2 Haunted Mansions, 1 Day (Plus Free Dining!) - Page 3 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Thanks for the info on the Podium Cakes..I will make sure to have a pre-ordered cake or get it at the MK if we need one
Sorry to hear the IllumiNations cruise was a let down! I was always skeptical how good the view is, because I've seen the obstructions when walking from the YC to Epcot IG, and of course it would be unsafe to actually go out farther into the WS lagoon
This is an AWESOME trip report!! I love your pics!
My husband would love to ride in the Breathless II, but like you, I would rather save the $$$ and watch Illuminations from WS.
Can't wait for more.
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I wish I was as snarky as you! And I know what you mean about Pop Century. We had 4 of us in one of those rooms and there wasn't an inch of space to spare once we were unpacked.
I like the idea of a vase for toothbrushes! About halfway through our trip, we finally got a mousekeeper who paid attention to our room. We came "home" to a cup, wrapped in a washcloth, holding our toothbrushes - and thought it was the coolest little detail!
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I'm all caught up with your great report Carrie and I'm loving every minute of it. It sounds great so far - well, perhaps apart from the IllumiNations cruise (sorry that didn't wow you), but the next installment sounds amazing.
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I'm sorry if I turned anybody off the IllumiNations cruise - it definitely had its moments, I just didn't feel it was worth the price. But if you can get a bunch of your PP Boards buddies together to do it, check it out!
Also, I too wish I'd learned what happened with the girls and the creepy diver. I take consolation in the fact that it's Disney, and I'm sure they do background checks on employees, and that everything probably turned out OK.....
Excellent update. I learned all kinds of stuff that I didn't know but surely wanted to know. Had no idea in the differences in podium cakes. Figured that they were mass produced somewhere on property. I didn't know that you could get key lime pie at SS. I adore key lime pie and always put it on my list to find .... and don't. You should be able to find fresh shrimp and key lime pie very easy at WDW and that's not the case.
I also wondered about the cruise. I think that I'll save my money. You need to go review the Wishes cruise for us now.
Love the hot rod fish. and I wish that I had seen the 25th anniversary museum. I had one opportunity to see it my girl friends were in to shopping instead.
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Oct '99: CSR ~ May '02: CR ~ Nov '04: SOG ~ May '06: SOG ~ Dec '07: Solo @ Pop ~ May '08: Pop w/friends ~ Oct '08: SOG ~ Dec '09: Pop w/LeAnn ~ Sept '10: Solo @ Pop ~ Spring '11: AKL ~ Jan '12: Pop for 1/2 Marathon ~ Sept '12: 1st trip for DL 1/2 Marathon? ~ Feb '13: Pop w/pals? ~ Mar '13: Tokyo Disney w/PP's?
This day kinda snowballed. When it started, I was still not in vacation mode but had transitioned from tense and snappish to disconnected and out-of-it. But after about 8 hours of letting the vacation wash over me, I finally started to get in the swing of things, and that’s when those things really took off!
So I may have been spaced-out, but I still knew enough to get us to Hollywood Studios for rope-drop.
The plan was to knock out the big rides – Midway Mania, Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster, and Tower of Terror – before going back to Epcot around noon to meet up with Jennifaerie and Rob...ifaerie, two honeymooners I’d met on the DIS.
DH and I did the patented Disney Speedwalk to Toy Story Midway Mania (wait – is that what it’s called in Florida?), grabbed FastPasses and walked right on. Florida’s queue has WAY better theming than ours in California Adventure (which is also almost entirely outdoors – boo!), so DH took lots of pictures:
I still really like Midway Mania, but I am coming to realize I will never top the score I got the first time I ever rode it – when I actually beat DH!
Next we ran to Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster, followed by Tower of Terror. This is another ride that has WAY better queue theming in Florida than in California. Where Walt Disney World’s has actual cracked walls exposing lathe and plaster, California Adventure’s just has painted-on cracks, lathe and plaster.
Coming out of TOT we had to stop and take our now obligatory shot of DHS’ Carthay Circle Theater so we can picture it in our minds every time we walk by the hideous office complex that now sits on the site of the real theater.
After our second ride on Toy Story Mania (I think that’s the correct name for the DHS version) I was starting to get hungry and cranky, so we decided to eat there instead of waiting til we got to Epcot. DHS is a bad place to be when you’re a table-service snob trying to figure out how to use free counter service credits…. Fortunately, right before we left for our trip, I ordered the newest version of Kevin Yee’s Walt Disney World Menu Book so that at least I’d know my counter-service options should we have an unscheduled meal. Unfortunately, the counter service section on DHS reads like the menu at a middle school cafeteria: pizza, cheeseburger, pizza, chicken fingers, pizza, pizza salad, pizza burger, etc.
We ended up at the ABC Commissary.
