Day 56- Boardwalk Meetup, Big River Grille and Hollywood Studios

Posted on November 9, 2014 by maymiller

Happy Sunday Morning! It is a beautiful day in Florida, overcast, and a cool 68 degrees at the hottest part of the day! This is a Disney marathon weekend and the parks have been busy, especially Epcot in its final days of the Food and Wine Festival.

We are meeting a group on the Boardwalk after lunch with Taking the Florida Plunge and WDW Mousenger followers. The only parking available at the Boardwalk today is valet. We don’t mind, we have Tables in Wonderland and it covers valet parking at many of the resorts if you eat at one of the participating restaurants. There are a bunch of people who have shown up, and it is fun to meet fellow Disney enthusiasts. We meet several fun people and the leader of the Florida Plunge group; their family moved down here a year and a half ago. It’s fun to talk with others who have made the move or are hoping to make the move to FL in the near future! Twinkie even won one of the awesome giveaway prizes from MMP Travel- A Disney Dooney & Bourke Cosmetic Case!

I love the Boardwalk, it is very interesting and a good place to walk and enjoy the sights. This afternoon, it is very quiet and there is plenty of room to meander around on the Boardwalk, we even get to watch the ducks play in the water. One thing we want to do one day is rent one of the Surrey Bikes so we can pedal our way around.

After the meeting we went to a couple of places to see if there was walk up seating, but the longest line was at the ESPN Club. After seeing the line, we decide to walk to the other end of the boardwalk to eat at Big River Grille & Brewing Works. We asked about gluten free and they had nachos; Twinkie’s were made with freshly cooked Kettle Potato Chips and ours, the old fashioned way! They were great, and it’s a happy occasion when Twinkie gets to have potato chip nachos!

Now, we are off to valet and they quickly bring us our car. The attendant is extremely courteous and kind.

Our next stop is Hollywood Studios. We grab some Joffrey’s Coffee to drink as we look for the new Big Hero 6 MagicBand, featuring Baymax and Hiro Hamada. As we are heading for the Muppet’s 3D Shop, the back part of Hollywood Studios is so busy that it is hard to walk through Pixar Place. We are trying get to the Streets of America, and realize that the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show has just finished and the people are pouring out of the stands.

We finally get to the Streets of America. I love the buildings and can imagine how beautiful they will be tonight when the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights are turned on. It will be amazing!

I sit in the courtyard by the Stage 1 Company Store while the kids are shopping. I love watching families go by and hearing the fun sounds of happy kids! Soon, they are back with their awesome new Big Hero 6 MagicBands and we are off to walk around Hollywood Studios.

We are walking to the front when we see a beautiful tropical plant; it has perfect symmetry in its leaves and flowers. The evening light makes it look so picture-perfect. If you love tropical plants and trees, you will love seeing all of the landscaping all around Disney! We even saw four deer on the way to the Boardwalk this afternoon, and then, we saw eight more on the way back home. I love all of the deer, birds, and ducks that you can see during the day.

Day 42- Epcot and San Angel Inn Restaurante

Posted on October 26, 2014 by maymiller

Today is an absolutely beautiful day! We are off to Epcot to have lunch in Mexico. The trams are running at a quick pace as the parking lot is filling up quickly.

I love seeing all the happy faces as we scan our MagicBands and enter into Epcot! There are people lining up to get their photo taken with Spaceship Earth and the Food and Wine Festival display in the background. It is busy today.

We pass by several Food Kiosks on the way to Mexico and the air is full of delicious aromas. We have reservations at San Angel Inn Restaurante. As we walk into the indoor marketplace and there is a young lady painting one of the handmade animals that are for sale. I have never seen someone paint these before. There is so much detail in that little painted animal.

While we are waiting to be seated, we noticed the line for the Gran Fiesta Tour boat ride is the longest line we have ever seen. However, the line is moving quickly.

