Food and Wine Festival (Final, and last pictures added 11/4) About This Page:

[tkd lisa]

Saturday, 14 Oct

I woke up about 5:30 and took a walk. Our room was just outside the Congress Park quiet pool, and there was a beautiful fountain by the water. I sat outside and had my devotions, then headed down to check in to our studio. I asked to stay in Congress Park so I wouldn’t have to move the van. She told me we’d be in building 16, and gave me our new keys. I headed back to the room and started getting everyone else moving. I had set a wake up call, and found out something interesting. At this resort, you don’t “self service” for wake up calls. The front desk does it for you! It took me a while to figure it out since I was looking for the self service button [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] ; We got the standard Stitch/Mickey wake up call (no Haunted Mansion today [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] ).

I fixed Pancakes for the family. I realized that I hadn’t brought any butter or Pam, but the skillet in the 1 Bedroom was great! Nothing stuck and the pancakes came out really good for a “just add water” package! While the family finished packing up, I took my little cooler down to guest services to keep it in their refrigerator. DS took advantage of the gigantic shower and said it was really nice. My family definitely enjoyed the nice bathroom in the villas! All four of us took a nice bath in the Jacuzzi tub. Having the two sinks split between the shower room and bathtub room made it easier with two teens. Overall, I’d say that the one bedroom villas at SSR get a 4 star rating from my family!

We were at the bus stop for MK by 8:30 and made it to the gate just at the finish of the opening show. DS wanted to spend time at the VMK. He had two challenges to turn in, so he kept his pass and a cell phone. DD wanted to ride Space Mountain, so the rest of us headed that way. As we headed down Main Street, my mom decided she wanted to get some candy for her neighbor who was taking care of her mail. It turns out that they won’t ship food back to the resorts (or mail it to you either) since they can’t guarantee that it will still be fresh. I told Mom that we’d stop by Downtown Disney on our way home to get something there (cue the villainous laughter, since this fits right into my plans!).

Then we were off to Tomorrow Land. I left my Mom the passes so she could get FPs for Buzz Lightyear for us while DD and I rode Space standby. It was about a five minute walk through, and I realized I had NEVER ridden this standby, always FP. We rode the left side which was another first for me. Once outside, Mom was nowhere to be found. DD headed off to ride Stitch while we waited. Mom finally showed up. She had been taking pictures of kids playing in the water sprays. Our FPs weren’t ripe yet (not until 10:10) so we went through standby (about a 10 minute wait). DD rode by herself, and Mom and I rode together. We’ll just forget those scores, since they were pretty pitiful! Once off, our FPs were ripe, but DD decided to head off on her own. Mom and I rode Buzz again, and my score was a little better. She had to take a picture here though.



Then we stopped by the Stitch topiary near the TomorrowLand restrooms. Mom wanted a picture there for DD, since she loves Stitch so much.



We also took a couple of snaps for a honeymooning couple. I think this was when I realized that they had changed all the celebration buttons. I really like the new ones. The birthday buttons have a spot for your name, and the celebration buttons are more specific. They say things like "1st Disney trip" and "Happy Anniversary". Since we always try to acknowledge people who wear the buttons, it makes it easier to say Happy Birthday Johnny, or "happy anniversary" instead of just congratulations.

From here, we headed across the park. We planned to ride Pirates, meeting DD there. On the way, I detoured over to pick up FPs for Splash Mountain, which were good for 10:50-11:50. DD and Mom caught a bit of the pirate tutorial, and we headed into pirates. Both sides were open, and the wait was listed as 20 minutes, which was pretty accurate. We snapped a few pictures in this area.



