Our 15 day summer adventure to WDW! NEW TR LINK 11/6 pg. 49!!

[dddisrunner]

After our adventure on TOT, it was time for lunch and we were headed to the Brown Derby! The rain had started again! We were looking forward to this meal, as we had never eaten here before!

I have to tell you, the restaurant was DEAD, like a ghost town!!! We thought maybe it was the rain, who knows! We were shown to our table after waiting 10 minutes, for what I don't know?

Our waiter was AWFUL, so slow and very dry...we had to ask him several times to please repeat himself because he spoke so softly! GEEZ!

On a postive note, I had a delicious mushroom ravioli, that Lesley had told me was really good! She was right. this was the best part of the meal!! It was just 1 HUGE ravioli but it was delicious!

Bryan had the mussels...

For my entree, I had the cobb salad which I was excited to try after all it is supposed to be there specialty.....

I can't remember what Bryan had, but here is a picture...

My salad was OK but not great! I was disappointed because it had been so hyped up and it just wasn't all that great! Bryan enjoyed his meal though, and so did the boys!

Dessert was a COMPLETELY different story though...

I had the shortbread crusted cheesecake after being told by lesley to avoid the grapefruit cake...

This was AMAZING!!!! Bryan had the no sugar added blueberry cobbler...

Matthew and I posing...

Eric enjoying his worms and dirt!

Overall, I would say that the Brown Derby was disappointing, definitely not worth 2 dining credits!!

After lunch, we went to see the American Idol Experience! We were so excited to see this, as this was another thing we had never done before!

We LOVED it! I thought the set was awesome!

The waiting area outside!

Inside, isn't this great?

The host was hilarious...

Here are the 3 contestants from that show!

The judges...

The girl won and she was PHENOMONAL! I never did find out if she won for the day though! I hope so, she was THAT good!

After AI we decided to go back and draw again at the Animators Studio!

I din't take pics of our character, but we drew Minnie Mouse! Here are Bryan and the boys recreating hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil...don't ask and DON'T mind my crazy husbands gesture!!!

CONTINUED IN THE NEXT POST....

 

[dddisrunner]

Our original plan this day was to eat dinner at Wolfgang Puck Cafe, but Eric really wanted to eat at Sci Fi again so, with the online dining, I was able to book Sci Fi for just Eric and I and Bryan and Matthew went ahead and ate at WPC. It was at this point in the day that Bryan and matthew left to go back to SSR freshen up and head to DTD for their dinner! Eric and I grabbed a snack and of course it started raining again! We then went to see Beauty and the Beast! Another FIRST for us! i was so happy to finally be seeing it!

Eric loving his ice cream...

Some Beauty and the Beast pictures! I LOVED the show...

LOVED it!

After Beauty and the Beast we donned our ponchos and went back to the Animators Studio hoping to meet the Incredibles...

Only Frozone was out though!

We then went to use more TSM fastpasses from earlier that day...

I beat Eric but he kicked my butt in accuracy!

It was then time for us to head to Sci Fi for our dinner reservation! We took these pics. along the way!

My little American Idol!

CONTINUED IN THE NEXT POST....

 

[dddisrunner]

We made our way over to Sci Fi and it started POURING again! This is when things started to go downhill a bit we were shown to our seats and we were HITCH HIKERS! Eric had a FIT, this was not at all what he was expecting! He was NOT happy sitting in the back! I pulled him to the side and let him have it, I said "you wanted to come here, not me, get it together and go back in there and let's eat so we can go back to our room!" Thank the lord, he snapped out of it and got himself together quickly!

Eric used my phone to entertain himself as he said he couldn't see the screen....yeah OK!

Our waiter took this picture of us!

I had the artichke dip for an appetizer and I really enjoyed it!

Some view pictures....

I had the italian grilled chicken sandwich which was just OK!

