Disney Trip 2014 January 27 and January 28

Monday we got up and decided to go to Magic Kingdom first. Suzy was not feeling too good, so we did not rush to make it to the opening ceremonies. We never did get to see Magic Kingdom's opening ceremony the whole trip. We must do it next time. It was raining on and off all day. This is the day my feet started getting blisters. I mean big blisters that covered the whole toes. One on each foot. It was BAD. I have to say that slowed me down a bit for the next few days. I think I know what to do next time we go to prevent or at least get some relief if it happens again. We stopped in the Boardwalk Bakery to get a little something for breakfast. Then off to Magic Kingdom. We at lunch at Gaston's tavern and then had dinner at Cape May over at the Beach Club hotel. I think we went back to Downtown Disney and did some shopping on this day, too. I wish I had kept a daily list of what we did. Next time, I'll keep some notes on my phone so that I remember by the time I write my trip report. I know that we took it easy on this day because we did so much Sunday evening. It was a bummer that Splash Mountain was closed because I do think we could just ride and ride that thing. I also added Tuesday to this day's trip report so keep reading for Hollywood Studios and the Brown Derby lunch.
We really really really like the Lafou's Brew at Gaston's tavern. We might have had two or three during the whole trip.

Suzy and I shared this pork shank at Gaston's Tavern in the new Fantasy Land area.

One of my favorite areas of Magic Kingdom. You call tell it was raining and had been raining. Lots of rain on this trip. I did not get a Dole Whip on this trip. I will next time. I was really thirsty one afternoon but we had dinner reservations coming up soon, so I stood in that long line at the Dole Whip stand and got a cup of pineapple juice. I have to say that it wasn't worth the wait or the price just for a cup of pineapple juice.

This is the Boardwalk Bakery that is on the lower level of the hotel we stayed in. They have breakfast items. We did get a lobster roll one day for lunch and I did not have my camera with me to get a picture. I liked it but it wasn't as great as I hoped it would be.

Our favorite ride, Splash Mountain, was undergoing a refurbishment. Hopefully we'll get to ride it next time.

We kept thinking about riding the mine train again, but decided against. Maybe next trip!

Suzy acting funny...she was imitating someone she has seen on You Tube doing this exact thing on the People Mover.

We walked over the Beach Club Hotel to eat dinner at Cape May buffet. I took this picture looking across to the Boardwalk hotel.

Suzy likes to get the salads first.

My dinner plate at Cape May. We will be going back to this restaurant next time.

Desserts at Cape May. I liked these desserts, but they are the standard on all buffets at Disney.

We decided to go to Hollywood Studios on Tuesday because that's the day they have the Fanstasmic show that we wanted to see. We had a reservation package at the Brown Derby for lunch so that we could get guaranteed seating at the show that evening. There are three restaurants that offer a lunch or dinner package for the show. I do think that the prefixed price ends up being a bargain if you order the most expensive thing on the menu. I did not order the most expensive thing this time, but will next time. I just had to try the "famous" cobb salad.
We rode the The Great Movie ride. I had to put my ear plugs in because it was so loud the entire time. We did not ride Tower of Terror because Suzy was not sure that she should. Tower of Terror is not a bad ride. I don't think it is as rough as riding a roller coaster. Maybe next time we'll ride that. We looked in some shops. We went to the Staring Rolls Bakery. So many good cupcake selections in there. I got a Butterfinger cupcake. That was my favorite cupcake on this trip. I know at some point Suzy got a chocolate peanut butter cupcake there, but not sure what else she got. One day she walked over to Hollywood Studios while I stayed in the room. She brought back a cupcake that day. We left Hollywood Studios and went back to the room for a little bit and then came back over to see the show. After the show the park is closed, but a lot of people were coming in for a private party. There was a big convention for IBM workers and we heard there were 4,000 attending the convention. I only went to Hollywood Studios this one day, but I look forward to spending more time in this park next time we get to Disney.

Here is the carrot cake cookie at the Writer's Stop. I had to get this. It was so good.

These guys asked Suzy to take their pictures, so I took one, too. This street backdrop looks so fake, not sure how they make it look real.

On the New York streets.

Suzy sitting on a stoop. These were like fake backdrops that would be used in making movies.

We had lunch at the Brown Derby. You can get a prefixed lunch here that gives you a guaranteed reserved seat at the Fanstasmic show that evening. We took advantage of that and really enjoyed it. I think I liked the Brown Derby more than Suzy. I do like not having to dress up to go to a restaurant inside of a park, but you still have the good food and nice (quieter) surroundings.

Interior at the Brown Derby

The Brown Derby menu.

My appetizer was the shrimp and grits. So very good.

Suzy's appetizer. I'm not sure what it was called, but maybe something with mushrooms.

Suzy's entree was the steak. It was good. I tried a taste of it.

My entree was the cobb salad. It was really good. I'd like to learn how to make this. I think it must be a lot of finely chopping all ingredients. But next time I think I'll get the steak.

This was the dessert selection for lunch. They were much smaller than they appear in this picture. They were okay, nothing that made me want it again.