As we started the ride, DD’s cell phone buzzed several times. She pulled it out and said “We’re on the ride, we’ll call you back!” This was the first time Mom and I had ridden POC since the re-hab. I really enjoyed the effects! DD really enjoyed Jack Sparrow. Oh, sorry, I mean CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow! Once off the ride, I call DS and he said “Mom, Hannah’s coming over. So I’m going over to EPCOT to meet her.” I said “Where are you?” He said “I’m going to the bus stop”. “Whoa there young man! First of all, there’s no BUS from MK to EPCOT. Secondly, you actually left the park! By yourself?! Back inside RIGHT NOW!” Sparing you all the family drama we ended up giving away our Splash FPs. DD had ridden by herself while Mom and I were meandering over to Pirates, and I didn’t really need to ride anyway. Of course, I had to stop by Aloha Isle on the way to pick up a Dole Whip Float! Yummy! $4.25 on my rewards card and a tasty treat for the three of us. We met up with DS at the train station and figured out exactly what was going on. I managed to sneak a couple of pictures of him while he wasn't looking. He's hit that camera shy stage.



Now that we were face to face, it turns out that DS’s girlfriend’s family was coming over to EPCOT for a few hours and they had arranged to meet at Test Track at 1:30. Okay. Not a problem. It was about 11:30 by now, so we took the monorail over to EPCOT. DS and DD rode up front to the TTC, then joined us for the last half of the ride. DS had cleaned up at VMK. He had two new wrist bands and a stack of trading cards. I told him he had to stay with us to eat lunch, then he could go over to Innoventions. And I promised to get TT FPs so that the kids could all ride once Hannah got there.

Up next: More eating around the world, Tea Tasting, and the Nemo ride

[tkd lisa]

When I left off, we had just made it into EPCOT, and were staying together to get lunch.

I headed over to TT to get 4 fast passes so that the teens could ride. The family stopped by Club Cool to try out some sodas. Several of the fast pass machines weren’t working, so my stop took a while, but I eventually got 4 of them, good for 3:20. We all met up and took a right into World Showcase. DS wasn’t interested in the F&W food, so he got in line for the McDonalds while I got one of everything at the Canada booth for the 3 of us to share ($7.50 total on the rewards card). The cheese soup was a 4 out of 4 for all of us. GREAT stuff! I personally don’t eat salmon, but Mom and DD said it was 4/4 too. And the maple custard was just right! If you don’t like maple, you probably wouldn’t enjoy the last two items, since there was strong maple flavor in both. Here's pictures of the Canadian food, just to give you an idea of the size.



I think DD thought that I was getting a little carried away, taking pictures of the food!



By the time I was done, DS still hadn’t made it through the line at McDonalds. I think it was as bad as the night before! He finally got his food (9 nuggets and a fry, $6.80 on the reward card) and I headed over to the Greek booth to get an order of the salad ($2 on the reward card). By the time I got back, DS had finished the nuggets and half the fries, and headed off to watch the movie in Canada. Mom said he kept flipping open the phone to check the time and make sure Hannah hadn’t called. It was really cute! Mom & I split the salad, which was a typical Greek salad. I’d give it a 3 out of 4. I didn't take a picture of it though.

DD decided to head off on her own too. She wanted to poke through the Japan store some more (surprise surprise), so Mom and I headed over to the UK. I wanted to sign up for the 1:30 tea tasting. On the way over, I stopped by the Ireland stand and got the Lamb Stew ($3 on the card, stew had a strong lamb flavor, but was pretty good. 3 out of 4 for that one too). Here's a picture of it. I forgot that it came with a piece of soda bread, which was also tasty.



DD wanted to try the potato leek soup, so I decided to wait for her to get that. I set Mom up watching the World Showcase players while I searched for the ticket location. The CM in the tea shop said to go around to the garden and wait there. When I looked at the pathway, there was no one there. Unfortunately, I found out that I was at the wrong garden entrance! By the time I found the right one, all 22 tickets had been given out [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] DD had re-joined us by this time, and we needed to hook up with DS and meet his girlfriend over at TT by 1:30. I set Mom up in a patch of shade in the RIGHT location for tickets to the 2:30 tea tasting and headed over to Test Track. On the way over, DD insisted on this photo with the new decorations. She really likes them much better than the Happiest Celebration on Earth ones. I think it's kind of funny, because she TRULY hates the color pink, and it's really prominent in these decorations.



