glennbo123
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 10, 2008
After a power nap for Gram and Poppy, we got back on our plan for the afternoon. I may or may not have taken some toothpicks with me to hold up their eyelids later.
Leading up to the trip, we’d tried to talk my parents into renting a wheelchair or ECV for the week. At least for Gram, who’s having more and more trouble walking long distances, but heck, at Disney both of them could give their feet and legs a break. They’re in their 80’s for cryin’ out loud. I don’t want to go into their whole medical history, but we’re talking replaced knees and herniated discs and who knows what else. But my mom has some kind of superhuman pain-tolerance threshold, so to her that’s just part of getting older. My sisters also tried to talk to them but they would have none of it. So.....we’ll be walking slowly for the week.
And...
We’re...
Off...
Here we go...
We’ll be right there...
Our trip from the suite down to the bus stop started a debate that we had for the whole week -- which way was shorter? Lauren led Marlene and James down the hallway in the direction of Jambo House, took on the (Zazu?) elevator down to the parking area and walked up the sidewalk to the bus stop. I, on the other hand, led Gram, Poppy, and Judy down the hallway in the direction of the lobby, took the elevator down to the first floor, and then out to the bus stop. Distance-wise, it’s probably “six of one, half dozen of another”, but at least my way was air-conditioned.
Here’s our first “waiting for the bus” picture.
Ah yes, you can see Lauren’s birthday button and Gram and Poppy’s anniversary buttons.
It was now about 4:30 and our first order of business was Downtown Disney. Once we got there, we sent Gram, Poppy, and the kids to World of Disney, while Judy and I went to Guest Relations. We wanted to get a Tables in Wonderland card to save some money on our meals since we weren’t on the Dining Plan. It’s so nice that it was a DVC perk this year, otherwise we wouldn’t have been eligible because we didn’t have annual passes for this particular trip. I’d wanted to get this transaction done in Vero, but I stopped at the Front Desk one time and they couldn’t do it. They gave me the form to fill-out, but here at Guest Relations the cast member was just keying everything into the computer so the form was just a big waste of time. I think the cast members at Vero should be able to issue these since they’re accepted at their restaurants...but I digress.
Oh yeah, one more thing. We got the card in Judy’s name rather than mine since the ladies were going on a Tea at the Grand Floridian later in the week. That way they could get the discount without me having to be there. And, it got me out of signing the credit card bill at the restaurants for the week. I wish it got me out of paying off the credit card the following month. I guess that’s asking too much.
Anyway, we weren’t too long getting the card and soon joined everyone else in World of Disney. And by “everyone else” I mean everyone at Downtown Disney. That place is always a madhouse whenever I go in there.
James soon found a Perry the Platypus hat.
To go with the Lego set he’s holding, apparently.
The girls are very selective with their money, but James would like to select one of everything.
At first I thought I was just taking a “stupid hat picture” à la the many DISers who do that. But no, he had some money burning a hole in his pocket and he was set on buying this. You may see it pop up in pictures later in the report. Other than that, I got a Mickey shirt. Everyone else wanted to wait and see what else they might find throughout the week.
We saw some bride and groom hats for the anniversary-couple, but we just looked, no purchase.
I took a quick picture of the new creation outside of the Lego store as we approached. I think we went in for a few moments and James wondered why he’d spent money on a Lego set back at World of Disney when he had so many more choices here. Yeah, good question. I think he forgot that there was Lego store at Downtown Disney.
Around this time we were ready to get some dinner. It was kind of funny because the last time we were here, James and I got food from Cooke’s of Dublin and brought it to Earl of Sandwich to eat with the ladies, while they got food there. Their sandwiches were so good that I was thinking that this year we’d all just eat there. But on this evening I discovered that Judy was wishing she’d gotten Cooke’s of Dublin the last time. (Are you followin this?) So we asked Gram and Poppy what they were up for, fish & chips or sandwiches, and they opted for fish & chips. Cooke’s of Dublin it is!
One bad thing about Cooke’s of Dublin is that their menu signage is a little small when you’re standing in line. It’s hard to see their offerings until you’re up to the cashier. Poppy was getting a little frustrated with that, as we and Gram tried to tell him his options. Despite that issue, we eventually all ordered and went to find a table. There was only one small table available inside, so Judy and the kids took that one, while Gram, Poppy, and I found one outside.
The fam, inside Cooke’s of Dublin. As you can see, we were seated at adjacent tables...just separated by a thin pane of glass.
Poppy was in the army many, many decades ago and struck up a little bit of conversation with the guy in the foreground of that last picture wearing the “U.S. Army Retired” hat.
And we waited. And we waited. Then we started seeing people who ordered after us getting called for their food. Somehow this kind of thing always seems to happen to us. We must look like chopped liver. We started getting worried that we’d be late for the next phase of our evening plans, so Judy went up to complain and we got our order. I have no idea what went wrong.
Despite the serious looks, Gram and Poppy enjoyed their food.
My fish and chips.
