Free Dining at the Wilderness Lodge About This Page:

[tkd lisa]

Wednesday 8/19 - Hard to believe we're almost halfway through the trip.

Plans for this day included:

Morning EMH at Animal Kingdom (drive over)
Followed by pool hopping at the Poly with lunch from Captain Cooks (I wanted to get that Dole Whip as a dessert).
Welcome Home Wednesday (My first time!)
Followed by EPCOT then dinner at Cape May (8:45)
If we were really feeling lively the Studios had late EMH.

Actual events:

Once again, I was up early, but this time I spent the time getting pictures of the Lodge. Below are some of the best, although I have to admit I took about 45-50 that I kept.


It was hard to get pictures of these. They had various dreamcatchers scatters on the walls, but the flash really washes them out.


The alcove where I had my quiet time in the morning


They had lots of pictures of chiefs spread around. If you are an American History buff, I'm sure it would be a really cool way to spend a day.


View down to the lobby. It was definitely early because this place was rocking once WCC opened up.


Grand Canyon Fireplace. Mom said that the layers are a replica of the Grand Canyon, although I missed that plaque.




These mocassins were in a display case. I was pretty proud of that picture.


This was the start of the stream that became the outdoor falls. In the afternoon when it got rainy outside you could see steam rising off this inside.


The best picture I got of the carvings. These were everywhere, and it was neat to try to figure out all the different animals. I remember that they had them on the villa side as well.


It was so peaceful around the falls in the early morning. Although the humidity was a give away that we weren't really in Yellowstone!






I tried to get a picture where you couldn't tell we were at a resort. I think this was the best one.


This arrangement is just outside Artiste's Point. A CM chatted with me once I took that shot, and she told me that she's spent many a day wandering around the resorts taking pictures. She said her favorite is Port Orleans because there's so much detail over there, and Pop Century. I encouraged her to visit the Kidani Village now that it's open since she hadn't been there yet.

I'll cut this installment off now, and make the disney reports in the next one.

[tkd lisa]

With my photo shoot behind me, I headed up to the room to rouse the troops. I went down to get breakfast (just one bounty platter this time, $12.47 one CS credit) while the ladies got ready. DS was going to sleep in, so I left him the pancakes and we headed over to EPCOT to be there shortly after opening.

Once inside, I headed to get Soarin Fast Passes and met up with the rest of the family afterward. We headed over to the Imagination Pavilion for a no wait ride with Figment. Now this was more like I was used to!

Once off the ride, we saw that they had a new interactive show set up in the Kodak station. There were several "suits" from Disney and Kodak, so we stayed and watched. DD got picked to be part of the show, demonstrating how they could add effects. The overall show was focused on giving you photography pointers and was fairly informative. They had some neat graphics they showed on the large flat screen displays. Below are some pictures from there.


This was one of their displays. I just thought was an awesome picture!




This was the "camera" they used to take the pictures. It rotated around to a backdrop.


And this was the "computer monitor". It was really set up like a very large camera, computer, laptop set up to show how you can store and manipulate your images in the Kodak online gallery. Of course, I can't figure out what email address DD set up the gallery in, since it's not mine (which is what she thought she did).

Once done with this, we used our Soarin FPs, then stopped by the Land Foodcourt to get a little snack. DD had been fighting a cough all week, and it was getting worse, so she wanted a bowl of soup. I knew that she could get one for a snack credit, so we got that and an orange bavarian that Mom and I split. That was GOOD! It had a dollop of chocolate on the bottom, and chocolate always makes things taste better.


DD took this very "artsy" picture of the balloons while we were getting the snacks.

Once done, we headed around World Showcase, taking a quick spin on the river in Mexico. We moved into Norway where we decided to get a lunch to split. DS had gotten moving in the meantime and was somewhere in EPCOT (I think this was when he struck up a friendship with a girl named Jenny in Innoventions).

Mom found us a table, while DD and I went into the bakery. I think we sold 4-5 school breads just by talking to people in line. Meanwhile I noticed that the combo meal included soup and a sandwich. DD found out that they had a seafood chowder, and that was her request for lunch. I got the club sandwich (hot) for Mom & I to split, and we got the fruit tart for dessert. DD loves the bottled water they have there, but it wasn't available on the dining plan so she got a milk instead. I must not have written down the total, but I think it was around $18 for one CS. Definitely a good value. And DD was all giggly over the very tall, very handsome Norwegian men who were serving us.


