The Darling Family June Beach Club Trip:Hugging Ewoks and Finding Peter Pan

[SunnieRN]

It's not a stupid question at all. The Donald 01-09-10 refers to the Disney half marathon in January. If you run the half you get a Donald medal. If you do the full marathon you get a Mickey medal. And if you run both you get a Goofy medal. There are definitely more "Donald runners" you see in siggies. The Mickey and Goofy runners hang out over on the Wish boards a lot. Plus they have to spend lots more time running, maybe less time on the boards
And it was a fabulous MK day with the Disney Family

Thank you so much!! Very cool that you are doing the marathon! Now that I've read this I remember another comment you made about it. I just hadn't put two and two together.

Great update and more fabulous pictures! For some reason this chapter made me hungry!! Your dinner sounds good and I have been craving cheese soup. Guess I will make some if it ever cools off! Looking forward to more!!

Oh, yes!!! Woo hoo for finding Nemo!!!!!!!!!

 

[letstalkboutdisney]

I love the way you and John said goodbye to the castle. It gave me goose bumps and brought tears to my eyes!

Do you remeber what your kids ate at Le Cellier?
We want to go there next time, but two of my kids are very picky and are old enough to order off the regular menu.

 

[Happy Elf]

Great update! Dinner sounded wonderful! (I'd take it right now in fact...I'm waiting for our dinner to be ready) Can't wait for more!

 

[hhockman]

Great updates! LOVE the pictures.

I'm glad you "made" it to Pirates. Sorry you had to wait though. Seems weird to have to wait for Pirates.

It's so fun that you got all of the photopass pictures. I'm planning to really take advantage of PP too.

We tried to get into Le Cellier, but there wasn't anything available, even at 90 days. I tried our whole big group and then just the 5 of us, and nothing. Matt and I ate there once, a long time ago (prekids), but haven't eaten there since. We're doing San Angel that night instead. Definitely not Le Cellier, but I like Mexican, so it will be okay.

SO glad that John got his Nemo. As I read your exit of the MK with him, two tears actually slid down my cheeks. So sweet.

Sorry you have to leave BC, but I'm glad you got a last swim in. Looking forward to more!

 

[Angies1274]

Love your last two updates!!!

All the Stitch pictures at MK are too cute!!!--and what a touching moment between you and your son. It's so hard leaving MK... I think that it was so wonderful that you pulled him aside and reassured him that you would be back and that until then he could carry the magic with him--so sweet.


Le Cellier sounds so yummy!! Haven't made it there yet--but hoping to in the future!! So glad that you were finally able to find Nemo. John looked so happy!!!

I'm anxious to hear about your AK day!!

 

[MagicShell]

Thanks for the Kim Possible advice. I have been trying to decided whether or not to try it. I think it sounds like fun, but I wasn't sure if my 7 year old son would like it or not. It sounds like from what you say that he would.

 

[kshattuck]

John's goodbye to MK brought tears to my eyes! What a sweetheart. So happy that Nemo was found -- at long last! Can't believe you made it 8 days at WDW without heading to AK

The Beach Club sounds great....hope Saratoga is/was as much fun for you!

 

[Lynn5700]

Canada is beautiful. Great pics.

OOH I can't wait to hear about your stay at AKL!!

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Your meal at Le Cellier sounds lovely-I feel sometimes like I'm the only one who hasn't eaten there... The Maple Creme Brulee sounds really good...

I hadn't planned on going to the Living Seas w/ Nemo this trip but guess who has rediscovered Finding Nemo-DS! (you didn't happen to see any Bruce webkinz did you?

It sounds like a nice end of the day being able to do another Kim mission-I'm totally jazzed to do one...

Aw...bye bye Beach Club... hello SS

 

[shannon47142]

awesome night and meal

 

[dismagiclover]

You know, sometimes I read your updates and think maybe we were on the same trip! I had the very same Le Celier meal as you, down to the OOP bowl of cheese soup to split and the second helping of pretzel bread. Yummy! The maple creme brulee was one of my favorite desserts of the trip.

Aw, I wish I would have seen that ornament. I would definitely have bought it to remind us of our week at the BC.

That was a great meal wasn't it If I ever go again I'll get the exact same thing. If you really want the ornament you can call Disney World Merchandise and describe it and they should be able to ship it to you. I've done that with photo frames I saw and didn't realize I wanted until I was home.

Thank you so much!! Very cool that you are doing the marathon! Now that I've read this I remember another comment you made about it. I just hadn't put two and two together.

