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21 Sep 17, 02:35 PM |
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VIP Dibber
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Parks, Pins, Puke, Pennies...Not Enough Planning - April / May 2017 Day 5: DAK and Raglan Road
Day 5 - Wednesday 26th April 2016
The alarm went off at 5.30 am and when Mat leant over to turn it off, he turned the wrong way and managed to punch me in the face, claiming he ‘didn't know which side of the bed he was on.’ I was definitely wide awake after that rude awakening . As per usual, we got showered and Mat went down to Starbucks to get the coffees, taking a couple of photos of the lovely views on the opposite side of the building from the corridor on his way down. Americanos were $3.45 at Cabana Bay, so 55 cents cheaper than at the Hard Rock, and only 45 cents more expensive than in the Universal parks. Yay for ‘value / budget’ hotels (or as Universal now categorise it, ‘Prime Value’). At Starbucks, he also bought Seren a carton of apple juice ($1.45) and managed to blag a cup of free milk for cereal, which they all ate at the cute little breakfast bar in the suite. He couldn't resist: We left at 7.50 am which was about the intended departure time. Today’s destination was Animal Kingdom so we headed down the I-4 and arrived at the gates about 15 minutes later. Here we are arriving at Disney World. This photo is very special because it features two popular Orlando sights: the Walt Disney World entrance arch and a Bob's Barricade . You're welcome: Getting closer: We begrudgingly handed over our $20 for parking (so expensive on top of expensive park tickets and expensive food, beverages etc). We parked up in Dinosaur 34 which is roughly where we always seem to park. I snapped a photo to remind us, but it looks like Disney could do with getting the white paint out as the number isn't exactly clear: We’re not tram people, we usually always prefer to walk no matter the distance, but the tram was right there and ready to go so we hopped on. It actually felt a bit chilly as we travelled because of the breeze from being in motion. View from the tram: The tapstiles weren't too busy and we were in the park at 8.30 am. Yay, we’d actually made a rope drop (and we were early). This is usually the plan but doesn't very often actually happen. So I was feeling pretty proud of us at this point. We walked down to the Tree of Life which is where guests are held for rope drop (or at least it was before Pandora opened, not sure if it’s changed now.) There were two ropes; one to the left of the tree for Africa and the other to the right side for Asia. Most people were opting for Africa but our plan was to hit Everest first thing before the park got busy. In front of these people is the rope to Asia. So we were nice and close to the front. Africa rope drop behind us: Another crowd picture to make you feel like you were there: Waiting for the rope drop was quite chill; at this point it wasn't too hot and it wasn't all that crowded either. About 8.50 am, some of the ‘Flights of Wonder’ birds were released over the crowd, but it was a very brief display and it was on the Africa side so we couldn't see very much. Here are the birds: After that, CMs dropped the ropes and we were off: When I say ‘we’ we're rope dropping Everest, I mean half of us were. And if you know us at all from previous reports, you’ll know that Freya and I weren't included in that half. The family backstory regarding Everest is that we all first rode in 2014. The girls loved it, Mat hated it, and it was just on the very edge of my tolerance for thrill rides, me being a wimp. Because Mat refused to ride it repeatedly, I ended up riding quite a few times with the girls that year. In the end, I built up a bit more tolerance to it, not finding it too scary by the end of the 2014 trip. In 2015, I went into it thinking ‘this one’s ok’ but for some reason, I found it much worse than I had the previous year. In fact, that’s not exactly true. I really like all of it, especially the backwards part. I like it all, except for the ‘big’ drop. I’ve said it many times, but I am a ‘drop wimp’. And it has got worse over the years to the point that I can’t ride Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror or Everest at all anymore. I think it is partly the build up to the drops. If there wasn't that big pause right before the drop on Everest where the track moves position ready for the ride to change direction, I might not find it so scary. It is a shame, because the rest of the ride is so good and I know I’m missing out, but it’s become a real phobia for me. Maybe one day it will improve again and I can enjoy those rides, but for now it’s not happening. Luckily for me, Freya had decided she didn't want to ride Everest this year either, even though she’d enjoyed it in 2014 and 2015. So at least I had some wimp company today. Mat wasn't massively excited about riding but he was prepared to suck it up for the benefit of our resident daredevil (who is a complete Daddy’s Girl who he was never going to say no to). They went off ahead so they could get to the ride quickly, and Freya and I took a slower meander up behind them. My plan had been to get some fruit for breakfast while they rode. We had a little look at the monkeys and then headed up towards Kali River Rapids. We’ve never ridden Kali as none of us like rapids rides, so we were treading new ground here. In my head, I thought we could get across the park from there and pop over to the fruit stall by the safaris, but we ended up just pottering up to Kali and back as there was no other path to take us in the right direction, it was just a dead end. We did see a pretty bird and some squirrels on the quiet paths around there which pleased my little animal lover. There is a red-headed bird in the photo below, on top of the fence. Wildlife photographer I am not. Here the pretty bird is a pretty coloured blur: But if you zoom in on this one you can see how pretty he / she is: Rivers of Light seating: By now it was too late to head back towards Africa to get the fruit, especially as Mat didn't have his phone with him. I couldn't deal with losing each other today. So