Taryn's Mad Hatter Adventures | Tales from my (mostly Disney) travels!

- Tickets Now Available for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party!
  
  Posted at 9:43 am by taryngirl, on January 16, 2019
  This year, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party will transform Magic Kingdom® Park into a spook-tacular celebration for a total of 36 nights! That’s right, two additional nights have been added to the event, extending it to Nov. 1, 2019.
  
  Here are the dates for 2019:
  - Aug. 16, 20, 23, 27, 30
  - Sept. 2, 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, 17, 20, 22, 24, 27, 29
  - Oct. 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, 21, 24, 25, 27, 29, 31
  - Nov. 1
  Returning to the event will be spooky fun for everyone, including devilish Halloween décor, special entertainment such as fireworks, a parade and character greetings, as well as trick-or-treating throughout the park! In addition, you will have access to dozens of popular attractions and may even encounter some bewitching surprises along the way.
  
  If you are interested in adding tickets to this special event, please contact me at Taryn@MadHatterAdv.com! Pricing starts at $79 and varies depending upon date.
  Posted in Disney, Holidays at Disney, Magic Kingdom, Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, Uncategorized, Vacation | 0 Comments | Tagged Announcement, Disney, Holidays, Magic Kingdom, Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, MNSSHP
- Typhoon Lagoon Review
  
  Posted at 11:26 am by taryngirl, on January 5, 2019
  
  It was on this day that we were checking out of the Poly and into Bay Lake Tower. Disney makes it very easy to switch resorts. You can give any luggage you wish to Bell Services to transfer for you. The only stipulation is it may not arrive until after 1 p.m. So if you need anything from your luggage, it may not be available until after that time. Also, it will not be delivered automatically to you. Once you check in to new resort, you can retrieve from Bell Services, or call down to them and they will bring it up.
  
  I handed off our luggage and we met my cousin in the lobby. This lobby is in my top 3 favorites! I love the theming! I am slightly sad they took the waterfall away, but it’s still great. There’s tons of comfortable seating here if you need a rest. Our plan was to catch Lyft/Uber around 9:30 a.m. But alas…we decided to splurge on the Minnie Van for the experience!
  
  I particularly like this option because there is no direct bus to Typhoon Lagoon at the moment. You have to take a bus to Disney Springs and then transfer to a different shuttle.
  
  I had done a little bit of research regarding lockers, seating, food, etc. I did know that I wanted to rent a locker to put our valuables in, because I didn’t want to put things at our chairs and then go off on a slide or in the wave pool where it was out of my view. This area was extremely busy! Everyone had the same idea. I also want to say that right at opening it was a madhouse.
  
  The bathrooms and changing area/showers were right near the lockers.
  
  There were plenty of these available at this location.
  
  After getting our locker and finding the bathroom, we headed for seats. There are lots of chairs all over. Not all of them are in the shade though. So if you require that, you definitely want to get there at opening or a little bit before! Look at the map of Typhoon Lagoon and have a plan for which direction you want to go.
  
  Our seats were right next to the wave pool, which is where I figured I’d spend most of my time. Alex took the girls to water slides immediately before lines got too long. I stayed with our stuff and hit the wave pool.
  
  Here’s a picture from later in the day. You can see how many people were just in this area! (Within an hour, every seat in our area was taken…)
  
  Here’s a view of the lazy river. This was my second favorite thing!
  
  They DO have life jackets for kids, so no need to bring your own.
  
  We were getting hungry and decided to find something for lunch. We decided on Leaning Palms. It was close and had something that my picky child would eat!
  
  There were a bunch of seats, most were filled. But we were lucky to snag one as people were leaving! Kinsey opted for the cheese pizza and I opted for the chicken fingers and fries. Both were good, standard quick service options.
  
  One thing I want to mention is the bees. There were SO.MANY.BEES. Flying around us, landing on our food/drink. The table next to us actually had an “incident” with a freaked out kid that sent a drink flying across the way. (I also got stung by a bee while in the wave pool!). So yes, we were on edge as we tried to hurry and eat and get out of there!
  
  Some other sights along the way:
  
  THIS! Was my favorite though. I only got a half dozen, but next time will get more!!
  
  This little donuts were OUTSTANDING! Warm, soft, sugary, and perfect when dipped in the chocolate!
  
