A Magical Almost Valentine's Day Quickee Trip Report - Update 6/23

I think we were staying at Cabana Bay the same time as you!

:welcome: How funny that you were there at the same time!

I do love that place. That and Port Orleans are tied for my favorite themed hotels.

I thought it worked really well. My favorite will always be Animal Kingdom Lodge for theming, but Cabana Bay really surprised me and I can see how you would pick it as a favorite!
 
I'm here! Thanks for the heads-up!

:welcome: Mark!

ZZZZZZZzzzzzz...huh? What? Did you say something?

Just Michael being passive aggressive about my low speed in writing trip reports...

How romantic!

Ah well, everyone has their own definition of romance: Michael's is to go shopping at Sawgrass Mills.

You guys have friends in all of the right places.

We are very lucky with that and do appreciate it very much!

I'm quite certain I have never uttered this sentence.

If there had been a bacon dish, I would have gone for that, so I guess we can agree on that!

That sounds much better than the standard bag of peanuts.

Yes, but on a 11 hour flight you do need more sustenance than just a bag of peanuts!

This sounds like a serious issue!

We got some good advise from Alison on how to solve the chicken problem: Just take the rest as left overs for another meal!
 
I'm here! I promise I won't make any less commitment than I have anywhere else around here lately................ :blush:

:welcome: Marv! Hope you are ok! I tried to make this TR move very slow for my friends who do not have that much time!! ;)

Finally had some time to mosey back here and read the rest of your flight/arrival day. I've not ever flown Swiss, but they look pretty comparable food and spacewise to Lufthansa or the UAL overseas flights.

Yes, I think they are comparable to Lufthansa, maybe a little more casual. But that was fine with me.

I"m sure Michael was THRILLED to see you again! I"m so glad you could celebrate Sweethearts Day albeit a couple of days late. :love:

Yes! In 2014 I happened to get a massive migraine on the flight that made me feel nauseated, so I arrived totally white, still battling headache and nausea and told Michael to just be quiet on the drive from the airport. He is still affected by that trauma of picking me up in such an ill state!

Mmmm Panera! Pricey for the food, but still delicious in my book.

Yes, it was a bit on the pricey side, but I felt that the quality was worth it.

Yes, I'd imagine the cruise ships did look humongous. I think I"d have been rather impressed as well.

It is like a moving house!

Anyway, finally subbed in here and can at least get notifications even if it is harder right now to keep up.

Well, since this did not move very far at all, I hope you did not find it too hard to keep up!! :rotfl2:
 

:welcome: Pam!

sounds like a super fun medley of a trip. I really want to stay at Cabana Bay Beach Resort, the pictures look too cute.

It was a really fun whirlwind type of trip! And I think you would love Cabana Bay!

Fantastic you were able to change your ticket to an AP :hyper:

Yes, that was an unexpected bonus!

The plane ride sounds super smooth and yummy food, and immigration being that smooth is amazing!

Everything going well with traveling always sets a good tone for the vacation!
 


I just found the link to this and I am checking in.

:welcome: Corinna!

I am looking forward to this, even if I have to wait until 2020.

You have more patience than Michael when it comes to trip reports! :rotfl: I am not sure how much I would remember if I waited until 2020 for a 2016 trip report...

That is great that this worked out like this.

We were really lucky with the DVC party!

I love it when trips evolve and become even better.

Yes, this is always nice! Our upcoming trip to WDW appears to be evolving at the moment as well and has the chance to become even better. I am quite excited about this!

I quite like the A330s, but this seemed like an odd colour scheme.

We will be back on the same A330 on our way to Shanghai soon! But I think I read that SWISS is getting rid of the A330 and replacing them with 777s (or was it the 340s that are being replaces?). Which is a shame as they will not have the 2-4-2 configuration that is just so much better than the 3-4-3!

In other airline news (I guess you are still interested despite no longer working for an airline), did you hear that LH is moving 5 A380s to Munich? They are upset with Fraport giving Ryanair such a good deal that they decided to focus a bit more on the Munich hub.

That actually looks pretty tasty.

Food was good! I am looking forward to see what we will get on our way to Shanghai!