Freya and I walked round to Everest. That stretch of the park was looking really good; it seemed to me that some extra decoration had gone on in the area since we were last there two years before. Some extra flags, trees and rocks maybe? I could just have been imagining things, but I seem to recall the area immediately outside Everest used to feel more ‘sparse’. Anyway, it was 9.15 when we got there. We took a couple of photos and then Mat and Seren pretty much appeared straight away from the ride exit. The posted wait was still 5 minutes and Seren wanted to ride again, so I said that was fine (much to Mat’s delight.) They ended up walking on both times. Mat said it wasn't actually too bad in the end. After their second go, it was time to head over to Africa for our Lion King FastPasses so my breakfast was still not happening for now. On the walk to the theatre: Our FP return time was 9.30 - 9.45 am (for the 10 am show) and when we arrived outside the theatre, there was already quite a line at the FP return entrance. We were held where we were for about ten minutes, and then we were moved forward into the covered queue area outside the theatre doors. We were seated by 9.50 am. I know there is an argument that says booking FP for shows is pointless because you still have to arrive 30 minutes or so ahead of the start time, and I can definitely understand that. I don’t often book FPs for shows, but I was very keen to make sure we fitted in FotLK during this trip. Plus I think we were struggling to fill our three FP allocations for the day. Anyway, we were seated in the first elevated row of the warthog section which I was happy with. Nice and close, and able to see over the heads of those in the few rows in front of us. [ The girls took a couple of selfies: Oh I do love this show. So do the girls, especially Seren. She has inherited my love of theatre, musicals, dance and music and general which I am very pleased about. I welled up in the ‘Lion Sleeps Tonight’ part because there’s nothing like everyone joining in and loving a sing-a-long. Mat was less impressed with the show. He says he ‘doesn't get it’ and I have written in my notes that that is because he is uncultured. Continued below...
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Michelle Instagram: michelle_smith7868 All My Trip Reports Are Here **Including New December 2021 and August 2022 Trip Reports in progress and 2020 Trip Report Now Complete. New Los Angeles / Orlando August 2023 Trip Report In Progress** |
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21 Sep 17, 02:39 PM |
#2
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Thread Starter
VIP Dibber
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...continued
I hadn't noticed that the performance featured only three of the four Tumble Monkeys until I read in Rachael's (Redrach1903 on here) report that one had broken his leg during the show she watched a week or so before. As you can see, there are only three monkeys in my photos: When the show finished, it was about 10.35 am and finally time to hit the Harambe Fruit Market hard. I got a big pineapple spear and a pot of strawberries, Seren got a pot of grapes, Freya got a pot of crackers, cheese, grapes and strawberries, and Mat got some Craisin trail mix. Mat was in charge of collecting and recording the receipts for the trip and this one appears to have gone awol, but I'd expect the total was roughly equivalent to what we pay per month for our car lease at home . The plan was to walk our snacks over to Flame Tree Barbecue and enjoy them in the lovely outdoor seating area. Being vegetarians, we haven't visited Flame Tree Barbecue since our honeymoon in 2001 when we were (briefly) carnivores. The covered outdoor seating area is so lovely with beautiful views and we had decided we were going to take advantage of the seating area this year, even though there’s pretty much nothing for us to eat at Flame Tree. Because FTB isn't exactly a regular hang out of ours, we weren't sure exactly where in the park it was located. It took a few minutes of faffing before we were on our way there, and a good few minutes before we reached it as we hadn't realised how close to the park entrance it was. Anyway, with the restaurant not yet open, we had the pick of all of the outdoor tables, so we decided to go as far away as possible from ‘civilisation’ / as close to the water as possible for the best views. By the way, the seating area wasn't closed off or anything despite the counter service restaurant not yet being open. We’re such sticklers for rules and don’t usually do anything like this in case it’s ‘not allowed’. But I had read an easywdw.com blog post a few years ago in which Josh had talked about taking counter service / kiosk food to different seating areas in Animal Kingdom and he had mentioned bringing kiosk food to Flame Tree so I knew it was ‘ok’ by Disney. He had mentioned the Harambe Fruit Market specifically because that and Kusafari Bakery don’t actually offer any tables and chairs. We all enjoyed our snacks in the beautiful, peaceful surroundings with the exception that Freya didn't eat her crackers as they were too salty. One CM appeared while we were sat there to set up the nearby condiments station and check the bin, and she said hello to us. Other than that, we were not joined by any other people during our break, although we were visited by some of those big-beaked birds that you see at the outdoor eating areas (just googled and they are white ibis)... ...plus crows and squirrels. As we were leaving, we watched a cute squirrel sat in a tree eating a nut. Our table of choice, right in the back corner there: So peaceful: We left the seating area about 11.10 am and by that point, the counter at Flame Tree Barbecue had just opened up. We were now on our way to our Dinosaur FP. I was pleased to see when we arrived at the ride that the standby wait was 40 minutes as it’s always good when your FP feels worthwhile. We waited five minutes with our FastPasses. Dinosaur is one of my favourite rides at WDW and definitely my favourite at Animal Kingdom so I was excited to be riding again. Not least because I’d heard good things about the recent refurbishment. It