Mr. and Mrs. Weak Sauce Go the Distance (a Disneymoon TR, updated 4/4)

[Jennifer48]

So glad to hear that you guys are ok. I can't imagine what its like for those that lost their homes.

**Cropped photo guess** I know this one! Its from Journey into Imagination with Figment!

A lot of people overlook all the details at AK but it really is an amazing park. Howard took some great photos!

I'll be honest, I don't understand how Disney can "sell" the pressed pennies when they are allowing people to destroy US currency which is illegal. Oh well.

[wdwgirl03]

Glad guys are OK and all you lost was your food. That stinks but atleast it's replaceable.

I remember seeing on Twitter you had gotten the Chimpanzee DVD. It is such a good movie. If you liked it and haven't seen the other Disneynature movies you should check those out too! I love them all!

Oooh, so are you guys staying at Pop Century in December?

Man, I wish I was at the AK bus stop right now...

Jennifer beat me to it but that cropped picture is definitely from Journey Into Imagination.

[jane2073]

So glad you all made it through the hurricane all right!

Fortunately Bloomberg came to his senses and is postponing the marathon.

[Nermel9]

Ugh this hurricane was horrible, wasn't it? I can't believe how bad NJ and NY were hit. CT was hit pretty badly too, but not like NJ and NY. I've been seeing all of your updates on FB, about having no power, I can't even imagine! We didn't lose power, but we did have a tree fall on our house...not fun! Luckily, there was no damage! (Speaking of FB, I followed you on twitter, I'm minnie_ears, I don't know if you were wondering who I was or something!)

That gift shop you are in looks really cute, is that the one that is kind of near where you exit the safari? I love that one, they have lots of cool things to look at in there! I love those keychains you were looking at, I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for those...in 5 DAYS when I'm in Disney World!

[Self_resqing_princz]

I don't think I ever saw Luno, but I did watch Wishbone... it was one of my favorite after school shows in elementary school.

[RachelNinja]

Originally Posted by Curiouser&curiouser!

I am sorry to hear that your area was hit so hard by Sandy.

Great update!

The AKL has some really unique stuff in their shop!
The pressed pennies really are a great cheap souvenir! My son is obsessed with them!

Now back to check out that Cropped Picture and make a guess!

Yeah, it's going to take a lot of time for my borough to recover. I think we may have been the hardest hit borough in NYC even though we're often "forgotten." A lot of people have been stepping up to help out and donate and volunteer, so that is very encouraging!

The AKL really does have a ton of unique things! I was happy to see the resort specific merchandise too because I remember reading before the trip that Disney might have been getting rid of it? I'm glad they didn't! I like the gift shops, but I didn't want them all to have the same generic items.

Originally Posted by Curiouser&curiouser!

I'm really not sure where the cropped picture was taken! So, I'm going to go with Rafiki's Planet Watch in Animal Kingdom.

Good guess, but it's not at Rafiki's.

Originally Posted by Jennifer48

So glad to hear that you guys are ok. I can't imagine what its like for those that lost their homes.

**Cropped photo guess** I know this one! Its from Journey into Imagination with Figment!

A lot of people overlook all the details at AK but it really is an amazing park. Howard took some great photos!

I'll be honest, I don't understand how Disney can "sell" the pressed pennies when they are allowing people to destroy US currency which is illegal. Oh well.

It's hard to imagine how life is just going to keep moving on. School starts again on Monday (except for those schools that are shelters right now; that includes my younger brother's high school). It'll be strange teaching again and driving again.

YES, you are correct! You've earned yourself a weak sauce point!

I can't wait to see the photos Howard takes in December! I think he gets better each trip. He doesn't really have opportunity to practice with his DSLR except for our Disney trips!

Oh, I didn't even think about that with the currency!

Originally Posted by wdwgirl03

Glad guys are OK and all you lost was your food. That stinks but atleast it's replaceable.

