A very overdue Holiday TR ~ A toddler, a reunion & Thanksgiving ~ Update 9/17
- Thread starter Sunset Cliffs
- Start date
Sunset Cliffs
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2009
I'm so sorry! I thought that I had responded to you already.
Thank you so much for reading, and I'm sorry that I have been so spotty with my updates. In my opinion, the week after Thanksgiving is the best time of year to go. The crowds leave, and you get all of the holiday decorations. You are going to have a great time!!
Sunset Cliffs
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2009
Our ADR for Whispering Canyon Café was for 7:30. We got there a few minutes early and everyone was so excited to see the decorations at the WL. My parents had never seen this resort before, so it was all brand new to them.
I love how big this resort is! The tree is right inside the front door and it looks huge. It just feels right to have a Christmas tree in the middle of this woodsy, cabin feeling hotel. The warmth of the wood with the big fireplace in the corner it all just works together during the holidays.
After looking around & taking pictures for a while, we checked in at the podium at WCC and got a buzzer. Then we noticed a PP photographer near the tree so we went over there to get some family pictures. We have never done PP before, so this was a nice bonus to get some good family pics where you are not all grungy from the parks. We took our own pictures first and then managed to round up everyone else to take a whole family picture.
While we were taking pictures, I saw Beckys family sitting in WCC near the rail by the lobby. Becky is LadyBugMom on the Dis, and we had been talking for a while about figuring out how to meet up once we realized that the dates of our trips overlapped. It just so happened that we both had scheduled dinner at WCC this night, so it was exciting to finally meet!
We walked over to say hi to them and Dylan climbed up on the rail to say hi to her girls. We had found some cute little princess pens earlier in the day at CSR gift shop so we gave he gave them to the girls right then. They seemed happy with them which made him happy. We decided to meet up in the lobby after we all finished dinner, and then our buzzer went off so we checked in.
The place was packed! It seemed like every table was full. We were sat in the back of the restaurant and it was noisy, but a fun atmosphere to be in. We started looking at them menu, and then they made the announcement that the kids were going to ride horses. Dylan looked interested so Todd took him to the front to find a horse. There was a mass of kids circling the place in no time. We were in the very back so our table was right next to the aisle and we got to watch all of them gallop by. We kept waiting to see Dylan go by and we never saw him. Finally, we saw Todd carrying him back, but kind of lifting him up and down over & over, like he was riding an imaginary horse. Dylan was laughing & when they got to the table Todd said that once they got up there and Dylan saw the wooden stick horses, he didnt want to do it. I guess he started to cry because he thought they were riding horses like on the carousel. Lol. Todd tried to convince him to do the wood horse, but he refused. On the way back to the table, he lifted him up & down like a carousel horse and it made him happy. So random sometimes, the things that kids get upset about.
Awesome light fixtures
Family pictures
Continued in next post .
I love how big this resort is! The tree is right inside the front door and it looks huge. It just feels right to have a Christmas tree in the middle of this woodsy, cabin feeling hotel. The warmth of the wood with the big fireplace in the corner it all just works together during the holidays.
After looking around & taking pictures for a while, we checked in at the podium at WCC and got a buzzer. Then we noticed a PP photographer near the tree so we went over there to get some family pictures. We have never done PP before, so this was a nice bonus to get some good family pics where you are not all grungy from the parks. We took our own pictures first and then managed to round up everyone else to take a whole family picture.
While we were taking pictures, I saw Beckys family sitting in WCC near the rail by the lobby. Becky is LadyBugMom on the Dis, and we had been talking for a while about figuring out how to meet up once we realized that the dates of our trips overlapped. It just so happened that we both had scheduled dinner at WCC this night, so it was exciting to finally meet!
We walked over to say hi to them and Dylan climbed up on the rail to say hi to her girls. We had found some cute little princess pens earlier in the day at CSR gift shop so we gave he gave them to the girls right then. They seemed happy with them which made him happy. We decided to meet up in the lobby after we all finished dinner, and then our buzzer went off so we checked in.
The place was packed! It seemed like every table was full. We were sat in the back of the restaurant and it was noisy, but a fun atmosphere to be in. We started looking at them menu, and then they made the announcement that the kids were going to ride horses. Dylan looked interested so Todd took him to the front to find a horse. There was a mass of kids circling the place in no time. We were in the very back so our table was right next to the aisle and we got to watch all of them gallop by. We kept waiting to see Dylan go by and we never saw him. Finally, we saw Todd carrying him back, but kind of lifting him up and down over & over, like he was riding an imaginary horse. Dylan was laughing & when they got to the table Todd said that once they got up there and Dylan saw the wooden stick horses, he didnt want to do it. I guess he started to cry because he thought they were riding horses like on the carousel. Lol. Todd tried to convince him to do the wood horse, but he refused. On the way back to the table, he lifted him up & down like a carousel horse and it made him happy. So random sometimes, the things that kids get upset about.
