The FrenchFry takes on the Caesar Salad - DREAM COME TRUE GOT TO MEET PODCAST TEAM!

[irishdancer86]

Sadly, I have never been up North.. and although I did make it some pubs when I was in Ireland.. I was only 8.. haha..
I absolutely loved it and it really is my dream to go back there.. Both my grandparents on my dads side were from there.. They had huge irish families, sadly they are all gone now, but their kids are all still there.. One of these days.. Oh, I would LOVE to do a DIS meet with your family if our days overlap.. Nothing I love better than some irish.. My son who is going to 5, I talk about his great grandad to him quite often and am always trying to fake the Irish Brogue, how great it would be to have him talk to your MUM??
This is a really busy time of the year.. although I can't wait to hear more about your trip.. I am anxiously anticipating..

I think our accent isn't as nice and lilting as ones from further south in Ireland...people often confuse it for scottish...

where in america do you live? my dad came from a family of 8 and his 3 sisters all moved to across the atlantic: calgary, new york and florida!!!

if you make it back to Ireland some day nothing can beat a big session in a wee irish pub with some traditional irish music! we tart partying young in ireland but 8 years old would definitely be pouhing it lol!!!

 

[irishdancer86]

just finishing off our 3rd day in Florida after a looooonnnnggg delay!!!

after leaving the parks we mosied on over to the contemorary and jumped back into the lovely rental car, VIP parking was pretty cool!!! felt like a long time since our chef mickey's breakfast!

on the way back to the hotel we had to stop off at the crossroads shopping complex for an essential ingredient to an orlando holiday that i had totally underestimated the importance of...

not a beautiful view of our legs but we were so happy and comfortable in our new footwear!!!

we just chilled in the room for a few hours and ordered in a domino's pizza which was absolutely delicious, they use some sort of garlic seasoning on the crust which we don';t get here in Ireland...we were more than ready to head back into the storm literally it was so rainy!!!

we were able to use VIP parking at the contempo again using our earlier ticket and caught the monorail over to MK...we were greeted by this type of weather!!!

we had fastpasses from earlier in the day and so headed to big thunder mt railroad and splash mountain, we really enjoyed BTMR in the dark and we got a nice surprise on Splash when there was no queue as we were coming back round and the CM let us stay on for 2 more go's!!! I was sooooo happy that DBF was enjoying one of my fav rides!!!

Then we wandered through a deserted frontierland/adventureland and made our way to the front of the castle for the fireworks!!! rainy but brilliant and quite romantic!

we then headed over and used our fastpass for Space Mt which saved a bit of a wait and then tried one more ride as it was after 11 and the rain was getting a bit relentless, so we headed into the Carousel of Progress which was my first time along with DBF's...we loved it!!! DBF pointed out how funny it was that the 1940/50's house had a dishwasher whilst neither of our houses at home has one!!! behind the times.com!!!

so back to the contemporary and back to the hampton after a looonng day!!!

 

[disneybarbie]

yay.. lovely update! looks like a fun evening in MK.. despite the rain! you do the same as us... put on those ponchos, and keep going!

Splash Mountain is one of my favourites too! On our recent trip, we got a boat/log all to ourselves.. don't think anyone wanted to ride it due to the cold weather!



Hope you had a lovely Christmas


Emma x

 

[irishdancer86]

yay.. lovely update! looks like a fun evening in MK.. despite the rain! you do the same as us... put on those ponchos, and keep going!

Splash Mountain is one of my favourites too! On our recent trip, we got a boat/log all to ourselves.. don't think anyone wanted to ride it due to the cold weather!



Hope you had a lovely Christmas


Emma x

We were in a log by ourselves too, the CM laughed when we asked was it ok to stay on and said 'haven't you guys had enough punishment?!'

going through the ride 3 times made me think of the excerpt in one of the books I'd been reading that talked about the poor workers having to check brer bear' animatronic bum was working for the requisite 1000 hours before being installed in the ride or something along those lines

looking forward to reading about your trip!