Talk about uninspired theming – this is a prime example of what we dislike about DHS – it’s all lazy Imagineering, like “We don’t have to theme this giant concrete box ‘cuz it’s supposed to be a soundstage” and “We’ll put in a low-grade food court and say it’s the commissary!” Plus, who wants to be sitting there in Disney, surrounded by unique entertainment options and imaginative diversions but frittering away their lunch watching a string of promos for ABC on TV?
Now when I say our lunch was the worst meal we had on our whole trip, it’s not because anything was cooked wrong or spoiled or whatever – it was just so aggressively mediocre:
Cuban Sandwich with “plantain” chips, Fish & Chips, Fruit Cup, and Chocolate Mousse
After lunch I felt a bit perkier (and I have to admit I had enjoyed the closed-circuit TV's featurette on Michael Giacchino, our fave Disney composer). DH dragged me to the Art of Animation show, which wasn’t as boring as I’d expected (kind of interesting how prominent a role Chris Sanders played in the interactive bits, considering Disney booted him from “Bolt”). We did the Wall*E photo op and that’s about it.
We went back to TOT to use our FastPasses and then got stuck in the Boiler Room for 30 minutes due to technical problems.
.
Finally we got to leave and go to EPCOT to meet Jennifaerie and (just) Rob! Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!
We high-tailed it outta DHS and decided to take the boat to Epcot. As you may know, I luuuurve taking boats at Walt Disney World, yet I’d never taken the one to/from DHS. What a nice trip. I missed most of it blogging pix from our morning at DHS.
When we got into Epcot, DH stopped at the toy shop in the UK to get our Christmas stocking stuffers for our fambly – one of those Little Miss and Little Mister books tailored to each family member. We tried to be kind but couldn’t resist getting DH’s twin brother “Little Miss Bossy”! Meanwhile, I plopped down in my new favorite place in Epcot - the set of wingback chairs in an alcove in the toy shop - to phone Jennifaerie (henceforth to be referred to as Jen to save on typing). Poor Tigger was cooling his heels in the character meet ‘n’ greet back there with NO visitors, so when he saw me he got very excited…
Eventually his pal Eeyore came along and kept him company at the Kidcot Station.
Next I ran down to fetch Jen & Rob in Canada while DH finished his shopping spree. I’m sure they were completely overwhelmed to have this large pasty creature in a floppy white hat run at them and begin peppering them with questions about their wedding. I wanted to be the first to get the scoop! To read the scoop for yourself, click here.
So once we’d picked up DH, the four of us hit the road for Spaceship Earth and the Super-Secret Siemens Lounge it contains.
Another shot of DH’s favorite subject
This one’s going in our supermodel application
Jen & Rob had come straight from checking in at the Polynesian and I think were only planning to stay for a little bit, but that pretty much went out the window. First we rode Spaceship Earth and got our little eCards from the Future.
In the future, the four of us won’t need bodies!
As we exited the ride, Jen spotted the super-secret entrance to the super-secret Siemens lounge. Here’s our journey into the inner sanctum in pictures…
Jen enters the secret code: 123456789. Don’t tell anyone!
At the top of the stairs was a nice lady sitting behind a desk all alone. It felt like, I dunno, a sci-fi movie or something – this woman locked behind a secret door sitting there all alone just waiting for us to come along. Who knows how many years she’d been there!
The main attractions of the Siemens lounge are the swanky hotel-lookin’ bathrooms and the free soft drinks.
Swanky bathroom
View from the bathroom back toward the Podium of the Loneliest Lady
Whohoo! Tastes like FREE!!!
Normally there is apparently also a great view of the park, but since the rest of the lounge area was blocked off for an event, we were confined to windowless Free Soda Land. I think the Loneliest Lady felt bad for us, because she gave Rob a set of passes to… the Super-Secret GM Lounge at Test Track! AND we all got free Siemens ponchos for the rain (here I’d been scouring LA for ponchos before the trip, and now within a day of arriving we had four of them!). Hooray!
So off we went to Test Track. Our journey in pictures…
Just to the right of the main entrance to the ride…
Rob tells the security guard the secret password (123456789)
Now that’s what I call a view!
While Jen & Rob & Patrick spent time taking gag shots in front of the ball…
I spent about 10 minutes attempting to get a picture of a Test Track vehicle whizzing by the window at our feet at 65 mph (or whatever). With an iPhone. No matter how I timed it, the shot always turned out empty. This blur is about as close as I got.
The back of the lounge has another cool view – right into Test Track!
I also got a shot of this nasty ‘Vette for my dad ‘cuz it’s his favorite car… and our wedding colors!
The Loneliest Lady at the GM lounge gave us walk-on passes to Test Track and pointed us to the secret GM entrance to the queue. Righteous!!
We came out on the ride-operator side of the loading area and crossed the bridge to the queue, where our passes got us to the head of the line. And just as the people in front of use sat down in their vehicle and whizzed off… the ride shut down due to rain! Our VIP experience turned into 15 minutes of waiting and checking our watches, cuz DH and I had dinner reservations at Le Cellier. And everybody knows you don’t give THOSE up! Finally we decided we’d better not wait any longer for the rain to let up, so we got re-admit tickets, bid Jen & Rob farewell (but not for long, it turned out – those guys are like bad pennies!), and dashed out into the rain in our free ponchos.
