Oh the places We Go, The People We see

[SigalTchelet]

Just Amazing! You and Gail wee mart to buy the Photo Pass cd! All the girls are gorgeous. I am aso glad you were able to get Abby in all the pictures. It will be an unforgettable memory for all of you!

 

[jenseib]

I love it!!! The girls look so cute! What a wonderful experience! I can't wait for Catie to be old enough for the BBB!!

Um… does Aunt Mary want to adopt me?? I like the way her math works!

Aunt Mary spoilds those girls rotten. Well I will admit she still even spoils me at times too.

They look so grown up

Just Amazing! You and Gail wee mart to buy the Photo Pass cd! All the girls are gorgeous. I am aso glad you were able to get Abby in all the pictures. It will be an unforgettable memory for all of you!

We made out. We did a share with several people too, so the price was down quite a bit divided up. Stepanie ....who I met way back during the Halloween party, Carey's family and Tim's family all did a share with us. We all got some great pictures.

 

[Kathy Jetson]

It looks like the girls all loved their makeovers!
and how cute was Abby? That's great she sat through the whole thing. I just knew you were going to say she got fussy and wanted to get up.

 

[mickeystoontown]

The girls all look so pretty with the BBB makeovers. Like KathyJetson, I just knew that Abby was going to get fussy and hop right outta that chair and march away with her hands on her hips. Or, she could have told Aunt Bop to stop taking pictures.

 

[jenseib]

It looks like the girls all loved their makeovers!
and how cute was Abby? That's great she sat through the whole thing. I just knew you were going to say she got fussy and wanted to get up.

They were all happy and we were happy that Abby made it through it. I am still shocked she sat through the whole thing.

The girls all look so pretty with the BBB makeovers. Like KathyJetson, I just knew that Abby was going to get fussy and hop right outta that chair and march away with her hands on her hips. Or, she could have told Aunt Bop to stop taking pictures.

I kept waiting for her to be done too. We all were amazed she sat through it all. I am sure she told me to stop taking pictures at some point though.

 

[jenseib]

After all the fun with BBB and the photoshoot, Claire and I hightailed it over to Pooh. We had pulled fastpasses earlier and I knew it would be cutting it close. We arrive and were about 10 minutes past the time. I asked the CM if we could still use them as we had been at BBB and he said sure thing and let us in.



Claire already started complaining about how itchy her dress was. In years past she never would say a word about any dress, even ones I knew had to be itchy. She would chose beauty over comfort. Not so anymore. I told her she needed to wear it longer, but she still kept complaining. I need to remember for future visits that she will need to wear a shirt under the dress to make it more comfortable.

After our ride on Pooh, we headed over to Dumbo to take a spin.







We then checked out Barnstormer but it was a bit too long of a wait for us at the time.



I finally gave in then. I was tired of hearing how itchy she was. I had hoped to at least get through dinner with the dress, but I knew it wasn't going to be pleasant if I made her wait, so we headed to the bathroom and changed back into her skirt outfit.
We then walked over towards Space Mountain as I wanted to get fastpasses.







We grabbed fastpasses for several hours later that evening and then decided we needed a quick snack. It was around 4 and our dinner reservation was in about an hour, but we were to the point that we just couldn't last quite that long. Claire got a frozen treat.



I got a pretzel and we sat down under the People Mover and ate them. We people watched and talked and laughed because we heard the spiel from the People Mover over and over and over again.



After I ate about half of my pretzel I realized I never took a picture.



While we sat there I looked over my receipts to see how many snack credits were left. Everything would have to be used by midnight the next day as we were checking out of the Beach Club Villas in the AM and switching resorts and dining packages. Claire's receipt showed a certain amount but mine didn't show anything. That's odd. It also appeared my parents weren't using the snack credits as well. There were quite a few left according to Claire's receipt. I don't think I mentioned this earlier, but they had a hard time understanding the dining plan. Each day my Mom would tell me that drinks and appetizers from dinner were charged to the room, which meant, charged to my credit card. She would give me money and I would go and pay it off each day. I even asked at the desk if they would take them off my credit card and the CM totally ignored me.

So I knew we would have to make sure they got some snacks or Claire and I would have to use up some more snacks before they expired.

After we finished our treats we decided we should head to the front and work our way over to the Poly for Ohanas dinner.



We excited the park and took the monorail over. We were a little early so we slowly made our way to check in.







It was quite busy in there, but we did get checked in. They told us we could have our picture taken, which we declined. I don't see this as a winner of a photo op. Now if I had purchase the photopass plus, then I would've done it, but without it being included in the meal, its not something we would want.