Soon we are seated, and it is like you are sitting in the courtyard between the buildings, under the night sky. There is a river that runs beside the restaurant (a part of the Gran Fiesta Tour), flanked by Mayan ruins and a volcano! If you sit by the river, you can see the boat full of people go by periodically. Oh, look, the volcano is erupting! It is a bit dark in this area, recreating a beautiful night in Mexico.

The waitress is really great and soon we have our tortilla soup. Even the chips here are gluten free! Yay! Oh my gosh, it is so very good!

We walk up the ramp to the main area, toward the exit; it kind of looks like the museum in Mexico City. Now, we exit the building toward the World Showcase Lagoon. The area is so busy.

I love being so close to Disney World that we can go and grab a bite of lunch there!

Day 41- Magic Kingdom & Roaring Forks at Wilderness Lodge

Posted on October 25, 2014 by maymiller

The sky is so blue today and there’s not a cloud in the sky! Magic Kingdom is beautiful as we arrive on the Monorail. There is a steady stream of people arriving, and the weather is a bit cooler today, under 80 degrees and sunny!

I love seeing little children so happy to be here, and the happy faces of first time visitors getting pictures with Cinderella’s Castle in the background. There is a bustle of strollers passing by as families make their way down Main Street USA.

We stop at the Starbucks inside of the Main Street Bakery and grab a tea and coffee. A few months ago, when we moved here, I realized that I could just run to Magic Kingdom and get my hot tea! I love to grab a cup of tea and get to see many happy people before heading home on those days. Next though, we are off to lunch by boat!

We’re off to go to Wilderness Lodge for lunch. Tooti has talked about getting a Roast Beef and Blue Cheese Sandwich at the Roaring Fork quick service restaurant. I cannot wait to get to ride the boat from Magic Kingdom over to Wilderness Lodge. We sit in the front of the boat, the Mermaid I, and are joined by a family who we chat with as we are traveling across the water. Once we dock, we disembark and walk to Wilderness Lodge, enjoying the path through the trees.

Lunch was great! We absolutely loved their gluten free Roast Beef and Blue Cheese Sandwich, and my Turkey and Swiss sandwich. The homemade potato chips were amazing, and I loved the cucumber salad!

Now, back to the boat. We sat at the back, soon to be joined by a family; they were really nice. We enjoyed talking on the nice trip back to the Magic Kingdom Boat Launch. I love days like today when we get to meet so many young families visiting Disney World for the first time, and get to hear how they are enjoying their trip. The common topics that come up in these conversations are: the amount of walking, how tired their kids get just walking, the 8-10 hours spent at a Disney Park in a day (if not longer), and yes, it is about 1.1 miles around the World Showcase Lagoon at Epcot. That was a question today, “Should we think about renting a stroller for Epcot?” My answer is, “Yes, I would, it is a long way around the park. After you rent the stroller, you go up and around Spaceship Earth, and then down a long path to the World Showcase Lagoon. There are so many hills in Epcot and so many countries to explore, the 1.1 miles around the World Showcase Lagoon is just the beginning!”

Day 39- Animal Kingdom & Sanaa

Posted on October 23, 2014 by maymiller

We decided to go to Animal Kingdom today, it is our 39th day in a row! It is a beautiful sunny day as we park and walk to the gate. I love how friendly the people are at Disney and the cast members are so wonderful! We stop at the stroller rental to see their pin stroller, and then go around the Oasis.

We get to Discovery Island and stop to look at the kangaroos! As we watched, there were two male kangaroos sparring! It was so cool to see how they use their tails to balance as they spar and box with each other. Their tails are so very strong as the boxing and balancing is happening. What a wonderful thing to get to see and experience! As I was watching, there was a vulture sitting near the kangaroos, and it looked like it was refereeing; the moment seemed so surreal.

I wanted to find how to get to the other side of the kangaroos. We found the path that wraps around to the other side, and watched the kangaroos hanging out in the shade.

Do you see the walrus?

You can hear the music of Africa as we head over the bridge. This evening is cooler with the sun beginning to set.

Russel and Dug!

