wendinator

This video is from 3 years ago too.

I found that link just with a Google search. The person I heard it from went for the opening pitch just this past week. In their report they made no reference to the Cracker Jack, but there apparently was still a kid and a pitch and the singing. I intend to try to see it when I go next year.

I recently heard about "throwing the first pitch" at Casey's Corner, which was news to me. So in case it's news to anyone else, here's a bit more info on the morning ritual at Casey's in case you want to check it out.

https://www.wdwhints.com/2013/11/throw-the-first-pitch-at-caseys-corner/

9 hours ago, shoreline99 said:

Speaking of the Fort Xmas music, didn't you (or another fiend) mention the names of some of the albums they play in that music loop? I seem to recall seeing that posted here before, might have been in a trip report. I'd love to find some of those albums - it was awesome music to listen to, especially in the evenings at the pool.

I seemed to recall commenting on this previously and managed to find this old post:

On 1/11/2012 at 4:53 PM, wendinator said:

SoundHound thinks the song is from Country Mountain Christmas. I didn't have much luck searching under that album title, but did find this on iTunes which might be a winner. Listen to a preview of track #3. http://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/bluegrass-christmas/id157772484

Edit to add: hope my crazy Canadian link works for you. If not, search for "Bluegrass Christmas" or "Christmas Treasures Series & The Clarke Family"

On 1/11/2012 at 5:08 PM, Tri-Circle-D said:

Good Job!!!

If that Christmas Treasures Series and the Clarke Family isn't it, it is close enough for me.

It sure sounds like that is where this music came from.

Thanks!

TCD

Your Google-fu is better than mine! Thank you for the info! 

I'll post a trip report after we get back - there will be obligatory afternoon tea pictures, plus this World Showcase tour to talk about.

Was wondering if someone would be able to offer some assistance with this transportation puzzle.

Departure point: Pop Century

Arrival point: Epcot

Desired arrival time: A bit before 8 am

My Mom and I have a short trip planned for next March (thanks Jason!) and have booked an Epcot tour that starts at 8:15 am and they want us there 15 minutes before that (so 8:00 am). We'd also need to budget time to clear bag check and the tapstiles. The posted Epcot hours for that day are 9 am - 9 pm according to TouringPlans.com

When I booked the tour the booking agent said to allow 90 minutes for transportation... If the resort to park busses only start running 1 hour before park entry, then I assume the earliest I could be catching an Epcot bus from Pop is 8:00 am, which doesn't get me to Epcot on time. Further complicating this is that Mom will be in an ECV/scooter (offsite rental).

Is my only option a taxi from Pop to Epcot at that hour? Is there any scenario whereby I can get a bus from Pop and still make it to Epcot before 8 am, given a 9 am park opening?

I appreciate your sage advice. :)

This might be my only chance to get in on the first page. Looking forward to the rest of the report and insanely jealous of a 21st birthday celebration weekend at the Fort.

His last login was Feb 10. http://www.fortfiends.net/profile/361-tri-circle-d/

Thanks for posting! As you know I'm a frequent tea-goer at the GF. Unfortunately with the Canadian dollar the way it is, I don't see any trips south in my future. My parents are in Florida until the beginning of March so I'll see if I can convince them to make the trip...

If you go, please do post a review. I'd love to hear about it.

My annual pass expired Oct 2015 and with the Canadian dollar so low against the American dollar it makes it just too expensive to justify renewing - even at the discounted renewal rate.

We went to Jiko for Christmas dinner this year (don't worry - we had a big turkey feast earlier in the month since we knew we'd be away for Christmas day).

There have been some menu changes since I was last there.

I started with the sunriser again. These go down sooo easy.

My husband opted for a Zebratini. I forget what all is in it, but it's a lot of alcohol and really more like a dessert. In fact, my brother-in-law had that as his dessert.

They brought out some rolls made with Ethopian beer. They were very good, but they now come with regular butter instead of the tandoori butter I'd posted in previous reports.