had apparently fixed some of the technical issues the ride had been having over the past couple of years. I specifically remembered reading that the lighting had been improved, and that the ‘little dinosaurs on strings’ in the compsignathus scene had been replaced with little dinosaurs on screens. Unfortunately I completely missed the compsignathus screens and didn't really notice any difference with the lighting, so I think I could have been expecting too much. I do have a lot of affection for this ride but as with my other old favourite at Universal, Spider-Man, I felt this year that the ride was definitely showing its age. I'd be devastated if either of them were lost, but I can't help but think how amazing they would both be had they been built today instead, with all of the technological advancements there have been since they were created. After Dinosaur, as always when we exit through the gift shop and emerge into Dino-Rama, the girls began a chorus of ‘Can we go on Primeval Whirl?’ (Or rather, as we call it in our family - and I’m sure plenty of other Dibbers do too - Primeval Hurl.) I don’t do PW anymore after losing some skin on my arm while riding a few years ago. It’s violent. But Mat and the girls really like it, so off they trotted to the standby line which was posting a 20 minute wait. I found a patch of quiet shade to stand in (why is there such a lack of places to sit in this area of the park?) and caught up on some notes while drinking some water. While they were in the line, the posted wait jumped to 30 minutes, but they were off in 10 and asking to ride again. The standby wait had now dropped to a more accurate 10 minutes, so off they went again. Rather them than me. Anyway, they all very much enjoyed it and then it was time to head over to Africa for our 12.15 pm- 1.15 pm Kilimanjaro Safaris FP. We were on the ride within five minutes and took a quick selfie while we settled in: Today our skipper was Dan who was very informative yet quiet and calm in his tone. I love a knowledgeable safari skipper so I found listening to him very enjoyable. However, there was a big family at the back of the truck spanning three generations and most of them seemed to find it pretty much impossible first of all to sit and secondly to do any listening to what he had to say. I will spare you the safari photos from today as they were the only photos we took on an actual camera during the whole holiday and I haven't bothered to do anything with them yet, they're still sat on the memory card. Every other photo we took on holiday was taken on our phones. Not sure we will bother taking a camera next year. Not sure what was going on here: We were planning to get some lunch from Mr Kamal’s, the vegetarian kiosk, as we fancied some samosas, falafel and hummus, but Mat was really flagging at this point (tiredness and heat I think, it was very hot today compared to our first few days) so I suggested we just head back to Cabana Bay for some lunch. The plan for this afternoon had been swimming at the resort anyway. We took a walk back to the park exit, stopping at Starbucks... ...so Mat could get a double espresso because he was feeling so tired. He also purchased the last of the Orlando Disney Parks mugs I needed (I got the other three in 2015 but Animal Kingdom's hadn't yet been released at the time). This Starbucks had tap water stations so the girls got a couple of waters and we sat on the wall outside having a drink. We saw Flik doing a Meet and Greet as we walked back to the exit. As we got to the exit, Mat announced that he wanted to use the restroom before we left. Personally I’m always of the opinion that if we’re leaving to go home, I can wait 30 minutes or so if it means not using a public toilet, but he has a thimble sized bladder. As he went into the restrooms, I mumbled that we’d carry on walking a bit. We went through the exit gates and walked up a little way towards the tram stop. We were very much in the middle of the area, very much in plain sight. I’m sure you can tell where this is heading, particularly if you have read my previous reports. It would seem that every holiday, he has to get ‘lost’ at least once. It also happens fairly regularly at home when we are separated in a shop or something. Whatever instruction or guidance I give him about where to meet us, it seems to go in one ear and out the other. To be fair, I didn't give him much instruction today, but I thought it would be fairly obvious where we would be based on the fact that we were about to leave the park. We could only really have gone one way. And as I said, we were standing right in the middle of the concourse past the tapstiles, not exactly tucked away discreetly in a corner. After five minutes, the girls and I were getting pretty impatient and frustrated that he hadn't materialised. We were roasting even in the shade. I couldn't (be bothered) to go back through bag check to try and find him, and we were about to attempt to send Freya through the ‘no bags’ entrance (not sure whether she would have been flagged as an unaccompanied child) when he finally came into view. He had come out of the restroom, not seen us immediately outside (which he wouldn't considering he saw us still walking away when we left him), and had assumed we had gone into the Ladies or a shop or something. We gave him a little telling off like you would a naughty pre-schooler who had wandered off, and then forgot about it and jumped on a tram. We needed fuel, so we drove to a 7-Eleven near Universal and topped up with $20 worth of ‘gas’. We weren’t sure whether the car was petrol or diesel but as there was no label in the car / on the petrol cap to say ‘diesel’, we assumed petrol and hoped for the best nervously once we’d refuelled. (Luckily we were right.) While Mat was in the store and filling the car, we watched a junkie wandering around the car park and street in front of us. He then stood by the edge of the road at a crossing, and I was a bit concerned that he wasn’t going to make it across the busy street, but he did. I think he was begging through car windows. We saw a few of those kinds of characters hanging around the busy roads of Orlando this trip. Sad . Continued below...