As we walked, I told DS that they had to stay with DD. We met up with Hannah’s family and found out that they had to leave by about 3, since she had to babysit that evening. Our TT fast passes wouldn’t be good yet, so the kids decided to ride single rider then check out the new Nemo ride. They all headed off, and we agreed to meet back at 3:00.

I headed back to the UK to rejoin Mom in the tea line, stopping along the way at the Irish booth again. I got the same CM who said “Hey, weren’t you just here?” This time, I got the Irish Cream Trifle ($2.25 on the card). YUMMY! This one was 4/4. Of course, I think all the desserts got 4/4 from me [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] I rejoined the tea line about 1:55, and we got our entrance cards for the 2:30 tasting. Mom and I wandered over to France to kill a little time. Boy are those shops Frou Frou! I wanted to show her some of the mouth watering pastries, but the line was out the door, and we weren’t buying anything anyway! So we went into the wine shop and bought 2 pieces of candy for a grand total of $1.01. By now, it was time to head into the garden for the tea tasting. I knew I’d have to leave a little bit early to meet up with DS and his girlfriend at 3, so I picked a table at the back.

Tea Tasting

We had 5 different teas to taste, starting with the lightest, working toward the more robust. Here's the line up!



My personal favorite was the Chai. The CM explained that most of us don’t steep our teas correctly, which is why we get either weak or bitter tea. She said that most tea is supposed to steep for about 3 minutes. As she was starting to explain this she said “OH, we have a DUNKER!” A man across the garden was bouncing his tea bag up and down in the cup (admit it, you all do this don’t you!). She said that all this does is gets the color out of the tea quicker, but the flavor isn’t out yet, so that tea ends up tasting weak. I think I snapped this picture just about the time she noticed the dunker.



She explained about the origins of Earl Grey (which Twining created for the Earl, but didn’t patent, hence the reason you can get it from any tea company), and the origins of Lady Grey (which they DID patent). We had a biscuit which included some Lady Grey tea and was VERY tasty. As we were moving to the last tea, my phone buzzed so I headed out of the garden.

DD said that DS and his girlfriend were getting ice cream, and that she was heading over to ride Living with the Land since they were meeting the girlfriend’s parents. I said “He doesn’t have any money. How’s he buying ice cream?” DS had just about realized this himself, so DD lent him the money and I paid her back later. I headed on over to TT, said goodbye to the girlfriend’s family and set our plans for the next couple of hours. We had 4 TT fast passes that were just about ready to use, but TT wasn’t working at time. I took 2 of the passes and headed over to meet DD at Living with the Land, while DS headed off to Mission Space.

Up next, More eating around the world (hey, that WAS the purpose of the trip!), and "Do we FINALLY get to Fantasmic?"

[PrincessSharon]

Sounds like everyone is having a great time. After reading this, now I'm hungry! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/yuma.gif[/img] Looking forward to more.

[tkd lisa]

We left off with DS heading over to Mission Space, while I met DD at the Living with the Land ride. My mom was enjoying the gardens in the UK, and listening to the British Invasion.



When DD came off Living with the Land, she said “Mom, we need to go over to Japan, and you need to get a cup of sake so I can try some.” I told her I’d think about it, and we headed back around world showcase to meet up with my Mom. We did stop in the Irish booth to get a cup of the potato leek soup ($2.75). And yes, the same CM was there again! I have to give this one a 3 ½ stars. DD enjoyed it. It was better than the lamb stew, but didn’t beat the trifle. Told you I like desserts! Then I gave DD some money to head over to Japan. She wanted to get some candy from the store there as her snack, and I needed to break a $20 so I could pay her back for DS’s ice cream. I found my mom in the garden, just relaxing. She had really enjoyed British Invasion, and had bought one of the teas from the tasting. Here's a shot she took of the "boys".



