Sy's BIG 30 Trip Report :)

Day 2 " Magic Kingdom and MNSSHP!

We fell asleep early the night before expecting a long and restful night's sleep... only to be woken at 3am by drilling below us! It went on for about an hour, every time we thought they had stopped and we dropped back off to sleep again it started up, but we were just too tired to complain. It stopped eventually and we went back to sleep till about 7am though it wasn't a restful sleep, we just kept tossing and turning.

After we gave up trying to sleep we made our way over to the Grand Floridian for breakfast at the Cafe. We took the bus to MK and then the boat over to GF. We were the only ones on the boat which was lovely.

We had to wait for our ADR for about 20 mins so had a wander round the shops and had a look at the stunning hotel.

When the buzzer went off we made our way inside. It was a lovely atmosphere, very chilled out and laid back.

I ordered French toast and bacon. OMG it was so good. It was brioche dipped in vanilla batter. It was one of the best things I've ever eaten!

Sy had Lobster Eggs Benedict which he loved too. I couldn't manage much to eat so he ate his and half of mine.

Although we were on the DDP we had decided to pay OOP for this breakfast as we had more ADR's than DP credits.

After breakfast we made our way upstairs to catch the monorail, stopping by the shop to get me some Advil as I had a headache coming on. First stop as always when we enter MK is a full circuit on the train, just to take in where we are. We then walked down Main Street towards the castle, stopping at the hub as Move it, Shake it, Celebrate it parade was on it way. Our favourite parade! We watched the parade and had a little boogie. We then made our way into Tomorrowland. First stop here was the People Mover. It was a HOTT day and the breeze up there was great

We then went to watch Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, I don't think I would ever get sick of watching that! So funny We then went to ride Space Mountain. I'm sure they need to put in head rests for this ride, I always seem to get off with a stiff neck lol, still love it though! We then went on Buzz Lightyear - look at the concentration on Sy's face!

By now we were really hot and bothered so we decided to get some lunch, partly to get inside somewhere with aircon! We went to Cosmic Ray's. Sy had a pulled pork sandwich and I had chicken breast nuggets (get used to this, I have them a LOT).

We also got some desserts, Sy got carrot cake and I got some form of frozen orange glue, I think they called it mango ice cream... whatever it was, it was disgusting!!

We had a wander round Fantasyland hoping for a sneek preview as the train driver had been talking to us telling us that they were having quite a few previews, sadly it wasn't to be so we made our way to aloha isle for some dole whip, before heading back to the hotel to relax for a bit and go for a swim.

Sadly the swim didn't last long before the rain came and we all had to get out for a big thunderstorm. We did think about waiting for it to pass and then going back in but it didn't look like it was going anywhere. So we made our way back to the room to watch some TV for a bit before MNSSHP... unfortunately, the TV wasn't working - we really weren't having much luck with the room, it was starting to taint our view of staying onsite at Disney (luckily there wasn't much else to grumble about for the rest of the trip). So Sy went to sleep for ages and I had a shower and started getting ready for MNSSHP.

When Sy had awoken from his slumber (naturally of course, I would never do such a thing as to prod and poke him till he got up...) and we finished getting dressed and ready to go we made our way down to get the bus. We waited for the rain to stop so we ended up getting there later than we wanted, just after 8pm. We did feel a bit funny all dressed and getting on the bus. Lots of people asked what we were dressed up for so I guess a lot of people don't know about dressing up for MNSSHP.

I made Sy's outfit and bought mine online so it was a bit of a gamble if it was going to fit and look good but I was pleased and so was Sy. We got lots of compliments through the night

We did lots of trick or treating " a first for me as I was never allowed as a child as my mum said its like begging and she didn't want me doing it (meanie!). We then went on haunted mansion and got some photopass pictures outside. By this time we thought we better get a spot on main street for Hallowishes, we managed to get a seat on a bench, just as the rain started... great! It didn't rain for long though and it wasn't too heavy, good job as we had nothing with us and we were both wearing white Hallowishes was great, but still not a patch on Wishes. We were sat next to a South American family who as soon as hallowishes started, a woman began to film it on her phone, with a really bright external light. It was very off putting not just or us but for everyone else around us. And then when anyone got in her way she shouted at them. Very odd!

