"Babe, I Messed My Pants..." An Oct 2013 TR - FINAL UPDATE! Added 5/24

[wiigirl]

Great update!

 

[Simba22]

Great update!

Thank you! And thanks for joining in!

 

[Simba22]

I know I gave a general thank you earlier but I have to say individually too!

Okay, great room, nice dinner, but let's get to the important stuff. HOLY MOLY THAT IS THE CUTEST ENGAGEMENT STORY OMG. The fact that he used a line from one of your favorite movies was so amazing! And the setup! And your waiter taking the check out of the way!!! I am a big pile of mush right now because that was AMAZING. Congratulations times a million!

I know! When I was typing it all out I was like "none of this is going to matter by the end of this update!" He told me that he tried to think of something from The Lion King to use but nothing was really fitting (obviously). So when MY favorite line was, he felt better about using Robin Hood instead. It all just worked out so perfect! Thank you!

Okay, I am sitting here with tears rolling down my cheeks, Mark is looking at me as if I have finally totally lost it, and I'm just shaking my head and saying "No, I'm just so happy for Ali and Lumar."

I love Lumar's proposal line. He gets major bonus points for that And kudos to your server for taking pictures with your camera.

Congratulations, Ali; I can't think of anyone I could be happier for.

Oh, and your room at the AKL was just lovely (love that resort).

Kathy, thank you SO MUCH! I feel like we've known each for forever so that really means the world to me! Our server was so completely amazing, I really want to write to Disney and tell them how much we really enjoyed having him be part of that special moment! I keep forgetting but I'm definitely going to do it this weekend! Thank you, again!

OMG! How awesome!! How wonderful for the server to take pictures for you!!

Crying happy tears right now and I don't even know you! That is just so PERFECT!

Aww! Thank you so much! I always cry when I read about all of the beautiful moments people share...things that are only made better by the fact that they are in Disney, or things that could only happen IN Disney! And now, I'm one of those people! I had a truly magical, surreal, incredible thing happen that I'll never forget! He did such an amazing job planning it all out... from what to say, to when to say it, and even the ring was exactly what I would have picked out myself as something I would wear! I still just can't believe it actually happened!

 

[Nermel9]

OMG AKL!!! Seriously one of the most perfect Disney resorts there is! I love everything about it! And that view from your room is perfect, I can't believe you can see EE from there!

Aww your engagement story is so sweet! I was wondering where Lumar was going with the whole ask a CM what their favorite line from a Disney movie was, what a cute idea! And that's so cool that your server captured the whole thing on your phone, now you can look back on that moment forever! I don't have any pictures from my engagement because it was just Brandon and I in our room in WL, but I mean, it's not like I can really forget that you know? I'm so excited for you guys, now you get to plan a wedding!! And maybe even a Disneymoon?

 

[IheartDDuck]

Gotta love those 3 hour sleeps before leaving for vacation, right?

Mr. Grumpypants definitely didn't make an ideal waiting partner in line. For 10 minutes? People like that just make me crazy.

OMG! Lumar was so so clever with that setup. CONGRATULATIONS! That was so so perfect.

 

[SheenaXena21]

Congratulations!!!

That was very clever way to propose, and I teared up just a little...

 

[freckles04]

Joining in and LOVE the proposal. Congratulations to both of you!

 

[Simba22]

“I’m Never Going to Find EITHER of Them!” ​

Flashback Alert:
As we were planning this trip, we each made a mental list of things we knew we wanted to get. We were trying not to go crazy on spending this time around, and we're Crazy Pin People and we knew we'd want some of the Limited Editions pins from Food & Wine, and the Halloween Party.

First on my list were these:



They don't really need an explanation, right? I mean c'mon! How CUTE? And they have the HM bat logo in the design? I really wanted them to wear to the Halloween Party, since we were going to three!

2nd on my list was a new Disney Dooney. I bought my first one, the Retro satchel last summer, and have carried it almost every day since then. I am head over heels for this bag!

For those that haven't seen it:








So on this trip, I wanted to get a smaller bag, and in a different pattern. I really like the white bag with the Mickey balloons:





The 3rd thing on my list was something I had been thinking about for a while, but hadn’t mentioned to Lumar….



I was secretly starting to love Duffy!

Ever since his debut we were always like “No, he’s not a real Disney character!” And we rolled our eyes and avoided everything Duffy.

But he’s just so darn CUTE!

