Our Fall 2014 Trip Report - Coming to You Barely Live from Orlando - Page 14 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Looks like a fun time at the F&W, even with the rain! You got some good food as it all looks good! That was quite a large portion of ravioli they gave you! You got your moneys worth on that one!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
I'm sorry that you had so much rain on this trip but you and Lou certainly made the best of it! We've always enjoy the atmosphere of that restaurant along with a great meal! Glad that you got to sample some of the food kiosks even with all the rain you had. That donut in Germany looks like something I will have to try on my upcoming trip.
This day at Epcot was our worst for rain, so we really can't complain too much. That donut was nice!
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperDave
Looks like a fun time at the F&W, even with the rain! You got some good food as it all looks good! That was quite a large portion of ravioli they gave you! You got your moneys worth on that one!
It was fun - and yes, the ravioli was easily enough for two to share.
A Surprising Dinner and the Start of the Wild Animal Trek
After our soggy time at Epcot, it was nice to relax in the villa. I almost always took a hot bath to get warm and regen for the evening. Tonight, we had reservations back at Epcot for Tokyo Dining (another first), and I wanted to shoot Illuminations from the balcony. But ... do we really want to go back out in the rain? We considered room service or pizza, but then I found an ADR for 8pm at Flying Fish. We'd had a not-so-good experience at Flying Fish on a previous trip. BUT, Lou said we should try it again.
I couldn't make the ADR online, because it wouldn't let me cancel Tokyo Dining. I called, explaining I knew I faced a $20 cancellation fee. The lady was so nice. She said (over and over, because I am dense) - "Let's just move your Tokyo Dining ADR to tomorrow night. If you don't want to use it, just cancel it before midnight tonight." I finally get it - she is giving me a way to get out of the $20 fee. Okay ...
Having a late dinner gave us time to stop by Belle Vue Lounge at the Boardwalk - a hidden gem, since not many seem to go there. We then went to Flying Fish, were seated right away, and proceeded to have a really nice dinner. I love the whimsical decor.
Our server was Tim (I think), and he was excellent. Lou ordered the steak, and I had the crab cake appetizer as my dinner - it was huge! We both started with a ceaser salad, which was also really good.
I was concerned when Lou's rare steak arrived, but it was okay. The seared look is from the spices they coat the steak with - he said it was really good. I was so happy dinner was a hit. With Boardwalk one of our home DVC resorts, it's so nice to have a restaurant right there.
The Wild Africa Trek
Since the above is a fairly weak entry - I didn't take my camera to dinner, and just used the iPhone - I'm going to start on the Wild Africa Trek portion of the report. You may recall, this was actually on Sunday, early in the trip.
The weather was brilliant on Sunday morning - a little warm and humid, but no rain in sight. We checked out of BLT, loaded the car, and drove over to Animal Kingdom. We were early enough to have a quick breakfast at Pizzafari before the 10:15am Trek. We checked in at 10am as requested, and were outfitted with safety vests, given a locker to store all of our valuables, and waited for the last couple to arrive.
One thing many people are nervous about is the "weigh-in" process. I can report this is done very discreetly. Even you don't know what the results are, as long as you are less than 300 pounds. Here's Lou getting weighed (note - he is a big guy, but was plenty safe for the weight limit - that might not have been the case a few years ago )
We only had 6 people on our Trek! This was awesome, and one advantage to not booking the very first tours in the morning (I wanted to give us a chance to check out of BLT in a relaxed way, with no rushing involved). After getting fitted for our vests, we hiked the Pangani Forest Trail. The highlight was seeing one of the baby gorillas - soooo cute!
Anyone on the trail could see the baby - the Trek had not yet separated into it's own area. The guides said the babies were out only a couple hours each day, and they didn't announce the times. Total Luck!
We then went behind a private gate, where we put our vests on, and were strung up in the contraption for the safety harness. It looked a little uncomfortable, but was fine. We hiked a short distance on a small trail to an overlook where we saw the hippos.