Afterwards we decided we needed something to eat (we had an early lunch and it was very late by now) but no where was open! Only Cosmic Rays or Casey's Corner. Well we ended up in Cosmic Ray's again, Sy had a turkey sandwich and I had, yep you guessed it, Chicken breast nuggets. I didn't bother with dessert but Sy got another carrot cake. The food this time was not good. It had obviously been sat there for ages as it was cold as anything, I tested the fries and took them back as they were so cold, but stupidly didn't check the chicken, that was cold too but I couldn't be bothered to take them back again. Sy's was still good though

We then rushed back to main street for Boo To You parade, I absolutely loved it!

We then went to do a little more trick or treating and we got masses of candy this time, as it was nearing the end of the night. We met a really love Cast Member near Jungle River Cruise, he is usually a skipper on the cruise but was stood outside helping direct traffic for the trick or treating. He was so funny, giving us his best *worst* jungle cruise jokes, we stood talking to him for about 10 mins. I just wish I had looked at his name, would have loved to tell Guest services about him and how fab he is.

We then made our way to Big Thunder Mountain. Its so exciting in the dark, its like a different ride! My top tip is to ride it in the day and night to compare the 2

We then got a few more treats before the park closed and we had to make our way out to the bus stop with very, very blistered feet...

We fell into bed at about 1am feeling rather tired. Not before taking a picture of our goodies, we only got a few things...

Tomorrow, Animal Kingdom!

Thanks everyone for the compliments on the costumes

Day 3 - Animal Kingdom

Took a while to wake up this morning, officially woke up at 8:30 but didn't get out of bed until 9:30, watched some TV in bed and chilled out for a bit. We called home to say hello before getting dressed and headed down for some breakfast. Wasn't sure what to get, ended up getting an egg platter, scrambled egg, bacon, biscuit and potato casserole, which was some weird potato thing that look horrible but tasted really quite good! We also got some pastries.

Sy in the T-Shirt I made him for the trip

We then went to the bus stop and waited for the bus to AK. I probably should have paid closer attention to the busy day guide as it was packed, seriously packed. Never seen it so busy packed!

We headed straight to Dinosaur and made sure we weren't given seats in the back row " you really get shaken around at the back. Loved the ride, though the little boy in the row behind us didn't share in our enjoyment, he cried all the way through! Oops.

We then made our way to Expedition Everest, we were sat at the front which was fab Next was Kali River Rapids where we got rather wet

We decided to get a drink and sit down for a bit to dry off in the sun before hopping on the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch where we got our picture with Chip and Dale and saw some animals

I told Sy to stay behind the gorilla and make the same face as him, you can make up your own mind what he looks like he's doing...

We then took the train back in search of lunch. We didn't want to go to Yak and Yeti counter service as we had an ADR for Y&Y later in the trip, so we decided on Restaurantasaurus. We did stop on route to get picture with Dug and small male man Dug was so funny, when we told him we have a dog named Dug after him he licked me and made slurping noises lol. Sy then yelled SQUIRREL and he played around looking for it.

Sy had a Chilli Dog

I had a Chicken Sandwich

They were both really tasty, I would go as far as to say that was one of the best things I had eaten from counter service inside the parks. It tasted fresh and it wasn't deep fried! (apart from the fries). We both had cheesecake, Sy ate his and some of mine as I didn't like it.

We decided after eating that our feet hurt a lot plus it was very hot so we were going to head back to the hotel for a bit... Then changed our minds and decided to head to EPCOT, we wanted to go on Soarin' and get a napoleon in France.

So off we headed on the bus to EPCOT. We went on Spaceship Earth, always a first stop when we get there Sy then decided he needed a drink, so off we went to Club Cool

Then we made our way to Soarin'. Wow, what a ride! I don't think I would ever get sick of riding it.

We sat down and got a drink inside the Land.