  It was late afternoon and it was hot! We were getting tired of being in the sun, so packed up and headed out. As we were leaving, we saw Stitch! There were only a few people in line, so Kinsey got a few pics. She loves Stitch!
  
  Alex and I left separately since we were now at a different resort. We each ordered a Lyft ride!
  
  Up next…checking into Bay Lake Tower!
  
  Posted in Dining Review, Disney, Typhoon Lagoon, Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged Dining Review, Disney, Leaning Palms, Stitch, Typhoon Lagoon
- Disney Springs – Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’
  
  Posted at 10:01 am by taryngirl, on December 13, 2018
  
  After our crazy, early morning at Hollywood Studios, we needed a definite afternoon break. We rested until about 6 p.m., at which time we headed to the bus stop to head to Disney Springs. We had a dining reservation at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’! This was not a new restaurant for us. I had eaten here twice before and it is now a must-do favorite for me!
  
  If you haven’t been to Disney Springs since it’s been redone, it’s definitely something to see. There are tons of shops and eateries ranging from 2 credit table service to counter service and snacks. It’s huge. I rarely make it over to Goofy’s Candy Company anymore because it’s so far from the bus stop!
  
  I love the decor and theming in this southern style place. It goes well with the comfort foods they serve!
  
  I already had an idea what I wanted. The past two times I ordered the same chicken sandwich, and knew I wanted to try something different. There are SO MANY GOOD OPTIONS! Appetizers themselves are delicious!
  
  Of course we had to have the deviled eggs, and my all-time favorite the hush puppies!
  
  SO SO GOOD! I could have just eaten this and been full and content.
  
  For my main meal, I ordered the Chopped Pork Barbecue Plate. Served with Mac and cheese and a biscuit.
  
  This was very good! I would order it again. It was a nice change from the chicken, and a huge portion that could easily be shared.
  
  Alex ordered the meatloaf. I think this was a special not listed on the regular menu! It was also super tasty!
  
  Of the kids ordered the Fried Chicken & Donuts. Again, so good, and so much food!
  
  Another of the kids ordered the Kitchen Plate, which allows you to choose three different sides. All of these were great! And a good option if you aren’t in the mood for meat, or want to share someone else’s.
  
  This was a meal off of the kid’s menu. Good portion sizes for little ones!
  
  Sadly we were too full for dessert! The list here is amazing! I have in the past had the Hummingbird Cake and it was huge and delicious! There was no way I could eat anything else tonight.
  
  If you are looking for something at Disney Springs, I highly encourage you to give Homecomin’ a try! If you are a fan of Moonshine, they have an entire menu dedicated to those drinks. They have both porch and indoor seating, and seating at the bar.
  
  Up next…Typhoon Lagoon!
  
  Posted in Dining Review, Disney, Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged Chef Art Smith's Homecomin', Dining Review, Disney Springs, Table Service
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios – 50’s Prime Time Cafe
  
  Posted at 2:27 pm by taryngirl, on December 5, 2018
  
  Welcome back! We continued on with our touring in Hollywood Studios. We had to check out the new store that replaced Sweet Spells, and Kinsey found this cute headband!
  
  One thing on her bucket list this trip, was to meet BB8. Mission accomplished! We pretty much walked right in with no wait.
  
  We knew we would be hungry for lunch early because we were up so early, so we had a reservation for 50’s Prime Time Cafe at 11:05 a.m. This table service restaurant serves classic American comfort food in a setting reminiscent of the family’s house in “Leave it to Beaver.” The theming is really neat! The staff here might joke around a little bit…”no elbows on the table,” “eat your dinner before you eat dessert,” etc. Or they might throw straws at you. Just be prepared if you eat here!
  
  Here’s Kinsey in the waiting area:
  
  This is just one of several different rooms offering seating:
  
  Here are some menu pics. They have a great variety and amazing milkshakes!
  
  It was hot outside and I didn’t want to eat anything too heavy. I opted for the appetizer Fried Herb and Garlic Cheese, which is served with a raspberry sauce, grapes and apples. It also came with a breadstick.
  
  This cheese was really good with the fruit and raspberry sauce. The breadstick however, was gross.
  
  We also had some Beer-Battered Onion Rings to share.
  