Awesome light fixtures
Family pictures
Continued in next post .
Sunset Cliffs
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2009
Continued
By now we had ordered our drinks, and during all of the chaos our waiter had forgotten Elijahs ice tea. When the waiter came back to take our order, he reminded him that he still needed his tea. The waiter apologized and a few minutes later, he brought this back.
It was pretty funny. I dont think he needed a refill the entire meal.
Speaking of the waiter, he was playing a crazy character. He spoke in this really funky voice, and on top of that he had a weird accent too. I kept waiting for him to break character and he never did until we said goodbye at the end of the meal. That stuff is what makes those dining experiences more memorable.
Happy little guy.
Our food arrived and we were all ready to dig in. I ordered Chicken & Penne Pasta. Oh my goodness. Soooo gooood and sooo filling. I was determined to eat a ton of it, but ended up taking half of it back to the hotel.
Todd, Bryan and my dad all ordered the All-You-Care-to-eat Skillet. They brought a HUGE skillet of food for them all to share. They all said it was delicious. Todd was happy that they had beef ribs instead of pork.
My mom ordered the pot roast
Angelyn ordered the meatloaf
I cant remember what Elijah ordered, but I have a picture of it!
Ok, so this is where it got funny. I always take pictures of our food like a good Disser (if I remember), and everyone has gotten used to me doing that. I started taking pictures of everyones food and Todd started cracking up and pointed out that my sister & mom were both taking pictures as well. Everyone else was sitting patiently with their hands in their laps, waiting for all of the photos to be done. LOL. Apparently everyone has either becoming resigned to dealing with my weird obsession or had decided to actively join me in it. Todd snuck a picture of my mom before they all caught on.
Then he started telling them what was so funny, and as he was demonstrating how eagerly everyone was photographing their food, my sister took his picture.
The food was so good and the portions were gigantic. Definitely come with an appetite if you eat here.
Dylan had eaten before we got here, so we had ordered a plate of fries for him and he ate some of my chicken. The waiter came up and asked him if he wanted ketchup for his fries. Of course, I knew what was coming so we got our cameras ready. Dylan nodded his head, so the waiter told him to say I need ketchup! really loud. He shook his head no.
So we all helped him say it really loud, and he got scared when we all talked so loud. All of a sudden, all of these people came running over with ketchup bottles. We ended up with at least 25 bottles on our table. Even though I knew what was coming, it was still really surprising how quickly people came out of the thin air to slam those bottles down.
I love this picture because it was taken right when the bottles started showing up. Im looking for people coming and Dylan is staring transfixed at a single bottle of ketchup. Ha!
It was so fun to watch all the kids get involved. You could tell they were having fun giving it to someone else.
Once we all started laughing and making a big deal about how funny it was, Dylan went from scared to laughing. He was still perplexed by the whole thing, but understood it was supposed to be funny.
After the parade of the bottles, we got our small serving of ketchup out of the bottle that Dylan picked and then we figured out how to keep eating our meal with less space on the table. Elijah was still working on his tea.
Finally we heard another table say they needed ketchup so we rounded up all the bottles and carried them over. It was so fun handing them off and watching the reactions of the next family to receive them. We kept one bottle on our table so that Dylan could deliver it to one more group.
It was such a fun meal. Great experience for our first time eating there. We discussed going back for lunch on our next trip so that it could be a quieter and cheaper meal.
Up next, meeting Beckys family and wandering the WL!
By now we had ordered our drinks, and during all of the chaos our waiter had forgotten Elijahs ice tea. When the waiter came back to take our order, he reminded him that he still needed his tea. The waiter apologized and a few minutes later, he brought this back.
It was pretty funny. I dont think he needed a refill the entire meal.
Speaking of the waiter, he was playing a crazy character. He spoke in this really funky voice, and on top of that he had a weird accent too. I kept waiting for him to break character and he never did until we said goodbye at the end of the meal. That stuff is what makes those dining experiences more memorable.Happy little guy.
Our food arrived and we were all ready to dig in. I ordered Chicken & Penne Pasta. Oh my goodness. Soooo gooood and sooo filling. I was determined to eat a ton of it, but ended up taking half of it back to the hotel.