We walk for a while and as we are going back across the bridge to the Oasis, there are so many birds roosting in the trees. I love seeing so many ibis in one area. If you watch for a short while, they will flutter around and sit on another limb of the trees, or a stalk of bamboo. Beautiful!

Now? I think that Sanaa at Animal Kingdom Lodge would be a great place to get dinner! It is beautiful to see the animals that are right outside. First, you can see them through the windows, and then, you can go out onto a walkway and watch as they eat and move through the large open area. If it is late at night and chilly, there will be a fire in the fire pit.

Gluten Free Naan is our favorite and it has been perfected! You can get the bread service with Gluten Free Naan and 9 different dips. The flavors are so varied and delicious! It is worth the wait, and I cannot wait until we get to go again! Naan! Naan! Naan! Oh, did I say that I love Naan?

Day 38- Hollywood Studios

Posted on October 22, 2014 by maymiller

Today started early as we dropped the pups off for school. Since we were out, we decided to stop by Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort French Quarter to pick up some gluten free breakfast. Chef Raphael came out of the kitchen, and was happy to see us, as we got to meet him at a gluten free venue a few weeks ago! He took our order of gluten free Mickey waffles, and reminded us that they also have gluten free beignets… we had to order some beignets too! These are probably the best gluten free waffles I have ever had on Disney property, and I love the beignets! Yummy!

The weather is cooler today and we are off to Hollywood Studios! It is 85 degrees here in Florida and it is beautiful. There are blue skies and a soft wisp of clouds as you look through the palm trees.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios is nice, and the crowd is light today. Yes, there are still a lot of people, but there is room to enjoy walking and looking around during the day! Toy Story Midway Mania is our first stop! The FastPass+ line is really long; a family of 16 is in front of us. I love this ride!

At Toy Story Midway Mania, I met a really nice lady and her husband. The lady was sharing about her kids and grandkids. She said that one of her daughters stayed home until she got married at age 30. The lady shared that she loved those years with her daughter being home. I had to hug her neck; she is so sweet and shared a special love for her daughters! I love meeting people and hearing their stories!

We walk towards the Brown Derby and see the Mulch, Sweat, and Shears band driving by and setting up for their concert! The other evening we got to see them play! This is a fun show to watch. However, we remember it is dinnertime, and a quick place to grab a bite to eat is Backlot Express. We go up the indoor ramp and find a nice table by the windows. I didn’t know we could see the Star Wars Jedi Training Academy through the windows! This is a great place for your kids to participate in the activities and get to be a part of the show. (Note: There is an area nearby to sign up for the show early in the day if your kids want to participate. If you ask a cast member, they can help point you in the right direction.) It is so much fun to watch!

Fish near the Little Mermaid Show!

Another fish…

Jedi Training!

QUESTION!!! How many miles will you, or can you, walk in a day at a Disney Park?

One of the cast members at Backlot Express checked to see if we were doing fine, and we got to talk for a couple of minutes. I mentioned that a little girl was asking about how far we would walk today. I told her about 2 to 4 miles! The cast member smiled, chuckled, said that you can easily walk 7 to 10 miles a day! I totally agreed with him and said that I know we have walked at least that many miles in a day before. When you start your day at a Disney resort, you can easily walk half a mile to the restaurant for coffee, and half a mile back to your room. Then, half a mile to the catch the bus, then a quarter to a half a mile from the bus to the park gate. Before you even begin to enjoy the park, you could have easily walked 1-2 miles. If your children are not used to walking 8 to 10 hours a day, a stroller might be a good choice. My good friend and her family came with children, 5 and 10 years old, and by the end of the day, the 10 year old was in the stroller and the little 5 year old was being carried to the car. If your daughter isn’t a fan of strollers, maybe call it a carriage like Cinderella uses! If you have a little boy, maybe a chariot. It works.

There’s a beautiful sunset as we leave the park!

Day 36- Smash Mouth at Epcot!