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Michelle Instagram: michelle_smith7868 All My Trip Reports Are Here **Including New December 2021 and August 2022 Trip Reports in progress and 2020 Trip Report Now Complete. New Los Angeles / Orlando August 2023 Trip Report In Progress** |
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21 Sep 17, 02:42 PM |
#3
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Thread Starter
VIP Dibber
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...continued
It was quite late to be having lunch by the time we got back to Cabana Bay, (about 2.30pm) so we went straight to the food court, or Bayliner Diner as it’s called. We really enjoyed the food at Cabana Bay on our 2014 trip when we stayed there for a week, and had even returned to have dinner there when we weren’t staying there in 2015. Unfortunately when I’d checked the menus before this trip, I found that some of our favourite meals had been removed (namely the vegetable pizza, and the tuna noodle casserole which was basically just a big bowl of pasta with tuna, cheese and sweetcorn and went down incredibly well with the girls.) We really like the food court though, and were confident in the quality of the food so were happy to give the place another shot anyway. I went for the mahi mahi with steamed rice and black beans, Freya had the kid's version which was just a piece of fish served with a side of carrots and apple slices. Mat chose the vegan stir-fry with tofu and cous cous. Our three meals were all served at the same station, the International station, but Seren wanted the baked mac and cheese (of course) so we sent her off to the Pizza and Pasta station to order her own. Whilst I appreciate the choice of different counters at a food court, I can’t stand cold food (when it’s supposed to be hot) so sending Seren off to get hers at the same time would hopefully mean none of us would be standing around with our food getting cold. Hers was actually ready really quickly, so I told her to grab a drink from the fridge and gave her the money to go and pay for hers, telling her to then go and find a table. Freya and I sorted out the rest of the drinks once our fish was ready, and then we went to pay for ours. Mat was still waiting for his stir-fry. If you’ve been to Cabana Bay or have seen photos of Bayliner Diner you may appreciate how amusing it was for Freya and I when we left the tills and walked into the seating area, finding Seren sitting in a very empty section of the large dining area like Billy No Mates. The best part was that she was completely oblivious to the humour of the situation as she was very much just getting involved with the mac and cheese and loving life. Bless her. We went and sat down and soon enough, Mat appeared with a huge bowl of food which he really enjoyed. In fact, we all really liked our lunch so once again Bayliner Diner was a hit with us. My mahi mahi was $12.95, Mat’s stir-fry was $9.80 and we both pushed the boat out and treated ourselves to a bottle of Fiji water at $3.00 each. The girls meals were $6.49 (Seren) and $6.99 (Freya) and included a drink and two sides. Freya had a carton of milk and Seren had another carton of apple juice. For the $44.58 we paid (including tax), we felt the meal was good value because of the quality. During the meal, Seren got up from the table a few times to get napkins, cutlery etc from the station. Every time she did, she climbed awkwardly on and off the side of the chair rather than getting up normally. I told her at least three times not to do that, and wasn't exactly surprised when she climbed onto the chair and overbalanced, taking it with her and ending up in a heap on the floor. She was a little bit sore and very embarrassed. I wasn't particularly sympathetic because I had told her not to do it, but Mat felt sorry for her and said I shouldn't be so harsh. Obviously if she’d been properly hurt I’d have been more sympathetic but I had told her over and over again not to climb on the chair like that and she hadn't listened.. At almost 11, and being quite clumsy anyway (we call her Calamity Jane), I felt cross that she had carried on doing it. Anyway, it was a very nice lunch and being the middle of the afternoon, Bayliner Diner had been pretty quiet so it was quite chilled. Once we were all done, we went up to the room to get ready for some pool time. Well, the girls were going to have pool time; Mat and I don’t really do the swimming thing, we do cocktails and writing / reading instead. The girls wanted to go to the North Courtyard pool area which is the one with the slide where we had spent a good few hours during our previous stay. The South Courtyard pool hadn’t been open during that trip (we stayed during soft open) so the girls hadn't yet tested that one out but wanted to stay in familiar territory today. Mainly because they love the slide. On a mission to find the slide: When we got down to the North Courtyard, we noticed that the fire pit / seating area near the reception was behind construction walls. There were signs advising that the area was being updated but we also got the impression that the fire pit was closed because of the dry conditions and restrictions on fire pits because of the drought. Although we did see the fire pit at the South Courtyard in use a couple of times during our stay so perhaps we were barking up the wrong tree. All of the beds in the shade were taken so we had to sit in the either the Beach or Bay Pavilion (not sure which) which are a couple of covered areas containing tables and chairs, located next to the pool deck. I sent Mat off to Atomic Tonic to get the drinks in (well a drink for me at least, I don’t think he actually had anything apart from tap water as he would be driving later.) Tap water: ] Atomic Tonic cocktail menu: I asked him to choose a cocktail for me and he