Great update and more fabulous pictures! For some reason this chapter made me hungry!! Your dinner sounds good and I have been craving cheese soup. Guess I will make some if it ever cools off! Looking forward to more!!

Oh, yes!!! Woo hoo for finding Nemo!!!!!!!!!

I'm excited about the half marathon. I ran the Disneyland Half a couple of years ago and it was lots of fun. I'm sure this one will be great too! This chapter made me hungry too. Le Cellier! YUMMY

I love the way you and John said goodbye to the castle. It gave me goose bumps and brought tears to my eyes!

Do you remeber what your kids ate at Le Cellier?
We want to go there next time, but two of my kids are very picky and are old enough to order off the regular menu.

Writing about our castle brought tears to my eyes as well. John has a sensitive soul Wendy had pasta at Le Cellier and the boys had a hot dog. Mostly what they remembered though was their shakes I'm pretty sure they will let your older kids order off the kid's menu if they can't find anything on the adult menu. (Though my understanding is if they are on the dining plan they will still charge you an adult credit. If you wanted you could save the adult credit and pay for the kids' meals OOP)

Great update! Dinner sounded wonderful! (I'd take it right now in fact...I'm waiting for our dinner to be ready) Can't wait for more!

I'd take Le Cellier anytime! It was great

Great updates! LOVE the pictures.

I'm glad you "made" it to Pirates. Sorry you had to wait though. Seems weird to have to wait for Pirates.

It's so fun that you got all of the photopass pictures. I'm planning to really take advantage of PP too.

We tried to get into Le Cellier, but there wasn't anything available, even at 90 days. I tried our whole big group and then just the 5 of us, and nothing. Matt and I ate there once, a long time ago (prekids), but haven't eaten there since. We're doing San Angel that night instead. Definitely not Le Cellier, but I like Mexican, so it will be okay.

SO glad that John got his Nemo. As I read your exit of the MK with him, two tears actually slid down my cheeks. So sweet.

Sorry you have to leave BC, but I'm glad you got a last swim in. Looking forward to more!

PP is really great. Especially if you do a lot of character meet n greets. Le Cellier can be really tough to get into. When I called and there was a time available the CM said, "Oooh take that! I don't think I'll ever be able to get in there! There are never slots available!" I guess the Disney Force was with us
Everytime I reread the MK exit I get teary eyed too.

Love your last two updates!!!

All the Stitch pictures at MK are too cute!!!--and what a touching moment between you and your son. It's so hard leaving MK... I think that it was so wonderful that you pulled him aside and reassured him that you would be back and that until then he could carry the magic with him--so sweet.


Le Cellier sounds so yummy!! Haven't made it there yet--but hoping to in the future!! So glad that you were finally able to find Nemo. John looked so happy!!!

I'm anxious to hear about your AK day!!

This was a great day for John. He loved seeing the Disney Family, Stitch, getting a little time with the castle, his Le Cellier milkshake and of course Finding Nemo! Love those memorable days Hopefully I'll get AK up soon.

 

[dismagiclover]

Thanks for the Kim Possible advice. I have been trying to decided whether or not to try it. I think it sounds like fun, but I wasn't sure if my 7 year old son would like it or not. It sounds like from what you say that he would.

I think 7 years is a great KP age! Though you may have to give him a little help he will love it

John's goodbye to MK brought tears to my eyes! What a sweetheart. So happy that Nemo was found -- at long last! Can't believe you made it 8 days at WDW without heading to AK

The Beach Club sounds great....hope Saratoga is/was as much fun for you!

John really does have a heart of gold, though he's still a 7 year old boy I can't believe it took us so long to get to AK as well. At least we finally made it. And you'll hear our verdict on SSR when the time comes

Canada is beautiful. Great pics.

OOH I can't wait to hear about your stay at AKL!!

Actually we're staying at SSR. We're finally visiting AK park next

Your meal at Le Cellier sounds lovely-I feel sometimes like I'm the only one who hasn't eaten there... The Maple Creme Brulee sounds really good...

I hadn't planned on going to the Living Seas w/ Nemo this trip but guess who has rediscovered Finding Nemo-DS! (you didn't happen to see any Bruce webkinz did you?

It sounds like a nice end of the day being able to do another Kim mission-I'm totally jazzed to do one...