I got a package of the Chai, and a pack of licorice altoids. Those are my favorite, and you can’t get them very many places. I looked at my little cheat sheet and realized that Mom hadn’t gotten the squash soup from India that she wanted to try, so we headed there next. I got her the soup, and I got the coconut rice pudding for a total of $4.25 for both. I don’t do squash, but Mom said it was pretty good. The pudding was about a 3 ½. It tasted a little old, but it was a very light dessert. I met up with DD outside the Japan store, and went ahead and got a glass of sake. It was $3 and was pretty strong. DD stuck her finger in for a little taste and said “I like it. It’s sweet.” I told her she must have something else on her finger cause it tasted like lighter fluid to me!



We started to head back around to the front to meet up with DS and head back to our new home. DS said that Test Track was running again, but DD didn’t want to ride. I sent my Mom and DD back on the boat, while I fast walked around by Mexico to meet up with DS. He told me he knew what he wanted to buy (he still hadn’t spent his $20), so I needed to meet him at Mission Space. Once I got there, he had picked out a “String Thing”. He’s really wanted one of these since our Spring Break trip, so I finally got it for him. We gave our FPs for TT to a family who was really greatful, and we met up with my Mom and DD just outside of Mousegears and headed back to Saratoga Springs. Once again, the bus stop was very close, and we didn’t wait any time at all.



On the bus, I called and got our new room number (I think it was 1601). I sent the kids ahead while I grabbed our luggage out of the van. It was a bit of a search for the room. It was on the 2nd floor, and I was looking on the 1st. We were in an end room, about 4 building down from our 1 bedroom unit. By the time Mom and I got in there, the kids had already pulled out the couch so I didn’t take any pictures. I did notice that one of the panes in the sliding glass door was broken, but otherwise the room was nice. The bathroom is still much bigger than the value bathrooms, but is was a big step down from the 1 bedroom super bath.



Mom decided to spend some time in the hot tub, and I went up to the valet stand to get the cooler. I took the internal bus up there, but decided to walk back. As I was walking past Community Hall, I decided to stop to get a couple of DVDs for the kids to watch. Unfortunately, I found out you check videos out from Artist’s Palate, so I trudged back up the steps. I grabbed a couple of movies and made the LONG walk back to our room. I walk pretty quickly, and it took me over 10 minutes. DD wanted to watch one of the movies, but I found out that the studios don’t have a DVD player! So I made that long backtrack for nothing.



Once Mom was done with the pool, we got ready to head over to MGM for Fantasmic, which was showing at 7:30. DD decided she wanted to stay in the room, so the 3 of us headed down to the bus stop about 6:30. This ended up being our only long bus wait of the trip. I think the MGM bus was pulling out just as we walked up, so we waited 20 minutes. One guy got on at the main pool, but otherwise we had the bus to ourselves. I said something to the bus driver that I was cutting it short to get seats for Fantasmic and he said “Oh, you’ve got plenty of time!” We pulled up to the gate about 7:10, and I sent Mom and DS in to get seats while I got us a turkey leg for dinner. Unfortunately, they were completely out of them, so I hurried to catch up with my family. We found seats in an area that was fairly full. I ended up sitting the row above DM and DS. Mom really enjoyed the show! I definitely caught things that I hadn’t seen the first time I watched it. There’s so much going on there. Once it was over, we were sitting down waiting for the crowd to clear out, and she started talking about it. She said “How many Mickey’s do you think they have in this?” I said “Mom…. Ssshhhh… Little ears!” Even DS was trying to shut her up.



We once again made the first bus back after about a 10 minute wait. I had DS stay on the bus until our stop, while Mom and I got off to get something at Artists’ Palate. Here was my only real gripe about SSR. I assumed we could get standard food court food there. DS wanted a hamburger and fries, while DD wanted Chicken strips and cheese fries. Mom and I walked in (after a very long detour since I got off at the wrong bus stop!), to find that they don’t really have a grill or deep fryer. Hmm. What to do, what to do?? Well, they do have chicken fingers and chips, plus a rottiserie chicken special. So I order that, and go over and get a frozen cheese pizza for DS. But wait a minute. I’m in a studio, not a 1 bedroom. How am I going to cook that pizza? So I add a cheese flatbread (I’ll just tell DS it’s a pizza and he’ll never know the difference). After a very long wait, we finally get the food. I do get the 10% DVC discount, but I hadn’t brought my DDE card with me since I didn’t think they took it there. Total after discount was about $25.