That was a LOT of food.

We headed in to ride Maelstrom next because the rain was threatening. We got caught waiting for the movie to let out, so I got a few pictures in that area. It's so dark there that it's hard to get pictures.



From there, we dodged over to China, and I noticed a couple of things.


Someone had broken off a portion of this sign, and that's one of the few times I've seen damage left unrepaired.


Because of the rain, they had Mulan inside. As I was snapping pictures, I heard one of the families tell her that their kids had learned martial arts, just like her. She knelt down and asked the little boy (about 5) to show her a move, and he hauled off and whacked his sister!

About that time, DS called and told me he was heading back to the room because he'd gotten caught in the rain again. I needed to do some laundry, so I left the ladies and went back as well. We planned on using the sea raycer coupon at the Lodge while the laundry was getting done. And yes, once again DS was dripping wet including his soaked shoes. Thank goodness his converse had dried by this time so he had something he could wear.

I gathered up all the wet stuff and my detergent and headed down to the beach to meet up with DS. They got him checked out, and we agreed that he'd come back to the dock in about 30 minutes, or when I called him (I put the phone in one of those waterproof cases and he clipped it onto him). While I was finishing the paperwork, Mom called and said that they were heading back as well.

DS took off, I finally found the laundry facility in the villas (I figured since I paid dues I could use the free washers on that side), and filled up the only empty one, then left the hamper in the room and headed down to join DS.

I got to the dock, and called him. No answer. Called again.... and again. Every time we thought that might be DS heading in, they veered off. Finally, after he'd been out about 40 minutes, we called the shore patrol and had them send him in. Turned out that with the phone at his side, the vibration was getting lost in the motor hum. He moved it to his pocket and had no problem feeling it when I buzzed him to come in at the end. Meanwhile I told Mom where the laundry was so that she could move the clothes into the dryer while we were still out.

DS and I cruised around for about 25 minutes, with a good run by the Bay Lake Towers water area. I planned to go to Welcome Home Wednesday and it was already 3:30 (this started at 4), so I had DS drop me off at the dock. I told him he had to take care of the laundry since he got to ride the boats and he agreed. I paid off our bill, which came to $47.93 with our DVC discount. That's not bad for 90 minutes of fun (a full hour if you count the 1/2 hour we'd gotten free the previous day).

Mom & I drove over to Boardwalk since we were eating at Cape May that evening. I self parked and we headed to Atlantic Dance Club to find a really freaky almost cult like experience. The entire place was completely full, and a couple of CMs were periodically leading us in cheers about DVC. Now I like my DVC, but this was just a little strange. We got two coupons for snacks, and picked up a couple bags of cracker jacks which was all they had left. We did help ourselves to some lemonade and listen while they finished a few drawings. We didn't win anything, but we didn't really expect to. On the way out, they gave everyone a very nice DVC hat, which Mom & I wore through the rest of the trip.



Once done with that, Mom & I walked down to the Studios and caught the 6:00 American Idol show, then booked it around to get in line for the 7:00 finale. The winner of the 6:00 show was a technically very good college student. It was very strange because she was good, but she didn't really connect with the audience. The judges told her "I know you've got more in there to give. I'd love to hear it in the finale". As we got in line for the finale, we were out in the chain area (not the holding area), and there was a family behind us with deaf parents. Their oldest son asked a CM if there was any interpretation for the show, and the CM explained that they only interpret the 6:00 show of AI. Mom chatted a bit with them (My DB is deaf), and found out they were from Canada. Mom asked if the kids could translate for them, and the Mom said "No, we don't want them to do that." They ended up sitting fairly close to us in the show.

This show was fairly good, but not as good as others I've seen. I had always assumed that they arranged the performers in the order of their shows (i.e. 1st show went first, etc.) and I just thought that it was tougher to pass the audition later in the day which was why the last performers were always the best.

This is where I found out that they arrange the performers in the order they think they will perform best. The 6:00 winner was 3rd from the end, and unfortunately her finale performance was exactly like her previous performance. Good but not great. The person who was going last was a house-wife looking woman from West Virginia. She was a full time worship pastor, and MAN did she rock! The Simon type judge said "if I liked in WV, I'd go to your church for sure!" The guy who went 2nd was a young man who sang "Walking in Memphis". He had a fan club who were sitting right behind us. According to the young man, he didn't know them. They had seen him in the earlier show and just fell in love with him. He was pretty cute, and the host said "well, you probably can get a date after this, even if you don't win." He apparently took the pointers the judges had given him in the earlier show and was much better than his place in the lineup would indicate.