I remember seeing on Twitter you had gotten the Chimpanzee DVD. It is such a good movie. If you liked it and haven't seen the other Disneynature movies you should check those out too! I love them all!

Oooh, so are you guys staying at Pop Century in December?

Man, I wish I was at the AK bus stop right now...

Jennifer beat me to it but that cropped picture is definitely from Journey Into Imagination.

Yeah, I'm glad it was just food. We haven't made it to the grocery store yet because we wanted to make sure everything was stocked first, but it's so easy to just go and pick stuff up. Others don't have the luxury to do that with all that they lost.

It really was such a great movie! I got so tied up in it and didn't like when the bad things happened to Oscar!

Yup, we're staying at Pop Century! Trying to save money, of course, haha.

Yup, it was Journey Into Imagination!

Originally Posted by jane2073

So glad you all made it through the hurricane all right!

Fortunately Bloomberg came to his senses and is postponing the marathon.

Thanks! I'm so happy we didn't suffer any damages personally. I'm also thrilled that the marathon was cancelled. Everyone was speaking out about it including our local politicians. Everyone was signing a petition on change.org too because they were outraged.

Originally Posted by Nermel9

Ugh this hurricane was horrible, wasn't it? I can't believe how bad NJ and NY were hit. CT was hit pretty badly too, but not like NJ and NY. I've been seeing all of your updates on FB, about having no power, I can't even imagine! We didn't lose power, but we did have a tree fall on our house...not fun! Luckily, there was no damage! (Speaking of FB, I followed you on twitter, I'm minnie_ears, I don't know if you were wondering who I was or something!)

That gift shop you are in looks really cute, is that the one that is kind of near where you exit the safari? I love that one, they have lots of cool things to look at in there! I love those keychains you were looking at, I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for those...in 5 DAYS when I'm in Disney World!

The damages were pretty horrible in my borough. I had to stop reading all the updates because I was making myself feel sick.

Thanks for letting me know about your Twitter name, haha. I don't always check the followers often because I look at it/update it on my phone. I'm not on it as often as others, but during vacation time, I tweet a lot more often so as not to bother everyone on FB!

I'm not sure where the gift shop is, but it's closer to the front of the park. I just know that we needed a break from the heat as we were walking out.

Originally Posted by Self_resqing_princz

I don't think I ever saw Luno, but I did watch Wishbone... it was one of my favorite after school shows in elementary school.

I loved Wishbone! I learned so much about literature. I wish shows like that were still popular with kids. And you guessed the Cropped picture correctly!

**********

Weak Sauce Points Scoreboard

Round 19: Cropped was the JOURNEY INTO IMAGINATION - yay to Jennifer48!



Here's the current scoreboard for weak sauce points. I promise I'll TRY to post more rounds of the game over the next few weeks! I have 2 rounds of Cropped already set up. I'm getting excited about our December trip, so I have more Disney on the brain! Plus, as I said in an earlier update, the devastation of Hurricane Sandy is really depressing (although the fact that so many people in my borough are helping each other out is so uplifting ... even my 10-year HS reunion next week has been changed to a fundraiser event), so I am focusing more on Disney for a respite.

Curiouser&curiouser! - 5
Self_resqing_princz - 4
Jennifer48 - 3
NeverlandClub23 - 3
shan23877 - 3
jane2073 - 3
kschafer - 3
wdwgirl03 - 2
marDgreen88 - 1
therussells08 - 1
Happy Duck - 1

[ariel1025]

I somehow just now stumbled upon your report and have spent my "lazy day" reading through it. I love how incredibly detailed you are - makes me feel like I'm back at my favorite place

I'm sure I'm going to miss lots of things I wanted to comment on, but here I go:

Your wedding was absolutely stunning - your hair, the centerpieces, the gardens - everything!

I'm sorry you had such a delay in the flight, resulting in time to become more anxious.

