Disney January 2012: Day #6

    On Day #6 we return to MK (Magic Kingdom) to do our favorites for the second time, and enjoy some more restaurants.  We rolled out of bed early and headed to Main Street to use some Snack Credits at the bakery.  Kenny and I decided to share a cinnamon roll, a cheese danish and a bottle of water.  Whatever you do, if you are on the Dining Plan...do not waste your snack credits on drinks and chips your entire trip.  Pack some breakfast bars and maybe even some bottled water, and use your snack credits for breakfast items and fun stuff like ice cream bars and dessert items at Epcot.  
   We headed over to Peter Pan's Flight for a Fastpass since we weren't willing to wait the 40 minutes for it.  The coolest thing happened... when Kenny went to get our Fastpasses, we got a surprise Fastpass for Mickey's Philharmagic!  Isn't that awesome??? I did not even know it was possible to receive a surprise Fastpass!  Love it!

Surprise Fastpass!

       With Fastpasses in hand, we chose to eat at Cosmic Ray's for lunch for the second time during our trip.  I enjoyed a Pork Barbecue sandwich and Kenny had a cheeseburger.  And when we finished lunch we walked over to Space Mountain, the Tommorowland Transit Authority (TTA) Peoplemover and the Buzz Lightyear attraction.  When it was time to use our Fastpass we headed over to do Peter Pan's Flight and Mickey's Philarmagic.  Feeling tired from lunch, we headed back to the resort for a break.  Since we had not made it out to try out the beautiful resort pool we changed into our suits and enjoyed the water.  Disney pools are heated and aren't lacking at all.  And thanks to the low crowds we were able to float and really enjoy it.   

Space Mountain 

Splash Mountain

The Haunted Mansion

      I was on a mission to take some good photos of the construction happening in (the former) Toon Town where the Be Our Guest restaurant and Beasts Castle are going.  I climbed back up onto a park bench and took out my camera.  I tried to hurry because I did not want a park Cast Member to ask me to get down.  It looks like everything is really coming along.  And I cannot wait to see it all complete.  I am still trying to figure out if you can go inside the smaller Castle, or if it is just part of the landscape.  I guess we will have to wait and see!  Check it out (I made these extra large for you)!

Check out that Castle back there! 

Another look

View of the other side

    Dinner took place at a restaurant we have been to before: Liberty Tree Tavern at MK.  The last time we ate here it was a Character dining experience, and because they took the characters away we have passed up this place on out last couple of trips.  But, we enjoyed the food when we went so we decided to return.  This place it like Cracker Barrel...but the food is even better, and it is all-you-can-eat.  It needs to be placed into our favorites list, because the food is so good that the characters are not missed at all.  We would argue that it has the best food at MK...make sure you try it!

Bread and Salad at Liberty Tree Tavern

"Thanksgiving Spread" at Liberty Tree Tavern

Birthday Dessert 

Apple Cake

      I always hate saying "goodbye" to my Castle.  Cinderella's Castle is Disney to me.  It made it easier that we still had another full day at Epcot.  Enjoy some photos that I took just playing with my camera on Main Street.  Back to Epcot for Day #7. 

Disney January 2012: Day #5

      So you think that Animal Kingdom (AK) is just a Zoo with a couple of attractions?  We disagree.  Aside from showcasing a long list of animals, AK features our favorite attraction of all of Walt Disney World: Expedition Everest.  It also features other must-do attractions such as Kilimanjaro Safari and Dinosaur.  For first time visitors we also suggest that you check out the famous Lion King and Finding Nemo musical shows.  Due to the small crowds and short wait times we were able to tackle this park within a few short hours.  
  

The Tree of Life at AK

     Like we do while visiting all parks, we headed straight towards Expedition Everest and snagged a Fastpass.  We were excited to see a short wait of only 15 minutes, so we decided to go ahead and wait and save our Fastpass for later.  15 minutes meant walking straight through all of the waiting areas and right up to the ride attendant who told us which row to go to.  With hardly any wait, we requested to wait for the front of the ride.  The ride was better than ever...it always makes me laugh in excitement as if it were my first time.  And it never fails, I always scream like a little girl when...well, I don't want to give it away if you have not been on it. 