Oh, I would have loved this.

If you are ever back in Miami, I can definitely recommend it! It is also easy to get to when you are in South Beach.

It amused me that you had photos of this ship on the last trip report and now on this one.

Yes, Michael told me that the ship I took a picture of on the Norway cruise was the same one that we had seen in Miami. I never made the connection. It actually turned out that a friend of his recently went on a cruise on this ship - possibly even the cruise when you did get to do the ship visit! Kind of a "It's a Small World" moment!
 
Caught up.

:thumbsup2

I saw a sign recently that said something like, "Shopping with your husband is like hunting with the game warden".

:rotfl2: How true!! One department store here actually offers a "husband lounge" with a billiard table, coffee and the possibility to sign up for some men's cosmetic treatments so that the wives can go off on their own and shop.

Do you think they may have been marketed by Adidas? I wonder what was on the label. It's so blatant I doubt that a knockoff could have gotten away with that.

No, it was a knockoff for sure. It only has two stripes instead of the real three stripes. Here in Germany the two stripes would not be possible as the three stripes are considered to be so iconic for the brand that the two stripes look far too similar. But I think in other countries this is different. Trademark law depends so much on nuances and there are different interpretations in all the countries.
 
A Rainy Day

Now we are coming up to our travel day up to Orlando, which was a Wednesday. We were going to stay there for three nights, so had two full days to play with. Thursday we planned to visit Universal and on Friday evening there was the DVC party at the MK, which I had signed us up for. Of course then Disney comes along and causes chaos on relatively short notice by suddenly starting to show Rivers of Light. There was no way that Michael and I would be in Orlando and not see that new show! Of course the only evening they were showing it during our stay was on Thursday!

We had talked about not seeing it, something M -- really! -- seemed more OK with than I. After hearing about development of this show starting in 2007, I was going to see it as soon as I could.

We were meeting a good friend, who is also a CM, and her then-one-month-old and since she felt the baby would be fine dining out, that was what we did. Many WDW restaurants have been offering 40% discounts to CMs, the popular opinion is they have been hurt by better, less expensive and easier to get into new locales at Disney Springs and one of the new ones is Kona Café for lunch and we decided to meet up there!


So, we really had an early start
yes, readers of my previous trip reports will be amazed, but we pulled away a little after 8am!!! and drove up to Orlando. It is a boring drive, especially when it is raining.

Yes, when you don't have to focus on keeping the car on the road and everyone alive, it can be. BTW, as a Floridian who has made this trek countless times let me tell you that driving up in torrential rain is a pretty normal happenstance.

We stopped about an hour before we got there and told our friend our progress so that she could get a last minute ADR for our group for our estimated arrival time. We were all a bit afraid that we would have trouble parking at the Polynesian without a reservation. We ended up in quite a bit of traffic in areas of Orlando where Michael keeps telling me that there used to be nothing, but now it is filled with townhouses, restaurants and time shares.
that area would be near John Young Parkway and the Loop ... an area that 20 years ago was simply a road cut through swamp, scrub and fields of cows! And then finally we saw this:

IMG_2765_zpscsxdzxeu.jpg


I think this was really my first time arriving at WDW in daylight driving through this arch! As you can see, it was indeed a rainy day!!

We got to the Poly without problem and the guy at the gate was not very bothered at all. As soon as we said we had a reservation, he just waved us through without checking if we were telling the truth.
He must have known you were German!


We quickly met up with our friend, admired the very cute little one and then checked in for our lunch.

We had looked at the Kona Café lunch menu before we had decided to go there and I was quite excited as there were a number of things that sounded really good. We ordered quite a variety of things. A lot of menu items from this location's Golden Days -- the late 1990s -- seem to have returned, although I've since heard many have again been removed.

I had the Grilled Ahi Tuna Sandwich - served with Pickled Vegetable Slaw on our Pineapple Bread with Sweet Potato Fries:

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I ordered the tuna rare and it was perfect when it came out! This was really delicious! The slaw gave it something fresh and the slight sweetness of the bread was perfect in combination. I loved my sandwich. So much that I am hoping to return there for lunch on my next trip because I want to have that sandwich again!