  These were really good! And there were tons of them. Between all of us we didn’t even finish them.
  
  Kinsey ordered the kid’s chicken fingers. (They let her order off of the kid’s menu even though she was 10.)
  
  Alex had the Caesar Salad with Salmon.
  
  One of her daughter’s had a bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup.
  
  Her other daughter had the Caesar Salad with Chicken.
  
  I think the food here was just fine. But if I had the choice I would probably pick Mama Melrose or Sci Fi.
  
  After lunch we had a FP+ to use in Toy Story Land and then we headed back to the resort. Of course we had to stop for some PhotoPass pics!
  
  I took some pics of the new Skyliner that is coming to connect Hollywood Studios with a few different resorts.
  
  This first picture is taken where the old bus stops used to be. They have been moved….far, far away! I talked to a security guard who said this just closed 2 days before we got there. And that they were redoing and pushing back where the bus stops would be located.
  
  Let me tell you my story about the current bus stop situation here. Warning…it is not a pleasant one! First of all, the walk to the actual bus stops from the gate is a good 10 minutes (as of August 2018). It was afternoon, hot, humid, and we were tired from getting up so early. So we trudged to the bus stops. There were maybe 4 people in our line in front of us, who had already been waiting 20 minutes. There was NO SHADE! I seriously thought Kinsey was going to pass out. We waited 45 minutes for a bus. It finally comes and we all get on. And the driver doesn’t leave. She’s waiting for her replacement for a shift change. And he’s late. Very late. We sat another 30 minutes on the bus without moving, and the driver just told us to call and complain to Disney. Meanwhile another bus came and pulled up further down from us. So the people who didn’t fit on our bus and were still out in the queue were able to board that bus and leave! Our bus was jam packed full, standing room only. Finally the new driver comes and takes his time inspecting the bus for damage, etc. Then he gets on. And sits there. Without driving. People started chanting “MOVE THIS BUS! MOVE THIS BUS!” It was bad. It was a bad experience all around and one that I’ve never had prior or since! A few days later, I stopped in at the front desk of the Polynesian to let them know what happened. I was way too tired and hot to do it the day we came back. The cast member I spoke with knew exactly what I was talking about because several other guests also complained. I wasn’t looking for any form of compensation, but rather alerting them to the issue. Did the driver realize how far away the bus stops now were? Was there a miscommunication? I have no idea, but I wanted them to be aware. She offered us 3 FastPasses for the following day which was very nice.
  
  And this ends our Hollywood Studios day!
  
  Up next…Disney Springs and Homecomin’
  
  Posted in Dining Review, Disney, Hollywood Studios, Uncategorized, Vacation | 0 Comments | Tagged 50's Prime Time Cafe, Dining Review, Disney, Food Picture, Foodie, Hollywood Studios
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios – Toy Story Land!
  
  Posted at 10:51 am by taryngirl, on November 18, 2018
  The day was finally here! Toy Story Land! (I’ll be combining the pictures from our morning and afternoon visit!)
  
  The posted hours were 7 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Our plan was to “rope drop” so we could ride Slinky Dog, beat a lot of people, and ride things multiple times if able. So this meant…be on the bus by 6 a.m. at the latest, which meant wake up at 5:15 a.m. (I am not a morning person and this is way too early for me! But I spring out of bed in Disney!). It was 0-dark thirty:
  
  The walk to the bus stop was so quiet! There were only a few handfuls of people on our bus. It was so strange walking into the park and it was still semi-dark!
  
  Even arriving as early as we did, there was still a small crowd of people ahead of us.
  
  Tips: Stay to the right and get as far to the front as possible. Do not stop and shop or to get a coffee from the longggggg Starbucks line! You can do all of that after you hit the three rides in TSL.
  
  Our morning touring PLAN:
  - Ride Slinky Dog
  - Ride Alien Swirling Saucers
  - Ride Toy Story Midway Mania
  - Eat breakfast
  - Ride Rock N Roller Coaster with FP+
  - Ride Star Tours with FP+
  - Eat lunch.
  - Afternoon break.
  From the second you enter the Land, the details are amazing!
  