In front of Expedition Everest

In front of Expedition Everest

Waiting area for Kilimanjaro Safari

Yes, you get this close to the animals

Baby elephant :)

    We stepped off of Everest and walked over to ride Dinosaur.  This is not a ride to miss.  It is a ride that will keep you on the edge of your seat and make your heart pump a little faster.  What am I saying...it makes your heart pump a lot faster, but in a good way.  We usually ride it multiple times, and our picture is always hilarious.  I wish I would have snapped a picture of the first time we rode it, because that was possibly the funniest photo I have ever seen.  After walking straight onto Dinosaur and walking off, we went back to use our Fastpass for Expedition Everest and enjoyed it as much as we did the first time.

Kenny in line for Dinosaur

    Lunch took place at Flame Tree Barbecue.  This Quick Service restaurant features various barbecue options such as pork sandwiches and barbecue chicken.  Kenny and I shared the half chicken since they give you a large portion and to save another table service credit.  Animal Kingdom does not offer a ton of food options and Flame Tree is convenient; so we usually choose it.  We also really like the Yak and Yeti restaurant when we are going to a Table Service at AK, but we chose to skip it this trip to allow us to try some new restaurants.
    After lunch we rode Everest and Dinosaur again and decided to head out to hit the water park.  Kenny had never been to any of the Disney water parks so I was excited to take him there.  Typhoon Lagoon was closed for refurbishment so we headed to Blizzard Beach.  We were only there for a couple of hours, but this is because hardly anyone was there and we were able to walk right onto everything.  After enjoying the lazy river for a bit, we walked up a million flights of stairs to do the family slide called Runoff Rapids.  Although the water was chilly when we first got in, it was so nice.  And Kenny is still giggling like a girl because while we were relaxing as we floated around the lazy river he push me under the cold waterfall and I screamed.  That was not nice.  It felt like someone poured a bucket of ice water all over me.  Three words: boys are mean!
    Walking up all of those stairs at Blizzard Beach gave us the appetite we needed to eat when we returned to Coronado Springs.  We decided to use another Quick Service and eat at our resort.  I read online that the Pepper Market at Coronado is tasty so we rode the bus over.  Kenny ordered a burrito and I had a chicken philly cheesesteak.  Everything was pretty good, but nothing to ooohhh and ahhh  over. 

Kenny's burrito at The Pepper Market

My Chicken Philly at the Pepper Market

     We decided that this our favorite resort that we have stayed in, when you consider everything.  Sure, if money was falling out of our pockets we would stay at the Grand Floridian or the Polynesian during each trip, but for the price Coronado Springs is really nice.  Our only complaint...the pillows suck!  Note to self: bring Tempurpedic pillow from home for next trip.  We are spoiled with our Tempurpedic items at home.  But who can complain when you are at Disney?  And don't you worry... I will get Kenny back for placing me under freezing cold water at Blizzard Beach.  How quickly he forgets that we live in Indiana and it is freezing now! More details of our fun coming soon!

Disney January 2012: Day #4

      One word... EPCOT!  We love Epcot because of the attractions, but also because of the long list of delicious food options.  A vacation to Disney is as much about the dining experiences as it is about the attractions.  After making it through the sea of Brazilians (there are at least 4 huge tour groups of them, probably thousands), we made our way to Soarin' for a Fastpass.  
   The line for Soarin' was so short that we decided to go on right away, and we practically walked on (yesss).  Then we walked downstairs to ride Living With the Land.  Some people overlook The Land attraction, but it is honestly one of my favorite attractions.  It may not rank among my top 10 but it is a must-do for us each trip.  I love that there is so much so see, it is educational, relaxing and the things that scientists are coming up with is really neat.  Where else can you see how aquaculture works, water lillies you can eat and pumpkins shaped like Mickey heads?

