faline
09-28-2008, 03:23 PM
Date: Sunday, September 7, 2008
Plan for the Day:
Coral Reef Restaurant for Diner
Mileage: 6.08 miles
What Actually Happened:
Again, Gene is up and in the shower before I wake up. It looks like Ike will stay south of us though evacuations are being recommended for the Keys. Turks and Caicos are under Ike at the moment.
Breakfast is, once again, from the Old Faithful Club. Cereal for Gene. Bagel and cream cheese for me,
After breakfast, we stop at the DVC Club desk downstairs. We decide to take the tour and are whisked off to Saratoga Springs. Along the way, I have my third sighting of deer along the road. Once at the DVC preview center, we meet with Paul and let him know this is a fact finding trip for us and we are not ready to purchase at this time. He answers all of our questions and shows us the models of both Animal Kingdom Lodge and Saratoga Springs. For taking the tour, we are provided with a $100 Disney gift card. We’re also given an informational book and a DVD. Following the tour, we are driven to Downtown Disney – West Side at our request.
No-one is making any admissions about the Contemporary though no-one is denying it either. According to a cast member we spoke with, construction on land by Fort Wilderness will be for non-Disney owned and operated hotels under a land lease arrangement. Also, we’re told they’re rebuilding the tree houses off-site and trucking the completed units in where they are then craned into place. The person we spoke with said he didn’t know if they would be outright rentals or part of DVC but suspected they would be DVC properties.
At the West Side, we head to Bongo’s (http://inlinethumb17.webshots.com/7824/2895841440104031159S600x600Q85.jpg) for lunch. I have a chicken sandwich along with Plantain Chips while Gene has a club sandwich, also with Plantain Chips.
We stop in Virgin Megastores; then wander through Pleasure Island (http://inlinethumb64.webshots.com/41983/2072281620104031159S600x600Q85.jpg)where I stop to take (http://inlinethumb22.webshots.com/41429/2084809050104031159S600x600Q85.jpg) some (http://inlinethumb61.webshots.com/6140/2069913480104031159S600x600Q85.jpg) pictures (http://inlinethumb41.webshots.com/44072/2472942760104031159S600x600Q85.jpg) as it will be going away soon. The driver who brought us over to Downtown Disney said she stopped going to Pleasure Island as soon as they tightened the restrictions on those under 21 and said that many other cast members stopped going then as well. She said she found it boring there.
Now Gene seems to be come down with the cold. He’s sneezing and a bit stuffy.
We head to the Marketplace bus stop and within 5 minutes, a bus pulls up. We’re the only 2 persons on board as leave the Marketplace. Although the driver also stops at Typhoon Lagoon and West Side before continuing on to Wilderness Lodge, we are the only two on board for the entire trip!
Back at the room, we relax for a bit while Gene gets to watch the rest of the Nascar race. When the race is over, we gather our stuff and head down the hallway. Wait a minute! My foot feels strange. Look at that huge blister on the bottom of my little toe! Back to the room for some blister ministrations. Okay. We’re off.
This time we wait about 15 minutes before an Epcot bus happens along. It’s very hot and sunny today with a high in the mid-90’s.
Our bus heads to Fort Wilderness to pick us some additional passengers. There are two buses ahead of us in the very small Outpost bus stop. The first bus in line is in the midst of a driver change. Now, there is a fourth bus in line. The driver who just got off duty returns to his bus to ask that driver to get a move on (or least that’s what appears to happen) as that bus leaves even though the driver seems to be adjusting seat, belt etc while he pulls away. The bus in front of us pulls forward. Our driver tucks our bus as close as possible to that one without actually touching it. Our bus loads. The bus in front of us is not leaving. Our driver has tucked in so close, she can no longer swing by that bus to leave and there is a bus behind us. Now, several buses are backed up behind our bus. There are even a couple of busses waiting to make the turn into the Outpost Bus stop. I think we sat for close to 15 minutes – between waiting to pull into the bus stop and then waiting for the bus in front of us to move. The bus in front of us finally leaves. When we finally make the turn out of the bus station, we were once again at a dead stop waiting for buses that were behind us but are now in front of us to make the turn into the bus stop. The situation was seriously close to gridlock! Once we are finally able to move forward, we pass by the NEXT bus to Epcot waiting for its turn to pull into the Outpost bus stop! Finally, we make it to Epcot where our bus drops us off at the stop that is absolutely the furthest from the Epcot entrance!