After the worship pastor claimed the prize, Mom & I headed out to meet up with the kids who had already arrived at the Beach Club. DD was drawing while DS was over chatting with the artist who worked in the lobby there (Echo). We had been looking forward to this meal for a long time because we always smell it as we walk through the lobby.

Unfortunately this was our only disappointing meal of the trip. I had promised DS he would get crab legs here, but it turned out they weren't on the menu that night. They had mussels, crabs, and salmon plus steak and prime rib. There was a small salad and soup bar, and an extensive dessert bar. Once again, they were ending up their service so the food wasn't quite as fresh as I would have liked. DD and I both ate mussles and clams, while Mom and DD had salmon. DS stuck with the red meat and desserts. Below are some pictures of our plates.





It wasn't bad, it just didn't live up to our hopes. Total was $134.43 (4 TS credits) with about $20 in tip going on my rewards card.

Here's a picture Mom took of me as I was paying the bill. I think you can tell I needed a second wind.



Back to the room (thankfully with the car it was an easy trip), and straight to bed.

Up next. Finally, characters. Followed by everyone going their own way.

[NanaTink]

Great update! sorry that Cape May was a disappointment. We haven't tried that yet as Sulley is not a big seafood fan....
Can't wait to hear more!!!!

[chezp]

What a shame about the Cape May. I love your photos of the Lodge.

[MGW]

Thanks for the updates! Can't wait to read more.

[Colexis Mom]

Just getting caught up Lisa! Great pictures and updates!

[tkd lisa]

Thursday, 20 August

This isn't going to be a typical Disney day. Plans include:

Breakfast at O'Hana for the ladies (DS is allergic to characters)

I'm heading back home to go to the school open house. I'm the vice-president of DS's ROTC booster club, and I needed to sign up parents to keep them informed of our activities through the year. I also wanted to try to rope in one of the new parents to help with leadership! I was going to pick up the kids schedules as well as DS and my cell phones while I was there.

I had no idea what everyone was going to do while I was gone, but we had a late ADR at Teppan Edo (9:45), so I planned on everyone watching Illuminations before going in to eat. EPCOT had late EMH that night so transportation wasn't going to be a problem.

What actually happened.

I was up at 6, and had my quiet time before the alarm went off at 7:00. DS stayed in bed (there was plenty of food there for him to munch on) while I drove all of us over to O'Hana. We checked in about 8:20 for our 8:45 ADR. There was an Emergency crew working with someone over by Kona Cafe, and a couple of VERY large groups checking in to O'Hana so it was pretty crowded out in the waiting area. We got our buzzer, and I wandered around taking the following pictures.


This guy was doing a little impromptu concert down in the hotel check in area.


Have I said before how much I love this resort?





Once the big groups cleared out of the photo area, we went over to get our picture taken. I offered our photopass card, but they didn't take it. This is one of those places where they sell the packages, which apparently means that you can't get it as part of your CD. They did take one with our camera though, which I've shown below.


Notice my ROTC shirt?

As we were finishing the picture our buzzer went off and we were seating overlooking the marina. On the way in, we picked up our basket of sweet breads. We gobbled them down before I remembered to take a picture, but trust me they were good.

Next up was a platter of fruit which was very nice. We hadn't done a very good job of getting in our fruit and veggies this trip, so it hit the spot.


I have to say that it wasn't a very big platter, but I know they would have bought more if we had asked. The pineapple was particularly good.

They brought out our skillet which had eggs, bacon, sausage, and potato wedges next. The sausage was really good, and both kids had been asking for that in our breakfasts (Roaring Forks only had bacon).



About this time, the characters were heading our way. One of the big groups had come in and been seated in our section, but they were very considerate and only took a few pictures with the characters before sending them along. It would have taken a LONG time if they would have gotten the whole group up each time!


Stitch was first, and I knew he'd play with DD's ears.


He also signed the back of her sketchbook for her.

Meanwhile we got our Mickey waffles which were really tasty. I had to have seconds!



Lilo was next.


Followed by the big cheese.

They took a break and had the parade (where the characters and kids circle the restaurant). None of those pictures came out any good. I did notice that there were no photopass photographers at this breakfast. It's been a long time since we've done character meals (in fact, I think the last one was on our cruise, which did have photographers), so I guess I was surprised.