Michael got the Polynesian Plate Lunch - Grilled Teriyaki Steak with Grilled Pineapple Salsa; served with Sticky Rice and Pasta Salad:

DSC05006_zpsrx2mtog9.jpg


I think he liked it. I thought the combination of rice and noodle salad was a bit odd…It was quite good and well worth the price with the 40% discount. If I had paid any more, I wouldn't have been happy as the steak was ... quite small!

Michael’s mother and our friend got the chicken version of this: Polynesian Plate Lunch - Pan-fried Chicken with Coconut and Mango Sauces; served with Sticky Rice and Pasta Salad

DSC05005_zpsbueolfyt.jpg


And Michael’s brother went with the Asian Noodle Bowl - Spiced Beef Broth with Strip Steak, Asian Vegetables, and Rice Noodles:

DSC05007_zpsooi906dc.jpg


This used to be favourite of mine and they did not shrink the size of this. It is quite large!


Its was indeed a huge portion! And they all enjoyed their food, too.

Michael and I had a look at the desserts that were on display on the counter in the restaurant and decided that there was only one that we were interested in, the Banana-Chocolate Crème Brûlée:

DSC05009_zpsfmdagcam.jpg


We shared this one. I had thought that I would be happy with just a few bites of it. But it turned out to be so good that I ate a little more than I had intended. I think Michael was not too happy about this development. Next time you'll earn the nickname 'Four Fingers!'

After the meal we relocated into the lobby where we sat and chatted for a while and gave our friend some baby gifts. Outside it was raining buckets and it looked like the rain was going to stick around for quite some time. (Original plan, I think, was to head to EPCOT for a few hours, but it was a tropical downpour as usual to all you FL weather lovers!) By now it was approaching 4 p.m. and I was thinking that maybe we could check out Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto at the Poly while we were there anyway and really had nowhere to go since it was far nicer to stay inside than venture out in the rain.

We checked when they would open and there was a CM outside distributing pagers. That was about 15 minutes before 4 p.m. We were put on a list and we were told that at four they would open and then would page the people according to their position on the list and then you were allowed to enter and pick your seat in that order. We thought that that was a cool system. Interestingly, when we went up to the entrance again at around four (they were a little delayed in opening), there were a few people hanging out there without pager. So, it seems that the pager line gets closed at some time and after that you just wait in line. It really was not that crowded though and I think everyone who was there for opening also got a spot inside without problem.

Side note, yes, we all are terrible people for bringing a newborn to a tiki bar. But Uncle Mike wanted to be the first to take the little darling on a bar crawl, so ... and mom made sure her ears were protected whenever it got loud!


We got a really nice large table in the corner. Unfortunately it was not the best corner to see all the fun things that can happen in this bar. But it was a good table for us. Especially since were was plenty of space for the baby carrier. I was really impressed how little the baby was concerned with what was happening. I think she slept through most of it.

We ordered our drinks, Michael and I decided to share the Uh-Oa! - Myers's Original Dark Ru, Bacardi Superior Rum, orange, passion fruit, guava, pineapple, and grapefruit juices, Falernum, Cinnamon, and fresh lime juice.

This comes in a large vessel that is supposed to be shared by two people. There is quite a bit of chanting, fire and throwing around of cinnamon. It is a really fun production! And the drink was really good, too. Even quite potent, not your typical WDW drink which tends to be on the weak side. I have learned that at Sam's, unless you want a high priced fruit punch or slush, the drinks for two are the way to go. They actually put more than a table spoon of alcohol in them.

After having introduced the little baby to the world of bars, we had a short look at the shop before we said goodbye to our friend and headed towards Universal to check into our hotel. By then the rain was a little less torrential and we quickly got there without too many issues.

We ended up with one normal hotel room at Cabana Bay and one of their family suites. The family suite was because that room was booked through the other friend who works at Universal (and who would provide the tickets for the next day).

So, I have pictures of the normal room first:

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DSC05011_zpsmfaqo8dt.jpg


This is very much a standard hotel room layout, nothing special. The family suite is different. You enter into the kitchen area:

DSC05012_zps7en0mmel.jpg


The door is on the right, the door you see straight ahead is a connecting door to the next room.

