Animal Kingdom!

Hello! I hope everyone is enjoying reading my blog, thank you to all those who do read! Today we started off the day with a character breakfast at the immaculate Grand Floridian Resort at 1900 Park Fare. It was a buffet with your typical American fare and of course, there special strawberry soup (which just tasted like yogurt to me). We got to see Pooh, Tigger, Alice from Alice in Wonderland, The Mad Hatter and Mary Poppins. The Mad Hatter was a riot, as he was coming up to our table he bummed into Alice and he turned to us and said oh she is not a nice girl. To which my mom said she was nice to us when she came over. And he said Nice?!? You think it's nice to follow a white rabbit, break into his house and attend a tea party uninvited? I think you need to watch that movie again. It was hilarious. Later he was running away from the exit and he's like I gotta go security is over there and they'll think I'm mad! Too funny! Later we did the penny press and some kid and his dad were right next to it and the dad's like he's gonna do it you wanna watch him. So he did and since it was a push button one I had him push all the buttons for me, his dad said he thought it was a game and wanted to play, but he was amazed and thrilled that he got to push the buttons so that was cool. We walked around the Grand Floridian, seriously that hotel is beautiful but expensive. After breakfast we headed over to the last park that we had yet to go to Animal Kingdom.We got there around noon and the park closed at 5 so we had to rush a little to finish everything in time. First we went to Kilmanjaro Safari and got a Fast Pass. Next we wanted to see who Wilderness explorer friends were and found out that they were Dug and Russell from Up! So we got pictures and autographs with them. Next we went back to ride the safari,unfortunately everyone had the same idea so the fast pass line was long so we decided to just wait in the normal line, which took way longer than the 30 minute wait time that the sign suggested. And when we asked someone if we could get into the fast pass line (after we showed them our fastpasses) this one guy still, very rudely said no and we couldn't even use them after because they would be expired, so we ended up waiting almost an hour and we finally got on. After the safari we checked out Rafiki's Planet Watch, mostly to meet Rafiki. We walked through, met him and pretty much went back. When we got back we went to Camp Minnie-Mickey in which they have a lot of characters. The only ones we waited for were Baloo and King Louie from The Jungle Book cause we had never seen them before. Next we walked to Dinoland cause the times sheet said there were canine pals there, those canine pals ended up being Goofy and Pluto, so we waited for them because we still hadn't seen Pluto on this trip. Next we went back to the tree of life and saw the It's Tough to be A Bug show. It was cute they spray you and make you feel like bugs are crawling on you, it's a neat little show that I think everyone should see at least once. Finally we went to Flame Tree BBQ for a late lunch/early dinner. When we sat down and started eating all these birds were on the ground by our feet, these two ducks especially, no matter what we did they stayed there right next to us. We even saw one bird fly through and steal some guys onion ring. After that we left Animal Kingdom and drove to the All-Star Resorts (the ones I may be working at) and drove around there, took some pictures and got coins. After that we stopped at our resort's restaruant Port Royale and got a late dinner and headed back to the room, on the way out we talked to this lady who works for the Disney Vacation Club and she was telling me that a lot of people who do the college program ended up being managers because they are trained differently so if you are applying for a mangager position here and you were in the college program, you have a much better shot then someone who wasn't. She also said if I need anything I can talk to her because like she said it's all about who you know, which was really nice of her, makes me feel a little more welcome! :)

Epcot: The Future world!

