange.

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Love the ride photos…and I admire your consistency.
I’m glad the delicious duck was worth dealing with the carnage when checking in! Cracked up at the origami

The hostess had not a care in the world. She was just bleep blooping about making a couple cranes as her manager was fighting for his life over sushi demands.

At the end of the world, there will be taxes, twinkies, and me hiding from the Dinosaur ride

​

That meal at Morimoto looks awesome! I seriously do not understand the fur vest guy. Like, dude, sushi is still food that needs to be prepared and served. WTH? People are so strange.

I can only assume he promised his 2 lady friends a fabulous sushi dinner, wore his finest faux fur (could only afford the vest, sleeves were too pricey of an add on), and then felt like a fool when he got turned away and his lady friends mocked him​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Oh-my-god must try this on our next trip in October.

You gotta!!! It’s so worth it! And steal a front desk crane for me outta spite​

 

[buzzrelly]

There were 2 young gorillas- I think the slightly bigger one might’ve been Grace and the tiny baby was Ada.

I can stare at them for hours too, I love them! I remember when Grace was born in April 2019, I was enamored by her, it's so funny to watch her grow over the years

Except Mel and I are the astronauts. Our spaceship is our rickety ol’ ECV. And the final frontier? Closed for refurb.

But if the next time we’re at Animal Kingdom and you see us at Tusker House, no you didn’t. Keep it moving.

Next time, do breakfast there, it's one of our favorites. We like to rope drop some rides then eat there at 10-10:15. We did the 10:30 breakfast/stay for lunch one time but it was too much and we felt sick the rest of the day, but there's that option too!

I do think FoP is a good ride, but I don’t think it’s a great ride. I would absolutely wait 11 minutes again to ride it but you are absolutely out of your mind if you think I would wait over 2 hours for it. No. I’d rather ride Soarin’.

Aw, I love FOP...definitely in my top 3 WDW rides!

Well, a few years ago I was feeling young, carefree, and risky and on our 3rd EE ride, I put my arms up to truly feel like I was flying around the Forbidden Mountain. I don’t know what exactly happened next- perhaps it had to do with G-foreces, perhaps I was feeling too young, carefree, and risky but I accidentally smacked Mel in the face and knocked her glasses off.

Her glasses she can’t see without.

Oh no! I always take my glasses off on rides like that because I'm afraid they'll fly off. I guess with you around Mel needs to start doing this too!

I opted to try a fan favorite over at Mr. Kamal’s:

YES!

How were my fries, you ask? They were ok. By the time I finally dived into the fries, they were already slightly cold.

NOOOOO...boo. One of our faves!

“Virtual queue’s closed! Turn back! Leave! Shoo!” the Gideon’s henchmen snarled and growled at us. Apparently our Gideon’s luck had run out, 2 times in one week is all Master Gideon would allow us to enter his cookie fortress.

This happened to us in April and we never did get our Gideon's

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

I can stare at them for hours too, I love them! I remember when Grace was born in April 2019, I was enamored by her, it's so funny to watch her grow over the years

My entire camera roll for that day is just varying pics of Grace and Ada. You would think I was a proud gorilla mama at their first soccer game

Next time, do breakfast there, it's one of our favorites. We like to rope drop some rides then eat there at 10-10:15. We did the 10:30 breakfast/stay for lunch one time but it was too much and we felt sick the rest of the day, but there's that option too!

This is a possibility! I’m willing to try anything 4-5 times!! And then a couple more times after bc I forget why I said I wouldn’t come back

Aw, I love FOP...definitely in my top 3 WDW rides!

It’s not a bad ride! I get the hype, for sure, but I think bc I always end up having to ride it alone or losses some of its magic on me bc I have no one to tell my puns to as we go along.

Oh no! I always take my glasses off on rides like that because I'm afraid they'll fly off. I guess with you around Mel needs to start doing this too!

sending this to Mel asap so she starts taking her glasses off!

NOOOOO...boo. One of our faves!

I’m not a big fan of fries so I was already meh about them and then they were cold by the time Mel got her ice cream and we met back up to eat. I don’t think they had a fair chance in my Disney snack rankings

This happened to us in April and we never did get our Gideon's

This would’ve been our third time going in one week so at the end of the day it was alright we didn’t get to go in but still, internally I was like ding dang

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Day 6
January 27, 2023
"It's Your Daily 4pm Swelling"

I was up with my alarm the next morning at 6:15, chugging Emergen-C and plotting revenge on Roxy the ECV overlord when Mel and I made our triumphant return to the Magic Kingdom today. She would surely feel my wrath!