And if you turn around you look into the living room area:

DSC05013_zpsll5aynri.jpg


The sofa is a sleeper.

There is not a real wall, more a screen between the living room and the bedroom:

DSC05014_zps3mv8ebct.jpg


But there is a sliding door, so you can separate the two spaces.

These are the beds:

DSC05015_zpsanemn4di.jpg


And if you turn around you have the doorway into the bathroom, shower on your left, toilet on your right, both with separate doors. There is also a second sink in the room with the shower.

DSC05016_zpsv6mbmv3y.jpg


I can't say enough good things about Cabana Bay, which opened an expansion right after we left. If you want a nice family resort with all sorts of amenities and, let's be honest, none of Disney's value resorts have them, this is a great place to stay. Even getting to WDW by surface roads is 20 minutes away.

By the time we had checked in and parked the car it was already dark. But we decided that we would have a quick hop into the hot tub before we would venture out for dinner. The hot tub was really nice in the rain.


After a while it was time for dinner and Michael and I were very keen on trying out a new restaurant at City Walk (Universal’s version of Disney Springs). It is called The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen. It is a very elaborate steampunk restaurant which has a large ice cream and milk shake menu, but also a lot of normal food. The food sounded good (better than the milk shakes actually).

The food was MUCH better than the shakes actually!

We were joined for dinner by our Universal Team Member (that’s what they call Cast Members there) friend and her BF and we got into a weird discussion about what steampunk is and whether Disneyland Paris’ Discoveryland would be considered steampunk or not.
I had almost forgotten that due to recalling all the food he consumed and the need to order a $46 entree while everyone else topped out at $16.95! Yes, for whatever reason he decided to order the one really expensive dish on the menu, it did stick out for price and type of food (I think it was some kind of steak and shrimp dish).


We got to the restaurant quite late, which had the advantage that we did not have to wait for long for a table.

Our friend insisted that we all order the chocolate bread to share. They don’t have a complimentary bread service, so if you want to have bread, you order it as an appetizer.

DSC05019_zpsatqveth1.jpg


We were not really that thrilled with it though. It tasted more like a bland chocolate cake than a bread. But then bread kind of is boring cake…

I had a drink:

DSC05020_zpslggt8odt.jpg


The drink was good, but a bit on the smaller side.

Michael and I both had a salad. I had the Sedona Barbecue Chicken Salad: Chipotle Grilled Chicken, Romaine, Roasted Corn, Black Beans, Avocado, Pepper Jack Cheese, Vine Tomatoes, Spiced Pumpkin Seeds, Honey-Lime Vinaigrette

DSC05022_zpsob8vqsdw.jpg


Michael had some kind of salad, too:

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(Or maybe it was the other way around???) My salad did not have chicken on it.

We both really enjoyed the food. The salads were also not expensive at all with 12.95 $ each. Overall, we found that the menu had plenty of choices at decent prices.

The only pricey thing were the milkshakes and our lovely server talked us into getting milk shakes for desserts. They are the variety where there is so much stuff on them that it is dessert and a shake. However, we were not really that thrilled with the shake that we shared. It was a bit too liquid and we would have preferred more of an icecream taste and less other stuff.

I enjoy McD's shakes more and I'm not even from Delaware! They are just overdone and overrated and I don't want to drink 2,500 calories.


We had a really nice server and at some time during the meal the proprietor came along to talk to us. She is quite a character – as is her special helper and this certainly added to the experience!
Think streetmosphere at DHS types coming to your table and interacting.


Overall we really enjoyed this as a dinner option, but we would not get milk shakes again on a repeat visit. Which is strange for a place that has made their milk shakes their signature item…

By the time we left we were nearly the last party in the restaurant, but no one ever made us feel unwanted. I was dead tired by the end and just fell into bed when we returned to the hotel…

We left through a very empty City Walk, which I thought was weird since it was just after midnight. I believe that's where I told said friends a great blonde joke that somehow they had never heard, even though it is older than they are, and they enjoyed a great deal. M doesn't find it as funny, but she's German and doesn't have much in the way of a sense of humour. Anyway, You want to hear it? Of course you do ... OK ... So, it's a lovely day in SoCal and four blondes hop into a convertible to drive to Disneyland. They are driving down the Freeway and see a sign that reads "Disneyland left" ... so they start crying hysterically and drive home. The end! Thank you. Thank you very much. I'm here until the end of the trip report! And if you pay me, I won't tell any more jokes!

