Wining & Dining Around the World~ An October 2013 TR w/pics~ UPDATED 2/11 (x2)!

Be Our Guest, funny because we called and nothing available. So we waited in the stand by line and was able to get in. Not sure why there was nothing available because lots of tables were open.
 
Before I start my mini TR from our Labor Day Weekend trip, I just wanted to let everyone know that we scored a BOG reservation for our October trip!! I happened to be on the Disney dining website last night and thought Id check just to see, and a 4:15pm ADR appeared for Friday, October 11th!! Its a little earlier than I was hoping for (since well be at MNSSHP all night) but when you're lucky enough to get a BOG reservation, you take what you can get! So that meant re-arranging a few things on our schedule for Friday, but that's ok. It will be well worth it :)

Now, on with the show.....


Mini Trip Report~ Labor Day Weekend with the Mouse!

Chapter 1: Up, Up and Away, To Orlando We Go!

The alarm sounded at 4:15am. Now if someone tried waking me up any other Saturday at 4 in the morning, there would be some problems. However, today was the day we were going to DISNEY!!! :banana:



I got ready and packed a few last minute things and we were out the door around 5am. We arrived at the airport about an hour later. As we were walking in, the airport was dead. I haven't seen so few people in an airport ever, especially for a holiday weekend. We headed over to the counter to drop off our bag. Since we were only there for the weekend, I would have preferred not to check any bags, but I didn't feel like trying to stuff all of our cosmetics into 3 oz bottles to carry on, so checking luggage it was! We were flying Jetblue which meant that our first checked bag was free anyways (seriously, LOVE that airline!)



Security was a breeze and we were to our gate about an hour before our flight time. We grabbed a quick bite to eat while we waited to board. We had the Even More space seats so we were in the first boarding group, so we started to board around 7:50am for our 8:20am departure . We like sitting at the front of the plane since we can hop on and off quicker and its well worth the $30 upgrade.



The flight was pretty uneventful and we had a pretty smooth ride down..


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We actually landed 30 minutes ahead of schedule, which meant wed be getting to Disney earlier (or so I thought!). Since we had arrived so early, our gate wasn't ready yet, so we spent most of that half an hour on the tarmac waiting. Bummer :( ! Once we finally got off the plane, we headed down to Magical Express. They had changed the queue lines a bit since we were last there in April, and we only waited a few minutes in line before the bus arrived. Before long, we were leaving MCO and on our way to the happiest place on Earth!



Our first stop was at Caribbean Beach and a lot of the people got off there. We've never stayed there but it looks like a fun resort! We were the next stop....


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Welcome home to the Boardwalk Villas!!!!



The more I stay at the Boardwalk, the more I fall in love with it. Its just perfect!!


In any event, I had completed the online checkin so I headed into line to get our room keys. The CM told us our room was ready (score!) so we dropped off our bags. We were on the first floor, room #1044, which faced the Luna Park Pool. It was the BEST location ever!! We could look out our patio window and see the Keister Coaster. At that point, I wished we were staying longer than 3 days, but it is what it is. We freshened up a bit and we were off to spend our first day in Hollywood. Hollywood Studios, that is!
 
Chapter 2: Hanging out in Hollywood



Since our room was closer to the walkway between the Boardwalk and Hollywood Studios, we decided to walk over instead of taking the boat (one of the many reasons I love staying at the Epcot area resorts).

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We had a nice relaxing walk over, went through bag check, and headed over to the ticket counter to exchange our DVC annual pass certificates. Before long we had our APs in hand, (which meant we've got free reign to come back to WDW as many times as wed like until next August 31st, haha!) and we headed into the park.


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It was around 1pm and we had an ADR at 2:05 for Sci Fi, so we had a little time to kill. I wanted to head over to see Mike and Sulley since I heard the Monsters University backdrop was still around. The line wasn't too long, and we finally got to meet Mike and Sulley!! (when we were there in February only Mike was taking photos).
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After a few photos, we walked around for a bit and headed over to Sci Fi to check in.
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We still had about 15 minutes until our ADR so DH stayed inside the waiting area and I went to the shop next door.



We were called on time for our ADR and got seated in an orange car in the center of the restaurant.