This morning we left kinda late. We didn't leave until 9:15, we stopped at our resort restaurant at Port Royale for breakfast and just got something to go. Since we left so late we didn't get to the park until around 10. We went to Epcot for the day. We love Soarin so we immediately headed over there to see how long the wait was and since it was 50 minutes we just got a FastPass and left. We decided to checkout Michael Jackson in Captain EO, which is a 20 minute 3D Movie. After that it was time to head back to Soarin. Next we headed over to Innovations West to the Visa Card Members Exclusive Character Spot, in which we got to see Goofy and Minnie and get a free picture printed as well! After that we headed over to the World Showcase and we decided to play the Agent P Game in which you help Perry the Platypus beat Dr. Dofenschmiertz. Our assignment was in Mexico. It's pretty cool they give you a phone like it looks like a real cellphone and you get updates just like Perry, but it is definitely aimed for the younger crowd. After that we rode the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros also in the Mexico Pavilion, since we could smell tacos that entire time, that was what we wanted for lunch. So, we got lunch at La Cantina de San Angel and we got Tacos con carne and churroitos, really hit the spot! Then we walked all the countries from Mexico, Norway, China, the African Outpost, Germany, Italy, The American Adventure, Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom and Canada. Next, we went over to the Living Seas with Nemo and rode that ride! Then we want to get the souvenir pennies from Mission Space, so we walked all the way over there and it was out of order. Seriously! that was across the entire park! Then we headed towards the front of the park and got our free picture printed and finally we went on Spaceship Earth (the ride that goes through the big golf ball)At that point it was a little after 6 and we had dinner reservations for the Flying Fish Cafe at the Boardwalk Resort at 7:50 so we headed over there. We walked pretty much the whole boardwalk and then got in to the restaurant and they gave us a buzzer thing to tell us when our table was ready. Finally at 8:15 they were ready. Now, this is a restaurant that is supposed to be high end as they ask you to dress decent and what not. So, we placed our order and they brought out potato and leek bread (awful) and bringing the bread out in the first place took forever. A while later they brought out our food and my mom and I both got the strip steak with the flounder. It wasn't that great. The steak was a little to much on the crunchy side, both dips sucked, the fish was kinda blah. Our waiter only checked on us once and continued to consistently check on other tables near us more than that. Finally after someone else brought our food and took the plates, he comes back over with dessert menus. My mom ordered creme brulee which she said wasn't that great and I ordered some sorbet the flavors were raspberry, coconut mint and pineapple. The only one that wasn't to sweet was the coconut mint, so that was the only one I ate the whole scoop of, and I don't even like coconut! The fruit they had in it was bad I mean the leaves on the strawberries were partial brown, you mean to tell me you serve browning strawberries to your guests? Needless to say the Flying Fish Cafe was not worth the wait, time or money. After that we came back to our hotel and that's how today went!