For appetizers, the Taste of Africa remains though the vessel that they serve the dips in has changed to these pointy bottomed things.

Do you remember making a little paper folding game thing when you were a kid? It's just like that.

A charcuterie plate has been added and my husband can rarely pass up the opportunity to have one. I don't remember all of what was on the plate, but the cheese on the left is called Blue Haze - it's a smoked blue. The one on the far right was a lovely smooth creamy cheese. Meats were predominantly duck - prosciutto on the left and sausage on the right, with salami in the middle I think. I don't remember seeing the flatbreads on the menu anymore, but it's possible I just missed them.

For mains the filet mignon was gone, and I'm not sure whether that's a temporary or permanent change. Our server said that the buffalo rib eye was a special for only Dec 24/25, so my brother-in-law had that. I stuck with the beef short ribs (and neglected to take a picture) while my husband had the lamb shank.

My Dad had the scallops but I didn't see a picture and forgot to ask how he liked them.

The plates themselves have changed and these are an odd shape that means you can't easily rest your knife and/or fork on the edge of them - they either fall off onto the table or land in your plate. Though I'm sure someone thinks they're visually pleasing but I can't say I'm a big fan from a practical use standpoint.

For dessert my husband had the chocolate pot de crème.

I went for the malva pudding again. Still yummy in its new configuration (scroll up to see how it used to look).

No little cookies with the bill this time and I don't know whether it's because they've stopped the practice or whether it's because we were a large group split into separate checks.

what are the repeaters on for 2 meter and any plu,s also have a 440 and 220 machine i can use live in cape cod have a son that is in college program hoping to be there in feb

I thought my Dad would have this info handy but no such luck.

This site should have the info you need - http://wd4wdw.org/index.php/info/area-repeater

Went for tea again today - my first time since March. We didn't get Riley as our server this time and I don't know if it was because she had the day off or because she's moved on.

As best I can tell the menu hasn't changed at all since the last time I was there, so once again I (and all my dining companions) opted for the Bedfordshire tea.

Sandwiches are still the same — open faced beet, egg salad, curried chicken, cucumber & watercress. Two pieces of cheese (I stashed in a Ziploc bag for later), grapes, two raspberries, two blueberries, lavosh (crackers) and the famous onion tart.

New to me this time was the presentation of the scones and desserts. A three tiered tray is presented for up to two people so this one here was for me and my Dad. On the top layer you see his cranberry trifle and my pastries.

I'm beginning to think that the apricot jam I was served last time is a permanent thing. I inquired once again about strawberry jam and my server Amanda sourced some from some other stash on property. I guess I have some preconceived notions about what jam goes with scones, and apricot isn't it. Strawberry or raspberry seem more suitable to me, but what do I know?

Once again that tiny amount of Devonshire cream seemed insufficient so of course we asked for more. Riley usually brought just another tray like what you see above, but this time we were provided with small plastic tubs with a much more appropriate amount of cream. They took a while to arrive (our server said they needed to thaw) but they did not go to waste.

I opted for the pastries this time. The mousse filled swan flavor this time was mint. I guessed pistachio based on the color so was a little surprised to hear it was mint. I guess that was in light of the festive season. Anyway, I like mint and it was good.

My parents both had the cranberry trifle and they enjoyed it. I've never tried it because I feared it would be too tart. My Dad took a few pictures too so if they're any different than mine I'll post those when I can get access to them.

Lots pictures from today posted here - http://imgur.com/gallery/OZgTb/new

(Sadly wasn't me who took them!)

There are all kinds of fruit trees growing in Disneyland's Tomorrowland.  This dates back to something called "Agrifuture,' which was supposed to show that edible plants could be grown in urban environments.  I'm sure they can, but how practical is that?

I live in a big city (Toronto, population 2.6 million) and we have an organization called Not Far From the Tree that harvests fruit from urban trees. This year they picked over 36,000 lbs of fruit from Toronto trees! If you have something fruit-bearing on your property you can register with them and their volunteers pick the fruit and split it three ways between the homeowner, the volunteers, and local food banks, shelters and community kitchens.

