The Snarkiest Safari That Ever Sailed! An October 2018, Food & Wine Trip! Complete 4/26/19!!

[QueenJen]

I knew enough to know that she (our GPS is a female) was taking us a funky way, but I had no idea how to get there so we had to trust her.

We've called ours 'get us lost' for years. It's a roll of the dice if it will get you to the precise location. It does a good job getting us to the general area - but the actual destination is a 50/50 shot.

snapping at each other)

We call this 'feeling the magic' - depending on just how snappy we are, we toss that phrase out to break the tension between us.....too soon and more snappy....at the right time, we both laugh and are immediately better.

She said we could, but it'll just be a little bit.

That's nice. I'm sure it happens alot.

(But still kind of in our zone of aggravation and wondering why this guy was talking to us )

I probably would have had total resting *itch face at that moment.

Guy: "I'm Art Smith."

and then immediately relaxed and been friendly

I decided to just head out. And so did everyone else.

I braved the mass of sweaty people and hopped on and making it back to the Poly after just a quick stop by the TTC.

Well, at least it was your choice this time. The cast member earlier in the day was just prepping you for your monorail ride back to the resort.

 

[buzzrelly]

I've never thought about adding on EMM, but I can see the benefit of it, especially for highly crowded attractions. I'm glad they provide food and drink.

I think it's definitely worth the money, and the food was pretty good!

I couldn't agree more! But, you have to have a cocktail too...

I might have had a Truly poured into my Refillable Mug

Mom and I got ours but there is a bit of a story behind our acquisition that I'll talk about in my TR.

Oh, no! Can't wait to hear about it!

That went through my head too in October but I refrained from saying anything out loud to my family. They probably would have thought I was nuts.

I did try explaining it to Mike but he kind of went dead-eyed halfway through my explanation

My husband Jim is a serious ride wimp. He hated Soarin' the first time through (too high) and only tolerates it now for my sake. But he absolutely loved FOP. Said it was the best ride he's ever been on

What? Really? I'm going to keep working on this one with Mike. Maybe when we go with the kids he'll have FOMO and come with us

Driving has always stressed me out for some reason so Disney transportation is much preferred.

I agree. I almost never complain about those buses and we absolutely should have taken one this night

We've called ours 'get us lost' for years. It's a roll of the dice if it will get you to the precise location. It does a good job getting us to the general area - but the actual destination is a 50/50 shot.

I agree, but doesn't it seem like these things should be more accurate by now??

We call this 'feeling the magic'

Perfect…I'll have to remember that!

Well, at least it was your choice this time. The cast member earlier in the day was just prepping you for your monorail ride back to the resort.

I need to go back and thank that CM!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Yea, it definitely has its drawbacks. We also almost turned head on into traffic one night because our GPS told us to turn right…it was a one-way road and only going left

Oh no! Yikes!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

I might have had a Truly poured into my Refillable Mug

Joe and I were actually thinking about bringing a bottle of Jameson down in May and adding that to Coke in our refillable mugs.

 

[buzzrelly]

Joe and I were actually thinking about bringing a bottle of Jameson down in May and adding that to Coke in our refillable mugs.

Well, I won't tell if you won't

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Well, I won't tell if you won't

Umm, I expect you to take part!!!!!

 

[kastoney]

Sometime between getting those two photopass pictures taken, I had lost my magic band. Thank goodness we had stopped for a photopass and I went to scan my band and it wasn't on. Otherwise, I probably would have gotten all the way to EPCOT and then had to deal with it there.

No chance in the world I would have ever figured this out. I was trying to see if you changed your clothes or your shoes or your hair.....

A few minutes later, as I was going up and down the rows of tables, the very nice CM came back...and she had my band!

Wow, very lucky they found it.

I think with all the construction and the path having to go waaayyyy around it, it just made the walk seems endless.

Speaking of construction, what a mess...