Mom & I walk to the room, which definitely takes forever. At least it seemed that way. Unfortunately, DD was in a snit of a mood, and was really mad that she didn’t have French fries. I do feel sorry for anyone next to us, because there was much slamming of doors. She was definitely over-tired. It was about 10:30 by this time, and when DD gets tired, she’s not a pretty person to be around. Thankfully, DS was fine with his “pizza” and ate all of it. Mom and I split the rotisserie chicken, and once DD calmed down, she ate all of her food. I turned out the lights about 11:15, and DS and Mom went right to sleep. Unfortunately, DD tossed and turned. She was up, she was down. She sat out on the balcony and watched the lights at DTD for a while. For some reason, she was just very upset. She finally fell asleep about 2:30 am (after I sat for an hour combing her hair and scratching her back).



So what will tomorrow bring? We were SUPPOSED to go to MGM for EMH, followed by AK. Somehow, I don’t see that happening.

[tkd lisa]

Saturday, 14 October. Our last day.

Plans for the day were:

DD and I to MGM for EMH (Tower of Tower and Rockn Roller Coaster), then back to check out of the room and over to Animal Kingdom. We had ADRs at the Rainforest Cafe for 4:00, and unbeknownst to my family, I had tickets for the 6:30 showing of La Nouba, Cirque De Soleil.

What really happened?

Well, after my very late night, I turned off the wake up call and alarm clock. My mom and I woke up about 7, and took a very long walk. We walked all the way to DTD, and around to the beginning of the West End. When I realized that we would have to go out to the parking area and all the way to the main area of SSR, before heading back to our room, we ended up retracing our steps. I think we probably walked about 2 miles that morning at least. It was nice to get some fresh air and some perspective on DD's tantrum from the night before.

Once back in the room, I turned on the lights to get the family moving. DD said "Aren't we going to MGM this morning Mom?" I said "No. It's already 8:00, and I thought it was more important for you to sleep." I told them to decide where they wanted to go instead, and headed up to Artists Palate to get a few things for breakfast. We had finished up the milk I'd brought, and my mom wanted some OJ. I got cereal with milk and a bottle of OJ. Once again, I forgot my DDE card, and the DVC discount isn't offered at breakfast. Total was $5.42. I also returned the videos.

Back at the room, everyone decided to go back to EPCOT. DD wanted to get a Naruto headband (it's an anime thing), and DS hadn't spent enough time in Innoventions to suit him. Mom and I hadn't ridden Soarin or the new Nemo ride yet, and there were a few booths we hadn't eaten at. I called dining to drop my ADR at Rainforest, and told everyone we'd just eat at the DTD Rainforest when we got Grandma's candy. Plan was to leave EPCOT by 3:30.

We were packed up, and in the van by about 10, and were in EPCOT in about 15 minutes. This day is a bit of a blur (hmmm, wonder why??) I think I pulled Soarin Fast Passes as we came in. I know the kids went off by themselves, and Mom and I did a few things ourselves. We definitely went into Honey I Shrunk the Audience. I have NEVER seen this. Our first couple of trips, we tried, but DS freaked out! And I've never bothered since. We walked in just as the pre-show was beginning. The room was pretty full. I enjoyed seeing this, but the newer shows are much better. Now I just need to get through "It's a Bugs Life", and I'll have seen them all!

I think we headed over to the new Nemo ride next. I didn't mention that the kids (including DS's girlfriend) had done this the day before. DD said it was ok, DS didn't really comment. We waited about 20 minutes (mostly walking through the queue, but there was some standing around). This is a really long line, so they are obviously expecting a lot of people. Here are a couple of pictures from the new sign and the line.