 

[irishdancer86]

We arrived in the carpark around 8.15 and tried to remember our parking space as between the big ears and the tower of terror...big mistake we were totally lost on the way out thank god for the little car horn beeper on the keys!!!

we were so happy to see no rain after our wet wet day in the MK, as we moved with the throngs into the park we were headed with purpose for pixar place with baically everybody else in line it seemed...

we fast passed first and then headed into the main line...I was buzzing with excitement taking in all the queue details, wherea DBF it turns out does not love a lot of photos first thing, spot the grumpy face!

we managed to skip a fair bit of the queue when a CM came down looking for a 2! felt like it was such a treat, prob saved us about 10 minutes!!!

DBF enjoyed the ride but didn't quite get the mad rush and hype surrounding TSM...

After toy story we headed towards Rock n roller coaster where we picked up a fastpass and then joined the main queue, I think it was about a 30 min wait at this point, DBF really liked the Aerosmith prehow although I could see the blast off was freaking im out a bit as we waited to board!!!

despite our scaredy cat faces we both totally loved it!!!

next up was probably our longest queue of the day for ToT,

I loved this ride but extremely discerning (some might say picky) DBF wished it had been a little more substantial!!!

3 rides down and 2 fastpasses in hand it was shortly after 11 and we headed over to the great Movie Ride and another long long queue, although there were some cool probas and movie clips to keep us entertained and DBF i good at keeping me entertained!!! Mary Poppins is one of my all time favourite films!

After Great movie ride DBF leaked a whole bottle of diet coke in our bag which I was cross about, but I was quickly cheered up when realised out fastpass for TM had opened up!!! DBF insisted we needed a photo of this for my dad also called Barney...

 

[CW4DW]

Loving all the updates - I've been out of sorts with work but have finally caught up and am loving hearing about your trip! We go in April (just booked it last week) so I'm starting to get excited about it!

Can't wait for more.

 

[irishdancer86]

Loving all the updates - I've been out of sorts with work but have finally caught up and am loving hearing about your trip! We go in April (just booked it last week) so I'm starting to get excited about it!

Can't wait for more.

Glad your enjoying the trip report, I think I've let it drag a bit but want to finish it even just to have a nice written memory to look back on! so thanks for hanging in!

Are you going to start a pre trip report? My mum nana aunt and cousin go in May and I'm so happy for them but also 1% jealous!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Excellent updates!! When was that really rainy night? The 5th? I was in the MK on a really rainy night too! Wonder if we were there the same time.

 

[irishdancer86]

This was the letter I sent to ticketmaster, who told me it was not their responsibility but the promoter's...the promoter have failed to reply and I am doubtful that we'll be receiving any feedback...just thought I'd share it on here and see if anyone has had similar experience???

We travelled from Ballymena, Co.Antrim for this Diney on Ice show in the citywest Hotel, Dublin.

Upon arrival at our seats we found them occupied, the people on the seats did not respond when we stopped in front of our seats and tried to establish exactly where we were to sit.

We approached a steward who approached the people on our seats (he was very busy and we had to wait for his help) after what appeared to be a heated discussion and gesturing towards seats behind them he returned and told us they had the exact same tickets as us, i.e. that ticketmaster had sold the same tickets twice. We then had to wait again whilst he showed other people to their seats. We missed the first two scenes of the show and had to strongly resist his first suggestion of a seat change as it was to the very outtermost wings whilst we had seats directly to the front of the rink.

Eventually after discussion with a manager we were moved to seats at the corner of the rink which were actually pleasant seats but by this time we had missed part of the show and were very baffled and upset. This was a chritmas present for my 5 and 7 year old cousins and having travelled over 3 hours to get there it was an extremely unpleasant scenario.

After the show had ended we approached the ticketmaster mobile where we explained the situation to the employee at the window. He said he had checked the sytem and that the tickets had NOT been double booked and that the steward had been lying to us and advised us to approach the steward again. I said I felt unhappy approaching someone and accusing them that they had lied and he gave me the ticketmaster telephone number which when I rang asked me to set out the situation in writing...