One of the keepers was there to tell us all about the hippos, and feed them some lettuce to get them to wake up from their nap. While he was talking, we were all attached to the safety line, so we didn't become a hippo snack:
I'll stop here, and continue with the rest of the Wild Africa Trek in the next post.
Flying Fish is still on our list of restaurants to try. Both your dinners looked very delicious. Positively the best start to your Wild Africa Trek with the sighting of mom and baby gorilla. Great pictures of them and the hippos.
Great photos on your Wild Africa Trek! Looks like a lot of fun and something I want to do eventually, among so many things at WDW! Flying Fish looked great and they may have the best crab cakes on property! The Bellevue Lounge is one of my faves along with Mizners and Victoria Falls. The former can get quite busy at times as it was on my trip back in April, but still enjoyable!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
The baby gorilla is so cute! I can't wait to read all about your Wild Africa Trek. When we did it, the hippos were not in their area, so we didn't get to feed them.
A post with two of my favorite things in it-- Flying Fish and the Wild Africa Trek! I'm so glad FF redeemed itself from your previous experience. I know some people don't fall in love with this place, but I love it--It's still my #1 pick at WDW, with Sanaa and Artist Point very close. Their salads are wonderful and I've always had great service. So lucky to see the baby gorilla and get such wonderful photos. Terrific start to the Trek. Nice to have such a small group.
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Interesting to know that's how the Cast Members deal with last minute changes to ADRs - I would've thought there wouldn't have been an issue with swapping to a different restaurant, but I guess it still counts as a cancellation, so it's decent of them to ensure that you didn't end up with the charge.
Wow! So much rain at Epcot! Glad you got to eat some though.
I am really wanting to do the Wild Africa Trek! My girls would absolutely love it. I am hoping to be able to do it on our next trip in 2016 for my oldest 16th bday. It looks amazing!
Boy I fell behind! I actually enjoy WDW in the rain b/c it does thin out the crowds! One of my oldest DD's memories from a past trip was riding Goofy's Barnstormer 7 times in a row, in the rain!!
The Premium gifts are awesome!! I especially like the wine glass. It's my favorite style. I actually got my first one in Ogunquit a few years ago.
I'm so glad you gave Flying Fish another try! We had dinner there the first night of our trip last Oct & it became a new favorite for us!
Glad you had a great meal at FFC! Great pictures from the Trek so far! The baby gorilla is just so adorable!
Thanks! I think the baby gorillas are cute, too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Flying Fish is still on our list of restaurants to try. Both your dinners looked very delicious. Positively the best start to your Wild Africa Trek with the sighting of mom and baby gorilla. Great pictures of them and the hippos.
We were off to a good start on the Trek.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperDave
Great photos on your Wild Africa Trek! Looks like a lot of fun and something I want to do eventually, among so many things at WDW! Flying Fish looked great and they may have the best crab cakes on property! The Bellevue Lounge is one of my faves along with Mizners and Victoria Falls. The former can get quite busy at times as it was on my trip back in April, but still enjoyable!
I think they were the best crab cakes I've had on property so far. Even better than Artist Point.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
The baby gorilla is so cute! I can't wait to read all about your Wild Africa Trek. When we did it, the hippos were not in their area, so we didn't get to feed them.
We didn't see the crocs, so I guess you can't see everything every time.
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You got some good food as it all looks good! That was quite a large portion of ravioli they gave you! 
You got your moneys worth on that one! 
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We considered room service or pizza, but then I found an ADR for 8pm at Flying Fish. We'd had a not-so-good experience at Flying Fish on a previous trip. BUT, Lou said we should try it again. 
Great pictures from the Trek so far! 
The baby gorilla is just so adorable! 
Positively the best start to your Wild Africa Trek with the sighting of mom and baby gorilla. 
The Bellevue Lounge is one of my faves along with Mizners and Victoria Falls. The former can get quite busy at times as it was on my trip back in April, but still enjoyable! 
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