OneTreeHillAddict
CNC Photography of Myrtle Beach, SC
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2008
I'll have some of it on tonight. (I hope)
3 days!? OMGosh girl. YOU better get to packing if you haven't already!
Grand Gatherings & more! 1 year of Disney Dining! Illuminations Grand Gathering 5/26
- Thread starter OneTreeHillAddict
- Start date
- Status
I'll have some of it on tonight. (I hope)
3 days!? OMGosh girl. YOU better get to packing if you haven't already!
OneTreeHillAddict
CNC Photography of Myrtle Beach, SC
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2008
I left off at Tusker House. One of our favorite eateries that happened to be having an off day. It happens to everyone at some point so I wont hold it against them. If it happens again, then maybe. I don't remember the events exactly as they happened but I'm guessing we went on Safari following breakfast. That's usually what we do. I have a few pictures from that...
We go back again later ~ twice. So more pics to come.
We went walking around a bit and met some friends in the wooded trails...
I was happy to see them moved away from the area up by close to Tusker House and put along the wilderness trails. This worked out so much better. No crowds. Beautiful pictures. Great idea!
We walked on towards Expedition Everest and met up with some friends. We rode that a couple of times. (Also Dinosaur, Primeval Whirl, Kali River Rapids, and a few other rides.) It was nearing lunch time but we wanted to go see the Tigers first. Out of all our visits to the AK this was our first visit to see the bats and tigers. What a gorgeous trail! Never again will we miss out on this!
We were having so much fun but now it was time for lunch! Lunch today was at Yak n' Yeti! We LOVE this place! It's part of the Landry's chain so the food is gonna be good!
This time I tried the sweet and sour chicken and it was fantastic!
Sidney had his regular meal ~ steak and shrimp!
Our food was cooked to perfection! Way too much food for one person though. If you're doing lunch you can split one meal and be fine. We both ordered the same dessert. The fried won tons of course. This is the most amazing, most delicious dessert in all of Disney World! We split this amongst the five of us and nothing was left in the end.
We had an ADR here but you probably could have done a walk in and been seated instantly. As for the service....we had an incredible waiter. He was so attentive and a pleasure to get to know. I felt like he was family by the end of the meal. It was probably the best service we had during the entire stay!
Next meal!? The Safari Grand Gathering!
What is a Grand Gathering? A GG is when you have a group of 8 or more people. These eight people must be age 3 or older to be counted as part of the 8. Of course kids 2 and under are welcome and best of all FREE but you must have 8 paying guests to participate.
I have done this twice now and what I am writing here is the way I did things. When I called the GG hotline I was told everyone in my group must be staying on Disney property. (I didn't question it so maybe if you pay in advance you can add locals or whatever....don't really know. My eight were all on WDW property so this is how I handled things.)
To be a GG I had to know everyone's reservation #. The GG hotline needed it to group us together as one gathering. Each family can probably do this. Again, not sure. (Colleen gave me her information so I handled it all) They do need every bit of the info. Your email. Your address, name, res #, resort....the works. In the beginning of this most recent trip we had Christine on our GG. She booked through a travel agent so her TA had to make all the calls to WDW. If the ressie is made outside of WDW reservation system that place must handle the GG. Make sense so far? Once they grouped us together they assigned us a GG #. You also get a special # (it's not toll free) to call to book tours, dining, whatever. If you make any changes in your resort info at all you have to go through the GG people once you become part of a GG. This does not include dining UNLESS it is a GG experience or something you all book as one group. So if each family in the GG wants different dining other than the GG exp that's fine. Just call Disney Dining or go online. All GG exp must be made through the GG line though!
You can assign your GG a name. I did not know this because they ended up sending Colleen the information and I never got it. (They ended up calling us by my last name...didn't even spell it right.) LOL I would have called something different for sure. Anyway, make sure you give it a cute name.
There are three GG meals offered:
Tony's Town Square offers a Good Morning GG breakfast. This is a lot of fun. You can find pictures here. We did this one back in December with some very cool Disfriends. It was a lot of fun but my least favorite of the three. The food is just okay. This one only takes 1 dining credit. The dinners each take two.
* All GG exp include your gratuity and a GG pin!