Posted on October 20, 2014 by maymiller

What an absolutely fabulous day! Epcot is in our sights and the sun is shining. It is busy, but nice! There is a steady stream of people arriving during lunchtime.

Smash Mouth is playing later today and we got reserved seats with the Eat to the Beat Dining Package. We chose Teppan Edo for lunch! This is a place we have never been and I am looking forward to seeing the Hibachi Chef cook at our table! We are seated at a table with a young family of four. Of course, I have to ask, “Where are you from?”

They were a very nice family, and as we talked, I found out that their son is going to be 10 soon! The waitress overheard us talking about his birthday, which made me very happy! You see, if it is your birthday they celebrate with you. Today, the boy was given a Chef’s hat, a candle in his dessert, and a song with the table across from us! He was so very happy! His sister has a birthday soon, too; her dad said that she wanted me to know!!! She was so cute and sweet! I loved getting to visit with that family.

After lunch, we have a little time, so we grab a Kaki Gori in Japan and sit in the American Adventure Pavilion to eat our shaved ice with sweet milk.

Cute origami!

It’s almost time for the concert; we have our tickets, and get in line about 30 minutes early. The lady behind us is really nice, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to talk with her. She was from New York and worked with special needs kids. I thought I knew what that meant, but I am totally impressed with her heart for the kids she worked with. She is an amazing lady. Then, a lady behind her began talking, too. I like when people enjoy talking to each other!

Yay! Time for the Smash Mouth concert! We sit on the front row and it is so fun!

Great concert!

Now, we make our way from The American Adventure through Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom, Canada, and out to our car. What an amazing, beautiful day!

Day 35- Magic Kingdom

Posted on October 19, 2014 by maymiller

Magic Kingdom parking is so very busy at 4pm. There are two lines of cars going into park. The tram is very busy, but we are parked close to the Transportation Center and it is only about a 5 minute walk to get to the Monorail. As we get close, we see the Monorail is not running at this time, so we are redirected to the Ferry Boat. The Ferry Boat is a few minutes out, and the dock is filling up, but the Ferry Boat can hold a huge group of people.

The little girl behind us is a little hesitant to go on the Ferry, so I said, “If you go upstairs to the front, the breeze blows through your hair and your (Elsa) dress. It is so much fun!” Her mom repeated it to her. Soon, we were on the boat and her dad was walking up the stairs with her, heading for the front of the Ferry Boat! It is so much fun this time of the year.

Line for the ferry…

Lots of coins!

We’ve docked!

Magic Kingdom is bustling as we arrive, and there are so many people just getting there. If you plan to come for the Not So Scary Party, you will need to plan ahead! Tonight’s party is sold out again. Now, we are off to our first FastPass+ for Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor. It is fun to hear the parents and kids laugh in what is a very fun, interactive attraction!

Our next destination is Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin! The lines are really moving fast today, we have our FastPass+, and just as I step onto the moving sidewalk, the ride stops. My spinning car is just behind the rail. I stopped and froze, just as the Cast Member advised me to step back towards him. Oh, good, I didn’t know what to do! In less than a minute, it was up and going once again. I got on my spinning car and was off, looking forward to playing this game! Tooti had the highest score of the day, Twinkie had a good score, and mine was way off today. We exited onto the moving sidewalk after the ride. Then, we see several TV screens and we have to find the funny faces we made when they took our pictures during the ride!

We are thirsty, so we go towards Adventureland to get a Dole Whip! It is cool and creamy, perfect with a hot, sunny, Florida day! While we are waiting in line, I see a very young family of five with a Dole Whip Float. It is so sweet, they had their 5 straws and the little girls were helping put them in the float. The mom got a sip and gave the littlest boy a sip. I remember when we would share our special treats when the kids were little. Makes me smile to see how kind the family is as they share!

Yay! We got through the long line. Now we look for seating, but it is full, so back across Main Street USA. We see the yellow umbrellas standing over the tables outside of the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor. What a wonderful place to see the costumes! Look! That whole family is dressed like mimes! We saw some absolutely great costumes, and more are going by as we see eggs and bacon, peanut butter and jelly, Mary Poppins and a penguin, and so many others.