So upon check in at AKV the day before, the first thing I did was hit up the gift store to see if I could find the ears or my new Disney Dooney. Not finding anything, I decided to wait until we were at the Contemporary that night and I would check out their gift shop, or until we were at DTD afterwards and I would check at WoD. I knew I’d be waiting until we got to Epcot to get Duffy.

Due to Lumar's little stunt after dinner I completely forgot to check the gift shop at The Contemporary. And I stared at the bags at WoD for about 30 minutes but they didn't have the white balloons bag, only the black one. And I couldn’t find the Halloween Minnie Ears anywhere! I was starting to wonder if they were exclusive to the Halloween Party, even though I knew they had been available on the Disney website.

So I opted to wait until the following morning and check out MouseGear.

So now we’re finally up to Monday morning!

The plan for this day was Epcot during the day, lunch at Le Cellier, and then head over to DHS for EMH and Fantasmic!



One thing I have to tell you about our room at AKL, is that we left our sliding glass door open the ENTIRE time we were there. We literally never shut it until the day we checked out. I kept the white Lion King curtain closed for both privacy during the day, and to keep bugs from finding their way in, but we had this gorgeous breeze flowing in and honestly, never saw ONE BUG. Not ONE!

We woke up on our first morning at 8am to this:



And after taking a few pics....





We headed out and arrived at The Mara about 9 for some breakfast.

The Mara is a cool little place, especially for breakfast. They offer quite a few selections that are not the average fare for resort CS. The Mara has two separate menus: The regular one, which plays on screen over the counter, and a "specials" menu. The specials were the same every day so I think the only thing that makes them "special" is that someone cooks it to order...it's not sitting under a heat lamp.

When it was our turn (we only waited a few minutes in line), Lumar ordered the ham, egg, & cheese sandwich from the Specials Menu and I ordered a bacon, egg, & cheese croissant from the regular menu. The server hands me my plate and tells me the other sandwich will be "just a minute."

So I wait.


And wait....



...
....
.....


And wait.....

...
....
.....

And FINALLY.....

The woman cooking calls out "ham, egg, & cheese!"

And someone who ordered AFTER me, runs to the counter and snatches it! The server who took my order saw what happened, and he told the woman that I was to get the next one.

So back to waiting...

Lumar's sandwich finally comes out and we get in line to ring out.

So we get to the cashier, she rings us out, and we go sit down.

And my sandwich was now cold.

Not luke warm. Not room temperature.

Cold.

But I ate it anyway because I was starving and I wanted to get out to the park already!

And I KNOW I took pictures but for some reason, I can't find them now! Both sandwiches were very good, but I made it a point to make a note that when ordering, everyone in your party should order from EITHER the regular menu OR the specials menu. That way, you eat at the same time and both of your meals are still hot!

After breakfast, we headed down to the bus stop and we were off to our very first park!

Naturally.....





We always start with Epcot, and I tried to switch it up this year and start with AK instead...but a last minute ADR change called for a change of "What-Park-Do-We-Go-To-First" so it was just meant to be and I should learn to stop trying to mess with the natural order of things!

So now, here we are at Epcot. And because I planned to buy a new purse on this trip, I failed to bring one with me. So naturally, I run to MouseGear in hot pursuit of my balloons bag only to find.....











They don't have it either!

They also, did not have the Minnie Ears.

It was at this point that I stomp my feet as we exit the store, I throw myself dramatically onto a bench, and whine like a 4 year old “No one has my ears! No one has the bag I want! I’m never going to find EITHER of them!” Complete with the furrowed, temper tantrum eyebrows.


After about 30 seconds, I move on.

We make it to the entrance to World Showcase and I know that if nothing else, I can definitely get ONE of the things on my list! So after some debate whether or not to actually go through with it, we leave the store with a new travel buddy:





And what should HAPPEN to be RIGHT OUTSIDE the Duffy store??


Of course, I had NO PURSE so now I just have to deal with my awesome Yoshi wallet being in the picture.



I told him that I wish they sold his pumpkin Halloween costume for “Little Duffy” and he told me to write a letter and suggest it!
Our lunch ADR for Le Cellier wasn’t until 12:45pm and it was only 11:30, so we decided to start on the Mexico side and make our way all the way around. By the time we were halfway around the World, I was literally dying for a purse. So we stopped in Japan and beelined for the Hello Kitty bags. I’ve always loved the Sanrio characters and they only had a few left so I picked one and we continued on our journey!

My adorable TuxedoSam bag:



Continued in next post!