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We weren't on the dining plan this trip, so we paid for all of our meals OOP. Our server came over and took our order. DH and I both got a vanilla milkshake to start (Sci Fi has the best milkshakes) and we ordered the onion rings for an appetizer. We also each ordered the All-American Picnic burger with sweet potato fries for our entrée. Well before long, our entrée came out but we never got our appetizer. At that point I didn't want the onion rings since we already had our meal. Our burgers were good but not as good as they had been in the past at Sci Fi. Our server came back and gave us our bill and the onion rings weren't on there, so maybe she forgot to write them down. We paid our bill and were on our way. Overall, other than the milkshakes, I wasn't that impressed with Sci Fi this trip. Its always been my favorite restaurant in Hollywood Studios, but Ill admit that I was a bit let down after that meal. We were supposed to be eating there during our October trip, but I ended up canceling the ADR.



It was a little after 3pm by the time we got done with lunch and it was really hot out, so we decided to head back to the room for a bit. Before we left, I noticed they had the Monster's University topiaries outside the entrance to Hollywood Studios, so I snapped a picture.
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DH took a nap while I went and hung out by the pool. I came back a couple of hours later to get ready for tonight. We had a very important date with the Master himself...


 
Chapter 3: Try the Grey Stuff, It's Delicious!


By now you've probably guess where we'd be eating tonight! We had an ADR tonight at Be Our Guest!! :yay: I had been religiously checking the Disney dining website for an ADR at BOG since we booked this trip in July and couldnt find a single reservation (no surprise, there!) On the Thursday before we left a little pixie dust headed my way, because there was a reservation at BOG for 8:20pm on Saturday 8/31!! pixiedust:I couldnt believe my eyes. Without hesitation, I booked it. After almost a year of waiting, I was finally going to get to eat in the Beasts castle and meet the Master himself (the 6 year old in me was ecstatic, as Beauty and the Beast was my favorite Disney movie growing up)



We left our room and headed to the Boardwalk bus stop to wait for the Magic Kingdom bus. Apparently, everyone else had the same idea and the bus was packed! In fact, the bus driver said the bus was at full capacity so we were going to have to wait for the next bus. Bummer :(! In the meantime, an Epcot bus arrived (the boats weren't running all afternoon because of the storms in the area). The bus was empty so we decided to take the bus over to Epcot and wed just take the monorail over to MK (seeing as though we weren't sure when the next MK bus would arrive). Its been forever since Ive taken a bus to Epcot, since were normally at either the Beach Club or Boardwalk. We walked up the ramp and waited for the monorail.



The monorail from Epcot to the TTC wasnt busy at all. That soon changed though as we were packed like sardines on the monorail from TTC to MK. In no time, we were passing through the Contemporary and on our way to the Magic Kingdom.



We arrived at the Magic Kingdom and were greeted by...




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Yes, only in Disney would there be Halloween decorations up in August, but I love Halloween, so this girl's not complaining!




We noticed a photopass photographer standing between the pumpkin statues, so we decided to get our picture taken.

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I took a few more photos of the scarecrows on Main Street and we were on our way. I just love how Disney puts so much attention to detail when decorating the parks for all of the holidays.

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Main Street USA was jam packed, but the rest of the park was dead. I was surprised to not see the Magic Kingdom busier on a Saturday night, during a holiday weekend, but I was glad it wasn't.




We had a little over an hour to wait before our ADR, so we ended up walking around the new Fantasyland for a bit. The line for Winnie the Pooh and friends was super long, so we didn't end up waiting. Before we knew it, it was time to check in at Be Our Guest! I was SO excited!!!

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I checked us in at the podium and the CM gave us the pager and told us to wait on the bridge for our name to be called. They actually ended up calling us a few minutes early, which was great.




Once we were inside the restaurant, I was in awe. It was so beautiful. The CM told us we'd be eating in the ballroom, which was going to be amazing!! She gave us a tour of the other dining rooms first before leading us to our seats.


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We had taken a look at the menu before we arrived at the restaurant, so we both knew what we were getting.


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Our server came over and took our drink orders. DH got water and I got the lemonade with the wildberry foam and it was so good! Our server also took our order, since we were ready. We both got the Chicken Provencal.




While we were waiting for our food, the Beast made his grand entrance! Shortly after, we witnessed not only 1 but 2 proposals (both ladies said yes, by the way!). Not sure, if they are DISers, but congrats, anyways!



Our food arrived rather quickly and it was amazing! The chicken was so tender and I loved the wine sauce on it. I did manage to take a picture of it before devouring it...



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Throughout our meal, I kept seeing the dessert cart being wheeled around. I already knew what I was getting after seeing photos of them online....




I present to you, THE strawberry cupcake!!


