Disney, The Dream...and WHAT?!? Disney AGAIN!?! *Updated 2/20*

[melmar136]

Having to leave is horrible, isn't it?

The weather was bad for travelling those days. We stayed on for the next cruise as well and there were lots of people who didn't make it to port because of cancelled flights.

Food brings back memories!

Hey, I love the little story about not finding your sunglasses. Same thing happened to me at OKW one year, when mousekeeping used them to decorate the towel animals she had left on the bed. We searched the whole living room and I had to use my none prescripion ones, just to find them sitting on my bed when we got home!

I'm glad we got to the port ok, and can't imagine not being able to get there due to a cancelled flight!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has done that with the sunglasses!

I'm thinking the stuff that tasted like grass looks alot like grass!

The sea bass does not look good - no sauce or crusting or anything Of course I'm not much of a fish eater, so maybe it looks less apptizing to me.

Too funny about the sunglasses!

No, the sea bass wasn't great. You're right, it was just plain...no breading or anything. Pretty much had no taste!

What a cute pillow! I love that idea :

That towel animal is crazy Glad you finally found your sunglasses... that totally sounds like something I would do!

Isn't that pillowcase so cute? We read about them signing stuff like that on one of the cruise boards, so I bought the plain pillowcase that was just embroidered on etsy. Meg sleeps on it most night, except when it's in the wash!

 

[melmar136]

At work, for the past 2 months, we have been having a war....a food war that is! Last month was cupcake war, and I came in 2nd. This month was soup/stew war, and I decided to make...


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Yes, the Cheddar Cheese soup from Le Cellier in Epcot. I have never tried it there, if you can believe that, but everyone on the boards just raves about it, so I thought it would be a good choice.

Meg has been taking cooking classes and really likes to help out in the kitchen lately, so she was a big help in making this! She was the photographer for the event as well!

First, let me tell you what a pain it is to finely chop raw bacon!


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eeew. It is pretty slimy. And it took quite a while. So, while I was doing that, Meg was busy cutting up the celery.


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I was STILL working on the bacon, and Meg cut up the chives that go on top of the soup.


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I finally finished the bacon, and moved onto the red onion.


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My eyes were stinging and watering sooo badly! Of course Meg had to get a picture of it!


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You can see how bloodshot they were getting, and the mascara that had already come off in some tears!

While I was tearing up, and dicing those onions, Meg grated the cheese.


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Now, the recipe calls for aged white cheddar. Well, there is quite the variety of ages and prices for cheese! Meg originally came over to the cart in the store with a half pound block that was aged for 5 years, and was $17.99 a pound! Wow. Who knew cheddar cheese could be that expensive? I normally get the shredded store brand in a bag!
I settled for the 12 month aged cheddar for $4.99 a pound instead!

I also had to get a bottle of beer. Yes, one bottle. I don't like beer, and the recipe calls for a cup of it (dark ale preferred) so after looking around for a while in the store, I finally asked some kid to help me out. He picked out the Hobgoblin Ale. No idea if it is supposed to be a good beer or not. But, I liked it because you could buy just one bottle of it! Otherwise, I would have been stuck with 5 extra bottles if I had to get a 6 pack.

I also had to buy Tabasco sauce and Worcestershire sauce. I don't normally use either of those.


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Here is the soup, simmering on the stove. Although, we had to keep stirring it.


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Meg tried it first.


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She thought she could taste the beer too much. I thought the same thing. Maybe it hadn't fully cooked off yet. And it was hot, as in spicy hot. A full tablespoon of Tabasco went in there!

I brought it to work today, and out of 10 entries, I came in 3rd. Not bad. 2nd place was a hot and sour Chinese soup, and first was Zuppa Toscana, which I guess they serve at Olive Garden.

One of my managers just got back from WDW last night, and got very excited when I told her what soup I had made. She JUST had some a couple of days ago in the Canada pavillion. She thought the recipe was pretty similar, but thought more beer and less pepper (or maybe Tabasco) went into the real one.

Meg had some leftovers for dinner and liked it a lot. She couldn't taste the beer taste anymore, but thought it was pretty spicy. I was not really a big fan of it.

Next month is cookie wars. Any suggestions? ​

 

[Mom2m&k]

Enjoying your trip report! Can't wait to here how things worked out with Hurricane Irene. It was a bit of a fizzle here in NH. We lost power for a few hours but other then that not much! Here is one of my favorite cookie recipes. It is usually a big hit!
http://www.food.com/recipe/snicker-surprise-peanut-butter-cookies-15477

 

[melmar136]

Enjoying your trip report! Can't wait to here how things worked out with Hurricane Irene. It was a bit of a fizzle here in NH. We lost power for a few hours but other then that not much! Here is one of my favorite cookie recipes. It is usually a big hit!
http://www.food.com/recipe/snicker-surprise-peanut-butter-cookies-15477

oooh, thank you! Those cookies sound great! I love pb cookies, and Snickers, so combining them must be wonderful!