It is an absolute disaster zone. We did the walk from MGM to Beach Club once (the boat wasn't going due to lightening) and in the heat of August it felt like we were navigating across the Mojave Desert.

For those of you cooking, I hope you have a teammate half as good as my mom

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. We had Casey helping us cook most of the day. Though I could have used your Mom to do the stuffing with me. Tried to make my Mom's for the first time with her very loose "recipe" and needless to say I need to work on it.

Weird you are having this issue. I use Safari most of the time too, but will use Chrome too and never have an issue with either. Did you upgrade to the new operating system recently? I haven't done that yet so wondering if that could be the issue.

Not judging at all, but you forwent Food and Wine food for that?

Luckily it was only a 5 minute walk to Homecomin' from here, but we still showed up to our ADR 40 minutes late

Yikes! We tend to be late most of the time as time is very fluid for us. Good to know we can maybe push it!

Guy: "I'm Art Smith."
Me: "No You're NOT!" Like, literally yelled that
Guy: "Um, yes, I am." Shows us his name tag…

I would have died. That is so exciting. He is definitely our type of celebrity.

We kept seeing Art walking around the restaurant after that and taking pictures with people. Does he always do this and I just never knew? I just think it was really cool.

We've been there 3 times now and have never seen him so I certainly don't think its the norm.

Yum! I'll have to try these. I'm a sucker for any kind of deviled egg.

Good on ya for being healthy but just to prepare you expect some taunting in May

I decided to just head out. And so did everyone else.

 

[wdwnut61]

Wait, what?? While I was on the DME on my way to the Poly, Mike was at the airport picking me up

I love this shot

Great pic

How cool is that

 

[KathyM2]

Just found your TR.

We were saving our appetites for our dinner at Homecomin', which we had a reservation for at 5:30.

I really want to try this place. I'm glad it all worked out after the parking fiasco. The food looked so good, especially your salad.

Man did the park ever look crazy busy that night you saw HEA. Yikes!

 

[buzzrelly]

It is an absolute disaster zone. We did the walk from MGM to Beach Club once (the boat wasn't going due to lightening) and in the heat of August it felt like we were navigating across the Mojave Desert.

Honestly, people rave about staying in an EPCOT resort for the proximity to two parks, but that walk kind of sucks, and I like walking

Give me good ol' monorail resorts any day.

I could have used your Mom to do the stuffing with me. Tried to make my Mom's for the first time with her very loose "recipe" and needless to say I need to work on it.

Her stuffing is the BEST! And I have no idea how to make it She made it at her house Wednesday night and on Thanksgiving we both said she should have come to my house to make it so I can see how she does it…duh.

Weird you are having this issue. I use Safari most of the time too, but will use Chrome too and never have an issue with either. Did you upgrade to the new operating system recently? I haven't done that yet so wondering if that could be the issue.

It's so aggravating, and more of them disappear every day. I have NOT upgraded to Mojave yet, but I was thinking I should and maybe that would fix it? It's so weird how they show in Chrome but not Safari for me, but they show in your Safari??

Not judging at all, but you forwent Food and Wine food for that?

Disappointing, isn't it?!

I would have died. That is so exciting. He is definitely our type of celebrity.

I'll introduce you to him in May

Good on ya for being healthy but just to prepare you expect some taunting in May

I fully expect it

I love this shot

I love this ride!

Great pic

Thanks!

Just found your TR.

Welcome!

I really want to try this place.

You won't be disappointed

 

[ariane37]

Aside from that, I don't get into the minutiae such as what we'll wear or make step by step plans.

I plan what I'm wearing for most days simply because it cuts down on my getting ready time! But I'm with you on the step by step plans; I can't do it. I do fastpasses and figure out our parks for the most part but I don't even do that at 180 days and unless it's a busy time we're going at I sometimes don't even do it at 60 days! I cannot do a ride by ride plan, I'd drive myself and my family crazy. I want to do what we feel like doing when we get there as much as we can!

they were doing 6 parks in one day! They were starting with DHS, then going to EPCOT, MK and AK before flying out to Anaheim and doing DL and DCA. They became somewhat of celebrities for doing this and of course, I looked them up on the boards when I got a chance cause I knew anyone crazy enough to do that just HAD to be a member of DisBoards She is…

Kind of cool that you saw them! I remember when they were doing it, yeah not something I'd do as I think I'd get too tired too fast and not enjoy myself but still neat that they accomplished it.