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DH ordered the lemon meringue cupcake. I tried a bite of his, and it was good, but the strawberry was a lot better! Seriously, the best cupcake Ive ever had at Disney!



We paid our bill and headed over to meet the Master. At this point, I was so excited. There were only a few families in front of us before we got to the meet the Beast. There is a photopass photographer there, but they will also take a photo with your own camera. We got some really great photos and I loved the backdrop.


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We said au revoir to the Beast and we made our way throughout the castle to check out the other dining rooms. The architecture and decor of Be Our Guest is simply incredible!


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I am so glad that we finally got the opportunity to eat here. Hands down, the best meal of the trip!




Since we were so full from dinner, we decided not to go on many rides. We went over to Haunted Mansion since the wait was only 5 minutes. After Haunted Mansion, we headed over to the Emporium where I proceeded to empty my bank account..haha!



We decided to call it a day after the Emporium and we headed to the bus stop to go back to the Boardwalk. It was 11:30pm by the time we got back to the room and we just crashed. The Boardwalk beds are just so comfy!!
 


Be Our Guest, funny because we called and nothing available. So we waited in the stand by line and was able to get in. Not sure why there was nothing available because lots of tables were open.

You got it! :thumbsup2

The same thing happened when we were there too. In fact, one of the walk up families got seated before us. So if anyone is trying to get a BOG reservation and can't online, I would recommend trying the stand by line. It seems like more and more people are getting reservations that way.
 


So glad you both had a great meal. Have tried many times to get a reservation for the Boardwalk and no luck, I guess it's a popular resort.
 

Chapter 4: Hangin' with the Animals!

The day started with a 7:30am wake up call. There was no sleeping in on this short trip. Today, we were headed to Animal Kingdom. We hadn't been to Animal Kingdom in over a year, as its the park that we tend to visit the least( I'm not sure why, because we really enjoy it when were there!) In any event, we had an ADR at the Tusker House scheduled for 9:20am. The bus to AK is always the longest (and the longest wait too), so I wanted to make sure we left ourselves enough time, so we weren't. We got ready and headed out to the bus around 8:30am. Surprisingly, there wasn't a long wait, as everyone was going to the Magic Kingdom today, since there were extra magic hours until 3am.



We boarded the bus and stopped at the Swan & Dolphin before making our way to Animal Kingdom. We arrived a few minutes before 9am and they were letting everyone inside the park, even though the park wasnt supposed to open until 9am.





It was already very hot and muggy and DH had a headache, so we walked to the Tusker House to see if they could take us earlier. We checked in at the podium and went back to meet Donald. A few minutes later they called our name and it was time to eat!




Our servers name was Neil from Long Island. We've had him before at the Tusker House and he is such an awesome waiter. He constantly cleared our plates and brought us juice. The Tusker House buffet has such a wide variety of things to eat, which is one of the reasons its my favorite character breakfast. Before long the cast of characters started rolling in....



First it was Daisy...







And then Mickey...






Goofy never made it over to our section for some reason and we were done eating at that point, so we didn't feel like waiting around. Neil gave us some waters to go in a cup since it was super hot out, which was nice.



My favorite attraction at Animal Kingdom is the Kilimanjaro Safari, so we headed over there. No matter how many times you ride it, no 2 rides are ever the same, and you never know which animals will be out and about. We waited in line about 10 minutes before we boarded the safari. Even though it was hot out, most of the animal were out walking around.













The safari got delayed for a few minutes because we had to wait for the giraffe and her little one to cross the street..





Too cute!!






I got so many good photos of the animals this time. Mission accomplished!




Next, we headed over to Asia and had planned on going to the Kali River Rapids but the line had almost an hour wait, so we skipped it. It was almost noon now, and we planned on going back to the Boardwalk around that time. As we were leaving, we noticed Winnie the Pooh and Tigger only had a 5 minute wait for photos, so we hopped in the line.





How could you not love that silly old bear?





Next up was Tigger




After our photos, we grabbed our things and made our way to the bus to head back to the room. Bye, Animal Kingdom!





We got back to the room a little before 1pm and DH decided to take a nap, while I hit the pool. Our room was literally steps away from the Luna Park pool which was awesome. I wish we could request that room every time!
I laid out by the pool for an hour or so and grabbed a quick bite to eat at the Leaping Horse Libations Bar.



I went back to the room, DH was still napping (LOL) so I decided to head out on the Boardwalk a do a little shopping, well it ended up being a lot of shopping, HAHA!