Our waiter came by and told Eric that if he finished all his cheeseburger, he would have a surprise for him! Eric worked hard to finish and then the waiter gave Eric a Sci Fi drivers license, you would of thought it was the best thing EVER, look at this kids face....is that a new attitude or what?

I had the yummy chocolate, nut caramel cake...SO GOOD!

This was the worlds fastest meal, 35 minutes from start to finish! I had some MAJOR indigestion going on but between Eric's earlier fit and his desire to try and make it to AI to see the finale show we had to hussle! Turns out we missed the finale of AI...HUGE bummer! DHS was practically empty at this point, with the rain all day and the park closing at 7 it was strange to see!

We left DHS and went back to SSR and found out that Bryan and Matthew had a GREAT meal at WPC, sure wish we had eaten with them! We all had an AMAZING day! I enjoyed DHS so much during this trip!!

Here is a final pic. from this day!

The boys showered and Eric crashed! He was SO TIRED! I ran up to AP to get some waters, because we had run out and I wanted to have some for the next day and with the deluxe dining we had PLENTY of credits left! On the way down, Lesley text me to see if I wanted to see Lauren all dressed up after her BBB appointment, so I waited for their bus to pull in and OMG Lauren was gorgeous! Luke looked pretty handsome too! I will let Lesley show you the pictures! The funniest part was that Lesley and I had the EXACT same shirt on! After a few pics. and hugs, we went our seperate ways and said goodnight!


COMING UP:

AN UNEXPECTED DAY IN EPCOT
DEAD ANIMALS?
STALKING CONTINUES

 

[Charleston Princess]

Your DHS day sounds fantastic (except for Eric's "displeasure" at being hitchhikers).

Love the pictures from the GMR -- we all seem to be breaking rules at Disney these days!

Those Up borders are super cute!!! I love them!

Too bad you didn't enjoy your meal at the Brown Derby .

 

[Queenofallthings]

Ahhhh....Sunday morning, coffee, sun shining, and my friend Diane has another update....life doesn't get any better than this - and we're leaving for Disney in 8 glorious days

I so want to ride TSM in the stand by line, we've only done Fastpass and I never really experienced all the props, your pics are fantastic.

Love ToT. Rode it for the first time in 1998 by myself, yup, that's right, Peg, Geodoc and Jasmine wouldn't ride with me. We all ride now even Peg's 4 years old, but not Geodoc. When SW was 5 she told everyone on the bus her daddy doesn't ride ToT because he's chicken...we cracked up!

I can't wait for AI. Looks just like on tv.

I will have to talk Jas into doing the animation thingy, I really want to see the characters from Up!

I too have never been to the Brown Derby and I really don't think I ever will. I have a hard time spending 2 credits when so many of the reviews aren't favorable (is that the politically correct way of saying that)

Thank you for making my Sunday morning, can't wait for more updates.

 

[Sooze]

I am so glad they got to experience that on this night because now in light of the tragic accident I don't know if it will be allowed anymore!

It's pretty scary to think about what would've happened if a family was in the front of that monorail, isn't it? When we were there just after the accident, they were not allowing families to sit up front (obviously). But I heard it was out of respect for the grieving monorail drivers, not necessarily a safety precaution. I wonder if they will ever let people sit up there again.

Once we got off the monorail, we had about 50 minutes until the park closed so we hurried to Test Track and then to Soarin and that was it!

Well, you squeezed in the two best rides!

What a CRAZY night!!

The bus ride sounded hilarious! Well, except for the stroller wheels!!

 

[Trentmom]

Sounds like you had an awesome day at DHS

No stalking today

You did a good job with Bolt


American Idol show looks like fun, but I know Trent would never sit through that. Maybe another year.

I never knew you could not take pics in Great Movie Ride....I have a ton from there



The one pic of the boys..think in line for TOT, where Brian is in the back...is a riot...Is he rolling his eyes or just looking off somewhere

Glad Eric snapped out of his mini meltdown at Sci-FI and you had a nice time.