  We headed directly to Slinky Dog to get in the stand by line. We had FP+ for later, but for sure wanted to ride it more than once! It is crucial that you get here at rope drop if you want to do this! Minimize time standing in line, and maximize touring time.
  
  We waited in line maybe 20 minutes at the most? This ride is SO MUCH FUN! I loved it. In my opinion, it’s 10 times better than Mine Train. I couldn’t wait to ride it again!
  
  From there, Kinsey and I went to Toy Story Midway Mania and walked right on. Alex and her family got in line to meet Woody /Jessie I think! The line for the characters was longer than TSMM. They were just getting their picture taken as we were walking off the ride. There was still no line for Midway Mania, so we rode it again with Alex’s crew.
  
  (My goal is always 200,000! And to beat my husband. But alas, he was not on this trip!). Another fun wall as you are walking out of Midway Mania.
  
  This is following the exit from Midway Mania.
  
  The Popsicle Stick Wall!
  
  The fun bathrooms!
  
  It was about this point that I was getting hungry. And Alex wanted Starbucks. So Kinsey and I headed to the Joffrey’s stand just outside of Toy Story Land so I could get a DONUT! One of those huge, frosted, sprinkled DONUTS!
  
  It was heavenly. Everything I dreamed of and more! After this quick breakfast break we headed to Alien Swirling Saucers. From here you could see the construction going on for the new Star Wars area.
  
  We did the standby line for this and the wait was about 20ish minutes.
  
  This was a fun little ride, but nothing I would stand in line longer than 20 minutes for.
  
  Of course we had to try the Lunch Box Tarts from Woody’s Lunch Box (the quick service location in Toy Story Land).
  
  We shared this amongst us. They were bigger than I thought they would be! And they were delicious. Definitely a good, sweet snack option.
  
  As we were heading out to our Rock N Roller coaster FP+ (which was 8:40-9:40 a.m.), tons of people were just pouring in. We were so glad we hit it right at official park opening time!
  
  Up next…the rest of Hollywood Studios Touring
  Posted in Disney, Hollywood Studios, Touring Plan, Toy Story Land, Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged Disney, Hollywood Studios, Touring Plan, Toy Story Land
- Epcot Dinner at Via Napoli
  
  Posted at 2:45 pm by taryngirl, on November 17, 2018
  
  We headed back to Epcot for the evening after a small afternoon break. Having hit most of what we wanted in the morning, we didn’t have to rush around to get anywhere specific. We made our way leisurely through the countries to our reservation in Italy at Via Napoli. This is Kinsey’s FAVORITE restaurant in Epcot! Pizza is probably her favorite food.
  I never have seen this lobby/restaurant in a calm state. It’s always buzzing with activity and there’s usually a line at the hostess stand waiting to check in.
  We come here specifically for the pizza!
  Normally our service here is very good, but tonight our waiter did not impress me. First of all, he was more worried about his tip from the surrounding tables as people were leaving than he was about taking our order and getting it correct. He messed up the order and did not bring us the correct thing. Ultimately we ended up with Margherita and Carciofi pizzas. I cannot even explain how good the Carciofi is! I think it’s the truffle oil they drizzle on the top. I silently wish they had a pizza window where they sold this. I would get it for my lunch every time!
  One thing to note…we were seated in this newer area. They expanded the seating area inside. This was much quieter than being in the main dining room area.
  After dinner, we made our way to the front of the park to do some shopping at Mouse Gears. (One of my favorite places to shop! I find they have a bigger selection than most other locations.) We hit Spaceship Earth as our final attraction.
  Up next…Disney’s Hollywood Studios–Toy Story Land!
  
  Posted in Dining Review, Disney, Epcot, Uncategorized, Via Napoli | 0 Comments | Tagged Dining Review, Epcot, Via Napoli
- Epcot Morning Touring
  
  Posted at 3:51 pm by taryngirl, on November 16, 2018
  I’m SO SORRY for the delay in getting up my next blog post! Once back to school hit, so did SOCCER SEASON! I’m slowly reclaiming my life back…
  
  Continuing on with my trip report from August…
  
  Today was Epcot day. We were at a very convenient location to walk to the Transportation and Ticket Center, and hop directly on the monorail to Epcot.
  
  Here you can see where they are building the new Guardians of the Galaxy indoor roller coaster. When facing Spaceship Earth, this is on the left hand side.
  
