The Ingredients for Pixie Dust, a June 2010 TR - 10/2 DIsney Halloween PTR started!

[jenniferkeala808]

i'm here!! alrighty, going back to catch up!

Awww I love that story about your DS!! Soooo cute!! And what a great TR title…I love it! Oooh those beignets look scrumptious!! Yum! Really cute pics of your DSs on the train! I have to agree…I would not like to miss a Le Cellier dinner either! Yum! Great pics of the pool at BLT! I love your idea of a day recap and the highlights of the day! Loving your pics from MK! Especially that pic of DS on Winnie the Pooh! So cute! Can’t wait to see more!

 

[Happydog]

So after our fun at the MK, we headed back to BLT for some R&R and POOL time!

This time the pool bar was definitely rolling…

We grabbed some great seats right off the front of the pool, and set up shop. Then I slathered the boys in sun “scream” as my DS5 calls it, and off they went! DH and I enjoyed a drink called the “Tangerine Dream” -- it is basically Finlandia orange vodka with orange puree and ice. TALK about fabulous. Talk about an easy poolside drink, TALK about how quickly they disappear… I was certainly in a dream at that point...



Ah well, it was summer, I had eaten so I wasn’t loopy, but I was certainly in a pleasant fog… For those interested, they are blended for you there at the pool, but at Hurricane Hannah's they are in a slushie machine!

The pool was busy but didn’t feel crowded. I know I have some other photos later in the trip, but I somehow never got a "pool shot" so here is one I borrowed...

We enjoyed a few hours there, easily to about 5pm. At one point I walked to the Contemporary Pool’s snack bar and QS, called the Sand Bar, and grabbed two QS meals. Two club sandwich meals, which the four of us split. The boys like turkey sandwiches, so this worked out well. This would tide us over till dinner I figured. Here are a few shots I took as I was heading over there...

We are the third set of chairs from the right, this was our studio...

Here is a moody sky, which we thought would mean rain, but fortunately for us didn't... AND the Sand Bar...

It doesn't look like much, but they had good sandwiches and dessert choices! Rice crispie treats and Glaceai vitamin waters for beverage choices which was nice because I didn't need soda with our refillable mugs!

We finally headed inside from the pool, showered, and the boys watched some of Ponyo. DS read and I plotted our next move. Here was what we decided to do!!

Having checked it out when he arrived, DH wanted to head to the top! So we took the elevator to the Top of the World Lounge, and had a cocktail before dinner… oh, now that is a shocker, isn't it?? LOL! You have to have the lobby attendance set the elevator for you if you are staying there at the resort as a DVC owner or a guest. Here we are heading to the lobby and waiting for the CM to send us up!

I had a photo of this in the evening, but not day time. So I found this one on the site. The lighting fixtures in this place were amazing.

More of the lobby and my rugrats...

DS5 was delighted that he had discovered a new use for Stretch's tentacles... Just kidding! We told him to do this so we could take a photo!!

This was DS8's reaction to that !!

The view from the top floor.

I have seen lots of pictures of these vents…

We let the boys tool around up there it was EMPTY. NO ONE THERE… and so I was somewhat self conscious about taking oodles of photos. I did take a few and borrowed one from the DIS. I am only going to assume that WIGD and Shocker took PLENTY of pics up there, so I may have to steal a few!! We had a great bartender/CM, her name was Brucie. I think that is her regular post, she was very friendly put our drinks in plastic cups so we could go outside with the boys (They said it was fine for them to be inside, but they just wanted to run around, and I was not interested in worrying about something getting broken! It was gorgeous in there. We could have spent hours there, and it reminded us of the Outlook Cafe on the cruise ship. I ventured to try something different this time… I got some sort of raspberry cocktail – I can’t recall it now, but look for it – it is on the drink menu there, WOW. So we enjoyed the view and our drinks.

Here is a photo I borrowed from the DIS…

And some others that I took while we were outside enjoying the view...