After my first ride, I walked out to find Mike on what would henceforth become known as "Mike's Bench."
​

My final thoughts on EMM at TSL???
I loved it!

I agree! Unfortunately the boys didn't end up coming with us but Steve and I had a good time and I wouldn't hesitate to book it again. Really enjoyed the food for breakfast, too!

It looks like it's going to be huge!

Chris said the same thing when he saw the building last week lol. I'm excited for this

We kept seeing Art walking around the restaurant after that and taking pictures with people. Does he always do this and I just never knew? I just think it was really cool. And for those of you thinking I lied about meeting a famous person, just remember, he knows Oprah

Really cool I've never heard of him being there before so I doubt it happens really often!

It was an absolute mob scene at the monorail station.

If I'm being honest, Steve and I do NOT think being on the monorail is all that. They get super crowded, they stop for "traffic" back ups all the time............still prefer Lyft or Minnie Vans lol. Or the WL boat, even being at an Epcot resort over a monorail resort even though the GF now has a special place in my heart

 

[buzzrelly]

I cannot do a ride by ride plan, I'd drive myself and my family crazy. I want to do what we feel like doing when we get there as much as we can!

This is why you, me and @kastoney will get along so well

I agree! Unfortunately the boys didn't end up coming with us but Steve and I had a good time and I wouldn't hesitate to book it again. Really enjoyed the food for breakfast, too!

What?? Did they sleep through the alarm like Nicholas did for the Star Wars 10k? Or did they just not want to go?? They really missed out! I'm glad you and Steve got to enjoy it

Chris said the same thing when he saw the building last week lol. I'm excited for this

I am too! I think EPCOT needs more…it's fallen to number 4 for me again. When we go in April we are completely skipping it, although I'll be sad to not see the beautiful flowers.

If I'm being honest, Steve and I do NOT think being on the monorail is all that. They get super crowded, they stop for "traffic" back ups all the time...........

I think this is why I give the edge to BLT, though I LOVE being at the Poly. I love being able to walk to the MK and monorail to EPCOT. I can't wait to check out WL in May though

 

[Cloe Colton]

I'm glad you found your magic band! I always feel like I should be prepared and have an extra one in my bag but never actually remember to do that! haha

I'm eating at Homecomin next Friday! And your pictures just made me so hungry! Is it bad that I am kind of hoping Art Smith will be there for us too? haha thats so cool that you got to meet him! And that he was going up to people and introducing himself. When DH and I went to Wine Bar George, George was there but he pretty much stayed to himself so you felt weird bothering him, so thats definitely cool! Must be his southern hospitality!

 

[pkondz]

Hi! Gots some catching up to do, I see.
Sorry, it's taken me a bit to get over here, but I made it eventually!

Hello friends, old and new!

It's maybe the one thing that makes returning from the trip even kind of okay…that I get to now re-live it through the telling of this TR!

HHN in Universal
(one and done for me…too scary!)

Really! That bad! I knew it was more scary than Disney's, but had no idea it was that scary. Huh!

plus the Food and Wine challenge at the end of our trip (also a one and done for me…let's just keep our vacations free from exercise, shall we??).

This year we both agreed to keep our trip free from scary monsters and/or scary alarms waking us at 3am to get up and run…I don't know which was scarier!

Alarms. 3am alarms. No contest.

celebrate mine and Mike's big birthdays this year.

Ah to be 30 once more.

new pool heater and broken furnace

Yeah... ouch and ouch.

Doesn't everyone make life decisions at the Chick-Fil-a?