Now, it is after 6pm and we must exit Magic Kingdom before 7pm, when the Not So Scary Party begins. The Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party is starting and we get watch as we are leaving. Oh, there Waldo and Ms. Waldo! Picture, please?

There is an amazingly huge crowd of people leaving, and as I turn to look back, there is an amazingly huge crowd of people going into Magic Kingdom for the party! Wow!

What a wonderful afternoon of rides, dole whips, and sunny weather!

Day 33- Fantasia Gardens Mini Golf & Pizza Planet at Hollywood Studios

Posted on October 17, 2014 by maymiller

Mini Golf day! We see the Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf Course whenever we head to Hollywood Studios, so we’ve been looking forward to playing here.

This is a really great course! It has some pretty fun theming from Fantasia… Some of the holes have a special sound or surprise that happens, too! Today, I chose a purple golf ball, Tooti has pink, and Twinkie has green! There are two little guys with their mom following behind us, which makes it even more fun! We start on the first hole and off we go… Each hole has a fun riddle to read and gives you hints on the best place to hit the ball!

This afternoon is pretty busy since it’s Friday. It’s nice to hear the happy golfers on the course as we play!

Next, we are off to Hollywood Studios. It is pretty close, in fact, just across the road! As we go through the parking gate, the cast member asked us what part of Texas we were from… “Dallas!” Found out she was from nearby Greenville and she was glad to see a fellow Texan!

The park is busy, but not too crowded as we walk through down Hollywood Boulevard. We noticed that the shops have put out some more Christmas merchandise! So beautiful!

We decide to eat at Pizza Planet! It is a fun quick service restaurant themed from Toy Story and there is even an arcade inside! They are fast and very accommodating for our gluten allergy! The gluten free pizza is great and we ordered sides of Caesar salad. While there is plenty of seating inside, we decided to enjoy the cool evening by sitting outside at one of many umbrella tables. You can see the Christmas store and the Stage One Company Store, which has a lot of Muppets merchandise, across the street!

It was a great day! 🙂

Day 30- Afternoon Tea at the Grand Floridian & Magic Kingdom

Posted on October 14, 2014 by maymiller

Today is a celebration day! We have completed 29 days, and today is our 30th day! Now, where to celebrate? DISNEY WORLD! Yes, and today, we should celebrate with high tea! So, off we go to Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa to celebrate.

We noticed it is monsoon-like outside; I think Valet is a great choice as I am dressed to the nines and need to look nice for tea. As we are walking in, we see Richard, who is often greeting guests at the resort. We first saw him back in March during our visit on Dapper Day. He is dressed to the nines as well and is so very kind and happy.

There are a few minutes to spare and that will be a wonderful time to browse the stores upstairs around the Grand Room. There is piano music playing in the lobby; it is so relaxing and wonderfully dreamy.

A little shopping…

Looking out the window of the shop!

Mad Hatter’s Hat!

That’s a LOT of water!

The Lobby

Basin White!

Love their soaps!

Piano player…

Overlooking the resort…

Tea Time! We are seated by the windows, which is perfect because I love watching the people going by outside. Our waitress is wonderful and our tea is perfectly hot as we begin our teatime. We chose the “Buckingham Tea”. The chef made us the most amazing gluten-free tea sandwiches for the first course. Our second course was special breads from Babycakes with lemon curd, Devonshire cream and a jam. Finally, our last course had amazing chocolate mousse and coconut macaroons. It was a delightful time!

Now, we are off to the parks. Tonight we are going to Magic Kingdom, and the rains are pouring down once again as we head to the Monorail. Then, as we are exiting at the Magic Kingdom stop, I realized that with Florida life, you just get used to the flood of water pouring from the sky. So many kids were having a blast kicking up their heels and wading through the ankle-deep water. Did I say that we usually have shoes that work with the water and rain? Today, we only have our tennis shoes, so our feet are soaked. No problem, a little rain can’t stop us, nor can a monsoon! (Monsoon is Texan for tons of rain!)