Living With the Land

Living With the Land

Living With the Land

  
   We were very excited to try a restaurant that we had never been to before for lunch....Via Napoli, which features various pastas and pizzas baked in a wood fire oven.  I am happy to report that we had such a great experience that it is going in the "favorites" list.  Possibly straight up to #1 above Le Cellier.  The thing about Le Cellier, is that they just recently made it a Signature dining experience.  That sounds as if it would be a good thing, but it means that it would take 2 of your table service credits (each) to eat there.  Considering that, Via Napoli has now won the #1 spot on our list.  Money aside, we would say Le Cellier.
   Why is Via Napoli so amazing and #1 on our list?  If having an Italian waiter is not enough, Disney flies the flour, tomatoes and even the water in from Italy to make the taste as authentic as possible.  Yes, even the water.  And boy, are we glad that they did!  That is one of the best meals that I have had in my life. Mmm!  The crust is what really makes this pie so perfect, and you can tell that the mozzarella and tomatoes are fresh.  I had the margherita pizza and Kenny had the pepperoni. I seriously cannot wait to plan our next trip and place that delicious little restaurant on our itinerary.  Don't miss it on your next trip.

Outside of Via Napoli

Inside of Via Napoli

Margherita Pizza

Pepperoni Pizza

Cherry Dessert at Via Napoli

Tiramisu at Via Napoli

Kenny enjoying his tiramisu

Enjoying my birthday dessert

Wood fire ovens at Via Napoli

Putting the next pie in

Love those ovens

        
     It's a good thing that when you visit Epcot - you probably walk miles!  I would love to wear a pedometer around Disney and see how many miles a person averages during their Disney vacation.  After stuffing ourselves with delicious pizza we walked all the way around the world to Test Track.  We rode all of our favorites that day including Soarin', Ellen's Universe of Energy, The Seas with Nemo and Friends and more.  
      Since we knew we would be back later in the trip we saved some attractions for later.  We did try something new: the Captain EO attraction.  It is a good thing that we practically walked onto that attraction because honestly, it was a waste of our time.  This short 3D movie created by George Lucas features Michael Jackson.  It was created in 1986...and we both think that they should have left it in 1986.  Sure, we appreciate the work of MJ...but that was just awful.  And it replaced an attraction that we liked: Honey I Shrunk the Audience. You know when you see something and you look over to the person you are with; no words need to be said, both of your eyes are saying, "Really???".
      After walking what felt like a mini marathon around Epcot and taking in the various attractions we made our way back to the World Showcase for dinner.  We usually always eat at Sommerfest, the Quick Service restaurant with delicious German bratwursts, pretzels and beer if you choose.  Since we received good feedback about the Table Service restaurant in Germany we decided to give it a try during this trip.  We checked in at the hostess station at The Biergarten and we were informed that we would be seated with another family (we weren't sure what to think about that at first).  As we walked to our table I looked over at the buffet and it looked like it featured a good amount of options.
       There were a lot of different options.  It did not take long to fill up my plate.  I had some sausages, chicken schnitzel, various types of beef and pork, potato salad, sauerkraut, green beans, and various other sides as well.  And as you eat you get to enjoy music by a German band on stage.  The family that we were seated with was very nice.  We were a little concerned when they seated us with a couple with 4 little girls (including a baby), but it was nice to meet some new people and to hear their story.  
      We stuffed ourselves with buffet food and then dessert.  Kenny mentioned that he really liked the options on the buffet and that he would like to go back.  I thought that the food was good, but it honestly left me wishing that I had my usual brat and pretzel.  I am sure we will go back on one of our future trips and we suggest that you try it, but it won't be going onto our favorites list.  The good thing is, we tried something that we had not before and we enjoyed a new experience.         

Various items from The Biergarten buffet

Dessert items from The Biergarten

Entertainment at The Biergarten

Inside look of The Biergarten

Kenny and a random family :)

         
      We were so stuffed and tired after finishing dinner that we decided to give our Soarin' Fastpasses to the couple we sat with and we called it a night. You may have noticed that I have been using my new camera to take lots of photos for my posts.  I love my new camera -  but I am still learning!  Epcot is a great place to capture some nice shots.  Below are just a few photos from our day that I thought you may enjoy.  More to come, my friends.

Increase of crowds (thanks Brazil)