One may if one has ever been to a Chick-Fil-a.

Teenagers are so much fun.

I won't say I miss my girls being in their teen years.


'cause I don't.

Here they are ruining our day trip to Savanna and forcing us to leave early and eat at Panera because Heaven Forbid we actually try any local food…

If only you had a baseball with you!

Love your shirts.

 

[pkondz]

Mike doesn't fly. Doesn't, won't, can't…whatever

Because... phobia? Preference?

car, boat, or train. If you can think of any more just let me know.

Horse. Bike (motorized or otherwise). Feet.

Mike takes the train down and I fly down a couple days later.

Ah! Okay, makes sense, now.

got him to Deland, FL in about 29 hours instead of 25 hours. Ugh. I know.

I dunno. I could enjoy that. Assuming he got a sleeper? If it's just a seat, then... probably not so much.

since I'm a nurse, my shifts are 12.5 hours long.

I've done those (well, just slightly less. 12's... And occasionally do 16's.) and I found them very tiring and long.

And oh, I also had to go to Allie's swim meet on the 15th and since it was senior night (she's a sophomore), I had to make brownies for the pot luck dinner they were having after.

I set my alarm for 4:15 am

That's too early for a regular day but just fine for a vacation day.

After I checked my bag, I started walking past the huge line of people and heading towards the TSA Pre-Check sign up ahead. It wasn't until I got almost to the front of that that I finally realized that the the line of people I was so boldly walking by were already in line for the TSA Pre-Check!

Whoops!

You thought I was going to show you Starbucks, didn't you?! Ha! Give me good ol' McDonald's coffee any day over Starbucks

I don't drink coffee... but that even strikes me as a bit odd.

I had rented Solo to watch on the plane:

You didn't finish it, but... I enjoyed it. Maybe because my expectations were low? I know it hasn't gotten the best reviews.

I had done on-line check-in which (spoiler alert) ended up being a big mistake and I will never do again…but I'm going to save that for the next post.

Hmmm... curious to read what happened... which I'll be doing in just a minute.

Love this photo!

Will Mike ever get to the Poly? Will I kill him if he does? Stay tuned!

 

[pkondz]

Mike arrived with my yogurt and all was right in the world

So yogurt makes everything okay. Must remember this.

I had wanted to get one of the cute Halloween refillable mugs they were selling so we went into Capt. Cooks to get it but the CM said they were sold out

Well... poop!

OMG! Those people have their faces turned into scribbles!

I think we waited about a half hour and the CMs came out and started handing out the wrist bands. They would only hand out so many per day and once they were gone you were out of luck….no mug for you!

So... did you get a wrist band? Or were you too far back?

But then…we got the text that our room was ready…annnddddd
it was the exact opposite of what I had requested via my Touring Plans fax

I had requested Tokelau, Third Floor. We got Pago Pago 1113 First Floor

What? Really? I've had excellent results from my fax requests. Well, that just won't do!

We had to make a quick decision about what to do since we were basically at the MK stop when the text came through.
Mike didn't really have an opinion one way or another, but would I be happy for 5 nights in the room?
The answer, for me , was a resounding NO.
And I'd rather give up a couple Fastpasses and MK time now to get it taken care of.
So on we went…back to the Poly.

But I don't blame you.

The CM was very helpful and called someone and said we could change rooms

Phew! Good!

Or…did we???

uh oh...

 

[pkondz]

Yes, we did finally make it to the MK, and what a sight for sore eyes…

tease!

the thought of staying out until midnight or later
and then getting up t 5-5:30 just was not appealing at all.

Yeah, I can certainly see not wanting to do that.

Even though I've done that exact thing.

Because it was a party night, the crowds were super low. We tested this theory a couple of other days this trip and found it to be true again and again.
I would highly recommend heading to the MK on a party day.

Huh! Really!
I would've thought it would be the opposite.

