BrerGnat
03-07-2007, 05:59 PM
Friday, February 16: Our last full day.
We woke up to a beautiful, sunny morning, but boy was it cold! Highs today were expected to only be in the upper 50's. We had a LOT to do today, since it was our last full day. Today is actually Cynthia's birthday, and she decided (yesterday) that she wanted to have a sit down breakfast this morning. We originally had an 11:30am lunch ADR for LTT in the MK, but she did not want to go there. On Thursday afternoon, we spent some time on the phone with Disney Dining trying to see where we could get an ADR for breakfast. Naturally, Cynthia wanted a Character meal (I say "naturally" because I honestly thought she would NEVER want to go to one of those, so when I originally made ADR's, and NO ONE mentioned wanting a sit down breakfast, nevermind a character meal, I did not have one planned or even researched). Anyway, we were unable to secure ANY of the character breakfasts, so we just made an ADR for Kona Cafe.
Fast forward to this morning, and I was not feeling well, so I told them to go to breakfast without me and I would take my time getting ready to go and meet them at the first park of the day. Well, they didn't want to leave me like that, so they headed down to WCC to see what they could get as a walk in. I called to cancel the Kona ADR as soon as they left. Turns out, they waited about 30 minutes but were able to be seated by 9am. I met them down there around 9:15, just as they were being served their food. I had picked up a package of grapes from the Roaring Fork and I ate them there. Something about dinner last night at CA Grill did not agree with me too well, and I really just wanted some fruit. Both Cynthia and Andrea really enjoyed their breakfasts and were happy they decided to eat at WCC. I admit, their food looked good, but I just had NO desire to eat this morning.
We were out of there by about 9:45 and we were off to Animal Kingdom. Turns out, Andrea could NOT live without the Yeti Poofball :D, so our mission was to go to the Expedition Everest store (oh yeah, and ride E:E) first. We made our way back there and the standby line was only 15 min so we hopped on and were whisked away up the mountain in no time. I seriously LOVE this ride, and I was a bit sad that this would be my last ride of the trip. :( We browsed in the store and all ended up getting a little something to remember Everest by. I got the snowboard t-shirt and a vial of "fake snow" (it's SUPER cool, by the way). Andrea got her beloved Yeti Poofball and Cynthia grabbed a t-shirt as well. We left AK because we really did not want to waste anymore time there. Right before we left, Andrea discovered that they forgot to remove the security tag from Yeti, so she headed back in to find a store that could take it off for her. Meanwhile, Cynthia received a few phone calls wishing her a Happy Birthday.
Our plan was to go to Downtown Disney to do some shopping next. We made a quick detour to AKL to catch the DtD bus from there. We went into the hotel to look around since none of us had ever been there. We thought it was "okay", not as spectacular as the WL, and I don't really think African art is something any of us particularly like. I hate to say this, but we went out to the savannah and my impression was "that's it?". I had envisioned something so much more expansive and with so many more animals. We saw maybe 3 animals total, and they were WAY off in the distance. The savannah itself was pretty barren...I don't know, I guess I expected more vegetation or something, but it looked like someone's unkempt backyard. Oh well, to each his own, though...I know there are more than a few people who love the AKL; it is just not a place I ever really want to stay at.
We got to DtD around 11am, and we spent a couple hours shopping here. I left the girls in the Art of Disney store while I picked up some lunch at Wolfgang Puck's Express (VERY good food, by the way). After meeting back up with the girls, we went to the World of Disney together and promptly lost each other for the next hour. We left the store in one piece, glad to get out of there. It was a madhouse! Then, Cynthia and Andrea decided they were hungry, so we went back to Wolfgang Puck's so they could get lunch. They thought their food was yummy as well! After lunch, we had planned to go to Disney Quest for awhile, but none of us really felt all that much like doing that, so we opted to return to our hotel, drop off our purchases, and head over to MK for awhile. Tonight was EMH at Epcot, so we had left the bulk of the Epcot stuff to do this evening.
Upon returning to our room, we found a balloon bouquet, a card, and a signed photo of Cinderella for Cynthia! This was a nice surprise. I had mentioned Cynthia's birthday to Debbie (of MJ) while making our ressies, and I know she noted it on our reservation, but I really sort of forgot that they might do something for it. Coincidentally, Cinderella is Cynthia's favorite character! (forgot to mention, we got to "meet" Cinderella in a backstage area of the MK at the end of the KTTK tour yesterday. She happened to be "on her way back to her royal residence" and we got to wish HER a Happy Birthday and sing to her---for those who don't know, Cinderella's Birthday is February 15---Cynthia thought that was way cool).
So, Cynthia enjoyed her little present, and we hung out in our room, COMPLETELY pooped out. I think we were just tired from the week in general, our feet were starting to complain. ;)
It took a bit of prodding to get us back out the door, but we didn't really want to waste time. Before we left, we all changed into "warmer" clothes (i.e. long sleeve shirts under our thin sweaters). We bussed over to the MK, because it was starting to get biting cold out (and very windy) and we did NOT want to be on the boat. We noticed throughout the day that many plants on property were tented, and we heard from a bus driver that there was a freeze warning for Orlando that night. :eek:
When we got to MK, our plan was to see Hall of Presidents (most of us remembered Ronald Reagan being the most recent current president when we last saw this show). :blush: We enjoyed it mostly because it was warm in there. I could do without the movie, and a longer time with the AA Presidents. We shopped in the Christmas store a bit and then decided to just leave and head for Epcot, since MK was very crowded and there were long lines for BTMRR and all the Fantasyland rides. It was getting close to 5:30 at this point. We did stop in at Casey's to get some cheese fries as a snack. Yes, cheese is STILL free at Casey's, and they still have the self serve pumps there. The fries were excellent!