We had barely sat down and we were called in. Our ADR was for 5:05 and we got called in a few minutes before 5 with the first group being called in for the first dinner round. Cousin Joe led us to our table.





We had a window seat, but our view wasn't really all that grand. Well we could SEE the Grand, but there were quite a few trees in the way.



It's very dark in there and it was hard to get decent pictures.





Our bread.



Now I have heard people RAVE about this bread. I asked about this bread too ..... to many people. It is described as a pineapple coconut bread. I do NOT like coconut. Many people told me you cannot taste coconut at all and some didn't even realize it had it in it. I am here to set the record straight. YES you can taste it!!!
My first bite .........mmm this is pretty good, sweet and tasty, but after about 20 seconds I got the aftertaste of coconut. Darn it! I did keep eating it, hoping it was mind playing tricks, but it wasn't and I gave up on it after a bit. I just couldn't get that taste out of my mouth. Claire enjoyed it and did eat quite a bit, but she also mentioned it had a funny taste to it as well.

The salad was very good though. Claire wasn't so much a fan, but she did eat some.



The sauces.



Again, I heard many people talk about how wonderful they were. I only liked one of the 3 and it was just OK. The others were not good at all. Claire didn't like any of them.

 

[jenseib]

The potstickers and chicken wings. This was the best part of the meal.



Both were good and we cleaned the plate (well Claire only at the chicken)

I slacked in picture taking after this. The veggies were good, but Claire wouldn’t touch them. The noodles …not our thing, we both took a bit or 2 and were not impressed.
The meat …good if it had no sauce on it. We did not like any of the sauces on them and Claire just stopped eating. Our first few bites of the steak were great, but again, after a minute the sauce taste came out and it was just off to us. Not our thing at all. We would’ve preferred to have sauce less meats.



Luckily we had enough of the chicken wings and potstickers to fill us up. And I had more salad and veggies.
The lady came out to entertain and called the kids up. Claire refused to go, but we enjoyed watching her sing. I tried for a photo, but not very good at all.



After a while she called up adults too and we had to do some dance or something. Claire said if I went up, she would go too and the only way to get a lei was to participate, so we went up and made fools of ourselves. It was fun though.

When we got back to the table the bread pudding had arrived.



Claire got a birthday treat as well.





The ice-cream was good, the bread pudding, just Ok. Again, it’s not a big thing for us. Actually I think it’s only the 2nd time I ever had it and probably Claire’s first. I do know the reason we liked it was the caramel sauce. If it didn’t have that, I probably would’ve taken 2 bites and pushed it aside.

We paid the bill with our dining credits and left a tip. Our server was decent, but not great. He didn’t do anything wrong really, he just had kind of a been there done that tone to everything. ….Just not energetic at all.

As we left I tried to get a few more pictures.









The whole meal was just ok to us. It wasn’t bad; it was just not to our tastes. I really don’t know if I will ever go back for dinner. I have heard since that the sauces have changed, so that is a reason to give it another try. I probably will only do so if Skip is with us so he can give it a try too. At least now I don’t have to worry about trying to get it right at the 180 day mark. I have looked at trying to dine here for a few years, but we are always so last minute with planning trips I just never had a chance. Now I know we are not really missing much at all.

I did have Claire stop and get a picture with the Tiki God.



And I took a few more pictures around the resort.



I hear good things about Kona too, so someday we will give that a try as well.











We then hopped the monorail and headed back to the Magic Kingdom.

It was very exciting to see trees lit up.



And the whole reason to come to the Magic Kingdom during the holiday season!!!!!!



This is absolutely stunning. I love the castle this way and if I never saw it looking normal again, I would be ok with that. I fell in love with the icicle castle immediately.







The down side to this night ….it was so freaking crowded. I was just amazed at the amount of people here.

 

[scottny]

I cannot wait to see the decorations in December.
IASW is such a fave of mine. Great memories of when I was a kid. POTC also.
Looks like BBB was a success.
The pics of the 3 girls are great.
I will admit I am not a fan of ‘Ohana. I think I am the only one. LOL
Kona is delicious for breakfast and dinner.
Main Street does look gorgeous decorated.

 

[francis6306]

I want to try Ohana. I think it would be fun. I know Corey would enjoy the food, and I might… The bread is disappointing though. I'm so weird about coconut. I LOVE German Chocolate cake with the pecan coconut icing, but that's about it. Anything else Coconut is a no-go for me! I need to add that to my list of options though!