 

[melmar136]

We woke up early, as we had to be at breakfast for 7:45. We said 8:20 in the last update...I guess I wasn't looking at my notes!

When we looked out the verandah, there was a depressing sight.


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Back at the terminal. Boo!

We had to collect all of our carry-on bags, and bring them down to breakfast. We had time for one last picture of the room.


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Bye room!

We arrived at the Enchanted Garden, and there were bags and suitcases all lined up along the walls outside of the restaurant. We left our carry-ons there, and were directed to our table.
2 of our tablemates didn't show up for breakfast. Maybe it was too early for them?

On this last morning, there was a menu, instead of the buffet. I ordered "Eggs for the Road". I chose scrambled, with bacon, and hash browns.


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They must have been trying to use up the bacon, because they gave us a TON! And I was hoping for hash brown potatoes, not the McDonald's type patty.

Meg got the "Chef's Farewell", which is an open-faced omlette with bbq chicken, onions, peppers, and swiss cheese.


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She really liked it, but I couldn't eat bbq chicken that early in the morning.

We were almost done eating and the huge table that Kruno had been dealing with for the 3 days just showed up. At that point, it was after 8:30! Really, they tell you 7:45, so I couldn't believe people would just show up that late! I mean, everyone has to get the ship ready for the next sailing!!! Poor Kruno! Again! And he had to go over and be nice to them. I really don't think I could do that job!

We gave him a hug, and thanked him for the great service, said good bye to Jen and Trevor, and headed out, sadly.

We picked up our carry-on bags, showed our KTTW cards to get off the ship and went into the terminal. All of the suitcases were there, arranged by tags. We had Tinker Bell. They were pretty easy to find actually. We brought everything over, handed a form and our IDs to the Customs guy, and we breezed right through. We were out of there and on a bus back to the airport by 9am! It was very organized and easy.

I slept off and on on the bus ride back to the airport. Meg kept trying to talk to me and waking me up. She HATES when I sleep and she is up.

We got off at the Delta terminal, as we had to figure out what to do about a flight home at this point. We got in there, I told Meg to sit on a bench near the Delta lines, and dropped all of the luggage there with her. I then had to stand in a line that went on forever. I think I was in line for 90 minutes! Lots of other people were trying to switch flights, and even coming over from other airline desks to see if Delta could get them out sooner. I was talking to one woman who had been on a Jet Blue flight. They told her they couldn't get her out until the following Sunday (a full week!) going back to New York. She was ready to leave and rent a car to drive home. No thanks!

After standing there for that long, the woman at the desk basically told me the same thing the person on the phone last night said. We couldn't get out until Wednesday! I asked her to check Boston, Providence, Hartford, Manchester, and even Albany. Nothing! Wow. We were stuck. I told her I guess we had to keep the Wednesday flight then, and walked back over to Meg.

Next, I called DVC to see if they had any rooms we could book on points. Luckily, they did! They had OKW, and SSR. I picked one, and told Meg we had 3 more nights, back at Disney World! She was actually excited, even though she'd be missing the first 2 days of school at a new school. The CM also called ME for me, and let them know we were there, even though we had not arrived on a flight, and arranged for our transportation back to the resort.

We brought all of our bags to the ME desk, and we were all set. They told us which line to get in, and after dealing with a cranky old guy...
WE WERE HEADED BACK TO WDW!!! ​

 

[dizneeat]

Wow, what an ordeal, but at least you got to get back to WDW!

I never thought about how many people were stranded those days. We only learned that there were lots of staterooms left for upgrades as people just could not fly in.

Can't wait to hear where you stayed and what you did those last three days!

 

[BerrysGirl]

Oh my goodness what a pleasant surprise out of a bad situation! I'm completely in suspense over which resort you picked. My parents are staying at OKW in February and I'm considering trying to make it down to see them... I've never stayed there before!

 

[melmar136]

Oh my goodness what a pleasant surprise out of a bad situation! I'm completely in suspense over which resort you picked. My parents are staying at OKW in February and I'm considering trying to make it down to see them... I've never stayed there before!

I was happy we'd be getting to stay longer, and once Meg got over being nervous about missing school, she was too. Even better that we didn't have to "pay" for a room. I just love DVC!

Wow, what an ordeal, but at least you got to get back to WDW!

I never thought about how many people were stranded those days. We only learned that there were lots of staterooms left for upgrades as people just could not fly in.