Aw...bye bye Beach Club... hello SS

I'm sure you're not the only one who hasn't eaten at Le Cellier. There has to be a couple of other people like you out there Sounds like you're making a trip to the Living Seas! John said there weren't any Bruce webkinz. Is that good news or bad news I hope you enjoy Kim Possible. Just remember, not in the heat of the day

awesome night and meal

It was a great Epcot evening

 

[dismagiclover]

Mickey and Stitch woke us from our last night’s sleep at the Beach Club. We’d packed the night before and were ready for our Animal Kingdom day. You may have noticed we are on Day 8 and have not yet visited the Animal Kingdom. This isn’t because we don’t like it. DH and Michael particularly are great animal lovers. It’s just that with the Beach Club location and Star Wars Weekend we took advantage of Epcot and the Studios. And of course we had to spend time at the Magic Kingdom. So Animal Kingdom was on the back burner this trip. But the day had finally arrived for our visit. We took our luggage to Bell Services and asked them to transfer it to Saratoga Springs. This was no problem at all and after dropping off our luggage we were heading out to catch that Animal Kingdom bus. At this point a CM approached me and asked me to take a quick survey about our resort stay. I was happy to do it. I wanted to let them know how much we loved everything about the Beach Club. DH was not so happy. He expressed a fair amount of annoyance and concern that we might miss the bus. I thought we had plenty of time. I finished up the survey and as we headed to the bus stop we saw the Animal Kingdom bus pulling away. Uh oh. This was exactly what DH was afraid of and he was not a happy camper. Apparently he was really looking forward to the opening show. I had no idea he wanted to see the opening show. The Magic Kingdom show is another one of the things he tends to complain about so I assumed he felt the same about the AK show. Apparently not. We waited about 15 minutes for another AK bus. We hopped on and arrived shortly. It was still prior to rope drop, but the crowds were big enough that we were quite a ways back. Plus we went through a Gestapo bag check. This woman looked in every nook and cranny of every bag and if there were any packages inside the bags that weren’t clear plastic, they had to be taken out and looked in to. That woman took her job seriously! After all these snafus we missed the opening show which disappointed DH. I just never know when the Peter Pan moments will come! I guess next time I will make the AK opening show a priority. We sent DH off for Kali River fastpasses while the kids and I headed for the safari. The line was already backed up a bit. As we went through I was concerned about all the people DH would have to push his way past to catch up with us (he hates that.) He finally calls me and asks where the heck I am. I tell him I’m in line. He tells me he is at the front of the line waiting for me. Apparently he went through the fastpass entrance. Anyway, instead of pushing past people he ended up walking backwards to find us. I’m still not quite sure how that happened. Eventually we made it and were on our way. It wouldn't be a trip report without some Safari shots so here you go.

There were tons of animals out this morning. More than we’ve ever seen I think. There was a film crew doing some filming at one point so maybe they let more animals out than usual. Anyway it was great. Most of the animals were on my side, but DH had the camera so we didn’t get that many great shots.
After the safari we picked up fastpasses and made a short jaunt down the trail and saw this guy.

I love gorillas. They are my favorite.

We then began to walk towards Asia and we saw Baloo and King Louie.
We’d never met them before so I was excited.

Here is what Michael did.

My kids have apparently never seen Jungle Book so they weren’t that impressed. I guess I’ve been a slacker mom.

After this we headed over to Dinoland. Dinoland is one of those places that DH can’t stand. Triceratop Spin annoys him and the Boneyard bugs him even more. So he was looking for an excuse not to go there. We walked by Kali River and the line was short so he asked who wanted to go. Only Wendy took him up on it so the boys and I left them (with the camera) and headed to Dinoland. There was no line for Triceratop Spin (or Dinosaur Dumbo as I like to call it). So we took a flight, but no pictures because DH had the camera. While we were on the ride I got a call from DH. Apparently Wendy refused to go on Kali after she saw the hill going up. She claimed she just didn’t want to get all wet this early. Later we discovered she was actually super freaked out by the hill. She thought it was going to be like Splash Mountain. So they were headed to Dinoland to join us. Where should we head next?

 

[hhockman]

Cute pictures. Hmm. I'm not sure my kids have seen Jungle Book either. Might have to "suggest" it to them in the next few weeks. I know I have pictures of them with Baloo and Louie at some point (might be long enough ago that it was just Will) but I also know they have no idea who those characters are. Guess I'll be getting Jungle Book out. Thanks!

Sorry DH missed the show. Oops. At least there's something to add to your list for next time.

I don't remember the hill on Kali that Wendy was worried about because we haven't ridden it with kids (this will be the first time Christian is tall enough...though he's plenty tall this time). I don't like to get wet first thing in the morning either-but we're going prepared to AK.

Looking forward to the rest of the day!

