 Hey friends tonight, we are hanging out in the Magic Kingdom And this is my first time being back in the park for the new year 2023 There are lots of new things and updates that we're gonna go over so I figured we come on out Ride some rides eat some food and just have a beautiful Magic Kingdom kind of day Anywho's let's go do this. I Have to say it is a beautiful day in Florida today And I'm so happy to bring in the new year at the Magic Kingdom. It's gorgeous out right now Because it's my first full day back in the parks for 2023 I decided I'm purchasing the genie plus and it cost me $17 for today the past couple of weeks It was anywhere from $25 to $29 because the price changes daily depending on how busy the parks are and of course We just went through Christmas and New Year or so. It was like max level Even though the price for genie plus went down It's still a little bit busy in the park and the wait times are long So I made my first lightning lane selection and that's for big Thunder mountain and I'm excited So we're gonna head over that way right now. I Also want to show you some of the new snacks that they actually released around the park and Revisit my least favorite Disney restaurant of all time be our guest I know that's a hot take, but it just didn't do it for me I wasn't a fan of the atmosphere or the entrees So I figured I'd go back brand new year try something different and see if I'll have a different opinion on it. I Couldn't think of a better ride to start off the day than big Thunder mountain and as soon as I touch at the touch point I'm gonna try to book a lightning lane for splash mountain because I want to ride that you guys know It is gonna be closing in like two weeks Well, it's not it's closing for a refurbishment and it's getting re-themed to Tiana's Bayou adventure, which I'm also very excited to ride, but I still want to ride it why I can On Top of our fun day at Magic Kingdom today I'm also gonna be bringing you with me as I go to a Roosevelt's Insiders meetup down at Disney Springs and over at the Polynesian later on today, and I'm excited There's gonna be a bunch of people rocking their favorite Roosevelt shirts And it's gonna be a good time and I figured I would just add it into this video But that's much later on now It's time to head on big Thunder and the standby wait is actually only 45 minutes 45 minutes with the standby wait isn't too bad, but I'd rather skip it if I paid $17 And take a look at that I just got splash mountain for 1245 so just about as soon as we get off the ride here We're sitting in the very last row and our train is coming in any moment now I haven't rode the back and it's such a long time There she is I'm a brave There we go Oh boy, oh we got stuck in the cave Oh Look at that Isn't she a cute Clark? That is such a fun ride and I have to say riding the back is so much better Like if you can you know ask ask to ride in the back because it is I Feel like it makes you feel like you're going faster. Did you see the look of terror on that person in the back row? Now it's time to head right on over to splash mountain And I like how it just stacked up like that and the reason I was able to get it so close is because I went in and I kept I'm modifying until I got a closer time and it popped up just like that The current wait time for splash mountain is 55 minutes And I really feel like we got our money's worth with getting the genie plus today because we've already done big Thunder And now splash mountain in under an hour. This guy just looks like he got soaked I Mean you get wet on this ride But that guy looked soaked and he said avoid riding the front row which makes me wonder What is the best row to avoid getting wet on? I always thought it was the middle section because when you splash down the water's got to come up So then it comes down but he's saying the front row is what got him the worst Let me know what you guys think the best one is I mean there has to be some kind of science behind it A 50-foot plunge ahead rabbit tails Splash mountain is a turbulent flume adventure with high speeds height sudden drops and stops One of the things I'm most excited for with the re-thieving of this ride is probably the music I really can't wait to see if they incorporate friends on the other side because I think that'll be amazing Looks like I'm gonna be riding the front row anyway Oh No splash no splash there Airfines greens My lanta. Oh, oh hey now too soon for that Oh That's what you ask us I'll show you a laughing place the hat saved the day I got a little water on these lenses on that lens and on my shirt not too bad though not too bad at all. Zippity lady. Get that wet at all and I rode the front row I do have to say I think I got a bigger splash on the first and second drop than I did on the big drop and that was kind of confusing because normally I don't get that wet but you seen that one part where it literally just came over I think that was on the first drop maybe they added more water in there to actually like keep it looking presentable until they close it down I noticed that some of the lights were shut off on some of the animatronics because there's no reason for them to fix them unless they're going to repurpose them but I