And by feel my wrath, I mean we never saw her again and I can only assume I was long forgotten about.



Mel on the other hand?

We had plans to leave for our 9am Kona breakfast reservation no later than 8:30. I was incredibly excited for this reservation for one main reason- I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Mel would be head over heels in love with the Tonga Toast at Kona. It’s a chunk of french toast coated in cinnamon sugar. All of those words Mel loves. Combined? I’m going to be hailed a true hero for introducing the duo.

You can probably see where this is going.

Shockingly, both Mel and I were ready by 8:20 and were being whisked away by our Lyft driver exactly on time at 10:30. We were dumped off in the front of the Poly a mere 15 minutes later and I checked in on the MDE app the moment my little tootsies touched Poly soil.





5 minutes later, I received our table ready text and off we went to bathe in cinnamon sugar and press pot coffee.



We quickly placed our order: I chose Liliko’i (aka POG) juice and the Polynesian egg platter while Mel went with the Tonga Toast. We split a pot of the press pot coffee.

I was buzzing with anticipation for Mel to try the Tonga Toast. I can’t tell you why I was so incredibly excited for Mel to try this- I think it was just one of those things that I knew she would love it and I like getting credit for making good decisions.

El Oh El.

While we waited for our food, a group of 3 early 20 year old’s were seated at the table next to us and they had ordered a couple of Tonga Toasts between them. And then they pulled out their mini microphones and vlogging cameras and set about filming themselves.

They raved about the Tonga Toast, calling it a culinary classic. A true masterpiece. Gordon Ramsay better come check this out pronto.

Not Guy Fieri though. Everything he touches closes down shortly after.

Liliko’i Juice: “Orange, passion fruit, and guava blend.” $6.50


Freshly Brewed Joffrey’s Coffee(™) Hawaiian Kona Maragogype Press Pot: “Serves two” $9.50




Polynesian Egg Platter: “Two eggs-any style with fresh fruit poke, fresh baked muffin, home-fried potatoes, and your choice of ham, spiced ham, bacon, or sausage.” $17

I chose scrambled eggs and sausage.


Tonga Toast: “Banana-stuffed sourdough French toast rolled in cinnamon-sugar, served with a strawberry compote, and with your choice of ham, spiced ham, bacon, or sausage.” $17

Mel chose sausage. And violence.

I happily ate my breakfast. The fruit poke was interesting since it was teeny tiny chopped up pieces of mango, pineapple, blueberry, and green apple but I love green apples so I was pleased. I think the muffin was coconut and walnut?? Either way I thought my breakfast was pretty good. It wasn’t something unique or jaw dropping. No one is going to write odysseys for their love of the Polynesian Egg Platter, but they won’t send it back to the kitchen.

And how did Mel like the Tonga Toast, you may ask?

She hated it.

“The table next to us must’ve gotten the last piece of toast because I clearly got cardboard.”

Mel went on to tell me that her Tonga Toast was incredibly dry and difficult to cut through, she went so far as to say she even thought it was stale. Later on we chalked it up to maybe having something to do with it being made allergy-friendly, but neither of us are that sure.

I’d like to point out that she has a shell-fish allergy, so I don’t know how this would affect the quality of her Tonga Toast but let us live!

With one of us stuffed and satisfied, we headed off to the monorail security for Mel to get her morning frisking.

I guessed Monorail Gold. Mel guessed Lime.

It was Teal.

Our monorail chariot quickly carted us off towards MK before chucking us out 5 minutes later.

We tapped into the park only moments later and took off for our first LL of the day- Big Thun Thun.







The standby was posted as 45 minutes, but with LL we only waited about 10 and ended up in completely different cars.

Most rides, Mel and I ride together but there are a few we split up. Big Thun Thun is one of those. We’ve never been in different cars before, so this was a first. A lonely first.

Still fun, but I seem a bit crazy when I make my usual Big Thun Thun jokes and there isn’t a Mel sitting behind me, laughing along with me.

Instead it’s just a stranger and his 2 kids, talking about the crazy lady with the bright red hair screaming about a “Steven!”



Once we were finally reunited, we took off to the jungle’s finest cruise to use a DAS reservation Mel had booked sometime earlier that day. The standby wait was posted at 60 minutes, but we were on the ride a quick 6 minutes later.