Foxy (free) Poncho!
Soggy Canada
In contrast to the perfunctory greeting and rushed dining experience we’d had at Le Cellier on our honeymoon, this time the hostess saw our bedraggled state and kindly offered us shopping bags for our wet ponchos and umbrella. Our server was in less of a hurry too, or maybe I just ignored the cues. But I still can’t figure out how they could be booked solid til December when half the tables around us were empty (I know, I know – they can’t fill them if they don’t have the staff… but they decided months ago not to fill them!).
DH decided to try their new set menu for Dining Plan users, which gives you an appetizer, entrée and dessert instead of just an entrée and dessert but doesn’t let you order any of the expensive cuts of meat. I wanted an expensive cut of meat.
But first I indulged in my favorite pre-dinner aperitif… a frosty chocolate milkshake!!!
He had some fruity nonsense and two baskets full of pretzel bread…
Mixed Field Greens…. Zzzzzzzz!
Pan-seared King Salmon
Mushroom Filet Mignon with White Truffle (yeah, right!) Herb-Butter Sauce on Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes instead of Risotto
Seasonal Sorbet… I think it was something unusual, like cherry
Maple Crème Brulee
After pouting over the lack of maple crème brulee on the menu back in February, I have to admit I hadn’t missed much. But on the whole, our meal was really good. I had been expecting not to like it as much b/c Le Cellier is sooooooo hyped it couldn’t all be true. But it’s definitely way higher quality food than at the other 1-credit table service places (except Coral Reef).
When we rolled out of Canada the rain had let up, so we rolled over to Mexico just in time to see the mariachis, which I can safely say is the only musical group in Epcot I’m interested in. I don’t know why I like ‘em so much. Is it the flashy suits? We also rode Rio del Tiempo con Donald-o Y Sus Amigos, or whatever it’s called now.
Oh yeah – that’s what it’s called!
Can you see these pix, or are they too dark?
We actually got a really nice Photopass pic in front of the volcano before the mariachis booted the photog.
After he left, it was up to one of our fellow guests to capture this sensitive portrait…
On our way out of Epcot, Patrick showed me what he looked like before we met…
Next up, Day 3, Part 2: DHS Surprise, Ghost Town Pleasure Island, and Hathaway Brown Attempts to Steal Me Away from DH!
Excellent update. I learned all kinds of stuff that I didn't know but surely wanted to know. Had no idea in the differences in podium cakes. Figured that they were mass produced somewhere on property. I didn't know that you could get key lime pie at SS. I adore key lime pie and always put it on my list to find .... and don't. You should be able to find fresh shrimp and key lime pie very easy at WDW and that's not the case.
Just to warn you - it may no longer be there. When we went back to Sunshine Seasons on our anniversary trip a few weeks ago, the peanut butter chocolate cake was GONE! But I'll keep my fingers crossed for you - maybe Key Lime Pie is more popular!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minnie Lor
I also wondered about the cruise. I think that I'll save my money. You need to go review the Wishes cruise for us now.
I'll make it my mission! Now I just gotta find $480 in the couch cushions so I can see it from the Grand 1 yacht....
Wow! we got two updates. Cool! I've been to the VIP lounge at SE before but never thought about taking pictures. I loved it because it was air conditioned, very clean bathroom, and free soft drinks. Then after that what else is there to see? So we didn't stay long. We also went to a VIP lounge in the American Pavilion - boring and another in Tomorrowland at MK. Meh! they were ok.
Love the pic from the commisary. There's a hidden mickey with your catsup and mousse.
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ºOº ~*~
Oct '99: CSR ~ May '02: CR ~ Nov '04: SOG ~ May '06: SOG ~ Dec '07: Solo @ Pop ~ May '08: Pop w/friends ~ Oct '08: SOG ~ Dec '09: Pop w/LeAnn ~ Sept '10: Solo @ Pop ~ Spring '11: AKL ~ Jan '12: Pop for 1/2 Marathon ~ Sept '12: 1st trip for DL 1/2 Marathon? ~ Feb '13: Pop w/pals? ~ Mar '13: Tokyo Disney w/PP's?
What a great day in Epcot...sorry the rain spoiled your easy access to TT. Dinner at Le Cellier looked delicious. My DD loves the Salmon there, sorry the Creme Brulee wasn't amazing for you, we have always had it on stellar days but maybe it is just luck.
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It sounds great so far - well, perhaps apart from the IllumiNations cruise (sorry that didn't wow you), but the next installment sounds amazing. 
ºOº ~*~ 
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When we went back to Sunshine Seasons on our anniversary trip a few weeks ago, the peanut butter chocolate cake was GONE! 
But I'll keep my fingers crossed for you - maybe Key Lime Pie is more popular!
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