Can't wait to hear where you stayed and what you did those last three days!

I can't even imagine being stranded and not making it for the cruise. I'm glad we were stranded AFTER the cruise!

 

[melmar136]

When we left off, we were headed back to WDW because we couldn't get a flight home due to Hurricane Irene. Thanks, Irene! We get 3 more days in Disney!

We were on the Magical Express to.....


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We chose SSR. The only other resort with availability was OKW. I do want to stay there sometime, but SSR was on our list originally, when we wound up choosing AKL, so we gave it a shot.

We arrived around noontime, and went to check in at the Carriage House. The CM started giving me all the paperwork, and I was shocked that our room was ready! We waited outside for a little while for Bell Services to arrive to drive us on a golf cart to our building.

We were in the Grandstand building. It was really close to the lobby and the bus stop. I was glad for that because the place is HUGE! We took the golf cart to the room, and checked it out.


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The view from our balcony:


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You can see the Cirque du Soleil in the distance.

There was a little window cut out on the side of the balcony with this view:


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It is really pretty there, and peaceful!

We decided to check out some of the resort, and figure out what we wanted to do with our extra Disney time.


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This is inside the Artist Palette (a shop and restaurant combo):


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This is in the lobby:


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We went outside...


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...and headed to the boat dock to Downtown Disney.​

 

[melmar136]

We hopped on a boat, headed to Downtown Disney, after about a 20 minute wait. It was hot while we waited!


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We took this along the way:


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From Downtown Disney, we took a bus to the Beach Club. We decided we wanted to have lunch at Beaches & Cream. We couldn't fit it in during the first part of the trip.


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We arrived at Beaches & Cream for a late lunch.


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There was only a 5 minute wait. That was good because we were hungry. We were used to the non-stop food on the cruise the past few days!

We were seated at the counter, and Meg took pictures while we waited to order.


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I love those lights!

We ordered from the very cute, retro menu:


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We both ordered shakes. Meg got the Frozen Sunshine, which tasted like a Creamsicle.


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Wow, it was good! I ate all of the candy orange pieces off of it, as Meg didn't like those. I ordered a coffee milkshake:


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Yum! With whipped cream, jimmies (as we call sprinkles in MA) and a cherry!

We both got cheese burgers with fries.


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That is Meg's with lots of onions and a cute smiley face, made with the cool ketchup squeezie bottle! I love those. Weird, I know.

Here is mine, with an attempt at a Mickey on it:


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Meg says it looks like a bear, not a Mickey head. Oh well, I got to play with the ketchup bottle!

We both enjoyed our lunch, and Beaches & Cream. While we were there, 2 tables ordered the Kitchen Sink, and there were a few birthday celebrations. It's a fun atmosphere!

We walked around the resort for a little while. I checked the plant that I had placed my mom's prayer card in a few days before, to see if it was still there. Nope. Those CMs really do a thorough cleaning!

Meg took a break in the lobby:


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We waited at the bus stop to go back to DTD, and Meg got a shot of my new Dooney.


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So cute! I just love it. I've recently had cashiers at 2 different stores ask if it was a Dooney, and comment how much they love it!

From DTD, we went back to SSR, and decided to go swimming, and do some laundry.


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It was the Grandstand pool, right near our building. And the laundry was in a little building next to it.


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We swam, and went in the hot tub, and every so often I would go in and switch over laundry. We stayed there until the laundry was all done, and we were starting to get chilly.
We went back to the room and relaxed for the rest of the night.

Weather: Hot and sunny.
Best thing for today: Getting to go back to WDW for three more days!
Worst thing: Leaving the Dream​

 

[melmar136]

ooops...deleted due to double post

 

[dizneeat]

You stayed at our home resort!
We have yet to stay there but have been over from OKW quite a few times. The CS place, isn't it called Artist's Palette too? has some really nice flatbreads, so we know our "ways around".

How fun that you got to go to B&C for lunch. I firs thought why you would go to DTD if you want to go to the Beach Club, but then it dawned on me - the buses don't go from resort to resort!
Have you ever had a Kitchen Sink? They are so much fun - we shared one last time with the Fishermans, who we met on our next cruise!

Love all the photos as usual! So fun to get some extra Disney time!

 

[melmar136]

You stayed at our home resort!
We have yet to stay there but have been over from OKW quite a few times. The CS place, isn't it called Artist's Palette too? has some really nice flatbreads, so we know our "ways around".

How fun that you got to go to B&C for lunch. I firs thought why you would go to DTD if you want to go to the Beach Club, but then it dawned on me - the buses don't go from resort to resort!
Have you ever had a Kitchen Sink? They are so much fun - we shared one last time with the Fishermans, who we met on our next cruise!

