Trip Report - TTFN_71 & LUVALLDISNEY

Still drooling over your food pictures!

Love all the new FL pictures! Keep it coming!

Love all the pics of Be Our Guest. That's the one thing I screwed up with when we were there. I didn't realize there were different rooms so I didn't see anything except the main ball room

Back at ya, Jeff, and I, too, am loving the pics. . .and the fuzzy boots!

Who even thought those up, anyway? Can we upholster them in pleather?

I love the tag team posting.

Yum! I've never seen "quick service" look as good as those pictures from Be Our Guest! Tres Chic!

This was our oh so close attempt to make rope drop at MK. Or so I thought.... After no boats due to heavy fog and having to head to the bus, it ended up being a little after 9 when we got to MK. Sigh. Maybe next time. We decided to head straight to New FL and check it out. There were no crowds at all. We were able to just meander right on through and take our time looking at the details. I suggested that we head to Little Mermaid and get in line, but as we made our way there a CM said the ride was not up and running yet and she was telling everyone to go grab fast passes. After we got the FP we could have easily rode Pooh and PP because there was no wait, but we decided to head to HM instead. I think I like FL the best in the early am. And I agree with what others have said, we too, will not wait more than 20 mins for rides. We will pass rides up that have a line. I love it because I feel like now we can take that extra time, meander around, take in the sights and not have to feel like we must go commando style to "get our money's worth" like so many people do.

I have always had a love for the Little Mermaid, since it was my first Disney movie that I can remember seeing. I attribute it as the beginning of my Love for Disney . So I was very intrigued to see how the Imagineers transformed the story into a ride. I was a little disappointed with the "show" at HS, so I was hoping that this ride was much better. It definately did not disappoint. The Imagineers use some pretty neat effects and make you feel like you are part of the journey. The ride is themed really well and I think they did a good job stepping you through the story. It is very colorful and visually stimulating. There are acouple places where they "changed/edited" the story/songs abit. Not sure if it was because of timing or what. If I had to pick between this ride and the "show" at HS, I would much rather do this one. I am glad to have experienced it, and will ride it again, but definately will not wait in a huge line for it.

My absolute favorite is Beauty and the Beast and I was super excited to try Be Our Guest and look at all the new theming. Not only was lunch fantastic, but the restaurant is phenominal. It is definately a MUST DO!!!!! The line is a bit intimidating, but it does move pretty fast. The ordering process was pretty easy. There are atleast 3 menu screens in the room with the suites of armour so that you can actually see what the food looks like before you order it. When you get up to the hostess stand, they give you a plastic puck that looks like a rose. This tells the CM where to bring your food. After you get the puck, you can either go to a CM to order your meal from or proceed to a self serve order kiosk. We decided to try the self serve. I think there were 2 CMs taking orders and 5 self serve kiosks. There was atleast 1 CM floating around to help with questions on the self order. Before you begin your order you have to touch your rose to a key pad, again so it connects what you order to where you are. For the most part, the self order was pretty easy. I could see how it could get confusing easily though. It pretty much steps you right through the order process and it shows you pictures of what you are ordering. I knew in advance that I didn't want to sit in the ballroom. I wanted to check out the West Wing and the Rose Gallery. We headed to WW first and it was packed, so over to the RG we went. Ahhhhh! It was quiet and hardly anyone was sitting in there so that's where we decided to sit. Excellent choice too!!! The RG is only open for lunch, so it was a nice treat. The back story about the RG is neat too. The music box in the center is massive and the pics on the walls give you a glimpse of the time Belle spends with Beast as they are falling in love. Of all 3 rooms, I would pick the RG, hands down. The ballroom is soooo big and VERY loud. The WW, was really small and pretty dark. Plus all the food comes out from there so there is a lot of traffic in and out. Also, it seemed like the WW was a little intrusive because it's so mysterious that everyone wants to check it out, so that added to extra traffic. There was extra traffic through the entire restaurant and I'm definately not against pic taking, but in a small, dark space, I could see how it could be intrusive to some. I liked the WW, but thought they could have done more with it. It's so small and has had a lot of hype, and I don't think it lives up to the hype. I think they put more into the BR and the RG, than the WW. Oddly enough, not very many people even came in to check out the RG.

After I was done taking pics, I head back to the RG to see our food is already there!!!! Super fast!!! The food was delicious!!! I loved my Braised pork dish! It was seasoned and cooked perfectly, very tender, melt in your mouth, yummy goodness!!! I could see where some might think it is a heavy dish for lunch, but I didn't mind that at all. I ate what I wanted and left what I wanted. I would have loved to have eaten more because it was so yummy, but we had dinner reservations for Ohana, so I had to save room. I love Chocolate, so the Triple Choc cupcake was yummy!!! I'm not one to leave a dessert, so I had intended to eat DH dessert since he took 1 bite of it and said "yuck" He's not much of a dessert lover so I figured he just didn't want it, but the lemon puff thing was not good at all.

Many factors made it feel like it was an actual sitdown meal rather than a QS. They bring your food to you, and it's on dishes with silverware, not paper and plastic. You do have to get your own drinks, and those cups are throw away, but that is no big deal because each room has big drink stations. When you are finished, you leave everything at your table and a CM comes around and clears the table.

BOG food!!! Didn't take a pic of the ham and cheese alone, but there is an earlier pic of all the food together. I forgot to mention, I liked the French Onion soup. I thought it was pretty tasty! DH grew up with homemade genuine French Onion soup from grandma. She was from France and as French as they come. So he is very critical when it comes to french food and authenticity. More on that later.......