Yay for AKL!! We are DVC and AKL is our home resort - we've now stayed at both Jambo and Kidani and I agree wholeheartedly on your viewpoint between the two.

Loved your report of Sanaa, the menu doesn't appeal to me at all, but after reading your (and many others) reviews, I just might be swayed to trying it on our next trip

I have to say I agree completely about your review of Yak & Yeti. We tried it while we were on the dining plan and I was completely disappointed (and slightly agitated) that the special drinks weren't free refills and not included as the drink on the dining plan. But they were still oh so good!

So sorry to hear about your health situation and so glad that Howard was there when you passed out. How scary!

Glad to hear that you are ok from the hurricane - such a horrible, horrible tragedy.

Can't wait to read more!

[MeMom]

First of all, I send my thoughts and prayers to/for your area as you regroup and rebuild. Nashville had a huge flood a few years ago, and we have our share of tornadoes, so I do know firsthand how something like that destroys lives and property and how much it weighs on a city to see its residents in great need.

I enjoyed the video of the dancers. Thanks for letting me spend some time on the streets of AK this morning.

Too funny about you discovering the bus system. It is an amazing thing. When we tell first-timers about how it works, they are just in awe that they can be taken wherever they want to go for free!

Zawadi is one of my favorite places to shop! We always go into AKL through that door so that we can browse. There are some unique gifts there.

[RachelNinja]

Originally Posted by ariel1025

I somehow just now stumbled upon your report and have spent my "lazy day" reading through it. I love how incredibly detailed you are - makes me feel like I'm back at my favorite place

I'm sure I'm going to miss lots of things I wanted to comment on, but here I go:

Your wedding was absolutely stunning - your hair, the centerpieces, the gardens - everything!

I'm sorry you had such a delay in the flight, resulting in time to become more anxious.

Yay for AKL!! We are DVC and AKL is our home resort - we've now stayed at both Jambo and Kidani and I agree wholeheartedly on your viewpoint between the two.

Loved your report of Sanaa, the menu doesn't appeal to me at all, but after reading your (and many others) reviews, I just might be swayed to trying it on our next trip

I have to say I agree completely about your review of Yak & Yeti. We tried it while we were on the dining plan and I was completely disappointed (and slightly agitated) that the special drinks weren't free refills and not included as the drink on the dining plan. But they were still oh so good!

So sorry to hear about your health situation and so glad that Howard was there when you passed out. How scary!

Glad to hear that you are ok from the hurricane - such a horrible, horrible tragedy.

Can't wait to read more!

Yay, so glad you're here! I just clicked on your latest TR and saw that you and Candi had a baby! Congrats!

I love looking at our wedding pictures now that we're so far away from it, haha. It's easier to forget the stress of the day.

Ooo, how fantastic it must be to have DVC! Howard and I took a look at it just the other day online, but it doesn't make sense for us since my parents have a timeshare in Kissimmee just a few minutes off Disney property. That's where we went during my 2011 trip report with my cousins. Paying them for the year that we use it for the 5-6 of us is a lot cheaper than what it would cost for us to buy into DVC. I still really love staying on property though when it's just my husband and me. Love it!

We already have an ADR to eat there in December! We love it that much. It's different tastes without being TOO adventurous.

Yeah, Yak & Yeti has a lot of hype. I can see why though for people who don't get those types of things on a regular basis. Our church is in NYC's Chinatown, so we can technically some of those flavors there for a lot cheaper! The drinks thing really bothered me though. I mean, it wasn't alcoholic so it was just giving us some more Sprite with a shot of cherry or something!

It's been a rather interesting past 3 weeks with the illness and hurricane! We are still in recovery mode for the latter. We also have a Nor'easter heading our way tomorrow into Thursday, so we're worried that those people who were already flooded will have more trouble. Plus, they're afraid more trees might fall down and knock out power lines again.

