JanJ and KenJ's September 2014 Trip Report

As mentioned, we had breakfast at The Grand Floridian Cafe. We didn't have to be there until 10:30 and decided to go thru Epcot to the monorail to the TTC and then on to the Grand Floridian. Well, it turns out the Epcot monorail was not working (computer issues), so we had to bus it over to the TTC. Thank goodness the resort monorail was running as they were also having issues with the MK express monorail too this morning.

We both started with the Greek yoghurt and honey. It was delicious and very filling. We would both highly recommend this dish and will definitely have it again.

Then it was the Lobster Eggs Benedict for Ken and the vanilla French Toast for me. This is by far the best French toast I have ever had - Robyn knows what I'm talking about as I believe she enjoys it as well.

Then it was off to MK to enjoy our FP+ for the day. First up was 7DMT. Very cool ride and we found the leg room ok, albeit it is tight, especially for Ken since he's 6'2". Glad I booked another FP+ for this ride at the end of the week. The stand by line was 80 min.

Then it was the Liberty Belle while we waited for our next FP+ for Peter Pan's flight.

(***edited to fix some spelling mistakes. )

After PPF, we wandered over to Tomorrowland and hopped on the people mover - love that ride. Then it was back to Liberty Square for our last FP+ for the HM. By this time, dark clouds were rolling in and it started to rain, so we hung out for about 20 min by the HM. Once the rain slowed down, we headed in and by the time we came back out, the rain had stopped and it was sunny again. Just normal September Florida afternoon weather!

We wandered back to Main Street as I was looking for a light Disney knapsack (so I could bring our ponchos with us). Found a nice one at the shop that sells all the purses/bags and of course, they were sold out of the HM Dooney. Apparently, they did have some a few weeks ago, but they can't keep them in stock. They might be getting more next week, but that doesn't really help me. Oh well, I'll have to try online or get one thru ebay.

We realized by now that we were getting hungry, so decided to try Tony's Town Square Restaurant. We got there just before 4pm, gave our names and were seated right at 4:30 when they started serving. The food was very good and we would come back here. For starters Ken had the calamari and I had the tomato and buffalo mozzarella salad.

For our main course, Ken had the cannelloni and I had the chicken parmagiana. Both were very good and the sauce was just right on the chicken parm (if I remember correctly, this has come up on the forum before).

Just as we were getting ready to leave the restaurant, Ken realized he didn't have his magic band. He quickly looked in the lobby of the restaurant, but didn't find it. He reported it lost on the MDE website and we went over to Guest Services to see if anyone had turned it in. No one had yet, so they gave him another one to add to his collection. Funny thing is, he doesn't even remember it coming off. We had purchased the HM magic bands when we first arrived, but we had them shipped back to the resort, so didn't even have those to use. On a side note, we were able to get the HM band for MrHub - they now can "link it later" so you can buy for friends. The lady that helped us was saying that it changes weekly, lol.

After dinner, we wondered back through Adventureland to Frontierland and finally made our way back to Fantasyland and Ken got a caramel apple and I a cookie at the Big Top Tent. Then it was a ride on the MK Railway back to Main Street as we were running out of steam (pun intended!).

We are headed to AK in the morning and then will be back to the hotel before we go to MK for MNSSHP tomorrow night. Really looking foward to it!

Thought this was funny. We came back to the hotel this evening and saw this when we came out of the elevators on our floor. Since we left this morning, workers had blocked off a whole wing of the hotel. Our room has been refurbished (new sink, new bathtub tile, new carpet), so I guess they are now working on this wing.

(Pictures now added)

Thanks everyone! We're just back at the room after spending the morning at AK. First up was the safari ride - just did that stand by and we walked right on.

Then it was time for Kali River Rapids. There was no way Ken was going on this with me, but I wanted to try it out and it was already very hot by 10:30 so away I went. Needless to say, I got soaked. I thought I was in the clear when we went down the hill, but we turned at the last minute and I hit the big wall of water head on. Ken has the picture to prove it. I think I'm finally dried off now.

Then it was over to Dino Land and I rode Primeval Whirl, which I quite enjoyed and would ride it again. Then Dinosaur - that helped dry me off a little with the breeze you feel while riding.

It was now almost noon, so we decided to head over to Yak & Yeti for some lunch. Ken had his favourite beer - Safari Amber Ale and I had a Bonsai Blast. Our appetizer was Firecracker Shrimp - I was so happy that they still had this as we tried it in January and it's not on their regular menu. For entrees, Ken had the combo Lo Mein and I had the Kobe beef burger with the Asian slaw. It was as good as I remember it being.

We're off to MNSSHP tonight and we are both looking forward to it. We don't have any plans for Tuesday as we expect to be out late tonight for the party, but we do hope to meet up with Allie and gang at Epcot for a drink.

I'll add some pictures later as Ken is still working on them from today.

We had a great time at MNSSHP last night. We enjoyed it better than the Christmas one, maybe because of the Trick or Treating!

We were able to ride 7DMT with just a 15 min wait and walked right on to Peter Pan's Flight. Also the HM was spectacular and one of the CM's actually startled me in the stretching room. I was looking to my right and then turned to my left and she was right there looking at me. The HM CM's obviously love Halloween!!

The fireworks were outstanding and then we got a great seat for the second Boo to You parade - right in front of the Liberty Street Market and we were able to snag a bench. Ken has some amazing pictures, which I will add later after we get some breakfast. I understand what some of you were saying about the catchy song - I can still hear it in my head.

All in all, we are having an amazing trip and love sharing it with you all.

We left for MK just before 4pm last evening. We walked through Epcot as we wanted to check the lost & found at the TTC for Ken's magic band. The monorail was running - yay!! We also wanted to check out the Poly and see what was happening, so that was one of the quickest ways to get there.

SUCCESS! The lost & found had Ken's band - he was so excited. He now has 4, including his HM limited edition.

Next up was the Poly - not much to see inside, except walls and more walls.

Outside Kona Cafe entrance:

Outside Boutiki on the main floor:

Then it was off to MK. We got our special wrist band, our map and our trick or treat bags on the way in. It was raining as we arrived, but it soon cleared up. We were fine today as we had the ponchos with us!

Here are a couple of pictures of the construction around the Hub:

Can't remember if anyone has mentioned what they are actually doing? They are building foundations, so maybe they are making the walk way wider?? I honestly have no idea.

We stopped for dinner at the CHH - the Outpost was closed (we were going to have the waffle fries) and it was after 5pm, so the chicken waffle sandwich was out at Sleeping Hollow. I had the chicken pot pie at CHH and it was pretty good.

It was just before 7pm, so we decided to ride the HM. The CM's were fantastic in their extra make up, but it was the next ride when they became extra creepy and I got startled by one of them. She was the best! Ken was almost on the floor laughing as she yelled at us to get "OUT" of the stretching room once the door opened. As mentioned, they were having a blast.

The following pictures are taken after the festivities had started. We didn't line up for any pictures with characters, but it was very cool to see some you don't normally see.

Of course, we had to have a ghost cupcake!

The Liberty Belle was all lit up.

We loved the Trick or Treating!! We got quite a few treats, but not too much as we don't plan on taking it home with us.

The lighting on Main Street, just before the fireworks started.

A few shots of the fireworks - probably the best fireworks show I have seen at the MK.

This was our view from our bench in Liberty Square. I am pretty sure this is where AnnielovesDisney suggested for watching the FOF parade.

The parade starts!

We followed the parade out and then hung out a bit on Main Street and we were back in the room about midnight. All in all, it was a fantastic night.