We headed down Main Street and straight onto one of Mike's favorite rides…

OMG.

but we made it to Peter Pan. I didn't bother trying to take pics in there this time because they always come out awful.

Yep. Very tough ride to get a decent photo.

We had missed our Pirate's Fastpass, but the stand-by wait was only 15-20 minutes.

Not bad! Practically a walk on.

Everyone's favorite scene:

Shame.

Originally, I had booked us for The Plaza this day but after our April trip, I got to thinking about going back to LTT.
Mike's favorite holiday is Thanksgiving so I thought he'd really love it, and he did.

Love LTT. Soooo much food. But sooo yummy!

And of course, dinner here wouldn't be complete without this delicious dish of yumminess,
Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake:

God that thing is awesome.

Mike asked for a second helping of some of the platter…I think the pot roast, turkey and potatoes. When our server brought them out they were in even bigger dishes than the first servings, which we thought was a little backwards.

Well, that's.... wasteful. (Or waist-full if you prefer)

Mike joked to her about bringing home his leftovers and she said something about how whatever he doesn't finish will be used for composting.

I didn't think you could compost meat?

Mike's favorite. He loves this one even more than IASW.

I SHOULD HOPE SO!
(Please not indignation.)

We then proceeded to take some of the worst selfies in the history of selfies…enjoy

Thanks!

We also had to go pick up our mugs at Trader Sam's…important stuff!

Ah! So you did get it. Did you get your Halloween mugs too?

Up next, we head straight to our room. After all the trouble we went to earlier, were our requests finally met??

I'm gonna guess yes.

Back later to read the rest. Back to work!

 

[pkondz]

which was exactly what we requested.

Good!

Some room pics:

Nice room. Much nicer than what I'm used to over at ASMu.

Our standard view…

Nice. Love how green it is.

I wouldn't have even ordered it but they get weird when you try to not order the drink…I found this out the hard way last April.

Oh? Not even just an OJ or soft drink???

Hat Box mugs! Those are great!!

We got off the monorail at the TTC and walked to our room…

I'd love to be able to do that some day. Who knows!

Typically, I choose park days based on the recommendations from Touring Plans, then I choose our ADRs based on those park days and then make our Fastpasses.

You could do a lot worse!

as much as I love Minnie and think the vans are super adorable, I think the price of them is absolutely outrageous…just my personal opinion

I've heard this. I thought $20 wasn't too bad... but then heard they'd gone up (or are going up)

In the end, after thinking and thinking about all of these choices and not being able to decide, I did…

.
.
.
.
nothing.​

Way to be decisive!

I believe the app was saying there would be a bus along in about 10 minutes, but when we got there, there was a bus already waiting.

Score! Love just walking out and straight on a bus.

Sure is dark out still!

they were doing 6 parks in one day!

They were starting with DHS, then going to EPCOT, MK and AK before flying out to Anaheim and doing DL and DCA.

Wow! That's... wow! I might do that, but... $$$!
Might be fun to try, though!

and then I took some of a completely empty park and my favorite palm trees.

Love an empty park. Mine! All mine!

He also doesn't go on any coasters or drop rides.

Hmm... so is it a motion sickness thing, then?

Oh my gosh, this was such a fun ride!

Glad you liked it! I've been hearing good things!

It was actually way more fun and definitely more scary than 7DMT! It's certainly not as intense as RNRC, but it's not for the faint of heart…or Mike.

Thanks for the review! Can't wait to try it out!

Love that bench! Popsicle sticks! And used ones, too!

A*S was cute

Heh. I've see in it called AS2, A$$ and now A*S.

Also, while I was waiting, there was a family behind me…a mom and a couple of kids and one of them was in a wheelchair. Well one of the other kids (maybe 12-13 years old) was pushing the wheelchair and pushed it into my ankle. I kind of hopped forward to give them more room and after a couple minutes she did it a second time. I kind of gave her a look but again, moved forward a little more as much as I could without getting too close to the people in front of me. A couple more minutes goes by and…you guessed it…she did it AGAIN. Ugh. I get it…I'm a nurse, I'm a mom, I have a LOT of empathy for anyone in that situation, but seriously, be careful and know your own space. After the third time I gave the girl pushing a hard stare and she finally figured out that I wasn't happy and backed up a little bit. So yea, this 15 minute wait was a little annoying.