Sounds like a nice day overall

 

[bballbabe]

After being away for a week I am finally caught up. I am glad to see that there wasn't too much law breaking going on this time.

 

[DevonsDisneyMom]

Hi Diane, congrats on the new niece, Reese is a great name! LOL! I actually saw another Reese last night... Reese Witherspoon!!! I was at the Billy Joel/Elton John concert last night and she was there! I'm surprised I even knew it was her given the number of body guards that surrounded her!!

Any who, great update! Can't wait for the next installment! ~Reese

 

[Sooze]

The decor is very pretty, but the restaurant is not nearly big enough for the enormous size of SSR!

I agree that it's small, but every time we have eaten there, there have been tons of available tables. I think a lot of people get their food and head back to their villa... maybe? My favorite part are the easels sitting around the eating area! I always leave a little Disney Doodle!

Then the boys asked if we could see if their t-shirts had arrived that they had designed the day before

Those T-shirts turned out SO good! I also loved looking at Luke's. Can't wait to let Tyson give it a whirl!

Thanks for the pool pictures. We have never been to the Grandstand. We might have to check it out next time.

 

[Sooze]

Then we went over near American Idol and browsed in the shop...

I'm sure I'll find out eventually (if I can EVER get caught up!!), but I'm wondering if you guys ever went in and watched a show? I think Disney did a GREAT job with this attraction!

I kid you not, the minute we walked in to check in, the sky opened up and it started POURING!!!!

Whew! You JUST made it!

Patty took our orders and called Eric Scooter and Matthew Skippy
then she brought over the items to set the table and told the boys to set it!

How did they do?! Did they set it right? Matt and I purposely set ours wrong so we got a whole lesson on it! Fun!

I had pot roast for my entree and it was SO GOOD!!

Oooooo my FAVORITE PTC meal! Yummmmmmmmmy!

There was a sign that said taxi's and parking lot go in this certain direction so we followed the signs and then were told to get on the tram, but we saw taxis parked literally 10 FEET from where we were standing but were told to get on the tramcar...OK! So we do and the tramcar makes a complete loop and drops us off where we got on!! DUH!!!

What the?!? How bizarre is THAT?!

WELL the taxi driver runs off with our money yelling at the other taxis in some foreign language and he went FAR! Bryn starts chasing after him and he finally stopped and banged on another taxis window and asked him for change!

What the?!?! Could your evening get even weirder?!

this worker comes FLYING out of nowhere and starts waving his hand in front of Bryan's face a saying there is NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY, DO YOU HEAR ME, NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY!

Oh my gosh! This happened to us too!! We just wanted to take pictures of ourselves in our seats and the workers came swooping! It was 20 minutes before the show even started! What the?!?

STONE COLD SERIOUS, Eric then states "Well you know Matthew, ever since Abe Lincoln was shot there has been TIGHT security in theaters!!!!!!!" We FELL OFF our chairs laughing and the man behind us was laughing so hard, he choked on his popcorn!!! TOO FUNNY!

How old is this boy? Nice historical connection!!

The show was INCREDIBLE and the boys LOVED it!

So glad you liked it! We took Tyson when he was THREE! and he stayed up through the whole thing and didn't make a peep! It was so entertaining for all of us!

 

[Sooze]

We head to the Haunted Mansion and it was CLOSED due to technical difficulties! ... Well don't you know we get all the way up to the gate before you actually get on the ride and an announcement comes on, that the ride is currently experiencing technical difficulties! COME ON! I am sorry to say but this really put me in a foul mood! I know it was really no one's fault but we had NO space mountain, no TTA, no haunted mansion and now no BTMRR!

Now THAT is frustrating!!! ugh...

He looks SO handsome in this picture.. wow!

For my entree I got the popular pot roast and I LOVED it! I thought it was better then at 50's Prime Time!

No WAY! Better than 50's PTC?!!?! Say it isn't so!