Todd, Bryan and my dad all ordered the All-You-Care-to-eat Skillet. They brought a HUGE skillet of food for them all to share. They all said it was delicious. Todd was happy that they had beef ribs instead of pork.
My mom ordered the pot roast
Angelyn ordered the meatloaf
I cant remember what Elijah ordered, but I have a picture of it!
Ok, so this is where it got funny. I always take pictures of our food like a good Disser (if I remember), and everyone has gotten used to me doing that. I started taking pictures of everyones food and Todd started cracking up and pointed out that my sister & mom were both taking pictures as well. Everyone else was sitting patiently with their hands in their laps, waiting for all of the photos to be done. LOL. Apparently everyone has either becoming resigned to dealing with my weird obsession or had decided to actively join me in it. Todd snuck a picture of my mom before they all caught on.
Then he started telling them what was so funny, and as he was demonstrating how eagerly everyone was photographing their food, my sister took his picture.
The food was so good and the portions were gigantic. Definitely come with an appetite if you eat here.
Dylan had eaten before we got here, so we had ordered a plate of fries for him and he ate some of my chicken. The waiter came up and asked him if he wanted ketchup for his fries. Of course, I knew what was coming so we got our cameras ready. Dylan nodded his head, so the waiter told him to say I need ketchup! really loud. He shook his head no.
So we all helped him say it really loud, and he got scared when we all talked so loud. All of a sudden, all of these people came running over with ketchup bottles. We ended up with at least 25 bottles on our table. Even though I knew what was coming, it was still really surprising how quickly people came out of the thin air to slam those bottles down.I love this picture because it was taken right when the bottles started showing up. Im looking for people coming and Dylan is staring transfixed at a single bottle of ketchup. Ha!
It was so fun to watch all the kids get involved. You could tell they were having fun giving it to someone else.
Once we all started laughing and making a big deal about how funny it was, Dylan went from scared to laughing. He was still perplexed by the whole thing, but understood it was supposed to be funny.
After the parade of the bottles, we got our small serving of ketchup out of the bottle that Dylan picked and then we figured out how to keep eating our meal with less space on the table. Elijah was still working on his tea.
Finally we heard another table say they needed ketchup so we rounded up all the bottles and carried them over. It was so fun handing them off and watching the reactions of the next family to receive them. We kept one bottle on our table so that Dylan could deliver it to one more group.
It was such a fun meal. Great experience for our first time eating there. We discussed going back for lunch on our next trip so that it could be a quieter and cheaper meal.
Up next, meeting Beckys family and wandering the WL!
Sunset Cliffs
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2009
Have you heard of that before? It's pretty funny to watch. Even when I knew it was coming, it was a bit overwhelming when people coming running at your table.
vleeth
I heart Disney
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2006
Have you heard of that before? It's pretty funny to watch. Even when I knew it was coming, it was a bit overwhelming when people coming running at your table.
I had read about it before. I'd like to try that place someday.
eandesmom
I'm with Beast
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2009
I know this is an older update but I missed commenting on it. I know EXACTLY how you felt, on our 2010 trip, the 3 days where it was just the 6 of us had so much more of that "be in the moment" feeling than the ones that followed and a lot of it was due to being with a large group. It is wonderful to be together but...not as nearly relaxing. And yes, all that attention to the kids can cause other issues, we've been there too!
Gorgeous photo trip to Coronado. I've never been there and it looks so pretty! WL is a fun restaurant, I would try dinner there again (we did breakfast), I should keep in in mind for the trip with all my nephews if it ever really happens. Glad everyone enjoyed it and got into it, and liked the food too!
LilAnn
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 18, 2009
Hi Alison! 
I can't believe how long it's been since I logged on and just now got to your most "recent" update. I loved reading it even more now that I have actually met you and your wonderful family.
I agree, WL is a perfect setting for a Christmas tree. I really want to see that one day.
The ketchup pic at WCC is awesome. You look shocked and Dylan is just hysterical staring at the bottle.
Can't wait to hear about the dismeet with Becky!
I can't believe how long it's been since I logged on and just now got to your most "recent" update. I loved reading it even more now that I have actually met you and your wonderful family.
I agree, WL is a perfect setting for a Christmas tree. I really want to see that one day.
The ketchup pic at WCC is awesome. You look shocked and Dylan is just hysterical staring at the bottle.
Can't wait to hear about the dismeet with Becky!
