johnO
01-16-2012, 04:57 PM
DAY ONE
We left Summerville, SC at around 8am. We stopped at the Georgia Welcome Center for a bathroom break, and then continued on. We drove through Jacksonville, and then stopped at our usual stop, “Daily’s” in Palm Coast, FL for gas and a bathroom break. Then we hit the toll road for WDW. We came in on the Western Way and arrived at All Star Sports at around 2pm. We got our room, #9320 in the “Homerun Hotel”. The room seemed to have been recently refurbished. The furniture, carpets, walls, bathroom, everything appeared new and very contemporary.
We headed out to Downtown Disney. We ate at Earl of Sandwich. Walked around a bit, shopped, didn’t buy much. We went to our room.
Day Two
We woke up at around 7am, got into our van and drove to Port Orleans Riverside. We parked the vehicle and walked inside to check in. Riverside is absolutely gorgeous. I got us checked in and was well pleased with the service by “Ellen” at the check in desk. Our room wasn’t ready at this early hour so we headed out to the bus to make our reservation at the Crystal Palace. We arrived at the Magic Kingdom and were pleased to see that some of the Christmas decorations were still up, to include the tree at Town Square. We checked in at Crystal Palace and were seated on the right side of the restaurant where we’ve always been seated. We’ve never been seated on the left side of the restaurant (as you face the buffet). The breakfast was fantastic. We proceeded to Swiss Family Treehouse, POTC, Splash Mountain, BTMRR was down for refurb. We rode HM and were able to see the new queue area / cemetery. We rode IASW then walked toward Main Street. We got a snack at the Main Street Bakery, then headed towards SM. We got fast passes and got into the standby line. The wait time was listed at 40 min. DW and I sat it out, deciding to wait for the fast pass hour. The kids waited in standby for about an hour and a half! DW and I sat inside the store at the exit to SM. When I asked about the wait, a castmember told me that even the FP line was taking over an hour. Once the kids came out, we headed towards CoP, TTA twice, then the Tea Cups. We observed the Expansion work in Fantasyland, ate at Pinocchio’s Village Haus. We rode HM again then over to the Jungle Cruise. We decided to beat the crowd out and left before Wishes. We rode the bus back and got into our room at Riverside. We unloaded the van and got into our room, #9038 in the Oak Manor Mansion. The room décor was very southern. I noticed the beds were full beds rather than queens. This room had not yet been refurbed and the wear and tear was obvious.
Day Three
We woke up late ate some breakfast food in the room then headed to Epcot. We rode SSE, and made our way to WS. The Christmas Tree was also still up at the entrance to WS. We rode Maelstrom. We walked through some of the pavilions and made our way to Germany where we had lunch ressies for Beirgarten. We checked in early and were given seating. This was our first time at Beirgarten. Our server was “Anja”. The food here was a fantastic surprise! DW and DD are vegetarians and enjoyed the food. The Cauliflower Soup was amazing. The dinner show was entertaining. I had an Altenmunster Oktoberfest beer which was fantastic. It was not as good as the Altenmunster Dunkel beer that they have during the Food & Wine Festival. I really need to find a place that I can buy these beers. We walked over to the Weinkeller where DW tried a wine flight. She’s a fan of the sweet German Wine’s. Went to France, watched Impressions de France for the first time. Went out and had a Napoleon from the Boulangerie Patisserie. It was fantastic! We went to Nemo, Club Cool, and test trac. Then we hit MouseGear and bought some souvenirs. We were tired and decided not to stick around for Illuminations. We made our way back to Riverside.
Day Four
We woke up at around 830am. We got ready, ate some breakfast foods in the room, then headed out to DHS. Once inside, we rode TT and RR. We rode Star Tours, our first time since the remodel. We walked around a bit, and then went to One man’s Dream. We ate at Rosie’s. We rode RR and TT again. Then we went over to the GMR. We stopped at the Writer’s Stop and had coffee. Then we headed out and took the bus to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner at Boma. This marked the 3rd time dining at Boma, the last of which was a couple years ago. The first time we ate there we loved it. Two years ago, not so much. But we decided to give it another try. Boy were we glad. The food was great! Our server was “Gilbert” from San Juan Puerto Rico. One item that stood out was the Peanut Rice. Yes, Peanut rice!!!!! I reminded me of basmati rice, with peanut sauce from Ohana mixed into it. You have to try this! Dinner was great! We took the bus to DTD, then rode the ferry boat to Riverside.