  A perk of having an Annual Pass, is there is a separate Annual Pass line which usually moves much faster. We always arrive here by 8:30 a.m.
  
  It was another gorgeous day…but HOT!
  
  We were doing our usual AM Touring Plan:
  - Ride Soarin’
  - Ride Living with the Land
  - Ride Finding Nemo
  - Zip through the Living Seas
  - Ride FP+ Journey Into Imagination with Figment
  - Ride Gran Fiesta Tour
  - Ride FP+ Frozen Ever After
  We always rope drop Soarin’ and save our Tier 1 Fastpass for Test Track or Frozen Ever After. We headed directly towards the Land Pavilion. I personally do not ride Soarin’! I can make it about half way before I have to close my eyes. It messes with my head… While everyone else rides, I usually check out Sunshine Seasons. I love the variety for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Look at these GORGEOUS cupcakes that were available this day!
  
  My plan was to get breakfast while I was waiting. I went with the Breakfast Platter, which included scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, breakfast potatoes, and cinnamon French toast bread pudding. I don’t like Disney bacon, and LOVE Disney sausage, so asked to sub and they happily did.
  
  I love this! Every single thing is so good. Especially the French toast bread pudding. I grabbed Kinsey a croissant, which is her usual!
  
  After riding Living With the Land, we headed over to the Seas Pavilion. I have never in my life waited in a line for the Seas with Nemo ride. The queue is soooooooo long. Here’s a view from our walk over there.
  
  The Nemo ride ends inside The Living Seas Pavilion. Here you can wander around (as time permits!) and check out all kinds of cool creatures.
  
  After we explored The Seas, we headed to our next FP+ at Journey into Imagination with Figment. The ride was down, so we headed to the DVC Lounge for a quick drink and snack. We checked again and the ride was up!
  
  From there we headed back to the countries. Mexico was our first stop. We wanted to check out the new Kidcot Fun Stops since they had recently changed.
  
  Now you get a Ziploc bag, and collect cards and stickers to put in the
  
  m. The cards have some facts on them.
  
  You can find these stops at each country. Just look for a table with a cast member to collect a card from each country.
  
  From Mexico, we headed to Norway to use our FP+ at Frozen Ever After. A FP+ here is a must if you want to ride!
  
  Next was China…one of my favorite pavilions! I love the shop here.
  
  Next stop…Germany! My favorite snack place is here!
  
  I present to you…Karamell-Kuche! I can never decide because there are so many delicious goodies here!
  
  This was also our favorite Kidcot Stop! He was super interactive and even sang to her.
  
  Next stop was Japan. This is my #1 favorite country to visit! I love the store here, and the overall vibe. Kinsey also loves this because they have a huge Kawaii display set up…which she loves!
  
  (They also have an entire display of Gudetama, which she found awhile ago somewhere on YouTube.). It means Lazy Egg, and for some reason she loves it!
  
  Our next stop was Morocco, which is where I grabbed lunch. Tangierine Cafe is the quick service location in this country. There isn’t much seating inside, but there are some extra tables outside.
  
  If you are on the Disney Dining Plan or Quick Service Plan, this is a great value for your credit. I love the Chicken Shawarma Platter. It’s served with a side of Hummus, Tabouleh, and Tangierine Couscous Salad with fresh Moroccan Bread. It’s super filling and delicious!
  
  From there, we decided to hop on the Friendship boat to take us back to the opposite side of the World Showcase, so we could head back to the resort for our afternoon break.
  
  Of course we had to stop and get a picture at one of the famous “Walls of Disney!”
  
  Up next, continuing our Evening Touring in Epcot.
  Posted in Dining Review, Disney, Epcot, Karamell-Kuche, Kidcot Fun Stop, Quick Service, Snacks, Sunshine Seasons, Tangierine Cafe, The Living Seas, Touring Plan, Uncategorized, Vacation, Walt Disney World Resort, World Showcase | 0 Comments | Tagged Breakfast, Cupcakes, Disney, Epcot, Karamell-Kuche, Kidcot Fun Stop, Snacks, Sunshine Seasons, Tangierine Cafe, The Living Seas, Touring Plan, World Showcase
- Magic Kingdom Morning Touring, Gaston’s Tavern and Pinocchio Village Haus
  
  Posted at 12:22 pm by taryngirl, on September 12, 2018
  Our morning started with breakfast at Captain Cook’s. This is my favorite breakfast in all of Disney! MICKEY WAFFLES! And, I always get the kid’s meal that comes with 2 sides and a drink. My total for everything pictured was $6.70. My daughter had a plain croissant, which she destroyed before I could get a good picture!
  