We woke up to a beautiful, sunny morning, but boy was it cold! Highs today were expected to only be in the upper 50's. We had a LOT to do today, since it was our last full day. Today is actually Cynthia's birthday, and she decided (yesterday) that she wanted to have a sit down breakfast this morning. We originally had an 11:30am lunch ADR for LTT in the MK, but she did not want to go there. On Thursday afternoon, we spent some time on the phone with Disney Dining trying to see where we could get an ADR for breakfast. Naturally, Cynthia wanted a Character meal (I say "naturally" because I honestly thought she would NEVER want to go to one of those, so when I originally made ADR's, and NO ONE mentioned wanting a sit down breakfast, nevermind a character meal, I did not have one planned or even researched). Anyway, we were unable to secure ANY of the character breakfasts, so we just made an ADR for Kona Cafe.
Fast forward to this morning, and I was not feeling well, so I told them to go to breakfast without me and I would take my time getting ready to go and meet them at the first park of the day. Well, they didn't want to leave me like that, so they headed down to WCC to see what they could get as a walk in. I called to cancel the Kona ADR as soon as they left. Turns out, they waited about 30 minutes but were able to be seated by 9am. I met them down there around 9:15, just as they were being served their food. I had picked up a package of grapes from the Roaring Fork and I ate them there. Something about dinner last night at CA Grill did not agree with me too well, and I really just wanted some fruit. Both Cynthia and Andrea really enjoyed their breakfasts and were happy they decided to eat at WCC. I admit, their food looked good, but I just had NO desire to eat this morning.
We were out of there by about 9:45 and we were off to Animal Kingdom. Turns out, Andrea could NOT live without the Yeti Poofball :D, so our mission was to go to the Expedition Everest store (oh yeah, and ride E:E) first. We made our way back there and the standby line was only 15 min so we hopped on and were whisked away up the mountain in no time. I seriously LOVE this ride, and I was a bit sad that this would be my last ride of the trip. :( We browsed in the store and all ended up getting a little something to remember Everest by. I got the snowboard t-shirt and a vial of "fake snow" (it's SUPER cool, by the way). Andrea got her beloved Yeti Poofball and Cynthia grabbed a t-shirt as well. We left AK because we really did not want to waste anymore time there. Right before we left, Andrea discovered that they forgot to remove the security tag from Yeti, so she headed back in to find a store that could take it off for her. Meanwhile, Cynthia received a few phone calls wishing her a Happy Birthday.
Our plan was to go to Downtown Disney to do some shopping next. We made a quick detour to AKL to catch the DtD bus from there. We went into the hotel to look around since none of us had ever been there. We thought it was "okay", not as spectacular as the WL, and I don't really think African art is something any of us particularly like. I hate to say this, but we went out to the savannah and my impression was "that's it?". I had envisioned something so much more expansive and with so many more animals. We saw maybe 3 animals total, and they were WAY off in the distance. The savannah itself was pretty barren...I don't know, I guess I expected more vegetation or something, but it looked like someone's unkempt backyard. Oh well, to each his own, though...I know there are more than a few people who love the AKL; it is just not a place I ever really want to stay at.
We got to DtD around 11am, and we spent a couple hours shopping here. I left the girls in the Art of Disney store while I picked up some lunch at Wolfgang Puck's Express (VERY good food, by the way). After meeting back up with the girls, we went to the World of Disney together and promptly lost each other for the next hour. We left the store in one piece, glad to get out of there. It was a madhouse! Then, Cynthia and Andrea decided they were hungry, so we went back to Wolfgang Puck's so they could get lunch. They thought their food was yummy as well! After lunch, we had planned to go to Disney Quest for awhile, but none of us really felt all that much like doing that, so we opted to return to our hotel, drop off our purchases, and head over to MK for awhile. Tonight was EMH at Epcot, so we had left the bulk of the Epcot stuff to do this evening.
Upon returning to our room, we found a balloon bouquet, a card, and a signed photo of Cinderella for Cynthia! This was a nice surprise. I had mentioned Cynthia's birthday to Debbie (of MJ) while making our ressies, and I know she noted it on our reservation, but I really sort of forgot that they might do something for it. Coincidentally, Cinderella is Cynthia's favorite character! (forgot to mention, we got to "meet" Cinderella in a backstage area of the MK at the end of the KTTK tour yesterday. She happened to be "on her way back to her royal residence" and we got to wish HER a Happy Birthday and sing to her---for those who don't know, Cinderella's Birthday is February 15---Cynthia thought that was way cool).
So, Cynthia enjoyed her little present, and we hung out in our room, COMPLETELY pooped out. I think we were just tired from the week in general, our feet were starting to complain. ;)
It took a bit of prodding to get us back out the door, but we didn't really want to waste time. Before we left, we all changed into "warmer" clothes (i.e. long sleeve shirts under our thin sweaters). We bussed over to the MK, because it was starting to get biting cold out (and very windy) and we did NOT want to be on the boat. We noticed throughout the day that many plants on property were tented, and we heard from a bus driver that there was a freeze warning for Orlando that night. :eek:
When we got to MK, our plan was to see Hall of Presidents (most of us remembered Ronald Reagan being the most recent current president when we last saw this show). :blush: We enjoyed it mostly because it was warm in there. I could do without the movie, and a longer time with the AA Presidents. We shopped in the Christmas store a bit and then decided to just leave and head for Epcot, since MK was very crowded and there were long lines for BTMRR and all the Fantasyland rides. It was getting close to 5:30 at this point. We did stop in at Casey's to get some cheese fries as a snack. Yes, cheese is STILL free at Casey's, and they still have the self serve pumps there. The fries were excellent!