 

[Caretames1]

How Brave Claire was to sing Karaoke! Kadence loved her song choice of Zippity Doo Da! That was Kadence's recital song 2 years ago.

It's nice that you guys are such night owls! You got some amazing shots with the lights and such. I'd a been sleeping in one of the lounge chairs.

I want to try para sailing! I seen your shots and now Janet's, and it looks like a fun time! Someday, maybe just maybe I can sell my organs or something and squeeze in a cruise with my next Disney trip in 2 years.

Castaway Cay, looks so peaceful and nice. I'd love to lay in the shade and relax. I can't wait to show Kadence the snorkling pics, she's going freak! She's in awe of Claire for doing it.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I hate to hear that you guys weren't blown away by Ohana. We love it there but I do agree that the sauces on the side were weird. I don't like the flavors at all. But, having said that, I didn't even notice that there were sauces already on the meat.

 

[Caretames1]

:

I don't know if you watch "The Middle" but it's my favorite show. There's an episode where Frankie finds out Mike has a secret stash of batteries. The stash that he never tells her about. Even if means she or one of the kids is having a big battery crisis.

So go buy yourself a screwdriver. And an extra pair of scissors. And next time he asks if you know where there's a screwdriver, repeat after me ........ "No, I sure don't."

I love the Middle! I feel like Frankie sometimes.

I have public scissors and private ones. I have to, John uses any pair he finds to cut wire!




What a beautiful and fun day at Castaway Cay! Love the Jet Sking. I wish I could do that sometime.

I love all the artistic pictures. It's pretty neat how one picture can change just by focus.

 

[Wicket's Mom]

We felt the same way about Ohana, not bad just meh. Probably wont go there for while, too many other places we'd like to try.

I really love the look of the icicle castle, it is so awesome.

 

[Caretames1]

We were in total shock. I couldn't believe he dressed up and not only dressed up, but went all out!

How Awesome! They must have had the giggles knowing they were going to pull that off for you all! He makes a great pirate!

Now that is a cute pirate! Love her costume.

The photographers were wrapping up for the night, but we convinced them to do a couple of quick shots. You could tell though they were not excited to do so. I asked for magic shots with the kids and they told me they are no longer an option. I have since found out that she was lying and that kind of irks me a bit.

Those are so nice, what a great memory you have of the trip.

 

[Caretames1]

At one point I walked past a CM and he said Hi Jennifer and I said hi back and then turned around. How did he know my name? I asked him and he said yes he knew it but didnt know why he did. And then he complemented me on my hair. Now cast members had been complementing me on my hair the whole cruise. I know its not really normal, and my mother hates it, but I like it and thats all that counts. But it was funny at how many people stopped to talk to me and tell me how much they liked it. I then wondered if my name got spread around that way? LOL

You are world famous woman!!

Claire was in her sailor gear tonight.

LOVE her dress! Perfect for the cruise. I remember when my Sammy had a little baby sailor dress, she was so cute. Then she grew up.....

Do not allow Claire to grow any more! I've put my foot down with Kadence, but I think she's growing behind my back.


The end of your cruise! I know it was short one, but its seemed like you guys packed a lot of stuff in! At least you are headed back to WDW, not home!

 

[jenseib]

I cannot wait to see the decorations in December.
IASW is such a fave of mine. Great memories of when I was a kid. POTC also.
Looks like BBB was a success.
The pics of the 3 girls are great.
I will admit I am not a fan of ‘Ohana. I think I am the only one. LOL
Kona is delicious for breakfast and dinner.
Main Street does look gorgeous decorated.

You will love it. Pictures do not do it justice. It's amazing.
BBB was a success and great fun for the kids.
I am glad I am not theo nly one who doesn't think 'Ohanas is fabulous. A couple of friends told me I was crazy when I told them we didn't care for it that much.
I do want to try Kona.

I want to try Ohana. I think it would be fun. I know Corey would enjoy the food, and I might… The bread is disappointing though. I'm so weird about coconut. I LOVE German Chocolate cake with the pecan coconut icing, but that's about it. Anything else Coconut is a no-go for me! I need to add that to my list of options though!

It was just OK. I won't be rushing back, but many people love it, so I do suggest giving it a try. I don't like german chocolare cake at all. I am not a fan of chocolate cake either ...except at Disney. I love it there. LOL

How Brave Claire was to sing Karaoke! Kadence loved her song choice of Zippity Doo Da! That was Kadence's recital song 2 years ago.

I was shocked she sang. That is so unlike her.

It's nice that you guys are such night owls! You got some amazing shots with the lights and such. I'd a been sleeping in one of the lounge chairs.