Up Next: A Universal Start of the Day
 


Michael and I are going to Shanghai and Japan (where we will also visit the respective Disney resorts there).

I will watch for this with great interest. This will be very useful reading in the not too distant future.

Our upcoming trip to WDW appears to be evolving at the moment as well and has the chance to become even better. I am quite excited about this!

That sounds interesting.

(or was it the 340s that are being replaces?)

I rather suspect it is the 340s as an increasing number of airlines seem to be phasing them out. It is a real shame as this is a nice aircraft.

(I guess you are still interested despite no longer working for an airline)

I definitely am.

did you hear that LH is moving 5 A380s to Munich?

No, I had not heard this. After our experience with LH coming back from Seattle, I seriously doubt we will ever fly long-haul with them again.

It actually turned out that a friend of his recently went on a cruise on this ship - possibly even the cruise when you did get to do the ship visit!

When I visited, the ship was doing a British Isles cruise. I did really enjoy it.

It is a boring drive, especially when it is raining.

I hate that particular drive with a passion.

we got into a weird discussion about what steampunk is and whether Disneyland Paris’ Discoveryland would be considered steampunk or not.

I would be very interested in the outcome of this discussion.

Corinna
 
First off, I hope that Michael has passed on the information to you that the October trip is a go! We'll be pulling the plug on the airfare either today or tomorrow. So we should overlap about four days.

Of course then Disney comes along and causes chaos on relatively short notice by suddenly starting to show Rivers of Light.

So now I have to start working this into our plans. So many things to figure out!

So, we really had an early start yes, readers of my previous trip reports will be amazed, but we pulled away a little after 8am!!! and drove up to Orlando. It is a boring drive, especially when it is raining.

I'm very proud of you, I'm not sure how we get going this early, but it's going to happen for us in about 3 days, bit then again it's not nearly as far to the Disney where we are going.

And Michael’s brother went with the Asian Noodle Bowl - Spiced Beef Broth with Strip Steak, Asian Vegetables, and Rice Noodles:

That would have been my choice, hold the Cilantro. I'm glad you enjoyed your Ahi Sandwich.

By now it was approaching 4 p.m. and I was thinking that maybe we could check out Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto at the Poly while we were there anyway and really had nowhere to go since it was far nicer to stay inside than venture out in the rain.

Sounds like a plan to me!

We got a really nice large table in the corner.

Ask Michael if it's the same one I sat at with him last year...

Unfortunately it was not the best corner to see all the fun things that can happen in this bar.

That bar like communal table is a great place to see the effects (having been there on three occasions now, and having sat in three separate places).

This comes in a large vessel that is supposed to be shared by two people.

When we were there Fran had a Nautilus AND and Uh-Oah to herself. :rotfl2: The only place she had to drive was back to the room at the Poly.

I have learned that at Sam's, unless you want a high priced fruit punch or slush, the drinks for two are the way to go. They actually put more than a

The zombie head drink is pretty potent too! That's my go to at the Florida version.

The family suite is different. You enter into the kitchen area:

So does it have a similar cooking capability as a studio Villa?

It is called The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen. It is a very elaborate steampunk restaurant which has a large ice cream and milk shake menu, but also a lot of normal food. The food sounded good (better than the milk shakes actually).

I've heard mixed reviews of that place, but consistently that the food is better than the desserts and milkshakes.

We got to the restaurant quite late, which had the advantage that we did not have to wait for long for a table.

And I've heard waits are long, especially at peak times.

We had a really nice server and at some time during the meal the proprietor came along to talk to us.

That rare that a restaurant has an actual proprietor AND that they are in house and talk to the patrons!

M doesn't find it as funny, but she's German and doesn't have much in the way of a sense of humour.