 

[Simba22]

Oh My Gosh! Weve Been Waiting For You ALL DAY!​

After departing from Mitsukoshi, we continued our clockwise journey through Epcot. We stopped at some point and Duffy and I took some selfies:



We made it to Canada at exactly 12:45pm, and went inside to check in. I found it odd that there were 5 CMs just standing at the check-in desk. They seemed to be waiting for something....

Me: Hi! We have a reservation for 12:45

Really nice CM whose name I dont remember: Great! Whats your name?

Me: The last name is Toronto.

All 5 CMs at once:
Oh my gosh!
Its YOU!
Weve been waiting for you ALL DAY
Is that REALLY your last name!?
We thought you were going to be a celebrity using a fake name!
Its even better that you AREN'T a celebrity!


I actually FELT like a celebrity. I had to show them my drivers license to convince them that my last name is really and truly, that of a Canadian city.

They told me that they had seen my name come up on the reservation list the day before and they were waiting all day to see who I was. It was so cute! We had a similar experience a few years ago at the cart outside. I bought something and when they saw my name on my credit card the CMs flipped out.


So anyway, we were lead to the dining room and I started getting REALLY excited. We had been really looking forward to this ADR and now we were ACTUALLY here!

Our server **I BELIEVE**, was Cherish. I remember it was not a common name, but she was a sweetheart and so wonderful! She brought out or bread and took our orders, and when she came back with our drinks (Pomegranate Lemonade....UM YES PLEASE! SO DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!), she brought us these:



Lumar ordered the Pepper Crusted Steak (kind of a bad picture - sorry):



And I ordered the Alaskan Halibut:



As I'm typing this, my mouth is watering.

Seriously, one of the best meals we had on this ENTIRE trip.

And we ate A LOT of good meals.

Le Cellier is an absolute, 100%, We'll Be Back meal.

After lunch we headed back to AKL for a break. I sat outside on the balcony enjoying the view for a while and Lumar took a nap.









Around 6:30pm, we arrived at DHS




And as usual, I took NO pictures. This always happens! I never take pics in DHS! And it's completely unintentional!

Well anyway, we (OK, I) beelined for Keystone Clothiers where I know they sell Disney Dooneys.

I was little bummed because, like every store Id visited so far&. They did NOT have the white balloons bag!

However, they did have plenty of the Sketch bags. And I've wanted a Sketch bag since they came out, but there were two things stopping me from getting one:

1) The placement would have to be perfect
2) The material on the smaller Sketch bags is actual cloth&no plastic-type coating. Getting it dirty is a terrifying thought&.


And after quite a bit of hemming...


And definitely lots of hawing...



And after perusing through all of the bags on the rack only to find *something* wrong with *all* of them....


I finally found it:





And I absolutely LOVE IT!


And I'm absolutely terrified of getting it dirty!

My requirements for the sketch bag were as follows:
1) The clasp on the front couldn't cover anything important. Check. It only partially covers that little star.
2) It had to have a full Dumbo, and Cheshire Cat, and at least a few Mickey Balloons, but if they were partially cut off, that was OK. Check, Check, and check.

So I searched and searched and searched and finally found exactly what I wanted!

So we went and found seats for Fantasmic and I was one perfectly happy camper.




(Even though I STILL hadn't found those ears!)

And ***SPOILER ALERT*** I was so petrified of getting it dirty, that I didn't use it once for the entire trip. It stayed in the hotel, in the plastic Disney bag. Safe and sound.

 

[Simba22]

OMG AKL!!! Seriously one of the most perfect Disney resorts there is! I love everything about it! And that view from your room is perfect, I can't believe you can see EE from there!

Aww your engagement story is so sweet! I was wondering where Lumar was going with the whole ask a CM what their favorite line from a Disney movie was, what a cute idea! And that's so cool that your server captured the whole thing on your phone, now you can look back on that moment forever! I don't have any pictures from my engagement because it was just Brandon and I in our room in WL, but I mean, it's not like I can really forget that you know? I'm so excited for you guys, now you get to plan a wedding!! And maybe even a Disneymoon?

Dude, AKL was the best! I want to live there!

And yes, I am so happy he thought to take pictures for us! He was amazing! He told me later that only two people knew he was going to ask...his brother, and MY DAD! He actually ASKED MY DAD for PERMISSION! What a classy guy, right? You should document Brandon's proposal and keep it in your wedding album! That way you KNOW you'll always remember! We're definitely doing a Disney wedding but I think we're going to do Aulani for the honeymoon!