wouldn't I mean maybe they might they might actually repurpose some of the animatronics it kind of fits the theme a little bit now we're gonna make our way over to be our guest because it's just about time for our lunch reservation now I do have to say one of the main reasons I don't like be our guest is because of how beautiful the restaurant actually is it is so cool in there but I feel like Disney added so many tables that it kind of ruins the experience like when you first walk in I feel like you're dining in a cafeteria there's so many tables stacked on tables and you have no space and you really can't enjoy the atmosphere the food itself is it's okay it's a prefix menu but nothing really stirred out to me now I'm gonna try something different I've only eaten here I think three times and this time I'm gonna try something I've never had before and hopefully that'll make the food a little bit better but I don't see them like cutting down on the tables let me know what you guys think in the comment section I mean I think it's like I said I think it's amazing in there I just wish they would cut down on the tables make it a little bit more intimate and maybe up the menu a little bit because you're paying a lot of money it's time to head into the restaurant and like I mentioned the theming is just phenomenal in here I really do love it a lot look at it it's like we're heading straight into the castle itself and I like it like I said it's it's really amazing another cool thing about dining here is you get to meet the beast and I don't I have down here twice before the first time there was a separate little meeting area where you actually had a wait to actually get your photo taken with them and then when I came back it was during the shutdown and he just walked up and down the hallway so you didn't get your photo with them so I'm excited to see if he comes to the table or if we're actually gonna be able to get a photo with them here is a look at the menu and like I mentioned before it is a prefix menu so it's $67 a person and you get to choose an appetizer and entree and then it comes with a dessert and for the appetizers they have a french onion soup they have a duck and pork paté then they have a potato leek soup and as cargo maybe I'll try as cargo again I haven't had a good run in with as cargo so I really am looking for that one that's gonna be delicious and then for entrees they have trout they have a pork chop they have the chicken and then the filet I've had the chicken and the filet I wasn't impressed with those so I think I'm gonna try the pork chop this time that comes with a double smoked bacon sweet potato line is and the Dijon mustard sauce so that sounds actually really good and then the dessert it comes out like a little trio and the thing that everyone loves is the gray stuff because it's delicious and if you don't believe me then ask the dishes looks like our table was just called so it's time to actually head on in looks like we're gonna be dining inside the grand ballroom here and this is the part where I was talking about it just feels really congested hey friends it's very like they have so many tables and you're sitting directly on top of another table so it's definitely tight corridors but it is beautiful look at it in here and he got the enchanted forest out those windows it always looks like it's snowing and then he got the rose gallery over on that side and then the West Wing over here and then here's the West Wing and this is where the enchanted rose is this room is really cool but it's very dark in here and you can see the portrait on the wall it actually changes whenever the lightning strikes it in rose petal falls terrifying there's the enchanted rose itself and the mirrors on the table too I don't know if you can see that or not look at that now that I've given you a little bit of a tour of the restaurant I'm gonna keep my eyes out for the beast he should be making appearance sometime soon and we already put our order in I decided to go with the s cargo and the pork chop I wanted to try something different and they also give you a nice little bread service too here is the bread service that they give you looks good got some nice rolls in there and then here is the s cargo comes in a nice baguette Marie the baguette and like I said I don't have a strong history with s car goes I'm not a fan but I want to be like that's the thing I really want to enjoy s car go and this one looks kind of just like the one I had at shop the front and it's a lot of garlic in there oh there you go you could see it as I turn it around a little bit oh yeah I think we're gonna dive in I think we're gonna get to the s car go business to get going go go go s car go honestly I don't even know why I did this there is like a slim champ that I'm gonna like this in fact I'm getting my drink ready but like I said I want to enjoy as cargo I'm getting my drink ready here we go got the drink ready I'm gonna scoop me out an s car go and put it on my bread just like this there we go there it is the s car go focusing in on it and now we're gonna go for it there we go now we're gonna focus back on me there we go okay s car go go switcher out oh no it's okay I'm John by the way nice to meet you well I