came back with a Kookie (Three Olives Vodka, Malibu Coconut Rum, Melon Liqueur, Blue Curacao, Sour, Pineapple Juice). All of the cocktails at Atomic Tonic are $13 and are served in a souvenir cup. The cup doubles as a cocktail shaker, it has a flip lid and inbuilt straw. In 2014, most of the cocktails had been available in a standard souvenir glass with discounted refills, or just in a plastic cup. Now, the drinks are shaken in the cup as they don’t have cocktail shakers, so can’t actually make them in anything other than the souvenir cups. So you basically have to buy the souvenir cup. They then offer refills in the cups at $10. This first time, I thought ‘Ok, the cup’s kind of cute’ but after buying a few drinks from the pool bars here during our stay, and repeatedly forgetting to bring back a refillable cup from upstairs (plus, I didn't have anything to wash them out properly with), I was a bit fed up with not being able to just buy a (cheaper) cocktail in a plastic cup. It felt like a bit of a money-grabbing exercise and was one thing I felt had changed for the worse at Cabana Bay between our two stays there. Cocktail 'glass': The cocktail itself was tasty but was one of those too much ice situations so it was gone very quickly. While the girls had a blast in the pool and on the slide, Mat worked on some music reviews (he has a second job as a music journalist for a couple of music magazines) and my plan was to catch up on some notes. My mum had been in touch asking about what we’d been up to and wanting to see photos so I ended up spending most of the time we were sat there emailing her and whatsapping photos to her so didn't make much progress with the notes. We had an ADR booked at Raglan Road for dinner so at 4.40 ish I went upstairs to jump in the shower before everyone else came up. Mat was going to round up the girls and follow me up ten minutes later, but trying to drag our children out of a swimming pool tends to be a challenge as they are very reluctant to get out. Herding cats springs to mind as we get a lot of ‘One last go on the slide’ and ‘One more minute’ while they disappear in different directions and leave us standing like lemons poolside, holding towels like a pair of mugs. They’re generally really good girls, but something about swimming pools turns them into disobedient little monkeys who seem to believe they will never have another opportunity to get into a swimming pool again. Because of that, they didn't get back to the room until about 5.15 pm and Mat was in a pretty bad mood when they did arrive. I, on the other hand had been grateful for the quiet time to get showered in peace, but I didn't say that. The plan had been to get some washing done at the laundry room next door while we got ready, but we were now cutting it a bit fine so it felt a bit of a rush for the others to get showered and for us all to be ready. We left Cabana Bay at 6.30 pm, drove back down the I-4 and parked up in the Orange Garage, actually making good time after the initial rush to get ready. We wandered round to Raglan Road and checked in at 7 pm which was 15 minutes before our ADR time. The guy checking us in said it would be about 15 - 20 minutes before our table was ready. We’ve eaten at Raglan Road a good few times before and have always found there to be quite a wait between checking in and being taken to the table, and the lobby area is always really crowded and noisy in our experience. Today we decided to take our pager out to a bench just outside the door and wait there where it was a bit calmer and quieter. We took a few photos and played a little bit of I Spy. The pager went off after just five minutes which was a nice surprise as I was fully expecting to wait the 15-20 minutes. We went back into the check-in area to hand over our pager, and after a few minutes a host arrived to seat us. The bit between handing back the pager and being seated seems to take longer here than most other Disney restaurants too, possibly because of the size of the place. Anyway, the lady who came to get us asked if we needed two children's menus. I said Seren was borderline and she said, ‘Yeah, they need to make like a young adult’s menu to fill the gap’. Yes they do. She gave Seren an adult’s menu anyway which was technically the right thing to do because being 10 she was a Disney adult. She said to ask our server for another children's menu if we needed it after she’d had a look. I thought that was fair enough. I was a bit disappointed initially that we were led again into the side room to the left of the main dining room. We had also been seated there in 2015, and again as per then, we were tucked into the corner there (albeit one table over from last time). Now if you’ve read my 2015 report you may recall that last time I was initially disappointed to not be sat in the main room where all the action is but by the end of the meal, I had changed my mind and quite enjoyed it being a bit quieter. Today I reminded myself that we had enjoyed being sat out here last time and cracked on with it, although I think I would have preferred to have been sat in the main room today. (Spoiler alert: we actually returned to Raglan Road on the last night of this trip after deciding to make a last minute ADR at our favourite Disney Springs restaurant of the holiday. When we were deciding where to go, Raglan Road won out, and we got a great table by the stage. So it all worked out really well; one quiet and one lively meal here on the same trip.) So back to tonight. Feeling slightly subdued, we got settled down and I vowed to make the best of it as we love this place and wanted to have a lovely evening. I swiftly ordered a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon which according to my notes was ‘nice’. Mat ordered a non-alcoholic beer which apparently was grim. The girls stuck with tap water (they’re