Our food hit the spot and we hurried to get to the main event of our “first Disney night” tradition. What was it?
continued in next post
Leading up to the trip, we’d tried to talk my parents into renting a wheelchair or ECV for the week. At least for Gram, who’s having more and more trouble walking long distances, but heck, at Disney both of them could give their feet and legs a break. They’re in their 80’s for cryin’ out loud. I don’t want to go into their whole medical history, but we’re talking replaced knees and herniated discs and who knows what else. But my mom has some kind of superhuman pain-tolerance threshold, so to her that’s just part of getting older. My sisters also tried to talk to them but they would have none of it. So.....we’ll be walking slowly for the week.
And...
We’re...
Off...
Here we go...
We’ll be right there...
Our trip from the suite down to the bus stop started a debate that we had for the whole week -- which way was shorter? Lauren led Marlene and James down the hallway in the direction of Jambo House, took on the (Zazu?) elevator down to the parking area and walked up the sidewalk to the bus stop. I, on the other hand, led Gram, Poppy, and Judy down the hallway in the direction of the lobby, took the elevator down to the first floor, and then out to the bus stop. Distance-wise, it’s probably “six of one, half dozen of another”, but at least my way was air-conditioned.
Here’s our first “waiting for the bus” picture.
Ah yes, you can see Lauren’s birthday button and Gram and Poppy’s anniversary buttons.
It was now about 4:30 and our first order of business was Downtown Disney. Once we got there, we sent Gram, Poppy, and the kids to World of Disney, while Judy and I went to Guest Relations. We wanted to get a Tables in Wonderland card to save some money on our meals since we weren’t on the Dining Plan. It’s so nice that it was a DVC perk this year, otherwise we wouldn’t have been eligible because we didn’t have annual passes for this particular trip. I’d wanted to get this transaction done in Vero, but I stopped at the Front Desk one time and they couldn’t do it. They gave me the form to fill-out, but here at Guest Relations the cast member was just keying everything into the computer so the form was just a big waste of time. I think the cast members at Vero should be able to issue these since they’re accepted at their restaurants...but I digress.
Oh yeah, one more thing. We got the card in Judy’s name rather than mine since the ladies were going on a Tea at the Grand Floridian later in the week. That way they could get the discount without me having to be there. And, it got me out of signing the credit card bill at the restaurants for the week. I wish it got me out of paying off the credit card the following month. I guess that’s asking too much.
Anyway, we weren’t too long getting the card and soon joined everyone else in World of Disney. And by “everyone else” I mean everyone at Downtown Disney. That place is always a madhouse whenever I go in there.
James soon found a Perry the Platypus hat.
To go with the Lego set he’s holding, apparently.
The girls are very selective with their money, but James would like to select one of everything.
At first I thought I was just taking a “stupid hat picture” à la the many DISers who do that. But no, he had some money burning a hole in his pocket and he was set on buying this. You may see it pop up in pictures later in the report. Other than that, I got a Mickey shirt. Everyone else wanted to wait and see what else they might find throughout the week.
We saw some bride and groom hats for the anniversary-couple, but we just looked, no purchase.
I took a quick picture of the new creation outside of the Lego store as we approached. I think we went in for a few moments and James wondered why he’d spent money on a Lego set back at World of Disney when he had so many more choices here. Yeah, good question. I think he forgot that there was Lego store at Downtown Disney.
Around this time we were ready to get some dinner. It was kind of funny because the last time we were here, James and I got food from Cooke’s of Dublin and brought it to Earl of Sandwich to eat with the ladies, while they got food there. Their sandwiches were so good that I was thinking that this year we’d all just eat there. But on this evening I discovered that Judy was wishing she’d gotten Cooke’s of Dublin the last time. (Are you followin this?) So we asked Gram and Poppy what they were up for, fish & chips or sandwiches, and they opted for fish & chips. Cooke’s of Dublin it is!
One bad thing about Cooke’s of Dublin is that their menu signage is a little small when you’re standing in line. It’s hard to see their offerings until you’re up to the cashier. Poppy was getting a little frustrated with that, as we and Gram tried to tell him his options. Despite that issue, we eventually all ordered and went to find a table. There was only one small table available inside, so Judy and the kids took that one, while Gram, Poppy, and I found one outside.
The fam, inside Cooke’s of Dublin. As you can see, we were seated at adjacent tables...just separated by a thin pane of glass.
Poppy was in the army many, many decades ago and struck up a little bit of conversation with the guy in the foreground of that last picture wearing the “U.S. Army Retired” hat.
And we waited. And we waited. Then we started seeing people who ordered after us getting called for their food. Somehow this kind of thing always seems to happen to us. We must look like chopped liver. We started getting worried that we’d be late for the next phase of our evening plans, so Judy went up to complain and we got our order. I have no idea what went wrong.
Despite the serious looks, Gram and Poppy enjoyed their food.
My fish and chips.
Our food hit the spot and we hurried to get to the main event of our “first Disney night” tradition. What was it?
continued in next post
I just assumed we make it there when we were ready but it never happened.
The phrase is catching on! Kathy will be so pleased.
Great, underrated resort.
Impressive work Pat!!!
But if I remember correctly from your planning, you were hoping to do it on your arrival night and it sounds like you were too tired then.