Storm rollin’ in!

Rainy Monorail ride…

Windy on the water…

Lots of rain!

I stopped in to get a Band-Aid at the First Aid Station, when a lady came in and asked a question I had never heard. She asked the staff, “When do they determine that it is time to shut down the park?” The attendant said, “This is Florida life, we don’t ever shut down the park for rain.” She was amazed that the park would allow people to stand under the awnings until the rain stopped. It was a funny thing to hear as we headed out in the pouring rain with our umbrellas, wet shoes, soppy purses, and dripping dresses to ride our first ride of the day! It’s a rainy day in Florida, good thing Mickey has a raincoat!…

First ride is Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin! It is one of our favorite rides and we love the challenge of hitting the Zurg targets with the cool laser shooters.

Next, we head for the People Mover! It ended up pausing twice for a couple of minutes inside of Space Mountain. Instead of darkness like usual, the lights were on and we got to see what the track and structure actually look like! It was pretty amazing to see.

Puddles!

Inside Space Mountain…

Then, we have a FastPass+ for Peter Pan’s Flight, my favorite ride! Ok, one of my favorite rides at Magic Kingdom!

Now off to get a Dole Whip for Twinkie, this is her first day back with us after being sick. We are tickled pink that she is back up to speed for day 30!

Time to head home. We get on the monorail with a great young family! They were so fun to talk to! We were so glad to meet them and their son. As we get off the Monorail we look to see if it’s still raining, make that monsoon-ing, as we head home…

On Main Street…

Day 25- Tokyo Dining at Epcot

Posted on October 9, 2014 by maymiller

Some days life happens. We are living in a house that was once owned by a Disney Imagineer and we have been intrigued with all of the extra wiring and history of this home. When we had our basic cable put in, it took quite awhile while the technicians figured out all the extras in the network wiring. Today, we had the security system activated. The technician took a look at the wiring and after a short time, he advised that this is a custom security system. This was going to be a full day’s work and we might have to reschedule. He had spent an hour assessing it, soon I found that he had called in backup and the two of them went into overtime. But, by 5:40 they successfully got our system going, trained me on how it works, and off they went!

We ran and picked up the pups from day school and take them back home, so we have a very short time to go to Disney and pack in some fun!

Epcot in the evening!

Three of the parks close early today, so off to Epcot! It is 7:45 p.m. and they are still parking lines of cars. We catch the Tram and head for Epcot. It is just me and Tooti today; Twinkie is at home sick.

Me and Tooti on the tram!

We walk to Japan as fast as we can. Our reservation is at 8:00 at Tokyo Dining and this is our first time to eat here. It is a beautiful setting and very elegant, located on the second floor in the Japan Pavilion.

Checking in…

Lots of stairs! 🙂

The entrance…

We were seated in a part of the dining area where you can watch the chefs make sushi. It was so nice! We had miso soup, hot green tea and vegetarian sushi made with a special gluten-free soy sauce they have available. It was fun time for both Tooti and me! As we were finishing, we heard the patrons say, “AH!” as Illuminations was starting. We looked and the fireworks were so vivid and bright, they seemed to be so close to the widows, they are beautiful! We soon were on the porch and could see them so bright and beautiful. What a wonderful surprise!

Place setting…

Yum!

Making sushi!

Green tea 🙂

GF Soy Sauce!

The restaurant

Miso soup

Vegetarian Sushi

Yum!

Fireworks…

right outside the windows!

Bright and beautiful!

I looked out and the whole area is full of people. It is 9:15 and it is time to go home. We had a wonderful relaxed evening and enjoyed our strolling through the sea of people as we walked back our car on aisle 20. As we got closer to the car, we could see the Not So Scary fireworks going off towards Magic Kingdom and even saw the beautiful finale! So nice!

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Fireworks in the distance!

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