Here is my drink and probably the ONLY food photo I took all trip... I really should take more, but my DH would have taken my camera if I had tried!

DH isn't double fisting his drinks here. He is holding mine! He took a swig and proclaimed it "yuck" he liked his sidecar, but I love rasberries, so it was easy, and it was hot so the weather made it easier... The boys had water while we were outside, and since the sky had some moody clouds, it wasn't so intensely hot.

My raspberry whatever was strong. Even Woody had a sip and this is what happened to him…

CONTINUED IN THE NEXT POST!

 

[Happydog]

So about half an hour later, we made our way down to the 5th floor and over to the Contemporary. We had DINNER on our mind! We hopped the monorail, and headed over to The Grand Floridian, for a much anticipated dinner at Narcoossee’s!

Now, we have always selected the basic dining plan on our trips (except our Feb trip which we did OOP). We have the TIW card, though, and so this helps with any apps and drinks, wine, etc. we choose to get in addition to our entrée and dessert. Our non-alcoholic beverage then tends to be a cappuccino at the end of the meal.

Since our first trip on the DDP, after analyzing the receipts, I had determined that using two TS credits for any meal may not really be worth the credits in terms of value for them. So rather than use two for each of us, we opt instead to have one adult on the DDP, and pay for another app and entrée for the second adult. This makes better sense in terms of value (we are still spending money but we get more for it) and since we don’t tend to use TS credits for the kids at signature restaurants, either. Again, because the cost of the meal in one place is the same as in a 1 TS restaurant (depending on the location). We make that work for us, because it allows us to get them a sit down lunch, and us an app and drink break in the heat. You will see how we used the credits as I go along this trip.

So, back to Narcoossee’s. Our plan this evening was to pay OOP for this meal, after eating a big lunch and such, we were going to get some of their heavy apps and some wine, then head to the MK. MY how plans change…

Here we are making our way over to the restaurant, which is off on a pier of sorts, near the boat dock, with an EXCELLENT view of the bay. We came back, our last night , so I have a lot of photos from GF that I will share then…

We got checked in, and we were seated shortly after. We had a great server. When my DH looked at the menu his eyes were immediately drawn to the lobster dinner on the menu – a $58.00 entrée. He said and we are not splitting this because???? Actually, I had thought somewhere I had read this particular entrée was not on the DDP. But apparently I was wrong! As a result, we ended up following our typical plan – we went with ONE DDP (2 credits) and appetizers. We ordered the mussels, and a crab dip. Then, we thought about wine. I was still coming off the happy from our Top of the World round, and thought to order a nice glass of a pinot grigio. My DH piped in, "want to get a bottle?" I said, "huh?" She was about ready to pour the wine by the glass I had selected, and he interjected – with “can we get a bottle of this instead?” And he pointed at something that had clearly caught his eye. So she brought the bottle in a chiller to the table instead. JUST as she did, two little boys, who clearly had been out in the FL sun and at the pool all afternoon, dropped their heads on our respective laps. And they fell asleep. DH and I looked at eachother. We looked at the little heads now peacefully resting. We looked at eachother again, and didn’t look that gift horse in the mouth. The wine poured, we chimed glasses giggling like kids in a candy store, and then proceeded to enjoy our appetizers, our wine, and our dinner, with sleeping children. Am I a bad mother if I say we rather liked the results?? Our server had brought them dinner, but she said she could just take it off the bill, it was mac and cheese after all, and we agreed. So ironically, we saved money that night! Now, it was the “MICKaroni” macaroni, and though not what they serve at Cali Grill, it was tasty. Better than the park fare. But it was getting cold, and they were tired. We did try to rouse them to eat, but they were not budging. SO, we let them sleep, and enjoyed a lovely hour and half sipping a fab pinot gris from Washington, I will get DH to remind me of the vineyard, and we enjoyed an AMAZING meal. I was stuffed, but the food was fabulous. We split the lobster, she split it on two plates for us, and we had an amazing potato gratin and asparagus as well, that came with it. This plus the mussels, also DEVINE, and the crab dip, was perfect. TOOO good. The bread was a nice crusty sourdough. She brought us the signature key lime cookies as well, and for dessert we chose the gelato sampler. I couldn’t have eaten more. It was MORE than enough food. So when dessert showed up (and the bill) this was the point we woke the boys up. We said “dessert” – that helped, and we convinced them that they had already eaten… We had them going for a little while! They were definitely bewildered!!!! So after our meal we walked back through the GF, and headed on the Monorail to…….. The MAGIC KINGDOM! We had FPs burning a hole in our pockets!!!

