Thursday, May 24, 2012

Anniversary #4 (Part 1 - MNSSHP)


By the time Anniversary #4 rolled around, we were practically professional Disney vacationers. Of course, what makes Disney magical is the element of surprise, so we made sure we planned lots of new experiences this trip. I will try to fit it all in, but there is SO MUCH to share!

Day 1
Although we typically arrive on a weekend, we flew in on a Thursday afternoon and the Magical Express line was delightfully short. We took the bus to POP Century, our favorite value resort. After dropping off the bags in the room, we consecrated our arrival with a tie-dyed cheesecake. 
When we returned to the room shortly thereafter, I found this surprise waiting for me - have I mentioned I married my Prince Charming?
Bracelet, sparkly pink rose and a love note.What a way to start a magical trip!!

If you've read previous blog posts, you know that we always visit Downtown Disney on arrival day. This time we thought we'd shake things up a bit...

 Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP)

This is a holiday party at Magic Kingdom which requires a separate ticket for entry. With the hard ticket, party guests can enter the park at 4pm, even though the party doesn't technically start until 7pm. They give party guests wristbands and I was amazed at how quickly the Disney CMs cleared out park guests from earlier in the day. By 7:30 the crowd levels had dropped dramatically. 

One of my favorite things about this party is that all the villain characters come out and mingle with the guests. I'm not usually big on character meet and greets, but I loved it at the Halloween party because you don't have to wait in line and the villain interactions are far more entertaining to me. 
  • When we met Gaston, I thought I would stroke his ego by commenting "My, your muscles are so LARGE!". He turned to Bill and said, "You've got yourself a keeper!".
  • When we told Jafar that it was our anniversary, he twirled his finger in the air as if to say "Big Whoop". Halloween music played throughout the park and he just glared as I danced along to Thriller. Oh, that grumpy, evil magician!



Other MNSSHP highlights....
  • The parade was great. The headless horseman majestically led up the beginning of the celebration. It was fun to see the villains get to take the stage along with the "good" characters dressing up in costumes. Another memorable moment was when the 2 evil stepsisters stood right behind us and watched the parade with us. 
  • The music and show at the castle were fabulous. I bought the Boo to You soundtrack and listen to it year round. The fireworks show was great, too. I love the ghosts projections on the castle.
  • Adults get to trick or treat! 
Since our anniversary is in October, I foresee enjoying this party for many years to come. Boo to YOU!


Sunday, May 20, 2012

Design a Tee Review

By the time we hit our 3rd anniversary, we started to realize that celebrating at Disney was a bonafide annual tradition. So it seemed time to indulge in my wish to Design a Tee in Downtown Disney.


Designing the t-shirt was a memory itself. There are computers where you can pick out every aspect of the Tee, from the shirt's cut, color, icons, text, and font. It was a control freak's dream!



After reviewing all the possible options and much deliberation, it seemed fitting to settle on an anniversary theme for the t-shirt. ("I'll wear it on all the future anniversary trips", I reasoned with myself.) As the shop was slow, I think it only took about 20-30 minutes from submitting the final design to receiving the tee. We browsed nearby shops while we waited.  If I weren't so impatient, I could have had the shirt delivered to our resort room the following day. 


The price was reasonable and I was happy to wear it back in the World for Anniversary #4. I think this is point in my obsession where I officially started the Disney t-shirt collection, but that's a post for another time...


What is your favorite souvenir from the World?

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Anniversary #3 (Part 3 - Universal Studios)


Universal Studios
Alright, it's not Disney, but as a Harry Potter fan I felt a sense of duty to see if Universal could measure up to the amazing world I've imagined. We got up early and took a Mears bus from Disney to Universal. (Planning tip: you can get a great deal on transportation if you purchase a bus/theme park ticket here). 




Forbidden Journey
Forbidden Journey was first on our list. It reminded me of doing Toy Story Mania in the morning. I'm always torn between the excitement of finally getting to ride the attraction and enjoying the queue. The queue for Forbidden Journey feels like it's a mile long, there are many large different rooms to walk through. There was a huge greenhouse room to represent the botany classes.  Indoor rooms included castle scenes with moving portraits, huge statues of the 4 houses, and rooms where hologram characters passed along messages to guests in the queue. There was even a pensieve.


Luckily, it wasn't nearly as crowded as it could have been and there was hardly a line. On the other hand, we ran right through queue so excited that I'm sure we missed some other great details.


The ride itself was nothing short of amazing. If I had to describe it (and that's difficult to do), I would say it's similar to the motion/flying effects of Soarin' with huge screens before you. We flew in and out of the castle, over the quidditch field, through dragon nests! However, it was not peaceful, like Soarin'. There were parts that were jerky and terrifying, reminding me of Dinosaur from Animal Kingdom. Spiders and dementors thrust themselves at the riders and chased them. I can't explain the thrill. Suffice to say, as soon as we exited the ride, we ran right back through the queue to ride it immediately again!

Hogsmead
After all the excitement of surviving the Forbidden Journey (twice!), we cooled off with some butterbeer. It was very sweet (not a problem for me, I've got a big sweet tooth), and tasted a bit like cream soda and butterscotch with a foamy marshmallow topping. (Last summer my girlfriend and I attempted to recreate an adult version here.). 