Oh sure she has a great sense of humor! Just look at all the jabs at you that she gets in on here TRs! :laughing:
 
We ended up in quite a bit of traffic in areas of Orlando where Michael keeps telling me that there used to be nothing, but now it is filled with townhouses, restaurants and time shares. that area would be near John Young Parkway and the Loop ... an area that 20 years ago was simply a road cut through swamp, scrub and fields of cows!

When my parents moved to that part of Orlando 20 years ago, there was a McDonalds, a sports bar, and one family-owned Italian restaurant. If you wanted something else, you could go further into Kissimmee or to Disney. We chose Disney.

Michael and I decided to share the Uh-Oa! - Myers's Original Dark Ru, Bacardi Superior Rum, orange, passion fruit, guava, pineapple, and grapefruit juices, Falernum, Cinnamon, and fresh lime juice.

I have got to try that drink.

I had the Sedona Barbecue Chicken Salad: Chipotle Grilled Chicken, Romaine, Roasted Corn, Black Beans, Avocado, Pepper Jack Cheese, Vine Tomatoes, Spiced Pumpkin Seeds, Honey-Lime Vinaigrette

Your salad looks delicious!

Overall we really enjoyed this as a dinner option, but we would not get milk shakes again on a repeat visit. Which is strange for a place that has made their milk shakes their signature item…

DBF and I were at CityWalk a few months ago for a concert and had planned on going there, but their gluten free menu wasn't great and all that looked good to me was a milkshake. Instead we went to some counter service place where you can get sushi burritos. I'll try to head back next time we're there, but for dinner instead of just dessert :)
 
This was a long day, no wonder you were tired! Glad you only had a walk back to the resort and no driving.

I don't think I'll ever get used to driving through the heavy rain down here. It scares the liver out of me!

Lovely to go to the Poly and spend time with your friend :) glad the little one was peaceful during all that excitement. Helps them get used to noises.

Hot tub time during the rain sounds heavenly!

Too bad about the milkshake, that sounds very disappointing. I love a good milkshake. Odd to have chocolate bread as an appetizer.
 
Thursday we planned to visit Universal and on Friday evening there was the DVC party at the MK, which I had signed us up for. Of course then Disney comes along and causes chaos on relatively short notice by suddenly starting to show Rivers of Light. There was no way that Michael and I would be in Orlando and not see that new show!

That Disney. They know just how to reel you back in.

Many WDW restaurants have been offering 40% discounts to CMs, the popular opinion is they have been hurt by better, less expensive and easier to get into new locales at Disney Springs and one of the new ones is Kona Café for lunch and we decided to meet up there!

Good idea! I've always liked Kona Cafe.

yes, readers of my previous trip reports will be amazed, but we pulled away a little after 8am!!!

:eek:

Pictures or it didn't happen!

A lot of menu items from this location's Golden Days -- the late 1990s -- seem to have returned, although I've since heard many have again been removed.

It always frustrates me when I find something I really love on a restaurant's menu and then they get rid of it.

Michael got the Polynesian Plate Lunch - Grilled Teriyaki Steak with Grilled Pineapple Salsa

When I ate at Kona before, I really loved their pineapple teriyaki steak. They'd taken it away for a while, so this must be the "new" version. Glad to see it back in some fashion!

We shared this one. I had thought that I would be happy with just a few bites of it. But it turned out to be so good that I ate a little more than I had intended. I think Michael was not too happy about this development. Next time you'll earn the nickname 'Four Fingers!'

This happens to my desserts all the time. Julie must be your partner in crime. Michael and I will have to commiserate about our lot in life.

Side note, yes, we all are terrible people for bringing a newborn to a tiki bar.

Well, the baby will just eat, sleep and poop no matter where he/she is.

I can't say enough good things about Cabana Bay, which opened an expansion right after we left. If you want a nice family resort with all sorts of amenities and, let's be honest, none of Disney's value resorts have them, this is a great place to stay.

That's good to know, as I'm always looking for deals for places to stay with my large family. My only hang-up with Cabana Bay is...I just don't like the theme.

