"I'm Speaking Italian." A Food&Wine trip around the World October 2012 *NEW 11/25

[Joyciemc]

Originally Posted by Imagineer5

YAY So happy to see your TR! You have me cracking up - love it!!

Your group shot on the Boardwalk is hilarious

How'd you get that pic at Tusker House outside? Do they give them to you? We have an ADR there in December, and I wasn't sure - did you give them your camera?

I loooooove being able to walk to EPCOT and DHS. So awesome. We are booked for 3 nights next June at BCV and I CAN'T wait!! Glad you enjoyed it too. Love your first day, it's how we USED to travel!

The photo out side Tusker- we gave our camera to the Photopass chic and she was all (I'm paraphasing here) "Ewww, I can't touch that! But she can.." and pointed to a CM standing nearby. So voila- we got our picture!

Walking to Epcot and DHS was amazing. I LOVE the Epcot area resorts.

[Joyciemc]

Before I get to my next update, I wanted to share some exciting news!

A few weeks ago, Ben had an awesome idea to put together a client visit for work that would take him to Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Sounds exciting, right? Well, not really... until you factor in his idea to leave on a Friday and have me tag along. Why? So we can finally get to see Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party! We're arriving in Orlando on Friday, December 7th and will have two days in the parks (including the party)!

On Monday, we'll drive to Tampa for his meetings, then off to Ft. Lauderdale (a four hour road trip) for another meeting before flying home. This is how having an AP causes you to think, I swear!

As far as plans for the weekend, they are pretty simple: We're staying at the Holiday Inn Lake Buena Vista Downtown, which is one of the DtD resorts. This is because 1) we don't have/want to borrow DVC points to use and 2)this is partly a buisness trip, so some of the hotel stay would be on his company- Ben didn't think it would look right to have a Disney hotel on an expense report (the first 2 nights are on us, since that isn't part of the work trip, but we don't want to change hotels.)
This will be our first time having a rental car on property and I am pretty excited about that!

Park plans are also simple: Saturday we'll drive to the Boardwalk for breakfast at Kouzinna. Then we will head to Epcot for the day. Dinner is at Tokyo Dining (I was having a major sushi craving when I made these ADRs!) I'd like to catch some of the Holiday Storytellers in the World Showcase, and just enjoy being in our favorite place.

Sunday we plan to make rope drop at MK and spend pretty much the whole day there. This is the official opening weekend of FLE, so I am not sure what to expect for crowds. But we are mostly there to enjoy the Christmasy atmosphere and will be ready for crazy amounts of people if that is the case. No ADRs for this day- I haven't given up hope of eating at Be Our Guest for lunch but I also know it may be too crowded for us. If that is the case, we'll grab something at another CS around the park.
As of now, we are planning on staying at the MK all the way through the party. Since it's a short trip, we decided to just focus on these two parks and not spend too much time bouncing around park hopping.

So there you have it- our weekend trip for MVMCP! And it's only 3 weeks away!

Day 2 continues here!

[MEK]

Subbing. Need a few new good TRs to sub to and yours fits the bill. Be back later to read when I can see pics ( restricted computer boo!)

Yuck to the smelly ladies in the seat behind you.

[Joyciemc]

Originally Posted by MEK

Subbing. Need a few new good TRs to sub to and yours fits the bill. Be back later to read when I can see pics ( restricted computer boo!)

Yuck to the smelly ladies in the seat behind you.

Hello and welcome!! Glad you stumbled upon my TR ... I hope you still like it once you've had a chance to read it

[Joyciemc]

We had a few more items on our AK agenda, so we headed out from lunch to start ticking things off our list. We grabbed FastPasses for Kali River Rapids and then headed for It's Tough to Be a Bug. Jen and Eric hadn't done this before, and didn't know what to expect. It was fun to see their reactions to all the effects- both of them thought the show was a lot of fun. But they also noticed the numbers of children leaving the theater traumatized. It really is an intense show and I would definitely think twice before bringing a young child to see it (well, I would actually wouldn't think of it at all since we don't have kids, and it would be beyond inappropriate to grab someone else's child on the way in)

Our FastPasses for Kali were ready, so that is naturally where we headed next. For the first time ever, I didn't get soaked- I got wet, but not soaked. Jen did, but don't feel bad- she was wearing a bathing suit (smart girl). It was a fun ride, but it's awfully short.

