The Two Tara’s trip to the World! Day 3

[TBY2225]

Sunday February 1st
Today was the day we would end up doing all 4 parks in one day! We were both excited and ready for the challenge. We were hoping that the Super Bowl being this day would mean that the crowds would be low, and luckily, we were exactly right! We got up and had breakfast at Riverside Mill. We used a CS for breakfast because we couldn’t fit in another meal on our short trip to use it on! I got the bacon, egg, and cheese on ciabatta bread sandwich with orange juice and smart water. Tara B got the breakfast platter and orange juice and smart water. It was all enjoyable and I loved the fact that it wasn’t packed in there like it is at the Pop Century! We were able to get our food and check out very quickly and we had a great seat beside the window. We took the bus to DHS and were there for the park opening. We headed straight to TSMM and were on one of the first rides of the morning. When we got off, we got FP’s to ride a little later and headed straight for RnR. We ended up riding it 3 times in a row almost as walk ons and two of them were in the front row. We still had some time to kill before our FP time, so we rode the Great Movie Ride, and then went and did a character meet and greet with Bolt and Sorcerer Mickey. Then we used our FP for TSMM and headed out of DHS at 11:45am. We took the bus to AK and went straight to E:E and got a FP. Then we got in the longest stand by line of the day around 30 minutes for E:E. Since we didn’t get to ride Primeval Whirl in September due to the refirb, and we waited around 20 minutes to ride it standby. Next we had lunch at Restaurantosaurus. We used our last CS here. We were hungry after riding Primeval Whirl and saw that there was no line at 12:45 so we decided to stop in. There was lots of seating and I liked that each room had a different theme and feel to them! My kids would love it and I will have to take them on the next trip. The food was standard Disney fare and we both opted for cheeseburgers and fries. We both got chocolate cake to take back with us as well. I liked the topping bar and was able to get mushrooms for my burger. and then used our FP for E:E. We left AK at 2:45pm. We took the longest bus ride to the GF for our afternoon tea reservations. We arrived just in time for our 3:20 ADR and waited about 5 minutes. I am glad I called to see if I needed ADR’s because even though they don’t take the dining plan, you still do need to have them. We were both looking forward to this, especially Tara B since she is the only girl in her family this is something she probably won’t get to do again for a long while! We were seated in a small garden type room with a patio feel. It has plenty of windows and natural light and a picturesque view of the lagoon and the Polynesian hotel. They brought out Royal Dalton china for a really tea party feel. Our server Kimberly was the only problem with our whole experience here. She was rude and arrogant and we have no idea why. We told her up front that we wanted to split the check and she acted like she didn’t understand. Then we watched as she gave 2 other tables’ excellent service, bringing them extras and checking on them. After she dropped off our order, we didn’t see her again until she brought the checks. Then she made the comment “Well, if that’s the biggest complication in my life then I’m a lucky woman”. We almost asked to speak with the manager, but decided to drop it. We ordered a Fruit and Cheese tray with 5 cheeses, crackers, and fruit. It was all good and fresh. We especially liked the garlic cheese spread! We ordered two teas. I wish we had known that they give you a whole teapot full and we would have ordered only one. This is something I later overheard Kimberly mentioned to one of the other tables! We got the breakfast tea (vanilla/strawberry) and the Madhatter (passion fruit, vanilla, and pomegranate). They were both good, but the breakfast tea was probably the best tea I have ever had! We had sugar on the table, but I would have liked some lemon and milk which we never did receive, but the other tables were offered and did. . We enjoyed the food, atmosphere, and tea, but were very disappointed in server. She kept this from being the great experience we had hoped it to be. After the tea, (4:30pm) we took the monorail to the MK and then the bus back to POR to freshen up. Within an hour we were back on the bus and headed to Epcot. We figured Soarin FP’s would be gone for the night, but headed over to see what the stand by time was. We surprisingly saw that standby was less than 30 minutes and FP’s were still available and grabbed one for a 7:45pm return time. Then we went over to TT and rode with almost no wait. We had 7:15 ADR’s for Teppan Edo, so we took our time walking around WS to get to the Japan pavilion. We used our last TS here. We arrived at 7:00 and were seated by 7:15. We were at a table with 2 other ladies and a family of 4 with 2 small kids. The server and cook were both super nice and did their jobs well. Some people were complaining about them not speaking good English, but, I think they did well under the circumstances and tried really hard to speak clear and slow. We both ordered green tea as our drink and it was a nice contrast from the typical soda. Also Tara B got a cherry blossom martini. It had sake, plum wine, and cranberry juice and she said it was delicious! The only drawback was that we waited 30 minutes for the cook to come out after we ordered. The cooking show was fine, not as good as some I have seen, but the chef (Tomo) did a good job. He had lots of personality and was quite humorous. We both ordered the filet. The portion size was big and I liked the fact that they cook the steak with mushrooms. He also cooked it perfectly. The veggies were good as well. I missed having fried rice, but the steamed rice was fine and it was all really filling. I didn’t even miss the soup and salad I get from the teppan place near my home. One of the ladies at the table was a vegetarian and the chef took the time to make sure she could have butter or other items and cooked her meal before the rest of ours. We got the ginger cake to go since we had already been there so long and wanted to use our FP for Soarin before the park closed at 9pm. We both enjoyed this meal and want to take our families on future trips. After dinner, we headed back to the land to use our FP for Soarin. We didn’t need them though, because Soarin was literally a walk on! There was no one is either line and the ride itself wasn’t even full! After Soarin, we headed to the monorail and took it to the MK for EMH. We rode the Magic Carpets with only one cycle wait, BTMRR with less than a 10 minute wait, and then finished out the night and our trip with a last ride on SM before the refirb. This line was the longest of the night with about a 20 minute stand-by wait. By 11:00 we were heading back on the bus to POR.