Dinner is offered at both Animal Kingdom & Epcot. Both are awesome! In my next post we will experience the Safari Grand Gathering at the Animal Kingdom. I just wanted to let everyone know what the GG is all about. I know it was extremely hard for us to find anything on the one over at Epcot. Well, it wont be anymore! Detailed reviews coming soon!
We go back again later ~ twice. So more pics to come.
We went walking around a bit and met some friends in the wooded trails...
I was happy to see them moved away from the area up by close to Tusker House and put along the wilderness trails. This worked out so much better. No crowds. Beautiful pictures. Great idea!
We walked on towards Expedition Everest and met up with some friends. We rode that a couple of times. (Also Dinosaur, Primeval Whirl, Kali River Rapids, and a few other rides.) It was nearing lunch time but we wanted to go see the Tigers first. Out of all our visits to the AK this was our first visit to see the bats and tigers. What a gorgeous trail! Never again will we miss out on this!
We were having so much fun but now it was time for lunch! Lunch today was at Yak n' Yeti! We LOVE this place! It's part of the Landry's chain so the food is gonna be good!
This time I tried the sweet and sour chicken and it was fantastic!
Sidney had his regular meal ~ steak and shrimp!
Our food was cooked to perfection! Way too much food for one person though. If you're doing lunch you can split one meal and be fine. We both ordered the same dessert. The fried won tons of course. This is the most amazing, most delicious dessert in all of Disney World! We split this amongst the five of us and nothing was left in the end.
We had an ADR here but you probably could have done a walk in and been seated instantly. As for the service....we had an incredible waiter. He was so attentive and a pleasure to get to know. I felt like he was family by the end of the meal. It was probably the best service we had during the entire stay!
Next meal!? The Safari Grand Gathering!
What is a Grand Gathering? A GG is when you have a group of 8 or more people. These eight people must be age 3 or older to be counted as part of the 8. Of course kids 2 and under are welcome and best of all FREE but you must have 8 paying guests to participate.
I have done this twice now and what I am writing here is the way I did things. When I called the GG hotline I was told everyone in my group must be staying on Disney property. (I didn't question it so maybe if you pay in advance you can add locals or whatever....don't really know. My eight were all on WDW property so this is how I handled things.)
To be a GG I had to know everyone's reservation #. The GG hotline needed it to group us together as one gathering. Each family can probably do this. Again, not sure. (Colleen gave me her information so I handled it all) They do need every bit of the info. Your email. Your address, name, res #, resort....the works. In the beginning of this most recent trip we had Christine on our GG. She booked through a travel agent so her TA had to make all the calls to WDW. If the ressie is made outside of WDW reservation system that place must handle the GG. Make sense so far? Once they grouped us together they assigned us a GG #. You also get a special # (it's not toll free) to call to book tours, dining, whatever. If you make any changes in your resort info at all you have to go through the GG people once you become part of a GG. This does not include dining UNLESS it is a GG experience or something you all book as one group. So if each family in the GG wants different dining other than the GG exp that's fine. Just call Disney Dining or go online. All GG exp must be made through the GG line though!
You can assign your GG a name. I did not know this because they ended up sending Colleen the information and I never got it. (They ended up calling us by my last name...didn't even spell it right.) LOL I would have called something different for sure. Anyway, make sure you give it a cute name.
There are three GG meals offered:
Tony's Town Square offers a Good Morning GG breakfast. This is a lot of fun. You can find pictures here. We did this one back in December with some very cool Disfriends. It was a lot of fun but my least favorite of the three. The food is just okay. This one only takes 1 dining credit. The dinners each take two.
* All GG exp include your gratuity and a GG pin!
Dinner is offered at both Animal Kingdom & Epcot. Both are awesome! In my next post we will experience the Safari Grand Gathering at the Animal Kingdom. I just wanted to let everyone know what the GG is all about. I know it was extremely hard for us to find anything on the one over at Epcot. Well, it wont be anymore! Detailed reviews coming soon!
OneTreeHillAddict
CNC Photography of Myrtle Beach, SC
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2008
You are going to LOVE it! The sorbet over there is really good too but this I've never seen anywhere else.