We then made our way to France to get that Napoleon I've been dreaming about for the past 18 months.... mmmmmmm! I did let Sy have a bite, I was very generous
We then got the friendship boat back to hotel, it actually took longer to get the boat back than to walk so we didn't get the boat back again after that.
We rested for a bit before getting ready for our reservation at Sanaa. We got a taxi there (about $20 inc tip for info) had to wait a while for our table but got chatting to a lovely couple who were here for their 19th anniversary, from long island. They offered to take a picture of us together. (its pretty hideous of us both but I didn't like to ask them to take it again!)

We were waiting for quite a while for our table and we chatting to them for the whole time. They were owners at DVC and said it was the best thing they had ever done... I didn't need persuading They said we must go to Rosa's pizza in a station in New York if we are ever there, they do great pizzas. We did get some cocktails while waiting.

Our waiter was lovely, really took time explaining things, though again I forgot to get his name (something which was doubly annoying later in the trip when we met up with my friend James and his roommate works in Sanaa and wanted to know who served us!)
We ordered the breads to start, I loved the naan breads but not much else, but Sy did so that was good " they didn't go to waste!

I had Butter chicken and spicy Durban chicken, I loved the Butter chicken but the Durban chicken was a bit hot for me.

Sy had beef short ribs and lamb vindaloo. He loved them both, he did also love my Durban chicken - he ate half of mine. He said it was even hotter than the vindaloo.

For dessert Sy had the Warm Rice pudding, it wasn't the same 'normal' rice pudding, it was something far better. He absolutely loved it. The rice was dry and came with a cinnamon milk.

I wasn't feeling very adventurous so I had a kids vanilla ice cream!

Excuse the bad food pictures, I kept eating and forgetting to take pictures so was taking them once we had already started!

We would definitely go back to Sanaa. The food was amazing, as was the setting and the service.

We then got a taxi home with a brilliant driver who was really chatty and funny, gave him a big tip when we got out. We were in our bed by 10:15pm, which was good as we were so tired. We did think we might go to the Boardwalk but we were too tired and too full! Old before our time

Tomorrow Typhoon Lagoon and EPCOT.

thanks, though looking at it now it kinda looks like boobs LOL

Day 4

Typhoon Lagoon and EPCOT

We were trying to get to TL for opening so we just got some pastries for breakfast, unfortunately the bus took about half an hour to come to the Beach Club so we didn't get there until 10:30 it didn't really matter though, it was pretty quiet. We thought it might be fairly busy as it was a weekend but looked like our luck was in

We went straight to find some loungers, managed to bag some right by an umbrella next to the wave pool. And as we were right next to the wave pool... it would have been rude not to go in

We had a fab few hours in the pool and giving crush and gusher a go. We then thought it was about time for lunch so we made our way in search on food.

We wound up somewhere the name has completely escaped me, from googling I think it might have been Leaning Palms. Sy had a pulled pork roll and I had, wait for it, chicken breast nuggets.

From the picture it looks like Sy's roll is only half filled but it had fallen through.

As we were ordering they girl asked what Sy's shirt meant, was it 30 for EPCOT (EPCOT had just turned 30)? When we said it was his birthday trip she told the guys serving the food, they made a big song and dance, they weren't very busy so they were ALL out singing to him, it was brilliant we had paid OOP for lunch as we didn't fancy having any desserts however they gave Sy a chocolate cake for his birthday

Sitting down to eat there was a very brave squirrel that was desperate to eat my fries, he kept jumping on our table! He did even manage to steal a chip before I had the chance to stop him...

Sat at the table after eating

After lunch we were walking back to the loungers when Sy went off to use the restroom. I carried on without him but took all of his stuff as well as my own. Walking along the path past the water bit where there were a few people washing their feet it slopes slightly, with the running water and sand on the path my foot went from under me and I fell over. I badly grazed my knee but that didn't hurt so much, what hurt far more was that I had my hands full so it took me a few mins to re arrange everything to be able to get up, and everyone who came along stepped over me without as much as looking at me, let alone offering to help me up I would never do this to anyone I ripped my sarong as it was between my knee and the pavement I wasn't far from the loungers so I made it back there and waited for Sy. My knee was pretty bad so we went to the first aid department (which was right back where we were eating). There were a few children who had hurt themselves, and while I waited a few more came in - I told the lady to look after the children first, I'm a big girl She fixed me up and we were soon back outside. I was limping a fair bit though, as I have bad knees anyway and came down hard on it. We went on crush and gusher once before but I couldn't take it so we had to leave early

My poorly knee plastered up, you can see how sore it was by how red it is all around its still not healed properly now and its about a month since it happened.