Day Five
We woke up late and headed to Animal Kingdom We rode EE twice, then headed to our lunch ressies at the Tusker House. Lunch was great our server, who will remain unnamed, was not the best. I did see “Neil” from NY who was our server the last time we ate at TH. He’s an outstanding server so I went over shook his hand and let him know. We went on the Kilimanjaro Safari, then walked around for a while. Ultimately we went back to EE! While inside the store I observed a shirt in the gift shop that I’ve wanted for years. The shirt is orange, says “Serka Zong” and had the Yeti eyes embroidered beneath the words. I’ve wanted this shirt since February 2006 when we first rode EE. I noticed the shirt within the Queue of EE as part of the display. It is orange and hangs from the ceiling inside the climbing equipment building of the queue. Anyway, the shirt was never for sale in the gift shop. Every time we’ve gone to AK, I check to see if they’re selling that particular shirt and have asked cast members a few times why they don’t. Well, they finally had it so I bought it! We rode Dinosaur then walked over to the Lion King show and watched it. It was about closing time for the park so we walked through the shops and headed out. We rode the bus to the Polynesian for ressies at O’Hana. The Poly is probably my favorite resort. We walked the grounds and went out to the dock and sat for a while, we walked the beach where they were roasting marshmallows and had a movie playing on the inflatable big screen. What a resort! It so expensive, but maybe one day I’ll be able to swing a stay there. We walked back inside and checked out the stores. We checked in for dinner and were seated right at the window with Cinderella’s Castle in perfect view. Dinner was phenomenal!! Cousin Cliff was our server. The coriander chicken wings! The Peanut Sauce! The Broccoli! The Noodles! The Steak! The Chicken! The best of all however was dessert. The Bread pudding w/ bananas foster sauce and vanilla ice cream is utterly amazing. DS and I too stuffed from dinner, couldn’t finish two servings of this as we have in the past. By two servings I mean we finished of the first plate, and had our server bring another one! Right about the time we were finishing, Wishes began. What a place to catch wishes! The singer was funny as always as well. We headed back to the room at Riverside.
Day Six
We woke up. I headed down to the Riverside Mill for coffee, as I did every morning during the trip. We went to MK. We went straight to SM and got Fast Passes. We rode the TTA, the tea Cups, HM, then SM. We ate Lunch at Tony’s which was ok. The hostess who sat us was less than friendly. Perhaps having a bad day. But there was no reason to toss the menus onto the table Helen….We rode POTC, Mickey’s Philharmagic, Snow White. A Dole Whip was had at some point. We watched “The Magic Memories and You” which was great and then Wishes. Wishes was great once again. We headed back to Riverside. I ate Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes, veggies and corn bread in the food court. It was a great meal! We went back to the room.
Day Seven
We woke up late again and headed out to Epcot. We got FPs for Soarin’. We went to France and had another Napoleon. I drank a French Beer, a Kronenbourg 1664. A great beer. We walked toward the other countries nice and slow like. Once in Germany, I got a Bratwurst from Summerfest. I drank a couple of Altenmunster Oktoberfest beers. We went into the Weinkeller so DW could get a glass of wine. We tried a School Bread in Norway, not great, and then headed to Mexico. We shopped a bit then rode the Three Caballeros. We rode Mission Space Orange then headed to Soarin’. Afterwards, we rode SSE. We went into Innoventions and did the “Sum of All Thrills” which was good, but the wait was long. We went to Universe of Energy but the ride was down due to technical difficulties. We decided that we were pretty wore out and decided not to stick around for Illuminations. We rode the Monorail to MK, then the bus to POFQ. We went to the food court at FQ. I must say I was not impressed. The food court at FQ was filthy and dingy looking. Although I understand the décor is meant to be reminiscent of Mardi Gras, it is quite tacky and gaudy. Not sure why some people rave about this place. We tried some Beingets and they were ok. We took the bus back to Riverside. We picked up a package from Fulton’s Store and then caught some of Yee Haw Bob’s show. He had a packed house. We headed back to the room.
Day Eight
Well it was our last day. We woke up, packed up and loaded up our van. We debated for a while about what we were going to do. We decided that we needed to head back home and didn’t have time to hit a park. We drove over to the McDonald’s near the All Star Resorts and ate lunch. The we said goodbye to WDW as we hit I-4 East. We stopped in Kingland, GA for gas. Then again in SC for a bathroom break. In all it took just about 6 hours to get home.