They are as yummy as they look too!
I think TH was just out of it that morning. We eat there all the time, inluding later this night and everything has always been wonderful!
WrightFamily06
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2009
Yak & Yeti food looks so yummy ! The Fried Wontons look like they are to die for , if anything we will have to stop by and eat those on our next trip . Thanks for all the GG information , can't wait to hear more details on how the meals actually work out .
jenseib
Mommy to Claire
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2006
Great update. I think the Grand gatherings sound really fun. I have yet to eat at Yak and Yeti. Did you do the CS or TS for lunch that day? I think I would like it, but not sure if DH would. he changes his mind on that kind of food daily. LOL! And I know Claire wouldn't. Maybe when she gets older.
OneTreeHillAddict
CNC Photography of Myrtle Beach, SC
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2008
It is!!! I agree....even if we don't have a full meal here dessert will do us good!
Great update. I think the Grand gatherings sound really fun. I have yet to eat at Yak and Yeti. Did you do the CS or TS for lunch that day? I think I would like it, but not sure if DH would. he changes his mind on that kind of food daily. LOL! And I know Claire wouldn't. Maybe when she gets older.
They are! We've only had table service ay Y & Y. The CS is served outside. The menu is a lot more limited but I'm sure its just as tasty! They have a lot to choose from. Seafood, ribs. steak, chicken....salad. I'm sure he could find something on it.
sherry8253
<font color=blue>The TF hopes to brighten your day
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2002
Great reviews and pics. Thanks for taking the time to post your reviews.
Maureenmouse
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2005
OK. So I've been gone so long off here that I didn't know you were actually taking a trip this Winter!!! Hooray for you! I love your food updates and will try to keep up this time!
OneTreeHillAddict
CNC Photography of Myrtle Beach, SC
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2008
Hi everyone! It's me....OneTreeHillAddict. I keep getting these emails asking me where I have been. I've just been super busy. I still hop on and read posts from time to time. If you ever have questions or need to get in touch with me you can find me via my photography studio on facebook. Here is the link:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Myrtle-Beach-SC/CNC-Photography-of-Myrtle-Beach-SC/115025225195617
You can search CNC Photography of Myrtle Beach, SC. Please let me know when you Dis'ers come aboard. I miss ya'll! Hope to see you soon at Disney! XOXO
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Myrtle-Beach-SC/CNC-Photography-of-Myrtle-Beach-SC/115025225195617
You can search CNC Photography of Myrtle Beach, SC. Please let me know when you Dis'ers come aboard. I miss ya'll! Hope to see you soon at Disney! XOXO
smillerguy
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2007
Tammy
Hi from a fellow DIs myrtle Beach girl. i was waiting for your grand gathering report. I am going in may and know it would be rare to get but was hoping to find out some inside scoop about the experience. Is it covered in another trip report?
Also you said you love yak and Yeti and you use to like the salmon at Chef Mickeys. the Miso Salmon is wonderful at Yak and Yeti. it is a must for my DH every trip.
Hi from a fellow DIs myrtle Beach girl. i was waiting for your grand gathering report. I am going in may and know it would be rare to get but was hoping to find out some inside scoop about the experience. Is it covered in another trip report?
Also you said you love yak and Yeti and you use to like the salmon at Chef Mickeys. the Miso Salmon is wonderful at Yak and Yeti. it is a must for my DH every trip.
OneTreeHillAddict
CNC Photography of Myrtle Beach, SC
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2008
I'd be happy to talk to you about all of it. PM me your name and info and I'll give ya a call.
WrightFamily06
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2009
I already am friends with you on both FB pages but I do have to say we miss all your funny vacation stories over here and all the great advice !
OneTreeHillAddict
CNC Photography of Myrtle Beach, SC
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2008
I already am friends with you on both FB pages but I do have to say we miss all your funny vacation stories over here and all the great advice !
I really need to come back and add the Grand Gathering stuff. I just don't have the time. I miss everyone over here though. Not everyone is part of our lil Disney FB group.
Maybe Colleen will want to do something together. We're meeting up again in August.
hlrababy
Disney Princess ~Tinkerbell, sprinkle me with
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2006
I really need to come back and add the Grand Gathering stuff. I just don't have the time. I miss everyone over here though. Not everyone is part of our lil Disney FB group.