well trained). Our server was David who was initially quite overly efficient and a little intimidating but he seemed to warm to us, or it could be just that I mellowed towards him as the wine kicked in. Perusing the menu: The soda bread with Guinness reduction was brought out which we are all quite partial to. It has a nice sweetness to it but we tried not to overdo it on the bread as we didn't want to spoil our meals. Mat and Seren decided to share a portion of fish and chips and I ordered the same as I had in 2015 as it had been so good. I got the ‘Kiss Before Shrimp’ which is actually an appetiser but got it as an entree with a side of chips and onion rings. We thought that would work well as Mat and Seren could share the sides with me if they needed extra. Freya went for the kid's fish and chips, and we ordered two sides of seasonal vegetables for us all to share as vegetables were sadly absent from all of our meals. Before the food arrived, one of the dancers came into the room to do a bit of dancing with the children seated in here. This had happened in 2015 too and we had appreciated it as it meant Seren and Freya still got to join in as they had on our previous visits. When the nice lady came over this time though, Seren was quite reluctant to get up and join in. This was unexpected because she loves dancing and attends classes (although not Irish dancing) as well as a performing arts school every week. Not wanting to join in tonight was one of the first signs of her metamorphosing into a teenager as she’s more self conscious than she used to be and this has happened a few times since. Growing up so fast. I felt a bit of a pang as this used to be the kind of thing neither of them would need to be asked twice to join in with. However even Freya was reluctant to get up without her big sister. After a bit of encouraging, they both did it in the end and earned themselves a certificate. I ordered a second class of Cabernet as the first had gone down very well, and it arrived just as the food did. Mat declined a second alcohol free beer and he and David joked about how nasty it was, and how they couldn't see the point of alcohol free beer because people certainly don't drink beer for the taste. When the food came out, there was a lot of it, and the runners also brought a plate each for Seren and Mat so they could put the fish and chips in the middle and use it as a serving plate. Kiss Before Shrimp with a side of fries: Seasonal vegetables: Onion rings: Kid's fish and chips: Adult's fish and chips: Everything was delicious. I can solidly recommend the Kiss Before Shrimp, it’s just so garlicky and tasty. The chips were lovely too and the onion rings at Raglan Road are the best I’ve had; not too much batter and not too greasy and soggy. There's a nice crunch to them. The vegetables were carrots, peas, kale, onion and broccoli and everything except the broccoli was good. The broccoli was undercooked to the point of being rock hard and pretty inedible. We also realised we had only needed one portion of vegetables between us as it was a big portion and everything else was on the large side too. When David came back to take the plates away, I told him that the broccoli was undercooked. He picked up a floret from the dish and bent it which was a bit of a weird thing to do really (it perhaps would have been more appropriate to try cutting it with a knife or just take it to the kitchen for inspection) but anyway, when it didn't give, he agreed with us and said he’d go and speak to the chef. A few minutes later he returned and advised that they would be taking one portion of the veg off the check which was fine with us (especially since we’d over-ordered on the veg anyway, even before taking into account the dodgy broccoli). We settled the check and left a 20% tip for David. After a restroom pit stop we left Raglan Road very happy and full as we always do. This is the little corner we had been tucked in: It was about 8.30 pm at this point and pretty dark. I love Disney Springs at night when it’s all lit up and there’s more of an atmosphere. We were impressed when we stepped out and saw the pretty lights on the Morimoto Asia, it looked lovely. I definitely think the Disney Springs renovations have made the place seem more classy and 'holiday-ish'. We <3 Raglan Road: We decided to have a little stroll and went to the ‘Sublime’ little gifts kiosk by Paddlefish as we’d enjoyed having a mooch at the signs and gifts there in 2015. We had another look today and giggled at the signs for sale again but didn't buy anything. Next up we went into Uniqlo as we love their (cheap) Disney t-shirts. The selection online before we’d come on holiday had been pretty poor for Seren and I this year, and I’d only managed to buy a couple for Freya who didn't really need any new Disney t-shirts but they were so pretty and cheap I couldn't resist. We wanted to see if there was a good selection in the Disney Springs store. It was pretty busy in there and although they had quite a lot of Disney t-shirts, we couldn't really be bothered with the faff of having a proper look. Although when Seren and I saw this: ...it had to be done ($14.90). We love Si and Am, the Siamese cats from Lady and the Tramp, and I managed to convince Seren to try one on. It’s a bit big so she hasn't worn it yet, but it’s so cute I couldn't resist getting it for her. Mat also got a Disney t-shirt, I think it was a Mickey Mouse one that said Florida or had oranges or something. I haven't seen it since, he said it was too nice to wear while we were on holiday but he also hasn't worn it since we’ve been back either. I’m sure I have mentioned it before but Freya is obsessed with Japanese culture so she was in her element here. She really wanted to buy an uchiwa (flat paper fan that doesn't fold) and carried this one around the shop but I had to break