think that's an s car no for me I mean I'm sure it's cooked to perfection and I bet you it's really good it's just something that I I just don't think I like I tried it in multiple different restaurants and I thought that maybe here would be different but I think I should just stop my search and accept the fact that I'm just not that into s car go I mean like the sauce itself is good but once you get past that and then you hit the texture then it kind of sinks in you know I mean so I mean if you want to try s car go try to get as much sauce on it as possible because once you start tasting the snails that's when things you know you can actually like feel it s car go isn't for everyone I guess and I maybe I should have stuck with the potato leek soup that was something I was interested in or the French onion soup both of those would have been solid choices but I had to try to be fancy I had to try to be fancy and enough of the s car go business it's time for the main event and here it is the pork shop it looks so good it's on the bone it's a very thick cut it's got nice sweet potato Lane's over here I asked for the mustard sauce on the side because I'm not too sure if I would like that or not but I'm excited we're gonna dive on in and I have high expectations for this it looks really good I was about to bite into my pork shop and then all of a sudden the beast is coming out there he is look at him walking around being a great host looks like we're too far away so far away from the beast all right here we go time to dive into the sport shop nice cut cooked to a nice medium there let me get a nice little cut again there we go all right here we go that's a good boy chop oh yeah great this is actually really good for job holy moly this is a really amazing pork chop lots of flavor cooked perfectly and I didn't even dive into the sweet potatoes yet but I'm sure the combination is gonna be out of this world now I'm grabbing some of the sweet potato and then some of the pork chop here we go home run right there home run that is the way yes I like this I found something I really do like here I know a lot of people like the filet here I just don't like filet like generally like it's a good cut of meat but I'm a ribeye guy through and through and if you do get the filet ask them if you can sub out and get the sweet potatoes because those are amazing these are so good this is like the the best thing I've eaten probably at be our guest these potatoes I mean the pork chops good too like the whole combination is actually the best thing I've had here and that's mainly just because of my preferences I'm sure like the filet is cooked good but if they had a nice ribeye in the menu here I'd be hands-on that was the closest that I've got to see bees because it was like one two three four about five tables away and he doesn't walk down the individual like walkways and they ask you not to get up so that's why you can't really run up there so if you want to get like close shot of bees you have to actually ask for a table near the main walkway itself or else you probably won't see him or you won't even be able to take a picture now it's time for dessert we have a lemon almond macron and then we have a little chocolate tart filled with the gray stuff there it is there's the gray stuff and then we have a little chocolate truffle over here and they actually fold it with grand marnay so it's very fancy I mean desserts are really good never had a complaint in that department I wish you can get extra gray stuff on the side because like that would be that would be really awesome they used to sell a gray stuff cupcake at Ston's Tavern but they stopped and this is the only place you can get it now literally just gonna take a bunch of gray stuff fold it like that put it on there and yes it's delicious and I believe them I don't need to ask them I know that is exactly what I did I hollowed out that tart and just ate all the gray stuff I wish I could get more like I would oh I wouldn't even get on the side like that is so good look at that oh we just got done with be our guest so I figured I'd give you a little final thoughts on it is this still my least favorite restaurant yeah I would say it still is I mean the food I had today was phenomenal it was superb the pork chop and the sweet potatoes amazing the gray stuff is always a home run the service is excellent and the theming is outstanding the restaurant itself but you're paying $67 for this and compared to other restaurants that you can pay the same thing I mean you're talking Boma Ohana like you know I mean Garden Grill all the character dining storybook dining at artist point like you know that is the price tag that you're paying for this and you don't even get to meet the beast you don't get a photo he doesn't come up to the table like at storybook dining you actually get to take a picture with the evil queen and all the characters come up to the table the beast just comes out waves in one direction then leaves and I feel like if they change that up a little bit it would make it a little bit better but like there's so many other good restaurants now I'm not saying like you know like this restaurant is better than you know boat rides dining hall Porter lanes but I'm just