Gotta love those 3 hour sleeps before leaving for vacation, right?

Mr. Grumpypants definitely didn't make an ideal waiting partner in line. For 10 minutes? People like that just make me crazy.

OMG! Lumar was so so clever with that setup. CONGRATULATIONS! That was so so perfect.

I hate not getting enough sleep! And I am NOT one of those people that "can't sleep before Disney." I can ALWAYS sleep. Anytime. Anywhere. Even on the Haunted Mansion. Or while watching The Country Bears. It's true. Both of these happened.

That GUY was SO IRRITATING!! I wanted to kick him in the shin and tell him to shut up and be happy! Ugh! And I was so mad when they got off at AKL with us! Thankfully we never saw them again though!

Thank you! He really planned it all out so well!

Congratulations!!!

That was very clever way to propose, and I teared up just a little...

Awww! Thank you so much!

Joining in and LOVE the proposal. Congratulations to both of you!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

 

[Nermel9]

Ugh those ears! It's so annoying trying to find holiday ears, if you don't buy them right away, forget it! Buy them online next time!

Yum, I liked the Mara, but I think I only ate there once and I didn't have to wait for anyone since my sister and niece went to a different line. Did you get any zebra domes? OMG zebra domes...I would love to eat like, 10 right now.

I'm undecided about Duffy...he's really cute, but I'm not sure if I really like him? I couldn't stand him at first! But now I don't mind him...I love the picture you got with him!

Haha I can't believe the CM's were so excited about your name! That's so funny! I bet they were disappointed you weren't famous, though!

I cannot believe you went to Le Cellier and didn't get the filet. I can't even comment on what you guys got because it's a disgrace.

Yay I'm glad you found your purse, it's adorable! I really want a new one, but unless someone gives me $300 for the Haunted Mansion purse, forget it! That's the one I'll be buying next, I love it so much!

 

[smile4stamps]

Don't you hate it when you see merchandise on-line and then you go to buy it and you can't find it! So Aggravating!!

Your check-in to Le Cellier is awesome! Glad your meal was also enjoyable!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

wow, I got so emotional reading about your California Grill experience .... I mean, that steak looked great!

J/K - that is a great story and absolutely congratulations to you both!

oh, and I mean this in the most manly way possible - but your new purse is super duper cute

 

[KatMark]

Ali, you are just too cute with your Duffy Bear. I'm not a fan, but it suits you.

I'm sorry you were having so much trouble finding your purse and your ears. I have that purse, but not that style. I use it only at Disney and so far I've not gotten it dirty.

I'm glad you and Lumar had a good meal at LeCellier. Unfortunately our last meal there was not very good and we've not been back (it was 2011, I believe). But it sounds like you had an interesting check in and a good meal.

 

[Simba22]

Ugh those ears! It's so annoying trying to find holiday ears, if you don't buy them right away, forget it! Buy them online next time!

Yum, I liked the Mara, but I think I only ate there once and I didn't have to wait for anyone since my sister and niece went to a different line. Did you get any zebra domes? OMG zebra domes...I would love to eat like, 10 right now.

I'm undecided about Duffy...he's really cute, but I'm not sure if I really like him? I couldn't stand him at first! But now I don't mind him...I love the picture you got with him!

Haha I can't believe the CM's were so excited about your name! That's so funny! I bet they were disappointed you weren't famous, though!

I cannot believe you went to Le Cellier and didn't get the filet. I can't even comment on what you guys got because it's a disgrace.

Yay I'm glad you found your purse, it's adorable! I really want a new one, but unless someone gives me $300 for the Haunted Mansion purse, forget it! That's the one I'll be buying next, I love it so much!

I didn't even know those ears existed until you put them on Instagram, which was apparently too late! I wish I was a better stalker of the Disney Store website! By the time I tried to get them online, they were sold out!

Everytime we went to the Mara, it was breakfast time and we were heading out to the park right afterwards. I kept saying "we have to come back later for Zebra Domes" and then we would forget! I remembered like 2 days into our stay at the BW that we never went back! I am still so mad at myself! They are so good!

We were so Anti-Duffy it was ridiculous. And the more I saw of him, the more I loved him. Not that, at 31 years old, I needed another stuffed animal....but he's just so cute. I couldn't help myself!

I think the CMs at Le Cellier WERE a bit disappointed, but they were really impressed that it's ACTUALLY my last name. They thought that was pretty cool. I was always tortured as a kid for it but if Disney CMs can appreciate it, then it doesn't bother me anymore!

