Since we've been planning pool breaks this trip we took advantage of driving to some parks in the morning vs. taking the bus. Leaving in the early afternoon means no traffic to deal with. This morning we started off at Disney's Hollywood Studios. We didn't have much planned, but what we did plan was agressively tight.
They opened the park early and penned us on Hollywood and Sunset until a few minutes of official opening. This area happens to be where the Starbucks is so Dave beveraged-up with an iced coffee. We started off the morning with the first running of Rockin' Rollercoaster, followed by Tower of Terror. By the time we knocked those two out it was 9:30 - time for our Midway Mania Fastpass.
Soon it was time for another Starbucks break and to find a spot for the Frozen Summer Fun Parade. This is a special parade where the characters from Frozen ride floats and performers dance and skate. It's decent for what it is. Holly had the pleasure of holding the GoPro while Dave concentrated on still shots.
We crossed back over to Sunset and used our Tower of Terror Fastpass. By the time we exited the ride we figured it was time for a beverage. Unfortunately our usual Sunset Blvd. stop, Fairfax Fare, was closed for refurb (or just closed). The Tune-In Lounge was our backup. Our next event was Olaf's Summer Cool Down which takes place on the main stage. The show was about ten minutes long and had the usual Disney formula: Host comes out, talks to audience, calls for main character, main character never shows up until the third time you call, banter with main character, dance number, special effect, sing "Let it Go", end. The special effect was the cool-down portion of the show: Essentially they shot the audience with a huge fire extinguisher.
We killed some time before seeing the 12:30 showing of the "Frozen Sing Along". We enjoyed the show the first time we watched it last year, but this time it didn't entertain us much. Too much....singing. We forgot how much the show really relied on showing clips from the movies vs. original content.
Next up was lunch! This was our first of two ADRs at The Brown Derby over the next few days. In May, we had the Zellwood Corn Bisque that was out of this world. In September Brown Derby featured Brentwood Corn Bisque (can't be that different) and Dave insisted on having it for two meals. We both ordered soup and supplemented with the small Cobb (Holly) and the scallop and pork belly appetizer (Dave). The bisque was as-good as remembered with the earthy herbs and tasty lobster dumplings.
We left The Studios in order to enjoy some pool time. Unfortunately it was time for the rain to come again. We spent some time in the lobby (how may times can we visit Bou-tiki?) before we were finally able to get some time by the pool.
We hopped over to The Grand Floridian for dinner. We arrived at Narcoossee's early to have a pre-dinner drink. We chatted for a while with the bartender and got a bit of information on the flexibility each location has for menus, wine lists, and cocktail options. We mainly returned to Narcoossee's because of the successful meal we had there in May. Since that time the seasons changed and so did the chef. Our appetizer of BBQ shrimp had a ton going on and it was great. The chicken dish Holly craved from May was replaced by something a less fantastic. Dave's halibut was great, but the rest of the dish did not come together. The chef (in our opinion) threw too much together into each dish. We watched Wishes from the Narcoosee's balcony.
Back at The Poly we decided to grab a drink from The Tambu Lounge to bring back to the room. Near the bar we found a group of people with a cooler w/ built-in IPod player blasting music and mixing drinks from their own 1.75 bottle. Other guests told us they called security 20 minutes before we arrived so this had been going on for a while. Security finally showed up - a gentleman who looked old enough to see Steamboat Willie's original screening - and kinda just stood there and looked at them. Eventually they turned off the music. We were shocked that 1) people would actually think this was ok to do 2) that it took so long to shut it down.
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