After the break, Pluto visited us.



We had finished eating by this time, but I had a bit of trouble tracking down our bill. (Ended up being $60.68 for 3 TS credits) While we waited, everyone decided who was going where while I was gone. DD decided to stay at the Poly and do some drawing. Mom was going to Animal Kingdom. My mom's best friend grew up with a man who works at the AK, and we had missed him when we were there last year. Mom had gotten his name from her friend and had plans to look him up. Since they were splitting up, I gave Mom my work phone because I was going to get my phone an hour later.

My camera battery was almost dead, so I headed back to the room for it to charge while I was gone. By this time, DS was up and moving and wanted to go over to the Beach Club to spend time with his new artist friend in the lobby there. I dropped him off on my way out, and headed west.

I was home by 11:15, and gathered up everything I needed then headed to school. I'll skip all that and say that I was back at the WL about 4:00.

Mom did make it over to AK all by herself! She found her friends' friend in the Pangani Trail and had a very pleasant visit with him.


Jim, friend of DM's friend.

She also headed back to the Planet Watch and enjoyed a safari ride. After a bottle of water (1 snack credit), she somehow did a few loops around the transportation system to get back to the WL (I think she took the bus to the TTC, the ferry to MK, then the boat to WL) about 4:30.

DD stayed at the Poly drawing until about 2, then spent time in the room.

DS never did meet up with the artist because she didn't come in until afternoon. He bought a slice of pizza and a drink at the window on the Boardwalk, and spent more time at the Wyland Gallery before heading back to the room.

I met DM in Roaring Forks to pick up lunch for the ladies. I decided I wanted to get some ice cream for dessert, and sent Mom over to the soft serve machine. She started with chocolate and couldn't get the machine to turn off so the little cup was overflowing. A CM came over to help her and Mom got a second cup with a little dab of vanilla. Meanwhile I got a double cheeseburger (for Mom & I to split) and another chicken nugget meal (which the kids split).

After a little break, the ladies caught the bus over to EPCOT. I've lost track of what we did at first, but I know we ended up staking out a spot between Germany and Italy to watch Illuminations. I bought an Italian Margherita since I wasn't driving. It wasn't at all slushy, which was a bit of a disappointment, but it still tasted good. DS had found some cool stuff in Japan which he called me over to look at (one of them was the kimono he bought later with his birthday money).

I made it back just before the fireworks started and took some pictures. The best is below.



We met up with DS in Japan and signed in. It was really jammed in the waiting area up there, but the crowds cleared out about 10 minutes after we signed in. I took a few photos while we were waiting.




As soon as I pointed the camera at the sushi artists, they all looked straight at the camera and smiled!


This picture in the non-Teppan style restaurant changes scenes periodically. I've got a shot of Mt. Fuji from last year taken there.

About this time our buzzer went off. We were joined by a family of 4 who were celebrating their son's 15th birthday. DD had to point out it was DS's birthday but that he didn't want anyone to know (isn't it nice how sisters know which buttons to push?)

We ordered 2 meals here, along with an OOP order of sushi for DD. DS never eats anything but the meat and rice so there were plenty of veggies for Mom & I. DS got the shrimp meal, while DD got the chicken and shrimp (plus the sushi sampler).





We got the green tea pudding and ginger cake for dessert.


DD said this was REALLY good. Very light.



After we finished up, DS headed directly back to the room, while the ladies stopped for a few photos.


I think this was on the side of the Imagination pavilion




I think this is my best night shot of Spaceship earth. It was pretty empty which made getting the pictures easier.

We did stop for a spin on SSE as we passed since it was a walk on. DD rode alone, and I let Mom pick our selections. As I recall, she decided health was important to her, so we got lots of options involving vitamins and exercise.


That's me, doing my exercise routine!

We caught the bus back to the resort, and ended up in bed at just after midnight. Of course, this was AFTER I had set the alarm for 5:00.

Up next: How to put a smile on the face of a 16 year old boy? (and it's even G-rated)

[Colexis Mom]

Another great day! Love the pictures!!

[chezp]

Looks like another great day with some great meals.

[tkd lisa]

Thursday, 21 August: Waves and Shopping

Today was the big day! DS's surfing lessons at Typhoon Lagoon!

Just to bring everyone into my frame of reference, note that we got to bed Wednesday night somewhere approaching 12:30 am. And that we had to BE at TL by 5:45 ready to enter the park. Yes, I love my son.