We left Summerville, SC at around 8am. We stopped at the Georgia Welcome Center for a bathroom break, and then continued on. We drove through Jacksonville, and then stopped at our usual stop, “Daily’s” in Palm Coast, FL for gas and a bathroom break. Then we hit the toll road for WDW. We came in on the Western Way and arrived at All Star Sports at around 2pm. We got our room, #9320 in the “Homerun Hotel”. The room seemed to have been recently refurbished. The furniture, carpets, walls, bathroom, everything appeared new and very contemporary.
We headed out to Downtown Disney. We ate at Earl of Sandwich. Walked around a bit, shopped, didn’t buy much. We went to our room.
Day Two
We woke up at around 7am, got into our van and drove to Port Orleans Riverside. We parked the vehicle and walked inside to check in. Riverside is absolutely gorgeous. I got us checked in and was well pleased with the service by “Ellen” at the check in desk. Our room wasn’t ready at this early hour so we headed out to the bus to make our reservation at the Crystal Palace. We arrived at the Magic Kingdom and were pleased to see that some of the Christmas decorations were still up, to include the tree at Town Square. We checked in at Crystal Palace and were seated on the right side of the restaurant where we’ve always been seated. We’ve never been seated on the left side of the restaurant (as you face the buffet). The breakfast was fantastic. We proceeded to Swiss Family Treehouse, POTC, Splash Mountain, BTMRR was down for refurb. We rode HM and were able to see the new queue area / cemetery. We rode IASW then walked toward Main Street. We got a snack at the Main Street Bakery, then headed towards SM. We got fast passes and got into the standby line. The wait time was listed at 40 min. DW and I sat it out, deciding to wait for the fast pass hour. The kids waited in standby for about an hour and a half! DW and I sat inside the store at the exit to SM. When I asked about the wait, a castmember told me that even the FP line was taking over an hour. Once the kids came out, we headed towards CoP, TTA twice, then the Tea Cups. We observed the Expansion work in Fantasyland, ate at Pinocchio’s Village Haus. We rode HM again then over to the Jungle Cruise. We decided to beat the crowd out and left before Wishes. We rode the bus back and got into our room at Riverside. We unloaded the van and got into our room, #9038 in the Oak Manor Mansion. The room décor was very southern. I noticed the beds were full beds rather than queens. This room had not yet been refurbed and the wear and tear was obvious.
Day Three
We woke up late ate some breakfast food in the room then headed to Epcot. We rode SSE, and made our way to WS. The Christmas Tree was also still up at the entrance to WS. We rode Maelstrom. We walked through some of the pavilions and made our way to Germany where we had lunch ressies for Beirgarten. We checked in early and were given seating. This was our first time at Beirgarten. Our server was “Anja”. The food here was a fantastic surprise! DW and DD are vegetarians and enjoyed the food. The Cauliflower Soup was amazing. The dinner show was entertaining. I had an Altenmunster Oktoberfest beer which was fantastic. It was not as good as the Altenmunster Dunkel beer that they have during the Food & Wine Festival. I really need to find a place that I can buy these beers. We walked over to the Weinkeller where DW tried a wine flight. She’s a fan of the sweet German Wine’s. Went to France, watched Impressions de France for the first time. Went out and had a Napoleon from the Boulangerie Patisserie. It was fantastic! We went to Nemo, Club Cool, and test trac. Then we hit MouseGear and bought some souvenirs. We were tired and decided not to stick around for Illuminations. We made our way back to Riverside.
Day Four
We woke up at around 830am. We got ready, ate some breakfast foods in the room, then headed out to DHS. Once inside, we rode TT and RR. We rode Star Tours, our first time since the remodel. We walked around a bit, and then went to One man’s Dream. We ate at Rosie’s. We rode RR and TT again. Then we went over to the GMR. We stopped at the Writer’s Stop and had coffee. Then we headed out and took the bus to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner at Boma. This marked the 3rd time dining at Boma, the last of which was a couple years ago. The first time we ate there we loved it. Two years ago, not so much. But we decided to give it another try. Boy were we glad. The food was great! Our server was “Gilbert” from San Juan Puerto Rico. One item that stood out was the Peanut Rice. Yes, Peanut rice!!!!! I reminded me of basmati rice, with peanut sauce from Ohana mixed into it. You have to try this! Dinner was great! We took the bus to DTD, then rode the ferry boat to Riverside.