Yeah you do!!!!!!
OneTreeHillAddict
CNC Photography of Myrtle Beach, SC
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2008
Okay okay you guys....I'm going to do it! I'm going to finish this baby up right. I promised you Grand Gatherings and a year of Disney dining so here ya go! I'm not real sure where I left off in here, but we're going to start back up with the Animal Kingdom's GRAND GATHERING experience!
We attended this event with our DIS friends out of New Jersey. This trip was the first time we had met this family in real life! Colleen had been following my trip reports here on Dis for a while and this time we'd be vacationing at the same time. Turns out we all got along great, and I think it's safe to say we'll be lifelong friends. Thank you Disboards!
This was the second (maybe third, it's been a while so I may have the dates mixed up) Grand Gathering I attended at WDW. The first was the Good Morning Breakfast that's held at Tony's in the Magic Kingdom. I forget how to add links at the moment but it can be found earlier in this dining report.
This is how it all went down...
When we booked this meal park hours were later than they were by the time vacation rolled around. This made for some excitement within itself. We were able to tour the Animal Kingdom a couple of extra hours while we waited for the party to start. Extra time inside the AK? Sure! Bring it on! At a certain time we were told to meet at Flights of Wonder. There we would sign in and wait for our group to be called. The wait wasn't too bad. Next cast members made the rounds handing out GG safari pins to all of the guests. (Even the little kids under 3 were given a pin) We had a lady, whose name escapes me now, come out and talk to us.
After the pep talk we were called out by our animal named groups. Seems like we were first to be called. Maybe Colleen remembers. I asked her to come on later and fill in anything I may have missed. Anyway, we were called back out and our tour guide led us to our Safari tour. This takes place in the regular trucks like the ones used in the ride. You are seated with other groups you don't know unless you have enough people in your group to fill your own truck. Not sure why I expected to be in a different type of truck with just our little group but I thought this at first. Unfortunately you are not. Same ol' truck w/ people you don't know sitting behind ya! Anyway...
It's pretty much the same tour you get any other time but it's almost dark out and there's no track playing over the loud speaker. You have two tour guides and one person sits there and answers whatever questions you may have. It's a little more laid back than the regular ride but you don't do anything special. I was a little disappointed in this part of the gathering. I just expected more in my head. As you can see from these pictures it was very close to dark out so that was different than what we had seen before.
You don't always see these hippos out running around and on this night they were very active!
After the safari was over our tour guide gathered us up and took us back over to Tusker House. Once inside we were taken to a table filled with yummy breads, appetizers, etc. We had a wonderful server who took great care of us. There was plenty of food. Wanna see?
Our boys were like velcro. We couldn't tear them apart!
Yeah, yeah. I know....more food pictures!
Con't in next post....
We attended this event with our DIS friends out of New Jersey. This trip was the first time we had met this family in real life! Colleen had been following my trip reports here on Dis for a while and this time we'd be vacationing at the same time. Turns out we all got along great, and I think it's safe to say we'll be lifelong friends. Thank you Disboards!
This was the second (maybe third, it's been a while so I may have the dates mixed up) Grand Gathering I attended at WDW. The first was the Good Morning Breakfast that's held at Tony's in the Magic Kingdom. I forget how to add links at the moment but it can be found earlier in this dining report.
This is how it all went down...
When we booked this meal park hours were later than they were by the time vacation rolled around. This made for some excitement within itself. We were able to tour the Animal Kingdom a couple of extra hours while we waited for the party to start. Extra time inside the AK? Sure! Bring it on! At a certain time we were told to meet at Flights of Wonder. There we would sign in and wait for our group to be called. The wait wasn't too bad. Next cast members made the rounds handing out GG safari pins to all of the guests. (Even the little kids under 3 were given a pin) We had a lady, whose name escapes me now, come out and talk to us.