We first stopped at Casey’s, and got hotdog meals for the boys… obviously their stomachs told them they had NOT eaten dinner!!! We then went to frontierland rode BTMRR and Splash. And then we positioned ourselves for a parade!!!

Here are a few shots, I didn’t do too well in this department, but again I know many others got fabulous photos and will share them on their TRs (Shocker, MeMom)!!!

Here are a few fun pics…

This next one just made me laugh and laugh...

The next are just some random pics that came out more or less.

Here again are the guys watching the parade -- you can see wet clothes... not from rain, but from a big splash on splash! the boys had wet shorts for the rest of the evening, but they just love that ride. Heck, we all do!

After the parade, we walked across towards the castle to see the fireworks. It was a bit too crowded. I let DH lead. I should not have, we ended up with a partially obscured view near the Christmas shoppe. I don’t like watching fireworks from that side. Anyhow after the show we were in the crush to be sure, but we managed to get out going through the Main Street shops.

Happy to take the monorail back again, we ended our night at the Contemporary, here are the boys and their much wanted plastic light up wands… The CHEAPEST made not PRICED wands... I have the rings that run different colors (that the cart CM's sell) and glow rings from WigD, and they each have double sided Light sabers at home. But these wands they have asked for since our Christmas trip. So we finally caved...

And then back to BLT and bed we went. This was a great day for us.

DAY TWO RECAP

DAY TWO – Magic Kingdom Morning and Magic Kingdom Evening

1. How fun to be in the Magic Kingdom! We missed this place! FPs for later!

2. Breakfast TS ADR at Crystal Palace -- late slot to count more like lunch (DDP).
Morning snacks at the MK included Cream Cheese pretzels and the orange juice slushies in Adventure land.

3. Pool time and Poolside beverages!!! OH yeah... Tangerine Dreams!!!! Please sir, may I have another?? CS meals from the Sand Bar -- two adult Turkey Club meals we split -- came with rice crispie treat Mickeys, and again the Glaceau Vitamin waters, which were refreshing in the heat.

4. Unexpectedly we used a TS meal for ONE adult at Narcoossee's. Expected to pay OOP with our TIW card this meal. Ended up 1/2 and 1/2 (which we usually do with Signature meals). DINNER WAS FANTASTIC.

5. The RAIN held off! No rain to rain on our parade, the MAIN STREET ELECTRICAL PARADE!!!


HIGHLIGHT: How DH and I found ourselves unexpectedly having dinner alone! YAY to the TOP of the WORLD LOUNGE! And plenty of fantastic drinks to keep us "happy" in our "happy place"!

CHALLENGE: Getting used to the Florida heat again! We were a little slower this morning that I would have thought, just that first 30 minutes in the park makes SUCH a difference! BIGGEST let down, was missing Laura (ILUVXU) for a DISMeet this trip!!! BOOOOOOO.... we had a slim window to try and make it work, and it just wasnt in the cards this time -- but we had a great chat on the phone!!!!


AAAAAAAAAAAAAND That is the END of DAY 2! I can't wait to show you what the next day has in store!!! Coming UP!

 

[Native NYer]

Top of the World Lounge is gorgeous. The view is amazing.
Your dinner sounds devine! Sometimes just a glass of wine won't do
I have a feeling light up wands will also come home with us next month.