More BOG pics....
2nd pic is the self order kiosks, 3rd is in the WW. 3rd not the best pic, but it is pic of Beast as a prince that changes as time goes on. Tried to get a pic of the Rose, but it didn't come out. The rest of the pics are of the RG

2nd pic is a seashell in the concrete as you exit LM ride. Love the detail! Just like the peanuts in the concrete near Dumbo. 3rd is Gargoyle lamp post that lines the walkway to BOG. And the 4th, DH and I disagree....I say it's a Hidden Mickey. He doesn't think so. What do you guys think? HM or no?

Great report

Thanks!!! We will keep the pics coming! Phew, TR is taking us longer than I thought it would. Lots to share! Glad you guys are liking everything so far!

Thanks!!! Beauty and the Beast is my Favorite after all, so I HAD to take a lot of pics!!! I think a lot of people must not have realized that there were different rooms. There wasn't very many people even in the RG. And not very many people even coming in to take pics or to look around. The BR and WW were slammed. We were there during prime lunch time hours too.

Thanks! More to come!!!!

Thanks!!! We thought it was a good idea, since we both have completely different writing styles! And what better of a way to chat about our trip! Glad everyone is enjoying our TR so far! We had such an awesome trip and have sooo much stuff we want to share with everyone because we know you all share the "Mickey Bug" too and can appreciate!

In true Disney fashion.... they stepped it up a notch!!!! Love it! Only thing I didn't do, but is on the list for next time is going through Tales with Belle. There was a constant line for that and we just didn't have time this trip.

Thanks for the great TR and those prints are spectacular. Loved the one with Walt on his train with Mickey and Tink!

Ok, I think it is just a little creepy to see the gang blink and have their mouths move. Maybe I will get used to it, but I'm not sure on this one. We have never watched the stage show before, so this was a nice little stop. Tiki Room was pretty neat too. I'm a sucker for original stuff by Walt Love the nostalgia! I found myself thinking about several of ya from the boards throughout our trip. Things we did, stuff we saw. Like when we were at the Poly, kept thinking about Mr Hub and Scrappy.

Absolutely love getting to just stroll around and love chatting with people along the way. While we were at the pool bar, we chatted with a CM. She wasn't working, but was just hanging out. She works on the Imagineering Engineering side of things. She didn't share any secrets or anything but it's always good to chat with CM's. Love to hear about working for Disney and what it's like. Maybe sometime we will take the leap.

Loved Ohana!!!! What's not to love about Pineapple bread, noodles, skewered meat...... Ohhhh don't get me started on the pot stickers and the noodles. Oh so yummy!!! I seriously could make an entire meal on just pineapple bread, noodles, pot stickers, and the broccoli! And ofcoarse I had to get the Lapu Lapu! Again, what's not to love about a fruity drink in a big pineapple?!?! I mean, really! I can't forget about the dessert! I love bread pudding, so warm ooey gooey bananas fosters sauce and bread pudding with vanilla bean icecream was just yummo! We didn't take pics of the rest of our meals. We didn't actually think about it after BOG. When they seated us we got the "lucky" table. We were front and center for all the coconut races and all! Right in the action. The guy playing the ukulele even commented to us about being front and center. No worries though, because we knew what to expect. It was actually really nice to be right in the action.

I was looking forward to EMH at MK, but it was pretty chilly and the on again, off again rain, kinda put a damper on it. I'd say we made out pretty good though. Our initial plan was to head over towards PoTC, but we didn't anticipate the EP to be going on, so we went right instead. With TL basically empty, we walked right on to SM and then headed over to PM. I was happy to finally ride that. I thought it was a cute, relaxing ride. Again, love the nostalgia! I was pretty surprised at how well you could see Wishes from TL. We have never been over this side of the park during Wishes.

At this point, it is really starting to rain, beyond a sprinkle, it is now a steady drizzle. We decide to head to PoTC. Wanted to check out the new mermaids. I was pretty excited to see how they worked them into the ride. Needless to say, I'm pretty disappointed in how. I mean, it's ok, but not at all what I was expecting or even hoping for. We rode twice, hoping that the rain would let up. But no luck. Earlier in the day, I was really wanting to try a Dole Whip, but was too full from lunch. We decided to head out because the rain was just constant at this point. As we walked by Aloha Isle, I decided to go for the Dole Whip.

My Disney secret.....I didn't really like it that much And I soooo wanted to like it too. Oh, I know what you are thinking.... How could she possibly not like the Dole Whip when she LOVES pineapple sooo much. She gave the pineapple quite a nod at Ohana. What gives???? Well, I'm asking myself that exact same question. It could be that it was sooo cold, and rainy and it was melting everywhere super fast from the rain. It could be because I was sooo full from such a yummy dinner at Ohana. I don't know. But I'm not willing to write the Dole Whip off just yet. I'm willing to give it another shot, maybe try the float next time, on a hot day, no rain, no full tummy, no cold.

Some Pics at the Poly! Nod to Mrhub and Scrappy!

Castle stage show! Look at how close these pics are! How about that zoom! We were standing right beside the partners statue. Looks like we were right down front. Love it!

On to day 3! Can you guess where we find ourselves on day 3?????

YES! Ha ha. How can anybody "Not" love the Poly!

Do not fret!! You are not alone!

now I feel I have permission to tell the truth here. I much prefer soft serve ice cream over the Dole Whip. But I did try it. Honest.

That was a great epidsoe

LOL

You always have permission to tell the truth here! It's totally okay for us all to have differing opinions. The broad variety of what Disney offers and how you experience are part of what make it great! Just because one person likes something different than you, doesn't mean that you can't share

Yep, the world (World?) would be a pretty dull place if we all liked the same stuff, at the same time.

And the lineups would be really, really long!