it to her that it would never arrive home in one piece so we had to leave it behind. Mat popped into Tumi as he had bought an expensive leather credit card wallet in a Tumi store in New York on a work trip last year and it had come unstitched a bit. The snooty shop assistant wasn't interested in helping him out even though the wallet had been expensive, but he didn't have a receipt as he’d popped in on the off-chance. Maybe she thought he was riffraff and was just trying it on. World of Disney was our final shop of the evening. Seren wanted to buy a Stitch t-shirt which she did ($24.99) and Mat wanted to replace some lovely Mickey Mouse socks he had bought at the Grand Floridian in 2014 that had gone into holes. He managed to find an identical pair so he was happy. They had an offer on; some sort of discount for buying two pairs so he also bought a pair of Stitch socks for Seren (which I can't photograph as they're in the wash). Mat and Seren went to pay and my fellow little party animal (Freya) and I went out to the Waterside Stage (which seems to now be called the Marketplace Stage according to the googling I’ve just done) to see what was going on. A guy in a leather jacket and sunglasses with a band was on stage singing the likes of ‘Rude’ and ‘Took a Plane to Ibiza’. He was quite good and there was a nice atmosphere. It was pretty busy, so Freya and I stood at the back and had a little bop and a sing along. Having just googled, I’ve found out he was Drey-C, a Brazilian singer who seems to have spent half his life performing at Disney. When Mat and Seren came out they weren't quite as enthused as us (spoilsports) so they went off to the ice-cream / sorbet kiosk nearby, returning with a scoop of sorbet each: mango for Seren and lemon for Mat. They enjoyed the sorbet but said the CM serving them was grumpy. Looking very pleased with themselves: Drey-C finished at 10 pm and one of the DJs we’d seen here in 2015 took over. There was a big group of high school graduates dancing down the front (we saw a lot of high school groups that were on graduation trips during the holiday, especially once the Pulse dance / cheerleading competition got underway later in the trip. More on that as we go on.) Tonight I really enjoyed watching them together, just a big group of girls and boys having lots of fun just dancing. There were a few songs that they knew specific moves to (I do not as I am old) and it really defined the differences between British and American teenagers for me. Watching a group of 18 year old boys doing ‘routines’ with girls at the front of a crowd of people is not something I’d expect to find in Britain. I know that’s a bit of a generalisation but American teenagers just seem so much more confident and mature. I’m pretty sure there was no drink involved either. Although there was one guy who was asleep in the seats (next to the teachers / chaperones) and a couple of times one of the other kids would quietly run up to him, make him jump to wake him up and run off. It was very entertaining. Anyway, the DJ played the usual Disney Springs Dance Party tunes such as the Cha-Cha-Slide and eventually he lost the high school kids (maybe it just got too cheesy for them). I was also fighting a losing battle with my troops as the girls were very tired and Mat would rather stick pins in his eyes than join in with a cheesy dance party. About 10.15 pm I admitted defeat, telling them that we had to come back another night and have a dance. I mentioned in my 2015 report that I much prefer the dance party when it’s on the Fountain Stage outside Once Upon A Toy than here on the (main) Waterside Stage. The Fountain Stage is not actually a stage; it’s more like a dance floor, whereas the Waterside Stage involves a big seated audience (yikes) and only a tiny space to dance. It also seems to involve more dance competitions rather than just dancing to fun tunes. I had a feeling that Disney no longer offered the dance party at the Fountain Stage, and resigned myself to its poorer relation this trip, although I was a tad sulky about it as we left the area. As we walked back, we took in the sights of the new restaurants (Blaze, Art Smith’s Homecomin’) as we hadn't yet walked this way. They all looked lovely, especially with all the twinkly lights at this time of night. We also passed the new Guest Relations building and Mat popped in for a Times Guide so we could check the deets of the upcoming dance parties. He possibly was fed up of me grumbling about firstly having to leave early tonight and secondly the lack of Fountain Stage dance parties. The CM told him they don’t print Times Guides anymore but confirmed that the dance party would be on the Fountain Stage on Saturday night. Result. Although obviously I only wanted to know for the girls, I wouldn't be getting involved myself . Although this was good news, unfortunately him momentarily leaving us of course meant that he briefly got lost again so we were delayed on our way back to the car for a minute while he sorted his life out. I think I need to fit him with a tracking device on holiday, honestly. Eventually we were back at the Orange Garage. On the drive home we all fell asleep (except Mat luckily). When we got back to the room, the girls crashed out pretty much as soon as we were through the door (about 11 pm), and Mat and I took a moment to appreciate the fact that today was the first day since we were at Heathrow on Friday that we hadn’t had to either pack or unpack. I also very much appreciated the fact that as we’d showered before dinner and not slathered ourselves in sunscreen since, we also didn't need to shower before bed. Also a first of the trip. I very much appreciated being able to quickly get ready for bed but my notes say I didn't turn my light out until midnight so I must have spent some time catching up on notes before going to sleep.