 

[eandesmom]

wow what a great first day! I love it, dinner with your kids crashed out in your laps. Didn't they do that at Tokyo Dining once? So cute. And turned it into a date night.

I hadn't even thought that they might crash after mid day swim and sun....hmmmn, that will be interesting to see how it plays our for us.

That dinner sounds divine. Narcoosees is high on my list of places to try. Avoiding signatures this trip but one of these days.....

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Sounds like a fantastic afternoon. The lounge at the top of the hotel is amazing! So happy to hear a great review of Narcoossee's. Too adorable with the boys sleeping in your laps! Looks like they got a second wind for MK!!

 

[burly]

I would just chalk up the boys falling asleep to Pixie Dust for mom and dad!

 

[Lady Lallie]

What a great evening!!!

So you liked Narcoossee's?? Hmmm. I'm still debating doing apps and desserts there one night in September. Still not 100% sure yet though.

Too cute that the boys fell asleep at dinner.

 

[Charleston Princess]

Okay, I am loving the rest of your day!!! You had drinks at the pool, a drink at Top of the World, and wine at dinner! I would have been like Woody at that point! How lucky that the boys fell asleep at Narcoossee's and you were able to have a nice quiet adult meal! And to top your day off with the MSEP! This is truly my idea of a perfect Disney day!

 

[minnie4eva]

This next one just made me laugh and laugh...

hee hee that is funny it makes her look like she gonna you know what ...
lol

 

[jenjolt]

What a great update!!!

That is such a great view from the Top of BLT!! I would love to stay there someday!!

LOL...glad you and your DH was able to have such a great evening while the boys napped!! That is fantastic! Glad you had such a great meal!!!

I so want to see the Main Street Electrical parade! That picture of the stepsisters is hilarious!! I need to download the music for it and listen to it!!!!

YAY for a great evening!!!

 

[Happydog]

awww your kids are so adorable.glad you had fun!

Oh it was a great morning, thanks!

Your boys are so cute! Your first day looks so much fun! I love CP, too. It's always fun to eat with Pooh & Friends.

It IS a great place. I love the selection and the location is great for midmorning break and refueling!!!

What a fun time. Looks like lots of things got done in a little amount of time.

Yes, we did manage to do some rides, not nearly as many as we usually do, but we were fine with that -- it was our first morning there!

i'm here!! alrighty, going back to catch up!

Awww I love that story about your DS!! Soooo cute!! And what a great TR title…I love it! Oooh those beignets look scrumptious!! Yum! Really cute pics of your DSs on the train! I have to agree…I would not like to miss a Le Cellier dinner either! Yum! Great pics of the pool at BLT! I love your idea of a day recap and the highlights of the day! Loving your pics from MK! Especially that pic of DS on Winnie the Pooh! So cute! Can’t wait to see more!

Ha! I wasn't missing dinner The BLT resort are is nice. I really like it. DS5 loves Pooh's adventure. It is one of his favorites for certain!

Top of the World Lounge is gorgeous. The view is amazing.
Your dinner sounds devine! Sometimes just a glass of wine won't do
I have a feeling light up wands will also come home with us next month.

Oh that view was amazing. The lounge was amazing! Dinner was great, and yes, sometimes a glass won't do.... Those wands are fine, but not very sturdy.... I would say regular lightsabers, the kind you can make are better at DHS or at Once Upon a Toy are better. They cost more, but they would have them longer, and they could use them in the park then, too... those wands were 10.00 apiece. I had to replace one because the handle wouldn't stay together.

wow what a great first day! I love it, dinner with your kids crashed out in your laps. Didn't they do that at Tokyo Dining once? So cute. And turned it into a date night.

I hadn't even thought that they might crash after mid day swim and sun....hmmmn, that will be interesting to see how it plays our for us.

That dinner sounds divine. Narcoosees is high on my list of places to try. Avoiding signatures this trip but one of these days.....

