Zip-ah-de-doo-da, Zip-ah-dee-EH! Two Canadians Visit WDW for the 1st Time - COMPLETE!

[fallonkendra]

Day Four - Part Two - 10km Race

Around the 5 mile mark, Luke texted me again to say he was stopping for another character picture - this time with Mike and Sulley dressed in Monsters University gear.



It stopped raining right before this. I also knew that Luke was getting close to the end of the race, so I had my camera out and ready to take pictures of him on the last stretch of his first Disney 10km.



After crossing the finish line, Luke received his medal, a mylar blanket, a box full of food and a bottle of water and a bottle of Powerade. After this he exited the runner's area, so I was finally able to see him and congratulate him on completing his first run in another country. He asked me to take his picture with his medal so he could post it on his facebook for his family to see.



After this, we headed to the buses to go back to our hotel. There happened to be one there waiting - once again zero wait time! The bus was fairly full and we weren't able to get seats together, but it wasn't a very far drive to All Star Music so we didn't mind. We were back to our hotel in about 10-15 minutes. Once we got to our room, I peeled off my soaking wet clothes and put on warm clothes, then climbed under the blankets to warm up. Luke went for a shower. We ate a few snacks, including opening up Luke's goodie box from the race - which included a banana, an energy bar, corn chips and cheese dip, cookies, etc.

Once we had warmed up a bit (it was kind of cold for Florida!) we headed out to our park of the day! This time we did end up having a bit of a wait for a bus, according to the electronic board about 10 minutes. I still wasn't feeling 100% from the day before, but I decided I had enough time to run to the bathroom inside the main lobby. Of course, the bus didn't take even close to 10 minutes, and it showed up while I was inside. Luke told the bus driver to go ahead, we'd just wait for the next bus but he was actually ahead of schedule a little bit, and said he was going to wait for a few minutes anyways. I ended up making it with tons of time. Our bus ride was really quick, and fairly empty since it was well past rope drop. It had also started raining again, so that sucked - but it also meant a nearly empty park upon arrival!

 

[fallonkendra]

Everything you ate looks delicious!

It was! I loved Disney food so much!

 

[adudeinblue]

I understand the appeal of wanting to be up and on the go early in the morning during a Disney vacation, and we did it on certain days of the trip, but sometimes it's just so nice to wake up on your own without an alarm (or in our case - a cat sitting on your face or a dog jumping on you).

The dining plan was worth it for us on this trip, but it was soooo much food! Right now, I don't think we'll be purchasing the dining plan for our 2017 trip since I want to eat at more table service places, and not an equal split of table and quick serve. What are your dates for your trip?

I'll continue comparing the two parks for the rest of my trip report

It was a lot of money, especially with the exchange rate, but in the end, I'd say it was worth it. I kept thinking of it as it costs $15 per ride photo, so I just needed to get 10 decent ride photos out of it. I did end up with more than that, but some of them I would have never paid for. The other pictures I got though more than made up the difference (like in front of the castle, the Tree of Life, character meet and greets, etc).

Thanks for reading along!

We haven't booked yet because we are waiting for her next year school schedule to publish, but we are confident we are going from January 4th to the 14th. We're from California, so it's going to be a big trip. Her parents are from Pennsylvania, so we are hoping to visit home during New Years, then flying down to Florida.

WDW wont be a common trip for us, so the idea was that we wanted to try all the food! haha So a DPD and an Epcot resort is on our wish list. I will have to think about a Memory Maker because we are awkward when we comes to asking strangers to take our pictures! So if we buy it, we will be forced to use it like crazy!

That Mike character is hilarious! Is it really a character or just a statue? The portion is crazy when you look at the actor's legs to Mike's head! haha

 

[fallonkendra]

Day Four - Part Three: Hollywood Studios!