  Check out her cute shirt:
  
  A fellow travel agent at my agency made this for me!
  
  We met my cousin at the monorail at 8:15 a.m. and made our way to MAGIC KINGDOM! We generally do the same touring plan when we visit Magic Kingdom. It only varies based on our FP+ times. Posted hours were 9 a.m.-11 p.m. We arrived sometime after 8:30 a.m. Because we went through bag check prior to getting on monorail, we didn’t have to go through it again. The gates were already open because they now allow you onto Main Street prior to the official opening time. Super smart on their part…more people shopping before park opens, time to get coffee and then stand in hub waiting for rope drop, less of a stampede trying to get to the first attraction.
  
  Since we had some time before the official “rope drop,” we had some PhotoPass pictures taken near the hub.
  
  She spent a lot of time with us! One of the best Photopass experiences I have had. Because I’m an Annual Passholder, Memory Maker is FREE! So we take advantage of as many of these shots as we can, as long as there is not a long line.
  
  Now it was time to get serious…the opening show in front of the castle was starting soon, so we had to get into position. We were heading to Peter Pan to ride standby so we stayed to the left of the castle. We hit these rides standby:
  - Peter Pan
  - Pooh
  - Little Mermaid
  It was SO HOT, so we took a quick snack break. My cousin headed to Starbucks for coffee, and Kinsey and I headed to Gaston’s Tavern for some LeFou’s Brew! Gaston’s is a cute little tavern taken right out of the movie. It has a good variety of snacks and drinks.
  
  I wanted to point out the water station they had set up inside.
  
  This was a fabulous site, because we were so hot and thirsty! They don’t want you filling up your own personal water bottles. You must use the cups provided for sanitary reasons. I love this idea and heard it was located at other quick service locations as well!
  
  Sorry for the quality of this picture. This is a refrigerated case and the hot, humid air from outside, coming in the front doors caused some foggy glass! These are the Macarons and the Chocolate Croissants.
  
  And here she is in all of her glory…the LeFou’s Brew! This is one of my must-have snacks, especially when the weather is warm! It’s frozen apple juice with toasted marshmallow and topped with passion fruit-mango foam. So refreshing!
  
  After our quick snack, we headed to It’s a Small World.
  
  Our original plan was to go to Haunted Mansion and/or Pirates of the Caribbean, but the wait times were 20 minutes or more. We never stand in line for anything longer than 20 minutes! Instead, we headed to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to use our Fastpass+.
  
  We had a FastPass for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train coming up from 12:45-1:45 p.m. But prior to that we hit Mickey’s Philharmagic and then went to lunch at Pinocchio Village Haus, a quick service restaurant with tons of indoor seating. Here’s a snapshot of the current menu (September 2018) taken directly from Disney’s website.
  
  You can see they offer something other than the typical hot dog, hamburger, chicken options.
  
  My daughter ordered the Cheese Flatbread kid’s meal that came with a drink and 2 sides. She loved this and ate the entire thing.
  
  I ordered the Caprese Flatbread. This was delicious and a nice, light change!
  
  After lunch we rode Seven Dwarfs Mine Train with our FastPass+. We headed back to the resort for our afternoon break!
  Posted in Disney, Uncategorized, Vacation, Walt Disney World Resort | 0 Comments | Tagged Breakfast, Captain Cook's, Disney, Gaston's Tavern, Magic Kingdom, PhotoPass, Pinocchio Village Haus, Quick Service, Snacks
- Grandeur of the Seas – Day at Sea
  
  Posted at 2:45 pm by taryngirl, on September 5, 2018
  
  Today was our first sea day. I must have been excited because I was awake at 6:15 a.m.! Here’s the Cruise Compass for today:
  
  Once the kids woke up, we headed to the Windjammer for the buffet breakfast. Imagine my delight to see FRIED RICE on the buffet!
  