The alarm buzzed at 5:00, and I got ready then rolled DS out of bed while I gathered a few things. I had a masters' class the next day and I still had 3 chapters to read and 3 case studies to write up. DS had told me he didn't want me hanging around the lesson, so I planned to take a few photos, then head off to a resort somewhere and finish my homework over breakfast.

We pulled into the abandoned parking lot at 5:40 and I left him off while I drove off the 15 feet required to get to the first empty parking space. About that time, another van pulled in and the dad came out handing McDonalds' sacks of breakfast to his kids.

There were two photopass photographers there as we waited, and one of them explained that they would need "reference" pictures of all the surfers in a given group. That was what they used to sort your pictures onto the correct photopass. So as the adults signed all the paperwork, the surfers lined up against the concrete wall, facing sideways for their mug shots. Once I get home (where the photopass CD has just arrived), I'll add that for your viewing pleasure!

This activity cost $150 (tax included), and there were no discounts to be had. Each lesson takes a maximum of 12 students. There are 3 instructors (From the RonJons surf school in Cocoa Beach), 4 lifeguards (from TL), 3 photopass photographers, one roving CM host, plus the staff that runs the wave pool. We were there for 3 1/2 hours, so honestly $150 is a pretty good price.

Once inside, they walked us all to the side of the wave pool and explained that we had to stay along that side, or just on the other side of the pool (only going across the back of the wave generated) since the rest of the park wasn't open. The instructors introduced themselves next.

First up was Jennifer. She was the lead instructor and had been a professional surfer for more than 20 years. She had been on the US and East Coast competitive team for several years, but now teaches full time. Her job was to stay up in the entry area and call out constructive criticism as you made your surfing runs.

Next was Corey. Corey's dad is the owner of Ron Jons Surf school, and Corey has been surfing since he could stand (about 20 years). He also has surfed professionally, and is still doing that. His primary job today was to be the instructor on the 2nd run in the pool. He also was our demonstrator (both on land and in the pool). You'll see a few shots of him later. He was a real cutie!

Finally we had Eric. Eric manages the Costa Rico location of Ron Jons' surf school but was up in FL for the summer (which is their down season in CR). Most of his experience was in Australia/New Zealand, and their big joke about him is that he's in the witness protection program (you'll see why in the pictures later). He was the instructor in the water for the first run side.

They then explained how you got into the pool. They line up by the steps up next to the wave wall, and when the instructor says it's time. the surfer throws their board over the side of the wall, then walks down the steps until they are physically touching water before getting in. Jenny said "Now I know some of you excited young men are going to jump over the side when you throw down your board, or you're going to jump off the steps. You probably know who you are. You'll get one warning, then you're finished surfing for the day. It's dangerous and you can't do it!" In my mind, I just KNEW DS was going to be one of those kids, but it turned out he followed the rules to a T.

Then they moved over to the sand where they had a board laid out. Corey demonstrated how you paddle out and back to get into position, then how you actually get up to surf. You basically do a military style push up, holding on to the side of the board while you're getting your balance. Your feet have to be planted like a baseball or golf stance and you can't be bent over. Easy, right? They explained you can be "normal" or "goofy footed" (left or right foot back), or "tiki style" which is when you just stand straight up facing forward. They explain that the next moment with tiki style is called "wipe out" since you'll fly straight off the back of the board that way


Discussing the method to surfing.


Each student practiced jumping up to determine if they were regular or goofy footed.


DS, determining that he is goofy foot (as if I didn't know that already!)

Anyway, all this took about 40 minutes, and the sun was just peeking out of the sky when they got ready to enter the pool.

Corey demonstrated actually catching a wave. You hear the wave machine boom, then you wait a few seconds until the instructor pushes you off and says "Stand up, stand up!"


Now isn't he a cutie-patootie?

DS volunteered to go first. Now I have to say, he was pretty intent during the instruction portion but from this moment of the lesson on, I don't think there was a single moment where he wasn't smiling.


The very first wave! He actually got up mostly vertical. You might notice that he's bent at the waist however, which meant that he wiped out in the next few seconds. But for a first time, that was pretty doggone good.

The surfers start on the left side of the pool, then paddle back to the right side while the next surfer is getting in (walking down the stairs). You have to paddle reasonably quickly to be in position for the next wave, meanwhile the instructor is calling out what you did wrong. The instructors in the water listen as well, and they are really the ones that give you the practical advice on how to fix it.