After we went through the security line, Luke was approached by a man. It was raining pretty hard at this point, so Luke didn't fully hear him and thought he was trying to sell him a rain poncho - to which he responded "no thanks". This was met with a really strange look because the "strange man" was actually a security guard wearing a rain coat, and had told Luke he was selected for additional screening (which just meant he had to go through a metal detector). Oops! We quickly realized our mistake and headed over to the metal detector. After going through and having no issues of course, we grabbed a park map and headed into the nearly empty park. It was about 10:45 at this point, so way too early to go check in for our 11:30 lunch reservation. We studied the map for a bit, and then set off at a leisurely pace - no need to rush. We found the restaurant we were going to though, just so we knew where it was and then went to check on wait times for nearby rides. Star Tours had a posted wait time of only 10 minutes, so we hopped in line. We had loved this ride when we were at Disneyland last April, despite neither of us being Star Wars fans. The wait was pretty much exact, and 10 minutes later we were boarding the ride. The ride itself lasts about 5 minutes. Two of the scenes were from the new movie, which we did not go to see (are we the only two people on the planet who didn't see that movie?!), but we still had fun! By this point it was about 11:15, so we decided to go check in early for our lunch reservation at 50's Prime Time Cafe. I was really excited to eat here, as it had been highly recommended by a lot of people I had talked to. We only had to wait a few minutes before our names were called and we were led to our table - and it was one with a TV! Score!

[GALLERY=]DSCN0170 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/138465904@N05/, on Flickr[/GALLERY]

I had read all about this restaurant, and knew exactly what to expect - and of course our server called me out for having my elbows on the table. I had also read the menu online, so I knew exactly what I wanted to order. I still took a picture of the menu though

DSCN0169[/url] by fallon Vickers, on Flickr[/IMG]:

[GALLERY=]DSCN0169 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/138465904@N05/, on Flickr[/GALLERY]

DSCN0169[/url] by fallon Vickers, on Flickr[/IMG]

I went for the chicken pot pie with a glass of water and a vanilla coke. For some reason I couldn't get the lighting right for a picture of my food, but the picture of Luke's food turned out awesome?

[GALLERY=]DSCN0175 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/138465904@N05/, on Flickr[/GALLERY]

Luke ordered the Peanut butter and jelly milkshake and the sampling of mom's favourites - fried chicken, pot roast and meatloaf, with mashed potatoes and green beans.

[GALLERY=]DSCN0174 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/138465904@N05/, on Flickr[/GALLERY]

I really would have loved to have a milkshake, but I knew my stomach would not be happy with that, so I just stuck to the vanilla coke (which I love - if only it was available for sale in Canada ). Luke really loved his meal, and was actually talking about that PB&J milkshake just the other day (months after having it). I thought my meal was just ok, and it did end up being my least favourite meal of our entire trip. I think part of that was my health, I still wasn't 100% from the day before, and then I had woke up so early that morning that my body was out of schedule. It's too bad though, I really wanted to love it!

Overall, the restaurant was a lot of fun! Our server was a lot of fun, he was an older gentleman who kept calling me Peggy Sue. We watched as a person at a nearby table was punished by standing with her nose against the wall, and a group of tables of strangers being led to shout things in unison. We didn't have to deal with any embarrassing punishments, except our server kept reminding me of how I had my elbows on the table when we first got there.

For dessert I ordered the apple crumble a la mode, but I asked for less ice cream than they would normally serve. It was really sweet - almost too sweet for me to eat more than a few bites. I rarely cook or bake, but apple crumble is one of my favourite desserts to make and I'd have to say mine was better...

[GALLERY=]DSCN0177 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/138465904@N05/, on Flickr[/GALLERY]

Luke went for the cheesecake with raspberries, whipped cream, raspberry sauce and a fresh mint leaf. It was really good - maybe I just ordered all of the wrong things?

[GALLERY=]DSCN0176 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/138465904@N05/, on Flickr[/GALLERY]

We used two table service credits for our meal, and only paid the tip out of pocket. If we were not on the dining plan, it would have cost $21.99 (Luke's meal) + $5.99 (PB&J shake) + $5.99 (cheesecake) + $19.99 (chicken pot pie) + $3.49 (coke) + $7.99 (apple crumble) = $69.70 after tax. But - if we were not on the dining plan, we probably would not have ordered dessert, we didn't end up finishing either one.

After scanning our Magic Bands and leaving a tip, we headed out of the restaurant for our First FastPass of the day - which of course was Star Tours. Yes, this was our second time on it that day. Yes, we are not Star Wars fans. Yes, I've never actually watched a single movie from the franchise... But it's a great ride!