Just as we got to the loading area, the conveyor belt stopped. We got in our "clam", and waited. And waited. And waited. It was about 20 minutes until the ride re-started. I do have to warn the claustrophic people out there. This clam is pretty well enclosed, so if that bothers you, consider skipping it.

The ride was cute, but I don't think I'd wait in line for it. If I remember right, DD decided to rejoin us then, and we headed over to ride Living with the Land. DD really wants to take the "Behind the Seeds" tour, and she was pointing out the people while we were riding. I PROMISED she could do this at Christmas. And I think this was when we finally got on Soarin. Mom had only ridden this once, and she wasn't really overwhelmed like I had expected her to be. This time, I was next to a lady who was VERY nervous. She had MS, and some other disabilities. She had ridden Soarin once before, and felt like she was going to fall out of the seat. Her DH kept telling her that she'd be fine this time. And she really was. She really enjoyed the ride, and it was fun to watch her reaction. Mom was much more animated about it this time too. She said the first time, she was focusing on where the film was taken, and this time she just enjoyed the experience.

I met up with DS to give him some money for food, since he didn't want to go with us to the F&W booths. My first F&W purchase of the day was at the Shrimp booth, where we got the ginger shrimp ($4.25). It was about a 3 out of 4. Good, but not really special. The lady there had problems with my rewards card for some reason, so I paid cash.

We moved on to Argentina where I got the marinated strawberries ($2). It was basically cold stewed strawberries, but it hit the spot since it was awfully warm out there. Probably a 3 1/2 for this one. My reward card worked fine here.

We moved on to South Africa, where DD wanted to try the Bobotie ($3), and I also got the melk tert ($1.50). The Bobotie was a meat and egg casserole which was a 3 1/2 out of 4. The Melktert was a custard which was a 4 in my book. We spent some time talked to the wood carver, then moved on.

DD moved ahead to China because she wanted to spend time in the terra cotta soldier exhibit. Mom and I sat down and rested for a bit, and DS just came flying by us. He was eating a potsticker from the China booth, which he said was really good. That was his only F&W purchase. I found out later he bought a Kaki Gori and a frozen coke with the rest of his money. At least he wasn't de-hydrated! He stopped and talked to a CM on a Segway, then he was off! I chatted with the CM for a minute, to see what he was talking to her about. She said that he was telling her about his experience on a Segway. She said he was very polite, so I was happy!

We met up with DD and took a quick look through the terra cotta exhibit. As promised earlier, here are a few pictures I took in here.





After this, we went on and watched the movie. Mom hadn't seen it in years, and she really enjoyed it.

We moved on to America, where DD and DM split a crab cake ($3.50). I don't know why I didn't get to taste it. I sort of think that was when I left to cancel our Rainforest ADR, and by the time I got back, they had eaten it all.

DD and I went over to the Japan store and bought her headband. She also got another bag of the candy she had yesterday. It was hard candy flavored like various sodas, and she said it was really good. The "infamous" headband that she HAD to have! That picture was taken at RFC later in the evening. She does look happy though, doesn't she?



I called DS and told him to meet up with us. He was right in the middle of the "House of the Future" tour, for probably the 15th time. We sat down by Mousegears to wait for him. I tried to fill up my water bottle at a fountain, and FINALLY found the talking fountain! It was a riot! There was this burbley voice saying things like "Hey, it's awfully dark down here." and other things I can't remember. We sat there about 10 minutes, and watched an awful lot of people trying it out.

DS finally made it out of Innoventions, and we headed out toward DTD about 3:30.

Up next: Rain Forest Cafe, and La Nouba.

[Colexis Mom]

Great updates and pictures Lisa [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] Looking forward to hearing about La Nouba [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[tkd lisa]

I left off as we were leaving EPCOT to head to Downtown Disney.