Steven?!?!?

I guessed Senegal Sal, Mel guessed Benegal Benny.

It was Congo Connie.





Our Skipper Chris was…fine. He was no Skipper Shawn, but he was still better than ECV Emperor Roxy. Skipper Chris filled any quiet moment with a little dance number and then would quickly scan the boat for any hint of a smile or chuckle, only to be greeted with empty stares and everyone just waiting for the next dad joke.

He did welcome us aboard with a quick list of rules.

“Rule Number 1: Do not fall in love with me.”

It was my favorite joke of his and it was the first words out of his mouth. He peaked before we even left the dock.

But I don’t hold it against him. Not everyone can be Skipper Shawn.

Once Skipper Chris returned us back to safety for the ransom money, Mel and I hightailed (slowly, hightailed) it over to POC to use a LL we had booked.

The standby was posted at 45 minutes, but we only had to wait around 5.



We plopped down in the 4th row and were left to fend off a group of drunken hooligans with a plunger and a pillage.

Mel did the plungering.

And by some miracle, the ECV was exactly where we left it when we waddled off of POC. Something we couldn’t say the other day.

ECV Czar Roxy sneers in the distance.

To finish up our morning, Mel and I decided to head on into the Country Bears to take a load (bring back the plunger!) off and enjoy a couple of ursids twanging on a fiddle and singing about little Buford.










Heart, we did all that we could.



Heading back into the Florida sunshine, Mel and I were greeted by a true fan favorite. Except if you’re me.

The Festival of Fantasy Parade.

We managed to catch about ¾ of the parade, which is ¾ more than I need and ¼ less than Mel desires but since Mel appeases me and my need to look at every. single. thing, I appeased her and we stood around for a minute to watch the rest of the parade.


The gift shop is that way!

She is welcome.



We meandered up to Fantasyland after, for our Peter Pan DAS, which had a standby wait of 70 minutes.

Absurd.

5 minutes after entering the line we were prepping for a nice dosage of pixie dust and peeping on our London neighbors from a bird’s eye view.

Mel chose red and blue. I chose yellow.

And luck truly was on my side- it was yellow.

Just for now, don’t get excited. Luck usually runs away from me rather quickly.





***Coming up: We attempt to ride the People Mover. Attempt being the operative word.***​

 

[nw6675]

Your stalker fan is here! Even on the 4th of July!!

I've read a lot of reports lately of how bad the Tonga Toast is now

If it wasn't for DH and me being stuck in VA while you were galavanting at Disney, it could have been me screaming for/at DH Steven

Tell Mel hi. I feel like she doesn't always get the fanfare!! Ha ha!

 

[buzzrelly]

I love your Tiki ears and your make-up matches them perfectly!

I chose scrambled eggs and sausage.


Tonga Toast: “Banana-stuffed sourdough French toast rolled in cinnamon-sugar, served with a strawberry compote, and with your choice of ham, spiced ham, bacon, or sausage.” $17

Mel chose sausage. And violence.

“The table next to us must’ve gotten the last piece of toast because I clearly got cardboard.”

I'm not a fan of Tonga Toast and I don't have a shell-fish allergy. It's too much bread and not enough moisture

It was my favorite joke of his and it was the first words out of his mouth. He peaked before we even left the dock.

Mel and I were greeted by a true fan favorite. Except if you’re me.

The Festival of Fantasy Parade.

Aw, no. And here I thought we could be friends. I mean it's no Boo To You or, my personal favorite, Once Upon a Christmas, but it does hold a certain charm and has a catchy tune

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Your stalker fan is here! Even on the 4th of July!!

I've read a lot of reports lately of how bad the Tonga Toast is now

If it wasn't for DH and me being stuck in VA while you were galavanting at Disney, it could have been me screaming for/at DH Steven

Tell Mel hi. I feel like she doesn't always get the fanfare!! Ha ha!

No no, not stalker fan! We’re friends, who disboards together on the 4th of July!

That makes me feel better that the Tonga Toast is just bad now and Mel’s in particular just wasn’t good. But in true us fashion, we literally just talked about trying it again the other day. We love setting ourselves up for disappointment. Keeps up young.

There’s always room for more to scream at Steven!

HAHAHAHA!! I sent her a screenshot of your comment:

I didn’t know there was a Christmas card list, but apparently you’re on it!