Naturally, as we exited the ride, the Maharajah Jungle Trek was beckoning to us. We had barely stepped through the entrance when we spotted a new friend.



This giant grasshopper was sitting on the walkway and I was expressing concern that someone was gonna step on him. Ben took a picture near my shoe for reference to show just how big this dude was. The CM at the trek entrance came over and told us this is a young native Florida grasshopper. Apparently, he's not full grown! She encouraged Ben to use a stick to lift him up for a picture.



Then we gently set him down in the bushes off the path. So hopefully no one stepped on him!

The rest of our exploration through Asia wasn't as exciting. The tigers were snoozing away, and we didn't see too much.
Once we emerged on the other side, we knew there was one thing left that we had to do... drinks at the Dawa Bar! I've never stopped here, but always heard that it was a relaxing spot in the AK. They also had quite a few different African beers that needed to be tried. So while we sat enjoying our beers (we each got a different African one so we could try them all. This is how we always approach ordering new beers in new places), the Burudika Band started playing in Harambe. It was some pretty fantastic chill time.
A favorite past-time for the four of us is taking random (usually unflattering) photos. Extra points for making weird faces when the picture is being taken. This is a pretty accurate rendition of what hanging out with us at a bar is pretty much like:







As we finished a second round, we realized we'd better high tail it out of there if we didn't want to get trapped by the parade! Because drinking in a theme park is awesome, we took our beers and headed out, stopping along the way to admire the beautiful park.



We then proceeded to wait for a bus back to the Boardwalk for a super-duper long time. I guess it must've arrived eventually, because I'm writing this from my living room in Massachusetts, not from the bus stop at the Animal Kingdom. But it kind of felt like we were waiting forever.


The end of Day 2!

[smile4stamps]

Wo-Hoo for the holidays trip to Disney!!

We have only had breakfast at Tusker House and I love it!! Did they have a variety of foods for lunch?

We had a drink at lunch but no other drinks during our day. I had thought we would stop at the Dawa bar but never made it there.

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Yay for your MVMCP (I feel like I'm missing a letter there? ) trip!!!! That's so exciting!

It's so funny when you look at your watch and have to be like "we need to leave this park right now or we'll be trapped here for another 40 minutes!"

[MEK]

Wow - that is one giant grasshopper. Yikes!

I was at the Boardwalk from 10/20 - 10/23. Isnt the location great? Funny story - you know that creepy little chair right next to the fireplace? Well, one afternoon it wasn't there. Completely gone. But that night at 11pm it was there. Just starring at me. So creepy.

This was my first F&W, too. It was awesome. I loved it.

You guys look like you are having a blast. Enjoying getting caught up!

[Joyciemc]

Originally Posted by smile4stamps

Wo-Hoo for the holidays trip to Disney!!

We have only had breakfast at Tusker House and I love it!! Did they have a variety of foods for lunch?

We had a drink at lunch but no other drinks during our day. I had thought we would stop at the Dawa bar but never made it there.

The lunch buffet was really good... It reminded me of Boma, but not quite as exotic.

Originally Posted by Stringbean&Wingnut

Yay for your MVMCP (I feel like I'm missing a letter there? ) trip!!!! That's so exciting!

It's so funny when you look at your watch and have to be like "we need to leave this park right now or we'll be trapped here for another 40 minutes!"

I do try to be on alert and aware of where and when parades are gonna pop up!

Originally Posted by MEK

Wow - that is one giant grasshopper. Yikes!

I was at the Boardwalk from 10/20 - 10/23. Isnt the location great? Funny story - you know that creepy little chair right next to the fireplace? Well, one afternoon it wasn't there. Completely gone. But that night at 11pm it was there. Just starring at me. So creepy.