We were back at the hotel by 2:30, we went to beaches and cream to get an ice cream we did also try to go into Stormalong Bay but my knee was too sore

So we went back to the room to get dressed and ready for an evening in EPCOT.

We wanted to sample a few food and wine offerings so we started with Coq au Vin in France, it was okay. It was nice to try but I don't feel I have to need to go back and get more if you know what I mean?

We then went to try some Sushi, I cant remember the name but it was chicken (shocker!) with a spicy mayo. It was really delish!

We then walked round to the American pavilion. Sy got a cheese and jalapeno stuffed pretzel. I tried it and thought it was quite nice, Sy really enjoyed it.

Sorry we couldn't wait for the picture, just had to try it

We then found a seat ready to watch Starship

Starship were really good, I was surprised as I didn't really know who they were LOL.

Before we knew it, it was time for our ADR at Teppan Edo. We got there and checked in but they were running a little late so gave us a buzzer and off we went to look round the shop We had a good mooch around the shop and then just as we stepped back outside our buzzer went off. As we were a party of 2 we knew we would be sat with other people. We were sat with an American family with 2 children. It was their first day, they had been up since 4am and tbh I think the children were way past wanting anything other than bed, they were very well behaved though. The family were really nice, we chatted quite a lot.

Sy with his Green Mist Cocktail

Our server was called Yo, she was still earning her ears but she was great. Our Chef was called Akira and he was amazing. He was incredibly funny too but the American family seemed to miss all his humour while we were in stitches! He really picked on me, but that was fine by me

Akira said he was new but he was obviously messing around, said he watched part 1 of the DVD last night if you asked something he didn't know he said that was part 2 of the DVD and he wasn't that far advanced yet

He gave everyone some noodles, and this is what he gave me LOL

He did eventually give me this though...

You get given your noodles first so I didn't take a picture of the chicken that I had (chicken? Shocker!) as it was on a half eaten plate and didn't look that good, it tasted amazing though. A. MA. ZING!

This was Akira posing for pictures

Sy had hid birthday button on so they sang happy birthday to him and brought him his dessert (I couldn't manage one!) with a candle in. It was green tea thing a it like creme caramel. He really enjoyed it.

After we finished we walked back to the hotel, notice I say walk and not friendship boat lol. We did stop to pose for a few pictures on the way...

We were feeling tired by now, we managed to stay up for a bit, Sy had a beer and I had a diet coke in the room. But before long our heads were feeling heavy and we needed to get into bed and get some sleep.

Tomorrow Hollywood Studios

Sy agreed with you - it was just okay, it did the job and filled him up but he would try something else next time.

Aww thank you, it didnt ruin the trip but made me feel a bit rubbish. Some people were with children, I just thought what that teaching them? Step over people in your way?! I know hand on heart that I would NEVER leave someone who had fallen over, in fact before we went away a guy fell in our local shopping mall and I went staight to help him

Day 5 - Hollywood Studios

The plan for this morning was relaxing by the pool but my knee was too sore to go in the water it stung in the chlorine. So we decided we would go to Hollywood Studios earlier than planned.

Sy being the wonderful hubby that he is offered to go get breakfast and bring it back to the room, well I say offered, what I mean is that I made puppy dog eyes at him and stuck my bottom lip out until he agreed to go...

We had a croissant each and shared an egg platter. We just couldn't get enough of that potato casserole lol.

Once we were dressed we went down to the boat dock to wait for the boat to HS.

The boat took about 15 mins to get us there, I've seen you can walk there but for me the walk would be a bit too long, I do enough walking around all day!
Once inside, the first stop is Great Movie Ride as always when we get to HS

We had a great driver which makes all the difference between a naff ride and a great ride. We had the gangster experience. After that we headed to One Man's Dream. This is a must for every trip. We got some pictures inside.