For dessert, I had the very popular ooey gooey toffee cake and it was AMAZING!!!

Ummmm... yummmy?!

Matthew said he was disappointed that he couldn't ride Space Mountain so the CM said OH just you wait, make sure you come back because it is going to be GREAT and totally different from how it used to be!

Cool! I can't wait to experience that! But the lines are going to be BRUTAL when that opens back up (Kinda like Haunted Mansion was for a while!)

 

[Sooze]

We were brought to a GREAT table with an amazing view of the lake and Magic Kingdom!

What a bonus! O'Hana AND a great view?! Awesome!

but it seemed strange without the woman who is usually there!

That's funny.. we ALWAYS have the man. I think the woman has only been there once for us!

Bryan's reaction to the hot towels they give you to clean your hands!

Those things ARE hot, aren't they?!

((insert sound of Homer Simpson's drooling sound here))

We all had such a fun time! We decide to all ride Buzz together. Bryan and Eric rode together, Tim and Lauren, Matthew and Luke and Lesley and I! It was so much fun...Lesley kicked my BUTT!!

Sounds like an absolute blast!!!

to try and beat Spectro so we wouldn't get stuck! We went through the Emporium all the way to the end and got delayed by 2 floats! It was fun to see them though!

Do you guys ever stay and watch Spectro? Such a wonderful parade!!

 

[timandlesley]

HEY DIANE!!! I remember you saying you "rocked that park" that day and you weren't lyin' : ) Great day! Glad you enjoyed my ravioli suggestion, that was so yummy - best part of my meal too. I am soooo jealous of your Photopass pics, they didn't do ANYTHING like that for us with the UP characters, sure wish they would have! You guys had some awesome Photopass pics so far this trip, we had MAYBE 2 good ones our whole trip, just got bum photographers I guess. Loving your report of course, it was great running into you that night so I could show off Lauren and take our "bopsy twin" photo : )
Lesley

 

[kaysmommie]

Great update and pics as usual. We have to try AI on our next trip. Glad you liked it. that you got to see B&TB, I love that show. Sorry you and Eric had to be hitch hikers, I could see why he was bummed. Never been to HBD, but after reading that story in Mousejunkies I probably never will . I can't wait for the next update .

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Diane, you are such an artist! I can't believe we missed animation studio this summer, we didn't get back to that area at all! Anyway, your Bolt was terrific!
Hey I don't blame Eric one little bit for not wanting to be a hitchhiker! I probably would have put on a major pout too!
Anita

 

[disneymomof1]

Just found you, now to go back and get to reading !!!

 

[NMAmy]

Eric was very excited because Chef Mickey's is his FAVORITE restaurant!!

I'm with Eric on this one. I LOVE Chef Mickey's. Sadly, dd won't go with me anymore. I do enjoy a napkin twirling restaurant, kwim?

We sai goodbye to our friends and went to go save the Untied Kingdom!

Your typo made me laugh. Did you tie the Kingdom back up again?

Did I ever tell you about when a group of American teenage tourists took my photo when I was using one of these phonebooths in England? I heard one of them say, "Look, English people really use those phones!" That's when I popped my head out and said, "Hi, I'm from Michigan."

 

[NMAmy]

Bolt was the character that we got to draw! It was pretty difficult and the boys REFUSED to let me take a picture of their dogs! Here is mine!

Bolt was pretty hard to draw!

You're right. We do have the same handwriting!

One of my favorite pictures ever is of dd in front of this sign!

Our waiter came by and told Eric that if he finished all his cheeseburger, he would have a surprise for him! Eric worked hard to finish and then the waiter gave Eric a Sci Fi drivers license, you would of thought it was the best thing EVER, look at this kids face....is that a new attitude or what?

Hey now! I totally want a Sci Fi Driver's licence! Eric is so lucky!

 

[CRSNDSNY]

THis is just too cute for words:

BTW, you are an awsome drawer!!!