This was my first F&W, too. It was awesome. I loved it.

You guys look like you are having a blast. Enjoying getting caught up!

I love the Boardwalk!
I knew that chair was more than it seemed! Glad you got away unharmed!

[Duzzygirl]

I don't mind grasshoppers, but I'd really rather not have any around that large, let alone larger!

Originally Posted by Joyciemc

...
Because drinking in a theme park is awesome, we took are beers and headed out, stopping along the way to admire the beautiful park.
...

lol ... My husband said his goal this trip is to see how many family members he can get drunk in the park(s).

[Imagineer5]

So funny how our december days are swapped, we will totally miss each other! You're going to have a blast though, even better I'm sure his flight is free right?! Yay!

Dawa Bar - why do I keep forgetting to go there! Maybe this coming trip I will make a pit stop, sounds like fun!

KRR is too short, but nice on sweltering days. I don't think I've ridden it since maybe 2007! lol

[klacey1]

Holy crap that grasshopper was huge!! That is very sweet that you were so concerned about him being stepped on!
I agree, being able to take drinks to go is the best part about drinking in a theme park!
That's so exciting that you have another trip so soon! Sounds like a nicely packed, fun time!

[ronnmel]

How can you write a PTR for a whole year and not write a TR once you come back? I'm glad you caved in to the pressure and started writing.

You fit 5 people and luggage for 4 into one car? I'm impressed!

Did you change your hair? It looks nice! The only thing though, I always think your friend is you since she has dark hair.

[Joyciemc]

Originally Posted by Duzzygirl

I don't mind grasshoppers, but I'd really rather not have any around that large, let alone larger!

lol ... My husband said his goal this trip is to see how many family members he can get drunk in the park(s).

It was so big, it kinda stopped being a bug and turned into a real animal. So it stopped being gross

Tell your husband that I like his goal!

Originally Posted by Imagineer5

So funny how our december days are swapped, we will totally miss each other! You're going to have a blast though, even better I'm sure his flight is free right?! Yay!

Dawa Bar - why do I keep forgetting to go there! Maybe this coming trip I will make a pit stop, sounds like fun!

KRR is too short, but nice on sweltering days. I don't think I've ridden it since maybe 2007! lol

I'm bummed that our days don't line up at all.
Ben's flight is free, as is part of the rental car and a couple of the hotel nights. That's how this started

Originally Posted by klacey1

Holy crap that grasshopper was huge!! That is very sweet that you were so concerned about him being stepped on!
I agree, being able to take drinks to go is the best part about drinking in a theme park!
That's so exciting that you have another trip so soon! Sounds like a nicely packed, fun time!

I'm so excited to be in WDW for Christmas decorations and the party!!

Originally Posted by ronnmel

How can you write a PTR for a whole year and not write a TR once you come back? I'm glad you caved in to the pressure and started writing.

You fit 5 people and luggage for 4 into one car? I'm impressed!

Did you change your hair? It looks nice! The only thing though, I always think your friend is you since she has dark hair.

Haha, you're right- not writing this just wouldn't seem like the right thing.

We were squished in that car, but yes- we did it. We all pack pretty light, I guess!

I did change my hair- thanks for noticing! And I totally understand you getting confused by Jen's hair People always think we are either sisters (one guy insisted we must be twins) or in one instance when we still worked together, a woman thought we were actually the same person. She started a conversation with me, then got annoyed at Jen for not knowing what she was talking about.
The hair has helped a little with that, though!

[Missyrose]

First off, yay for the spontaneous trip! Sounds like you're going to pack tons of fun into two days! Franklin's industry has a conference that is typically held in Orlando every few years and I'm just waiting for it to swing through again (gotta love APs). Are you guys buying the PAP for next year?

Back to the trip at hand, your morning at AK is kinda our typical AK experience. Ride the few big rides we like. Eat, drink. Try to get excited about all the animals. Eat, drink. Head out. I wish I liked the park more, I really do. I love the theming and how unique the park looks and feels. But there just isn't enough to do!