The kid who was right behind DS was the youngest one there that day. I'd say he was about 12, and he did the classic "no-no" of throwing his board over, taking two steps down then jumping in. Jenny gave him his warning, and moved him to the back of the line for his next turn. No one did it again after that.


This is about the 3rd run, by which time DS was getting good.

I did end up buying the photopass, and I'll put those pictures up probably tomorrow. They got some outstanding shots, and you can see the smile all over DS's face.

Here's a few I took of a very empty park (I walked over to the other side to use the facilities).







I was having so much fun watching DS, that the time just flew by. There was a Dad and daughter there who lived in Tampa. The DD was just about DS's age, and she had been bitten by the surfing bug too. They ended up in line just behind DS, and it was so cute to watch DS chatting with this young lady. He was just bubbling over with excitement, and they were comparing notes on what each wave felt like, etc. She was the only one I saw do the "tiki-style" fall, and it was exactly like the instructor said. I did catch a picture of it, but since she's not my child, I'm not going to post it. I took down their email and sent them pictures later.

As they were winding down, DS moved down to the smaller board (harder to ride). He tried that for two runs and never really got a good ride with it. Then the next to the last set, I noticed he had moved back to the first board size. I lined up for the shot, but he took a while to move into the frame. As I pushed the button I realized "Hey, he's actually on his HEAD!" He had done a handstand using the 2nd (smaller) wave! But just about that time, I look at the screen to see "Warning - write error!" Doggone it! It was the perfect shot, and I MISSED IT! That's when the photopass rep came over and showed me that they had gotten it COMPLETELY on 2 different cameras, from several angles. That's sold the photopass right there.

DS did the headstand for his remaining runs, and I did get some video. In those runs he tried the bigger wave and never actually made it fully up, but he was grinning the whole way. If someone can explain how to put it on you-tube I'll try to link it here.

All the surfers ended up getting 6 full runs (12 waves), but the 1st surfer is offered the last wave so that the last person of the run doesn't surf alone. DS was gracious enough to offer it to the young lady from Tampa, which won him major brownie points from everyone. He just kept saying "Well, that's only polite. It's how I was raised".

After the last wave, they sat everyone back down and handed out their graduation certificates and took pictures with the instructors.


See why Eric was in the witness protecton program? He had fully coated his face with zinc. In the water, he had on a hat and sunglasses too so you couldn't see anything except this circle of white.

We finished up about 8:55 and walked out to the photopass area to look at our pictures. I had told DS that I'd buy him the Florida water park pass if he wanted, since I thought he would actually use it enough to make it worth it. After all the fun he'd had that morning, he was all for it, so we headed over to the ticket booth. $63.90 later I was ready to head out but the CM said "Aren't you going into the park?" I said "well, he'll come back at 2 since it's not good until then, right?" She told us a little known fact. On the day you buy the pass, it's good all day long. Woo Hoo! Score! So DS headed back in, with money to get a locker for his phone, and instructions to buy something for lunch.

I headed over to POFQ to pick up some breakfast and get in my studying. I had talked to Mom and she and DD were already up and had eaten (they got the breakfast plate, plus a pancake plate for 2 CS credits). I walked into pandemonium in the POFQ food court. It was 9:23 when I hit the register and I'd never been in a food court for breakfast that late before. I got chocolate chip pancakes ($14.03, 1 cs) and found a table. I read while I ate, but decided quickly to move over to the lobby because it was just crazy in there.


One of the few quiet places I found.

I finished up about 11:00 then drove back to the lodge.

Edited because I remember what we did after this!

Mom & I headed out to the Studios. I found a photopass picture with the outfit I was wearing at Raglan Road and that jogged my memory.

We wanted to watch the Indiana Jones show. This was the week that a CM died while practicing for this show, so it was shut down the first two days we were there. Mom & I drove over to the Boardwalk and left the van there in valet parking then walked down to the studios.

We walked in just as the show was starting, so we were seated all the way to the far right side. The view is very different from that side of the stage. You can really see where they are pulling their punches, and you can see the German dropping down the trap door when the plane swings overhead.

Once we finished there, we stopped for a few pictures.


The memory jogger!