It was a surprise, to be sure. And no, we didn't question it!! We did end up with a second date night of sorts!!! Griffin did fall asleep at Tokyo Dining, yes, last June/July. Well yours are a little older, so they will probably be okay, but that heat/sun will sock it to you -- never mind the time zone...

It was an amazing meal, and worth going to next time.

Sounds like a fantastic afternoon. The lounge at the top of the hotel is amazing! So happy to hear a great review of Narcoossee's. Too adorable with the boys sleeping in your laps! Looks like they got a second wind for MK!!

Oh yes they were ready to go!!! We got cotton candy and colored m&m's as well, so they had the correct "energy" for MK!!!

The lounge is SO COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!! and yes, Narcoossee's

I would just chalk up the boys falling asleep to Pixie Dust for mom and dad!

Tell me about it!!!! We didn't question our luck

 

[Happydog]

What a great evening!!!

So you liked Narcoossee's?? Hmmm. I'm still debating doing apps and desserts there one night in September. Still not 100% sure yet though.

Too cute that the boys fell asleep at dinner.

Oh LL it was lovely. I loved being there at Narcoossee's! SO fun to watch the fireworks from their outside area!!! It was really funny we took advantage of it though.

Okay, I am loving the rest of your day!!! You had drinks at the pool, a drink at Top of the World, and wine at dinner! I would have been like Woody at that point!

Um, yeah, your account of my indulgence is correct. It was all SO good, though!!!!

How lucky that the boys fell asleep at Narcoossee's and you were able to have a nice quiet adult meal! And to top your day off with the MSEP! This is truly my idea of a perfect Disney day!

It was a great way to end that day -- it really was. I didn't expect them to fall asleep by why deal with cranky whiny kids! If they are tired, let them sleep! We had more fun later because of that. It was a perfect day. With a little cotton candy thrown in for good measure!!!

hee hee that is funny it makes her look like she gonna you know what ...
lol

It was a silly photo, I know!

What a great update!!!

That is such a great view from the Top of BLT!! I would love to stay there someday!!

LOL...glad you and your DH was able to have such a great evening while the boys napped!! That is fantastic! Glad you had such a great meal!!!

I so want to see the Main Street Electrical parade! That picture of the stepsisters is hilarious!! I need to download the music for it and listen to it!!!!

YAY for a great evening!!!

Hey! Better than the music -- I have the music for my new PHONE ring!!!! I love it!!! I had Spectro, but this is more distinct. The parade was really neat. I hope they have it there for the Fall, too... We did have a great evening uninterrupted! Once in a while it is nice to actually eat dinner without helping someone else eat theirs

The top of BLT was really neat! We were lucky to be there.

 

[Native NYer]

Oh that view was amazing. The lounge was amazing! Dinner was great, and yes, sometimes a glass won't do.... Those wands are fine, but not very sturdy.... I would say regular lightsabers, the kind you can make are better at DHS or at Once Upon a Toy are better. They cost more, but they would have them longer, and they could use them in the park then, too... those wands were 10.00 apiece. I had to replace one because the handle wouldn't stay together.

My nephew has two regular light sabers and one double. I have the feeling another light saber and a wand may make their way back home. I'm hoping Mr. Potato head comes along too

 

[Happydog]

My nephew has two regular light sabers and one double. I have the feeling another light saber and a wand may make their way back home. I'm hoping Mr. Potato head comes along too

Oh I keep resisting the Mr. Potato Head!!!! Well then your nephew is like my DS's!!! They have double and singles too! I just had to put my foot down this trip, NO MORE LIGHT SABERS!!!!! So we end up with the silly "wands" Ah well. It's Disney.

 

[Happydog]

I said I was going to add this today, so here it is...