Once is a mistake. Twice is bad. Three times is deliberately negligent.

The front was even better and I totally forgot about being annoyed in line

At least that was a good thing.

And then I left Mike on his bench while I got my third ride on SDD...

I think we'll start calling him "abandoned Mike" or maybe the bench will be "abandonment bench".

Love that!

There was coffee and water set up in the land also, which was nice...

Nice. But... wish they had OJ there.

He was telling us how much time they get off in the UK and we were shocked. That must be so nice!

How much? More than the 3 weeks? I'd heard that Europe was far more progressive in that.

While we were waiting, the hordes starting coming in. Yikes!

​

Eep! Run!!!

We both got the Mexican egg scramble and loved it:

​

That looks interesting, but I can't tell what's in it?

I am slightly annoyed that none of my SDD pics showed up in my memory maker from this morning.

I've heard several people complain about SDD pics.

 

[pkondz]

Sometime between getting those two photopass pictures taken, I had lost my magic band.

Oh no!

I ended up knocking waving and finally got someone's attention who was trying to tell me they were closed. I started making frantic motions and pointing to my wrist...this was like a very bad game of Charades, people.

"7 words. 1st word. Sounds like rap. Crap! Crap I lost my magicband. Help me!"

A few minutes later, as I was going up and down the rows of tables, the very nice CM came back...and she had my band!

Yay!

I think with all the construction and the path having to go waaayyyy around it, it just made the walk seems endless.

Too bad. I really enjoyed that walk along the water.

Speaking of construction, what a mess...

Hopefully it will all look great eventually.

 

[pkondz]

Anyway, I just wanted to show y'all what I am talking about with the emojis…

This is a screenshot I just took. See how many of them are showing as question marks?

If I switch to Chrome, they are still there. But then I had the annoying thing with the pictures.
So I guess I'll just continue in Safari, but don't be offended if my Welcome isn't the fun emoji one!

Well, that's annoying.

But you can still use the emoji by just typing: :welcome:

Nice capture!

Our goal was to check into EPCOT 4 times to get the cutting board…would we manage this?

I've heard of this. I think you'll get it.

And thanks to @pepperandchips , I cannot see this without thinking "Space Jesus," now

Mike loves Soarin' which kind of surprises me because it's kind of high and a little scary.

Hmmm... so maybe it's motion and not height, then.

He won't even try FOP though I tell him it's like Soarin', only much much better. What do you guys think? If someone can ride Soarin and enjoy it, couldn't they also ride FOP?

If it's the motion sickness that gets him then.... stay off of FOP. I know it's hit a few folks pretty hard. I'm not particularly susceptible (Although I don't feel great if I do Orange MS) but do feel a bit sick afterwards. Not enough to not ride... but I wouldn't want to ride it back to back.

We asked to wait for the front for LWTL (I like the way the pictures come out better), and they stuck us in the front with two other, kind of larger people. Like, seriously?? We were so squished together that I had to try to mash myself up next to Mike to try to not rub legs and arms with my seat mate.

Was the rest of the boat full?

In any case, my pictures did come out nice:

They did!

We did stop for some pics and to watch the Jammitors for a bit, though we would catch the full show later in the week.
They are very good and it's a fun little show to watch.

They are good. Like to listen/watch but...

This? With ovens? I don't remember that.

I took this pic from the monorail station of the new GOTG structure going up:

Looks big alright!

Well, after a series of dumb events on our parts, we ended up being really late to our dinner but having a chance encounter with someone famous.

Interested to find out what these "dumb events" are.

Any ideas who??

Whoopi Goldberg!


No?