I was a little disappointed in the size of the village. It was not designed with large crowds, or even medium crowd levels, in mind. Despite the cute storefronts, many were just that: a front. There were only a few stores patrons could actually enter. And once inside there was very limited space to move around. Honeyduke's was visually pleasing and Zonko's joke shop was cute. We didn't dare attempt Ollivander's wand shop as the line was out the door and then some.

My brother and I rode each of the former "Dueling Dragons" while my mom and husband (not being rollercoaster fans) hung out at the Owlery. We had lunch at the 3 Broomsticks and the theming and food were good. I was a bit baffled that there was a well-decorated 2nd floor, but it was not available to guests. The restaurant sure could have used more seating up there. 

Overall, it was a good time. We don't go to Universal every year, but try to go every couple of Disney trips. 

Other Universal Notes
  • Spiderman and the Hulk attractions did not disappoint!
  • My mom, being a big "I Love Lucy" fan, was tickled pink to run into their "characters" at the park. One of my favorite moments is when Desi planted a big kiss on her. Unfortunately, we zoomed in too much on that photo and cut out Lucy looking shocked (think Home Alone).



Thursday, May 10, 2012

Anniversary #3 (Part 2 - Typhoon Lagoon)

Typhoon Lagoon
This trip was the first time Bill and I had tried out a water park together.  Disney has 2 water parks: Blizzard Beach, where the theme is a freak snowstorm hit Florida so they opened a ski resort. Now that it's melted, what's left is a water park. The other water park is Typhoon Lagoon, which was also hit by a storm, hence the typhoon. What's left are shipwrecks and surf boards everywhere.  I had visited Typhoon Lagoon as a kid, but I think I was 8 years old at the time and all I remembered was they had an amazing wave pool. So, not having anything else to go on, we based our decision on the wave pool I had not seen in 17 years.

  • Wave Pool It did not disappoint. The crowds were low and the curls were high! Bill got pushed down a few times and even lost our locker key in our own typhoon. Apparently, this happens a lot, so hang on!! I could easily spend an entire afternoon at this attraction alone.
  • Shark Reef Although it wasn't expansive and won't completely compare to any ocean snorkeling, we were extremely impressed with the Shark Reef. It's a man made coral reef environment. They provide cleansed snorkel gear and life jackets so guests can swim from one end of this pool to the other while observing fish. There were beautiful fish, sting rays and even small sharks! It was about a leisurely 3 minute swim across. As the crowd levels were low, we were able to swim across and walk right back into line with the same snorkel gear without a wait. We got multiple swims in.
  • Crush 'n' Gusher Once again, Disney amazed me. I love roller coasters but it never occurred to me to combine one with a water slide. It's a crazy ride on a tube. When you're not going down, you're going upwards in your tube on a conveyor belt for more drops. It was terrifying, thrilling, wet and wild! A definite must-do for adventure-seekers!
  • The rest of the park We chillaxed on a lazy river, did a few water slides, tanned on the white sand "beach" under straw-thatched huts. There was a really nice balance of thrills and relaxation at this park. Overall rating: 2 thumbs way up!


Saturday, May 5, 2012

Anniversary #3 (Part 1)

This is the trip where I felt like my Disney obsession went up a few notches. I had finally discovered Touring Plans, spent months creating the perfect spreadsheet of our vacation, and started branching out beyond the typical Disney must-do's.
I distributed copies of the agenda to everyone. We were able to split up and meet back for dinner reservations.
This trip we went with my mom and brother. Once again the free dining plan was offered, but you had to stay in a moderate resort to get the Table Service plan. So, to really get in touch with our inner child, we picked the Caribbean Beach Resort for the pirate bedrooms! 


The grounds were beautiful, the pirate pool was fun, and I loved the theme. However, when the Magical Express dropped us off at the Customs House to check in, I did not realize how spread out the resort was. When the CM who checked us in informed us we could take a resort bus to our room, I naively ignored her suggestion, thinking a brisk walk would let us explore and see the resort. Big mistake. Although it was a relaxing vibe, the walk around the lake to get to our building was nearly a mile.


Despite listening to a shockingly negative review (via DISunplugged podcast) about the resort's only sit-down restaurant, Shutters, (read about it here), we wanted to give it a try our first evening. Sad to say, we had nearly the same experience as the reviewers. Despite an Advance Dining Reservation, we waited about 30 minutes after our ADR time for a magical slip of paper to print out of the infamous little box at the podium before we were seated. The service was okay at best, the food wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great. I'm glad we tried this resort once, but we'll likely never return. 