Day Five
We woke up late and headed to Animal Kingdom We rode EE twice, then headed to our lunch ressies at the Tusker House. Lunch was great our server, who will remain unnamed, was not the best. I did see “Neil” from NY who was our server the last time we ate at TH. He’s an outstanding server so I went over shook his hand and let him know. We went on the Kilimanjaro Safari, then walked around for a while. Ultimately we went back to EE! While inside the store I observed a shirt in the gift shop that I’ve wanted for years. The shirt is orange, says “Serka Zong” and had the Yeti eyes embroidered beneath the words. I’ve wanted this shirt since February 2006 when we first rode EE. I noticed the shirt within the Queue of EE as part of the display. It is orange and hangs from the ceiling inside the climbing equipment building of the queue. Anyway, the shirt was never for sale in the gift shop. Every time we’ve gone to AK, I check to see if they’re selling that particular shirt and have asked cast members a few times why they don’t. Well, they finally had it so I bought it! We rode Dinosaur then walked over to the Lion King show and watched it. It was about closing time for the park so we walked through the shops and headed out. We rode the bus to the Polynesian for ressies at O’Hana. The Poly is probably my favorite resort. We walked the grounds and went out to the dock and sat for a while, we walked the beach where they were roasting marshmallows and had a movie playing on the inflatable big screen. What a resort! It so expensive, but maybe one day I’ll be able to swing a stay there. We walked back inside and checked out the stores. We checked in for dinner and were seated right at the window with Cinderella’s Castle in perfect view. Dinner was phenomenal!! Cousin Cliff was our server. The coriander chicken wings! The Peanut Sauce! The Broccoli! The Noodles! The Steak! The Chicken! The best of all however was dessert. The Bread pudding w/ bananas foster sauce and vanilla ice cream is utterly amazing. DS and I too stuffed from dinner, couldn’t finish two servings of this as we have in the past. By two servings I mean we finished of the first plate, and had our server bring another one! Right about the time we were finishing, Wishes began. What a place to catch wishes! The singer was funny as always as well. We headed back to the room at Riverside.
Day Six
We woke up. I headed down to the Riverside Mill for coffee, as I did every morning during the trip. We went to MK. We went straight to SM and got Fast Passes. We rode the TTA, the tea Cups, HM, then SM. We ate Lunch at Tony’s which was ok. The hostess who sat us was less than friendly. Perhaps having a bad day. But there was no reason to toss the menus onto the table Helen….We rode POTC, Mickey’s Philharmagic, Snow White. A Dole Whip was had at some point. We watched “The Magic Memories and You” which was great and then Wishes. Wishes was great once again. We headed back to Riverside. I ate Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes, veggies and corn bread in the food court. It was a great meal! We went back to the room.
Day Seven
We woke up late again and headed out to Epcot. We got FPs for Soarin’. We went to France and had another Napoleon. I drank a French Beer, a Kronenbourg 1664. A great beer. We walked toward the other countries nice and slow like. Once in Germany, I got a Bratwurst from Summerfest. I drank a couple of Altenmunster Oktoberfest beers. We went into the Weinkeller so DW could get a glass of wine. We tried a School Bread in Norway, not great, and then headed to Mexico. We shopped a bit then rode the Three Caballeros. We rode Mission Space Orange then headed to Soarin’. Afterwards, we rode SSE. We went into Innoventions and did the “Sum of All Thrills” which was good, but the wait was long. We went to Universe of Energy but the ride was down due to technical difficulties. We decided that we were pretty wore out and decided not to stick around for Illuminations. We rode the Monorail to MK, then the bus to POFQ. We went to the food court at FQ. I must say I was not impressed. The food court at FQ was filthy and dingy looking. Although I understand the décor is meant to be reminiscent of Mardi Gras, it is quite tacky and gaudy. Not sure why some people rave about this place. We tried some Beingets and they were ok. We took the bus back to Riverside. We picked up a package from Fulton’s Store and then caught some of Yee Haw Bob’s show. He had a packed house. We headed back to the room.
Day Eight
Well it was our last day. We woke up, packed up and loaded up our van. We debated for a while about what we were going to do. We decided that we needed to head back home and didn’t have time to hit a park. We drove over to the McDonald’s near the All Star Resorts and ate lunch. The we said goodbye to WDW as we hit I-4 East. We stopped in Kingland, GA for gas. Then again in SC for a bathroom break. In all it took just about 6 hours to get home.