OK I don't actually LIKE steak...at ALL! Lumar really likes it so I made this ADR more for him, but he doesn't like mushrooms (he's allergic to penicillin so he's convinced himself that he can't eat mushrooms because they're 'mold' ) and even though I've forced him to try them, he still says they have a 'weird texture' so he refuses to eat them. My dad doesn't like them either and I love them so I don't get it! But the steak that he had, he claims was the best steak he's ever eaten, and my fish absolutely blew me away. I was NOT expecting it to be anything special and I was totally surprised by it! It was buttery and loaded with garlic and literally melted in my mouth. We were both really happy with Le Cellier, mushroom filet be darned!

I LIKE the HM bag, but I'm not in LOVE with it. For one thing, I think the lining should be purple (or at least teal, but that's the color of the lining in my sketch bag so I could see if they wanted to use something different). For another, the pattern is so dark that's it nearly impossible to see if you aren't right up close and looking for it. In addition, it's enormous. If they made smaller styles, and I could get the 25% discount, I might consider one...but certainly not at full price and not for a bag that big. I always wanted a Sketch bag, although I did want one that's the size of my Retro. I opted for the letter carrier because all I own is BIG bags. I wanted something I could easily carrier around NYC or WDW and this one works well for that. However, my TuxedoSam bag is getting used a lot more!

Don't you hate it when you see merchandise on-line and then you go to buy it and you can't find it! So Aggravating!!

Your check-in to Le Cellier is awesome! Glad your meal was also enjoyable!

It's REALLY annoying! And it happens to me CONSTANTLY! I always find really cute stuff in magazines and then when I go to the website they provide to buy it, it's like the item never existed. I hated it and it's the story of my life!

wow, I got so emotional reading about your California Grill experience .... I mean, that steak looked great!

J/K - that is a great story and absolutely congratulations to you both!

oh, and I mean this in the most manly way possible - but your new purse is super duper cute

He did REALLY enjoy that steak... Thank you so much! It's definitely one of those "Only In Disney" memories! And thanks about the purse! I searched hard for it!

Ali, you are just too cute with your Duffy Bear. I'm not a fan, but it suits you.

I'm sorry you were having so much trouble finding your purse and your ears. I have that purse, but not that style. I use it only at Disney and so far I've not gotten it dirty.

I'm glad you and Lumar had a good meal at LeCellier. Unfortunately our last meal there was not very good and we've not been back (it was 2011, I believe). But it sounds like you had an interesting check in and a good meal.

Thanks, Kathy! He's really grown on me...you should see the Duffy pin collection I started....

I originally wanted the sketch that's a little bigger...I think it's the Lucy?? But the letter carrier was better for the purpose.

That stinks you didn't have a good experience at LC! We really enjoyed it. So far, the only place on property that I refuse to go back to is Tony's. I wouldn't eat there if it was free. It was so, SO bad!

 

[KatMark]

That stinks you didn't have a good experience at LC! We really enjoyed it. So far, the only place on property that I refuse to go back to is Tony's. I wouldn't eat there if it was free. It was so, SO bad!

Up until that last visit at LeCellier, we had loved it and had great food and service. Truthfully, now that we have found Yachtsman Steakhouse, there's just no going back.

 

[Simba22]

Up until that last visit at LeCellier, we had loved it and had great food and service. Truthfully, now that we have found Yachtsman Steakhouse, there's just no going back.

I almost booked Yachtsman but since I don't actually like steak, I opted for LC since it had a few other options! Wish I could have a Disney dinner right now....I REALLY don't want to go cook!

 

[smile4stamps]

Up until that last visit at LeCellier, we had loved it and had great food and service. Truthfully, now that we have found Yachtsman Steakhouse, there's just no going back.

We loved LC way more than YSH! The filet at LC was AWESOME! YSH we shared our entree and they cut it in the back.. if they hadn't done that it may have been okay but the way they cut it my husband had all the fat and I had all the meat and I couldn't share it back to him because they fry their truffle fries in the same oil as calamari and some had touched my steak

Going there again with Brenda and Gang next month so hoping for a better experience!!

 

[Buntington]

Just found this, so joining in on this TR a bit late! Your engagement story is beautiful! Love the ring too.

 

[Simba22]

Just found this, so joining in on this TR a bit late! Your engagement story is beautiful! Love the ring too.

I'm only 2 posts in! You are NOT late! Thank you so much for joining in!