It might be just fun to sleep in a lounge.

I want to try para sailing! I seen your shots and now Janet's, and it looks like a fun time! Someday, maybe just maybe I can sell my organs or something and squeeze in a cruise with my next Disney trip in 2 years.

I need to start selling organs too. Crusing is addicting.

Castaway Cay, looks so peaceful and nice. I'd love to lay in the shade and relax. I can't wait to show Kadence the snorkling pics, she's going freak! She's in awe of Claire for doing it.

Claire has been talking about doing "real" snorkeling lately. I told her next cruise we will do it....Watch our next cruise will be Alaska. LOL

I hate to hear that you guys weren't blown away by Ohana. We love it there but I do agree that the sauces on the side were weird. I don't like the flavors at all. But, having said that, I didn't even notice that there were sauces already on the meat.

Yes the meat had sauce on it and not tasty at all. LOL But you like more flavors to things beingfrom the south, so you probably didn't notice it so much. Just like I love peel and eat shrimp, just boiled, but you thought it was plain and needed spices.

I love the Middle! I feel like Frankie sometimes.

I have public scissors and private ones. I have to, John uses any pair he finds to cut wire!




What a beautiful and fun day at Castaway Cay! Love the Jet Sking. I wish I could do that sometime.

I love all the artistic pictures. It's pretty neat how one picture can change just by focus.

Jet skiing is something I would like to do again as well. I was doing a fake trip quote recently...as there is one I hope goes down in price in the future ...and i looked at excursions and it had horseback riding along the beach ..of course with gorgeous pictures. I thought boy that would be great. Of course the age limit is 12 and older.

We felt the same way about Ohana, not bad just meh. Probably wont go there for while, too many other places we'd like to try.

I really love the look of the icicle castle, it is so awesome.

Yay! Another one who doesn't think I am crazy about 'Ohanas. Yes, it wasn't bad, it just wasn't really to my liking. and we do have so many places to try and so many other favorites, so we'll just leave that open for those who like it.
The castle lit up like that is just gorgeous.

How Awesome! They must have had the giggles knowing they were going to pull that off for you all! He makes a great pirate!

I know. They really kept that secret well.


Now that is a cute pirate! Love her costume.

Isn't she sweet?

Those are so nice, what a great memory you have of the trip.

It is great to have this memory and how often do you have a family pirate picture.

You are world famous woman!!


Well ,yes, yes I am.

LOVE her dress! Perfect for the cruise. I remember when my Sammy had a little baby sailor dress, she was so cute. Then she grew up.....

Do not allow Claire to grow any more! I've put my foot down with Kadence, but I think she's growing behind my back.

I keep telling Claire to stop growing and she is doing it behind my back too. I really want her to stop as well so she can wear these outfits on another cruise yet ...whenever that may be.

The end of your cruise! I know it was short one, but its seemed like you guys packed a lot of stuff in! At least you are headed back to WDW, not home!

I know this was really a long trip with Disney and a cruise, but I swear i always felt rushed like I didn't have enough time to get everything in I wanted to do. More so at Disney than on the cruise. I used to think 7 days at Disney would be such a lot of time and it still doesn't seem like enough.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I am sorry that you did not really like 'Ohana. We have never been for dinner, but have done breakfast, which was not wonderful either. The best thing was the juice and of course getting to meet Stitch. Kona Cafe on the other hand is amazing. We had breakfast and lunch there over the years and both were delicious.

Corinna

 

[petals]

The castle at Christmas is probably my most favourite site in the World. Will never forget the first time I saw it lit up for myself

 

[jenseib]

I am sorry that you did not really like 'Ohana. We have never been for dinner, but have done breakfast, which was not wonderful either. The best thing was the juice and of course getting to meet Stitch. Kona Cafe on the other hand is amazing. We had breakfast and lunch there over the years and both were delicious.

Corinna

We did breakfast on our last day and I agree it is better, but still not a hot spot for us either. I do need to try Kona.

The castle at Christmas is probably my most favourite site in the World. Will never forget the first time I saw it lit up for myself

It is the most amazing sight.

 

[MEK]

Jen - I am not totally caught up yet, but I have to say that the BBB photos of your nieces and Claire are just amazing. Between yours and the PP pics, they are all simply stunning!

Claire looks beautiful and Abby is just too cute for words. All three girls look fabulous.

Loved your morning at HS and your ice cream (healthy option) lunch at Beaches n Cream. I still haven't eaten there and I've just crossed my 18th trip off the list. Next time!