DAY TWO RECAP

DAY TWO – Magic Kingdom Morning and Magic Kingdom Evening

1. How fun to be in the Magic Kingdom! We missed this place! FPs for later!

2. Breakfast TS ADR at Crystal Palace -- late slot to count more like lunch (DDP).
Morning snacks at the MK included Cream Cheese pretzels and the orange juice slushies in Adventure land.

3. Pool time and Poolside beverages!!! OH yeah... Tangerine Dreams!!!! Please sir, may I have another?? CS meals from the Sand Bar -- two adult Turkey Club meals we split -- came with rice crispie treat Mickeys, and again the Glaceau Vitamin waters, which were refreshing in the heat.

4. Unexpectedly we used a TS meal for ONE adult at Narcoossee's. Expected to pay OOP with our TIW card this meal. Ended up 1/2 and 1/2 (which we usually do with Signature meals). DINNER WAS FANTASTIC.

5. The RAIN held off! No rain to rain on our parade, the MAIN STREET ELECTRICAL PARADE!!!


HIGHLIGHT: How DH and I found ourselves unexpectedly having dinner alone! YAY to the TOP of the WORLD LOUNGE! And plenty of fantastic drinks to keep us "happy" in our "happy place"!

CHALLENGE: Getting used to the Florida heat again! We were a little slower this morning that I would have thought, just that forst 30 minutes in the park makes SUCH a difference! BIGGEST let down, was missing Laura (ILUVXU) for a DISMeet this trip!!! BOOOOOOO.... we had a slim window to try and make it work, and it just wasnt in the cards this time -- but we had a great chat on the phone!!!!


I am going to also add this to the bottom of my final post for Day 2 -- to keep my TR format consistent!!!

 

[IluvXU]

CHALLENGE: Getting used to the Florida heat again! We were a little slower this morning that I would have thought, just that first 30 minutes in the park makes SUCH a difference! BIGGEST let down, was missing Laura (ILUVXU) for a DISMeet this trip!!! BOOOOOOO.... we had a slim window to try and make it work, and it just wasnt in the cards this time -- but we had a great chat on the phone!!!!

Someday we will meet in person. That was our wild day to at Urgent Care, I had thought maybe we could come and see you at BLT but that got cut out! Both of us had nice night though....I cannot believe the rain held out!...on the poly beach it looked terrible!

 

[Happydog]

Someday we will meet in person. That was our wild day to at Urgent Care, I had thought maybe we could come and see you at BLT but that got cut out! Both of us had nice night though....I cannot believe the rain held out!...on the poly beach it looked terrible!

Oh I know! I realize that I was not very thoughtful at the time to ask if all was well with the ear! I hope we recovered! It was Luke, right ? I can't remember now!! I know, we were lucky, especially since you hadn't been a few days earlier, so I am glad you got that evening! I saw your photo on Diane's TR, she and I did actually end up meeting afterall, it was so funny, at the IG, just a few hours before we were leaving, I was such a wreck from the pool, but I just wanted to meet in person. So maybe next summer!!!

 

[SoonerGirl]

So much to comment on - what a fabulous day!

I'm afraid my boys are in the same boat as yours where IASW is concerned, they absolutely refuse to ride! I say take advantage of them wanting to ride Fantasyland rides as long as you can

Wow! Crystal Palace looks almost empty! I may need to give that brunch thing a try.....

Perfect afternoon hanging by the pool - almost a necessity in that hot Florida sunshine!

The views from the BLT rooftop are amazing

How great that you guys lucked out and were able to enjoy a nice dinner basically alone! And you still made it over to the MK for the parade and fireworks

 

[ScotsMinnie]

What a great stroke of luck during dinner!!! Must have been so nice to have some time to yourselves to enjoy that wine! And really like the sound of that raspberry stuff! My favourite when we are over is from the Outback. Its called Wallaby Darned and it a slushie type peach cocktail. Delicious - especially when they are in happy hour (2 for the price of 1)!!!!!!!

Sounds like a perfect day - and although you did have cloudy skies I was so glad it stayed dry.