I'm in the process of reading your TR

Originally Posted by MeMom

First of all, I send my thoughts and prayers to/for your area as you regroup and rebuild. Nashville had a huge flood a few years ago, and we have our share of tornadoes, so I do know firsthand how something like that destroys lives and property and how much it weighs on a city to see its residents in great need.

I enjoyed the video of the dancers. Thanks for letting me spend some time on the streets of AK this morning.

Too funny about you discovering the bus system. It is an amazing thing. When we tell first-timers about how it works, they are just in awe that they can be taken wherever they want to go for free!

Zawadi is one of my favorite places to shop! We always go into AKL through that door so that we can browse. There are some unique gifts there.

Thank you, MeMom! I remember when you posted all those pictures of the flood and the pictures of the mall. I think that this hurricane, even though it was only category 1, really shook us up. NYC is not prepared to deal with something like that, which is why the subway system and the bridges had to be closed the night before in preparation. NY basically had to shut down. The storm surges really destroyed so many areas. Getting gas is still an issue. I forgot there was a station on my drive to work, so I was sitting in traffic for a while thinking I might be late, but thankfully, I was okay. Howard and I are so thankful every day in our prayers that we have been safe. I now understand what it's like when such terrible storms hit other places. I mean, we see the devastation on the news, but eventually, the coverage is not as incessant, and I admit, we begin to forget. We dealt with 9/11, but natural disasters didn't seem as "serious" in my mind, if that makes sense. Now I know just how difficult it is and, as you said, how it "weighs on a city."

You're welcome! I love the atmosphere videos. I told myself I have to keep taking more and more! I find that when I need a Disney fix, I watch the videos I took more so than just looking at the pictures. I love hearing and seeing.

Haha, seriously! The bus system just baffles my mind! All the times prior, we have ALWAYS stayed OFF-property and had a car. I know people warned me that sometimes the bus takes a while, but I think it's pretty reliable considering we're used to NYC transportation and that commute. Plus, we'd be waiting in DISNEY! December will probably be the last time we enjoy the Disney transportation though. The only reason we're going back is because we have our APs.

Zawadi really is amazing. I kept looking at their resort clothes and mugs and such over and over again because I really wanted to get something to remind me of AKL.

**********

Weak Sauce Points

Round 20: Cropped



Where was this picture taken? Remember, only guess per person, and no editing posts! Good luck!

[marDgreen88]

My guess is Spaceship Earth? That seems too easy, and it's probably wrong, but... I'm going with it!

[RachelNinja]

Going to Epcot!

The next day, we decided we would head to Epcot. It was interesting that we'd go there next considering we hadn't yet been to Magic Kingdom! I know that to many, seeing MK really means it's the official start to a vacation. It's partially true for me too, but there's something Epcot has that Magic Kingdom does not. And on that morning, its pull was much stronger than the pull of the castle.

We decided to each have a Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwich because they're supposed to stay frozen, and we wanted to eat it sooner rather than later. They were only supposed to stay in the fridge to defrost, so we didn't want to leave it in there too long. It was quite yummy! It was about $8 for the box of 4, which is a lot considering I make my own sausage, scrambled egg, and cheese muffins at home (cheaper and "healthier"). However, in comparison to the $6 cost of just ONE croissant breakfast sandwich at Mara, we were definitely ahead in terms of saving money. Thank goodness for that microwave in the room!



I have to say I also really like eating in the room too. We can turn the TV on and slowly get ready as opposed to moving quickly just to get to the food court. After we ate and got dressed, we headed to the bus stop. I was very happy that the bus stop at Jambo House were VERY well covered. It was also nice that there were benches. On most occasions, we always had a spot to sit.



As you see, the main park buses stop at Kidani first and then come to Jambo House (the sign says to take the Downtown Disney bus to get to Kidani). We could've easily just hopped on one of the Disney buses to get to and from our Sanaa reservation, but we decided to walk instead. There's not much to see during the walk, so it's not really something I'd strongly suggest, but it is definitely a nice way to leisurely walk off all the food you eat!