  And it was DELICIOUS! I would have this same thing every single morning (except when it was shrimp fried rice).
  
  Kinsey had her normal doughnut:
  
  After breakfast, we headed straight for the pool deck. The weather was perfect! Sunny and warm. Apparently we were finished eating by 8:51 a.m.!
  
  There were tons of open chairs available. There are always horror stories about people saving rows of chairs from the crack of dawn, and not actually sitting in them. I didn’t experience this at all on this cruise! I was always able to find a chair with no problem.
  
  My bathing beauties! Around 11:30 a.m. the girls came to me with some new found friends, and wanted to go try the rock climbing wall. We headed to the back of the ship, and it was currently closed because it was too wet.
  
  We kept checking back and finally they were open with a semi-long line already!
  
  These are the special shoes they have you wear:
  
  We did have our own socks on with them.
  
  My oldest daughter went first, and she was a champ!
  
  My daughter is on the left in the white. The dad next to me was super excited for his daughter who was next to mine!
  
  I want to mention. It was HOT this day! Almost too hot to be comfortable doing this. My youngest daughter was a bit grumpy once it got to be her turn.
  
  We headed to lunch at the Windjammer.
  
  They had a very good selection and everyone found something they liked.
  
  We stayed at the pool until about 2:30 p.m., and by then we had enough of the hot sun. We headed back to the cabin to relax and shower before dinner.
  
  Posted in Cruise, Cruise Compass, Grandeur of the Seas, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Uncategorized, Vacation | 0 Comments | Tagged At Sea, Cruise, Cruise Compass, Windjammer
- Disney’s Contemporary Resort – Contempo Cafe and BVG Shopping
  
  Posted at 8:02 pm by taryngirl, on September 3, 2018
  
  Continuing on with our first day…our plan was to hit Disney’s Hollywood Studios this evening. We had a Fastpass+ for Toy Story Midway Mania. However, right about 5:30 p.m. or so, it started thunderstorming. (Usual occurrence pretty much all summer through Octoberish!) We were prepared and had ponchos. Butttttt, neither of us were really feeling it. We were tired from getting up so early to debark the cruise and the long travel day. But it was too early for us to go to bed. So we decided to hop on the monorail and head over to one of my Top 3 Quick Service locations!
  
  From the Polynesian, we hopped on the monorail and got off at the third stop, which is the Contemporary Resort. Check out these clouds! (Incidentally, this is the bridge to Bay Lake Tower, which is where we own our Disney Vacation Club, and where we stay later on in the trip.)
  
  CONTEMPO CAFE DINNER MENU:
  
  So ordering here works the same as Captain Cook’s. When you walk in, you will first see the menu boards pictured above. Keep going into the order area and you will see the AMAZING DESSERT CASE! These hands down are the best resort quick service desserts that I’ve ever experienced! I seriously drool just deciding what I want.
  
  My daughter chose the cookie sandwich:
  
  She enjoyed this and couldn’t eat the whole thing. It was so rich! We took half back to the room for later.
  
  And I chose the Peanut Butter Pie:
  
  This was DIVINE! First of all, it’s huge. So it can definitely be shared! I couldn’t eat the whole thing, so I took half back to the room. You can see it has some vanilla pudding on the bottom. (This was so good, I came back for another on our last day!)
  
  As you continue in the register area, you will see the cold cases. I didn’t get pics of these because my arms were full! Drinks, salads, sandwiches, etc. were located there.
  
  Once you get to the registers, that is where you order your food. They will give you a number to put on your table, and once ready someone will bring you your food.
  
  We weren’t super hungry, so opted for the kid’s chicken nugget meal. We chose apples and fries for our sides, and a bottle of water for our drink.
  
  Disney chicken nuggets are some of our favorites! This was good and hit the spot followed by our dessert.
  
  From here we headed to the two shops located on this same floor.
  
  B.V.G is one of my favorites anywhere! They always have a great selection, as well as a variety of goodies to choose from.
  
  Up Next…Day 2!
  
  Posted in Contempo Cafe, Contemporary Resort, Dining Review, Disney, Quick Service, Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged Contempo Cafe, Contemporary Resort, Dessert, Disney, Foodie, Menu Picture, Merchandise, Shop, Snacks
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