Our tickets were Block 2D seats27
-30, and when we were moved it was down and to the corner to the right.

In hindsight, the people on our seats maybe had people in their seats and so on, and the steward couldn't cope with the logistcs of resolving the problem, but we had paid over £100 and came a fair distance for the seats we had paid for. and I feel we were unfairly treated.

I am hopeful that you will be able to help with my unacceptable experience,

Regards

 

[Swalphin]

I just read your entire TR! Glad the driver's license thing worked out , you made me laugh with the Brazilan Tour group at Chef Mickey's. I feel your pain about proper Disney footwear, been there, done that had the blisters. Comfort at Disney supersedes cute shoes, bummer.

You and your DBF are both adorable, you look like a young Nicole Kidman.
Can't wait to read more and I hope Txtmaster offers you something for the headache at Disney on Ice.

 

[CW4DW]

Glad your enjoying the trip report, I think I've let it drag a bit but want to finish it even just to have a nice written memory to look back on! so thanks for hanging in!

Are you going to start a pre trip report? My mum nana aunt and cousin go in May and I'm so happy for them but also 1% jealous!

I haven't decided about a pre trip report yet since I have never attempted one. I'm going to have to carry a notebook with me to keep track of everything! I'm sorry about the Disney on Ice fiasco ~ I do hope you hear back from them and that it is sufficient for all the hassle.

Can't wait for more of your report...

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

In hindsight, the people on our seats maybe had people in their seats and so on, and the steward couldn't cope with the logistcs of resolving the problem, but we had paid over £100 and came a fair distance for the seats we had paid for. and I feel we were unfairly treated.

That HAD to have been what happened! I can't imagine that ticketmaster would give duplicate seats. That's pretty much impossible, isn't it? Either way, what an awful experience! I would have totally cried! I'm glad you wrote them a letter and I hope you are compensated somehow, at least given partial money back. You weren't able to enjoy the show that you paid for, you deserve something!

Good luck! Keep us posted on what happens.

 

[irishdancer86]

Excellent updates!! When was that really rainy night? The 5th? I was in the MK on a really rainy night too! Wonder if we were there the same time.

Hi Nikki thanks, wish I had taken notes now, but the photo's are having to suffice in jogging my memory!

Yep that really rainy night was Monday 5th, and the rain seemed so relentless that night! I looked out for you that day because I thought thats where you were headed for part of the day...

On my whole trip and my eyes were peeled, I didn't see a single green mickey head or dis stuff!

I just read your entire TR! Glad the driver's license thing worked out , you made me laugh with the Brazilan Tour group at Chef Mickey's. I feel your pain about proper Disney footwear, been there, done that had the blisters. Comfort at Disney supersedes cute shoes, bummer.

You and your DBF are both adorable, you look like a young Nicole Kidman.
Can't wait to read more and I hope Txtmaster offers you something for the headache at Disney on Ice.

Hi and my trip report has been a bit slow but I really want to keep it going because I had such a lovely trip and am enjoying reliving it through disboards!

The Brazilian tour group was sooo not funny at the actual moment it occurred but very funny afterwards and we loved spotting 'our' group the rest of that week! my next task for Disney footwear will be to try and source a pair of really cute comfortable sneakers, but that may be an impossible task!

Thats so funny re Nicole Kidman because when I was little 'Far and away' was my favourite film and my granda always used to say I looked like Nicole Kidman from that film...made me so happy!

I am not hopeful about Disney on Ice, and the show wasn't even that good it was short and a little underwhelming so I'm going to check out of Disney on ice for the next few years...Have you been to any of their shows?

I haven't decided about a pre trip report yet since I have never attempted one. I'm going to have to carry a notebook with me to keep track of everything! I'm sorry about the Disney on Ice fiasco ~ I do hope you hear back from them and that it is sufficient for all the hassle.

Can't wait for more of your report...

I'd love to read a pre trip report if you start one! and I would definitely vote for keeping notes, I didn't and really wish I had!