[SBETigg]

Another fun day! Jam packed. I can't believe you got so much done and had some good meals, too. You'll have to give the tea another chance one day, and hopefully get another server. This calls for a future two Taras trip.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

What a great (yet really packed) day!

[youngOx96]

Oh the tea!!! If I were with you I would have gone Mary Poppins on her!

[McGoofy]

"Two Tara's, Four Parks, One Day..." what can I say? We certainly made up for not doing too much playing in parks the day before. What a blast! We were on a mission. I cannot believe how much we got done. This challenge is not for novices! Tara Y. said, "If you still need to look at a park map, this challenge is not for you!" It was fun to open up the park at DHS. Even more fun was being able to ride TSM twice. I had friends that had gone just the week before and they had told me how the FP's were gone early in the day and waits were 70-90 minutes. We rode first thing that morning and were able to get a FP. Although, the FP time was already up to 11am by time we got off the first ride. WOW! Also, I LOVED riding RnRC three times in a row! We had to do it just cuz we could!!!

The tea... Sans Kimberly, the tea would have been fabulous! I wrote a letter of complaint and sent it to Guest Services. We'll see if I hear anything. At any rate, the tea was a pleasant afternoon break. Even though we were hitting the parks hard, it wasn't terribly exhausting since the weather was pleasant, and the parks were not too crowded. Taking the afternoon break was also relaxing. I just cannot believe how many of the major attractions we were able to ride. I am thrilled we were able to get one last ride on SM before it goes down for the refurbishment. This day was definitely a record setting day for me. I have never done so many things on one day, much less all 4 parks. My DS10 was so jealous!

[mouseketeer mom]

Stinky about your server at the tea. My daughters and I did the tea in August, and we had such an excellent time. We were surprised how much food is offered (we got the three course tea)..and wished we had more time before our dinner ADR later on, because we were stuffed. Another busy, but terrific day!

[yourmagicalguide]

Wow!!! You two were definitely on a mission

That's really disappointing that your server was so unfriendly and rude to both of you for no apparent reason. Since she hindered your experience greatly, I would have promptly asked to see her manager after that snide comment she made at the end

Another great report

[yjgirl32]

Great review. I might actualy look into the tea thing(with the hopes that I dont get the lousy waitress). My Mom would love that. Great idea. Glad to hear you had a very good day. Thanks for sharing.

[DizNee143]

what busy and fun filled day!! seems you guys had a great time doing everything! i just wish you guys would of had a better experience with the afternoon tea..sorry you had such a dud of a CM...hopefully it will be better for you guys next time!

[pdrlkr]

Thanks for the Report!

[faline]

A wonderful day except for the server you had at tea! Wonder what that was all about?!

[vizsla]

Thanks for the report.

[Bethis26fan]

Wow sounds like a busy but fun day. Sorry the tea wasn't as fun as it could have been.

[DixieBelle]

What a terrific day! I have always wanted to go to the tea. It sounds lovely. I am glad that you did not let that crazy CM spoil your whole afternoon, off to read more!