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Michelle Instagram: michelle_smith7868 All My Trip Reports Are Here **Including New December 2021 and August 2022 Trip Reports in progress and 2020 Trip Report Now Complete. New Los Angeles / Orlando August 2023 Trip Report In Progress** |
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21 Sep 17, 08:19 PM |
#4
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Imagineer
Join Date: Jun 09
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Lovely day, nice looking food too!
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23 Sep 17, 07:24 AM |
#5
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VIP Dibber
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Great day at Animal Kingdom. Lion king is probably my favourite show, we always seem to end up in Warthogs!
I think it must be universal in kids the world over that they don't want to leave a swimming pool...somehow I seem to turn 'invisible' when I'm standing at the side of the pool telling them it's time to leave as they appear to be oblivious to me! I'm glad you had a good time at Raglan Road, even if you were stuck over in the corner. It's one that we've never been to, it's made it to the shortlist and even one year I booked an ADR but it was swapped for Ohana. I've seen a few reviews recently so I think we'll have to try and go... Thanks for sticking with it I do love reading about travels. I'm sure I've said it before but it's a very welcome surprise when they pop up.
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Abby New pre trip report - Summer 2024 Link to all my completed trip reports 2017: NYC and Orlando. Salzburg. Boston. 2018: Orlando. Berlin. 2019: DLP. Orlando. Washington DC. 2020: DLP. 2021: Jamaica. Rome. 2022: Orlando. 2023: Orlando. Niagara and Toronto. |
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23 Sep 17, 08:17 AM |
#6
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Apprentice Imagineer
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A perfect day, park, pool and lovely evening at Disney springs .
Never been to raglan road, another one to add to the list
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Emma |
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25 Sep 17, 10:51 AM |
#7
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Excited about Disney
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another lovely day. really enjoy reading your reports
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8 Oct 17, 05:06 PM |
#8
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Imagineer
Join Date: Oct 11
Location: Dundee
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I have the same drop phobia, I even think that the drop on Mine Train is a bit too intense. I haven’t been able to bring myself to do Everest since 2013, we’ve skipped Splash since 2014 and I’ve never done Tower of Terror. I definitely agree the anticipation is the problem.
Did you see the ‘You Are Here’ mugs have had a re-design? I am so disappointed, obviously it makes perfect sense as the parks change but I liked the originals and was pleased my set was ‘complete’. |
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9 Oct 17, 01:02 PM |
#9
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Very Serious Dibber
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Love Festival of the Lion King - not on our agenda this year with an 18 month old in tow though! Toying with the idea of Nemo as I think that might capture her a little bit more, but sitting at the back on the end of a row so we can exit swiftly if she gets fed up!
All that fruit looks so delicious. I'm making a little list of the places you've mentioned as we never really bothered with seeking out healthier options on our trips as a couple, but I like to make sure Charlotte eats well, and she adores fruit so it's great to see where you can get stuff like that in the parks. Bless Seren in Bayliner Diner on her little lonesome! Love Disney Springs at night, with the live music and the lovely atmosphere. Get me back there! Haha. |
24 Oct 17, 03:22 PM |
#10
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Apprentice Imagineer
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What a jam packed day!
I don't have drop phobia, I get worried/nervous on the part where you get 'cranked' up a hill. I think it's because I get worried about getting stuck or rolling backwards. One we are dropping I am fine as I feel like momentum or centrifugal force will carry us though! That fruit from Harambe Market looks absolutely delicious. I would have chosen the cheese and grape option too (good choice Freya!) Animal Kingdom seemed to be super hot the day we went too - but you were glad to chill out back at the hotel. Disney Springs is so pretty at night with everything lit up, and I am glad you were able to locate the true dance party. Thank you for continuing to share your vacation with us!
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Have Courage & Be Kind First Time Floribobs (The Irma Remix) - WDW trip report *Complete* While The Cat's Away, The Caz Will Play With The Mouse - Solo DLP Trip Report |
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