saying for that price point it's not the best I mean I have I'll have to say the food is okay but it's not amazing and when I think of Disney dining I think of the total package it's got to be the dining the entertainment the atmosphere the immersiveness and the beaming it's got to be all together now that we had ourself a nice little lunch and rode a couple of rides I think we're gonna hop on over to the Polly real quick to meet up with some friends and go to Trader Sam's a little Trader Sam's break from Magic Kingdom everyone likes to do that and we have made it to the Polynesian look at that a hop scotch skip and monorail away a midday trip to Trader Sam's and they just officially opened at 3 o'clock but I'm beating up with friends who already have our name on the list so we're lucky our name hasn't been called yet so we're gonna actually hang out on the Tiki terrorists until we're allowed to go in usually it's like a two to three hour wait they start taking names at 2 o'clock and the bar itself opens at 3 and my friends got here at 2 15 so it's been just about three hours so any minute now if you don't know what Trader Sam's is it's a really cool Tiki bar where when you order drinks some like cool things happen and it's really fun and like I said it's hard to get into right now like I said it started taking names at 2 the bar opened at 3 and it is 5 o'clock now and they are no longer taking names for the rest of the night so it's like I said it's the spot to be everyone wants to come here we did it there's nothing like yeah oh we did it oh fancy my go-to drink is always gonna be the Polynesian pearl because I want to get the black pearl I got in the past but I'd love to add to my collection but since some of my friends have never been here before we're gonna try to order all the cool drinks that do the funny like the fun stuff the good activations lighting crew here is a look at the menu and we're gonna get ourselves the over to start off with and then also I think we're gonna try a little bit of everything oh there's Steve's there she is right there comes the hippo pot of my time Husky hippos you hear it in a second two shots of raw well that was a lot of fun getting to hang out at Trader Sam's with some friends and especially people who've never been there before because it is really cool and getting to see them experience all the fun things that happen I like I love that place so much and now I don't think we're gonna make a way back to Magic Kingdom I think we're gonna actually head down to Disney Springs we're all gonna make our way down there together because that's where the Roosevelt's insiders meetup is actually taking place and it's at Stargazers outside plan in Hollywood and there's a lot of people coming they said there's like 150 RSVP so I'm kind of excited to see how many people are there it's gonna be a fun time and like I said I thought it'd be cool to add it in the vlog and bring you guys along with me because we're actually going to a Roosevelt's insiders meetup I wanted to switch out to my favorite Roosevelt shirt which is the Star Wars Obi-Wan Kenobi one I love this shirt so much you guys probably see me wear it all the time and also I want to show you one of my cool birthday gifts this vintage Twilight Zone Tower of Terror hat I love this I love the bit I like the vintage retro Disney hat I'm gonna see if I can get all as many as I can all right and here it is look at this fancy treatment the VIP private events this is so cool I'm very excited got wristbands everything how's it going man somebody but I'm in this is pretty amazing I was not expecting this turnout but it's so fun way to show you guys everything that's going on in here we got food live entertainment and drink that's an open bar and I love it I'm so happy just watch and see how many awesome rows of old shirts you guys can see here like the shirts are more than just t-shirts like it's like a little community we got some of the world famous chicken some vegetable spring rolls and some meatballs what kind of sauce is that meatball it's a barbecue meatball you haven't meatballed seriously look at this holy moly this is impressive how it's time for a little giveaway it's so fun because whenever we do any of these meetups we give out tons of Roosevelt shirts and hats for all different reasons everyone's waiting usually everyone gets something and with that I think we are done here tonight it was a lot of fun going to the Roosevelt's insiders little meetup there I'm walking Gracie right now look at her yeah what are you doing yep you're taking a little walkie-poo huh yeah tail wagon yes but anyway it was awesome going to the Roosevelt's insider meetup if you guys want to join the group if you'd like to wear the Roosevelt shirts it's just on Facebook and it's literally Roosevelt's insiders and I had a fun day it was so fun magic kingdom trader Sam's and then Disney Springs how funny would it be if Gracie actually just poops right behind my shoulder hair I think she might I think she might any hoes I hope you enjoyed the video I enjoyed making it and we'll see you next time bye you want to treat you want a cookie huh your cookie gonna give Gracie a nice little cookie oh yes you want the cookie huh thank you