Magic in the Magic Kingdom

Today we went to the Magic Kingdom for the first time since they've added the New Fantasyland. We had a little bit of a rough start. We had a breakfast reservation for Cinderella's Royal Table at 9 but the park doesn't open until 9 so we called concierge and asked what we do, she said you just go to the gate and they will tell you what to do just be sure you have the conformation with you. Well we didn't have that so we already had a slight problem then we got to the park; we showed them our Diamond Parking Pass from Triple AAA and the guy just waved us down so we kept going and the next guy we showed it to said you're in the wrong place but this is closer. So we parked in the Aladdin parking lot and then we found out we had to take the monorail to get to the park, some closer parking. So we finally got in to the park at about 5 after 9 and by the time we reached the castle it was quarter after, luckily they held our reservation so we checked in and got to get our picture with Cinderella. She told me that I kinda look like Prince Charming! Then we got upstairs and ate breakfast our waiter from Jamestown gave us a sword for me and a wand for my mom. We got to get pictures and autographs with Snow White, Aurora, Jasmine and Ariel. After breakfast we decided to head over to New Fantasyland and on our way we saw 3 characters we've never seen before Lady Tremaine, Drizella and Anastasia (Cinderella's step mother and step sisters). Anastasia took a real liking to me. When I offered her my arm for the picture she. Took it and then said we were gonna get married and then she told me I smelled nice like cotton, coleander and fresh air and that I was warm (probably from the sun). Meanwhile, Lady Tremaine invited my mom to bridge on Captain Hook's Yacht, she said she was required to tell everyone that she cheats and that my mom should bring lemon squares! After that we checked out Gaston's Tavern and some of the new gift shops and then we saw Gaston himself, first time I've seen him as well. Next we got a FastPass to ride the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, but since the ride wait wasn't long we decided to get on the ride as well. After we rode that we went to Storybook Circus which has taken over where Toontown used to be. We saw Lady Fortuna Daisy, Minnie and then we got back in line to see Donald and The Great Goofini. After that we were heading back toward the castle and we saw Pooh, Tigger and Rabbit were out so we waited to see them and then by the Mad Hatters Tea Cups we saw The White Rabbit. Then we decided to try for Be Our Guest Restaurant since we were unable to get a reservation for dinner and since lunch is Quick-Service meaning you can go right in, we did. Unfortunately we did have to wait about 45 minutes but it was worth it! The detail in that restaurant is exquisite! For lunch you even use a computer system to order and they bring it out to you on carts! The ballroom looks just like the one Belle and Beast dance in, including the falling snow out the ballroom windows! The West Wing looks just as if it is the Beast's chamber, including the Enchanted Rose! The final room has pictures of various characters from Beauty and the Beast and in the center is a giant music box that has Belle and Beast dancing. Later we rode The Haunted Mansion and we walked out and saw a parade was just starting so we got right in a visible spot and got to catch the Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade, which was the one we missed last time! Since I was at the front I could see pretty well which is good cause some of the characters will come right in front and wave or high-five or whatever. You will never guess what happened next, Anastasia (the stepsister from earlier) with her mother and sister were in the parade and you could tell it was the same people from earlier. She stopped right in front of me and just kinda looked at me and I smiled and said you remember me? And she put her hand on my arm and said how could I forget such an adorable prince and then she's like I'm getting married! But the fact she remembered me and then stopped during a parade to talk to me was pretty awesome haha! After the parade we rode a few more rides, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Jungle Cruise and the Flying Carpets of Aladdin. While riding the carpets I noticed that instead of just Aladdin and Jasmine being out they had the Genie with them, another one I've never seen before so we got in line and were the last ones to see them! At that point it started to rain and we were both tired and thirsty so we decided to get Ice Cream we ate it outside of the Tommorrowland Terrace and we caught the end of the Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It Parade. Then we decided to check out this new card game called the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom, so we got some of the cards and started playing! Basically each card has a spell and you get sent to various portals throughout the park and you have to defend the kingdom from the villains it's pretty cool! So we were running around Adventureland playing that and then our next portal was on Main Street and since that was packed with people wanting to watch fireworks we decided to just stay in Liberty Square and watch Wishes Firework Spectacular from there. So after the fireworks we headed back up Main Street which was packed with everyone flooding to get out and this beautiful blonde haired girl stops me and says are you Scott? And I said yea... Ashley? Cause I recognized her from Facebook cause she is also doing the program and she said yes. We talked about the program and stuff and she was with her roommates and we all were just talking and we exchanged numbers to keep in touch and she gave me a hug. After that we headed back and went to bed!

Resort Hopping

This morning we were pretty pooped from the night before so we didn't leave until 11. We stopped at Port Royale (our resort's restaurant) and got a late breakfast to go. I got a Cinnamon Bun and my mom got a Cheese Danish and a chocolate milk. So as she's drinking it in the car she says this means I'm gonna have to pee soon and then she took a big swig and I said why don't you just save the bottle and pee in it later. She started laughing and tried so hard not to spit out her milk it was so funny, I'm still laughing to this moment as I type it. We stopped at the front desk to change a few reservations. Then we had decided to check out a few of the other resorts. So we headed over to Pop Century first and I took pictures and we shopped in the gift store and got our presses pennies. This resort is pretty cool is has a building for every decade and lining the walkway in the back are signs with each year and a couple facts about that year, so my mom and I each took our picture by our birth year. Next we decided to check out the newest resort The Art of Animation resort. It is beautiful! The details there are amazing! There are four large buildings one represents 1 of 4 movies including Cars, Finding Nemo, The Lion King and The Little Mermaid. We ended up getting lunch there and one of the girls who waited on us is in the College Program and she goes to Buffalo State and she was telling me which building she recommended and stuff like that, so that was cool! Also, I took a ton of pictures there cause there was huge statues of many famous characters from the above listed movies! After that we stopped back at our room to see if our package had come and it had! So we organized our pins and Vinylmations and such and by the time we were done it was about 6. So we just decided to head down to Downtown Disney for dinner. We were gonna eat at Earl of Sandwich but the line was really long, so we went to Wolfgang Puck's Express and ate there. After that we roamed in and out of a few shops and got back by 9:15, which is good cause we have breakfast with Cinderella tomorrow! Talk to you guys then!