Okay – we’re here! We head to Figment which we had not yet ridden and then into Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Then, it’s on to Canada where we view O Canada. We browse through the Canadian shops and then move onto the United Kingdom. We’re running out of time so we quickly browse through the shops here and take a few minutes to listen to the British Invasion before we reverse direction and head to Coral Reef.
It’s been a while since we’ve dined here. It’s quite busy and we wait about 20 minutes before being seated in the top tier of tables. I wonder how many times we’ll need to dine here before we ever get seated by the window – we haven’t even been seated there when I’ve specifically requested it and said we’d be willing to wait. Oh well. The restaurant is extremely noisy. It’s like everyone in there is shouting at each other. 1900 Park Faire wasn’t this loud! If I could have, I would have run over to Test Track to grab some of those sound deadening panels for this restaurant!
We’re offered a glass of champagne – complements of Mickey – which we accept. We share a Land & Sea appetizer – a taste of beef and shrimp for each of us. I order the seafood linguine. Gene selects the Mahi Mahi. Both are very good. For dessert, we both have the mousse and Bailey’s decaf coffee. With the Disney Dining Experience and the Disney gift cards we received at the DVC tour, we have 35 cents left on the gift card so dinner is all covered except for the tip! Pretty good deal!
I seem to recall there were more fish dishes on the menu here – now it feels like they’re trying to offer a little bit of something for everyone. Overall, the food was good, the service was excellent, but the ambience left a lot to be desired. In addition to the noise level, I needed to remind myself to periodically turn to my left (and practically over my shoulder) to see the fish in the tank which, of course, is one of main reasons for coming to this restaurant. For these reasons, it does not rise to my favorites list!
By time we leave the restaurant, Illuminations has ended and folks are filing out of the park. We head to Mousegears where we pick up a couple of things.
When we arrive at our bus stop, a bus is loading. I’m surprised that we, not only make it on the bus, but we are also able to find seats once aboard. The ride back to Wilderness Lodge is a quick one.
Plan for the Day:
Coral Reef Restaurant for Diner
Mileage: 6.08 miles
What Actually Happened:
Again, Gene is up and in the shower before I wake up. It looks like Ike will stay south of us though evacuations are being recommended for the Keys. Turks and Caicos are under Ike at the moment.
Breakfast is, once again, from the Old Faithful Club. Cereal for Gene. Bagel and cream cheese for me,
After breakfast, we stop at the DVC Club desk downstairs. We decide to take the tour and are whisked off to Saratoga Springs. Along the way, I have my third sighting of deer along the road. Once at the DVC preview center, we meet with Paul and let him know this is a fact finding trip for us and we are not ready to purchase at this time. He answers all of our questions and shows us the models of both Animal Kingdom Lodge and Saratoga Springs. For taking the tour, we are provided with a $100 Disney gift card. We’re also given an informational book and a DVD. Following the tour, we are driven to Downtown Disney – West Side at our request.
No-one is making any admissions about the Contemporary though no-one is denying it either. According to a cast member we spoke with, construction on land by Fort Wilderness will be for non-Disney owned and operated hotels under a land lease arrangement. Also, we’re told they’re rebuilding the tree houses off-site and trucking the completed units in where they are then craned into place. The person we spoke with said he didn’t know if they would be outright rentals or part of DVC but suspected they would be DVC properties.
At the West Side, we head to Bongo’s (http://inlinethumb17.webshots.com/7824/2895841440104031159S600x600Q85.jpg) for lunch. I have a chicken sandwich along with Plantain Chips while Gene has a club sandwich, also with Plantain Chips.
We stop in Virgin Megastores; then wander through Pleasure Island (http://inlinethumb64.webshots.com/41983/2072281620104031159S600x600Q85.jpg)where I stop to take (http://inlinethumb22.webshots.com/41429/2084809050104031159S600x600Q85.jpg) some (http://inlinethumb61.webshots.com/6140/2069913480104031159S600x600Q85.jpg) pictures (http://inlinethumb41.webshots.com/44072/2472942760104031159S600x600Q85.jpg) as it will be going away soon. The driver who brought us over to Downtown Disney said she stopped going to Pleasure Island as soon as they tightened the restrictions on those under 21 and said that many other cast members stopped going then as well. She said she found it boring there.