After the pep talk we were called out by our animal named groups. Seems like we were first to be called. Maybe Colleen remembers. I asked her to come on later and fill in anything I may have missed. Anyway, we were called back out and our tour guide led us to our Safari tour. This takes place in the regular trucks like the ones used in the ride. You are seated with other groups you don't know unless you have enough people in your group to fill your own truck. Not sure why I expected to be in a different type of truck with just our little group but I thought this at first. Unfortunately you are not. Same ol' truck w/ people you don't know sitting behind ya! Anyway...
It's pretty much the same tour you get any other time but it's almost dark out and there's no track playing over the loud speaker. You have two tour guides and one person sits there and answers whatever questions you may have. It's a little more laid back than the regular ride but you don't do anything special. I was a little disappointed in this part of the gathering. I just expected more in my head. As you can see from these pictures it was very close to dark out so that was different than what we had seen before.
You don't always see these hippos out running around and on this night they were very active!
After the safari was over our tour guide gathered us up and took us back over to Tusker House. Once inside we were taken to a table filled with yummy breads, appetizers, etc. We had a wonderful server who took great care of us. There was plenty of food. Wanna see?
Our boys were like velcro. We couldn't tear them apart!
Yeah, yeah. I know....more food pictures!
Con't in next post....
OneTreeHillAddict
CNC Photography of Myrtle Beach, SC
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2008
Our server came by and took drinks orders and told us all about the buffet. I'm not much on African cuisine but the kids table food was delish! LOL Nah, I tried a few things but I will admit, most of this stuff I didn't try. It's just not my cup of tea but everyone else seemed to enjoy it. Even a picky eater like me would be stuffed after this gathering!
I do love salmon and this one was pretty tasty!
While we ate dinner we were entertained by these guys, and they were amazing!
There was a lot of dancing and some special guests came out to dance with the crowd!
I wanted a picture of our group pigging out so I asked them all to look up for a second. This is the picture I got!
One more time you all!
Much better!
It's almost dessert time!!! Part 3 coming right up!
I do love salmon and this one was pretty tasty!
While we ate dinner we were entertained by these guys, and they were amazing!
There was a lot of dancing and some special guests came out to dance with the crowd!
I wanted a picture of our group pigging out so I asked them all to look up for a second. This is the picture I got!
One more time you all!
Much better!
It's almost dessert time!!! Part 3 coming right up!
OneTreeHillAddict
CNC Photography of Myrtle Beach, SC
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2008
Now it was time for the best part! CHOCOLATE CAKE! Nah, there was a lot more than that but believe me when I say it...this cake was DELICIOUS! OMGosh, so yummy! I don't even like chocolate cake but this one, man oh man! Good eatin'.
It was so good Jim wanted to take the whole thing for himself!
Luckily for him he had a change of heart and shared it with everyone.
They also brought out a huge tray of other sweet treats, actually two huge trays!
Oh, and the fruit bowl!
Next it was time to go meet the special guests!
SOMEBODY was really showing their...
Uh huh. Rafiki was nothing but trouble on this night! He kept rubbing up all over everyone. He had us laughing so hard we could barely catch our breath. Somehow we managed to get a group picture.
And one with the boys
Prior to booking this event I did as much research as I could. I would read in places about how they brought out exotic animals for people to see and touch but I never saw anything like that. Just crazy Rafiki!
Overall we had a great time and I would do this again in an instant! This takes two table services when using the Disney dining plan but this includes gratuity! You get a free collector pin as well. Food was yummy, entertainment was excellent, and the memories ~ priceless!
It was so good Jim wanted to take the whole thing for himself!
Luckily for him he had a change of heart and shared it with everyone.
They also brought out a huge tray of other sweet treats, actually two huge trays!
Oh, and the fruit bowl!
Next it was time to go meet the special guests!
SOMEBODY was really showing their...
Uh huh. Rafiki was nothing but trouble on this night! He kept rubbing up all over everyone. He had us laughing so hard we could barely catch our breath. Somehow we managed to get a group picture.
And one with the boys
Prior to booking this event I did as much research as I could. I would read in places about how they brought out exotic animals for people to see and touch but I never saw anything like that. Just crazy Rafiki!
Overall we had a great time and I would do this again in an instant! This takes two table services when using the Disney dining plan but this includes gratuity! You get a free collector pin as well. Food was yummy, entertainment was excellent, and the memories ~ priceless!
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