After our second journey through the galaxy, we had some time to kill before our next fastpass. I had to go to Pizza Planet - we had just ate lunch so there was no way I was hungry enough to eat again, but I love the Toy Story movies and the little green men. I also knew that it was going to be closing soon for renovations, so I knew I wanted to see it.

[GALLERY=]DSCN0180 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/138465904@N05/, on Flickr[/GALLERY]
[GALLERY=]DSCN0182 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/138465904@N05/, on Flickr[/GALLERY]

It was really cute in there! Hopefully it will be re-opened by our next trip, and I'll actually eat there!

 

[fallonkendra]

We haven't booked yet because we are waiting for her next year school schedule to publish, but we are confident we are going from January 4th to the 14th. We're from California, so it's going to be a big trip. Her parents are from Pennsylvania, so we are hoping to visit home during New Years, then flying down to Florida.

We would be going at pretty much the exact times! Our trip is booked for January 3rd until the 12th. We're from western Canada, so it has to be a long trip for us too. Perhaps we will run into you one day!

WDW wont be a common trip for us, so the idea was that we wanted to try all the food! haha So a DPD and an Epcot resort is on our wish list. I will have to think about a Memory Maker because we are awkward when we comes to asking strangers to take our pictures! So if we buy it, we will be forced to use it like crazy!

An Epcot resort was #1 on my list for our 2017 trip, but we were renting DVC points and just weren't able to make it work. We have a plan of returning in January 2018 as well (originally that was supposed to be our next trip, but then we decided less than a month ago that we wanted to go in 2017 as well) - but I've said that trip will hopefully be a split stay between Animal Kingdom Lodge and Boardwalk.

I know the dining plan seems to take a lot of hate, but if you do your research you can really make it pay off for you. I'm really glad we went that route for our first trip, but we've been making a list of the places we want to eat at and the dining plan won't make sense for our next trip. That's not to say we'll never use it again though!

It took me awhile to actually book PhotoPass, I went back and forth on it for awhile, but I'm so glad I went for it! Luke doesn't love having his picture taken, but I told him we had to get our money's worth so he stopped every time I asked him to. I think I ended up with over 200 pictures from it, and some really awesome on-ride photos!

That Mike character is hilarious! Is it really a character or just a statue? The portion is crazy when you look at the actor's legs to Mike's head! haha

It's definitely a character, but I totally see what you mean! That's really funny!

 

[Dentam]

You've never seen a Star Wars movie? At least you enjoyed the ride!

I've never been in that Pizza Planet. Never eaten at Sci Fi or the 50's Diner either. The food looked good and I've heard a lot about that PB&J milkshake on here. I wonder if this restaurant will still be open after all the new stuff is added?

Looks like a great trip so far and a fun (albeit chilly) day!

 

[fallonkendra]

You've never seen a Star Wars movie? At least you enjoyed the ride!

I know, I know. I'm one of those people who will stare blankly at you whenever you mention any movie considered to be a "classic" or "one of the best". Luke has been working on that by making me watch movies I should have already seen - yesterday I watched Gremlins and Terminator for the first time haha. But when it comes to Star Wars, Luke could care less about them. He's seen them all, but he was born in the early 80's and named Luke (not Lucas, just Luke - like Skywalker). Growing up I guess he heard "Luke, I am your father" way too many times from school mates to find it funny, and as a result now has a bit of hate for the series... I do know the main storyline though, and I've already had the new movie plot twist told to me as well.

I've never been in that Pizza Planet. Never eaten at Sci Fi or the 50's Diner either. The food looked good and I've heard a lot about that PB&J milkshake on here. I wonder if this restaurant will still be open after all the new stuff is added?

Looks like a great trip so far and a fun (albeit chilly) day!

We actually ate at Sci Fi for supper! Honestly, I can't say I was really blown away by the food at either, but the atmosphere was really awesome at both. I'd be willing to give them both a second chance.

Luke loved that milkshake so much, I hope it's still open when we go back so he can at least get one of those.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Just found this TR and I'm joining in

 

[SarahDisney]

Congrats to Luke on finishing his first Disney race!

So ... I haven't seen the new Star Wars movie. I've seen two of the seven movies (the first two prequels). I don't care about seeing the rest of them, and I totally don't blame you for not seeing any Star Wars movies.
I don't do Star Tours, though. I've never had any interest in trying it.