From here, we walked back to Boardwalk and took the bus to Downtown to meet DD for lunch. I sent Mom on ahead to Raglan Road for our 3:00 ADR because it was looking like rain. I waited for DD to get off, and we walked through the downpour over to the restaurant. I had planned for DS to use the Planet Hollywood meal voucher this afternoon, but he had just left TL (just before the rain hit). He had only gotten a bag of chips (1 snack credit) at the park, so I told him I'd bring him something back from Wolfgang Pucks.

On to Raglan Road. This was a really GOOD meal! The place was pretty empty (which I know changes drastically in the evening) so we got a lot of good pictures of the artwork.


DD took this of the bottles at the bar. Really cool looking!


Some of the detail in the restaurant




Where the dancer performs at night.


In the shop


Just in case someone is homesick for local gossip?


This booth was just inside the entrance. DD thought it looked very cozy!


According to my mom, this is an old record player? It was just cool looking.

As I said, it was fairly deserted in there, but you couldn't have told that by our server. I'm not sure if she wasn't feeling well, or what, but it was pretty slow. But the food was EXCELLENT!

We ordered:


Smoked Salmon (DD)


Shepherd's Pie (very different, but tasty), which came with:


Caeser's Salad. Look at all that bacon and cheese!

Then the best part! Dessert!


Dundon's Delight for DD. This was berries, ice cream, and a Pavlova. The pavlova was that white fluffy looking thing on top. It's like a hardened meringue. My mom used to make something like it as a Christmas cookie, and DD loved it! We'll be looking up a recipe soon.


And the Bread pudding which came awfully close to beating out the one at O'Hana. If it had come with ice cream I think it would have. This was AWESOME! We got carmel and vanilla sauce all over the place but boy was it good!

This meal came to $54.38 for 2 TS credits, which was a fairly good value. In fact, I realized that they didn't charge us for DD's drink. I'm thinking she might have gotten club soda, which some folks charge as a soda, and some consider water.

Anyway, it took quite a while to take care of the bill, because the server couldn't figure out how to use a rewards card. She said "But I'll have to charge you a penny". I said "well, that's fine, then I'll just add the tip to that". Then she said "well, we really don't take that since we AREN'T Disney you know." If she would have just said that to begin with I would have been fine with that. I said "Okay, I'll just put it on a credit card." Again she said "Well, I'll have to charge you a penny." AAARGH! Fine! Just finish this up so I can leave!! I'm thinking now that maybe she really wanted a cash tip? Do they take some kind of hit for it going through the credit card? I left her the lowest tip of the trip (about 15%) since I really felt that she was the worst server we had gotten and the one who had the least excuse since we were her only table.

Up next, a little shopping, then a first for me at EPCOT.




Mom wanted a picture of me there. This guy was at the bar, and there were two more couples in the place. That was it.

Up next, shopping at DTD, and a first ever experience for me at EPCOT.

[truenancy]

Awesome update! That surfing sounds perfect for your DS. He'll remember that forever!

[Colexis Mom]

What great surfing pictures! That looks like a great time! And another great day as well!

[chezp]

What great surfing photos - I don't think I've ever read a description of this programme or seen photos of it before.

How cool to see some British papers...

[disneydreamer33]

Just got caught up with your TR. Sounded like a great time. You have got a lot done already. Looks like your DS had a great time surfing.
All the food looks delish. So O'hana's really got rid of the potatoes!? I loved them.
Regarding the tip, I think if you pay with a credit card then it is added to their paycheck and they have to pay taxes on all of it, as with cash they get it right then and only have to claim enough to make an hour whatever minimum wage is. At least that is how it was when I was a waitress and how a waiter at Alfredo's at Epcot a couple years ago explained it to my family.
Can't wait for more.

[tkd lisa]

Thanks guys for the comments. I appreciate your reading this.

Liz, that does make sense as to why that server was giving me a hard time about the tip. I'm one of those people who typically give at least 20% because I know we don't have as large a check as most people since we split meals. The bare minimum I ever give is 18% but she just really irritated me. I didn't have ANYONE else the entire trip give me any trouble about charging my tip to the rewards card. And I can't believe that they can take the dining plan, but not the rewards card.

Anyway, I am home now, so I'm posting the photopass surfing pictures for your viewing pleasure. I'll put the ones from our photoshoot up next, then hopefully finish up the report tomorrow while I'm between classes.

Enjoy!


The "mug" shot.


One of the first runs


Isn't that an Awesome action shot?


Oh yeah. I'm cool. Been surfin' all my life, right dude?


He never quite got the smaller board to work for him


So he went back to the first one.