What was NEW

  • To humor my mom, we tried the Sci-Fi Diner so she could relive her drive-in days. Although this restaurant sometimes gets poor reviews, the atmosphere was so much fun, it doesn't matter that I don't remember what I ate. They played clips of old, corny sci-fi movies and commercials for the refreshment stand. It was a hoot to eat in the cars. The photo below is one of my favorite memories. My brother was supposed to take a picture of just Bill and I, so my mom lied down in the back of our "car" to get out of the picture. However he didn't zoom in enough and we got this hilarious photo of my mom peeking out instead. Classic Disney memories!
  • We went to the boardwalk for dinner at Kouzzina. Although the service was really slow, the food was delicious. I am the total opposite of a vegetarian and have always said I could eat a steak every day. Well, with the Disney Dining Plan, I can and do! I had a delicious steak and despite the slow service I would definitely go back. It was also fun to walk along the boardwalk, get some fudge and watch families ride around in bike carriages. Oddly, the funniest moment of the night was when I hailed a cab from the Swan/Dolphin resort. My mom looked at me incredulously and asked "Where did you learn to hail a cab?" and without missing a beat I replied "Sex In the City". Naturally. Oh, the things you learn when you take family vacations as adults.
Tasting plate at Cat Cora's




  • I was thrilled that Via Napoli opened about a month before our visit. The first morning Via Napoli was available for reservations, I got up early and locked us in! We love the 3 ovens and the pizza was great. I didn't even miss my steak that night! 




  • Another first was the Spirit of Aloha luau dinner. Bill and I hadn't explored the Polynesian resort before. They put on a decent show. We were lucky to be seated towards the front. It seemed they looked to give everyone an opportunity to get up on stage and dance with the Polynesians. "All the kids!", "Anyone with a birthday!", "Couples!", "Just because!". Once again, I was enthralled by the fire twirler (is it possibly the same guy from Festival of the Lion King?). 

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Anniversary #2 (w/ a 5 year old!)

After 2 years of experiencing Disney as a couple, we were thrilled that our 5 year old nephew would be able to come along for Anniversary #2. It was quite the treat to see Disney through the eyes of a child. There were 6 of us on this trip: DH and I, my mom, the nephew and his parents.  We stayed at the All Star Sports Resort, which has a fun, football-themed food court and giant hockey goalie nets.

Once again, we spent arrival day in Downtown Disney. After an early morning of travelling, wandering around DTD is a great way to spend a relaxing afternoon getting into the "Disney vibe". We had dinner at the T-Rex restaurant. It was a little loud but that's what made the atmosphere so much fun. I mean, if your dinner conversation is going to be interrupted, a meteor shower is a pretty good reason. Obviously, we were able to come out alive and escape extinction, unlike some of the dinosaurs.

Of course, we couldn't officially indoctrinate the kid without a pair of Mickey ears.


Animal Kingdom
The 1st full day at the parks, I usually like to go to Animal Kingdom right away. I love doing the safari right away when the animals start to come out. The lion was a little too fast to capture, but  the rhinos were extremely playful that day. They chased each other back and forth and we even had to stop to truck to let them cross our path. I'm pretty sure they were oblivious to us.

I was so excited for my nephew to experience the Festival of the Lion King show. The monkeys and the fire-twirler are always my favorite!

Normally we don't spend a lot of time meeting characters, but we happened across a Jungle Mickey Meet & Greet and stopped by to say hi to the big cheese.


Hollywood Studios
Toy Story Mania was, of course, a big to-do. I just adore this series and how well thought-out all the toys are, the queue really makes me feel like I've shrunk and joined the world of toys. And the nephew, being an all-American boy, was enamored with Buzz and Woody.
I don't think he could stretch his arms out any further to give Buzz a hug.

One of the best things about this trip was that they offered Free Dining. They've scaled back what they offer for free dining now, but this particular year we got 1 Counter Service, 1 Table Service (app, entrée and dessert) and 2 snacks per day. Now they've eliminated the appetizer and 1 snack, but they've thrown in the much-debated mug (FYI - expect a blogpost on this at some point in time).

We tried lots of amazing restaurants this trip. It was the first time we tried the Hollywood Brown Derby. We booked it on my mom's birthday because she is a big 'I Love Lucy' fan and thought it would be fun. The meal was amazing and they brought us out champagne on the house for mom's birthday and our anniversary. And here is a testament to never going hungry in Disney, in addition to the desserts, they brought out extra dessert to celebrate! The Grapefruit cake has been a staple every trip since.

Other Memorable Moments
  • We experienced Turtle Talk with Crush in Epcot. I was over the moon when Crush called out the nephew to talk to him. I think this is one of the most innovative attractions to date in the World. An interactive cartoon character who can hold a conversation with anyone in front of him. "I want to talk to the dude with the brown fur on his head and the red shell."
  • Tomorrowland Speedway in MK is a race car track that kids can steer. The 5 year old was thrilled to drive. The extra magic came upon exiting the car. The CM presented him with his very own "driver's license". He beamed about it for weeks after the vacation.
  • Other great restaurants included The Wave and Chefs de France. We were not impressed with Nine Dragons.
  • I had not experienced the Country Bear Jamboree since I was a little kid and didn't remember anything. We thought it would be kid friendly, so we tried it. Honestly, when it ended, we 5 adults looked at each other and said "What the heck was that?!?". It has been a running joke ever since where we tease each other about liking Liverlips. Or singing "All the bears who turn me on, turn me down". For the record, if my children ever misbehave, I fully intend to punish them by making them watch this all day long.