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

apparently my dd is lurking and reading your tr because she was just laughing at you taking the survey much to Peter's disgust-she said it sounded like something me and her dad would do-leaving AK bus to boot...

She was also quite beside herself that you got to meet Baloo and King Louie-she has had a thing for Baloo for years and we've never met him-(the two stuffies she is taking is her chic little French Minnie and Baloo) for her sake I hope we meet him...(I'll have to ask the CM at the hotel if there is a way to figure out when the different characters are in the parks...) it's kind of sweet to watch my teenage big girl look like Wendy when she's talking about trying to track down Baloo...

 

[carissanboys]

You got some awesome photos with the Disney Family! My favorites are the ones with the Stitch added in.

Glad you enjoyed your meal at Le Cellier.

Yay for Animal Kingdom! Wow - can't believe the security lady checked your bags so thoroughly. Normally they take a quick peak and we're on our way.

 

[cjackearl]

Baloo! We got pictures with him on our last trip, but didn't see him this time. Ian would have loved it because he really likes Jungle Book.

Poor Wendy with Kali. Did she ever ride?

 

[SunnieRN]

Poor Peter, it sounds like he was having a very frustrating morning. So glad the safari was so good with extra animals out!

Looking forward to your SSR stay as I am excited to see the treehouses!!

 

[Angies1274]

Great Safari pics!!

Yay!!!! for seeing King Louie and Baloo!!! The Jungle Book is my boys favorite Disney movie, they can watch it over and over!!

Hopefully, we will get lucky and see them for ourselves next week.

Can't wait for more.

 

[dismagiclover]

Cute pictures. Hmm. I'm not sure my kids have seen Jungle Book either. Might have to "suggest" it to them in the next few weeks. I know I have pictures of them with Baloo and Louie at some point (might be long enough ago that it was just Will) but I also know they have no idea who those characters are. Guess I'll be getting Jungle Book out. Thanks!

Sorry DH missed the show. Oops. At least there's something to add to your list for next time.

I don't remember the hill on Kali that Wendy was worried about because we haven't ridden it with kids (this will be the first time Christian is tall enough...though he's plenty tall this time). I don't like to get wet first thing in the morning either-but we're going prepared to AK.

Looking forward to the rest of the day!

I need to find a copy of Jungle Book somewhere for my kids to see as well. Another thing on the to do list There really is no hill on Kali (at least not one going down.) Wendy just saw the ride going up and assumed it went down like Splash. You'll hear that story shortly

apparently my dd is lurking and reading your tr because she was just laughing at you taking the survey much to Peter's disgust-she said it sounded like something me and her dad would do-leaving AK bus to boot..

She was also quite beside herself that you got to meet Baloo and King Louie-she has had a thing for Baloo for years and we've never met him-(the two stuffies she is taking is her chic little French Minnie and Baloo) for her sake I hope we meet him...(I'll have to ask the CM at the hotel if there is a way to figure out when the different characters are in the parks...) it's kind of sweet to watch my teenage big girl look like Wendy when she's talking about trying to track down Baloo...

You will probably not even read this because you are off on your own trip Tell your dd Our kids know us well And I really hope you find Baloo. Now at least you know he's currently out and about pretty regularly

You got some awesome photos with the Disney Family! My favorites are the ones with the Stitch added in.

Glad you enjoyed your meal at Le Cellier.

Yay for Animal Kingdom! Wow - can't believe the security lady checked your bags so thoroughly. Normally they take a quick peak and we're on our way.

We had some great times with that Disney family And that security lady was very thorough. It would have been amusing if we hadn't been in a bit of a hurry

Baloo! We got pictures with him on our last trip, but didn't see him this time. Ian would have loved it because he really likes Jungle Book.

Poor Wendy with Kali. Did she ever ride?

Wendy and Kali The story of that will be up shortly.

Poor Peter, it sounds like he was having a very frustrating morning. So glad the safari was so good with extra animals out!

Looking forward to your SSR stay as I am excited to see the treehouses!!

It's nice of you to have sympathy for the poor DH. I'd should probably have a bit more Day 8 is the day we visit the treehouses so that report will be up within the next few days hopefully

Great Safari pics!!

Yay!!!! for seeing King Louie and Baloo!!! The Jungle Book is my boys favorite Disney movie, they can watch it over and over!!

Hopefully, we will get lucky and see them for ourselves next week.

Can't wait for more.

I definitely need to get my kids a copy of the Jungle Book. Their Disney education won't be complete without it (and maybe it will get Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place off the tv more often) And for your trip coming "next week"