If you remember, the only one who knew about the end of the evening was my DD. I pulled up to the Marketplace entrance and dropped my mom and DS off so that Mom didn't have to walk. As DD and I went looking for a place to park, we were trying to figure out how to get everyone down to the West Side. I thought about parking down there, but I realized that we might be cutting ourselves short on time. I also couldn't figure out a way to deal with our clothes. We were all wearing shorts and t-shirts (except DD who had on jeans), and I knew we'd be too cold and a little underdressed. I just parked and decided to figure it out later, and met up with Mom and DS in the gift shop of Rainforest Cafe.

The reason we were eating here was that I had a $5 coupon that I'd gotten on my birthday. I'm a safari club member (well worth the money, especially because it doesn't have to be renewed annually!), and they send you these every year. I also had another $5 discount they had sent me when I lost the card and had to order another one. They charged me $5 to replace the card, but sent a $5 discount, so that was a wash. My kids like RFC, and we hadn't been there in a long time (I think since we moved to FL). So that was our only dining plans for this trip.

With the Safari Card, we were seated within about 15 minutes. They took us back to the back where they had just opened up a new section. We were facing the leopards, and they were really interesting. Much more activity than some of the other areas I've sat. My Mom was paying for this meal, since I had taken care of everything else, so I tried to set some ground rules for the kids. They did get smoothies, but I told them no souvenier cups (those just get nasty anyway!). DS wanted ribs, DD wanted calamari, but she also wanted the crab dip. We ended up ordering two appetizers and one entree and just splitting everything. Food was typical RFC food, but everyone was happy and full. I don't have the receipt since Mom paid, but it was around $50 with tip.

As we left, my Mom said "Oh, there's a candy store right here" (Goofy's Candy Co). I finally decided to just blurt out the surprise so I gathered everyone around and said "Well, are you ready for the surprise? We're going to La Nouba.. TONIGHT!" DS was fairly quiet, but Mom was pretty surprised. She said "You mean that place like a circus that they have all the posters for?" I said "Yes, but we need to drive down there now so we have time to pick up the tickets at will call and put on warmer clothes."

We found a spot in the 2nd row, just outside the tent, and pulled out jeans and sweatshirts for everyone. I took everything out of my backpack so I could load our shorts in there. I went to the "will call" window, while the kids showed Mom down to the big candy store. The kids hung out in the magic store while Mom was making her choices. She ended up getting a box of Mickey chocolates for her neighbor, and she wanted to buy some fudge. She took advantage of the "Buy 4, get 6" special and picked out a variety to take home. It was getting REALLY packed in there, so I stepped outside to wait. It sure seemed to take Mom a long time to pay! Turned out she tried to use her Disney Visa, and they asked her for ID. Well, all her ID was in the van, since she hadn't used it all week long. My mom NEVER has cash, but she did have a $50 travellers check. For some reason, they took the travellers check without ID, but wouldn't take that visa. I never did figure that out. She was just glad they did, because she thought she was going to have to get me to pay for it!

We left there, gathered up the kids (who were really enjoying the magician!) and headed back to La Nouba. Warning, slightly off topic ramble here. It was shortly before 6 by this time. I was really surprised at the amount of tough looking teen agers in the area. Many of them were wearing lots of leather and goth type makeup, and were pretty loud (and foul mouthed). I decided then that my kids weren't going to DTD in the evening without me anytime soon.

Back to the story, Mom and I waited in a VERY long line to change, and by the time we were done, they had opened up for seating. Our seats were Section 202, row GG which was the upper end of the category 2 seats, but they were just slightly off center. I thought they were great! We could see everything really well. Frankly, the seats closest to the stage probably had trouble seeing the things that were up in the air.

I'm not sure how much detail people want about the show. I'll just give an overview, and if you want more detail, let me know and I'll kill you with specifics!

The storyline (as far as I could see) is that a cleaning lady from a circus is having a dream about the people in her circus. It's pretty surreal, and since it's a dream there's not a really straighforward plot line. However, this gives them the chance to just have lots of different circus related items all of which are SPECTACULAR. Our favorites (no particular order) included:

About 4-6 little girls who had those dumbells on a string. I think you sometimes see them at Chinese acrobat shows. These girls (who were probably about 6-8 years old) were just amazing! They were doing jumps, flips, etc while twirling those things around and flipping them everywhere!