I still haven't heard back but fingers crossed, it was a lot of hassle for a show that was not overly impressive, definitely going to skip Disney on Ice for a few years, this was the third I've taken my goddaughter to and it just seems quality has slipped from the really great ones I remember seeing when I was little, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White etc.

That HAD to have been what happened! I can't imagine that ticketmaster would give duplicate seats. That's pretty much impossible, isn't it? Either way, what an awful experience! I would have totally cried! I'm glad you wrote them a letter and I hope you are compensated somehow, at least given partial money back. You weren't able to enjoy the show that you paid for, you deserve something!

Good luck! Keep us posted on what happens.

This was actually the first complaint letter I've ever written! I'm normally pretty easy going but the whole thing seemed like after they got you through the doors and got your money customer service and satisfaction was looow on their priorities!

I agree, Ticketmaster would be an absolite shambles if was possible to double book seats...maybe I have a face that looks like it could be easily fooled!

 

[Stefy]

Loving the updates, looks like you had a great time at DHS

Sorry about the fiasco at Disney on Ice, must have been so frustrating and esp with the little ones in tow too. Your letter sounds really good and hopefully you will get a positive response. If not go more aggressive and maybe call them too and speak to a higher up.

Let us know how it goes

 

[irishdancer86]

Loving the updates, looks like you had a great time at DHS

Sorry about the fiasco at Disney on Ice, must have been so frustrating and esp with the little ones in tow too. Your letter sounds really good and hopefully you will get a positive response. If not go more aggressive and maybe call them too and speak to a higher up.

Let us know how it goes

Hi Stefy! Thanks, I love DHS soooo much!

I think I will maybe try calling them in the next few days, their whole attitude was poor we felt, on the way out we heard a parking attendant saying how MCD the promoter had been too stingy to pay for them to organise guests exiting, only for entering the car park, so it was total gridlock for over 40 mins after the show! my little cousine was so grumpy by this stage we took her for a walk round the hotel grounds rather than sit in the stuffy car all that time!

 

[irishdancer86]

3 Mini Life Updates:

Me and DBF have booked our holiday next year for 2 weeks in July to Sharm el Sheikh, we are staing all inclusive and hope to visit the pyramids at Cairo and the Valley of the Kings at Luxor, as well as quadbiking in the deret, a crocodile and snake show and a day at the waterpark. Although I am sad that Disney is not in our immediate plans, I have to try and comprmise with DBF in that he wants to travel a bit more widely than I do!

I have started to listen to the dis unplugged podcasts and I love them! really makes the drive to work so much more enjoyable! and I have years of episodes to catch up on!

Has anyone read the millenium triolgy? I have just finished 'Girl with a Dragon Tatoo' and thought it was immense! would love to hear anyone's opinions!

and a Disney update:

as we left off we had used our fastpass for TSM! both times riding that day we had managed to skip part of the line by a CM looking for a 2!

I think after TSM we caught a showing of The Little Mermaid wich we both loved as it is a shared childhood favourite! and then DBF had a bit of a melt-down and so enters the trip-report title...

DBF: I'm hungry but I'm too heavy to eat...
Me: What? Your not heavy at all...
DBF: When's our ADR? Will it be burgers? I'm not eating burgers, I'm sick of burgers...
Me: You've been in America for 3 days and your sick of burgers???

So anyway, I discovered that DBF is really bizarrely fixated with eating halfway healthily and I am soooo not! so for the rest of the holiday it was the caesar salad vs the french fry

We just had time for one show before our meal at Sci-Fi, so we headed to the Motors show...

This was the photo I tried to catch the car in mid air...

By the time the show was over, me and DBF had both got some energy back and improved our moods from the food confrontation...I was happy to spot a nice photoshoot on our way out of the arena...

Me and the little girl I teach Irish dancing to...

We headed in and got a car for the 6 of us I knew there was the possibility of a table, but really wanted DBF to get the full experience by sitting in a covertible at the drive in!