Love all the photos as usual! So fun to get some extra Disney time!

No, we have never gotten a Kitchen Sink. It really is fun to watch other people try to eat them all though!

Yay for extra Disney time!

 

[melmar136]

We didn't set the alarm or anything, and actually got to sleep in a little while at Disney. This is something we NEVER get to do!

We made it to the Artist's Palette in time for breakfast.


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I got a cheese omelette with hash browns.


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It was just ok. Looking at the picture now, the potatoes look so good, but they were cold, and dried out. I also got a cinnamon bun, just because they looked so yummy.


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I told Meg we would share it, but I think I had most of it.

She got a croissant sandwich with bacon, egg, and cheese.


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She thought it was pretty good.

On the way to the bus stop...


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We took the bus to DTD, so that we could catch another bus to the Boardwalk. This is kind of annoying, but the only way to get from resort to resort if you are relying on Disney transportation.


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We arrived at the Boardwalk, and they had all of the flower beds out front dug up. They were putting in all new flowers. You can see them in the background, on the left.
We also saw some type of filming going on, with camera crews, and Meg thought maybe it was Stacey! The woman had long brown hair, and looked just like her. I didn't see much of it, but Meg insisted it was her!

We went through the lobby...


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to get outside to the boardwalk area. We looked around in the gift shop and wound up talking with a CM for a while. She was from Rhode Island, originally and had been trying to call her sister who still lives there. She couldn't get through, because of the hurricane. Glad we were in Disney then, and not at home!

Meg took pictures of the area.


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The clouds were really rolling in at that point!

We decided to get a snack and looked in both Seashore Sweets and the Boardwalk Bakery before we made a decision.

I chose a piece of peanut butter chocolate fudge from Seashore Sweets.


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Meg chose a brownie from the bakery.


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The fudge was pretty good, but that brownie.... yuck!!! Meg said it tasted like a Little Debbie cosmic brownie, but I didn't even think it was that good. Wow, how can you mess up a brownie so badly?!!?

We walked by the DVC model room that was open, and decided to check it out. There was another family in there, talking with the CM, so we browsed around. There was a studio and a one bedroom to see. They were both nice. I haven't stayed at the Boardwalk, in a DVC room, yet.

We decided to rent one of the surrey bikes to ride around the Boardwalk, and by the other Epcot resorts. So, we paid for a bike and started our ride.​

 

[jecskc]

My DD wanted to ride one of those so bad when we were there during Thanksgiving. There were several families there enjoying them. We never got around to renting one though. Next time !! Let us know how you liked it !!

 

[melmar136]

My DD wanted to ride one of those so bad when we were there during Thanksgiving. There were several families there enjoying them. We never got around to renting one though. Next time !! Let us know how you liked it !!

We never usually have time either, so it was nice to be able to do it.

 

[dizneeat]

Merry Christmas!!! ​

 

[melmar136]

Sorry it has been so long since our last update! I hope everyone had a great holiday, and Happy New Year! Now, we can say we're going back to Disney THIS year!

When we left off, we had just rented a surrey bike at the Boardwalk. It was $17 for a half hour, so we got it for the half hour. Pretty much right after we got on, and got situated, it started to rain! Here are some pictures from our ride:


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It was a good thing we had a little cover, but we each had one arm and leg (on the outside of the bike) that got soaked.
Also, getting up the hill by the Swan and Dolphin on one of these bikes is a bit difficult, especially when you then start laughing. We got out and pushed, which drew a few odd looks. Guess we'll have to get in better shape for next time!

We parked, and since it was raining the guy wasn't even there. He came out of a little food stand to signal that he saw us, so we left the bike, and took a few parting shots.


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We went into ESPN, and Meg played some arcade games.
Then, we walked over to the Swan and Dolphin to browse around.


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We went into the Swan and Meg took more pictures.


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We peeked into the Garden Grove restaurant, and decided we wanted to eat here next time.


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I love that big tree in the middle of it.

Then, we walked over to the Dolphin.


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We sat and relaxed in part of the lobby, and watched fake shooting stars on the ceiling for awhile, and Meg called to chat with her grandparents.


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We thought these two hotels seemed quite nice actually, from browsing around.

Then we headed to our dinner ADR...​

 

[dizneeat]

Great update! I love to SEE those people riding the surrey bikes - I don't have the stamina to do that in the heat of a Florida summer. Not even after a hurricane!

I just saw your ticker - it looks like our travel times will be same again, it's just that we will spend the first 6 days touring the Florida Keys. We're going back to the Dream on Aug 24 for the double dip and then doing another 4 night cruise. When will you be there??????

 

[Mom2m&k]

Yay for an update! Hope you had wonderful holidays! Your next trip is coming up quick!