Sunset Cliffs
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2009
The meal at WCC looks like fun. I love the picture of Dylan looking at all the ketchup
The pictures of the WL at xmas time makes me rethink my decision to switch our Dec. trip to Feb. I will not switch to Dec, I will not switch to Dec.
I love that picture. It completely conveys how we both felt in that moment. I was worried it would overwhelm Dylan so was a little nervous about it, and he just looks dazed and confused.
Ha! You've had so many changes to your trip, what's the big deal about making one more? December is such a great time to go. It's magical on a whole new level because of the lights and the music.
I'm glad it's not just me! Sometimes I find myself in the weirdest funk, and then I chastise myself for having a pity party when I'm on vacation. I think that when you assume the role of travel agent, you have to expect that people will start to treat you like one sometimes. I create the monster, but get upset with the consequences. When it's just the 3 of us, we have a much more relaxed, spontaneous trip...but we might now accomplish all that we set out to.
Coronado is so beautiful, but it involves a lot of walking. If you want your exercise (aside from the miles put in at the parks), this is the place for you. At least they have made everything so enjoyable to look at!
We ate at WCC another time and they have the most amazing cheese soup! It had bacon and popcorn in it. Enough said, right?
I'm so happy that I got the family pictures. Now that my sister has moved to Boston, the moments where we are all together are rare. Glad we took advantage.
Hi Alison!
I can't believe how long it's been since I logged on and just now got to your most "recent" update. I loved reading it even more now that I have actually met you and your wonderful family.
I agree, WL is a perfect setting for a Christmas tree. I really want to see that one day.
The ketchup pic at WCC is awesome. You look shocked and Dylan is just hysterical staring at the bottle.
Can't wait to hear about the dismeet with Becky!
Hi Ann!
I'm so happy that we got to meet too! A lasting memory for sure. It makes me happy the internet was invented, so that we can meet friends that we never would have met (amongst other things
)The WL is so cozy and inviting. Just like Christmas. I hope you get to see it for yourself someday.
I love that picture of Dylan. It may go in the blackmail pile for future use.
Hoping to do an update soon.
Sunset Cliffs
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2009
Hi everyone,
Sorry (once again) for the lack of updates. Life has taken many interesting twists in the last few weeks. First of all, the start of school means the start of my busiest, craziest time of year.
From August 1 until late September, I have no life. It's all about work, work, and more work, since I work at a high school and I'm the only person responsible for all money for student activities. It is a major project to get each school year started & running smoothly. Also, Todd's volleyball try outs start the first day of school and I help him with those. So my schedule has basically been to be at work from 7:00 - 3:00, then walk over to the school's gym and help with volleyball until 5:30, getting home after 6:00. That was my schedule EVERY DAY for the month of August, 11 hours straight each day. By the end of each day, it was all I could do to have dinner, spend a little time with Dylan and then go to bed. It's finally starting to ease up, and I'm leaving work at my normal time, but volleyball will dominate our lives until Thanksgiving time.
Next up...Dylan started Pre-K this year. We decided to put off Kindergarten one more year since he was still 4 years old at the start of the year. He goes to school 5 days a week, but it is only for 3.5 hours a day. He LOVES it. There are only 17 kids in his class and 2 teachers, so there is a lot of attention for them. I love that they are learning a lot, but there is still a lot of emphasis on playing too. He is only a kid once and I want him to enjoy it. Dylan just had his birthday a few days ago, and that means he is 5 now. He is so excited about that, but I feel like
. Where has my little baby gone? It has flown by and that is hard sometimes.
In the middle of all the craziness, my grandpa got very sick. He has been in this situation many times before and has always pulled through. This time, it happened so quickly and was I warned that it felt different than previous times, so we drove down to visit him after work one night...and got there 2 minutes too late. Literally 2 minutes. The nurses had just checked on him, and he passed in the time that it took us to walk in. My grandpa had his 91st birthday and passed 2 days later. He lived a long and full life, but it's still very hard to grasp that he is gone. I'm very spoiled to have had him for so long, and I don't know any other way of life. It's been a hard adjustment. Dylan has handled it well. He is very disappointed that grandpa has gone to heaven, and he prays for him a lot (which is interesting since he doesn't mention him any other time during the day except when he prays).
Here's my favorite picture of them together.
All these things combined have left me little time for Dis. I hope to do a real update this week and wrap up this TR that has dragged on for far too long. A very awesome surprise is that we have decided to do New Years at WDW this year. We have started making plans, and I will detail those more at another time. Thanks for sticking with me!
Sorry (once again) for the lack of updates. Life has taken many interesting twists in the last few weeks. First of all, the start of school means the start of my busiest, craziest time of year.