Thanks for the heads up. I'm a Facebook conscientious objector, so am happy to follow on Twitter instead.  :thumbsup2:

At least it will be cooler (probably) in November for Beckers, than August when Wendinator did it!

Yes, that was the biggest problem. When you're just in one park you can spend more time getting cooled off, but with our 4 park day we spent more time outside and were definitely feeling the effects of the heat.

I did a 4 park day with my sister, her husband and their two 9 year old boys this past August. The goal was to go to the park, get your photo taken with the icon, do one iconic ride and have something to eat.

We parked at the TTC and took the monorail to Epcot.

At Epcot we got our picture taken with Spaceship Earth - hold your finger up to indicate park number one - and did that ride. We had breakfast in France.

We then took the boat from Epcot to DHS. This probably isn't the most efficient transportation but we'd never done it before so that was interesting.

At DHS, got our picture taken on the main drag - hold your fingers up to indicate park number two - and rode GMR. Had a PB&J milkshake at the Tune In Lounge.

Took the bus from DHS to AK.

Got our picture taken in front of the tree of life - hold your fingers up to indicate park number three. Did ITTBAB (though one kid opted out - he doesn't like the spiders). Grabbed some Flame Tree BBQ.

Took the bus to MK. The wait for that bus was painful.

Had our picture taken in front of the castle and, you guessed it, four fingers! We'd intended to ride the train around the park but were too hot and cranky by this point. I forget what ride we did instead. Got a sweet cream cheese pretzel.

Car was waiting for us at the TTC when we were all done.

My BIL is renting the scooter and says it will be delivered to the Fort, as the plan is to take the boat from the fort to the party.

Just beware that not all boats that go from FW to MK are scooter-accessible.

One time I saw a family with a scooter trying to get from WL by boat to somewhere... they were on a tight schedule and it was not going well. Lots of stress and scowling.

The Disney buses do a good job of loading/unloading scooters, just remember that they can only take 2 at a time (on the non-articulated buses).

Awesome that you will be there next week and 14 hours driving is impressive.  I drive the full 12 on the way back but it takes me a day to recover.

I know what you mean about the day to recover. I don't know how he does it, especially since he's 55ish...

I was just drove through Maryville recently actually. I was away for two weeks for work/leisure - drove Toronto to Cincinnati and stayed there for a few days, then Cincinnati to Robbinsville and there for the weekend, then Robbinsville to Nashville and there for a week, then back to Toronto. I left Nashville at 3:00 pm CT and drove as far as Columbus at 11 pm ET and then drove the rest of the way home on Saturday. (I took a funny way home in order to avoid Michigan - sorry Michiganers!)

Anyway, with an annual pass, going more than one time a year doesn't take much convincing. :) My AP expires this October and I haven't decided yet whether or not to renew, even though we'll be in the area over Christmas.

That's a much longer drive than from TN.  Impressive

 

Just curious, how far?

Funny you would mention Tennessee as just last week I drove from Nashville to Toronto.

The drive from Toronto to Disney is in the 21-24 hr range, depending on route, weather and who's driving. My husband LOVES to drive and is quite comfortable doing 14 hours straight by himself. I think he's nuts!

I'm leaving next Friday for a week at Disney but will be flying this time.

I've made 3 trips in a year and I live in Canada!

Did you ask if they had any chicken?

Reminds me of the documentary I just watched yesterday on Netflix. The Search for General Tso / IMDb link

I haven't used the WDW repeaters since we were there for New Year's 2000. We sometimes use simplex (446.5) within a park since my whole family are Hams. We'll be in the area at Christmas this year but probably not in the parks too much.

My Dad is still very active in his local club and has been competing in DX too, I think. Though lately you'll find him on APRS. :)

73!

Has anybody been since March? Any updates to menu or anything?

Still looks like I won't be back for tea until this December.