After a while it was time for dinner and Michael and I were very keen on trying out a new restaurant at City Walk (Universal’s version of Disney Springs). It is called The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen. It is a very elaborate steampunk restaurant which has a large ice cream and milk shake menu, but also a lot of normal food. The food sounded good (better than the milk shakes actually).

The food was MUCH better than the shakes actually!

Weird that they'd fail on their featured items!

But then bread kind of is boring cake…

:rotfl2: I never thought of it that way!

I had a drink:

DSC05020_zpslggt8odt.jpg

There's a drink in there??

I enjoy McD's shakes more and I'm not even from Delaware!

You know when McDonald's shakes are good? When you've been on the road for 3 hours and the kids are getting antsy in the back seat of the van and you feel like you need to get out and stretch for a few minutes.

Overall we really enjoyed this as a dinner option, but we would not get milk shakes again on a repeat visit. Which is strange for a place that has made their milk shakes their signature item…

That boggles my mind. I didn't think it was possible to screw up milkshakes.

So, it's a lovely day in SoCal and four blondes hop into a convertible to drive to Disneyland. They are driving down the Freeway and see a sign that reads "Disneyland left" ... so they start crying hysterically and drive home. The end! Thank you. Thank you very much. I'm here until the end of the trip report! And if you pay me, I won't tell any more jokes!

:rotfl2::rotfl:

You know me, I'm always up for Dad jokes.
 
I'm late but here I am. We took a cruise the last couple of weeks of May and then classes started, and staffing and scheduling for spring and summer 2018 had to be completed (one of my hats) and so on and so on.

I have to ask, but you do not have to answer, how the heck did you guys meet? Since one of you lives in Germany and the other in the United States?

Signing off now so I can read your June 23rd update.

Kate
 
Now we are coming up to our travel day up to Orlando, which was a Wednesday. We were going to stay there for three nights, so had two full days to play with. Thursday we planned to visit Universal and on Friday evening there was the DVC party at the MK, which I had signed us up for. Of course then Disney comes along and causes chaos on relatively short notice by suddenly starting to show Rivers of Light. There was no way that Michael and I would be in Orlando and not see that new show! Of course the only evening they were showing it during our stay was on Thursday!

Of course it worked out that way. BUT, I'm hoping you actually DID go see it. And I have full confidence in your abilities to shuffle the schedule around to get to it. :)

So, we really had an early start yes, readers of my previous trip reports will be amazed, but we pulled away a little after 8am!!! and drove up to Orlando.

:scared1::scared1::scared1:

Where did the real Michael go? Magdalene! Who were you really with?! :eek:

Michael keeps telling me that there used to be nothing, but now it is filled with townhouses, restaurants and time shares. that area would be near John Young Parkway and the Loop ... an area that 20 years ago was simply a road cut through swamp, scrub and fields of cows!

Ah... progress. :cool:

I ordered the tuna rare and it was perfect when it came out! This was really delicious! The slaw gave it something fresh and the slight sweetness of the bread was perfect in combination. I loved my sandwich. So much that I am hoping to return there for lunch on my next trip because I want to have that sandwich again!

That sounds (and looks) amazing!! WOW!

And Michael’s brother went with the Asian Noodle Bowl - Spiced Beef Broth with Strip Steak, Asian Vegetables, and Rice Noodles:

I think I'd have gone with this one for sure. Yummo!

By now it was approaching 4 p.m. and I was thinking that maybe we could check out Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto at the Poly while we were there anyway and really had nowhere to go since it was far nicer to stay inside than venture out in the rain.

Perfectly acceptable and wholly wonderful plan!

Side note, yes, we all are terrible people for bringing a newborn to a tiki bar. But Uncle Mike wanted to be the first to take the little darling on a bar crawl, so ... and mom made sure her ears were protected whenever it got loud!

:rotfl2:

We ordered our drinks, Michael and I decided to share the Uh-Oa! - Myers's Original Dark Ru, Bacardi Superior Rum, orange, passion fruit, guava, pineapple, and grapefruit juices, Falernum, Cinnamon, and fresh lime juice.

Uh-oa, Uh-oa, uh, uh, uh OA!!!