I went to the Screened Door first and got a magnet, 2 pins, a Boardwalk luggage tag, and a few things for my family. I didn't want to go back to the room yet, so I went and sat on a bench and watched the friendship boats.
It was so relaxing, even if it was 90 degrees out!








It was almost 3pm, and I decided to go back to the room and shower and freshen up. I had to get ready for our travels around the world tonight!
 
So glad you both had a great meal. Have tried many times to get a reservation for the Boardwalk and no luck, I guess it's a popular resort.

Thank you!

The Boardwalk is such a great resort. It is quite popular. The villas especially the standard rooms, tend to fill up quickly!
 
Chapter 5: Around the World in 4 Hours!

Our last night in Disney. Say it ain't so. I wasn't as upset, as I normally am seeing as though wed be back in about a month. Tonight was Epcot. Yes, that's right, we went to 4 parks in 2 days. We don't normally go to 4 parks when were here for 5 days, let alone 2 days.




We had an ADR at Via Napoli for 4:45pm, so that was our first stop. Via Napoli is my favorite World Showcase restaurant.



Its as close to the pizza as we can get up home in the Northeast, and I just love the atmosphere. The service is always excellent too. Since we eat at Via Napoli at least once every trip, we already knew what we were ordering- the margherita pizza!



Our pizza came out very quickly and was so delicious (sorry, I didn't grab a photo of it!)



We didn't end up getting dessert this time since we had planned on snacking around the world, so we paid our bill and left.




Our next stop was the Christmas shop in Germany. Its one of my favorite places to shop at in World Showcase. Even though the ornaments are expensive, we always end up walking away with one or two (plus DH loves the fact that they are handmade in Germany).





I cant stop in Germany without going to the Karamel Kuche, my favorite snack place in all of WDW! I could seriously buy one of everything they have there, but I settled on 2 caramel apple oatmeal cookies and a caramel square. Yum!



After Germany, we made our way over to Norway for an epic ride on Maelstrom. There was hardly a wait at all. When we got off the ride, we headed over to the Norway bakery. DH and I split a schoolbread (2nd favorite dessert!) Now you see why we didn't bother getting a dessert with dinner.



It was almost 7pm and there were dark storm clouds on the horizon so we ended up walking back towards France. There was a photopass photographer outside of the fountains by Chefs de France, so we stopped and had our picture taken.



This was the first trip since L'Artisan des Glace opened in France, so we had to check out the ice cream. It was such a quaint little shop and all of the ice creams looked so good!



We settled on splitting a single scoop of the caramel fleur de sel. DH wasn't a fan of it, so I ended up finishing most of it on my own. It seemed to have a coffee flavor to it at first which was maybe why he didn't like it. I'm generally not a huge ice cream eater either, but this was really good!



We relaxed on the benches in France for a little while before making our way back to the Boardwalk. I didn't feel like going back into the room, so I went outside and relaxing by the pool for a bit.




It was around 9pm and I decided that I should face the music that my mini vacation was just about over, and that I should go back to the room and start packing.
 
Thanks for the mini report, and even better, you are on your F&WF Disney Trip starts today!

Hope you made it safe and enjoy! Can't wait to hear about it!
 
Great pictures! It's always sad when you have to leave, but love getting back and start planning our next vacation.
 
Yea. Loving this report. Looking forward to your trip report for Food and Wine. We are going over the weekend of the 18th for it!
 
Thanks for the mini report, and even better, you are on your F&WF Disney Trip starts today!

Hope you made it safe and enjoy! Can't wait to hear about it!

Thank you! We had an amazing time. Miss it already. Can't wait to start telling you all about it :)
 
Yea. Loving this report. Looking forward to your trip report for Food and Wine. We are going over the weekend of the 18th for it!

Thank you :)

I hope you have an awesome trip on the 18th. This was our favorite food and wine festival trip, thus far.

You're going to love it!
 
Hey...love reading your report, looking forward to the report from F&WF...DW and I are going back next year, Oct. 14 and she has the countdown calendar on her desk. Usually we stay at GF, but next year is Boardwalk, just to be closer to Epcot. Can't wait!
 
Hey...love reading your report, looking forward to the report from F&WF...DW and I are going back next year, Oct. 14 and she has the countdown calendar on her desk. Usually we stay at GF, but next year is Boardwalk, just to be closer to Epcot. Can't wait!

Thank you for joining in! You are going to love the Boardwalk. It's one of our favorite resorts. It was so great to be able to walk back and forth to Epcot for the F&WF and not have to worry about catching a bus!
 

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