There was a series of stunt cyclists. DS had seen this in the commercials on Disney TV, and he really liked that. These guys practically made these bikes walk!

There was a good trapeze act, and there was a group of people who used hanging tapestries to suspend themselves. This was hard to describe, but if you ever saw the old Tarzan show at AK, it was kind of like they did with the ropes there, but they used silk tapestries.

My personal favorite was almost at the end. They had a sequence where they brought out some big trampolines, and people were bouncing EVERYWHERE. There was a large building set, and the main characters were bouncing off the trampoline, and walking up the walls. I think that must be how they did the effects for "The Matrix" and "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon". It was just one of those things that you watch and can't believe that it's possible.

The show was over about 8:10, and we headed back to the van to drive home. My family was just bubbling over with excitement at everything they had seen. I don't think they stopped talking about the show the entire drive home! We made a quick run through McDonalds for food on the way home, and were in my garage by 9:30.

Coming up: Closing thoughts

[tkd lisa]

First of all, thanks to all who've stuck with me. I know I tend to ramble!

My life has changed so much within the last year. I never dreamed that I'd visit Disney like I've done this year. Each visit has seemed so different from previous ones. I truly don't believe I'll ever tire of Disney. And having DVC now just makes that feeling stronger.

Accomodations: one bedroom and studio at SSR. The resort is absolutely beautiful. The setting is extremely quiet (remember most of my trips have been at value resorts), and the amenities are so nice! Those people who are big on pools would really enjoy the main pool here. There are lots of walking paths, and quiet alcoves to just relax. A one-bedroom has a SCANDALOUS amount of space! Even a studio has plenty! I only had a couple of down-sides, and they were minor. One, the food available at the resort. I know that's a personal choice, and I was glad something besides standard food court stuff was available, but the lack of ANY food court food surprised me. And two, the distance to the main area affected me. I am the errand runner in my family, and I'm used to running out to grab things. I won't be doing that at SSR! The internal bus is a way to avoid this, I'm just too impatient!

Parks: We ended up spending all but 4 hours in EPCOT this trip. I really do enjoy this park! Crowds were very low except Saturday at the F&W booths.

Food: We tried a lot of different foods this time, and really enjoyed it. This type of eating is right up our alley, since we like to share food, and aren't big eaters. I ended up spending much less than I expected, and still have some $ left on my rewards card. I think we'll probably do F&W festival every year!

La Nouba: I just can't say enough good things about this show. It was well worth the money, and was enjoyed by everyone in our group. I'm really glad I did this on this trip, instead of Christmas. The timing worked well for us, and we were able to get fairly good seats at the last minute.

So what's next for my family? I have a two night trip planned for mid-December. My mom's 69th birthday trip. Pre-trip coming soon!

[disneymom9092]

Great TR! Sounds like a wonderful time for everyone! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Colexis Mom]

I'm glad you enjoyed La Nouba! Those Chinese acrobats are our favorites as well! Thanks for sharing your trip with us [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thanx.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/applause.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/applause.gif[/img] Great job as usual Lisa [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img]

[Grammy Grumpy]

What fun it was reading your TR Lisa!

[PrincessSharon]

Great TR, Lisa! I really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing it with us. When is your December trip? Maybe we will be there at the same time for a change instead of missing each other by a few days.

[lindawdw]

Just caught up with your trip report Lisa and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to touring SSR on a future trip since you have such great things to say about it! Glad you enjoyed La Nouba and it sounds as if you really got to take advantage of the F&W Festival! Looking forward to hearing about your future trip in December. Thanks for sharing. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[luvnwdwgal]

Great trip report!! Thank you!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[ariel14]

Great TR! You are so lucky to live that close--my brother lives in Tampa and I am always envious that he can just go to Disney for the day or less!