I have learned that at Sam's, unless you want a high priced fruit punch or slush, the drinks for two are the way to go. They actually put more than a table spoon of alcohol in them.

Don't even get me started on the entire state of drinks and the amount of alcohol in Disney drinks. HUGE, long rant if I get going.....


It is a very elaborate steampunk restaurant

Ummm, yes, that IS an odd conversation, but that aside, I can't WAIT until the Edison opens.

and we got into a weird discussion about what steampunk is and whether Disneyland Paris’ Discoveryland would be considered steampunk or not.

Okay.... :confused3

We had a really nice server and at some time during the meal the proprietor came along to talk to us. She is quite a character – as is her special helper and this certainly added to the experience! Think streetmosphere at DHS types coming to your table and interacting.

That sounds awesomely fun! Someday, I will get out of the Disney bubble and venture over to US and take a dip.

We left through a very empty City Walk, which I thought was weird since it was just after midnight. I believe that's where I told said friends a great blonde joke that somehow they had never heard, even though it is older than they are, and they enjoyed a great deal. M doesn't find it as funny, but she's German and doesn't have much in the way of a sense of humour. Anyway, You want to hear it? Of course you do ... OK ... So, it's a lovely day in SoCal and four blondes hop into a convertible to drive to Disneyland. They are driving down the Freeway and see a sign that reads "Disneyland left" ... so they start crying hysterically and drive home. The end! Thank you. Thank you very much. I'm here until the end of the trip report! And if you pay me, I won't tell any more jokes!

:rotfl2::rotfl::lmao:

Thank you for that Michael. The world needs to lighten up these days.
 
I finally made it. For a "short trip" you sure are packing a lot in. If it has to be raining, the Poly is the place to hang out and wait.

Uh OA!!!!! We shared that at DL and yes I even brought the container ( glass just is NOT the right word) home!!! It is 1 yummy drink and does have a sufficient amount of alcohol.

Cabana Bay looks cool. We really need to venture over to US and IoA. Someday- We keep talking about it but just never make it.
 
Hello everyone!! I am really sorry for the lack of updates on this trip report, but coming back from vacation to the mess of Photobucket destroying their own business - and my trip reports as well and then all kind of business some has lead to a lack of energy for this report. But there is a weekend ahead when I hope to get this report finished and with pictures again. Especially since I will need something happy to concentrate on...

As you know, Michael lives in Florida. In the South of the state. Luckily not close to the coast and in a house that was built after Hurricane Andrew, so according to very strict building codes. The hurricane shutters were put up yesterday, supplies have been bought. And soon the waiting game will begin. For him it is going to be worse with a storm pounding around the house for who knows how long. But being an ocean away when your loved ones are going through an event like this is really getting me down as well. So, I would really appreciate it if you could keep him, his family and all other Floridians in your thoughts while Irma is about to cause havoc!
 
We are in the same boat - we live in S. Fl in a house that was built after Andrew about 10 miles inland. We have our shutters up, supplies stocked and are hoping for the best. I hope things are well for him. The waiting is really difficult!
 
We are in the same boat - we live in S. Fl in a house that was built after Andrew about 10 miles inland. We have our shutters up, supplies stocked and are hoping for the best. I hope things are well for him. The waiting is really difficult!

Wishing you a safe weekend! The waiting game is already horrible for me a continent away. I truly feel with everyone stuck in this mess. :grouphug:

German media has posted a mock up picture of Irma superimposed on a map of Germany. It covers the whole country. :crazy2:
 
As you know, Michael lives in Florida. In the South of the state. Luckily not close to the coast and in a house that was built after Hurricane Andrew, so according to very strict building codes. The hurricane shutters were put up yesterday, supplies have been bought. And soon the waiting game will begin. For him it is going to be worse with a storm pounding around the house for who knows how long. But being an ocean away when your loved ones are going through an event like this is really getting me down as well. So, I would really appreciate it if you could keep him, his family and all other Floridians in your thoughts while Irma is about to cause havoc!

I have been following the situation in the south of Florida very carefully for professional reasons. You, Michael and his family and everybody else who is affected by this are in my thoughts and prayers.

Corinna
 

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