From August 1 until late September, I have no life. It's all about work, work, and more work, since I work at a high school and I'm the only person responsible for all money for student activities. It is a major project to get each school year started & running smoothly. Also, Todd's volleyball try outs start the first day of school and I help him with those. So my schedule has basically been to be at work from 7:00 - 3:00, then walk over to the school's gym and help with volleyball until 5:30, getting home after 6:00. That was my schedule EVERY DAY for the month of August, 11 hours straight each day. By the end of each day, it was all I could do to have dinner, spend a little time with Dylan and then go to bed. It's finally starting to ease up, and I'm leaving work at my normal time, but volleyball will dominate our lives until Thanksgiving time.
Next up...Dylan started Pre-K this year. We decided to put off Kindergarten one more year since he was still 4 years old at the start of the year. He goes to school 5 days a week, but it is only for 3.5 hours a day. He LOVES it. There are only 17 kids in his class and 2 teachers, so there is a lot of attention for them. I love that they are learning a lot, but there is still a lot of emphasis on playing too. He is only a kid once and I want him to enjoy it. Dylan just had his birthday a few days ago, and that means he is 5 now. He is so excited about that, but I feel like
. Where has my little baby gone? It has flown by and that is hard sometimes. In the middle of all the craziness, my grandpa got very sick. He has been in this situation many times before and has always pulled through. This time, it happened so quickly and was I warned that it felt different than previous times, so we drove down to visit him after work one night...and got there 2 minutes too late. Literally 2 minutes. The nurses had just checked on him, and he passed in the time that it took us to walk in. My grandpa had his 91st birthday and passed 2 days later. He lived a long and full life, but it's still very hard to grasp that he is gone. I'm very spoiled to have had him for so long, and I don't know any other way of life. It's been a hard adjustment. Dylan has handled it well. He is very disappointed that grandpa has gone to heaven, and he prays for him a lot (which is interesting since he doesn't mention him any other time during the day except when he prays).
Here's my favorite picture of them together.
All these things combined have left me little time for Dis. I hope to do a real update this week and wrap up this TR that has dragged on for far too long. A very awesome surprise is that we have decided to do New Years at WDW this year. We have started making plans, and I will detail those more at another time. Thanks for sticking with me!
MEK
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 8, 2005
So very sorry to hear about your grandfather passing away. I think its lovely that Dylan says he is praying for him. I wish I could see the picture of the two of them together, but I am at a restricted computer.
Your August sounds ridiculous. It is so hard to work every day and then have an activity every afternoon. I hope things get a little less crazy for you soon.
Congrats on the NY's trip and happy planning.
Your August sounds ridiculous. It is so hard to work every day and then have an activity every afternoon. I hope things get a little less crazy for you soon.
Congrats on the NY's trip and happy planning.
pinkxray
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2009
I'm sorry to hear about your grandfather
Your August sounds exhausting
Happy Birthday Dylan. 5 is a tough one because that is really when you realize that they aren't your little baby anymore. My baby is going to be 8 next month. It seems like she just turned five
Your August sounds exhausting
Happy Birthday Dylan. 5 is a tough one because that is really when you realize that they aren't your little baby anymore. My baby is going to be 8 next month. It seems like she just turned five
LilAnn
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 18, 2009
Hi Alison!
Sorry about your grandfather passing. But what a good son you have there. He's just amazing.
Doesn't time just fly? We have that 5 year milestone coming up next month! One day we'll look back and see the picture of the two of them together and just marvel at how big they are now. We both have littler pre-K kiddos now!
I am so jealous that you are always traveling to Disney around the holidays! One day.....
Sorry about your grandfather passing.
But what a good son you have there. He's just amazing.Doesn't time just fly? We have that 5 year milestone coming up next month! One day we'll look back and see the picture of the two of them together and just marvel at how big they are now. We both have littler pre-K kiddos now!
I am so jealous that you are always traveling to Disney around the holidays! One day.....
Bell<3Disney
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2010
I havnt been on Dis in a while because I have been sad that we dont have a trip planned at the moment I decided I need to do a update and maybe that would cheer me up and I saw that you had a update!!! That cheered me up, Then made me nostalgic for our trip and really wished we were all together walking around the hotels. I will just have to live through trip reports right now. Love your update though!
I decided I need to do a update and maybe that would cheer me up and I saw that you had a update!!! That cheered me up, Then made me nostalgic for our trip and really wished we were all together walking around the hotels. I will just have to live through trip reports right now. Love your update though!Share this page
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