It was fun seeing each bus come through. Very different than waiting for your own bus to get home or to the ferry in Manhattan! These are way more fun!



I was still fascinated with the buses, so I had to take this picture about the rules. It basically says that you have to stay behind the yellow line, enter through the front door, have strollers folded, and move when someone with a disability needs the designated seats.



Look at how CLEAN these buses were! Haha, again, it's so unlike some of the older NYC buses I've been on! The ones that I used to take from my HS to my house were always grosser too. I don't know if they just cleaned them before picking us up, but the velvet-like seats were damp. We had to sit on the edge or put a foot down first to sit on our legs, which would then defeat part of the purpose of cleaning the buses!



We were excited to be able to go to the park without relying on anyone else. In the past, we had to herd a group of people out the door OR if my dad was dropping us off at the park, we still had to rely on him. I really enjoyed just going whenever we felt like it without having to determine an exact time. It worked out a lot better for my stomach too with all my issues. Anxiety makes me feel even sicker, so I was all for an easygoing honeymoon!



There it is! I didn't record any of the travel times because it really didn't feel that long. Staying off-property would take about the same amount of time and there was also parking and walking involved too. At least I knew that with the buses, we were dropped off at the front. I do have to say, however, that I have been missing the trams!



When we arrived at Epcot, our cameras continued to do their thing! Howard was taking pictures, and of course, I had to take some video!



In this picture, you can see the two women to my right. There's a lady with a walker and another one in a scooter. We kept seeing them all day long! They also sat next to us in Sunshine Seasons as they enjoyed their desserts. We didn't know we walked in with them until we watched the video later on and recognized them!



VIDEO: Arrival at Epcot

If you watched the video, you saw the long line for Spaceship Earth and also know the reason why we decided to head to Epcot instead of MK. We were heading here!



VIDEO: Climbing Up to The Land

Were we here to admire the building structure? Um, not this time.



Were we here to admire the brightness of the pavilion? Not really.



Were we here just to get a brief respite from the heat? Well, a little bit, haha.



Were we here to go on Soarin'? Haha, not exactly.



That didn't stop us from getting some fastpasses, of course. But that's not why we showed up at The Land.



Haha, it's not really a secret because of the videos, but we were here to EAT! YUM!

[Curiouser&curiouser!]

I did not read the update yet. But my Cropped Guess is the Great Movie Ride!

Now, back to read . . .

[Curiouser&curiouser!]

I haven't used the Disney buses really in my past trips. We have always rented a car. It's good to see that they are so well kept up. I'll have to keep it in mind if I have to trim the budget somewhere.

You're in the Land to eat? Didn't you just eat breakfast? (Just teasing- Calories don't count on vacation after all. I've had breakfast, then second breakfast, then elevensies, then luncheon, then tea, then snack, then afternoonsies, then supper, then dinner, then midnight snack, . . . well, you get the point!)

[Mom&RN]

This is the first cropped picture of yours that I have ever recognized! Inside Spaceship Earth! I hope I'm right

Also, isn't it funny how you can keep bumping into the same people over and over again in a park? One year I went to a conference that was right next to Disneyland and a friend and I went to DL for the afternoon and evening. We kept bumping into the same group of three people, two adult men and the teenage son of one of them. We got to chatting with the son in a line the first time we bumped into them and then it seemed like we saw them everywhere. My friend felt like one of the guys was hitting on her (she's married and certainly wasn't interested) so I kept teasing her that he was following her. He wasn't, it was too random when we'd bump into them but it was fun to tease her about her admirer

[IheartDDuck]

I'm so glad you guys made it through Sandy okay!

Your Round 20 is Spaceship Earth. That's the Pharoah's hat.

Breakfast in the room is really a great way to relax in the morning. Sadly, I never do that myself, but it's a good thing.

Of course you head straight into the Land to get Soarin' fastpasses and then to eat.