You'll never guess what we both ordered...Cheeseburger and fries! DBF said sorry for being so grumpy earlier and that their wasn't anything else on the menu that really grabbed his attention!

I actually thought the food was delicious!!! Our server was pleasant, and tried to get a few good photo's of us and the atmosphere was great. Our freinds treated us to this meal which was very generous of them and we all left lunch in happy spirits again!

 

[Cat0727]

Wow, Sharm el Sheikh sounds like a fantastic holiday! I've always wanted to go to Egypt.

ooo you're gonna love The Girl Who Played With Fire. It was so good! I am waiting for the third book to become available at the library so I can read it. This past weekend my boyfriend and I got to watch the first two Millennium movies and I enjoyed them. They weren't as good as the books though but the acting was fantastic!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Going on vacation somewhere other than Disney!! Just kidding! That trip sounds so awesome!

I love the story behind your TR title. Funny how DBF suddenly decided he was going to be healthy. Are burgers not as common in Ireland? DH's favorite burger was "The Big Irish" from Bennigans...before they closed all their restaurants!

Can you believe I have NEVER seen Lights Motors Action? Don't think I ever will...no interest at all! I love the extremely bored kid sitting behind you in the picture of you and DBF!

 

[Stefy]

Yay for booking Sharm, you guys will have a blast just make sure you bring plenty of sunscreen as July is hoooooot

Great update, love the meaning behind the title

Looks like you had a great meal at Sci Fi and you caught the motor show too

 

[irishdancer86]

Wow, Sharm el Sheikh sounds like a fantastic holiday! I've always wanted to go to Egypt.

ooo you're gonna love The Girl Who Played With Fire. It was so good! I am waiting for the third book to become available at the library so I can read it. This past weekend my boyfriend and I got to watch the first two Millennium movies and I enjoyed them. They weren't as good as the books though but the acting was fantastic!

Egypt is more DBF's choice but I think I'll like it, I'm gonna try and get a bit of history background before we go so I can really enjoy the sightseeing

I'm about a third through 'The girl who played with fire' but I'm back to work now so can't get immeresed like I was able to over the holidays, best books I've read in ages though! so twisty!

I watched the first film and thought it was good but I agree, not a patch on the books!

Going on vacation somewhere other than Disney!! Just kidding! That trip sounds so awesome!

I love the story behind your TR title. Funny how DBF suddenly decided he was going to be healthy. Are burgers not as common in Ireland? DH's favorite burger was "The Big Irish" from Bennigans...before they closed all their restaurants!

Can you believe I have NEVER seen Lights Motors Action? Don't think I ever will...no interest at all! I love the extremely bored kid sitting behind you in the picture of you and DBF!

DBF'S has wide holiday horizons, whereas I feel my holiday horizons should include a castle on the skyline!

At home me and DBF only really eat dinner once a week together, and every night his mum makes him a pretty healthy dinner, they don't have a deep fat fryer but a lot of vegetables etc...Burgers are VERY common in Ireland, I just didn't understand DBF's eating habits until I was with him 24-7, normally I go wild on holiday and put on about a stone in weight, this year I came back a little lighter what with my travelling companion being the food police! lol he wasn't too bad but just liked a bit of salads mixed in among all my nuggets, pizza's, burgers and fries!

Noticed a few empty Bennigans locations around I Drive, what was on the Irish Burger? I'm guessing brie or scallions?!

That was my dad's first question when looking through the photo's...'who's your man?' it wasn't as boring as his expression is hinting! I enjoyed it but think once would be enough unless your a car fan?!

Yay for booking Sharm, you guys will have a blast just make sure you bring plenty of sunscreen as July is hoooooot

Great update, love the meaning behind the title

Looks like you had a great meal at Sci Fi and you caught the motor show too

Have you been to Sharm Stefy or know anyone thats been, I'm pretty nervous about the heat!

Sci Fi was one of my favourite meals of the entire holidays...feel like its a time warp to the 'Grease' and 'Footloose' days. And the burger was so nice, I'd read a few reeviews that hadn't been too kind about sci fi so was pleasantly surprised!