Sounds like you guys had some fun at 50's Prime Time! That's one of those places I want to go but just never manage to fit into my plans. But at least I know now that if I do go, I have to keep my elbows off the table!

 

[fallonkendra]

Just found this TR and I'm joining in

Welcome! Thanks for reading!

Congrats to Luke on finishing his first Disney race!

I will let him know! He's so excited to go back for another runDisney event!

So ... I haven't seen the new Star Wars movie. I've seen two of the seven movies (the first two prequels). I don't care about seeing the rest of them, and I totally don't blame you for not seeing any Star Wars movies.
I don't do Star Tours, though. I've never had any interest in trying it.

I'm just glad I'm not alone with this! Star Tours is a great ride though, if you like motion simulators!

Sounds like you guys had some fun at 50's Prime Time! That's one of those places I want to go but just never manage to fit into my plans. But at least I know now that if I do go, I have to keep my elbows off the table!

I really wanted to love the food, I just didn't. I thought the restaurant itself was really fun though, and I am willing to give it another chance to wow me with it's food. I just won't order the same meal - Luke's pot roast was really delicious from the few bites I snagged off his plate... I had picked out the onions from my chicken pot pie and had them in a pile on the edge of my plate - I was worried they were going to come back on a new plate with some whipped cream on top as my "dessert". I've read about waiters doing that before, I honestly don't know what I would have done! When I was scolded for having my elbows on the table, I didn't even realize I was doing it! We had just sat down, it was raining pretty hard outside so I was cold and wet and I was tired from my 3:30am wake-up call that morning. All in good fun though, I enjoyed the banter I could hear throughout the meal.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

It was really cute in there! Hopefully it will be re-opened by our next trip, and I'll actually eat there!

the current rumour with Pizza planet is thath it's going away and being replaced with a muppet themed restaurant as the area between it ma'am melrose and the muppets is staying as a muppet area of the park.

 

[YawningDodo]

Just starting to read this now! You've got a really fun narrative style and I'm enjoying the heck out of this. I'd never seriously considered a Run Disney event (you want me to exercise on vacation??), but you're making me rethink my stance. I'm starting a couch to 5K program, and now I'm thinking one of the motivators to push myself to actually do the program and then go beyond could be to promise myself a trip to run a Disney 10K.

Also, as a resident of the great state of Montana, it is so rare for me to read a TR from someone (er, someone not from the UK, at least) who has a longer travel day to WDW than me.

 

[fallonkendra]

the current rumour with Pizza planet is thath it's going away and being replaced with a muppet themed restaurant as the area between it ma'am melrose and the muppets is staying as a muppet area of the park.

That totally makes sense to turn it into a Muppets theme! Will they be building a new Pizza Planet in To Story land then? It just seems like one of those iconic things that needs to be in that new land...

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Two of the scenes were from the new movie, which we did not go to see (are we the only two people on the planet who didn't see that movie?!)

Yes, I've never actually watched a single movie from the franchise.

For shame! How is that even possible?! Actually, I think are plenty of people who haven't seen Star wars, sadly my wife and daughters, despite my many attempts at getting them to try watching. I am "one of those guys" who owns all the movies (and on multiple formats, VHS, DVD, bluray - they keep coming out with new stuff, I can't help it!)

Interesting experience at 50s PT. We've eaten there three times. The food has been pretty good every time. The first time I got the chicken pit pie, like you, and thought it was OK. The next two times I got the sampler and it was better. But we found the service went downhill with each visit, and we kind of got tired of the waiter's "schtick", so if we do another trip, we'll skip that restaurant.

As someone who also loves The Muppets, I am really looking forward to see the re-themed Pizza Planet! But I can see why you would suggest a replacement for it in Toy Story Land, it would fit in very well.

 

[mlegerto]

Subbing in. Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip. So far it sounds like you've had a lot of fun - sorry to hear that you weren't feeling great for a lot so far, hopefully that changes for the rest of the trip!