Fanstasmic crowd looking to the right. I was surprised that so many people come to this show. It really is a good show and something we'll do again next time. I recommend getting the lunch or dinner plan so that you can get the middle seating for the show. I did not feel packed in as it looked like the rest of the crowd might have been bunched up. I ended up video taping pretty much the whole show so I didn't get the whole effect of sitting back and watching it. So next time I won't need to video tape it, and I'll enjoy seeing it. I didn't get any pictures of the show since I was taping it.

Fanstasmic crowd looking to the left. So many people.

First day of Disney trip 2014 January 26th

Suzy and I went to Disney World for 10 nights back the end of January and first week of February. We had been saving up for this vacation all year. We even opened a bank account to put a few dollars in every month. It really is nice to have the vacation paid for in advance and not paying on the back end once you get home. We booked it through LISA REESE at Pixie and Pirates Destinations. She does a wonderful job of getting your reservations and getting you the discounts and anything you need, and she knows everything there is to know about Disney World and Disney Cruises and Disney Weddings.

We found out a few months before our vacation that Splash Mountain was going to be closed. That was a big bummer for us because that is our favorite ride. But it didn't stop us from going. Suzy had not been feeling good and had been to the doctor a few times and he put her on a new medicine before we left. So we knew we were not going to do a lot of the roller coaster rides. Suzy didn't feel good the day before we left, so she was in touch with her doctor and he ordered some blood tests and she was okay. He told her to be cautious. I did purchase trip insurance in case one of us got sick so we would not lose all the money we put into the vacation. Thankfully, everything worked out okay...with only one trip to an doctor clinic on a Sunday morning.

We left home real early. It was till dark out. We made a stop for gas and to switch drivers. It took us about 7 and a half hours to get there. We drove onto the Disney property and went under the welcome sign and you know how that goes...had to get a picture. We drove up to the Boardwalk Hotel in the Epcot Resorts area. We were very happy with the hotel and the room. We were on the first floor and close the lobby, which was ideal for us. We only used the elevator to go to the boardwalk area or to the laundry room...which I did do laundry while there. I like having a laundry available. We had a standard room and had a view of a garden area. The room was clean and roomy enough. The only thing was that you could hear people next door if they were loud. We would laugh because the kids in next door did not want to take a nap. I felt bad for the parent that had nap duty and had to endure the crying/whining.

We got there in time to eat a late lunch at Downtown Disney at Earl of Sandwich. We had been looking on the Internet to see what all we wanted to eat, and the Holiday Sandwich at Earl of Sandwich was one that we wanted and hoped it would be available when we got there. And it was! There is a picture down below in this post. That was one busy place. Long line but it moved fast enough. Just not enough places to sit inside or on their patio area. We moved on out and sat across from the restaurant on a small wall around a tree. It started to drizzle rain. We went to the big World of Disney store and were browsing around. We were looking at key chains when I remember that I did not have the key to the safe in the room. That means that I did not shut and lock the safe. I had put my medicine and all the cash I brought and all the tip money we had for the 10 days. So there was probably $600 cash in that safe. You know that feeling you get when you remember something important and you're late or you missed it or you know you really messed up??? Well, I told Suzy and we high-tailed it out of there and were so upset that we didn't even wait to get the bus back to the hotel, we got a TAXI! We were in a hurry. Of course, the taxi was stuck in the traffic and all the traffic lights, so it cost us $16 to go just a few miles. But everything was still in the safe when we got there. I don't think I would have been worried otherwise, but we had asked housekeeping to bring up another suitcase stand. They would be bringing it while we were gone and I didn't know if they would look in that closet or if I even shut the closet door. All was okay.

We decided to go over to the Yacht Club hotel and look around. We have decided that is our favorite. It's where we stayed last time. It's so cool and just has a quietness to it. The Boardwalk is pretty and bright on the inside, but it had a more crowded feel to it. I think a lot of people come there and park and go the boardwalk to eat and shop and not necessarily staying there, but it seems more crowded.

We then walked over to the back gate of Epcot and walked around and rode Test Track a few times and Malstrom in the Norway Pavilion. It was raining some. It rained 7 days out of the 10 we were there. That slowed us down a little but didn't stop us. We had bought about 20 throw-away rain ponchos before we left. They were really cheap, light-weight plastic that ripped easily, but did keep us dry for the most part. I ended up buying a Disney rain poncho because it was thicker plastic and had a better hood. Let me just say that umbrellas at Disney are dangerous. Just don't do it. Get a hoody rain coat and a hat.

We left Epcot and went to Magic Kingdom. It was staying open until midnight. We rode Pirates of the Caribbean and people mover and Big Thunder Mountain and more that I'm not thinking of right now. We got a funnel cake at Sleepy Hollow. We stopped by the candy place on Main Street as we were heading out of the park and got some fudge and a cookie. Went back to the hotel and we were tired from being up for so long! Next up will be the next couple of days.

Here is the most photographed signed!

Took this picture outside on the boardwalk looking towards the Yacht Club hotel.

Bathroom area

Very happy with the room.

The Holiday sandwich at Earl of Sandwich. Turkey with dressing and gravy and cranberry sauce. So very good.

We didn't know what we were doing at Fast Track at Epcot when we were designing our car. This is just one of those "time waster" things to do while waiting in line.

The pretty area at the entrance to the Magic Kingdom.

Pirates ride.

The castle from the back side.

Lights on the castle during the show.

Enjoyed Big Thunder Mountain.

Just saw a tiny bit of the electric parade.