We then went to Toy Story Mania - Sy won of course! He bought the Wii game 'for me' and has completed it, so of course he won

Afterwards we decided to make our way to the Muppets but stopped on route to get a drink at a bar. We got chatting to the bar lady and before long Sy had drunk 2 very strong long island iced teas and was feeling rather merry! Oops.

We walked round to the Muppets and stopped on the way to catch the last half of Mulch, Sweat and Shears. Is it me or is the singer the spitting image of Jack Black? They are really good, they all look like rock stars... other than the guy in the keyboard, he looks like Justin Bieber! (he's new).

Once they had finished we headed to the Muppets, stopping on the way for Sy to pose.

Love the Muppets

Afterwards we went inside the shop.

We had a fiddle around with our ADRs this morning after a quick look at the online menus. We cancelled our ADR at Sci-Fi for lunch and changed our ADR for 50's Prime Time from the evening to lunch time. So that's where we headed to next

We were seated really quickly. Sy had yet another cocktail, it wasn't a Glowtini but it was blue with a flashing ice cube in it

Our server was okay, she didn't really play along which was a real shame, but we were sat with tables that had another waiter who was really good so it was fun watching him interact with them.

We had onion rings to start that came with horseradish sauce, they were really good

Then I had the fried chicken which was okay, not something I would rush back for.

Sy had a selection of Mom's favourites which he loved.

For dessert I had a caramel sundae which was AMAZING! It was almost as good as beaches and cream!

Sy had Cheesecake which he really enjoyed.

Overall it was okay and we probably would return again, but not for a few years while we try out other restaurants.

After lunch we went to watch the Beauty and the Beast show my favourite show in HS. We have to watch it at least once per trip, but the more the better as far as I'm concerned

After we decided it would be a good idea to ride Tower of Terror twice, always a good idea after lots of food hehehe! The first time was good but the second time was definitely a mistake, I could feel the ice cream making upward motions... We then tried to ride Rockin' Rollercoaster but it was closed, I was kinda relieved (was worried about the ice cream) but Sy was sad...

So we went to watch the Little Mermaid instead

I so wish they would make more of this show, a few songs at the beginning and then a quick flash through the whole story on the screen and then, the end! It would be so amazing if they did more with it, maybe get Ariel on some wires and get her swimming. It was still good, its just one of my favs and I hate to see it so rushed.

By now it was getting close to the final show of American Idol Experience so we made our way there and headed inside. We watched everyone sing and then cast our vote, unfortunately that guy didn't win, the girl who did win was 15 and was honestly rubbish ah well!

We then tried RRC again to see if it was working and it was! Yay! So we went on it and got seats in the front We then rode Tower of Terror again.

We then decided we would get a quick bite to eat, I went to get " wait for it " chicken breast nuggets! Unfortunately I went to a till where the receipt machine wasn't working in the kitchen but was fixed after I had ordered, so me and the others who ordered first stood for about 20 mins while everyone behind us got served their food. It was a bit annoying! But we got food in the end. Apologies here though, after the stress of trying to get the food, I ate it before getting any pictures it tasted and looked like every other chicken breast nuggets picture if that helps any Also, Sy can't remember what he ordered, he went to a different booth to me.

We then went to watch Fantasmic.

Us waiting for it to start

It was EMH and although we had planned to stay for a bit after Fantasmic, we were really flagging by this point so we decided to make our way to the exit. Walking along with the crowds of people a man came up to me and said he thought he knew me. I quickly tried racking my brain, we had chatted to a fair few people this trip by now so I wondered it that was it, he must have noticed the blank expression and helped me out a bit, he said 'arent you here for like a month? I'm Troy from the forum'. I couldn't believe he recognized me! We stood chatting to Troy and his wife Amy for about 10 mins before saying goodbye and making our way back to the hotel, though we could have stayed there hours chatting we didn't want to take up too much of their time, as they were there for EMH. What lovely people! The only bad thing was we didn't get any pictures, I did think about it but wondered if they might think we were a bit odd as we had only just met... though we needn't have worried as we saw them again later in the trip and got some pictures, but thats getting ahead of myself.

Anyway, we exited the park and hopped on the friendship boat, after about 10 min wait. We were in bed by 10:30pm, absolutely shattered!

Tomorrow, Animal Kingdom!