 

[fallonkendra]

Just starting to read this now! You've got a really fun narrative style and I'm enjoying the heck out of this. I'd never seriously considered a Run Disney event (you want me to exercise on vacation??), but you're making me rethink my stance. I'm starting a couch to 5K program, and now I'm thinking one of the motivators to push myself to actually do the program and then go beyond could be to promise myself a trip to run a Disney 10K.

I am NOT a runner, I hate all things relating to exercise, but I actually signed up for the 5km during marathon weekend next January... I figure I can always walk it, we take our dogs for 3-4km walks fairly often and I'm never sore or anything afterwards. I would also say we walk wayyy more than 5km every day we're in a Disney park. I'm excited to meet some rare characters!

Also, as a resident of the great state of Montana, it is so rare for me to read a TR from someone (er, someone not from the UK, at least) who has a longer travel day to WDW than me.

I hear you! I'm so jealous of all the people who live close enough to drive there - it would take me 6 hours just to drive to your State (and it's the closest one to me!). When we go next January, we're actually in the air for over 6 hours, and it's almost direct (we fly to Calgary first, which is only a 3 hour drive south from here, then straight to Orlando). But once you add in layovers and getting to the airport, etc - it's a minimum of 10 hours. It makes for a really long day...

 

[annie170]

Congrats to Luke on finishing the race! That's quite an accomplishment!

Hollywood Studios has my least favorite restaurants, counter and table service. Luke's cheesecake looked really good, though!

I'm actually thinking HS could become a half day park for us, along with AK.

 

[fallonkendra]

For shame! How is that even possible?! Actually, I think are plenty of people who haven't seen Star wars, sadly my wife and daughters, despite my many attempts at getting them to try watching. I am "one of those guys" who owns all the movies (and on multiple formats, VHS, DVD, bluray - they keep coming out with new stuff, I can't help it!)

I know, I know. I probably shouldn't mention that I've also never watched any of the Middle Earth movies either (both the LOTR trilogy and the Hobbit trilogy)...

Interesting experience at 50s PT. We've eaten there three times. The food has been pretty good every time. The first time I got the chicken pit pie, like you, and thought it was OK. The next two times I got the sampler and it was better. But we found the service went downhill with each visit, and we kind of got tired of the waiter's "schtick", so if we do another trip, we'll skip that restaurant.

Luke wants to go back just because of that milkshake, and I really wanted to fall in love with that restaurant, but all I can say is that it's ok. I'm not sure if we'll go back or not next year - we might have to because there's a huge lack of options at that park...

As someone who also loves The Muppets, I am really looking forward to see the re-themed Pizza Planet! But I can see why you would suggest a replacement for it in Toy Story Land, it would fit in very well.

I'm curious to see how they re-theme it! But I really think they need to build a new Pizza Planet - what else would they put for a restaurant in Toy Story Land?

Subbing in. Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip. So far it sounds like you've had a lot of fun - sorry to hear that you weren't feeling great for a lot so far, hopefully that changes for the rest of the trip!

Welcome! Thanks for reading! Not feeling great every day is just one of the joys of living with a chronic disease - but even when I wasn't feeling 100%, I tried not to let it stop me (except for our day at Animal Kingdom - I know my limits and I was just way too sick to try and keep going).

 

[mlegerto]

Welcome! Thanks for reading! Not feeling great every day is just one of the joys of living with a chronic disease - but even when I wasn't feeling 100%, I tried not to let it stop me (except for our day at Animal Kingdom - I know my limits and I was just way too sick to try and keep going).

That's a great attitude to have! You can't change it, but you can change your attitude regarding it. It's so difficult to be ill when you are traveling, especially a WDW vacation that requires you to be pretty active. Our last trip was for our honeymoon and hubby feel ill the last few days of the trip. He tried to push on because he didn't want to let it ruin our trip, but he was pretty limited. Either way, glad you were able to still enjoy your trip. Can't wait to hear about the rest of it!

 

[fallonkendra]

This is not related to Disney in any way, but if anyone is religious, please pray for the city of Fort Mcmurray, Alberta. Or, if financially able, donate to the Canadian Red Cross. The entire city (80,000+ people) have now been evacuated due to a wildfire, and entire neighbourhoods, businesses and hotels have already burned to the ground. I used to live there, and still have many friends and family there. Just keep these people in your thoughts as they now have to rebuild an entire city.