Now Gene seems to be come down with the cold. He’s sneezing and a bit stuffy.
We head to the Marketplace bus stop and within 5 minutes, a bus pulls up. We’re the only 2 persons on board as leave the Marketplace. Although the driver also stops at Typhoon Lagoon and West Side before continuing on to Wilderness Lodge, we are the only two on board for the entire trip!
Back at the room, we relax for a bit while Gene gets to watch the rest of the Nascar race. When the race is over, we gather our stuff and head down the hallway. Wait a minute! My foot feels strange. Look at that huge blister on the bottom of my little toe! Back to the room for some blister ministrations. Okay. We’re off.
This time we wait about 15 minutes before an Epcot bus happens along. It’s very hot and sunny today with a high in the mid-90’s.
Our bus heads to Fort Wilderness to pick us some additional passengers. There are two buses ahead of us in the very small Outpost bus stop. The first bus in line is in the midst of a driver change. Now, there is a fourth bus in line. The driver who just got off duty returns to his bus to ask that driver to get a move on (or least that’s what appears to happen) as that bus leaves even though the driver seems to be adjusting seat, belt etc while he pulls away. The bus in front of us pulls forward. Our driver tucks our bus as close as possible to that one without actually touching it. Our bus loads. The bus in front of us is not leaving. Our driver has tucked in so close, she can no longer swing by that bus to leave and there is a bus behind us. Now, several buses are backed up behind our bus. There are even a couple of busses waiting to make the turn into the Outpost Bus stop. I think we sat for close to 15 minutes – between waiting to pull into the bus stop and then waiting for the bus in front of us to move. The bus in front of us finally leaves. When we finally make the turn out of the bus station, we were once again at a dead stop waiting for buses that were behind us but are now in front of us to make the turn into the bus stop. The situation was seriously close to gridlock! Once we are finally able to move forward, we pass by the NEXT bus to Epcot waiting for its turn to pull into the Outpost bus stop! Finally, we make it to Epcot where our bus drops us off at the stop that is absolutely the furthest from the Epcot entrance!
Okay – we’re here! We head to Figment which we had not yet ridden and then into Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Then, it’s on to Canada where we view O Canada. We browse through the Canadian shops and then move onto the United Kingdom. We’re running out of time so we quickly browse through the shops here and take a few minutes to listen to the British Invasion before we reverse direction and head to Coral Reef.
It’s been a while since we’ve dined here. It’s quite busy and we wait about 20 minutes before being seated in the top tier of tables. I wonder how many times we’ll need to dine here before we ever get seated by the window – we haven’t even been seated there when I’ve specifically requested it and said we’d be willing to wait. Oh well. The restaurant is extremely noisy. It’s like everyone in there is shouting at each other. 1900 Park Faire wasn’t this loud! If I could have, I would have run over to Test Track to grab some of those sound deadening panels for this restaurant!
We’re offered a glass of champagne – complements of Mickey – which we accept. We share a Land & Sea appetizer – a taste of beef and shrimp for each of us. I order the seafood linguine. Gene selects the Mahi Mahi. Both are very good. For dessert, we both have the mousse and Bailey’s decaf coffee. With the Disney Dining Experience and the Disney gift cards we received at the DVC tour, we have 35 cents left on the gift card so dinner is all covered except for the tip! Pretty good deal!
I seem to recall there were more fish dishes on the menu here – now it feels like they’re trying to offer a little bit of something for everyone. Overall, the food was good, the service was excellent, but the ambience left a lot to be desired. In addition to the noise level, I needed to remind myself to periodically turn to my left (and practically over my shoulder) to see the fish in the tank which, of course, is one of main reasons for coming to this restaurant. For these reasons, it does not rise to my favorites list!
By time we leave the restaurant, Illuminations has ended and folks are filing out of the park. We head to Mousegears where we pick up a couple of things.
When we arrive at our bus stop, a bus is loading. I’m surprised that we, not only make it on the bus, but we are also able to find seats once aboard. The ride back to Wilderness Lodge is a quick one.